TrubeBytes: On PlayStation 4 and Philippine E-Sports

I was thinking about having a theme for the second edition of TrubeBytes, but I don't want to think about it right now. On this next edition, it seems that the Sony PlayStation brand is now back in track in the gaming world while the Philippines is still on a roll in the global electronic sports arena following the successful hosting of ESL One Manila 2016 last April with more intriguing developments in local e-sports.

First, the PlayStation 4 is now the fastest-selling video game system of its generation. Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a few days ago that the fourth generation home gaming console has just sold 40 million units worldwide, eclipsing its rival gaming system Microsoft's Xbox One by more than 20 million. In the coming months, the PS4 is expected to expand its gaming experience beyond the console with the upcoming release of the PlayStation VR headset that would complement today's generation of gamers to new levels of realism.

In local e-sports. Filipino Heroes of the Storm team Renovation has just booked a ticket to the Heroes Global Circuit Summer Championships in Sweden after winning the Southeast Asian qualifiers last May 22, 2016 against 2015 Road to Blizzcon champions Singapore's Relics that pushed the Filipinos against the walls during the first part of the finals. Renovatio is expected to compete against 11 teams from around the world as the region's representative in the half-a-million-dollar e-sports event which will be on either June or July.

On the other hand, following the successful staging of ESL One Manila 2016 last April, the Philippines will once again host another major international DOTA 2 tournament, the Manila Majors 2016, which will be on June 7-12 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena with the group stage commencing on the first weekend of the said month. Eleven international DOTA 2 teams were invited to participate in the culminating e-sports event leading to The International 2016. I just hope that this will strengthen the country's efforts to become a shining beacon in the electronic sports world.

I will end this edition of TrubeBytes with a spoiler for gaming fans of the caped crusader from Gotham, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is set to release a compilation of the first two Batman: Arkham games for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to be named as Batman: Return to Arkham, with Virtuos as its developer who is also behind the compilation of the two Final Fantasy X games for all of Sony's available gaming systems. It will be available in North American markets on July 26, 2016. Until the next edition of TrubeBytes, gaming enthusiasts!!