When a Netflix door closes, HBO opens
HBO premiered the first footage from their highly anticipated ‘The Last of Us’ television series this week. Based on the award winning game of the same name and starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey of Game of Thrones fame, season one is set to hit HBOMAX sometime in 2023. In a teaser snipped by @getFANDOM via @hbomax, fans were able to get a sneak peek of characters Joel, Ellie, Sarah and Bill. Not to mention some dialogue straight from the game. Response has been positive. The week was not so kind to the Netflix show ‘Resident Evil’ however, as it was essentially canceled just over a month since its debut. Deadline reports that the show will not be renewed for season two, citing poor cost vs viewing and poorer reviews.

PSVR and Edge enter the chat
On the gaming front, two new PlayStation peripherals dropped some news en masse. PlayStation UK via Twitter revealed an early 2023 release for PSVR2. The simple yet effective post quickly made the rounds on social media, much to the delight of PSVR fans. This will be the first follow up to the original device which launched back in Oct. 2016. Sony also announced their first foray into the premium controller arena with the DualSense Edge. Revealed via the PlayStation Blog, the controller boasts increased customization options including profiles, changeable stick caps, back buttons and replaceable stick modules. More will be revealed in the upcoming months.

East vs West
Twitter user @Genki_JPN did some translating of a SIE presentation at CEDEC 2022, regarding the PS4/PS5 user base. Some quick facts: US players play the most titles on average but collect the least amount of trophies. Japan plays the least amount of titles but play them longer and pop the most trophies. Asia and Europe get the most platinums with the US at the bottom. Japan also buys the most disc-only versions of games while the US buys the least. This based on data from a SIE survey. Thanks to Genki and the CEDEC source.

Lost Judgment
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows at Sony however, as news spread quickly of a 5.8 billion dollar collective action suit filed in the UK over PlayStation Store Royalties. Gamespot was among many outlets reporting that Sony’s 30% cut of all transactions in the PlayStation Store was what drew the ire of consumer rights activist Alex Neill. Speaking to Sky News, Neill claims Sony’s market share has allowed them to impose unfair conditions with publishers who then pass the buck on to consumers. Neill said “The actions of Sony is costing millions of people who can’t afford it, particularly when we’re in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer purse is being squeezed like never before.” Sony has yet to comment.

One hike to rule them all
Where Sony did comment though, was in regards to high inflation rates in the global economic environment. More-so what this means for their customers. What this means, is an unprecedented price hike on all PlayStation 5 units in most territories save for the United States. President and CEO Jim Ryan took to the PlayStation Blog to announce these changes effective immediately. Ryan said “SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5 in select markets across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), as well as Canada. There will be no price increase in the United States.” The response on social media has been nothing short of seismic, with many voicing their displeasure in what’s already been an uphill battle with stock, scalpers and the economy. XDR reports (as confirmed by Windows Central and Eurogamer) that Microsoft and Nintendo have no plans to increase the price on their respective hardware anytime soon.