Video Game Musings – Page 12

Switch Security (Allegedly)

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/08/denuvos-switch-emulator-protection-is-now-available-via-nintendos-official-dev-portal

Denuvo – the PC security company fucking up PC games with their security methods designed to curtail software piracy but actually hurting the people who buy the games and forcing them to pirate their purchased software… GREAT JOB, LADS.

So yeah, they hooked up with Nintendo to prevent Switch emulation. Now Switch owners can not only complain about subpar ports of AAA games because the developers couldn’t be bothered, but now they’ve got questionable security gimmicks that could potentially fuck up their games even further, prompting the people who buy their games legit to find ways to be able to play them properly… which usually entails – wait for it – PIRATING THEIR GAMES OR RESORTING TO EMULATION!

Why does this fucking company exist? Who gives these fuckers money? Their methods do nothing to curtail piracy and do more harm to the people who actually buy the games legitimately, which forces them to pirate their games or find patches to circumvent that nonsense. And they’re not the only ones guilty of this.

If you want to fight piracy and curtail emulation of your products, Nintendo, then maybe consider doing things to discourage such behavior. This is only going to boost that further. Morons.

The Dolphin Steam Debacle

A little late to the party, but when has that stopped me before?

Countless times, actually… but I digress.

So the Dolphin people who run and operate the Dolphin emulator program of Gamecube and Wii hardware stuff made an announcement some time ago that they were going to release their fancy emulator onto STEAM… and naturally, this got to Nintendo, who immediately told Steam runners Valve to get that shit off their service. The Dolphin people tried to counter, but Valve told them that if they want to put their emulator onto Steam, they’ll need permission from Nintendo to do so. Since Nintendo and emulation are a match made in heaven… the Dolphin people decided to abandon their efforts in getting steamed… maybe they can try the Epic Store or something. Have better luck there.

What did they expect… really?

I know that they have the RetroArch emulator on there and I’m shocked that it’s still there… there’s a lot of things online that I’m shocked are still a thing considering Nintendo’s notoriety for protecting its IP. But trying to get the Gamecube/Wii emulator onto Steam and not expect Nintendo to go ape shit is rather foolish. I’m sure some people are sad by this development and I wish the Dolphin folks all the best in the future, but this is one instance where there was only one outcome and it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.

Anyway, I got a thing coming up… hopefully, it all works out.

Dive…

Capcom is shuttering online servers for the online mobile game Rockman X Dive in Japan. There’s a couple events you can take part of before the service goes offline in September. The global servers, apparently, are going to be kept up indefinitely, whatever that ends up entailing, but… yeah, I tried it for a bit. It’s a thing where it plays somewhat Mega Man-ish, but you have auto-aim, the levels are short, you need to build up resources in-game or via microtransactions, which I never did.

I mean, the game was okay. Got a couple months mileage out of it on the mobile and even tried it on Steam for a bit, but it was never a game that had me going “Must play more.” I sampled a bit, moved on to something else. In terms of mobile gaming and these sorts of Gacha titles, Dive isn’t entirely worthless, but nothing special. It’s no Legacy Wars, which I did spend some change on for the extra characters and such and now I haven’t touched it in years and it’s on a device that’s crapping out, so… I am over the mobile game craze. I’m over microtransactions.

So look, if you’re a big fan of Dive in Japan, enjoy it while you can because in a couple months, it’ll be all gone unless you find a way to play the global servers… I don’t know. These sorts of games have a limited shelf life. They go up, they get a couple years of mileage, people spend money for trinkets, and then everything is shut down. Such is the trials and tribulations of mobile online gaming… I don’t know; maybe somebody can turn this into an offline thing that can be played offline or something… but then that would be illegal and why would anyone do that… or something? I don’t know. I don’t care much either.

Now, with that said, Capcom did announce an offline version of Dive was coming soon. They even had a trailer for it and everything… yeah, we’ll see about that one. I’d be much happier if they announced a new proper Mega Man game. Classic, X… maybe go left field and actually produce that Legends sequel everyone wanted or continue where ZX Advent left off…

It’s Okay To Like A Franchise And Not Like Everything In It

You’re a big fan of a franchise. You like the movies they put out. Some of the TV shows were pretty good. You’ve even dabbled in some of the official novels and comic books.

But then something comes along and it isn’t quite as good… and much to your dismay, you discover that you not only don’t like this new thing, but you might actually hate it. You consider this an affront to the franchise you’ve grown to love over the years.

It doesn’t end there. Something else comes along and it’s even worse than the other thing. You come to realize that these new things are lesser products devised to set aside all the things you loved about that franchise in favor of trying to appeal that wider, casual audience… otherwise known as the “lowest common denominator.”

All of a sudden, the thing you loved ever since you were a young kid is slowly but surely becoming a thing that you don’t like. You get to that point where you’re becoming the old timer who shouts at the clouds about how everything was better back in the day when the franchise was in its infancy and now everything is just crap or worse.

Does that make you less of a fan?

Of course it fucking doesn’t.

Kids… it’s okay to be a fan of something and not like everything that comes out of it. I have enjoyed many franchises over the years – some of which have been a substantial part of my life in some form or fashion – and I can freely admit that some of the stuff coming from those franchises lately have been… let’s just say “less than stellar.” Does that make me less of a fan of this thing or worse, a “fake fan?”

Of course it fucking doesn’t.

First of all, someone not enjoying the thing you enjoy should not prevent you from enjoying the thing you enjoy. Some things I enjoy are not enjoyed by other people. That does not hamper my enjoyment of these things that some people don’t enjoy as much as I do, if at all. Your enjoyment of something should not be gauged by how many other people are or are not enjoying that something. If you like something that everybody else hates, then more power to you. On the other hand, if you don’t like something that is beloved by many others, that doesn’t make you less of a fan and if anyone else tries to convince you otherwise in a non-joking manner, that’s their problem, not yours.

Like what you like and be done with it. If you like the old stuff, just watch the old stuff. If you like the new stuff, watch the new stuff. If you like everything, then have at it. And if you’d rather spent your time doing something else, then that’s cool too.

I’d tell you not to be a dick, but it seems like every time I hear someone tell people not to be a dick, they eventually become one themselves.

I don’t know what compelled me to type out this piece of business, but hey, it’s something, I suppose.

No Resurgence Outside The Epic Store Equals No Buys For Me

Source: https://www.engadget.com/star-trek-resurgence-launches-may-23rd-on-most-platforms-170248699.html

A bit late to the game, but for those wondering, the new Star Trek: Resurgence game will be hitting stores on May 23rd and will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series Whatever, and PC. Which is all well and good, but the PC version will be offered exclusively through the Epic Games Store.

Which means it’s a no-buy for me.

I hear someone decide not to buy the game based on Epic Store exclusivity and that got a snarky response about “taking a stand.” I can’t speak for that individual, but this is less to do with “taking a stand” and more to do with “I really don’t want another storefront to manage.” People may recall how long it took me to adopt Steam because of all the DRM and even now, I’d rather buy something off GOG if given the option due to the LACK of DRM. I’ve got a bunch of games on GOG that I still haven’t played and I’ve got even more games on Steam that I still haven’t played… and most of the Epic Game stuff that I’m even remotely interested in is shit from 20-30 years ago.

(It also doesn’t help that a lot of what I’ve seen of the game hasn’t wowed me. It’s one of those Telltale type things where a story plays out and you pick choices on how to react. I probably got one of those laying around somewhere and that’s all I needed.)

I don’t know… maybe once it hits Steam and it’s available on sale, I might consider it, but I don’t need a storefront to manage shit on unless it’s on another platform.

No Interest In Battle Network

Had a couple people inquire about the recently released Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collections and I might as well address it here to get it out of the way.

No, I did not buy either collection nor do I plan on it.

It basically boils down to a lack of interest. Battle Network was never something that caught my interest back in the day and even today, it’s not something that I’m interested in trying out. The fact of the matter is that it’s a style of play that doesn’t quite appeal to me and also when it comes to this particular franchise, there’s a certain style of Mega Man game that I prefer to play… if only because it’s a style of game that this series has often excelled at delivering.

Ironically enough, I only have one game linked to the Battle Network series and that’s the Gamecube-exclusive Network Transmission, which was more of a traditional Mega Man side-scroller… seemingly made by people who have no fucking clue on how to make a traditional Mega Man side-scroller. Did this one side game sour me on an entire subset of the Mega Man franchise? Nope; the style of game that Battle Network presented didn’t appeal to me. It did, however, sour me on Network Transmission as a game on its own merits… or lack thereof.

I still have that game somewhere… but don’t expect a video on that any time soon because… I really don’t want to play that game.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s “Final” Trailer

It looks like a Mario. It moves like a Mario. But does it talk like a Mario?

Does it really matter? I’ve heard Mario get voiced by a bunch of people? Here’s another to add to the list.

At least, the movie looks like it’ll be fun. A nightmare to point out all the references, but it’ll be fun.

We’ll see, I guess.

Is DKOldies A Scam?

I don’t know. I never bought from them. Shit is expensive enough here and now to see those prices converted to Canadian dollars? No thanks.

That said, other people seem to think they’re a scam. I’ve seen videos of supposed “refurbished” consoles appear less than furbished. So if that’s the level of quality people are expecting from a refurb job, then I don’t know what to tell you.

In any event, I see the above “meme” image tossed around every so often. If you want to use it for yourself or whatever the case may be, have at it. I don’t know who made this originally, but they’ve done a service for you folks.

That’s all I’ve got. I know some people were expecting me to talk about Picard at this point, but I just didn’t feel like it, so you got this, instead. Have fun.

NintendoLife’s 50 Years Of Influential Games Playable On Switch

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/feature-50-years-of-landmark-video-games-one-per-year-all-playable-on-nintendo-switch

This past weekend, NintendoLife put out a list of the most influential games over the course of the medium’s 50 year history that are playable on Switch. Basically, they pick out the most influential game of each year and list a way you could play the game on Switch; whether it’s via compilation, re-release, or remake. It’s actually a pretty good read if you have the time and a nice little time capsule on how far we’ve come since the days of Pong and The Oregon Trail.

Student Prank To Cancel Class For Nintendo Direct Is A Terroristic Threat In America

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/02/random-students-nintendo-direct-joke-leads-to-increased-campus-security

So, a professor got an e-mail that something is going to happen today and that for the good of humanity, they should cancel class. Concerned, the professor called the police and after a thorough investigation, discovered that the e-mail came from a student who intended as a joke to get classes cancelled so that he can watch the upcoming Nintendo Direct airing or whatever the fuck. The end result is that the cops will have increased security and canine patrols protecting the students from further dumbfuckery such as this.

I’m not going to rail on the professor for taking the precautionary measure of calling security to investigate this thing. I am going to rail on the dumb shit who decided to pull this prank off in a world where social media has degraded the overall intelligence of the human population to what can be charitably described as the lowest common denominator. Listen, don’t you fuckers realize that video games is the root of all violence and terrorist action in America? It’s on the mainstream news, so it must be true.

Morons.