Man can't catch a break can he? I hope something he's working on actually makes it to release.

Sure it is, Yves. If any game would qualify as quadruple A it's the Black Flag spinoff that's been in development hell for years. Genuinely curious how long this game lasts, even if it does get good reviews and finds an audience. Feels like Ubisoft would have cancelled this ages ago if the government of Singapore hadn't been providing subsidies to help fund the project.

When the politicians say that they clearly mean they're going to take away other people's freedoms. Not my freedom. My freedom is going to be fine.

Yes, because console wars. A lot of people that bought into the Xbox brand are angry Microsoft is "giving up" and "disgracing" developers by putting their games on PlayStation. It doesn't help that without a clear statement from Microsoft people are free to speculate that Microsoft is going to be the next Sega and Phil Spencer is going to personally come to their house and destroy their Xbox.

More seriously, there is some genuine concern about what will happen to the digital libraries of people who bought into the Xbox eco-system if Xbox stops being a thing. Or what will happen if the AAA game market comes down to Sony and Nintendo. But there are a lot of people angry their favorite mega-corporation "lost" even though we have no idea what Microsoft's actual plans are.

Basically. The main rumor is that Starfield, the new Indiana Jones game, and all of their other first-party exclusives are going to be coming to PS5 and Microsoft is giving up on the idea of console exclusivity. Not sure what that means for Xbox in the long-term, but it is going to be an interesting week.

Well, that's certainly not going to reassure Xbox fans. Just seems like they're waiting for things to die down before confirming the rumors. It will be interesting to see how that goes. If they start treating PlayStation the way Sony treats PC in terms of releases then I could maybe see the Xbox consoles staying afloat as a Gamepass box. I've seen speculation that they'll pull out of the console market entirely, but I just can't see Gamepass coming to the PS5 or Switch especially since Sony has been trying to build up their own answer to Gamepass with their PS plus tiers. Then again stranger things have happened. If they do decide to become the next Sega it's going to be surreal watching Halo and Gears of War show up on PlayStation.

Honestly, I'm curious to see if this rumor turns out to be true. If it does then I'm not really sure what that means for Xbox in the long-term. Putting just Starfield out on PS5 is one thing, but it sounds like they are thinking of putting most if not all of their first-party games on other platforms. If you're releasing your first-party games on other consoles then what exactly is the point of the Xbox? Is it just going to become a Game Pass box or are they planning on pulling out of the hardware business entirely like Sega?

Granted, it is from GamesIndustry.biz, but this really seems aimed more at investors and shareholders who are going to have a very skewed sense of what hopeful means. Personally I'd say all of the indie hits we saw in 2023, and continue to see in 2024, are a good reason to be hopeful about the future of the industry. I'd also throw in the success of Baldur's Gate 3, which brought CRPGs back into mainstream prominence after years of being a niche genre for hardcore fans.

No problem. Unfortunately, looks like GOG had to delist it as well. Seems the only way to play it now is through a physical copy and Xbox backwards compatibility.

An issue with the soundtrack is the only thing that makes sense, but unfortunately I don't know if 2K would be willing to spend the money to renew the license and keep the game on Steam. At least it's still for sale on GOG, like the article mentions, and it's eighty percent off.

I mean, every "Mon" series has to deal with the fact that your basically making animals fight for your amusement, but that this is somehow a good and normal part of the world that the player shouldn't think too much about. But yeah, unless the game is trying to actually comment on that aspect of the genre then it's probably best not to even bring it up. Palworld is an interesting case. What with the guns, putting pals to work, and butchering them for resources. Admittedly, I haven't played the game, but it really doesn't paint the player in the best light. You're certainly not an innocent ten-year old off an adventure. If anything you'd be a villain in a Pokemon game. But it's difficult to say how hard the game wants you to think about that. Like, is the fact that the game lets you do all these things the developers way of saying "Being a Mon trainer would be really messed up if these games were realistic" or is it part of the "Pokemon with Guns!" attitude that has been a big part of the marketing?

Either way, I think that a game that focused on building a cooperative relationship between a "trainer" and their Mons would be interesting. Like instead of just capturing them and sticking them in a PC you would need to actually work to keep them satisfied and willing to follow you. Kind of like SMT mechanics, but more of a constant relationship you have to manage. Could get tedious, but it's an interesting idea.

That's strange. Especially since it's still for sale on places like GOG and on sale at that. Hopefully this is just an error on 2K or Valve's end and it will be back up. If not then I don't really know why. I mean it's an anti-war third person shooter from 2012. Its not exactly the most controversial game anymore. Unless there's some license that expired that 2K doesn't want to pay to extend.