mellotronrules

yeah- i forgot to mention that in my original post- but that certainly looks like a game that changed it's subtitle from DREADWOLF to VEILGUARD.

if it reviews well i'll give the game a fair shake- but i think it just further underscores how much Larian's present success can at least be partially attributed to being New Bioware that continued to evolve and refine. whereas Bioware Actual really feels like a Thrasher shirt or something- to be invoked when legitimacy is required, but not meaningful beyond that.

i think Xbox consistently shows well- and this year was no different...the sheer quantity of creative teams under the Microsoft umbrella almost makes this a guarantee now. conversely if they have an 'off' year that's bad for Xbox AND "one of the top publishers on PlayStation." so uh, i'm glad games appear to be coming together!

that said i think i'm most interested in DOOM, South of Midnight, Winter Burrow, and Mixtape. the legacy Xbox stuff (Perfect Dark, Gears, Fable), despite having lived it in the 360 era, isn't doing much for me based on these trailers- but i'm certainly down for good versions of those with new ideas. and maybe Perfect Dark is just secret Deus Ex- so that could be good.

so yeah- very good ads/promises; here's hoping they stick the landings.

yeah i'm more or less the same. i look for the consensus or diversity of opinion, and then sample from there. when it comes to formal written reviews there isn't any single source that i consider my trusted voice- i think that's more a function of the volatility of the form than a sign of obsolescence.

yeah, i've more or less completely exited giant bomb for video game opinions at this point (if i'm being completely honest i'm only really engaging with the forums and the discord). there isn't a ton of common ground between the games i enjoy and what the current crew enjoys, and without quicklooks or reviews to mix it up it feels like you either are here for the news show or to watch specific streamers (which, no shade- just not quite my cup of tea).

for outlets more my speed it's mostly Minnmax, Noclip, Nextlander these days. they don't do reviews per se, but they cover more of what i'm into and i have a better sense of how their predilections match my own.

yeah, astrobot is the main draw for me.

i don't really play multiplayer games (competitive ones the least), so 50% to 75% of most presentations fly right past me and never find purchase.

i think part of the perception problem there is the dark clouds that seem to have settled over Xbox for the moment are also permeating conversations around Game Pass. speaking honestly, i don't think i've ever heard anyone decry the service's value to the consumer- it is The Best Deal in Gaming, after all. sure some people don't love a sub-based business model- but the dollars-per-minute or cost-per-game remains superb.

and therein lies the rub- is it The Best Deal in Gaming for devs? and perhaps the most importantly- is that value-trade worth it to the most valuable (by market cap) company in the world, Microsoft? signals from devs appear to be mixed (to say nothing of perceived scrutiny of recent 1st party output)- and we know the service hasn't grown as robustly as Microsoft targeted.

so while the story is still being written on Game Pass, it's facing some present challenges that, in the context of a parent company that now has a world heavyweight title to defend, are probably going to force it into a GROW or DIE situation sooner than later.

which makes sense- Microsoft won't sustain that consumer-favored value trade forever, and so the piper's going to be paid in either new subs capture (probably best case for the consumer), increased prices (less exciting for consumers), or another 3rd option that a presumed suit (or since this is Microsoft a sentient golf shirt and khakis) is charged with figuring out.

yeah- i'm in agreement with the many that have already said in so many words- it's the right move, but i don't think it necessarily sells Xboxes or changes the Game Pass momentum. i guess we'll know soon enough.

lol, well now you have me thinking I'M the simulation because i had the same thought. i guess we're truly fucked once the LLMs ingest recursive humour. it also doesn't help that i just finished The Talos Principle (on PSN Extra now folks! but leaving June 18!); what a tremendous game, and maybe more prescient than ever given the state of things.

but yes- this place remains a valuable spot. i'll keep a candle lit until the bots take us, or fandom checks its credit card statement and asks what this "GB website" recurring charge is.

interesting. it's probably locked behind some boutique consultancy's proprietary INSIGHTS DASHBOARD, but i'd really be curious to understand with more granularity what the industry considers 'the average gamer' at this point. we used to joke about archetypes like Joey Modern Warfare or Billy O'Madden- but those models are assuredly out of date.

in terms of average players' behaviour- i'd love to know more (with granularity) about this hoovering effect that live service or 'forever' games inflict, and why companies are positioning this as eating into their potential customer base. or put another way, i guess my question would be- if a high budget Final Fantasy underperforms, is it really your Susie Fortnite or Bobby Roblox that did you in? or did you just have bad product/market fit? and did you spend too much money on things that didn't net a return?

or put even more reductively- does a single soul who plays Fortnite every day even know what a Final Fantasy is? and could you ever convince that hypothetical player to buy a $500 console and $70 game to play a franchise that's caught between an MMO and nostalgia exploitation?

sometimes i think the more relevant question for enthusiast circles is less "has this generation stalled?" and more "does it make sense to own multiple boxes anymore?"

everyone's mileage is going to vary on that- but i think the days of buying 1 of each because they all have unique things to offer are just about done.

i think there are great games coming out all the time, and people are still buying multiple form factors of hardware- there's just less differentiators. living room, at a desk, handheld- we're getting to place where the same game lives everywhere, so just buy the form factor that fits best in your life.

it goes without saying that i think the answer depends on who you're asking and what you're after.

for my part- my gaming PC aged out of competency many years ago- and truthfully i had considered a full rebuild (case, components, display) mid pandemic. however GPU price fluctuations, a premium on physical space in my NYC-sized apartment, a diminishing interest in tuning/performance and a general distaste for the direction Windows is heading has ostensibly snuffed out my interest in jumping back into PC gaming. i'll be back at some point- but i'm good for the moment. maybe it'll be a steam deck 2 next go around?

which means i'm limited to my $500 entry into contemporary games with a PS5- and i dunno, i feel like i'm getting great value out of the box. granted Sony games (single player, narrative driven) are my kind of games- but i still have a lot of PS4-era catching up to do, and for the additional $100ish i pay a year for the PS+ Extra catalogue; i'm feeling pretty good about my investment.

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now, how do controlling businesses feel about the state of things? on the one hand- line must go up, some is never enough, growth over profits, etc. so i'm sure it's curtains for all of us.

but setting business interestes aside- i think enthusiast communities tend to prognosticate superlatively, so i try to remember that platform-holders will figure it out (or they won't)- but so long as i feel like i'm getting the value for what i have in hand- then it's happy days!