Thursday's letters page is angry that the Assassin's Creed Shadows reveal was spoiled, as one reader hoped Deadly battle: Shaolin monks 2.
To participate in the discussions yourself, you can send an email [email protected]
Last chance salon
Why do I get that feeling? Project breadth will be Xbox's final roll of the dice? Looking back on it now, I don't know what they expected to achieve by purchasing Activision Blizzard. They can't afford to make the games exclusive and it's clear at this point that nothing will make a difference in that Game pass.
So why did they do it? For the money Duty That is certainly the case, but how long will it take before that increases to $69 billion and they actually start making a profit?
Their only hope is to go multiformat for all games, but if you do, what's the point of owning an Xbox console, especially for a newcomer? I hate to break it to Microsoft, but streaming isn't here yet and PC gamers hate extra launchers and complications like that.
Xbox can be very successful publishing games in any format, but really it's just Activision Blizzard with a different name, and maybe Halo every five years or so. It's a sad ending that I have a nasty feeling Microsoft is going to make even messier than necessary.
Joke
Any announcement
My guess is that Xbox probably won't announce any new multiformat games at the June showcase, or at least not many. They'll continue this charade even longer and then next year we'll get Starfield Gold Edition or whatever, along with probably Halo and Gears Of War compilations.
That's my prediction, but whatever happens, at some point Phil Spencer will have to go back on his word that big-name games won't go multiformat. Everyone knew he was lying when he said it and they will definitely know if he goes back on it, so what was the point? They should have been honest with us from the start.
Class
Throw the book at them
That Assassin's Creed Shadow Reveal was the perfect example of everything that's wrong with gaming announcements right now. Every detail had already been leaked in advance, from the date (leaked by Ubisoft itself!) to the characters and at least the basics of the special editions.
Everything that could be spoiled was spoiled and to top it all off the trailer was all pre-rendered and did nothing other than show the two characters doing vaguely Assassin's Creed-esque things. As for the game… well, they didn't show that. So how am I supposed to know? All that time and effort and I still don't know anything about it until Monday.
I always wonder what happens to developers who leak information. I'd like to think they're getting into serious trouble – industrial espionage or something – but I get the feeling publishers don't even care that much, but they should, because this is the way things are. annoying.
I think
Email your comments to: [email protected]
Good excuse
I wonder if the failure of Mortal Kombat 1 will be the last excuse to make a sequel to Shaolin Monks? I think it would be a bit strange to just release yet another one-on-one fighter and do a second reboot or pretend that everyone loved Mortal Kombat 1 and move on to a sequel.
The best answer would be a nice little breather with a different game style, right? A co-op fighting game where you wander around like Streets Of Rage sounds pretty tempting to me, with high-end graphics and Mortal Kombat blood. It would stop them from making an Injustice game as well.
Pascal
A hint of a promise
I'm reading several reports about Call Of Duty coming to Game Pass, but I think if they don't, it will be the final nail in the coffin for many Xbox core gamers. Many people I know kept their Game Pass with the promise that the Call Of Duty games would come to Game Pass.
Phil Spencer heavily hinted that this would be the case and promised news, but then went quiet. I have a feeling Call Of Duty's broken promise on Game Pass will be the final disappointment for many, and I'm an Xbox gamer and haven't seen anything this bad since the Kinect days. So many dropped balls and games that don't live up to the hype.
TWO MACKEN
GC: No one knows if they will do it; Microsoft probably doesn't know if they'll do it. But a promise and a hint are two very different things.
Clinical suggestion
I'm loving all the speculation about Resident Evil 9 right now. See how fun this kind of thing is when we don't know anything? I have a feeling it will be third person again as they clearly want to break away from the last game and what's the point of playing as Leon if you can't see his floppy hair?
I understand why they want that Resident Evil 4 connection, but Village was already inspired by it, so I don't see them going too hard on the homages for a second game in a row.
Village was pretty low tech though, even if they made robot men or whatever was going on in that industrial area. So I think a good way to change it would be to go back to more streamlined sci-fi. They haven't done that in a while – that whole cynical Apple-style laboratory setup – and yet it's quite important to the whole Resident Evil look and feel.
I would welcome a stronger horror atmosphere, but one thing I hope is that they return to more of a survival angle. It was like it was raining ammunition in Village, but for me Resident Evil should be the opposite of that. It's always worth exchanging things every now and then, but I think these are some elements we'll have to come back to eventually.
Oh, and bring Wesker back. We're gaming's cheesiest villain who made a full comeback a long time ago.
Calm
Studio loyalty
Has GC seen the rumors of it being a Lego Horizon game? It seems kind of weird to me, I wouldn't have said Horizon was anywhere near famous enough for something like that. I wonder what influence Hermen Hulst will have now that he is co-boss of PlayStation. Will we see more Horizon games because they're made by his old studio Guerilla Games?
I guess it doesn't really matter, but it seems like he's not completely impartial, if you know what I mean. Maybe the other guy should have been in charge of everything.
Paulie
GC: We saw that, but it was not clear what it referred to. It could just be a Lego set and not even a game. Our best guess would be something for Lego Fortnite.
Everything or nothing
What I don't understand about the recent one PlayStation 5 hardware numbers is that they are generally quite good. Without the 29% drop they were really good. As I understand it, that decline came a year or two early in the cycle, but other than that everything looks good.
So…do we know of anything unusual that has happened to PlayStation in the last two years? Oh, that's right, that's exactly when they stopped announcing and releasing first party games. Now tell me that's a coincidence.
People are trying to figure out what Xbox is going to do, but personally I don't really care. The only Xbox console I've ever owned is the Xbox 360, and since then they've done absolutely nothing to make me regret it.
But what's Sony's next step? Xbox is clearly in trouble, but PlayStation 5 isn't real, or at least not something that requires a complete rethink. But it sounds like they're preparing some sort of scorched earth policy that may or may not involve live service games.
Xbox is planning a next-gen console in the next year or two, but there's no sign of Sony doing that with the PlayStation 6. It seems very likely since they have the PS5 Pro this year, so they don't want to make people think that a Pro has only a short lifespan before being replaced.
I really don't know what they're up to or why everything is suddenly all or nothing. Gaming has gotten so weird lately, and not in a good way.
Tim Rogers
Inbox is also running
All I can say is that it's probably a good idea that these showcases aren't live events anymore, because if Sony puts on another one like last year, they'll be booed off stage.
Sausage
Little Kitty, Big City is two hours for £20+?! I wanted to buy that for my girlfriend, but no thanks for that price. Too bad, because I bet she would love it.
CrichtonKiss
Email your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic inboxes on weekends. Reader letters are used on a merit basis and can be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600 word reader feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff pagewhich, if used, will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to do so follow us on twitter.
MORE : Games Inbox: Hope for new PlayStation bosses, Assassin's Creed Shadows DLC and Fallout 4 updates
MORE : Games Inbox: Worst name for video game console, Call Of Duty on Game Pass and Fable on PS5
Follow Metro Gaming Tweet and email us [email protected]
If you want to submit Inbox letters and Reader features more easily, without having to send an email, just use our Submit the Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check out our Game page.
Sign up for all the exclusive gaming content and the latest releases before they hit the site.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and Google Privacy Policy And Terms of Service to apply.