IN BRIEF: What’s Happened Today? (August 15th 2012)

Things couldn’t really have gone any better for Sony at last night’s Gamescom 2012 press conference.

New IP? Check. New functionality? Check. Slick presentation? Check. New hardware? Well, no, there wasn’t any new hardware. Not quite yet, anyhow.

Here’s a look at the last 24 hours in gaming:

• UK indie dev Lunar Software reveals eerie first person survival horror title Routine – LINK
• Free-to-play is expected to drive 30%+ growth in the Japanese social network gaming market throughout the current financial year – LINK
• Vita may be on a high, but FIFA 13 won’t deliver the golden bullet we’ve been waiting for – LINK
• We were very pleased with this headline: How Sony won E3… at Gamescom – LINK
• Smartphone gaming is described as the biggest content revolution we’ve ever seen” – LINK
• Virtual reality startup Oculus hires some recognisable names – LINK
• Why are games getting easier? Because Americans can’t deal with losing, apparently – LINK
• Only 30 per cent of those who try a free-to-play game typically hang around for more – LINK
• Sony treated the Gamescom crowd to a host of new IP as PS3 looks to live on – LINK
• And don’t think it’s forgetting about Vita, either – LINK
• Free Arma II mod Day Z gets the MCV Game of the Day treatment – LINK