Category: Video Game Musings

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.

Zelda Classic Is Still A Thing

Zelda Classic is still a thing… because they’re hosting a 20th Anniversary contest.

That’s amazing. It really is… and I’ve dabbled in Zelda Classic here and there. It’s a great game, a great port of the NES Legend Of Zelda, and there’s plenty of custom content that keeps that thing going strong. It is, for all intents and purposes, my preferred way of playing Zelda 1.
In a period where fan games based on Nintendo properties are C&D into oblivion, it’s nice to see that one of these fan efforts is not only still around, but still heavily supported to this day by the people developing the thing. The most recent version upgrades the engine further so that the gameplay can feel more like the later games.
Go check it out if you can, especially if you like your classic Zelda.

Own A 3DS? Get Mega Man Legacy Collection For A Few Bucks…

Source: https://www.siliconera.com/mega-man-eshop-sale-covers-almost-major-entry/

So, for the next couple weeks and in light of the Mega Man Zero/ZX series getting their own Legacy Collection, the Nintendo eShop has discounted lots of its Mega Man titles on the Switch… but the most notable is that the 3DS version of Mega Man Legacy Collection is now $5.99 for a limited time, down from its original $14.99. Now, honestly, that’s a way better deal than buying each of the individual Virtual Console releases, which aren’t discounted.

For what it’s worth, the 3DS doesn’t have any of the updates that the console and PC versions got; the controversial Rewind feature as well as the Turbo function, which eliminated all the slowdown. However, there is amiiboo support or whatever it’s called… so that’s something.