Category: Video Game Musings

Switch Hardware Sales Surpass Wii U Software Sales… This Is News For Some Reason

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/05/random-switch-console-sales-outstrip-the-poor-wii-us-total-software-sales

“There are more Switch consoles sold then there are Wii U games.”
The quote of a Twitter fellow who showed off sales figures of Switch consoles flying past those of Wii U software sales. And if I’m going to be honest here, is anyone really surprised by this development?
Get back to me when this system is doing Game Boy and DS numbers, then I’ll throw the ticker tape parade. Much like the one Turner threw Hulk Hogan when he signed with WCW. And then you can have Switch pin Ric Flair to win the World title, beat him again in a retirement match, and then main event Starrcade against the Booty Man.
Wait, what was I talking about?

Random Thoughts On… Star Trek Resurgence

A little late to the party… but I wanted to sit on this for a bit before sharing some thoughts…

This Star Trek: Resurgence video game that’s coming up or maybe it’s already out – I haven’t checked – but it looks vaguely interesting. And I thought it was a novel choice to make a Star Trek game and have it take place on a Starfleet vessel that isn’t the one anyone would be familiar with. It’s not an Enterprise; it’s not a Voyager; it’s random no-name Starship run by a new set of characters with their own duties and stuff to deal with. And I thought it’s a nice approach, because you can do an original Star Trek story with a new cast of characters and not have to worry about canon or anything like that. The only thing you’d have to worry about is the minutae, which shouldn’t be that difficult because usually, these Star Trek games do a fine job of conforming and respecting the lore… there are exceptions, of course, but games of this ilk, especially those who are reliant on lore – no pun intended, there – usually respect that lore.
So from what I’ve gathered, this is more of a choose-your-own-adventure game where you play a character and you are sometimes presented with a number of actions you can take in order to progress the story. THat’s my first impression from the few snippets of gameplay that I’ve see. I don’t know if there’s more to it, but that’s the impression I got is a sort of interactive move. The preview that they have… I don’t know who’s doing the Spock voice, but it’s almost – ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE – a dead ringer for Leonard Nimoy. I mean, you pay attention, it’s not quite the same voice, but it’s damn close and whoever they got did a fine job, and the rest of the cast perform rather admirably to move the scene and that sort of thing. So that’s one aspect of the game that I’m not too concerned with is the voice acting. The graphics kinda look a bit cheap and plasticky; you’d figure we’d be at a point where we’d be beyond that sort of thing with all these 4K-this and raytrace-that and all these fucking gimmicks… but I guess we need another console generation to get close that deepfake shit that people can pull off on their fucking phones or something.
But yeah, I am curious about this. And if it’s at the right price point and if the word of mouth for this thing is pretty good, then I may give it a shot, but if not… Steam sale, I guess… ‘cuz it’s probably not going to be on GOG. And you know? That would be nice.

That Diablo Thing For Phones… Also For PCs

Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/11/07/diablo-immortals-reveal-was-an-unnecessary-mess

Does anyone remember that one event where a bunch of Blizzard blokes tried to push a Diablo game for phones as the next big thing and reacted to the fierce negative reaction by asking “Do You Not Have Phones?!”
Well, fret not, boys and girls. Diablo Immortal will be coming to PCs.
You know, in case you don’t have a phone.
I am not a Diablo player. I may have played the first game ages ago, but that’s about the extent of my exposure to the series. I do recall watching a video of the event in question showcasing the highlights (or lowlights, if you prefer) of the reveal. I almost feel sorry for the devs who have to try and sell this mobile game to this audience comprising mostly PC Master Race hardcore types, who were having none of it. On the other hand, you’re basically shooting yourselves in the foot when you have an audience on hand expecting an announcement on the next major entry in their beloved franchise… and the best you could come up with is a mobile phone game that nobody in that room wanted to play.
That said, the fact that Immortal is getting a PC port despite claims to the contrary should feel like vindication for that PC Master Race, who are no doubt treating this like a victory. I, on the other hand, will anticipate the reactions to said PC release, because this is either going to be vindication for the snafu or if this is vengeance on Blizzard’s part by giving their core audience a shoddy PC port of a phone game. That, kids, is where the real fireworks are bound to happen.
Either way, it’s going to be an interesting ride until release day.

Old Tommy Interview Ages Poorly (And It's Not JDF!)

Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/intellivision-amico/

Came across this old interview that Tommy Tallarico did when he was still the head of Intellivision. Naturally, he was talking about the Amico and bringing up points about family and such. One thing I noticed he did was slag on Stadia and Atari. With Stadia, he brought up that Google had a multi-million dollar campaign that failed to get people interested in Stadia… of course, it should be mentioned that Stadia was a largely worthless piece of shit, but we’ll let that slide.
He also brought Atari’s various attempts to bring Ataribox to life, calling out their stumbling efforts at crowdfunding and pointing out that Amico has more pre-orders than Ataribox. I’ll admit that Ataribox got off to a rough start and we all mocked the thing as it kept getting delayed and news about people leaving the project got out. But here’s the thing; Ataribox did eventually make its way into the hands of those who ordered the thing. It may not be the new hot thing on store shelves, but there are videos of people actually in possession of the machine and have showcased the machine to be fully functional PC boxes.
Amico, on the other hand? All that’s come out is an unboxing video to show that it exists and talks that it might not even see the light of day because Intellivision doesn’t have any money and could be on the verge of bankruptcy. It seems almost humorous that years ago, everyone thought Atari was the big joke and Amico was going to be the more likely to materialize.
Not trying to rail on Tommy or anything; I just find it funny that he would bring up shit about Atari and Stadia and yet both products are out on the market while Amico’s future is uncertain. Hopefully, things turn around for them and they’ll get Amico out sooner or later.

Breath Of The Wild Sequel Delayed To 2023

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/03/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-2-delayed-to-spring-2023

Unsurprising move that the sequel to Breath Of The Wild is being delayed another year. Might as well port of some of those Wii U HD remakes onto the console that people are clamoring for because I don’t think the Switch has enough Zelda games on there. Hell, give us the 3DS ports of the N64 games while you’re at it… or the Game Boy stuff… give Switch as much Zelda stuff as possible because we don’t have enough on there at the moment.

The BTS On The Cancelled Mega Man Universe Game

Source: https://www.rockman-corner.com/2021/08/how-overambition-and-mismanagement.html

Anyone remember Mega Man Universe? That game which was largely going to be a remake of Mega Man 2 (again) and would feature a level editor, character customization, and a really, really awful art style before it was eventually cancelled along with a bunch of other Mega Man stuff. Well, Rockman Corner was able to hook up with a few people who were part of that team and unveil the details behind what was going on with that game and why things turned out the way they did.
It’s only part of a much larger story from a few anonymous sources and like all stories with anonymous sources, there is a grain of salt that might need to be taken here. But it does jive with the Inafking’s personality; bringing to light the somewhat lofty ambitions and less-than-pure intentions behind the development of this game… and if nothing else, it only makes the story of the later Mighty No. 9 debacle even more of a clusterfuck, as there were lessons to be learned with Universe that could’ve saved the other game, but weren’t.
Regardless, it’s an interesting read.

DLC Disguised As Plastic Toys

Source: https://www.engadget.com/legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-hd-zelda-loftwing-amiibo-183316002.html

Nintendo sells plastic toy that unlocks feature in game, making feature locked behind a pay toy. If there is any example of the devil hidden in plain sight, there you go. Everyone will complain about the multitude of lootboxes and needless DLCs from the other third-party companies, but Nintendo gets a free pass because the toys are cute.

To put it another way, the video game industry is a bunch of Malibu Stacy dolls, but Nintendo has a hat.

Figure that one out, kids. I’m out.

Fodder For A Future Gimmick

Limited Run Games, purveyors of limited run (no pun intended) overpriced physical packages just released their take on the X-Wing and TIE Fighter physical packages in both “standard” action-figure like backboards and a “collector’s package” that comes in a box similar to the big box PC stuff. And while I didn’t jump on board for past Star Wars gimmicks – and it wasn’t for a lack of trying – I was on board for this.

The thought occurred to pick up both the X-Wing and TIE Fighter packages, but common sense prevail when I did the math and realized I would end up paying over a couple hundred bucks for two boxes of overpriced stodge and the miserable shipping rates. So I opted with just the TIE Fighter, since it is the much better of the two games.

And yes, once I get this, I will indeed be doing a video on it.

Nintendo Life Commenters Confound Me

So every once in a while, I frequent the news site known as Nintendo Life… because it has Nintendo news and I obviously own a current Nintendo system, so this sort of thing is relevant.

Every once in a while, Nintendo Life will post news about Brie Larson (she who played that Carol Danvers person in a couple Marvel movie and the one with the unicorn) and her love for Nintendo. This causes people to throw a fit because she is a meanie in real life. Also, every once in a while, Nintendo Life will post news about a new emulator gimmick and people will complain about things playing ROMs and stuff. And then sometimes, they’ll post a fluff piece about a glitch recently uncovered and people… well, you know.

I admit some of the things they post on their could hardly qualify as newsworthy, but seriously, fellas? If you don’t like the fluff pieces, don’t touch the fluff pieces. Sometimes, the HEADLIE is all it takes to decide whether a post is worth your damn or not.

Yeah, that’s all I got.

Laughing And Crying

eGadget Article begins with “PC gamers have to wait a little bit longer to enjoy titles like Battlefield and the Star Wars Battlefront franchise.”

I respond with “There are people who enjoy those games?”

I laughed… and then I read the rest of the article.

So EA Access, a subscription service thing, is making its way to Steam… which means more DRM (EA Access) on top of DRM (Steam) bullshit. And that’s why the only EA stuff I play is from twenty plus years ago.