As we get further into the year we start to see shifts in the industry which can be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. This past week we saw things happen on corporate levels and on developer levels. Below you’ll find the things we decided to take note of and hopefully, you’ll learn something new.
Capcom is Heating Up
The Capcom showcase took place on March 9th and it was what it needed to be. It even came with a couple of surprises. I don’t think enough gets said about the run Capcom is currently on. Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil 4 remake, Monster Hunter Rise, and Exoprimal (which I think will punch above its weight). This could be a legendary year for the company with all these releases. They’re all on my list of games to buy at the end of the year and I think they all represent a return to form in the gaming industry. The games shown at the showcase are either entries from a long-running series or a gameplay style that is reminiscent of an older generation which going by remarks on other games that follow that trend(Evil West and Dead Space Remake) could be an amazing thing. During the show, the Exoprimal team revealed that it will be a day-1 release on Xbox Gamepass which is a solid surprise and a demo for RE4 came out during/after the show. I’m currently playing through the original RE4 and seeing the remake while playing the original is stunning. There are a lot of interesting games coming to us throughout the year and Capcom is adding quality titles to that lineup. I hope to see more titles from them in the near future both new and sequels in known franchises. – XmanFiles
Modern Consoles and Optimization
We seem to keep hearing the whole debate over which console games run better on. I’m going to be completely honest here and let you know I’m a bit biased as I am a super fan of PlayStation. However, I will be as objective as possible in this article. Let me start by saying this, both consoles are amazing and have tremendous power under the hood. This article is not to say one is necessarily better than the other. This article is really intended to make you think and question why we are seeing differences in how games run on one console versus another. First I want to thank God for Digital Foundry! Without them, none of us would have the time or technical chops to set up and compare the two consoles in such a meticulous fashion. They really peel back the layers of development to show us exactly where the gaps are between performance with both consoles. Often we see performance dips in some of the most odd places while playing a game. Performance dips often manifest themselves as screen tearing, player character dips in animation, screen jittering when looking at certain environments, and many other places. As a PlayStation fan, you likely expect that I would be touting the fact that we are continually seeing the same games outperform Xbox on the PS5. However, I would argue differently stating that the majority of these performance differences just don’t matter. Oftentimes we’re hearing about slight differences in frame rate that really don’t matter because the naked eye can’t observe them. This often serves as a distraction for the players. These gaps in performance should really be food for thought for the developers and cause them to question why. Observations like these should be utilized by developers to go back and do a case study to understand why performance varies from console to console. It should be the developers goal to release the best game possible on both consoles Because the consoles differ in architecture and horsepower, the reality is that there may often be slight differences between versions of the same game on different platforms. As for us players, minor performance issues are generally patched and should not be a large source of discontentment. If you spent any amount of time testing software, you will quickly understand that testing is laborious and exhaustive but never realizes a defect-free release. Testers do as thorough a job testing as possible but can never account for all the various scenarios that will be encountered by users once a game has gone gold and is released into production. My point in this article is to really convey to you the reader that unless a game is catastrophically broken, keep your mind off of these minor performance differences as they are distractions. Instead, focus on your backlog because that shit is way more important. Now go play games and have fun! – JusBernard
Starfield On Approach
I enjoy gaming on all platforms even recently getting into a little PC gaming. But everyone who knows me, knows I prefer Xbox above everything else. A couple of weeks ago there were rumors that there would be an announcement concerning Starfield and then we saw nothing. 3 days ago Bethesda randomly put out a video dopping the release date as well as a date for the associated developer direct. The release date is now September 6th and the direct being on June 11th to coincide with the Xbox showcase. There are two sides to dissect when looking at this announcement with the first being that Starfield got delayed……again, and the second being that the game looks better, and that instills faith in me that the time being spent on this title is being put to good use. Last Summer we were treated to a showing of games that we were basically promised to be playing in the next 12 months and Starfield was among them. Clearly, that’s not the case. What does this mean? Well, Xbox/Microsoft needs to not do that ever again. Game development is fluid all the way to the release which is something that’s being emphasized in today’s gaming media. Fans of anything are easy to upset when they feel like their wants/demands are not being met which is sometimes outlandish but in this case, I feel they’re completely valid. I was listening to the Xbox Two Podcast when Rand al Thor pointed out that all the games published by Xbox this gen have been of higher quality than they were in the past and then he went on to find the average of said games which ended up being 80+ score on multiple sights (I forgot the exact number). I think both Bethesda and Xbox want this trend to extend for as long as possible and after the reaction to the last showing they saw that this game needed more time in the oven. The small clips we got to see in the announcement videos shows that they care. I wasn’t too excited about Starfield before but I’m willing to bet this is going to be a solid experience now. But please, Xbox, when the time comes around for the next showcase don’t give us an expected timetable unless you’re almost certain that said games can release within it. – XmanFiles
We Saw It From A Mile Away…
Well, I hate to say I told you, but I told you! While I am very interested in the story for Suicide Squad, I am definitely not sold on the core gameplay – at least what we’ve been shown. I do want them to take the time and make whatever course Corrections they can with the game, however, it doesn’t seem likely the core mechanics will change much between now and it’s final release date. We’ve not yet received the final word on the reason for the delay. I’ve seen many articles on the web that suggest the reason is for polish. I’m interested to know what kind of feedback the developers have received. I’m sure they’ve scoured various community boards to get a smattering of what folks are saying regarding the PlayStation showcase footage. I think the largest problem for most fans is that it’s such a huge departure from what we came to love about the Arkham Knight series. This definitely seems like a more light-hearted adventure through the eyes of the villains. My personal opinion is that the “floaty” gameplay looks seemingly more adolescent-focused and gives the vibe of Fortnite. If you didn’t know, I’m not a fan of Fortnite! However, I do recognize the place that hasn’t given me and it is a beloved franchise for a different crowd. I do not expect Rock Steady to only make one type of game. They have earned the right to have artistic freedom of development because they are a proven developer. The reality however is that sometimes gambles and risks are hit and miss. I will reserve judgment until I get my hands on the game, but right now I just don’t have a great feeling. I hope I’m wrong! – JusBernard
Forspoken, The End of Devs
Square Enix is in the most tumultuous state I think I’ve ever seen. It’s sad to see such talented developers make such weird decisions and put their hopes into such odd baskets with the expectation that they’ll succeed. Forspoken was a gamble at best and I don’t know how they expected that to carry their fiscal burden. With its performance being WELL documented it was reported that the developer of Forspoken, Luminous Productions, will be folded into its parent company Square Enix as of May 1st. Additionally, there was a CEO switch at SE which could point toward leadership problems but that’s not even the icing on the cake. The new CEO wants to continue the pursuit of blockchain games and NFTs ! Can Sony please buy this company and save it, please? Square Enix could rule the JRPG space alone. So many classic titles just sitting under their umbrella and before they sold off their Western division they had a plethora of gems there as well. What is going on, like seriously? They still have two titans set to come out this year being FF16 and FF7 Remake pt. 2 but they need new and fresh IP. I want to see them make new quality games that don’t necessarily follow the trends of todays games. They could really just make whatever they want as long as it’s good, it’ll sell. Right now they’re tarnishing their legacy and I wonder how long it’ll be before the company course corrects or just shuts down. I always hope for the best in these situations because more existing devs means more chances for cool new experiences, but there are other companies that could fill their shoes if need be. Square Enix, fix it. – XmanFiles
A Competent E3 2023
E3 is almost upon us and I am optimistically hopeful and excited. I’ve talked in previous articles about how I am not fine with the way Sony is communicating to us about their first-party titles. They are intentionally not coming and in my eyes, that is a mistake. Additionally, when they do release information, such as state of play, it has been consistently and frequently underwhelming. I’ve often left their shows thinking, “What’s the point?”. In the past, part of the joy of gaming was hearing about a title a year to two years in advance and looking for all the little bits and pieces of information that were released in various articles leading up to the release of the game. E3 was one of the major outlets where we got to see live gameplay footage, if not at least a cinematic trailer that revealed more information about upcoming games. We were forced to disband E3 due to covid. However, I hope this year’s show is a sign of things to come. While Sony is guaranteed not to be in attendance this year, let’s hope they decide to come back in subsequent years if this year’s show is a success. By no means will this year be a flop because there will be multiple third-party developers there showcasing their latest projects. While some of these projects will be ones that have been announced and we have information about, I am expecting there to be quite a few that we are not familiar with and that are brand new announcements! Recent articles suggest that there will be AAA developers in attendance showcasing their latest work. If this year’s show is successful, I will be making my way there in the flesh next year to attend in person!
Digital vs Physical Gaming
Last week it was reported that GameStop had canceled in-store orders for the RE4 collectors edition and it brought up an ongoing topic in a couple of gaming media groups. The growing debate of physical vs. digital games. It comes down to two groups of people in the gaming community; the enjoyers and the enthusiasts. There are people who enjoy playing video games whom I associate with digital preference (the enjoyers). Then there are those who enjoy gaming in every aspect down to the small details whom I associate with physical preference(the enthusiasts). The gaming industry has grown to crazy heights in the last couple of years and as a result, there are more voices to be heard and new people who’ve come to love this hobby on many levels. Digital consoles are cheaper than their disk drive brothers and subscription services are being developed to coincide with these diskless consoles to target newer customers. This is all some gamers will ever know, the Xbox Series S and the all-digital PS5. Don’t get me wrong, digital exclusive media is so nice and convenient I appreciate the lifestyle improvements that it brings. I guess I just want to express a deeper appreciation for the works of art that I choose to enjoy. I remember when Resistance 3 came out there was a necklace made of chimera teeth that people who preordered the game would receive. I miss these kinds of things. I enjoy all forms of gaming and I easily have a larger digital library than physical but I cherish my physical collection more. I like collecting entire series of games or having my favorite games in steel book cases versus plastic ones. I just like looking at game-related things no matter what they are. Clothes, accessories, posters, or collectible items. These are things that are being payed less and less attention to. This isn’t like a crisis call or anything but just something to think about. Moving forward if there’s a physical edition of a game that I can get my hands on, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
Games In Full Effect
Another week and even more games. I find myself playing older titles more than newer ones which is always cool. This past week I finished Assassins Creed 1, Army of Two, Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, and Call of Jaurez Bound in Blood. These were all decent games at best nothing to really write home about. I see why people love AC 1 so dearly I think it was ahead of it’s time with the small open areas and the gameplay as well as the way the environment reacts to the player. Sometimes I would find myself impressed with the reaction of the AI to certain things I would do. I will not be going back to the game because some of the jank made this game a drag to try and get through. I found all the sync points and I did all the supporting missions to the assassinations as well as saved all the citizens so I think I did my due diligence with this one. I hope they’re remaking AC 1. The other 3 games were all “Brain-off” games meaning I’d turn on a stream or listen to a podcast while I just blasted away. Army of Two just needed better controls. I’d love to see another go at Racoon City with an actual story and better mechanics. I didn’t like Call of Juarez. There were a few mechanics that left me with my hands on my face asking “Why?” but as the gamer that I am I must play through the other ones and see if it got any better. Control, FF9, RE4, and the Dark Souls Remaster are the main courses of this week’s meal all of which I’ve started and all of which I am enjoying. I find it amazing that I can play games so drastically different and get such enjoyment out of them. Videogames are so cool and I hope I get to see more of them in new ways.
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