The evening Inbox asks whether EA deserve their negative reputation, as one reader worries about the death of game shops.
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Perfect storm
Elden Ring basically sounds like a dream game for From fans. I guess some will be upset that the level design will be less intricate than previous games but I think the chance to shake things up while still keeping a lot of the basics sounds great. The obvious comparison seems to be between old school 3D Zelda and Breath of The Wild, and it sounds like they are making a lot of similar decisions to what Nintendo will have had to do.
The thing that gets me is that the budget on this must be pretty huge, which is a surprise but a very welcome one. I love that Dark Souls became such a huge influence, I imagine From were more surprised than anyone but for me its one of the most deserved and encouraging success stories of recent years.
The worry would be if they were going to dumb things down but I dont think anyone would do that with From or Dark Souls, as its not as if theyre mainstream names. Basically, everything looks like the perfect set up for a potentially perfect game, and I dont think thats hyperbole at all!
Rinser
Grey areas
I think that news about EA execs giving their bonuses was quite an eye-opener and not something I would expect from the company. The only time Ive heard about something like that was from Iwata and his board when the 3DS was doing badly and they took a pay cut, and I really didnt think EA and Nintendo would be the only two companies to show that kind of self-awareness.
It does show how some companies get a reputation and when the facts dont fit people just try to pretend or ignore it. EA are pretty nasty company if youre a customer but I can believe that they do feel at least fairly protective of their developers and what leads to them being laid off or shut down is EAs incompetence not the fact that theyre evil.
Likewise, Activision are always being painted as just as bad based purely on the fact that Call Of Duty is popular and pretty much nothing else. While we ignore Nintendos trigger-happy lawyers, Sonys bullying tactics, and the fact that Microsoft is only in the position they are because they shut down most of their developers. Theres good and bad in all people and all companies, so Im not sure theres much point in generalising them, except to feel good about ourselves.
Serge
Before the end
The one thing I havent seem many people talking about with the rise of game streaming and digital downloads in general is what happens to game shops. A reader wrote in the other day about his local store closing but what about GAME? I read a story the other day about them maybe being bought out but who would buy a company thats basically Blockbusters a year or two before Netflix becomes big?
My local GAME already sells as many phones and merchandise as it does actual games so god knows what its going to look like before the end. I dont think its anyones fault really. People talk about the high prices at GAME but theyre not big enough to undercut the likes of Amazon so theres not really much they can do.
Soon the only thing youll need to buy physically is a controller and maybe a console and Im sure therell be lots of easier ways to do that than venturing out onto the high street.
Gorf
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Partly out
After watching Microsofts E3 conference I thought it was a huge let down to be honest. They had the whole show to themselves and Phil Spencer (who I cant stand) said they would be going all out. If thats all out Id hate two see them not. And this Game Pass, its a really good idea but one problem: the only new games that are going on it are the first party Xbox games. The latest Assassins Creed, Mortal Kombat, and all the others arent signing up for it until theyre out for at least two years minimum and the reason is they can get more money selling them without Game Pass.
I havent looked at the list of games on Game Pass but I bet 75% are over two years old and the other 25% are made by Xbox themselves. And now they have bought out a PC one which will have the same problem: lack of games. And is it me or has Microsoft got more consoles out then exclusive games? If not it wont be long till thats a fact. Anyway, good idea with Game Pass, just a shame no developers are signing up for it.
david
Giving them ideas
RE: Anons letter about reusing game maps in other games (Im usually interested in what Anon has to say but I do think you print too many of his letters).
It got me thinking about an idea I had while I was snowboarding in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. One of the big game developers could make a big open world with countryside, mountains, deserts, seas, lakes, maybe a city and a handful of towns and villages.
Make it available to download for free then add various types of video game in as paid-for downloads: snowboarding, racing (on land and water), Pilotwings clone, first person shooter, etc. with different areas of the map sectioned off for different tracks and levels.
Dominic
GC: We assume youre joking, but Anon just means the reader didnt give their name. Its not the same person every time.
Bloody good
Im surprised that I havent seen it mentioned more in the Inbox, but I wanted to write in and praise Blood & Truth – what a fantastic game and showcase of exactly how good VR can be! Ive been playing through it in short bursts over the past week or so and have absolutely loved every minute of it!
Im not so fussed about the next generation consoles because I think that the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X heralded the era of 0.5 step upgrades, with the next gen you might have some faster load times, maybe some improved artificial intelligence, and things will look a bit rounder and shinier, but graphics are already becoming so realistic that things are eventually going to plateau.
Im more interested to see how VR will develop. PlayStation VR is great, but there is still so much more that can be done to improve it! Ive also been having a blast with Crash Team Racing over the weekend too, I never played the original so its been a learning curve after playing Mario Kart most of my life!
Rickandrolla (PSN ID)
No show
Will be seeing a E3 preview of Shenmue III from you GC? Ill be disappointed if we dont.
I watched the various gameplay videos on YouTube and it looks really, really good. The atmosphere is right and Im feeling quite hopeful that it will be as good as the previous games.
I do expect there will still be a few bugs on release, that is if it doesnt get pushed back again.
Oni-Samurai (PSN ID)
Currently playing: Marvels Spider-Man
GC: It didnt have much of a presence at E3 and we didnt see it.
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