@thepanzini: I'd say whatever can best shorten the length of development time while making the most minimal cuts to visual quality. That's a statement that's obviously up for interpretation but as games get more and more complex, I think the engines behind them need to get more simplified. Or maybe not simplified, but... manageable? I'm not in tech, which is probably readily apparent, so I'm talking out of my ass here. I should also note that this may sound like I'm advocating for AI, which isn't the case, or at least not AI that replaces people. Never going to be a fan of that.
I think whoever is best poised for long-term gains isn't going to be the company that has the best games or the best studios, but who has the best and easiest engines and tech with which to develop games. I honestly don't know who that is at this point - that's not something I'm familiar with - but it seems obvious thatthere has to be some kind of great technical shift in getting AAA games to market, or at least a prioritization of marketing smaller-scale games to an audience that has generally been fed the idea that the biggest and shiniest games are the best ones.
Again, I'm not sure if that's Micorsoft or not. But it is a lot more complex than "who has the best studios."
Good. I've been holding off on buying Switch games for a couple years until they make their BC decisions known (and in the hopes that maybe someday the prices will fall on first-party stuff). Really can't wait to see what they do with a new Switch, though.
Fucking insanity to let the Hi-Fi Rush people go, but I have every confidence if and when those people land on their feet we're going to see even cooler stuff from them. That's not in any way softening the blow for them, I know, but I can't help but see their talent and think, yeah, those people are a sure-fire bet for someone to snap them up, or as a new independent studio.
I could not tell you a thing about the last Broken Sword game except that I beat it and there's an honest to God puzzle where you have to move a cockroach but can't just simply pick it up.
I think you're less likely to see events like these as a yearly thing and more on a "when it's ready, it's ready" schedule, meaning when they have things to announce and they can provide a loaded show, sure, they'll put something on, because why not? Bring on a few dozen influencers willing to shill to pretend to be hyped up, sucker in your remaining fans, and bam, PR. The events themselves might lose money but as a long-form source of fan goodwill, it has to still have some meaning. Just maybe not every year. Give it some impact, put it on every three years or something like that, and you're good.
Or save it for Microsoft's big pressers, which is probably more likely.
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