The Friday Letters page is confused about what Embracer spends its money on, as one reader suggests scrapping the Splinter Cell remake.
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No second chances
I see a lot of people talking about Cyberpunk 2077 again, now that the Netflix anime is out and the story DLC is on the table. Does this mean we are now forgetting the launch or, more importantly, the shameful way CD Projekt acted towards both its customers and employees?
I never bought the game, and while I admit the recent improvement in reputation makes me wonder if it’s worth a try, I’d just rather not give CD Projekt the money. I feel like they and the industry in general have learned nothing from the whole incident.
People thought it would be a turning point and no other publisher would ever release a broken video game again, but of course they did. They started doing it just a few months after Cyberpunk 2077.
And now CD Projekt is talking about more The Witcher games – the obvious way to recover from their problems. But I don’t like it. They were very happy to scam everyone and work their staff to death just to make a release date and I don’t think that attitude should be rewarded. Especially considering that they don’t seem so apologetic anymore.
Boiler
Long-term plan
I don’t care if there’s a new Saints Row, but what interests me every time their name pops up is when Embracer Group is going to announce or release something worth the massive amounts of money they’re throwing around.
They have spent literally billions in recent years and what do they have to offer for that? It seems impossible to get a list of all their games as they own so many different publishers, but as far as I can tell their biggest game is probably Saints Row, along with things like Biomutant and Darksiders. Somehow I doubt EA is looking over their shoulder.
People are talking about the problems that Microsoft will have to integrate all their developers and I think we’ve already seen it in miniature with Embracer. They have spent all this money and seem to have nothing for it and have no idea that anything will change soon. I fear that many of these studios will eventually be sold or demolished.
fish hawk
New and old
So they go change the gameplay and story of Splinter Cell in the remake? I don’t want to ask a stupid question, but if you’re going to do that, why don’t you just make a new game? It’s not that the first one is anyone’s favorite anyway (I’d rather have a Chaos Theory remake), but a new game would be great.
If you have to change that much about a game to make a remake, I think that’s a good sign that you shouldn’t make it. I’m not so much concerned about the changes in the story as I can’t remember how it used to be, but make the stealth gameplay more modern? What’s the point? Why play a remake looking for something modern?
If you want it to be old school do a remake, if you want something modern make a new game. You can’t do both at the same time.
Tony T.
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Lucasfilm awakens
So glad to hear that Lucasfilm plans to make more graphic adventure, I’d love to see a new Maniac Mansion. They used to be so experimental, with future sports games, fractal-based first person games, an MMO (in 1986!), military simulations, puzzle games and of course graphic adventures.
The only problem with what they’ve announced so far is that they’re all sequels or licensed games. I’d love to see them announce and put their shoulders to the wheel and complete the transition to the old Lucasfilm Games. I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s imaginative and unusual.
Preston
damn strange
If we assume this man is right against Bloodborne, and he seems to know his craft, then you just have to wonder why? What on earth could Sony be waiting for? The only thing that makes sense is that they didn’t want to do a PlayStation 5 patch because they’re working on a remaster/remake that they want to sell at full price. But they wouldn’t be so transparently manipulative, would they?
Self-awareness doesn’t seem to be a common feature among publishers, but Sony should definitely realize that their game prices are not popular and that it’s clearly not good to scam customers.
Or maybe there’s another explanation, like, uh… they keep forgetting? I mean, I really don’t know what else it could be. What a very rare situation.
Combi92
As well as possible in the given circumstances
RE: Loopmaster and Splatoon 3. I’d give it more of a shot. It sounds like you’ve only just reached Anarchy Battles, where the real meat of the game is. I haven’t even touched the single player, Salmon Run, or the new card game yet. Anarchy Battles has four unique modes that all require very different tactics. Like any shooter, or even game, you get what you put into it. In other words, you’ll have to practice to get good, but once you do, it’s great.
Some of the Anarchy matches I’ve had are as good as gaming. Hectic, tense, exciting and just unbelievably fun. My personal favorite is Tower Control, which never gets old. I love using the new tri-stringer weapon for this, with its exploding arrows for an excellent tactical edge. Do you also use all the different weapons? This changes things significantly.
I’m really happy that the game is a huge success, at least in Japan. The reviews are right when they say there isn’t enough innovation from the first two titles, but to be honest this is the best the base game has ever been. As with the previous games, I can imagine Nintendo has a lot more to offer through updates and the large-scale DLC. Hopefully this is where the new stuff comes in. Is there anything from Nintendo about the update schedule?
Ryan O’D
GC: Not yet, but post-launch support for Splatoon 2 has been excellent, so it should be.
Gloomy recommendation
Just a word of warning that this week’s free Epic Games Store title is the truly excellent Gloomhaven.
Highly recommend anyone with any interest in games like XCOM or Into The Breach to give it a try (including yourself, GC!).
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)
No quick switch
My thoughts on when the Switch 2 is likely to launch has less to do with the state of the current machine and more to do with what I think should be next.
As far as I’m concerned, it would ideally have the same functionality and be at least as powerful as an original Xbox One or PlayStation 4. To achieve that with reasonable battery life, at a reasonable price, I think it’s probably a bit too unrealistic to put it earlier. than expected by the end of 2024.
However, that’s just intuition about price and technology. I’ve seen the Steam Deck used as an example to counter those thoughts, but the current form factor, battery, and price still don’t seem to me the kind that Nintendo would go for (and that’s with Valve admitting a heavy blow to to get it on the market at those prices).
Not that I don’t think there’s any chance of an earlier release, but I’d think it’s pretty amazing if a Switch 2 comes out in the next 18 months and it doesn’t disappoint many vocal folks looking for something more akin to a portable PlayStation 4.
Panda
Inbox is running too
RE: the PlayStation 5 aesthetic. I can’t say it’s an ugly console, but then again, what do I know about it? I bought an American SNES years ago and didn’t mind looking at it.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)
GC: We can attribute the PlayStation 5 to personal taste, but the American SNES?! You Monster!
Sometimes I find obsessive fans a little scary, but I have to admit that the GTA 6 map they’ve made is an impressive piece of work, even if at the same time it seems completely pointless. But kudos to those who have fun and speculate.
nozo
This week’s hot topic
After Inbox from last weekend on this week’s favorite fantasy video games asks the related question: what is your favorite sci-fi game?
It can be a licensed game if you want, but also try to include a game that started in video games. How big are you a fan of science fiction in general, and how much of a distinction do you make between relatively grounded settings and space fantasy?
Do you think there are too many or too few sci-fi games right now and what kinds of games would you like to see more of, including specific genres like space battle simulators and sci-fi horror?
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