NameRedacted

With one or two exceptions from Obsidian (IIRC), Microsoft has been pretty underwhelming, with the Usual Suspects from the "Hey, Fellow Teens (now 30 and 40-something adults)! Remember how great the 360 was?!" now here's a new Halo, Forza, etc.; new IP that didn't hit for me, and non-exlusive, 3rd party IP coming to other consoles and PC.

Basically, I feel like Nintendo and Sony are still committed to console gaming for the near future, while Microsoft is trying to pivot into being the "Netflix" of video games for EVERY platform (that will have them). Hence all of Phil's talk about Nintendo and Sony not being MS's competition, because MS has their sights set against other tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon, etc., and giants in the PC marketplace like Steam.

I feel like this is the last console generation from Microsoft before they 100% become a subscription / services provider, or try to, at least. And MS is willing to take a hefty loss this generation on Xbox, xCloud, Game Pass, etc. to try to make that work.

@merxworx01 said:

Let's be honest, these are older gamers, with a LOT more money than time to play video games. They want to play everything and stay relevant to the zeitgeist in popular gaming culture, but can't due to other responsibilities or claims on their time.

To which, I say: tough. That's part of getting older. There's not enough time to do everything. I don't think today's younger gamers should be penalized because older gamers have FOMO. You're robbing younger gamers of the same experiences older gamers had as kids, wasting 10's or 100's of hours on epic adventures and the like.

The return of the Hot Spot (Giant Bomb ed.) should become it's own premium podcast.

Jeff, Brad, Alex, and Vinny all have easy, wonderful chemistry with each other, which translates into very good podcast fodder. If feels like the old Bombcast (minus Ryan - RIP), when everyone was in SF together, which I miss.

"Choking on a pork steak..." - My "Sexual Euphemisms" sense is tingling.

EMT here: In all seriousness, don't be like Abby: if your choking, do something about it immediately. Once you go unconscious (which will be faster than you think) you're wasting precious time (time lost is brain loss), making any rescue attempts harder / longer.

No Naughty Dog???

Greg Edmondson's work on the Uncharted trilogy is some of the best in video games.

Otherwise, (scumbag) Jeremy Soule's work on Skyrim is right up there at the top. Skyrim's music is, damn near, one of the biggest reasons Skyrim is so good.

No. If you want hype, or naive and uncritical thinking about video games, YouTube is full of phoney / paid shills who will blow sunshine about all things video games, including a publishers own Twitter or YT page.

In an age where indie games are largely the only source for risk taking and creativity, the larger 3rd party AAA game space has become the same yearly, regurgitated pile of bland, risk-averse video games and sequels, all aggressively monetized like they were mobile games.

Take a look back at the games released during the PS2, PS3, and 360 generation and compare them to what we get now; look at all the studio closures of great developers and the games / series that don't get made anymore. It's almost night and day.

That Ubisoft conference was incredibly "meh" and I appreciate Giant Bomb for their decades of experience, honesty, and critical thinking.

@fugoy: Exactly.

Charging $70 - 80 USD for a game won't change a damned thing (besides how much more money overpaid Execs get paid and how much less these tax-dodgers hide in overseas tax havens). Companies like Activision-Blizzard will still boast record profits to shareholders, while devs are treated like disposable wage slaves.

I'm tired of people complaining about video game length simply because of FOMO.

We live in an age of near endless options for entertainment (e.g movies, TV, internet streaming, comics, books, etc. etc.), but a finite amount of time; there's not enough time for everything. But that doesn't stop people from trying to have it all, especially older gamers with more money than time, who still want to play everything... while also having a family, or more demands on their time, or other hobbies.

Something's gotta give; there's simply not enough time to do everything you want to do.

Kassandra.

EA is dead to me.

FUCK
EA