The all-digital future

 Are friends electric?

So is Xbox just screwed then?

 Maybe...

Candour is a gift in times of strife and turmoil, where the truth of a matter can be as ephemeral as a phantom's breath in a Bîaŵac. (Does... does anyone get that reference other than me?) What I'm trying to say is that is can be refreshing to hear someone state the truth how it actually is after living for so very long under the delusions of what everyone wants the world and it's truths to look like. And who better to elucidate the situation than that one person placed at the very top to be aware of every side of the matter? Yes, I'm talking about Phil Spencer and the real state of Xbox outside the pomp and marketing and all of that guff- that in reality Xbox might not actually be the place to buy and play your games despite having what I believe is the objectively most powerful console on the market right now in terms of hardware capability. The power is there, but if the numbers are to be believed than the market share just isn't.

And as 'sterile' and 'uninteresting' as terms like 'Market Share' can be to the layman; everything we love within the entertainment industry is a balancing act of popularity. Being a hipster can only work up to a certain degree, because at some point the thing you love diverges from popular success so much that it becomes no longer profitable to pursue and thus is eventually discontinued. That one online game that you and only some small handful of people really saw the potential of, and which you flocked to in hopes it would grow into something the world would love one day? Yeah, when that game got shut down, consider that heartbreak a mere shadow of the absolute chaos awaiting for the day when Xbox slips too from the popular eye. You know, assuming that the powers that be would allow the console to get that far. But then, by Phil Spencer's account we may be beyond that point already.

Recently we talked about Phil Spencer's comments regarding the failure of Redfall and his failures in managing that game and allowing the Xbox community to become disappointed once again- now we've become a bit more clear on why that happened. Bethesda is apparently not as lock-step with Microsoft as marketing might suggest with their dual showcase events and playful synergy-named events. The merger is a slow and ongoing process and the two different corporate entities have yet to combine their vastly different styles to content creation- though they're working on it. And within all that movement it could be considered actually somewhat understandable for a game which was being developed under the supervision of Bethesda to somehow fly under the radar of Phil and even Bethesda themselves, as it morphed into an absolute monster of design. Of course, there's still the missing piece of the recipe explaining how Redfall itself became such a disaster- but at least we know why the safety rails were uninstalled on that fateful day.

But the conversation has since moved on to other, much more dire, comments that Phil has made considering the wider Xbox infrastructure as a whole and though the man doesn't say it, from the outside it's hard not to hear the resignation between the lines. He bemoans the fact that Xbox just isn't in the races compared to Nintendo and Playstation, and how the common adage of 'just make good games' would be insufficient to bridge that growing chasm because as he says "There's no world where Starfield is an 11/10 and everybody just sells their PS5s". Of course, he is very right. Starfield probably isn't even going to be a 10/10 knowing Bethesda's track record, and with the ongoing pressure that Sony is placing with it's dedication to high quality AAA defining games- Xbox doesn't currently have the talent pool to even stand up to what the Station is swinging around. But then... what hope does Xbox really have of toughing out this generation?

The Xbox one famously gave a lot of ground to the Playstation market, what with it's wild veering away from being a gaming console to instead becoming a 'multimedia device'. A direction that would have perhaps been a decently fine step if it came hand-in-hand with the same sort of support that the 360 got in terms of games, or even a dedication to that aspect of console market building. As it was, the Xbox one couldn't sustain itself in any direction to any degree and ended up floundering in the face of it's peers. Recovering from that would entail rewriting the prejudices summoned up from that 'mistake in direction' and reaffirming that Xbox is still the place for games. Which, for the moment, would actually be somewhat untrue. Playstation is the place for games and gamers. So why do we believe that adding games wouldn't go some way to changing that perception?

Afterall it was great exclusives like The Last of Us, like Ghost of Tsushima, like God of War; games that redefined generations, those are what gave Sony the boost it needed after the messy PS3 era which cost the Playstation name it's luster. Final Fantasy 7 Remake has married itself to PlayStation, with 16 coming for Playstation first too. It doesn't even feel like there's any room for Xbox to wiggle it's way back into the competition. But by god have they gone to buy the studios to make those games0! It feels like half of all the medium-weight developers to ever grace the industry have been swallowed up by Xbox and must be toiling away at some crazy titles to have not produced so much as promising trailers for any of their products. The most we've gotten is an announcement for 'The Outer Worlds 2' from Obsidian which... yay. That slightly mediocre RPG is getting a sequel; let me hold myself before all the excitement just spills out.

To that end, I can kind of understand what Phil means when he says that good games just aren't going to change a generation worth of bad direction. There is a shadow hanging over the Xbox brand right now, tainted by bad releases and let-downs, telling the gaming audience not to trust their logo as the seal of approval on a brand. The best we can hope for right now is what 'Halo: Infinite' achieved; which is still only just working the growing pains to becoming somewhat what was promised. (Sans core features like split screen) But then, what is the future in his eyes? Because Phil is not someone to shrug his shoulders and give up. How can Xbox change it's image completely in the eyes of the millions? Game Pass seems like a step in that direction but what's next... wait, you don't think Xbox is going 'STADIA'; do you?

Why not? Cloud gaming, the ability for people to play high quality Xbox titles without having to invest in an expensive console- it's been a hypothetical up until now but we've already seen Microsoft's experiments and betas in production. I can totally see Xbox expanding this out to be their newest direction, expanding the potential base of gamers beyond anything Sony can mimic with their limited infrastructure. But that direction would most likely come at the cost of matching Sony's slate of games, which is going to frustrate the existing audience and I think Microsoft knows that. Reading between the lines and somewhat expecting the worse, I think the future of Xbox is them fully conceding the dedicated gamer market in order to appeal to the underserved casual demographic. And I hate how plausible that sounds as much as you do.

But until that end it very much does seem that Xbox is solidly sat on the back foot of this console generation with no means of fixing itself. Whether he meant to imply it or not, Phil has cast further doubt on the quality of Starfield, implying that even doesn't believe in it at this point, and given that Xbox doesn't have anything else due for the rest of the year, and Sony has two Final Fantasy games, I wonder if the rest of the Series X is destined to be nothing but a wash. You know what could change the world's mind on this matter? Providing some update to prove that their apparent system crushing game 'Perfect Dark' still exists. And the new Obsidian open world fantasy game actually coming out. And that Activision deal coming through. And dad coming back from the shop with those cigarettes. And...

The Upgrade

The year is 2021. It is a time of great innovation and technological advancement. It is also a time of chaos and conspiracy.

Life is a relentless march ever unto the horizon, never pausing, never faltering, and too must we march in her wake lest we be trapped behind to be drowned in the storm of perfidious stagnancy that so many equate to death. Similarly, we possess technology and our pursuit of such with the same unquenchable thirst that drove our industries forward, renewed our sagging selves and sometimes went as far as to reinvent our very lives. So when affixed with such pretty and ultimately empty frills like those I just exampled, the concept of 'upgrades' and 'upgrading' sounds like a worthy cause, no? To wrestle atop the flailing beast that is life and- nope, sorry, I'm stopping with the gutter poetry. What I mean to address is the fact that, considering how important we are told it is to ever improve, isn't it then worthlessly contradictory how stubborn we become about moving forward? I feel myself a particularly vile perpetrator for this cycle, a cycle of saying "in with the new" whilst clutching the old with desperate abandon. And I bring up such, in this blog here today, because I've been waxing about this new console generation on our hands.

Does it feel hollow to you? This jump forward into the gaming future, or am I perhaps clouding my judgement (and very recollection) with rose-tinted glasses? I ask because it almost feels like this console generational leap has been one of the most underwhelming to date. Don't get me wrong, there have been those eye-wateringly beautiful results from the upgrade that have me spinning, (In concept, that is. I'll likely never get one of these consoles) such as those load times, but I'm not seeing the bold face of the industry rear itself, and it seems like something we used to see a lot. Typically when a console reaches it's twilight years, the industry becomes flooded with these titles that seem to burst at the seams, bulging under misfit skin and pushing the current hardware beyond it's frail limits. These would be the games that would really ignite those hopefuls, because they portended a future that would push ever further still, rewriting that horizon with effortless zeal.

Just thinking back to the last generational leap, the titles of those days seemed to struggle under the weight of their own potential. Think back to Grand Theft Auto V, Mass Effect 3 or Skyrim. (Although Skyrim was, admittedly, a couple of years before the upgrade, it shone nonetheless) And when that next generation landed it was full of prime examples why the new technology was needed and everything it was capable of. We got 'Dragon Age: Inquisition', a fantasy Bioware game that looked better than it had any right to do with a gorgeous engine; 'Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor', a straight-forward game that pushed one of the most exciting new game concepts in years; 'Wolfenstein: the New Order', a blindingly brilliant FPS to show that the genre still could hold some surprises up it's sleeve. These were games that the last generation could not achieve, and it somewhat feels like this new leap is lacking that deluge of incredible newer titles. Or at least it seems that way... 

To be honest with you, I've framed this blog in an intentionally hyperbolic manner in order to mirror some of the voices I've read online, although in truth I have a few common sense answers for myself in regards to this assumedly-lacking generational jump. Importantly, the lack of new games that fully take hold of the hardware is actually an intentional consequence of both Sony and Microsoft's active attempts to cater for their fanbase. (And not lose out on game sales during the transition) A lot of games are still being made with this gen and last gen in mind, thus even when the next gen versions are made the improvements are largely superficial. (Higher resolutions, faster framerates. etc.) Whereas the few games that have gone all-in for the new generation, have me personally excited beyond anything else. (The Demon Souls Remake still gives me chills to look at.)

But that doesn't mean this upgrade process still hasn't left a lot to be desired. In one sense, there's been a lot of talk about the way in which these new consoles would cleanly slide into our lives without any fuss and we'd transition over cleanly. (Sans several hundred buckaroos, of course) However that hasn't been the case due, primarily, to that supply problems I've discussed here and there. Lacking numbers of consoles hitting the market, (severely hurting some online player pools) scalpers scooping up the stock that does hit the stores, the pandemic making it impossible to pick up these consoles in person and then just the general perception that none of it is worth the fuss because most fresh games are here on the established consoles anyway. (Thank god for the crossover in that regard at least.) But at least for those that managed to get lucky they have the benefit of a clean road to upgrade. Heck, just about every developer who isn't 2K went the distance of offering free upgrades, spurred by the console developers who both individually promised to facilitate this. How accommodating and forward thinking! (Even if, in truth, they're likely just trying to ensure no one is deterred from making those all-important week one purchases on flagship titles due to lacking new consoles.)

Okay, enough beating around the bush; I wouldn't me mentioning the 'free upgrade' scheme if something hadn't gone belly-up with it. (Or at least, on one side of this fence.) You see, Microsoft were the first to announce their support for this kind of thing and they did it to great fanfare and praise for being consumer friendly. Sony sort of lagged behind on the same announcement, which was confusing at it seemed like a really customer-friendly policy that should have been lauded as the jewel of their conferences as their contemporary did. And now it's pretty clear why. Microsoft specifically built their new consoles to harmlessly transition into the new gen thanks in part to the cloud save tech they'd been using for all the Xbox One's life cycle. Sony, meanwhile, seems to have been cornered into getting developers to brute-force some inelegant solutions such as save-transferring. (something I know from my Minecraft days to be less than flawless.) It hasn't been the biggest inconvenience in the world, but it's just another example of how quickly the veneer of these new consoles have waned.

Another is in the specs. So the Xbox Series X is the most powerful console in the world, or whatever, and yet it's still averaging a messy 4k 30fps in games not specifically tuned for the 60 frames? Is this real life? And yes, I understand that 4k is largely overrated and not really the be-all-end-all. (Don't bother with trying to argue the penny-pinching logic with me, I'm probably 10 times stingier than you.) But my god, how can any modern console justify less than 60fps? For any excuse, even if that's high resolution. (Resolution which will be no-doubt offset by other cut corners and lowered settings in order to hit the benchmark) And the PS5 is apparently weaker than that? This is our brave new generation of consoles? Forgive me for feeling just that tad bit underwhelmed with the offerings, then.

Yet again, I'm likely just being a picky sod with my memory, as I have a tendency to be. Growing pains are a part of the process, and I have no doubt that in 8 years times when the next consoles are around (and there will be next consoles, don't listen to what the pipe-dreamers are saying about 'the end of the console age') I'm sure we'll all be having this same conversation and enjoying misremembered virtues from the 2021 console age. Want my proof? Those great games from the last generation, were all from the year following the console generation jump, most of them in the later half of the year. (Wolfenstein was mid-year) Showing, if anything, that these new trailblazers just take some time to be made, and I'd imagine current circumstances may have elongated that time just a smidge. So if you're looking at the new generation scratching your head and wondering if it's going to start getting good, have heart- or at least wait until this time next year to start getting really worried...

Scalping

 Taking that little off the top

Scalping, the dark underbelly of the free market that we all just persist with under the assumption that it's always been there and always will be. I mean, ever since scarcity has existed as a concept there would be those that exploit it; and if those very same exploiters can be the ones creating that scarcity, then it's just a self-fulfilling prophecy of awful. We've seen these sorts of practises come up whenever there are concert tickets for popular artists, designer brand apparel that earns it's value from exclusivity and, of course, physical video game tools because... You know, I think it's just because the world is terrible and we all need to be reminded of that fact every now and then. And if you think that I'm being a bit over the top with the disdain I hold for this very practice, well we're just going to have to agree to disagree because I simply despise those bottom-feeding wastrels who scrounge about in the online vermin pit in hopes of profiteering off of desperation. No love lost in the slightest.

Thus it's galling, for someone like me, to hear the practice bought up again and again in the gaming world, and not always for the actions of scummy opportunists. (Or rather, not the same scummy opportunist) I know I've done a blog on it before, but good god I cannot forget that nonsense with the Nintendo Super Mario 3D HD 3-game-pack and it's limited release window. This, I'll remind you, was a digital product and thus there's literally no excuse for it to be limited in sales. Nintendo just wanted an excuse to sell these decades old games at near premium price. But then, why achieve that by literally creating the perfect ecosystem for scalpers? Having unlimited supply as never got in the way of Nintendo's ridiculously overpriced old games before, why bother now? And you want to know the worst part? They literally did it again with a Dragon Quest game pack a year later; I know people try to say that Nintendo have really grown up in the gaming space, but I really do wonder about that sometimes.

I'm sure you know where I'm going with this, because it's the only place to go with this, but for the love of everything holy why are we still dealing with current gen console scalping? I mean sure, I understood for the first few weeks, heck even the first month, The Nintendo Switch had similar issues with scalping, but we're into the new year, it's February going on March; why are we still allowing this to happen? Some statistics have claimed, through extrapolation off some arguably imprecise numbers, that 15% of the PS5 consoles sold have been scalped. That's ridiculous; how could Sony allow this to happen? And, just to be clear, this isn't a Nintendo situation where I'm angry at them for the lack of supply. That's understandable in my eyes. The console is made up of so many specially made parts and we're in the middle of pandemic which limits production quantity; limited supply is to be expected. But in reflection there needs to be active attempts to squash the pandemic of self-righteous scalping weasels out there, otherwise all efforts to try and claw back some control of demand is only going to be undermined. (And I guess Microsoft share some blame too, but they're only selling half as many consoles as Sony so that just naturally makes them less relevant.)

And you know what? This might actually be the age where something is ultimately done about this scourge upon the market, and it might just be because of the same catalyst which is making it so bad for this instance. You see, it's bad enough trying to buy a luxury piece of expensive hardware and getting price-gouged over Ebay for it, but when that's happening in the middle of a world-wide financial downturn- well that's some next-level bad optics. At that point it really just looks like you're feeding on people's misery like some sort of vampire, and that sort of public imagery isn't going to win any friends. Now from their end they'll argue that this is exactly what makes their plight so justified, (I'll get to their verbal diarrhoea later) but all the rest of the world sees is the monster. As such, this has actually reached the ears of some of Parliament over here in England, and although I'm sure they'll not actually do anything about it (Parliament is notoriously a lot better at chatting then acting) it's sets a precedent for legislative consideration. What happens if that precedent is picked up by an actually effective government? Who knows...

Well the hopefuls are saying that it could lead to some sort of criminalisation of scalping practises, and wouldn't that be an interesting development to fall at these clown's doors? Of course, such practises are already frowned upon and I do believe there are some markets already in which scalping can land serious legal repercussions unless you have a serious legal team and an army of lobbyists to dissuade such. (such as medicine. You can't buy up that into scarcity unless you hide behind a pharmaceutical label) But a blanket ban on the very idea will certainly be enough to shake some sense into the deluded out there who think they're actually helping people. (And those type of scalpers do exist.) Personally I think that hoping for government regulation to save the day is the absolute bottom of the barrel, no where left to turn, solution; but that's where a lot of people are at.

Now what do the scalpers themselves think of such developments? That's actually been answered to about as well as a degree you could hope for given that you're not talking about a single specific group of people but a collective idea. What we do have is a sort of unofficial spokespeople for this particular scalping wave thanks to the 'do it yourself' scalping kit that a group of braggadocios scalpers have been selling and gabbing about. Maybe they don't represent the collective majority, but their words represent enough. As such you can imagine the sheer incredulity many felt when they read about how these scalpers feel they've been unfairly demonised by coverage. (I like to think when simply recounting your actions can be considered 'demonising', the problem might be in your actions) Still, this group has received hate, condemnation and now this, admittedly slim, chance of legal repercussions and they can't help but feel a little jilted. Apparently, through public statements they've made, the group see themselves as the 'good guys', helping people make money in the middle of the Pandemic by being the innocent middleman between the hardware manufacturers and the player.

Huh, you know that's a pretty good point. There really should be a middle man between manufactures and buyers, it's odd how that doesn't already exsi- oh wait it does, they're called Retailers. Now, I could go through each one of their arguments, but they're so frightfully fragile and moronic is surely isn't worth my time. Plus, I wouldn't want to insult your intelligence. Basically, just take into account how this guy equates his role to that of Tesco's, saying how no one complains when the supermarket chain buys milk from suppliers and then resells that milk to us an upscaled price. Wait nope, I lied I can't not say anything. What are you talking about? Tesco's doesn't gobble up the market's entire supply of milk so that they can inflate the price and sell it out to desperate masses that can't get it that elsewhere. They can't do that because it would illegal under the contracts they signed to become a retailer in the first place. These aren't the sorts of concepts you need to finish business college to comprehend; this here is basic stuff!

Whilst people like this continue to suffer no repercussion for their transgressions, the transgressions will continue, that's just the way of things. Humans aren't the morality imbued beasts of nobility that we paint ourselves as in fiction, we aren't fraught between clearly defined lines of right and wrong, we constantly justify and mould ourselves to be forever in the right, only really shifting our opinion when the ugly head of consequences rears it's head. (and sometimes we delude ourselves to overlook that too) But the scalpers do make one good point, and that's how these retailers don't have enough bot protection and update their stock without any indication to the public, and Sony/Microsoft don't demand such measures from their buyers. (Or heck, even sell the consoles themselves.) I sure that the stalemate will break after some time, like they always do, but if we really don't want to see ourselves in this stupid dance of whack-a-mole, it's going to take actual effort from some end. I'm just hoping we don't have to wait another console generation for that to materialise.

The 2020 Console shortage

It's all gone

We sit in a brand new age of shiny game consoles which have been promised to be more powerful than any box we've put in our living rooms before, easily outstripping anything that's predated in terms of raw power. Thus that just means that games companies have found a new excuse, this time in ray-tracing, to cap gameplay at 30 FPS when 60 should be basic industry standard at this point. But excuse that over-priced sales point for a moment, because the Xbox Series X (Can't believe the smoothbrains in marketing settled on that) and the PS5 (Can't believe the designers settled on that) can't even make it to the shelves of regular consumers this side of Christmas, thanks to a seemingly unsurmountable storage problem that has attacked everyone, no matter your petty console allegiance. Well, almost everyone. I'm far out of the range for any of this super powerful paperweights so I can pretty much wait until a year or so down the line, but for those that expected to get their box in to be the highlight of the holiday season on this, absolute dick of a year, sorry guys; you're fresh outta luck.

We see shortages with every generation, it's just the way things work around here. Manufacturers seem to go out of their way to "misread" the market for their consoles so that they can act all surprised and brag about how popular they are when their stock runs dry; meanwhile the public finds themselves left potless. Perhaps the most notable recent example was, in fact, the time of the Nintendo Switch launch where stock was running out literally seconds after being booked. I still have no idea how I managed to secure mine in the middle of all that chaos! But even then there seems to be something special about the Xbox and Sony situation that we're in now. These aren't just normal shortages and setbacks, this is a gridlock situation where there's a total wasteland of availability that's driving holiday shoppers to the absolute extremes of their patience. One can but wonder about what could have caused this, as weekly stock updates blink out of existence before people's eyes and the desperation starts to sink it's icy grip into our backs during this winter blitz. Lets speculate.

First is the most innocent example which proposes something of an extreme benefit of the doubt towards the multibillionaire companies who run this season. Perhaps these people just misinterpreted the growth of the market and didn't account for the increased amount of folk who were ready and willing to buy a new console out of the gate, thus under manufactured. Now, this is assuming that these folk who's literal jobs rely on understanding the way the market is heading have no idea about the correlation between consumer growth and demand (which would be a ridiculous thing to overlook) but we've seen companies in similar positions who forget how to tie their own freaking shoe laces so I guess this could remain a distinct possibility. But then, would this really fall into a category of 'Company is so big that they fell out of touch with the consumers'? Because this seems like basic inventory management meltdowns. I'd call this an unlikely excuse. Sure, Nintendo did just this; but they really are so out of touch to the point of genuine self-sabotage, the others are supposed to have firmer heads.

Secondly I bring together a theory that I think may hold some more weight, even if it's just blaming the go-to patsy of this god forsaken year. Coronavirus. Maybe the Coronavirus got the consoles. Wait, let me explain- We know that these machines aren't produced too long in advance to sale, probable more to secure intellectual property secrets than to wiggle in more development room; so given that, it's probably true that the workforce who would be making these consoles, wherever in the world these guys could secure inexpensive labour, is suffering from reduced turnout. (And you can't really manufacture from home) If numbers can't be provided to make the things then it would explain why production can't just be ramped up on a dime to get over this hump, it's logistically impossible right now; which sucks because Covid is also the exact reason why so many are at home right now and need something to keep them distracted. Of course, one might say in response that the vast amount of the building work is done by machines these days, but I'm sure there's a human element in there somewhere. (Packaging?)

But thirdly we have the more insidious reasoning, the one doing the rounds and making headlines this time of year; that this was all incurred by the folly of scalpers. Now in case you are unfamiliar with the term, Scalpers are essentially the caste of scumbags that Nintendo try their hardest to exclusively cater for in everything they do. It's a term used to refer to those that swoop in and buy up the stock of a sought-after product so that they can control the market and force up prices to an insane, illegal profit margin. Or rather, it would be illegal if they had an actual merchant's licence. (I believe in this position it's just heavily frowned upon.) And as of late they have been the absolute scourge of people trying to make the most of this holiday season.

More so than with any other console release I can remember, scalpers have come together to absolutely throttle the console market by hawking online retailers with bots that swoop up thousands in an instant to be resold at a frankly ludicrous mark-up. In fact, there's even a specific group behind this scum-riddled tactic who's name I won't even mention because they don't deserve the recognition. (And I can't be bothered to look them up) These guys have delighted in talking about their process and taunting on social media, whilst spinning some nonsense about how they have no regrets, and simultaneously attempting to claim that their cause is sympathetic because they have families and thus that makes it entirely fair for them to try and blackmail other families in the middle of a global pandemic. As you can imagine, I have pretty much no sympathy for people who aren't just bottom feeding maggots, but who are so delusional that they can't even accept that. Talk about pathetic.

As we currently sit now, there are supposedly actually empty storehouses which the teams over at Playstation and Xbox can do nothing about in a reasonable time frame, and in a way they themselves are partially to blame. Both companies have drastically scaled back their own physical storefronts to a point where for this generation you absolutely have to buy from a third party retailer. This means that the responsibility for the order is being placed in the hands of people that have no incentive to watch out for scalpers or bot-orders because they get paid anyway, the backlash doesn't land on them. Some retailers don't even have to deliver the product with any level of professional pride, or at least that's the excuse I assume that Amazon is using to justify the absolute spate of stolen consoles that have been the fault of their drivers. (I guess that's what you get when you encourage distaste through anti-employee practises; a disobedient workforce) The next gen is, then, certainly in a pickle.

Of course, at the end of it all these are just the problems of today and when these consoles start becoming more reasonably priced they'll likely become far more available too. Scalpers genuinely do their best when keeping their stock shifting so I'm sure that games consoles will be released from their grasp in notime, but the fact we've reached this state to begin with certainly doesn't reflect well on Sony or Microsoft. As I stand, looking about my dying 7 year old console which is my only viable means of playing Cyberpunk 2077 (Barring a surprise CPU upgrade) I find these trials and tribulations of the new generation as an inevitable rite of passage that early adopters most endure. But that doesn't make it any more embarrassing that all these generations down the line the most simple problems haven't been resolved. (and in some cases, they've become worse) Fix your stock, guys. And the framerates. Fix that too.

Cyberpunk and Xbox are confusing me

So which fans are getting which game?

So Cyberpunk is coming out in a scant few weeks as far as I can remember, and though I'm adamant not to get my hopes up for a release window that has failed me all year long, that doesn't mean I haven't cast a curious eye over proceedings every now and then. Whenever there's a tweet I'm usually there to eye it (in case a surprise delay drops) if a PR fellow happens to gab the most inconsequential murmur to the press I'll be reading it, and when a surprise video drops that's purely in Russian, I'll watch that whole thing because I have nothing better to do. That being said, the most recent video that Cyberpunk dropped (as of the writing of this blog which, just to remind you all, was a week ago) has been a showcase of console footage for the first time ever, and it confused me.

Now first of all it should be said that the footage looked fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it in that regard, apart from the way that Youtube compression sort of undersold everything but that much it to be expected. Crowd density didn't look jaw dropping or anything, but such is to be expected, this is the last gen version of a game that seems firmly made for the next gen. What confused me was the way that the footage switched between Xbox One X footage Series X footage, without any perceivable change. I'm being serious, the gameplay, framerate, texture density; everything looked the exact same to the point where it was unclear exactly what CDPR were trying to prove with the footage.

Now at a stretch I could give the team the benefit of the doubt and say that this may have all been the consequence of Youtube compression. Afterall 60 fps is pretty much the only thing that's easy to spot on any monitor and without 4k viewing options the difference was bound to be negligible, but there's still a layer of finish that I just plain found to be missing on the next gen version of the game. What I mean is, you can tell whenever you see Demon's Souls footage, it looks fantastic regardless of compression, and whilst this game looked fine I didn't get that wow factor. Perhaps some of the light source glow in the later parts of the trailer looked decent enough in diffusions, but it really does look like we'll be splitting hairs when it comes to how this newer console Cyberpunk games perform.

But of course, this wasn't without explanation. Because you see, when CDPR promised free upgrades to next gen versions of the Cyberpunk games they weren't talking about the games we're being shown now. Because, rather oddly given the name of the video, the footage shown was not of the Xbox Series X version of Cyberpunk, but rather the Xbox One version running on a series X through Backward compatibility. This is the way in which CDPR are hoping to ensure Cyberpunk is available everywhere by day one, rather sneaky if you ask me. They did confirm that the free upgrades will be available sometime next year and those versions of the game are sure to look mindblowing in every facet, but right now all we have are these slightly supped up compatibility jobs.

It's an interesting route to take and it makes me wonder about the state of the new generation of consoles now that Backwards compatibility has become an expected thing. Previously generations would be hard cut-offs for games, but now there no longer needs to be that distinction because newer consoles can run that old software seemingly effortlessly, and with an improved framerate. And given the launch line-up for Xbox in particular, it's a literal lifesaver for Xbox fans because otherwise they'd have to deal with dry spells for months or getting charged up the nose for inconsequential updates like Ubisoft have done in the past. It adds a whole new dynamic to the game library of people and, I like to think, adds a little value to us to like to hold onto our old games.

But at the same time it has led to this awkward transitory period where we're constantly having to ask ourselves if this game has any new touches to it or if we've been had yet again. I mean, does this issue with Cyberpunk mean that people who turn up to stores to buy a copy for their brand new Series X will be forced to get a Xbox One version of the game? (all the better, I really don't like the way that the new cases just say 'Xbox' ontop of them. It's like the marketing team are actively trying to confuse consumers in every way.) But then things get even more confusing when you realise that Xbox are selling their new games in Series X cases, but those discs can run on a Xbox One too. (Yeah, figure that one out.) It all just makes Microsoft's ecosystem utterly perplexing.

I suppose out the otherside what I'm really wondering about is what effect this will have on the PC versions of Cyberpunk when they release. Is this going to be a situation where Cyberpunk gets a glow up patch in 6 months time or is everything launching at it's utmost on PC out the gate, because if we're looking at the latter then what exactly is the point of the console versions coming out this soon? Or wait, is it in order to secure that ever-so-tantalising accolade of a 2020 release for an adaptation of Cyberpunk 2020. And I'm starting to think that very accolade is going to end up costing this game is some, as of yet unseeable, fashion. 

But maybe I'm being alarmist, as of right now a brand new Cyberpunk event will have released and though it's far beyond something that will drum up my hype again, (I'm seriously done getting excited anymore) that'll be something to highlight just how pretty this game can look. I do wonder at potential downgrades, which footage has been careful not to show off but when a project is cut this close I have to consider it, but nothing will ruin the overall gameplay experience, I'm sure. All this news just means I'm going to be spending a little longer than usual scratching my head and wondering why it is that Microsoft and CDPR are so insistent on being abstract. (I just don't get it.)

Is the Xbox Series X exploding?

 Burn, baby burn!

Launching a brand new console is always a risky venture and has been known to come with a few bumps and issues along the way; it's just the nature of these things. Putting together a new piece of cutting-edge (relatively) hardware is all fine and dandy in a bubble, but as those folded-screen phones from last year should tell anyone; there's any number of potential issues in the wild that most absolutely fail to account for. (In the phone's case it was lint.) Thus we've had situations where consoles have launched with errors that hit one day one or a deathly red ring that haunts that entire machine's legacy, and even beyond the mechanical errors there have been straight production errors such as when Nintendo under-manufactured their product and ended up playing right into the hands of scalpers. (That happened... oh that's right; everytime Nintendo have done anything ever.) But in all that time I don't think anything has happened on the scale of what some are alleging from the Xbox Series X, like not even nearly this bad, which should be one's first redflag that something fishy is going on.

So perhaps you've heard the stories and honestly, by now, the story has likely been wrapped up, but at the time of writing this there is some serious shade being thrown towards the Xbox Series X and her ability to... well... not explode. You see, circulating around Twitter there has been an image of an Xbox Series X literally engulfed in smoke as it pours out of every chamber like an overpriced kettle. I mean it looks bad, like the nasal cavity of a Dragon who's just finished a Phaal Curry extravaganza meal, there's steam just about everywhere. Needless to say, this isn't really the sort of thing any console should be doing, it's possibly the worst example of a system malfunction possible. It's so crazy it's almost comical, and almost defiantly fictional. 

You see, whilst the image of a machine literally spewing balefire and brimstone from the pits of hell looks really impressive, it doesn't really make any sense when you think about what you're working with. The Xbox Series X is a computer, one that isn't even liquid cooled, so where would all this billowing smoke be coming from? This isn't some car which might pop a gasket and break down, (I'm not a car guy, I don't know if that even makes sense) this is a boring old computer, malfunctions look like an error message screen. The worst I get to this day is a sputtering sound out of my machine whenever I want it to read the license for the game that I've already downloaded and instead it treats me like I'm a pirate who somehow magicked this data into my machine with the power of tech wizardry. (No explosions yet, maybe I should keep trying.)

 In order for an Xbox to seriously display the sort of symptoms that this viral tweet is suggesting the actual motherboard would have to be on fire; and how in the heck could that have happened? Electrical fires wouldn't even be this pronounced, this is silly. Perhaps with liquid cooling systems there might be a little malfunction there that could make this effect, though I'm struggling to figure out how such a situation could get so bad. (Although I'm no technician, perhaps it makes perfect sense to some folk out there) And as if it needed to be done, some outlets went the distance of actually sticking a vape in the box and observed how the effect was identical to the image, what a surprise.

Therefore I guess this can be summed up as a smear job from some rando out there who wanted a bit of the 'ol Internet fame, but can we talk about how nefarious this really is? Hardware growing pains are something that is the utmost fear of most early adopters, because it appears to happen more often than not. You have the Joycon drift issue for the Switch, the aforementioned Red Ring of death for the 360 and the actual shipping of Xbox One Xs to folk who ordered Series Xs because Microsoft's Marketing team are dumb. If this sort of story had picked up traction without being immediately challenged this might of had an actual effect on the early sales of the Series X people as worried consumers hold off demanding that Microsoft get their act together, all so what: The Playstation 5 would be better situated to a console age it's already in the lead for? It baffles me.

But if nothing else this has highlighted the inherent childishness that still haunts the console fandom to this day. Somehow, despite everything which we have been through as a society, people are still going out of their way to actively try and sabotage another corporate entity and the people who buy their product out of some dystopian worship for a company they bought a box from. And it's not just Playstation people; Xbox folk have been just as dumb in the past too; it all just makes absolutely no sense to me. If it weren't for the literal billions of dollars being thrown around securing console exclusivity for practically every cool game for the next half decade, I'd be tempted to just say 'screw em' and commit to PC. (But then the PC market tends to be ludicrously overpriced too so everything sucks, is what I'm trying to say.)

Completely disregarding the old adage about not getting in a fight in a pigsty, Xbox went so far as to debunk this 'smoking console', as though that were needed for anyone to see. Perhaps in a more enlightened age we could take this as a cautionary tale in how not to believe everything we see from a random tweet on the Internet, but there's been too many identical examples of situations like this over the years for me to believe anything will be learnt. People will continue to believe the absolute first thing that gets shoved into their face and there's not a thing that you or I can do about that stupid fact. Just wait until the Twitter video comes out showing how the Playstation animorphs into a katana wielding death machine if you plug it into your wall; coming soon!

I know that this particular blog might read a little exasperated, but I am. Heck, I can't even get my old Xbox One to play discs and there's people straight lighting their brand new £450 console on fire for Internet points, it just saddens and upsets me. (Not to mention makes me jealous, I wish I was comfortable enough to go pyromaniac on half a grand's worth of hardware) But hey, maybe when the month is over and games actually start releasing on this platforms, people will lose the motivation for stupidity like this. In the meantime however, if mister vape-Box doesn't want his Xbox I'd gladly take it off it hands. (Yes I have no shame, don't you judge me!)

Second Extinction Reclaim Earth

These developers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

Do you ever hear a title and immediately go: "That's a video game", that was me when I heard about this one. It's almost comical how prototypical of a naming convention this game has, to the point where is sounds like a parody videogame you'd see on a sitcom or something. It's that perfect mix between exaggeration and word jumble that is supposed to sound cool. And at this point I've already spent decidedly too long talking purely about the title of this game without getting into what this game is actually about. And I may just blame that on the plain fact that I have practically nothing to say about this game which lands in the realm of positivity, but let's dive in all the same.

As soon as the trailer started there was a very specific mood that was set around the chat. We saw our first person perspective as we dropped out of the sky with guns and armies of swarming dinosaurs, so of course the first thing that people thought was 'Halo with Dinosaurs'. Now of course one could argue that Halo already has dinosaurs in it but I don't want to annoy that fanbase too much so I'll rather point out the fact that there's already a well known series about murdering dinosaurs in first person; and it's Turok. I wasn't the only person in the chat to go "Huh? Turok remake? How exciting!" But as the trailer dragged on it became more abundantly clear that this wasn't the case. The weapons were too pedestrian, the gunplay too 'industry-standard' and the general vibe just a shade too serious for the almost-arcadey feel of old-school Turok. So either this was another failed reboot attempt or another game altogether. (We got the latter.)

'Second Extinction: Reclaim Earth' is, if nothing else, a pretty self explanatory premise due to the title alone. There was some sort of event which caused the dinosaurs to grow out of control and run rampant on modern day Earth (Cue the Jeff Goldblum scene) and the player is now tasked with 'containing them' in a hail of bullets with 3 player co-op and some gunplay that looks like it was borrowed from Far Cry. In terms of premise, this actually appears to be frighteningly threadbare, and that's not an assessment that I make based on the trailer alone. I've combed through the steam and even the official website, and all I can see is the same tag; 'Earth is taken over, this is a 3 player co-op game'. Ultimately this has led me to believe that this game has no story and was designed to slide into that niche multiplayer PVE shooter genre that seems to have been stirred by titles like GTFO.

For the unfamiliar; GTFO is a four person survival horror FPS game which directs the bulk of it's development efforts into providing a challenging experience that can only really be handled as a group. GTFO doesn't acheive this by forcing character classes or anything upon it's players, but rather by making challenging hazards for the players to face whilst granting each player a limited pool of carry slots, making 'builds' amount to the dynamic playstyles of each player. I see shades of this in 'Second Extinction', although it's hard to really say for sure when practically nothing concrete about the game is really out there yet. (Maybe they played this one just a little bit too close to the chest, I dunno.)

If there's one little nagging thing that does throw me off in regard to this title it's the whole 'three player co-op' thing. What's that about?  I mean, maybe I sound like an out-of-touch dummy by hamming in on this particular point but why exactly isn't there four players like literally every other co-op game in existence? The only games that really insist upon the whole three-player approach are the pseudo-MMOs which get away with it because they can, in theory, host more than three players, but ever other gamer friend group has surely been forcibly morphed into a foursome by this point purely to accommodate for the trend in modern co-op, so isn't a three-player set-up going to leave someone high and dry? (Not a very clever move in my opinion)

As opposed to GTFO, however, Second Extinction does seem dead set on going the 'classes' route with it's introduction of three 'heroes' already. You'll have only seen them for a split second in the actual trailer, but they do have a presence on the official website. Unfortunately, at first glance I have to say that they look pretty much a generic and dull as your standard Call of Duty line-up, which strikes me as odd for a premise as wild as hunting dinosaurs! It seems like there's a disconnect between subject and presentation which isn't really vibing with me right now. One thing that Turok always nailed was the fact that it's premise was farcical which allowed for the gameplay to mimic that. You had cool strange weapons, cartoony violence and pick-up-play action; but I'm getting none of that self-awareness coming off of Second Extinction and that worries me.

I know that I admonished Scarlet Nexus for being a little cookie cutter, but at least I admitted there were shimmers of cool action in that game, whereas I cannot quite say the same here. Gunplay looks literally identical to what I've seen in every other FPS to date and nothing grabs me. The flavour text teases 'mutant dinosaurs' but even they didn't stand out, and if the site is any indication I think I know why. Acid Raptors? Electric Raptors? Is that really the extent of the team's creativity when poised with the prospect of mutant dinosaurs? They just browsed their way down the table of elements? Why not have T-Rex with wings or an Omegalodon with tentacles that floats out of the water? Why not go really crazy with things? I'm not sure, but the result of keeping things vaguely grounded is a largely generic looking game.

Of course, credit where credit is due, the vistas and backgrounds do look lovely throughout this trailer, but sightseeing hardly seems like the focus of this game. Yeah, the Series X can run some high-definition textures, I get it, but what about ascendant gameplay concepts, can I get a bit of that? It'll likely be a couple of years before we really get an idea for what this new console is capable of, and until then there'll be a lot more of these meh ideas for games that look like they could have done with a few more hours in the oven before being presented to the public. Sorry Avalanche, this doesn't do it for me.

What exactly does 'the new age of gaming' mean?

Those old-time stars.

We are in the time of renewal across pop culture. So much is being reused and remade in the image of what we consider to be 'the future', that no one so much as bats an eye anymore when Disney announces another live-action remake, or Capcom revives the Resident Evil movie brand. Perhaps this is because stagnancy is a sign of death, so part of us is glad that things are forever shifting and renewing. And why do I talk about this today? Because I wish to discuss this topic's relation to the coming console generation and what that means for the future of gaming as a whole. Which does inherently mean that everything I discuss will be entirely opinion based; so take with with as many grains of salt you need to make a meal.

Now the gut reaction to such a query would likely be something of the lines of "Why do we have to discuss that, it's obvious what the next console generation means. It's kind of in the name." But that is exactly why I feel it's worth going over because this console generations seems poised to be fundamentally different from those before it. Firstly, in previous generational switches there was usually an inevitable point in which new games would cease coming out on the older gen console and would then be exclusive to the newer console. This would be justified, of course, by the way how all the newer gen titles would lavishly exploit the new graphical heights of the introduced consoles and thus mostly be glorified tech-demos. (Yeah, the game itself could 'feasibly' fit on some of the long-running consoles of the time, but would they be able to render that same number of hair follicles along Nick Ramos' jaw? Thought not.) The big companies would often support and encourage this trend as soon as possible by dropping previous gen support the second the next console came out, cold turkey, and developing all first party titles with the new hotness.

Now, this may still be the stratagem as far as Sony is concerned, they've been deathly quiet of a late, but Microsoft have come forth to assure everyone that this won't be the case for them. I did cover it a few weeks back, but just as a refresher: Microsoft have vowed to maintain first-party game support of the Xbox One for at least 2 years into the Xbox Series X's life cycle, proving that their old console won't immediately become a wasteland. (Of course, that doesn't change the fact that all the cool console exclusive titles are still on PlayStation, but 'baby steps' I guess.) What this does mean, however, is there will be a reduced draw to run to the new console in it's incubation period where it will most certainly be over-priced. Suddenly, such a prospect weakens the step from this generation to the next and makes it a question of whether or not there is need for a new generation right now at all. Sure, all the 'slick new graphics' can only be caught on the 'newest gen' but honestly most people know that graphical fidelity most often means diddly squat in the grand scheme of things. (I''m still unsure if this choice will hurt the Xbox SX's launch or help it.)

Another big change, and the inciting factor for writing this blog, would be the dissolution of the concept of 'exclusivity' regarding these upcoming consoles. (I know this is kind of an expansion upon the previous point but bear with me.) One the biggest reasons for spending the big bucks in order to hop to the next console is the big fear of missing out as well as to save oneself financially folly in the future. That initial FOMO will push people to drop their money on the next new game, which is great for third-party developers as they will usually do their best to support the last gen and current gen markets in the knowledge that those who purchase the weaker version of the game will eventually emigrate to the new console and, (if they liked the game enough) be forced to buy the game again on the fresh hardware. This has been the unspoken way that it has always been for years now for every single developer aside from those who work on the Just Dance games, because those fools haven't touched the base code in so long that the software still gets ported for Nintendo Wii. (Who still buys the bloody Wii version?)

If you spent anytime on gaming Twitter in the past couple of weeks you'll know that a big company recently challenged that practice in a big way. That's right, CD Projekt Red have come out and revealed that for Cyberpunk 2077 they'll be offering upgrades from the Xbox One version of the game to the Xbox Series X version free of charge. "No one should be forced to buy a game twice" they proudly said, (or something to that effect) and that is sure to send quite the message across the industry given the eminence of that company and that particular game. (Afterall, it is destined to be Game of The Year.) There are still some questions that come regarding this magnanimous offer; such as if this is a limited-time deal or if it will be reflected for Sony's consoles, but whatever is decided this does lessen the need to migrate to greener pastures and further blurs the line between this generation and the next.

Then there is the question of when this new Console generation will land, because even that is in flux right now. Yeah we all remember the grand promises that this December will be 'dawn of the new gaming age'. Even if some folk 'like moi' are left feeling a bit disquiet about it approaching so rapidly. (has it already been 8 years? I'm sure it only feels like 7.) Microsoft have been very open about their plans to come in the holiday, whilst Sony may have mentioned it once in the plethora of bite-sized interviews that they do instead of actually attending any events and advertising. (These guys must think they're Rockstar at this point.) But as with many annual staples this in now in flux due to the unexpected rise of relevant factor.

Now I usually like to keep things light and at least mostly planted in the realm of fiction in this blog, but there's no escaping the fact that there is a rather deadly situation bubbling around the world in the Coronavirus or, more specifically, Covid-19. This little virus is poised to jump across the world to America soon, as experts have stated, and that has meant a great stamping down of events that could serve as hubs for spreading such a virus. (Due to the way that they draw in thousands of folk across the room to one sweaty place.) On the global stage this means that things like the Olympics are currently in limbo. (It may even be cancelled this year.) And on the gaming stage this means that Sony have taken this opportunity to preemptively drop out of every gaming event for the next 6 months. (You get the feeling that they've been looking for an excuse for a while, huh?) However, this could have an even more drastic effect on the length of our current console generation.

It's no secret that the majority of cheap labour is done in Asia with a good portion of the tech world being manufactured in China. Well as a consequence of that, Covid-19's appearance has thrown that manufacturing process in jeopardy as no one want to import at the risk of contaminating themselves or their workers with a potentially deadly virus. (Except, I presume, Amazon: who likely care so little about their staff they're probably already advertising replacements for them as they conduct the imports.) This has meant that a lot of the key components that would go into making the new consoles have had to be delayed, and if this outbreak doesn't improve or (god forbid) get's worse, this will push back the next console generation out of 2020. I don't think anyone can really blame the companies if that happen, either. It's certainly better to be safe than sorry. (And now one wants to buy their brand new console only for it to give them the Corona. That beer sucks.)

So with all of these factors that threaten to change the definition of one of gaming's longest held traditions, I poise the question to you; what does 'the new age of gaming' mean? Is it an evolution in the way that we enjoy our favourite pastime, or merely a manufactured event to periodically shove technology forward at the expense of the consumer? And with all these new events and situations that threaten to blur the lines between the current gen and the next, is it even a construct that is worth keeping around in the current age? I know it's rather cheap to just leave you with questions and no answers, but that's all I'm here for, baby!

Microsoft and the new generation

We don't need no artificial FOMO

Ever closer do we creep to the dawn of the new era of games, and we're slowly starting to hear about the ways in which our gaming overlords seek to wow us with policy changes. But why does policy matter? Because when you strip away the FPS and the teraflops and everything else, the real test of the kind of games that get made and those that don't comes down to the policies of each of the industry leaders. If Nintendo are worried about the sustainability of their new console, expect a two year period filled-to-the-brim with their tried-and-tested main series titles; if Sony feels confident that their system will sell on it's own merits, we'll see a lack of high profile exclusives going into the new generation. The wants and whims of gaming corporations have a significant effect on the games that we ultimately get to play and I think that's an fact worth considering.

Point in case, we can take a look at Microsoft and see a huge break from tradition going into the next generation which many are conflicted about; namely the way that new first-party Xbox titles will not be generation exclusive for the first, or maybe first two, years of the Xbox Series X. (Or whatever it ends up being called.) This information came out from an interview conducted by MCVUK to the head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty. (Now that's a name.) Essentially what this means is that any first-party Xbox game made to work on the Xbox Series X will also be ported to the Xbox One in order to ensure that system still remains relevant going into the next generation. Of course, this is a practise often exercised by third-party studios in order to maximize sales, but this is unique for a console developer to commit to. For Microsoft, one would imagine that their key motivator in life would be the pushing of units, and that is something that is potentially put into jeopardy without their insistence of pushing people to the new console in order to play the latest games. But then again, the mere act of leaning off on such pressure could ingratiate the general populace to their brand which might invigorate sales. (At this point all we can work with is conjecture because this simply has never happened before.)

The Internet has been positively buzzing over the last few days as people have tried the hardest to theorize about the implications that this policy might, and likely will, have going forward. No one can settle on whether this choice will be a net positive for Xbox or net negative, especially now that Jason Schreier as effectively confirmed that this is a policy that very much will not be shared by Sony in the future. It has come down to a battle of the policies as folk argue about consumer friendliness and what that even means in the face of this news. Such is the level of the discourse, that I thought it might be fun to cherry pick a few of the arguments and go over both sides to try and figure out the truth to it all.

One of the key complaints that I have heard has been from people who believe that prolonging the player base of the Xbox One will draw from the player pool of the Series X and make multiplayer games lacking. This is incredibly lethal considering the fact that many game series rely on having healthy player pools in order to keep their ecosystem alive, such as 'Destiny' and 'COD' titles. If people aren't forced to pick up the new console then they simply won't be playing those games which will allow them to wither. That would be a compelling argument if it wasn't for one key fact, namely that the Series X is apparently completely backwards compatible. We've actually known this for a while after Phil Spencer bragged about bringing his home and playing with unsuspecting Xbone users in the wild, meaning that the new console can connect to the old ones. Player pools should be fine for those first few years and, honestly, might even be more healthy than that of their competitor. Food for thought.

Then there is the allegation that such a policy change will work to make the Xbox Series X seem irrelevant for the first few years, and that is an interesting point. Gaming consoles are made for the sole purpose of being able to play games, and if one already posses a console that can play the newest titles just fine, why would they bother move to an alternative? One could retort that the substantial improvements to fidelity and frame rate would prove how superior the Series X is, but the whole "this is the best place to experience X" marketing strategy only really works on a certain kind of consumer. I know for a fact that I could care less about the more powerful console, heck, I'm still using my current gen console that shipped with the first wave of units, so why should I care about this new console? For me the answer comes in the form of the way that games are supported in the modern day. The games-as-a-service model, for example, will likely prove the biggest incentive to jump ship once the persistent developers just simply stop supporting new content for the old generation. That's what happened with 'GTA Online' from the 'Xbox 360' to the 'Xbox One'; and it's likely what will happen again in the next generation. (Probably with GTA Online once again because that title just doesn't know how to die.)

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this new policy, however, is the accusation that creating games to be ported from the Series X to the Xbox One will harm the scope of the game in question. Obviously, the Series X is an incredibly powerful console capable of a great many things that the Xbox One simply isn't able to do, so does that mean grand ideas will have to be sanitized in order to make them functional on both systems. Possibly, but it's hard to make a definitive assumption on that without being personally acquainted with the tools and systems that are common amongst the development world, which I am not. Generally, however, creative visions can be at risk due to the overabundance of available technologies, as evidence by the spate of 'tech-demo' console launch titles that we usually get at the start of a generation. Here's a topic probably deserving of a grander conversation at some point.

All of these conversations have distracted away from the launch titles themselves, and perhaps that works well for companies like Sony. Afterall, all of Sony's exciting exclusives are launching on the PS4 with nothing yet ready for the PS5 except for Godfall. Additionally, they've made the decision to skip E3 for the second year in a row, indicating that they've no grand announcement to make regarding launch titles for the coming year. (Or that they intend to make such reveals at a show of their own.) So Sony can brag about how they won't be catering for their less powerful consoles and how each new game will take full advantage of the PS5's tech, but without games to back that up it's all just words. Perhaps we'll see how that argument takes form as 2020 propels onwards, but presently I am dubious as to who has the right course of action for the next generation.

As a consumer, I appreciate this new directive from Xbox and wish that Sony would follow suit. When Nintendo launched their Switch, it came with simultaneous game launches for their last-gen Wii U console, and yet somehow the adoption rate for 'Breath of the Wild' was still over 100% for the Switch Version. If nothing else, that anecdote proves that consumer friendly practises like this have the potential to keep everyone happy without ruining one's bottom line. Of course, I say this as a fellow with no expertise, or interest, in the higher-level tech involved for this new generation of play, so there's likely some significant factor that I'm not yet taking into account. As of so far, however, in my ignorance I am content and hopeful, I suppose time will tell if such contentment is warranted.

The Games Awards Winners

Give him his crown.

Here we are a full day after the events of 'The Game Awards'. A show which, in the UK, streamed from 1:30 AM to 4:00. (So thanks for that Geoff.) Personally I have to admit that I really expected a more low-key show coming out this year than we actually got. Previous years were blessed with only a couple of brand new announcements and a plethora of DLC showcases, whilst this was still kind-of the case this year, the sheer volume of companies who wanted to co-opt the Game awards stage was incredible. (It's as though people started to realize that gaming makes more money than any other entertainment medium today.) Over the show we got to see brand new games, a grand reveal of two Next gen titles, a next gen console unveiling and a re-announcement that had me literally bouncing out of my seat.

Small disclaimer, there was a grand amount of noteworthy events that the team pulled off for the game Awards. So many that I cannot, feasibly, go through them all in this one blog if I expect to survive. (Yes, I know my prediction blog was 90 paragraphs long, but that almost ended me and I don't want to go through that hell again.) Luckily, this means that there will be a lot of content for me to explore in depth in the days to come, which is also fitting as that is likely when details will start to leak out about these titles, allowing for me to ensure that this blog remains as well-informed as I always aim it to be. So without further ado, let's get into the events of the day.

The show kicked off with another performance from the Game Awards Orchestra. Once again I felt that the showing wasn't as strong as the 2017 performance, which I think set the bench mark for eclectic video game medley performances, but I won't knock them for doing what they were told. (Which was sticking to music from titles that were directly related to this year's events.) After that, however, things started off very strong as we went directly into a brand new trailer for the 'Final Fantasy 7' Remake, which allowed us to get a good purview of some of new voice actors (who are really starting to grow on me) as well as the new remix of the classic FF7 Battle theme. (Which I instantly adore.) I'll get into specific details at a later date, but damn you Game awards more making me nostalgic/emotional from the first trailer!!

Things really kicked off in earnest here, as we got straight into announcing the very first award already, bear in mind that this was all still happening in the pre-show. Due to the influx of advertisers and game reveals that Keighley had managed to drum up, the team didn't even have the time to revel in the usual pageantry that the Awards show likes to. The Award for best Community Support, therefore, was relegated to a quick-fire award announcement. The kind that is obviously already rehearsed, given the fact that the award recipient is always just off the camera shot and ready to come on and give a small speech the second that their name is announced. For this award, the honor went to Destiny 2, which is exactly what I predicted by-the-by. Fans just love Bungie for the way that they made the choice to split from Activision, and it was no surprise that they all showed up in force to display support for Bungie in the voting polls.

The next couple of announcements were relatively small, but that actually made it all the more special that they managed to pick up as grand a stage at the game awards. I always respect the way that Keighley's show gives a voice to the unheard, and it is one of the things that really sets the Game Awards apart from E3. That trade show is more of an advertisement for the industry, and thus you are unlikely to see any smaller titles there outside of Devolver Digital's booth. (Which is typically situated outside due to the exorbitant fee associated with renting space in the hall itself.) Although one might not think of a title like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 as small, the fact that all we saw out of it was a character DLC is the kind of small announcement that likely wouldn't see the light of day on the typical E3 stage.

What is much more commendable for the Game Awards, is the way that they go out of their way to connect viewers with small prospective developers from regions that one might never have expected them from. This is something that was quite dominant throughout the show, and yet there was only one part of these 'promos' that came attached with a actual announcement. That went to a prospective Facebook game called 'Salaam', which was envisioned by a refugee as a way of depicting the struggles of a refugee for gamers across the world. Although we personally saw little of the product, one interesting dynamic was the way in which the game's in-app purchases all went to charities that help real refugees. I.e. when you buy medicine in the game, you're also technically buying it for real folk who need it. Which is certainly a generous concept.

Next up came another big event that was relegated to a quick-fire round as the show would rather spend it's time speeding through announcements. This time the award in question was for the best score and music in gaming. An award which I predicted would go to 'Cadence of Hyrule' due to how that entire game shapes it's play around rhythmic action set to some of the most iconic music tunes of all time; The Legend of Zelda musical catalogue. Seems that I was alone in my thinking, however, as the award ended up going towards 'Death Stranding' Instead. To be fair, folk often say that the music of Death Stranding is the kind that can only really be appreciated once you play the game, so I guess I was unqualified to asses this award in the first place.

Here's a fun little side effect of being bombarded with so many announcements on the night; I can't remember what half of them actually were! Looking at my notes, I see that now was the 'World premiere' of a game called 'Maneater' and I'm racking my brain to remember what- ah. Right, so this was the title that looked like it belonged in a the bargain bucket in the best possible way. This was essentially a 'Jaws' simulator that decided to go the extra mile and allow players to turn their sharks into super powered death machines. This sort of 'silly fun' game actually looks a lot more fun than it sounds and I was pleasantly surprised with the energetic feel to the whole thing. Maybe not the kind of game for me, so to speak, but certainly a cool addition to someone's library out there.

You can tell that the team decided to relegate all the categories that they didn't care for (or couldn't feasibly get all the nominees for) into their Quick-fire segments. Point in case: the Esports categories which were all smooshed together into a whole list of 'who gives a crap'. Which isn't to say that I didn't bother to make my own predictions, I just put absolutely zero effort into picking them out. The best Esports Coach of the year went to 'Zonic', who's name alone justifies the award over my choice in hindsight. The Esports event of the year went to 'League of Legends', which is an absolutely travesty against taste. (How would they actually award the entire game show anyway?) Host of the year went to 'Sjokz', proving that I absolutely should not take up betting in the future, and Esports team of the year went to 'G2 Esports' because there is no justice in the world.

After that painful slog, the game awards decided to award those who stuck it out with a Game premiere for a title that no one was expecting; 'Humankind'. Just to be clear, this isn't 'Ancentors: The Humankind Odessey' and was apparently announced beforehand. (I feel like someone should sue.) The prevailing takeaway that everyone had for 'Humankind' was "This is the poor man's CIV", and honestly that was a hard feeling to shake. The entire trailer revolved around a tribe that evolved into a huge modern metropolis whilst being narrated in a decidedly more casual manner than one might expect from a Civilization title. The only noticeable difference that I managed to pick up is the way the civilizations are apparently not based on real-life societies but rather completely unique to the player. Meaning that people could design their own immortal leader for their civilization. Whether that would ultimately be enough to shake the 'Civilisation' association remains to be seen.

Our next reveal went for the good-old bait and switch, just like how last year Netherrealm cut through all the festivities to announce Mortal Kombat 11. This one was a little more sneaky however, with the team in question actually producing a whole deceptive trailer to throw people off the scent. We see a studio-Gibli style animation sequence with VHS stylings in order to imitate the whole '80's aethetic'. Storywise, we saw a small child and their alien pet part from each other as children before being reunited in the future wherein the alien is now buff and slightly foul-mouthed. He announces that he's a 'Goddamn hero' which is then accompanied with a title screen. Eagle eared viewers might have recognized that irreverent style, but suspicions would be confirmed once that title screen ripped away in order to reveal Travis Touchdown. That's right, this was 'No More Heroes 3' all along. (Nicely handled guys!)

The last of the pre-show awards to be handed was in in a category that I was very passionate about not very long ago; Best fighting game. This award boasted nominees from all over the shop due to the fact that there weren't enough fighting games to warrant a full list. This left us in the embarrassing scenario wherein we had to nominate 'Jump Force' in order to get the candidate number up to 4, which is so damn insulting to all the other games that were actually made with same quality assurance in mind. Be that as it may, at least the award itself went to the only title that could feasibly win it,  Super Smash Bros Ultimate. (Which was my prediction, once again.)

At this point the show kicked off in earnest as we got to see that Orchestral performance that I mentioned earlier. To be fair, I may not have enjoyed this performance as much as previous years, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any good at all. 'Chvrches' came up on stage to perform a heavily 'Death Stranding' themed show with one of the key songs from the game. (I'm told.) So I didn't like the song in question, having no context to tie it too, but I will admit that it was pretty cool from a practical level, particularly in the way that they simulated 'rain' on stage and the singer went the extra mile of decorating her eyes with the 'black substance' that we see on 'The Soldier' from 'Death Stranding'.

Finally the show reached the stage that they were allowed to devote the actual stage to announcing awards, and just in time for the 'Best Narrative of the year' award. This one was hosted by the first big guest of the night, famous screenwriter Johnathon Nolan, known for his work on movies like 'Momento' and 'The Dark Knight triology' and shows like 'Westworld'. He was surprisingly complimentary to the gaming medium, considering I don't believe he has ever worked on a game himself. (I can't be bothered to do a quick IMDB search, so I could be wrong.) He shared how he believes that the best narratives of the modern world often debut in the video gaming world, and even mentioned the way that gaming influenced 'Westworld' and name dropped one of my favourite game characters of all time, Elizabeth, in reference to their Westworld star: Dolores'. Oh, and the award went to 'Disco Elysium', meaning I was wrong and I definitely have to play this game. (Okay, I get it.)

The next event was a surprise unlike any other, as Geoff managed to snag one of the biggest reveals of the year. We saw a trailer that had absolutely everyone guessing with the way that it shifted from dreamlike visuals to recognizable characters like Master Chief. Only then did it all come together, this wasn't a 'game' at all, but the debut of 'Project Scarlett', the next-gen Xbox system that no one had seen yet. Not only did we get a look at the actual box, which looked like a desktop computer, but we got to see the name that would presumably accompany the console. The 'Xbox Series X'. (Personally, I feel that's a couple too many X's for me.) This surprise reveal was followed up by a beautiful look at a title being made specifically for 'Series X'; 'Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga'. It's fair to say, the fidelity was high enough that folk in chat honestly thought this was a live-action trailer for a good portion of it. (That's some darn high praise.)

After a bombshell like that, it makes sense for the show to wind down with a whole bunch of smaller announcements. One of which was Mortal Kombat 11's newest DLC, which bought back a fan favourite character into the mix, Joker from the DC universe. (Although the VO was certainly odd for this version of the Clown Prince of crime, and I can't quite put my finger on exactly 'why' just yet.) There was also a quick showcase of the 'Expedidtions' DLC for 'Control', which looked to add a whole bunch of challenge scenarios to the game. (Which is sure to annoy the crowd who remember the cliffhanger that the main story left on.) And the awards quickly ran through the E-sports player of the year; (as announced by everyone's favourite walking embarrassment, Ninja) Bugha. Yes, I guessed him too. Bow down before my predictive might.

The next premier was one that particularly tickled me for how comparatively low key it was when compared to it's competitor. 'Godfall' is a title that was remarkable in it's ability to leave very little in the way of an 'impression' upon the viewer upon first viewing. It was your typical showcase of a variety of hero-looking folk in excessively spiky and over-detailed armour wielding swords that just seem ungainly. The scene then moves onto a giant Hydra on top of a tower that they presumably are prepared to tackle, before fading to a title screen. So far so forgettable, right? Except right there, in the corner of the screen and easy to miss, was the logo for PS5. It was so low key, in fact, the Geoff had to point it out himself in order to keep people excited. (At least it's a more sensible title than 'Series X')

The next part of the ceremonies was dedicated to three award announcements that were all handled in the 'quick-fire' style that they love so much. Best Audio design was completely stolen from RE2 and handed to 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare', an alright game but one that doesn't wield it's sound design like a weapon in the manner that Capcom did. Best Strategy Game went to my personal pick, 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses', a well deserved win. And content creator of the year went to 'Shroud, just like I predicted, because the Game Awards weren't woke enough to nominate the actual biggest gaming channel of the year, Pewdiepie. (He literally got the most views of any channel on Youtube, you can't just ignore that.)

Once more we were gifted a 'World Premier', this time by the same team behind a particular darling of the RPG world; Octopath Traveller. That was a title that was heavily commended for it's incredible visual flair, endearing characters and gripping narrative; so any new RPG title from them was sure to be well received. Initial reactions to this reveal were similarly positive as folk commended the graphical style and wondered if this was the long awaited sequel to the DS classic; Bravely Default. Which, funnily enough, it actually was. Bravely Default 2 (Which I guess is a sequel to the 2013 original and not the 2015 'Bravely Second') will be another Square Enix RPG and Nintendo Exclusive due for 2020.

A fan favourite company stole the show from here, as Warframe's community lead (Who is affectionately known as 'Spacemom' amidst the fandom) came to announce the release of the expansion that they had teased earlier that E3, 'Empyrean'. This is the expansion that would allow for real-time space ship navigation and combat through a manner that is honestly remarkable to behold for a free-to-play title. (If only I actually liked ninjas, then I might actually be into this title.) 'Spacemom' managed to steal the wind out of the Game Awards' sails by announcing that this expansion was out that very moment, at least on PC, which I'm sure cost the event a few thousand viewers in the excitement.

The next couple announcements were very niche titles that one would either become immediately enamoured by or find ultimately boring. There was the latest 'Magic: The gathering' CG trailer, which I welcome purely so that I can stop seeing that same melodramatic trailer from last year everytime there's an ad on YouTube. Only, this trailer is every bit as melodramatic in a way that it particularly eye-rolling when you have no idea who any of the characters are. The other title was a bit more vague, as we saw a fellow alone in the woods with, what sounds like, a camera. Most immediately sighed and said "Oh god, we're getting another 'Blair Witch' game already!?", However, this was actually an incredibly vague title called 'Prologue' which is touted as a game from 'Playerunkown', which is sure to have some people scratching their heads. I'm not sure what to expect from that team, but I'm intrigued enough to keep an open mind.

The next award up for grabs was Best art Direction of the year, which is a section that featured more than a few indie titles that revolved around their peculiar art styles. I remember noting, at the time, how I felt such an award was owed to 'Sayonara: Wild Hearts' before concluding that is should likely go towards the remake of 'Link's Awakening'. Seems I was wrong on both accounts as the award ended up going towards 'Control', which was a title that I had completely discounted. In hindsight, I can certainly see where the title gets some it's love in this department, due to the weird stylings and visual approach, although I still think that 'Wild Hearts' had 'Control' beat in the 'outlandish' category. Still unsure how I feel about this one.

Fortnite's Epic games took to the stage next to showcase their relationship with Disney once more, through their upcoming Star Wars event, in which a small scene from 'Rise of Skywalker' would be shown ingame at the movie theatre. (Seems like the perfect way to line up a bunch of people for a good old-fashioned rocket launcher strafe, but then that's just me.) Epic's representative also took time to express how they want to make Fortnite a nexus title for 'all IPs' to work alongside; basically admitting that they have a lot of money but want all the money. I give Fortnite a hard time, but I guess this event is kind of a cool way to drum up excitement. Also, it was cool to see J.J. Abrams come on screen to big up the whole affair, even if it all did stink of corporate. (Put me down as 'not coming' for this event.)

I was actually quite surprised with how this next Premiere went over so many people's heads. This was a sequel to a small Steam early access title that became quite popular over it's years in development; The Forest. The game basically revolved around attempting to survive in the wilds after a plane crash whilst being besieged by an island that proved to be ever more weird than you initially thought the further that you go in. This new title 'Sons of the Forest', seemed to improve upon the fidelity of that first title immensely, to the point where even I had trouble picking up that this title was even related to the first game. Of course, only time will tell if that trailer is even remotely indicative of the final game product.

From here came an announcement that had actually been rumored for a number of months leading up to this point. You see, League of legends has remained one of the biggest online games of all time with some of the most indepth and varied lore of any online game despite only having one actual game to it's name. This was a trend that was broken at the game Awards wherein Riot Game announced their very first extended universe League game, a single player title that goes by the name  'The Ruined king'. It's unclear, as of yet, what sort of game this will ultimately end up being, but seeing as how I never liked the whole 'MOBA' game type, I'm interested enough to devote some attention to this alternative foot into LOL lore.

After that the ugly commercial side of the Game Awards reared it's, sadly necessary, head with the debut of two unwelcome adverts. The first featured Margo Robbie in her ridiculously exaggerated Harley Quinn voice, performing a mildly unfunny skit before the reveal of a brand new teaser for 'Birds of Prey'. I have no idea what that movie has to do with the gaming space, and thus am mildly perturbed by the whole affair. Then came the first in a series of Adverts directly aimed at the 'Vaping' culture, with intent to kill. Personally, I realized that the concept of 'Vaping' had got a bad rap this year, but I had no idea that things had gotten to the point where advocacy groups were forming campaigns on the matter. I mean, I've heard of a few vaping relating deaths but I was under the impression that they were down to bad vape juice rather than the act itself. Whatever, I don't vape so none of this effects be anyway, move on.

Next up came a look-in from that one title that's on everyone's 'most anticipated game' list; Cyberpunk 2077. I knew that they wouldn't miss the chance to advertise on the last big gaming show before their release, and I was right, although we didn't actually get a gameplay trailer like I was expecting. Instead CDPR opted to put together a showcase video boasting about the plethora of talented artists who were willing to work on the game and bring their own flavour to this title. (For which the soundtrack is said to be entirely Original content, by-the-by.) This was followed by a cyber-punky performance by Grimes, who managed to drag her boyfriend Elon Musk to the show, so that's another famous face that Geoff Keighley can tick off on his 'collect 'em all' quest.

Next up, one of the nominees for best performance, Norman Reedus, took to the stage in order to host the award for Best Action Game of the year. This was a decision that I actually agonized over for a while as I switched between the brilliantly cinematic action of Devil May Cry 5 and the intense immersive environments of 'Metro Exodus'. In the end my own personal preferences leaned me towards the latter and that cost me the 'told you so' point here as DMC ended up winning. I'm not too peeved about this one, as I feel that both titles were worthy of the award for entirely separate merits. I only lament that the fantastic 'Metro' franchise couldn't get the recognition that it deserved.

Back to the premiers for the time being, as we got to take a look at the tonally confused trailer for 'Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance'. A title that the developers described as being created to "Put the 'action' back into 'action adventure RPG'". If that means out-of-place rock music, ugly head-tracking camera shots and a reveal that viewers charitably described as 'crap Vermintide', then I suppose they're on the right track. We also got to see Respawn embarrass themselves and Roger Craig Smith with a cringe-worthy Christmas event announcement for Apex Legends and our bi-annual look at the still-stunning 'Ori and the Will of the Wisps'. Still looks great guys, now you're just got to bring it out!

Next came the announcement for 'Games with Impact' as announced by Beaker and Honeydew from The Muppets. (Still better than when 'Crash Bandicoot' turned up last year.) This was a title that I was a little bit dismissive off last blog, a fact that the Muppets made me feel particularly bad for this year as they announced that the award would be awarded for 'Progressive and inspirational' game making. (So I'll admit I was a little grumpy last time around and apologize.) This award did not end up going to 'Sea of Solitude' like I predicted, but to 'Gris'. A title which I guess is equally as deserving, even if I think 'Sea of Solitude' did it better.

The next award was one that I found particularly amusing given the fact that every title was published by Nintendo. Best Family game of the year boasted such contestants as 'Super Mario Maker 2' and 'Ring Fit adventure', proving that Nintendo is completely unmatched when it comes to supplying the family market. Even Geoff Keighley had a little laugh when it came to this award as he joked about how he "Liked Nintendo's chances for this one." Unfortunately, the title ended up going to 'Luigi's Mansion 3' despite how that game features a truly abominable co-op mode. (Something you'd think would be detrimental in a category built for 'family' games.)

After that there was the award that had to combine sports and racing games due to the lack of decent sports games this year. Anyone could tell that there was no way the sports titles would win as, despite Fifa's dominate numbers this year, none of the folk who settled with FIFA could muster the mental capacity it took to vote online. (Okay, I'm being mean now, I should move on.) This was really a race against the racing titles (see what I did there?) and I felt that it should go to anyone other than Crash Team Racing, due to their abominable polices when it comes to microtransactions. Of course, that means that Crash Team Racing was the only game that ever could win, and they did. (Once again, there is no justice in the world.)

Our next award was awarded in an equally as contentious category; Mobile gaming. For a very long while, mobile Gaming has earned a reputation for showcasing the worst of the worst when it comes to overbearing anti-consumer practises and their corrupt nature has started to leak into the AAA market in the worst possible ways. The Best Mobile game of the years award was supposed to showcase those mobile titles that buck the trend to deliver a worthwhile experience to the player without gouging them for everything they're worth first. And yet, 'Call of Duty mobile' ended up securing the award for it's trophy cabinet over actually innovative and intriguing titles like 'Sayonara: Wild Hearts'. Truly a shame to mobile gaming everywhere.

Working as something of a palette cleanser, the next premiere involved a whole bevy of key words that succeeded in piquing my interest. Devolver Digital, the publisher renowned for supporting creative and cool indie products, The co-creators of 'Prey' and 'Dishonored', two fantastic stealth games, and RPG, the best genre. Bring all those together and you get the top down adventure title 'Weird West', that looks to capitalize on mythology and camp side stories to depict a supernatural cowboy tale. Needless to say, this is definitely a title that I'll be keeping my eye on in the coming months.

Next up was a CG Premiere that did very little in explaining what the actual game was. Once again the folk behind 'Magic: The Gathering' proved their talent at constructing elaborate looking trailers with no substance behind them. Luckily, there was a press release around about the same time clearing things up so I could confirm that this title 'Magic Legends', is actually an upcoming MMO set in the 'Magic' universe. Because that's what we need, another MMO in a market full of MMO's and 'Live-service-MMO-wannabes'. I won't hold me breath for this title turning into anything particularly special.

Once more the age of adverts descended upon us and were greeted by the absolute worst things that humanity has to offer the world. Point in case; that absolutely abominable Google Stadia advert from a couple of weeks back made an appearance. Regardless of being an incredibly hard watch, which is something I very much expect from any gaming-related advert nowadays, the advert itself is woefully misinformed and straight up lies to people on some points. Namely, the fact that Google Stadia runs 4k 60fps, which is something that the actual service does not deliver for the majority of its newer titles. I could dedicate the rest of this blog to picking apart this advert, but I don't want to give it the time of day.

Back to announcements, we received an announcement about one title that is exclusive to the VR realm, and that would be; 'Path of the Warrior'. This trailer started off by mimicking the 'Streets of rage' pixellated style in a bar room brawl, before devolving into a much more unappealing cartoony visage as the perspective shifted form 2D beat 'em up to first-person action. Despite my hang-ups on visual design, I will admit that the title looked pretty fun, especially in the way that the environment played into the fighting, like how the player could pick up and chuck a board dart at his foes. Whether this is an actual full-blown game or just another VR 'proof in concept' remains to be seen once reviews start popping up. (Which should be soon as the game just launched.)

Back we go to the awards part of the event as we moved onwards to Best multiplayer game of the year. This was a selection that had a variety of high-profile titles, all of which were some form of a 'live service'. Once again, I allowed by distaste for developer antics cloud my judgment here, as I gave my prediction to Borderlands 3, figuring it was a title that did well enough with critics to earn a commendation. What I failed to account for was the fact that Apex Legends caused quite a storm when it launched and secured a decent fan base ever since then, regardless of their greedy machinations in the time in-between. Of course, 'Apex Legends' got the title.

I needn't remain upset, however, for the next reveal was of a title that has earned sufficient hubbub in the last year; Ghost of Tsushima. This was a title that boasted an enviable setting, feudal Japan, an exciting premise, grounded samurai combat, and a mouth watering visual appeal. The game practically oozed with it's classic Japanese film inspirations from the field of falling grass lilies from 'Hero' to the 'epic showdown' appeal of 'Enter the Dragon'. It doesn't just 'pay homage' to these titans either, nor does it decide to do some ropey send-up, rather it stands proud as it's own incredibly exciting looking product. One thing in particular I noticed was the way in which the model of the sword cut into people was actually outstandingly stable. (a credit that I don't often award for an impressive feat that I don't often see.) This game is certainly one to watch in the next year.

A couple more 'premiere's came up next, although one of these titles was most definitely announced all the way back in E3. 'Gears Tactics' is the title through which 'Gears of War' which to expand their series into the genre of tactical turn based combat, a genre that I whole heartedly support. It was a bit strange seeing that familiar Gears action taken at a much slower pace, but I know how much more it will lend to the intense reverberance of each decision and so I wasn't put off. We also got a quick glance at what appears to be a competitive action title called 'Raraka Bladepoint' which was created by a studio from China. (Yes, the chat immediately devolved into anti-China sentiments once this game came up.) This was a game that looked similar to 'Ghost of Tsushima' in concept, only in a more stylized and fantastical manner. Despite the country of it's origin, I found myself intrigued.

Back to the awards of the night and we found ourselves met with a decidedly divisive choice in best Ongoing game. Typically this award goes to the game which made the most sweeping change to it's overall structure in that year as it is a sign of the health of that game and those developer's willingness to take risks. (Providing that those updates don't break everything, Battlefield and Fallout 76.) With this in mind, I opted for Final Fantasy XIV knowing of their incredibly well-received shadow bringers update which reintroduced that most beloved of Final Fantasy Story points; a warrior of light. But this is a reward that could have just as easily have gone to Destiny 2, for their switch to free-to-play, or the game that it did ultimately go to; Fortnite, for their 'Chapter 2' update.

The next premier was 'affectionately' labelled 'Furry Fortnite' by fans at the time due to the way it showcased a army of obnoxious bunny rabbits waving guns at each other with blaring music over it all. Unfortunately, that incredibly arresting introduction was only the 'bait-and-switch' for a really dull looking military shooter called '9 to 5'. (The Dolly Parton video game is finally becoming a reality!) The Developer elaborated a little bit by explaining that this game would be a tactical online shooter (so 'Rainbow: Six Seige') built around the 'increadibly original' concept of a world that has become so entrenched in cooperate influence that warfighting has become an everyday job. (Hence the '9 to 5' title.) Let's just hope these developers never find out about 'Borderlands', 'The Outer Worlds', or 'Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots', or they'll be really put out.

The next three awards were quickly rushed through in another quick-fire segment. Which is not the kind of treatment that I was expecting for one category in particular. The Best Esports award ended up going to 'League of Legends' for any number of reasons that I don't understand, never played the game and never will. Best VR game of the year was one I was really interested in, wherever or not the award would end up going towards the title that was of higher quality or the one with more a cultural impact. Things seems to land in the latter camp (Which was where my prediction laid, incidentally) as 'Beat Saber' won the award. Much to my shock, however, the final quick-fire award was dedicated to 'Best Performance', which is an award that typically invoked much fanfare from the crowd. My working theory as to why it was demoted stems from the assumption that they perhaps couldn't lock in some of the actors that were nominated, such as he who won; Mads Milkeson. (My choice.)

Then came the award that had been constantly teased throughout the night and was the only award which I wasn't aware about before the show. I'm talking, of course, about the 'Player's choice' which I can only presume would be rewarded to the title that fans feel is the best the year has to offer. But then, isn't that what the entire voting process is for. Which also brings into question the job of all the reviewer outlets that sign up to the game awards. I don't quiet understand this award, nor it's implications, but I guess that fact that it ended up going to 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses' is commendable enough.

The final musical performance of the night (Excluding the annual 'game of the year medley') was one that Geoff Keighley clearly wanted to tick off of his personal bucket list. And so we all received a performance by Green Day as they shot through a couple of their songs and managed to get the crowd on their feet. (Quite the achievement, I must admit.) Green Day also managed to prove themselves rather unjustly foul-mouthed, which really highlighted the lack of f-bombs that I heard compared to previous years. I even remember hearing one Dev actively mention watching their language. Is Geoff attempting to clean up the awards to bring in more advertisers? Big if true. Oh, and Green Day were here because their newest album was releasing on Beat Saber via an impending song pack. So there's your gaming connection, folks.

Our next premiere was an intriguing title from Amazon Game Studios that seemed to deftly defy common classification. First we saw Romans rendered in such high quality that people immediately assumed it was Ryse 2, then we saw zombie Romans fighting 17th century soldiers in a manner that invoked For Honor 2, and then we saw typical English adventurer/colonizer garb that made us all think of Greedfall. This title was obviously none of them, but a brand new title called 'New World' that promises to be Amazon's first MMO. (Yikes, that's one heck of an undertaking there for your first big budget game. Good luck, guys.)

For the next slate of awards Reggie Fils-Aimé returned, fresh from retirement, to read out a slate of games related to the indie scene. Reggie expressed his personal love for the Indie scene, and expressed how they are the backbone of the industry, a sentiment with which I agree. The Fresh Indie Game award, which is an award delivered to a Studio rather than an game, went to 'ZA / UM' for Disco Elysium, whilst best independent game went to...Disco Elysium. (Goddamn, just what am I missing out on having not played this game?) That team received so many awards tonight that they reached the point where their acceptance speech became little more than 'Thank you'. What more is there to say, honestly.

Once more we brushed past another terrible Stadia advert, this one Christmas themed. Although it was interesting to note that they amended their language in this one by telling us that Stadia offers resolutions 'up to' 4k 60fps. (Way to cover your ass there, Google.) This was followed by two Premieres, one covering a second League of Legends game on it's way; 'Convergence', (Wow those guys are really working at pumping those out, huh.) and Surgeon Simulator 2. The long awaited (?) sequel to the YouTube darling game about having terrible control of your hands and attempting to perform surgery. Only this one is an Epic Exclusive. Yay, for needless exclusivity!

Finally we come to the stand out moment of the night. Oh sure, 'Xbox Series X' got it's unveiling here, two MMO's were announced and we found out that A$ap Rocky is making music for Cyberpunk 2077, but there was only one announcement that had me out of my seat in disbelief. Or should I say, as Geoff did, 're-annoucement'. For right there, as the night was coming to a close, the lights dimmed as we were reintroduced into a familiar faintly-neon penned world, with a familiar voice addressing a familiar detective. This was the night that THE WOLF AMONG US 2 was bought back from the dead! I'm still in shock and cannot express my adoration, but I'll likely need an entirely separate blog to properly process this amazing announcement.

The next category is one that I described as having been made with Death Stranding in mind, and that is an assertion that I very much stand behind. Best game direction was never an award that was going to go to any of the 'tradtional' games due to it's very nature. It has to go to a title that decides to buck the trend, and so the 'Death Stranding' win here was nothing short of inevitable. Of course, the real situation of note was Kojima's acceptance speech and the way in which his translator managed to keep up with one of the longest stream of consciousness that I have ever seen. (He probably made most of it up.)

As we were coming to a close it seems that the Game Awards suddenly realized that they still had a couple bits of fluff to fill in the gap, and so they finally revealed their selection for 'Tweet of the Year'. That ended up going to the "I regret nothing" tweet which accompanied a run through the notoriously difficult Mario Marker 2 map 'World 1-1 with a twist'. there was also a little cinematic for 'The Elder Scrolls Online' which was followed by a brief teaser of next year's expansion, which promises to delve back into Skyrim.

The last world premiere ended up going to honor the two final guest hosts of the show, Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel. They popped up to briefly talk about their love for the gaming scene, which was nice, whilst Vin took the time to reveal that he had seen the trailer for the upcoming 'Fast and Furious 9' (Kind of a derail there Vin, but you bought us 'Assault on Dark Athena' so I'll let you off the hook.) Together they debuted 'Fast and Furious: Crossroads', which is a game that looks... rough. Not exactly the showstopper reveal that you want to go out on.

Finally came time for the big award of the night; Ultimate Game of the Year. (Which comes accompanied with Best Action Adventure game of the year as those awards often go hand in hand.) This was the one award for which I had no inclination where things should end up beyond that 'Death Stranding' shouldn't win it. (It shouldn't have been nominated, but here we are.) You may remember how I made my case for 'Resident Evil 2' to win the award, but lo-and-behold my baby was snubbed as the award ended up going to 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'. No real losers here, as both were obviously deserving titles. Still though... should have gone to RE2.

And that, in a nutshell, was the entire Game Awards night summed and wrapped up nicely. Of course, this won't be the last time that I talk about them, all those premieres that I mentioned deserve their own look-over, but I'll give myself space for them as I feel like that's when I'm at my sharpest. As for the show itself, I was rather happy with how everything turned out. I already know that some folk considered it to be boring and to them I ask "What were you expecting?" This was an Awards show, it's a miracle that we get any announcements during it at all. Plus, I'm a lot more excited about seeing the 'Series X' than I would have done if I saw it at E3, and I'm not sure why. Probably because it didn't come attached with a full list of features and a price tag, allowing us all a full 6 months of speculation. I feel that Geoff did a good job this year, and hope he keeps it up for the future, I've come to enjoy this yearly tradition a whole lot more than Christmas.