The Morning Inbox discusses the secret of Rockstars success with GTA Online, as one reader bids adieu to id Softwares Tim Willits.
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Everybodys doing it
The annoucement about Uplay is pretty interesting but I have to agree that once everyone starts doing their own subscriptions this is already going to get badly out of control. Youve already got Game Pass, EA Access, and Uplay+ and I assume youre also going to have an equivalent from Sony last gen. Then how long before the smaller publishers start joining in and youve got a Bethesda Pass, along with Square Enix and Bandai Namco? I mean why wouldnt they if it makes money?
As if thats not bad enough I think most people that would be interested in games would also probably have a few TV ones as well. Ive currently got Netflix and Amazon Prime and Ill almost certainly get Disney+ as well. All these subscriptions are more than £5 so you are looking at maybe £40 to £50 a month by the time you get to the next gen.
And yet…. is that still not reasonably good value for money? Thats the price of one new game for more games and TV than you could ever possible play/watch. There has got to be a limit, but personally I dont feel Ive reached it yet.
Watson
Blocky graphics
Im pretty sure Microsoft has said they have no plans for a Minecraft 2 but am I the only that wishes they or someone else would make a game that was similar but with more realistic graphics? I get the whole block 8-bit textures but theyre really limiting in terms of the amount of detail you can put in the game. I was quite intrigued by the Minecraft Earth app but walking around life-size Minecraft buildings is kind of stupid if everythings just made up of these big blocky textures that dont look like anything. Imagine if they were actually realistic and you were creating buildings like that!
Maybe that would make things too complicated but Im pretty sure kids could handle it and would be into it as well. Im kind of surprised nobodys already done it really since the original was made by just two guys, so its obviously not a budget problem or something.
Im not even sure Minecraft 2 would solve the problem because I bet that would still look similar to the original. Oh well, maybe Minecraft just isnt for me…
Davenport
Secret numbers
Am I the only one that gets mildly depressed when I see the list of the best selling games of the year, because theyre always the most boring predictable choices. Im not complaining against people enjoying those games but more the thought that anything more ambitious tends to get ignored by most people.
Or maybe they dont? Its basically become impossible to tell how well a game is selling and I really dont know why companies are so keen to keep this a secret. Even when theyre mega hits they dont really say and certainly dont give any figures. Wasnt there supposed to be a new thing from Chart-Track where they were going to combine physical and digital sales to have a proper chart? Whatever happened to that?
Hal
GC: They did promise that at one point, but as you see its never materialised. Probably because a lot of publishers refuse to share their digital sales figures with anyone.
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The old guard
Was a bit sad to learn today that Tim Willits is leaving id Software this year after 24 years with the company. That will make his last game Rage 2, which seems a pretty sad way to leave. If you were more conspiracy minded I guess you could say maybe he was pushed out when it flopped, because it seems to have been all his idea, but I think the simplest explanation is that he just wanted to do that last project before he left.
Hes not retiring though, despite being pretty old (and presumably rich), so Im going to guess he ends up at Google, since Bethesda already seem to be in bed with them over Stadia. Unfortunately this means that theres none of the big names left at id, that worked on Doom and Quake and the early games, but hopefully Doom Eternal will prove that theyre still a major developer.
They were probably the first developer that I learned to recognise by name and I always follow their stuff, even after they were bought by Bethesda. Interested to know what theyll be working on after Doom as well too, now that the old guard has gone and theyve already rebooted all their old franchises. Hopefully its all new from now on!
Kaspian
Wait and see
That is actually a very good point about Final Fantasy XVI, I hadnt really thought about where that would come if theyre going to spend the next several years making Final Fantasy VII Remake. Although the obvious answer is simply that theyll get a different team to make it you wouldve thought theyd also want to wait and see how the remake is received and whether that should influence the next sequel.
My guess would therefore be that itll be a long while till we hear about XVI and that instead well only get the remake and other spin-offs. And Im okay with that. Im one of those that didnt really like XV and would like to see a return to a more old school style of both gameplay and setting. Sci-fi was bad enough but setting it in something that looks almost modern day was a real turn off for me.
Iggy
Constant freebies
For me, I stopped playing GTA Online regularly about two years ago but I do occasionally drop back in and will definitely have a peek at the casino. It may seem crazy to some people that GTA V is still in the charts after all this time but youve got to hand it to Rockstar for their support. Not only is everything free but they really put a lot of effort into coming up with different kinds of updates and game modes.
Im not naive enough to think this is out of the goodness of their hearts, and the way they rely on whales buying microtransactions is pretty gross, but for the majority of players youre basically getting an amazing game that is constantly being updated for nothing. That and the original appeal of GTA is why it sells so well and why the only thing thats going to stop it is a sequel.
Anton
By their fruits you will know them
That Streets Of Rage 4 list of composer is legit amazing. Im not going to pretend I recognise any of their names except Yuzo Koshiro but I think their work speaks for itself. I had no idea the Street Fighter II composer was a woman either, she really should be more famous than she had because that game is just wall to wall classics.
Ive never considered buying a game just for its soundtrack before but I would definitely consider the for this one. At this point the gameplay just has to be barely competent for me to get it.
Neil94
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Super Mario made
Ive been busy moving house so havent had as much time on Super Mario Maker 2 as I would have liked. Thanks to everyone who gave my first level a try and for the nice comments. Ive been playing through some other readers levels and they have been really good. I enjoyed replaying Nick The Greeks Saw level but a special mention has to go to FatysHenrys whose Cannonball Bog level (RXM-SJD-G2G) is the best Ive played, even better than any of the story mode ones Ive tried by NintenRead More – Source
