The decision to compensate Germany’s lignite plant closure will set an example for other coal phase out plans in Member States, as current ETS prices ( 43 euros/ton CO2 in March 2021) make it increasingly costly for coal plants to operate. Lignite operations come at a high cost for people and ecosystems, and State aid decisions must take this into account. In Germany’s case, it is fundamental not to use taxpayers’ money to pay for mistakes made by companies or governments – like investing in clearly stranding fossil fuel infrastructures, overcompensating an unambitious phase-out, or making up for failure to enforce the polluter pays principle – and in fact cleaning up after the companies. Why is it important? As the EU tries to reach its climate and environmental goals, the Commission must make sure that it is not giving the green light to subsidies that drive the bloc in the opposite direction. The Commission will then have up to 18 months to complete its assessment – though cases are generally solved sooner. The opening decision is expected to be published in the coming weeks, and followed by a one-month public consultation. On 2 March 2021, the Commission announced that it would open a formal investigation procedure into those promised compensations based on doubts about their compatibility with EU State aid rules. But for the Dark Cloud 3 hopefuls out there, it may be time to uncross those fingers - unless Sony has plans of its own, of course.What is happening? As part of its coal phase-out, Germany promised multi-billion Euro payouts to lignite operators for closing their plants. That’s all in the air for now, with no concrete plans for any ports.
#DARK CLOUD MONEY MAKING WINDOWS#
There’s a high chance we might see that on more modern platforms,” like PlayStation 4 or Windows PC. “There’s a higher chance that we’ll see some of that, like older Layton games from when we were less well known. “Everything beyond Layton and newer is all controlled by Level-5,” Hino said. What’s more likely is Professor Layton and other wholly owned Level-5 franchises getting revamps and remasters, which may be a small salve for the studio’s biggest supporters. (“I’m not sure if that’s happening now,” he was quick to add, after telling us of his own personal interest in a revival.) “That IP is co-owned or managed by Sony Computer Entertainment, so it’s not something that we can do or act upon on our own.”Ĭonsider those dreams dashed, then, although Hino did hint that Level-5 and Sony had entered “negotiations” over Dark Cloud in the past. “There has been a lot of requests and voices to create a Dark Cloud 3 or some form of Dark Cloud,” Hino told Polygon. Now that Level-5 has established itself as a trusted developer of smash-hit RPGs and adventure games (the Professor Layton series, Ni no Kuni and two Dragon Quest titles among them), is there a chance the studio would consider reviving its early classics? The Dark Cloud games helped make a name for Level-5 and Hino, their producer, and the studio has only grown in visibility in recent years. When Sony introduced PlayStation 2 emulation to PlayStation 4 in fall 2015, Dark Cloud was one of the first to join the library, winning back old fans and attracting new ones to the short-lived franchise. The fantastical action role-playing games met particular critical and commercial success in North America. That seems to be the case with the Dark Cloud franchise, which saw two entries on PlayStation 2 in the early 2000s.
As Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino reminded Polygon during an interview at Gamescom, sometimes there’s too much red tape around something to bring it back, no matter how much fans and developers love the game.
#DARK CLOUD MONEY MAKING SERIES#
We’ve seen the return of several beloved - and not-so-beloved - series in recent years, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to revive one.
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