Friday letters page reflects on why PlayStation owners are more loyal than Xbox fans, as one reader questions Nintendo Switch’s first year.
To join the discussions yourself, please email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Warring States
So it seems things are starting to get nasty between Sony and Microsoft, with all these investigations into the Activision Blizzard acquisition. If it doesn’t go through, I’ll be absolutely shocked because while it gives Microsoft an unfair advantage, what are the chances that anyone researching this will understand the nuances of the gaming industry or say no to Microsoft? Especially since none of the third-party publishers have said anything to it (probably because they’re also afraid of Microsoft).
The whole Sony “block rights” thing also sounds absolutely true, but I have a hard time getting too outraged about it. The whole Game Pass situation just came about because Microsoft is a lot richer than Sony, so if Sony has to fight dirt by paying publishers not to put their games on Game Pass, I can’t blame them. It would presumably be cheaper than getting them on PlayStation Plus and it’s not like the publisher can’t just say no.
I’m not one to encourage a multinational company, but if Xbox beats Sony just because it has more money, I’d think it’s a shame, especially if the games aren’t that good. You know, if there were games.
Wotan
Four good years
I think if you had asked if PlayStation owners were more loyal than Xbox when the Xbox 360 was big, you would have gotten a very different answer. That’s the one time Xbox was ahead and a lot of people were “loyal” to it, until Microsoft started messing around with Kinect and then Xbox One.
There was only a period of three to four years when Xbox was really popular, so it’s not surprising that people don’t consider themselves loyal. I think that’s quickly changing with Xbox Series X/S, or rather Game Pass, but the remaining problem of no exclusive games and Microsoft buying itself the win is all a bit icky.
nobbic
Immediately hit
So do we expect Overwatch 2 to really get big? Or will it just be a blip as the entire franchise continues its unstoppable decline? Since it’s free I can’t really see it being anything other than a huge hit, and yet I see very little hype for it.
Is it because existing fans are so jaded about it and everyone just doesn’t know or care about it until it launches and then it will be big? Things like MultiVersus seem to get big literally overnight just because you can download it for free and try it, so I don’t see it being any different for Overwatch 2, especially since we already know the game is good.
Or at least I still think it’s that good. I haven’t played it for a few months now, I have to admit, and to be honest, it’s partly because of the constant negativity.
Shemp
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Arkham sidekicks
We all know this fall’s game lineup isn’t much to get excited about, but I looked through what’s to come and Gotham Knights is one of the biggest, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked to anyone about it. heard talk. them or among my friends. Considering how big Batman: Arkham was, it seems weird that they made a Batman game without Batman and just his four dweeby sidekicks.
Some of their powers also seem weird and supernatural, with the teleport and all, so I’m not exactly sure what’s going on. Batgirl seems to be the most like Batman, so I think I’ll stick with her as much as possible, but the whole concept seems like something no one asked for.
I do have some hope that it just doesn’t show as well as the same team did the surprisingly good Arkham Origins, but if this turns out to be a flop I wouldn’t be surprised.
Ollie
All good things
After reading your piece on Xbox trying to push through their little deal, what they say is wrong. They say having Call Of Duty on Game Pass will not give them a grip on the gaming market. Of course it will. I’m a PlayStation fan, I’ll be honest, I don’t want Xbox to buy Activation and to be honest I don’t think some Xbox fans do either.
As GC said, it’s one of the three best-selling games of the year. If Xbox buys it, this will be the last Call Of Duty on PlayStation Plus. Subscribers will wail because the price has gone up, Xbox will hang up their price and say ‘But it’s Call Of Duty’. if it goes through it will be a dark day in gaming but i don’t see it going through. If so, I think the gaming will stop for me.
David
Change focus
Forspoken has always looked awful, but I hope it and Stranger Of Paradise are part of what convinced Square Enix to rethink their business and focus on making more traditional Japanese games. Both games are made by Japanese teams, but they are clearly trying to appeal to Western (read: American audiences) but in the most unappealing way possible, with terribly difficult dialogue and misplaced characters.
The normal contemporary character in Forspoken actually seems like a good idea (nothing in Stranger Of Paradise does), but everything so far just makes it so raspy. I think the problem is that the games take the scenarios seriously, but the dialogue is just cheap crap that doesn’t match the rest at all.
I’m afraid Final Fantasy 16 will have a similar problem, as it’s clear it’s also trying to appeal to the West with its Game of Thrones aesthetic. Doesn’t Square Enix recognize that all of its most successful things are the games that are most authentic for what they are and their great heritage? Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 14 were great, so I’d like more of that and less of the rest.
disk
Caught audience
Think of me as someone who is really looking forward to Splatoon 3. I hope Nintendo makes a real effort to push it because they tend not to get so worked up about something really big in Japan and just write it off as something that the West is not into.
For me it is by far the most exciting online shooter of the last few generations and it really needs to be appreciated by more people. One of the few times I’ve regretted having a Nintendo game stuck in their formats.
Clayborn
Bad service
I’m playing devil’s advocate here, as the first two years of the Switch’s life were undoubtedly filled with many excellent games, but if memory serves, it didn’t consist of many cross-gen releases as well (Zelda: Breath Of The Wild), version 1.5 ports of Wii U games (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) and some really top-notch exclusives (Super Mario Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids)? I remember being a little disappointed with the lineup at times as there was a lot of cannibalization on the Wii U lineup (and I wasn’t for double-dipping! Well, apart from Breath Of The Wild. ..).
I’ve been happy with the PlayStation exclusive consoles so far, without being earth-shattering; there have been many ‘good’ games like Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, Deathloop, Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sifu etc. but maybe only Returnal and Demon’s Souls are really top in my eyes .
The Xbox Series X has definitely had a slower start and I’ve mainly used it to play the Xbox One games I missed with the previous generation. I can certainly understand why people weren’t happy with the PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X generation as there wasn’t much incentive to upgrade other than improved performance, but on PlayStation 5 at least I feel like the lack of AAA 3rd party games has been the biggest contributor to the barren release schedules.
As an aside, I would have thought that a bunch of tech-savvy game developers would have adapted to hybrid/home work a little faster than they seem to have done, but maybe there are some things intrinsic to game development that don’t transfer well. I’ve often seen it written that Nintendo’s way of working has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic – have they ever hinted at that, or is that just anecdotal? I wonder if maybe they would be less inclined to let people take work home as they are very wary of their IP.
Magnum Stache
GC: What do you mean by “just” that they don’t let people take work home? That’s the whole point. In the past, they had dorms full of developers sleeping in their offices at night. If you’re saying the Switch didn’t have one of the best early years of a console in history, fine, but we certainly disagree. Especially since you’re omitting Splatoon 2, ARMS, Snipperclips, Fire Emblem Warriors, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Inbox is running too
Does Return To Monkey Island no longer have a release date? Has it been postponed? If it comes out this year, it’s a little late not to have even a month to get it in, isn’t it?
Carian king
GC: There has never been a date or month, but it was still supposed to come out this year.
I found Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge a bit disappointing to be honest. It’s very responsive, not in the way you’d expect, but the level layouts and boss fights are basically all the same, just with different graphics. It feels like they could have mixed it up a lot more than this.
Tech Noir
This week’s hot topic
The topic for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Cosmo, who asks what is your favorite video game universe?
Which game or franchise do you think has the most interesting fictional universe? Is it because of the lore, the characters, the art design, the gameplay, or something else? What is a good fictional world and how has your choice improved the games it has played in?
Have you explored the game world in media outside of video games, such as books and comics, and do you think it’s interesting enough to be adapted as a TV show or movie?
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The fine print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes on the weekend. Letters from readers are used on a merit basis and are editable in length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600 word Reader feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which, if used, will be featured on the next available weekend.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to do so follow us on twitter.
MORE: Games Inbox: Best Survival Horror Game, Splatoon 3 Changes and Elden Ring Completion Times
MORE: Games Inbox: Elden Ring Completion Time, Capcom Reboot, and Crash Bandicoot: The Movie
MORE: Games Inbox: PS5 and Xbox Series X disappointment, Tekken 8 hope, and Destiny 2 exclusivity
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
To make it easier to submit letters to your Inbox and Reader’s Features without sending an email, use our Stuff Stuff page here.
For more such stories, check out our Gaming page.
0 Comments