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I admit that last week’s column was a bit tough. It came from a place of upset and frustration. I hope I can tell you that this week was better, but to be honest, it’s not that much. There have been multiple stories about layoffs in the industry, but listening is never fun. Also, both Monkey Island and God of War seem to be increasing tensions between gamers and game creators. Not everything is bad this week, but not everyone is good either.
Starting with the bad news, both Unity and Niantic announced layoffs this week. Niantic has fired more than 80 staff and canceled some unfinished projects.According to a spokeswoman (via) The Verge), This is to “focus on our most important priorities, such as Pokemon GO and carefully selected new experiences.” Meanwhile, Unity is reported to have dismissed 4% of its staff (or at least many are affected by the dismissal). This will be over 200 people. The company said in a statement that this is part of an “ongoing planning process that regularly assesses resource levels for our priorities.”
In other not-so-good news, Ron Gilbert seems to have shut down all conversations about Return to Monkey Island on his website. According to his post, “People are just mean and need to remove personal attack comments … I no longer post about the game on my blog. The joy of sharing was driven by me.” And I read the comments. Yes, they weren’t good, assuming that what I read was spared deletion. Most people seemed dissatisfied with the new art style, but you wouldn’t expect anyone to do so. .. .. Loud.
Shortly before that, God of War fame Cory Barlog unveiled rumors that this week’s release date for Ragnarok could be lowered. I asked gamers patiently. He says he will share information about the game as soon as it becomes available. Almost as soon as Gilbert invalidated his comment on his return to Monkey Island, Sony Santa Monica film producer Esteretigani revealed that he had received a harassing DM asking for the release date of Ragnarok. These two events made Barlog even more upset.
Everyone, let’s stop this. not good. I know I’ve talked hard about publishers before. This is mainly because I think the root cause of game delays is a bit too dependent on the fan’s obsession with paper. But, at least in my opinion, criticizing game developers and publishers for not having a more realistic production schedule, and misusing game trailers not to drop when needed. There is a difference. It doesn’t matter if God of War Ragnarok is everything you live in, or if you look at the Return to Monkey Island art style, the tear ducts flip. It’s not a nasty excuse for those who make games.
Still, there’s a bit of news. There was a nice Nintendo Direct Mini earlier this week. I couldn’t see the whole thing, but there was still some news of choice. One is getting the Persona title on Switch, as well as Nier Automata. And Square Enix’s new farming sim, Harvestella (God, did I really write that sentence?) Looks fun. So there were some highlights this week.
What to do this week
What’s New:
What’s New in Subscription Services *:
- Far Cry 5 (Xbox Game Pass)
- Marvel Island Beast (Gold Xbox Game)
- Thrill Building: Off the Rail (Xbox Games with Gold)
- Rockman Mega World (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Comix Zone (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Target Earth (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Zero Wing (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Maniac Mansion (Prime Gaming)
- Suzerainty (Prime Gaming)
- Felseal: Arbiters Mark (Prime Gaming)
- Fishing: North Atlantic (Prime Gaming)
- 5 nights at Freddy’s: Security Violation (Stadia Pro)
- Centipede Charge (Stadia Pro)
- Remaining person (Stadia Pro)
- Worms WMD (Stadia Pro)
- Roguebook (Stadia Pro)
- Fast and Furious: Spy Racers Rise of SH1FT3R (Stadia Pro)
- Alaloth – Four Kingdom Champions (GeForce Now)
- Disgaea 6 Complete (GeForce Now)
- Card Shark (GeForce Now)
- KartKraft (GeForce Now)
- Hotline Miami (GeForce Now)
- NASCAR 21: Ignition (GeForce Now)
- My Bowling 3D + (Apple Arcade)
* Starting this week, Apple Arcade will be added to this list
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