Aussie government invests in video games, does the Galaxy S23 Ultra live up to the hype? Vertical Hold Ep 414

Does the Australian government’s independent games fund go far enough? Samsung’s bringing the hype, but can the Galaxy S23 Ultra live up to it — and who needs a pricey premium flagship phone in 2023 anyway? Special guests Digitally Downloaded’s Matt Sainsbury, Telsyte’s Foad Fadaghi and Pickr’s Leigh Stark!

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Most stories about the Australian games development industry are sad ones… but this week, there was a ray of light, as the Federal Government announced funding and tax breaks for Aussie games development. But is this enough? We caught up with Digitally Downloaded’s Matt Sainsbury to talk about why $12 million for independent games developers might not be enough!

Want to know more? Matt’s written about the fund in depth here.

This week also saw Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, where the South Korean company “revealed” the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra… although the phones had been very comprehensively leaked before the event even happened.

But what will those phones mean for Samsung, and what’s worth getting excited about? We talk Australian phone market realities with Telsyte’s Foad Fadaghi, and the broader technical details (and especially the cameras) with Pickr’s Leigh Stark!

Want more? Vertical Hold’s own Alex Kidman went hands-on with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which you can watch in the video below!