In late February 2019 an anonymous game developer posted a leak on Pastebin. They claimed to be employed by a small studio contracting on a PS5 launch title.
Category: News & opinion
-
No, idiots, GTA 6 is not going to be a PlayStation exclusive
•
-
Predicting the updated Xbox Dashboard
My prediction. New Xbox dashboard layout is on the horizon, and it’s looking good. 😍
It’s not an overhaul, but it addresses feedback you’ve all been asking them to address.
@JezCordenIn the 2nd half of 2022 Xbox started testing an alternate dashboard layout that focussed heavily on dynamic Game Pass content.
Generally speaking, Xbox fans rejected the entire premise of this experiment. In fact the majority of the most popular requests for improving the dashboard experience have gone unanswered for a long time.
It seems they are (for now) rolling back that experiment, and have instead decided to action one of the most common complaints: The dashboard is too busy, and no one can see their dynamic backgrounds.
So what will this new dashboard look like?
-
Limited edition Redfall controllers on Xbox Design Lab
Yes, yes. Ok. get your ‘xbox has more controllers than games’ joke out of the way now. Today Xbox announced a new suite of limited edition Design Lab controllers, made especially for Redfall.
Each controller comes with a custom design top plate, a fixed palette of colours to customise with, and four engraving options for the battery cover. They’re nice!
At the start of April a purported Starfield controller leaked on a resale app in China. After a day or so, someone figured out that the person who listed the controller was also a modding enthusiast, which caused most people to pass this off as a custom job.
I’m not so sure.
-
Sorry everyone… People are not going to stop talking about Microsoft’s ABK acquisition once it’s done
The New York Post is reporting that Microsoft intends to close it’s ABK acquisition, despite any ongoing roadblocks from the FTC in the United States. This report includes a spicy quote via a source that “they are going to cram this down the FTC’s throats”. 😳
It’s been widely reported that the CMA (UK) will approve the deal this week (Update: in a huge move this did not happen, the CMA blocked the deal!), and most observers anticipate the EU will follow in May.
Today’s reporting has been met with some optimism on Twitter that once that deal is “done” everyone will move on…
Whatever it takes so we can stop talking about it!!!
@NeoGameSparkAin’t no way.
Even if the close the deal in May/June, all of these topics will continue to play out loudly in social media spaces:
- FTC machinations are ongoing. Microsoft might close he deal in spite of the FTC dragging its heels, but that means the FTC may sue for an injunction. Microsoft are obviously confident in their position since the FTC will, globally speaking, be out on a limb all on their lonesome.
- We have no idea what the acquisition means for Game Pass. FTC activity might hamper any meaningful business integration in the immediate term – so when will the games come?
- Any and all ABK game news/announcements will be the subject of intense console war noise well into 2024 and beyond.
If you’re into the banter, you’re going to keep having a good time.
If you think it sucks, keep that block button ready.
-
Oxenfree II was announced for Netflix Games today and Xbox fans lost their minds… for the wrong reason
Earlier today Night School Studio announced that Oxenfree II would also be coming to Netflix (mobile) when it launches on July 12th this year.
And for some reason a bunch of Xbox fans went crazy on Twitter.
“Am I tripping or does this say Netflix but not Xbox???” “No joke, we need answer why this keeps happening…” “wtf is going on 💀” “Ok this is starting to become a serious problem for Xbox”
Pals… Calm. down.
Here’s the situation with Oxenfree II:
- Game announced April 19th 2021, Switch and Steam
- Netflix acquires Night School Studio September 29th 2021
- Oxenfree II appears in the PlayStation Indies Spotlight August 6th 2022
- Oxenfree II announced for Netflix mobile today
Not only is this game not coming to Xbox, we’ve know it for months, if not years. Why is it a huge deal now, all of a sudden?
Gaming narratives are
a funny old thingfucking stupid.Would this be as big a deal if the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster wasn’t skipping Xbox (for some apparently unknowable reason) and getting banger scores?
Minecraft Legends dropped yesterday and people are freaking about Oxenfree II? Xbox secured multiple Game-of-the-Year nominated indie games in 2021 and 2022 and people are freaking about Oxenfree II? Really?
A much bigger story here is that Netflix is the publisher. What will that mean in the competitive space moving forward? Will Netflix pal up with PlayStation on console to hedge against Microsoft’s buying power and Cloud position?
MS (Game Pass) and Netflix both see themselves as competitors. Don’t be surprised when the more tech-facing companies choose to isolate Microsoft.
HoegLaw
-
Joe Staten joins Netflix
•
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined @Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let’s go!
@joestatenStaten is a games veteran, working on the first three Halo games at Bungie before moving to Microsoft Publishing as Senior Creative Director. He was most recently moved over to 343i as Campaign Project Lead prior to the launch of Halo Infinite.
Netflix have over 50 games on their slate right now. A push into AAA territory is not unexpected, but plenty of companies have taken the plunge only to lack the fortitude of what it takes to really make an impact in gaming. (Hi, Google).
As I said in January:
-
Redfall is launching with 30fps modes only
Redfall is launching on Xbox consoles with Quality mode only:
@playRedfall
Xbox Series X: 4K 30 FPS
Xbox Series S: 1440p 30 FPS
60 FPS Performance mode will be added via game update at a later date.Shambles.
At this point I think if Xbox can’t meet baseline expectations here or there, they at least just need to be entirely transparent about it. If you’re dropping the ball, tell us the exact reason you can’t hit launch but *can* patch it in. Without that the narratives take off.
They’ve done a very poor job of controlling the communication on this one because it’s not just the game, it’s the perception of your entire platform.
-
My non-binding, personal favourite games of 2022
Form up! 1. Nobody Saves The World
An action RPG dungeon crawler, with a focus on form switching and ability unlocks. The game really kicks into gear when you earn the ability to combine abilities from other forms into any existing form, giving you the power to remix your character at will.
-
Game Pass 2022: By The Numbers
High on Life, Day One in Game Pass in 2022 This year I started manually tracking Game Pass drops. The list is in a publicly accessible Notion database, that any user can sort or filter to their heart’s desire.
-
How to get more responsive screenshots on Xbox
Quick as lightning. It’s not a huge deal, but yes: the Xbox capture button is laggy.
The new Xbox controller that released along side the Series X and S in 2020 has a dedicated Share button. While it’s a nice addition, and the system settings allow you to customise its behaviour, I have noticed that it’s ever so slightly… delayed when taking a screenshot.
-
The PS5 External Disc Drive is Alive
In September Tom Henderson broke the news that Sony have been testing an external disc drive for their PS5 console. Today he confirmed the device is in testing and “works flawlessly”.
The design of the PS5 is fucking weird.
Pope Hat It baffles me that generally people have come to accept and even prefer the design of this thing. It’s obviously a very capable console, but the industrial design of the device is all over the place.