Honestly I think so many kickstarters just think "We'll add a comic/case/keychain/collectible that will be easy!" but each one of those things requires a lot of work setting up manufacturing, supply etc. all at a reasonable cost. When you're business is video games these are each all new skills and business relationships to foster.
@Kevember it’s no longer a billion dollar company, the last few years, and a few scandals (mouldy baby wipes and not as natural as they say), mean it’s worth less than half of what it was when it first floated.
Though I agree she’s been successful outside acting, though in truth It’s always difficult to know how much celebrities ACTUALLY have to do with the business side of companies like this. Are they just the figurehead that brings in the public or do they have a hand in actually running things. Usually there’s a business brain or two behind the scenes pulling all the strings, it’s mutually beneficial for all.
Regardless Honest Co. has been on a pretty solid downward trend for a while now.
@westman98 I've not played them all but probably not hugely. Though most of them likely did more to innovative their formula than FH5 did over FH4. Which for all it's wonder feels almost identical to the last entry, it's a wonderful game but very iterative.
It takes two in particular is a marvel. The number of brilliant gameplay mechanics that are used once and then you're onto a new one is staggering, must have taken a lot of dev time.
But as I said it wasn't just innovation. Release timing was unfortunate for this particular award as votes likely would been in to be tallied last week, the week it launched.
Ultimately it doesn't matter. You don't need someone else to validate your choices, there's always going to be personal favourites that don't make it.
@Madao Cyberpunk released 10 December 2020. Not September. It's definitely in the right awards, whether it should be there is subjective.
@Entrr_username It's rare that a game not released in the year (usually early nov - early nov) gets a nomination. But in a few cases like Among us the game only gains enough popularity to be noticed so that it is nominated.
@westman98 I get what you are saying about genre but Forza has a couple of other things going against it.
1) Release timing. It came out last week, the jury won't have had much time to play it all before votes were cast 2) Innovation. As good as FH5 is, and it's very very good, it also very familiar to anyone who played FH4 or before. Critics typically prefer risks and innovation for GOTY.
It's not alone. Half Life Alyx missed out on a nod despite scoring even higher than FH5 last year. It joins a long list like Disco Elysium, SSMBU and many others that have scored 90+ and missed out. There's only 6 slots at the end of the day
Regardless it's nominated for 3 awards, which is better than most!
@Stocksy "I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it." - Bill Gates (probably not) lol
I don't disagree that devs, or anyone, will find shortcuts to do things, that is working smarter not harder and sensible in most things in life. It's a positive trait. But it's knowing specifically when you can cut corners that is important.
I don't think that is the same as being lazy, which is indolence and sloth and a negative trait. There's a difference between the two.
@Stocksy True. It will be interesting to see if these files are in any of the other versions. If not then it would have been quite deliberate on the part of the developer to include them and not the 'lazy' approach everyone is immediately gravitating towards. But gamers seemingly have to have their pound of flesh...
I don't even play Fortnite but that's pretty dope and will pull in a different crowd. Fortnite really is on another level! Even SSMB impressive roster can't compete with the insane and diverse number of cross-overs.
@NatiaAdamo "Tencent literally called September 28th 2020 (The launch day for Genshin) "The Darkest day in Video Game History" I know you said put tin foil hat on but do you have a source for that? I googled it and got this comments section lol
I see that MiHoYo has now allowed Genshin on the Tencent store. It seems Tencent were basically salty at the success of a (relatively) young upstart and how MiHoYo initially snubbed the major game publishing channels like Yingyongbao (Tencent), Oppo, Xiaomi etc. making those companies miss out on their 30% cut!
So much BS in the comments calling dev's LAZY for not doing a native Switch port. Met many dev's, not one that's lazy yet, though i'm sure they exist.
The reality is making a Switch port takes a lot more time and money. ESPECIALLY when the target platforms are now next gen consoles and higher end-PC's.
Switch, while a wonderful console, is antiquated in terms of hardware by comparison. You'll see more of this over the next year+ and it has nothing to do with 'LAZY' devs but everything to do with time, money and sensible cost-benefit analysis.
HYPED! In the UK these weren't that big at all. But a mate of mine's parents handled some of the marketing for Force Five (yes it sounds improbable but it's true, lol). I loved it and was my introduction to anime. So he'd always give me Force Five VHS tapes that included this Starvengers, Danguard Ace etc. Happy memories!
@Shadow_Fox As a Developer (not VG) I completely agree code can always be executed in different ways that are more efficient, and Switch ports are often POSSIBLE. Never said anything different.
What I did say is that the COST and TIME associated with refactoring code or rewriting whole systems or even just specific optimisation is often prohibitive for just one platform. It's not that it is impossible, it's that it takes time and money, especially on Switch.
It will depend on the individual game and it's potential size on the market on Switch whether the cost benefit ratio is worth it to go the extra mile.
If it truly is as easy as you suggest why do we:
a) get so many bad ports
b) often get no port
c) get an increasing number of cloud versions
If it's so simple to just DO THEIR JOB as you state, why aren't they?
@Shadow_Fox Witcher 3, Dying Light are the sort of examples I meant by 'Herculean effort'. The W3 port was praised by Digital Foundry and others as a "mobile miracle", not my words THEIRS.
Of course it takes "MONEY AND TIME to port a game", that's the whole point. To go the extra mile and make these ports work as well as they do takes a LOT more dev money and time comparatively which is why we don't see as many ports of this calibre; why we are seeing more Cloud versions; and why there is increasingly no Switch port at all.
There just isn't always enough benefit to spend so much more time and money more on a Switch port. Often this has to be outsourced to a 3rd party studio BECUASE it takes so much additional time. And often to a specialist developer like Saber Interactive that really understands how to get the most out of the Switch. It's not always a sensible financial or time option.
If we want to keep seeing Switch ports then the next Switch 2 needs better specs.
@sanderev There is a difference between making a fixed 3D audio track like this that (yes it sounds cool) and proper REAL TIME 3D audio in a game that requires serious hardware processing to work in real time. Switch cannot do that, or not at the expense of other tasks.
My point is, I think you are being very dismissive of other innovations from others and over-exaggerating Nintendo's innovations.
"MS & Sony are purely hardware based and sell you the same games again and again and again, just with a better coat of paint." Like every Pokemon game ever made, Mario 3D All Stars, Zelda skyward sword or Links Awakening? Nintendo does PLENTY of that too. They just like to charge full price for the convenience!
I love my Switch it's a great piece of hardware in MANY ways, but not being frank about it's flaws and where it struggles doesn't help anyone.
@sanderev So you've played Astro's Playroom on a Dual Sense or Returnal with headphones and 3D audio? These are transformative experiences that enhance the gameplay.
I can literally tell where bullets are coming from in Returnal without seeing them.
@sanderev But that's the problem, it can't play most current gen console games. More and more are becoming cloud version or need a herculean porting effort to make them work. Or like the Outer Worlds strip back so much that you are almost playing another game.
This is only getting more prevalent as devs aim for PS5 and XSX
I don't need it to be 4K.
I don't need it to compete with Sony & MS.
But I do want a little more power. It's seriously old tech now and struggles on many games with more ambition.
Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 dropped as low as 368p in handheld mode at launch. 368p!!! It looked grainy as hell and the frame rate was bad too.
I wouldn't mind a 720p minimum in handheld and 1080p minimum docked as long as those were minimums.
At a push 1440p docked would be great. It's a really solid resolution that still looks good on 4k screens would be a perfect balance but probably asking too much.
Aside from resolution a better processor and ram to allow better framerates and textures and just enough specs to allow ports of next/current gen games.
Considering how much tech has evolved I don't think this is too much to ask at a similar pricepoint.
Gameplay was great!
Story was woeful even if it tried to hit some deeper notes.
Could live with the last but they did a dirty to Samus turning her from the greatest bounty hunter in the universe into a simpering fool crying about Adam and 'The BABY' ad nauseum.
I'm all for creating a deeper character but this was seriously regressive stuff.
TLDR: She became a female manga cliché! #NotMySamus
@BloodNinja "If that's the case, we will start to see more evidence, as the story seems to be in it's infancy. If not, then we know it's more hearsay."
I'm not sure this is 100% true. The studio is based in Spain and very few reporters have the contacts or confidants for this sort of access.
It's similar to the very infrequent reports of the state of some of the support studios in Asia. We know it's happening even if there aren't a wave of news about it. On the whole Western news has a very short memory and news cycle, especially for things not on it's doorstep, and it quickly moves on to something else.
In this case it's been reported several times before that the boss does a great job of keeping people quiet through a culture of fear and making a point of ruining people's careers. Yes these were just a couple of new articles and a few anonymous posts on things like Glass Door, Neogaf, reddit etc. It COULD be just a few really disgruntled employees but then why don't we see this after the release of every game with so many other studios. Plus there were similar stories after Castlevania LoS1 & 2, this isn't a new thing.
The Glass Door rating of 2.4 is the lowest I could find for any game studio, even Konami gets a 2.5... lol
Just to further add if you look at this Glass Door reviews it is an abysmal 2.4. That's one of the lowest I could find for a game studio.
Looking at other studios/companies comparatively.
Mercury Steam - 2.4 / 5 (just 1.8/5 for Culture)
343 Industries - 3.0
Retro Studios - 3.2
Blizzard - 3.5
4A games - 3.6
The Coalition - 3.7
N.O.E. - 3.8
Gearbox - 3.9
Ubisoft - 3.9
EA - 4.1
Nintendo - 4.1
Bloober Team - 4.2
Insomniac - 4.3
Santa Monica - 4.7
IMO Mercury Steam has always been a badly managed studio.
UPDATE: Konami gets a 2.5. So I guess Jim Sterling had it wrong all along, Konami is not actually the worst. lol
@Lordplops "Stress is a part of a lot of jobs, deal with it." BAD take.
Mercury Steam have LOTS of history here. It sounds like the boss is a total tosser. Loads of complaints after Lords of Shadow 1, even more during and after Lords of Shadow 2. Not surprised to see more here.
On the counter side obviously disgruntled employees show things in a bad light, things likely are quite as bad as they say. But that doesn't mean they are good either.
Reading between all the lines it sounds like a bad workplace with a top down toxic culture. That shouldn't be acceptable under "stress is a part of jobs"
@Kidfunkadelic83 Sadly that's 99% of gamers who don't read websites like this. Hopefully some of them will do a search and find articles like this with the fix, or ask a friend who may know. But many won't.
In a perfect world I agree all should be listed. However I do think there are some valid reasons companies do this as we don't live in a perfect world.
1) to stop people building a quick portfolio by jumping between companies and games. Why get credited in just one game over 4 years when you could get credited in five or more? This could increase employee turnover, and incentivises loyalty.
2) Not all stages of production are equal. They don't want to incentivise people to bail when the harder stages come.
Regardless both 8 or 11 months sounds like a long enough stint to warrant inclusion.
I don't really care about the backwards long jump or speed running - though that's fun to watch. But I do want my 'Gay' bowser back. (if you hear something else, that's fine too)
@Ironcore "I still don't understand who is buying this." People with more money than sense. People who have to have the newest things, even if they won't really use it. People who get annoyed by tongue in cheek internet comments...
Glad to hear so many gamers are enjoying Metroid Dread. Was on the fence as I didn’t think Samus Returns was as good others, this is just what I needed to hear.
OLED no use to me as play docked 95% of the time since covid, but again glad to hear others are enjoying it and it’s subtle changes are shining through
@Pod I’ve personally replaced sticks because of drift on 8 separate joycons. Both of mine, all 4 of my nephews and 2 of his best friends.
My joycons were less than 2 years old and hadn’t been used much, relative to my other console controllers (less than 500 hours according to games played times)
On the flipside I have only had drift on 2 other analogue sticks over 20 years and 10 consoles. Each of those were over 5 years old.
Good that it is reviewing well (currently 88 on Metacritic), but personally I'd also take that with a large pinch of salt. Samus Returns got 85 which to me was massively inflated.
Comments 528
Re: The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter Rewards Continue To Face Delays
Honestly I think so many kickstarters just think "We'll add a comic/case/keychain/collectible that will be easy!" but each one of those things requires a lot of work setting up manufacturing, supply etc. all at a reasonable cost. When you're business is video games these are each all new skills and business relationships to foster.
Re: Random: Ever Wondered What Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Looks Like Without Cel-Shading?
Artistry >>> Graphical fidelity. Botw's graphics age well like Wind Waker.
However they don't have to be mutually exclusive and it would be nice to see a little more of the later in the next hardware!
Re: 'Archvale' Is What Happens When You Cross The Legend Of Zelda With Bullet Hell
It looks lovely. Hopefully they stick the landing and there is a little more depth than shown. Looking forward to reviews.
Re: Jessica Alba Is The Latest Star In Nintendo's Celebrity-Focused Switch Marketing Campaign
@Kevember it’s no longer a billion dollar company, the last few years, and a few scandals (mouldy baby wipes and not as natural as they say), mean it’s worth less than half of what it was when it first floated.
Though I agree she’s been successful outside acting, though in truth It’s always difficult to know how much celebrities ACTUALLY have to do with the business side of companies like this. Are they just the figurehead that brings in the public or do they have a hand in actually running things. Usually there’s a business brain or two behind the scenes pulling all the strings, it’s mutually beneficial for all.
Regardless Honest Co. has been on a pretty solid downward trend for a while now.
Re: Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick Is Reportedly Open To Quitting As Abuse Claims Rock The Company
So according to the documentation it's cheaper to kill or maim him by about $40,000,000?
Re: Metroid Dread In The Running With The Game Awards GOTY Nomination
@westman98 I've not played them all but probably not hugely. Though most of them likely did more to innovative their formula than FH5 did over FH4. Which for all it's wonder feels almost identical to the last entry, it's a wonderful game but very iterative.
It takes two in particular is a marvel. The number of brilliant gameplay mechanics that are used once and then you're onto a new one is staggering, must have taken a lot of dev time.
But as I said it wasn't just innovation. Release timing was unfortunate for this particular award as votes likely would been in to be tallied last week, the week it launched.
Ultimately it doesn't matter. You don't need someone else to validate your choices, there's always going to be personal favourites that don't make it.
Re: Metroid Dread In The Running With The Game Awards GOTY Nomination
@Madao Cyberpunk released 10 December 2020. Not September. It's definitely in the right awards, whether it should be there is subjective.
@Entrr_username It's rare that a game not released in the year (usually early nov - early nov) gets a nomination. But in a few cases like Among us the game only gains enough popularity to be noticed so that it is nominated.
Re: Metroid Dread In The Running With The Game Awards GOTY Nomination
@westman98 I get what you are saying about genre but Forza has a couple of other things going against it.
1) Release timing. It came out last week, the jury won't have had much time to play it all before votes were cast
2) Innovation. As good as FH5 is, and it's very very good, it also very familiar to anyone who played FH4 or before. Critics typically prefer risks and innovation for GOTY.
It's not alone. Half Life Alyx missed out on a nod despite scoring even higher than FH5 last year. It joins a long list like Disco Elysium, SSMBU and many others that have scored 90+ and missed out. There's only 6 slots at the end of the day
Regardless it's nominated for 3 awards, which is better than most!
Re: Feature: "The eShop Is Just Way Too Slow" - Deku Deals Creator On Nintendo's Switch Storefront
Thanks for the heads up and interview.
Re: GTA Trilogy Dataminers Find Missing Music In Code As Problems Mount For 'Definitive' Release
@Stocksy "I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it." - Bill Gates (probably not) lol
I don't disagree that devs, or anyone, will find shortcuts to do things, that is working smarter not harder and sensible in most things in life. It's a positive trait. But it's knowing specifically when you can cut corners that is important.
I don't think that is the same as being lazy, which is indolence and sloth and a negative trait. There's a difference between the two.
Re: GTA Trilogy Dataminers Find Missing Music In Code As Problems Mount For 'Definitive' Release
@Stocksy True. It will be interesting to see if these files are in any of the other versions. If not then it would have been quite deliberate on the part of the developer to include them and not the 'lazy' approach everyone is immediately gravitating towards. But gamers seemingly have to have their pound of flesh...
Re: GTA Trilogy Dataminers Find Missing Music In Code As Problems Mount For 'Definitive' Release
@BongoBongo Personally i'm happy all the music files are included, makes them much easier to patch back in on PC!
Re: Neil Patrick Harris Stars In Nintendo's Latest Ad For Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain On Switch
Cute commercial. Love NPH. From Doogie, to Barney to Olaf and many in between.
@Bunkerneath Yes to Starship Troopers great movie!
Re: Believe It! A Fortnite X Naruto Collab Is Officially Happening
I don't even play Fortnite but that's pretty dope and will pull in a different crowd. Fortnite really is on another level! Even SSMB impressive roster can't compete with the insane and diverse number of cross-overs.
Re: My Nintendo Adds Wario-Themed Washi Tape As A Physical Reward (Europe)
I was convinced this was bog roll in the picture... bit bummed it isn't
Re: Random: Brie Larson's Back In A New Metroid Dread Instagram Ad
You can send her to my house anytime @KateGray but i'd rather not be uncivil just to make it happen 🤣
Re: Open-World RPG 'Honor Of Kings: World' Looks To Fuse 'Monster Hunter' With 'Zelda: Breath Of The Wild'
@NatiaAdamo "Tencent literally called September 28th 2020 (The launch day for Genshin) "The Darkest day in Video Game History" I know you said put tin foil hat on but do you have a source for that? I googled it and got this comments section lol
I see that MiHoYo has now allowed Genshin on the Tencent store. It seems Tencent were basically salty at the success of a (relatively) young upstart and how MiHoYo initially snubbed the major game publishing channels like Yingyongbao (Tencent), Oppo, Xiaomi etc. making those companies miss out on their 30% cut!
Re: Review: Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cloud Version - A Disastrous Way To Play A Great Game
So much BS in the comments calling dev's LAZY for not doing a native Switch port. Met many dev's, not one that's lazy yet, though i'm sure they exist.
The reality is making a Switch port takes a lot more time and money. ESPECIALLY when the target platforms are now next gen consoles and higher end-PC's.
Switch, while a wonderful console, is antiquated in terms of hardware by comparison. You'll see more of this over the next year+ and it has nothing to do with 'LAZY' devs but everything to do with time, money and sensible cost-benefit analysis.
Re: Classic Mech Anime 'UFO Robo Grendizer' Is Getting A New Video Game In 2023
HYPED! In the UK these weren't that big at all. But a mate of mine's parents handled some of the marketing for Force Five (yes it sounds improbable but it's true, lol). I loved it and was my introduction to anime. So he'd always give me Force Five VHS tapes that included this Starvengers, Danguard Ace etc. Happy memories!
Re: Guh-Huh! Grant Kirkhope Has Released A Banjo-Kazooie Remix Album
Interesting. I like some of these but prefer some of the originals.
E.g. Spiral Mountain was more unique, with that twang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPUn5biib1c
Re: Japanese Charts: Ring Fit Adventure Rises To Third As Switch OLED Sales Increase
I played this hard when it came out, but fell off quite quickly. It did push me into other forms of exercise though. So absolutely a win.
Having fallen off those in recent months perhaps it's time to return to Ring Fit!
Re: Random: Forget The Switch OLED, PS5 And Xbox Series X - Transparent Retro Consoles Are The Must-Have Item Of 2021
$126.79!!! People will buy anything
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
@Shadow_Fox As a Developer (not VG) I completely agree code can always be executed in different ways that are more efficient, and Switch ports are often POSSIBLE. Never said anything different.
What I did say is that the COST and TIME associated with refactoring code or rewriting whole systems or even just specific optimisation is often prohibitive for just one platform. It's not that it is impossible, it's that it takes time and money, especially on Switch.
It will depend on the individual game and it's potential size on the market on Switch whether the cost benefit ratio is worth it to go the extra mile.
If it truly is as easy as you suggest why do we:
a) get so many bad ports
b) often get no port
c) get an increasing number of cloud versions
If it's so simple to just DO THEIR JOB as you state, why aren't they?
Re: My Nintendo Adds Some Rather Nice Metroid Dread Wallpapers
@Matl It's bizarre. Spend points on Wallpapers... yeah? no!
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
@Shadow_Fox Witcher 3, Dying Light are the sort of examples I meant by 'Herculean effort'. The W3 port was praised by Digital Foundry and others as a "mobile miracle", not my words THEIRS.
Of course it takes "MONEY AND TIME to port a game", that's the whole point. To go the extra mile and make these ports work as well as they do takes a LOT more dev money and time comparatively which is why we don't see as many ports of this calibre; why we are seeing more Cloud versions; and why there is increasingly no Switch port at all.
There just isn't always enough benefit to spend so much more time and money more on a Switch port. Often this has to be outsourced to a 3rd party studio BECUASE it takes so much additional time. And often to a specialist developer like Saber Interactive that really understands how to get the most out of the Switch. It's not always a sensible financial or time option.
If we want to keep seeing Switch ports then the next Switch 2 needs better specs.
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
@sanderev There is a difference between making a fixed 3D audio track like this that (yes it sounds cool) and proper REAL TIME 3D audio in a game that requires serious hardware processing to work in real time. Switch cannot do that, or not at the expense of other tasks.
My point is, I think you are being very dismissive of other innovations from others and over-exaggerating Nintendo's innovations.
"MS & Sony are purely hardware based and sell you the same games again and again and again, just with a better coat of paint." Like every Pokemon game ever made, Mario 3D All Stars, Zelda skyward sword or Links Awakening? Nintendo does PLENTY of that too. They just like to charge full price for the convenience!
I love my Switch it's a great piece of hardware in MANY ways, but not being frank about it's flaws and where it struggles doesn't help anyone.
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
@sanderev So you've played Astro's Playroom on a Dual Sense or Returnal with headphones and 3D audio? These are transformative experiences that enhance the gameplay.
I can literally tell where bullets are coming from in Returnal without seeing them.
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
@sanderev But that's the problem, it can't play most current gen console games. More and more are becoming cloud version or need a herculean porting effort to make them work. Or like the Outer Worlds strip back so much that you are almost playing another game.
This is only getting more prevalent as devs aim for PS5 and XSX
Re: "I Don't Think The Switch Needs A More Powerful Version" Says 'World War Z' Lead Designer
I don't need it to be 4K.
I don't need it to compete with Sony & MS.
But I do want a little more power. It's seriously old tech now and struggles on many games with more ambition.
Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 dropped as low as 368p in handheld mode at launch. 368p!!! It looked grainy as hell and the frame rate was bad too.
I wouldn't mind a 720p minimum in handheld and 1080p minimum docked as long as those were minimums.
At a push 1440p docked would be great. It's a really solid resolution that still looks good on 4k screens would be a perfect balance but probably asking too much.
Aside from resolution a better processor and ram to allow better framerates and textures and just enough specs to allow ports of next/current gen games.
Considering how much tech has evolved I don't think this is too much to ask at a similar pricepoint.
Re: Random: It Has Now Been 1,000 Days Since Metroid Prime 4's Development Was Restarted
@Ralizah "I'm guessing this'll be a cross-gen release with whatever Ninty's next console is. Hopefully around 2023 or so."
HA! i've been thinking this more and more with MP4, Zelda and (presumably) Mario all suddenly taking longer than expected.
Re: Talking Point: How Many Hours Is A 'Short' Game For You?
It depends on the game, genre and price.
It's also always subjective.
But personally I would almost ALWAYS take a shorter focused experience over a bloated cut'n'paste fetch quest filled time sink
i.e. don't create needless busywork just to artificially extend the length of your game.
Re: Wow, Nintendo Switch Was First Revealed Five Years Ago Today
Having been a Wii & especially a Wii U owner I was a sceptic!
Glad to see it all worked out.
Re: Random: Forget Dread, It's All About Metroid: Other M On Twitter Right Now
Gameplay was great!
Story was woeful even if it tried to hit some deeper notes.
Could live with the last but they did a dirty to Samus turning her from the greatest bounty hunter in the universe into a simpering fool crying about Adam and 'The BABY' ad nauseum.
I'm all for creating a deeper character but this was seriously regressive stuff.
TLDR: She became a female manga cliché! #NotMySamus
Re: Poll: Which Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Games Should You Play First Via Nintendo Switch Online?
Many of these were great at the time, but time has not been kind to many.
Re: Looks Like Dune's Coming To Fortnite
@nessisonett I wouldn't be too bothered by Dune either... if Denis Villeneuve wasn't the director.
Brilliant from his early stuff like Incendies & Prisoners, to later bigger budget projects like Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049.
Re: Metroid Dread Studio Hit With Allegations Of Poor Organisation And Management
@BloodNinja "If that's the case, we will start to see more evidence, as the story seems to be in it's infancy. If not, then we know it's more hearsay."
I'm not sure this is 100% true. The studio is based in Spain and very few reporters have the contacts or confidants for this sort of access.
It's similar to the very infrequent reports of the state of some of the support studios in Asia. We know it's happening even if there aren't a wave of news about it. On the whole Western news has a very short memory and news cycle, especially for things not on it's doorstep, and it quickly moves on to something else.
In this case it's been reported several times before that the boss does a great job of keeping people quiet through a culture of fear and making a point of ruining people's careers. Yes these were just a couple of new articles and a few anonymous posts on things like Glass Door, Neogaf, reddit etc. It COULD be just a few really disgruntled employees but then why don't we see this after the release of every game with so many other studios. Plus there were similar stories after Castlevania LoS1 & 2, this isn't a new thing.
The Glass Door rating of 2.4 is the lowest I could find for any game studio, even Konami gets a 2.5... lol
Re: Metroid Dread Studio Hit With Allegations Of Poor Organisation And Management
Just to further add if you look at this Glass Door reviews it is an abysmal 2.4. That's one of the lowest I could find for a game studio.
Looking at other studios/companies comparatively.
IMO Mercury Steam has always been a badly managed studio.
UPDATE: Konami gets a 2.5. So I guess Jim Sterling had it wrong all along, Konami is not actually the worst. lol
Re: Metroid Dread Studio Hit With Allegations Of Poor Organisation And Management
@Lordplops "Stress is a part of a lot of jobs, deal with it." BAD take.
Mercury Steam have LOTS of history here. It sounds like the boss is a total tosser. Loads of complaints after Lords of Shadow 1, even more during and after Lords of Shadow 2. Not surprised to see more here.
On the counter side obviously disgruntled employees show things in a bad light, things likely are quite as bad as they say. But that doesn't mean they are good either.
Reading between all the lines it sounds like a bad workplace with a top down toxic culture. That shouldn't be acceptable under "stress is a part of jobs"
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Release Date And Pricing Revealed
EXACTLY what I expected.
Re: Nintendo Aware Of Crash Error "Near The End" Of Metroid Dread, Says It's Working On A Fix
@Kidfunkadelic83 Sadly that's 99% of gamers who don't read websites like this. Hopefully some of them will do a search and find articles like this with the fix, or ask a friend who may know. But many won't.
Re: Nintendo Aware Of Crash Error "Near The End" Of Metroid Dread, Says It's Working On A Fix
At the end of the MONTH that's a long wait for gamers who are near the end after days. ouch!
Re: Metroid Dread Staff Say They've Been Left Out Of The Game's Credits, MercurySteam Responds
In a perfect world I agree all should be listed. However I do think there are some valid reasons companies do this as we don't live in a perfect world.
1) to stop people building a quick portfolio by jumping between companies and games. Why get credited in just one game over 4 years when you could get credited in five or more? This could increase employee turnover, and incentivises loyalty.
2) Not all stages of production are equal. They don't want to incentivise people to bail when the harder stages come.
Regardless both 8 or 11 months sounds like a long enough stint to warrant inclusion.
Re: Don't Worry, 3D All-Stars' Super Mario 64 Will Still Likely Be The Definitive Switch Version
Hopefully it's the original version!
I don't really care about the backwards long jump or speed running - though that's fun to watch. But I do want my 'Gay' bowser back. (if you hear something else, that's fine too)
Re: UK Sales Data Shows A Strong Start For Switch OLED
@Ironcore "I still don't understand who is buying this."
People with more money than sense.
People who have to have the newest things, even if they won't really use it.
People who get annoyed by tongue in cheek internet comments...
Re: Teardown Suggests The Switch OLED Dock Is 4K 60fps-Ready And 'Future Proof'
Wait a few years: Switch to output YouTube in 4K
Re: Poll: What's A Fair Price For The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack?
Do you really think N64 and MD games are going to be a lot LESS than SNES & NES?
This is Nintendo.
Though with WND's who knows.
Re: Random: Nintendo America's President Doug Bowser Celebrates The Return Of Samus
Glad to hear so many gamers are enjoying Metroid Dread. Was on the fence as I didn’t think Samus Returns was as good others, this is just what I needed to hear.
OLED no use to me as play docked 95% of the time since covid, but again glad to hear others are enjoying it and it’s subtle changes are shining through
Re: Consumer Advocacy Group Calls Out Nintendo For Joy-Con Drift Ahead Of Switch OLED Launch
@Pod I’ve personally replaced sticks because of drift on 8 separate joycons. Both of mine, all 4 of my nephews and 2 of his best friends.
My joycons were less than 2 years old and hadn’t been used much, relative to my other console controllers (less than 500 hours according to games played times)
On the flipside I have only had drift on 2 other analogue sticks over 20 years and 10 consoles. Each of those were over 5 years old.
It’s a much worse problem.
Re: Round Up: The Metroid Dread Reviews Are In
@Rin-go Which part of "to me" didn't you understand?
Hint: Every post here is a personal opinion.
Re: Round Up: The Metroid Dread Reviews Are In
Good that it is reviewing well (currently 88 on Metacritic), but personally I'd also take that with a large pinch of salt.
Samus Returns got 85 which to me was massively inflated.