The morning Inbox worries about why Jade Raymond has left EA and Star Wars, as one reader compares Bethesda with Telltale Games.
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To wait or not to wait
I played the Fallout 76 beta as well and I would largely agree with what GC wrote about it. It was better than I expected but also… after having gone to all that trouble to play it I strangely dont feel any temptation to go back. It is so similar to Fallout 4 Im just not sure what would be the point. I played that game for hundreds of hours, so obviously I like it, but I dont feel like I want to spend that much time again to play something thats very similar but with less story.
And although I kept telling myself not to expect much I was still disappointed by the graphics. The greenery was quite good, with some nice trees, but as soon as you got near the buildings it just all looked so flat and last gen. Like, the lighting is better in places but out on the tarmac near that airport it all looks very low tech. Never mind Red Dead Redemption II it looks terrible compared to just about any big budget game lately.
What Id normally say in this kind of situation is that Ill wait and buy the game on cheap. But by that time who knows what state the community will be in. I dont fancy starting from scratch when everyone is a nuclear missile-firing pro. I gotta say, I think Bethesda has got a dud on their hands here.
Gadfly
Deaf leopard
Although this stuff about Rockstar forcing their employees to work unpaid overtime seems pretty awful. Theyre denying it but it all seems like damage control to me. I never really understood why they were so secretive but I never imagined it was because of bad working conditions. Would it be so hard to, I dunno, hire some more people? If Rockstar are short of money then we should all give up really.
It leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth playing their stuff to be honest, especially as it made me go and read up on the conditions around the first game which I hadnt heard about at the time. They were pretty awful and probably the worst in the industry at the time, so its kind of hard to believe things would be completely different now. A leopard and his sports and all that.
I wont bother mention boycotts because I sure know I wont stick to them. But I kind of feel I probably should.
Carl
Consistent buzzing
I wouldnt be too worried about Battlefield V. Its buzz might not be that loud but everything Ive heard has been pretty positive. Apart from all the sexist stuff at the reveal I dont think theres been anything really negative. Even the stuff about it not being historically accurate seems to have gone away since the War Stories were shown.
I think itll do well and that coming out quite a while after Call Of Duty will be good for it. The late Battle Royale intro might even be good for it, if people have had enough of Blackout by that point. What I do think will never happen now is ever overtaking Call Of Duty as the number one shooter. It looked like it was getting close back around Battlefield 3 but it messed up with the launch of 4 and I dont see it ever getting back to those levels.
Only chance might be Bad Company 3, and I was surprised to see DICE mention the last one on their own in GCs last interview with them.
Topsy
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Sinking ship
I see Jade Raymond has left EA. Not the most exciting news in itself but shed gone there to set up a new studio and their first big game was the Star Wars one that got canned, or rather it was rumoured to be turned into a multiplayer game from a single-player game.
She couldve left for any reason, obviously, but I wonder if shes finally had enough of whatever EA were trying to do and just left them to it. I certainly have no confidence well ever see the game properly finished. And even less than it will be any good. If anyone knows of an online timer to when EA loses the licence please let me know as Id be checking I a lot.
Jo Snow
Physics be damned
Im on holiday on the Amalfi coast in Italy at the moment and the frankly terrifying driving made me think of Ridge Racer. I loved the glory days of Ridge Racer Revolution with a Neg-Con.
Even arcade racers these days seem to pay passing reverence to the laws of physics. Arent we overdue a proper silly sunshiny return to the purity of Ridge Racer on current consoles? I have a PlayStation 4 ready to scratch my nostalgic itch. What are the chances?
DrIJN013 (PSN ID)
GC: There were lots of rumours of a Nintendo Switch reboot six months or so ago, but they never came to anything. The last official mention of the franchise was including Ridge Racer 4 with the PlayStation Classic.
Telltale signs
Does anyone else get Telltale Games vibes from Bethesda at the moment? Both companies have stuck with old tech and bad graphics for so long now its getting impossible to imagine them ever being good. They also keep denying the problem even though everyone always tells them about it and it would be relatively easy to fix, especially as I assume Bethesda are a lot better off than Telltale ever would be.
I just feel like both companies have kind of fallen in love with their own hype and refused to keep with the times. Telltale have already paid the price and I hate to see Bethesda do the same. But if Fallout 76 flops… youve got to wonder where their next guaranteed hit is coming from. They keep saying the next Elder Scrolls is years away so what are they banking on? Doom 2? The first was only a hit after it got discounted down to £15.
I worry for the company but to me the warning signs are obvious and worrying familiar.
Lockey
Broadcast dispute
I see that Ginx TV is no longer being broadcast on Virgin TV. Apparently Virgin Media went back on an agreement with Ginx to upgrade the channel to HD, so they have parted company.
A real shame this. I did not watch it religiously but I did enjoy The First Hour on a Thursday evening, it would be nice to see Adam Savage doing something similar on one of the mainstream channels – a funny man and real enthusiasm for all types of games.
captainbloodsnot (PSN ID)
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Microsoft and Nintendo in a tree
I think it would actually be more interesting if that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leak was fake, because who on earth would go to all that effort? But seriously, I dont see how its not real – which is pretty wild. I love seeing Microsoft work with Nintendo and I would absolutely love to see Minecraft in the game, not to mention Master Chief. Why not? Hes less violent than Solid Snake and not really direct competition to Nintendo. Smash could turn into the Nintendo and Microsoft party, and Sony can only join if they allow cross-play in their games!
I have no idea who Geno is but Im strangely amused by putting Mach Rider in. Thats so obscure its great, although that lack of any proper Advance Wars rep is killing me. Maybe as DLC? The absolute best one though is Isaac from Golden Sun. Never would have expected to see that and it suddenly gives me new hope that we could get a new game at some point.
I hope that Smash has little playable clips like last time to explain what all these games are to people. That was linked to the Virtual Console though so I dont know if they would. I hope so though because Smash is almost just as entertaining being a sort of virtual museum of Nintendo magic. Cant wait to see the trophies too as theyre often even more obscure than the fighters!
Ovencooked
Inbox also-rans
That Smash Bros. leak actually does look real. I cant even begin to imagine how sacked that guy is now. Social media claims yet another victim!
M. Myers
Can I just say bravo for your Blade Runner reference in the caption for that Super Smash Bros. leak story. That did make me chuckle.
Cloudster
This weeks Hot Topic
The subject for this weekends Inbox was suggested by reader stanley71 and asks what was your favourite video games magazine?
With the news that GamesTM and GameMaster are to close next month the era of the games mag is almost over, but what are your fondest memories and which were your favourite titles? How often did you use to read games mags and how important were they to you in terms of entertainment and games advice?
Do you still read games mags now and do you think theres any way they can survive? What do they do better than the Internet and what will you miss most when theyre gone?
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