Still worth picking up? (Picture: Nintendo)
The Monday letters page wishes Naughty Dog would stop making remasters, as one reader defends Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
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Thinking back
Black Friday seems to be going about as expected so far. You’ve got to wonder whether EA Sports FC 24 was really the hit it was painted as, because it seems to be the most discounted so far (if something is cheap that means the shop has too many of them and needs to slim down its stock).
Not many console deals yet but since I have an Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5, I was thinking of getting a Switch, since I realise I’m missing out on many very good games. There were some decent deals at Argos and I imagine there’ll be more as we get closer to Friday but the question is whether it’s worth it, given all the Switch 2 rumours?
I can’t help thinking that everyone’s only assuming the Switch 2 is out next year and we don’t have any actual proof. We all know how assuming things usually goes with Nintendo, so I’m not convinced – especially if it’s still selling well.
I’ve done all right this year, so I can afford the console, even if it only gets a year or two proper use, but the big question is whether it’s backwards compatible or not. I’ve seen rumours suggesting it is, but is that enough to risk getting a Switch 1 this month?
Gunnbar
GC: Everything so far, including several vague comments from Nintendo, suggests it is backwards compatible. But, like you say, assuming anything of Nintendo is usually unwise.
Naughty priorities
It was obvious those The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered rumours were true but, jeez, have Naughty Dog really got nothing better to do with their time? Isn’t this exactly the sort of cash grab routine you would farm out to a lesser studio? All they have to do is up the resolution and fiddle with a few other technical features and that’s it.
I realise it’s only been three years since the last game, so Naughty Dog isn’t necessarily behind or anything but with everything else at Sony just spinning its wheels it seems kind of perverse that the last two releases from Sony’s biggest studio are both remakes/remasters. So boring.
And what is with announcing it at such a weird time? Wasn’t this worth some kind of pre-Christmas State of Play? Couldn’t they have shown it off at The Game Awards? I worry they’re not going to be there at all now, which means 2024 before we hear about anything that comes next.
Jellybean
Too close to call
I loved that Bluey Xbox and it’s madness that Xbox don’t have a range of these types of Xbox for people to buy, it can’t be that difficult to make and would certainly help with raising public awareness. And with enough different designs it would appeal to lots of demographics. I thought Sony would have done this with the PlayStation 5 way more than they have, maybe now with the slim model.
A bit late for the Hot topic, but I can’t believe we’re heading into year three of the current gen. I was holding back to see if there was any meaningful power difference but three years in and… not really. So, it’s down to exclusives; Starfield was a bit of a dud and Spider-Man 2 is very good, both consoles have RoboCop and Teardown so it’s very close. As a deciding vote do you know which console is the most reliable?
Rob
GC: They didn’t do it before because they had enough trouble manufacturing normal models after the pandemic. Not mass-producing the Bluey ones for Christmas seems like a mistake though. We’ve not had many reports of hardware problems with either console.
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Breaking even
About this pay as you play for games, that should never happen. Take GTA 5, it cost them round about $100 million to make, which when it came out was a lot of money, but they have so far made $8 billion from the game. Yes, they have supported for 10 years but for the last few years all they have done is an anniversary, a repeated Halloween every year, and Xmas settings. How much money does a developer want to make from a game?
It’s been reported that GTA 6 is going to be big and I mean it’s going to break records every single day and could make $1 billion in 24 hours. When I’m gaming I want to own the game, not download it and then pay 20p every 10 minutes. it seems to me every developer is trying to squeeze every penny out of it customers and its wrong.
The way that I look at it, as soon as a game has made a profit and is enough to say, ‘Yes, it was worth making’ then that should be it. Not this pay to play rubbish and if pay to play does come out I’ll be a retired gamer. I’m not paying over and over again to just play something I should own.
David
GC: GTA 5 cost more than $265 million to make and that was a decade ago. Although it doesn’t really matter, as Take-Two isn’t planning on going through with a pay as you play idea anyway.
Modern gaming
I’ve just replayed Black on my Xbox 360. It was a palate cleanser after finishing Little Nightmares 1 before enjoying 2. It made me think that games today are so serious minded. Where is the absolute abandon of critical thought? Games are the escape from all of that, no?
It’s a creep, hive mindset taking root with games now. I thought gaming might weather it, but it won’t, I feel. Anyways, I’m down for run and gun and dumb good vibes. All started with Space Invaders. Modern games are a soap opera now. It’s ironic.
As an aside, I missed the weekend Hot Topic but RoboCop: Rogue City might just bend my reluctance to embrace the next/current gen. Yep, that.
D Dubya
GC: We’re not sure we follow. Are you saying Black is or isn’t serious minded? We wouldn’t have said it was a particularly extreme example of either.
Mario Kart DIY
I’m coming round to the fan theory that the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to launch with Mario Kart 9, or that it’ll at least be out in the first year, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo isn’t beyond repeating a successful formula (we are talking about Mario Kart 9, after all) and if they get it out early they’ll be able to start thinking about DLC fairly soon too.
I have two obvious ideas for what the gimmick could be for the game, with the first being that it will be a Super Smash Bros. affair with characters from all sorts of Nintendo franchises. Mario Kart 8 has already started to become that and since another Smash Bros. is going to be near impossible to organise it makes a lot of sense to use the same idea in Mario Kart.
Actually, I have three ideas, the other being a lot more robust online, but the other is that they’ll add a construction kit. Not only that but there’ll be a way to make the tracks as you’re racing it, with lots of deforming terrain and like. ModNation Racers, if anyone remembers that, was already playing with some of those ideas but I’d love to see Nintendo give it a try.
Louche
Coming back later
I was wondering if any of you or your readers have had issues with recovering a Steam account? My gaming laptop died seven years ago, so have been a console gamer since then. I wanted to view my Steam library in preparation for getting a new gaming rig but to recover the account I need proof of the card I used to purchase items or CD keys.
I’ve moved since I last accessed Steam, have new cards, and have got rid of old CDs so have nothing to prove to them I own the account. I’m pulling my hair out at the inability to simply reset a password with thousands of pounds worth of games just sat there. Any advice?
Chris
More: Trending
Wait and see
I just wanted to write in to defend Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. Up until the most recent deep dive video they put out last week on the story and gameplay, I was like most people thinking it looked very average. But that video totally converted me, it made it clear to me how the different characters are different gameplay-wise and I thought the cut scene work looked really good too. I sincerely thought it looked a lot of fun.
I’ll admit that the live service stuff isn’t something that appeals to me at all; I’m hoping that you will be able to play the campaign without having to engage with the season pass to any great degree. But even if the live service aspect is a huge part of the game, I don’t think it’s fair for everyone to write the game off already when it’s not out yet. And who knows just how prevalent the live service part will be. It might be totally optional, we don’t know. And even if it isn’t, what if it’s done really well, like other live service games like Destiny.
If it comes out and is rubbish to play and money grabbing then by all means get the pitchforks out, I’ll be there with you, but for the time being I think we should at least wait until it’s out.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: F1 23 (Xbox) and Super Mario RPG (Switch)
Inbox also-rans
Totally understand where there reader is coming from with Persona 6. It happens every time and I’m sure Atlus is doing it on purpose, to ring the maximum amount of money out of gamers.
Slayer
If Nintendo is a haven of ‘superhumans and geniuses’ then what is Sega? Judging by the quality of Sonic Team’s output, something not quite as prestigious.
Marty
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader JesseM, who asks what is your favourite 16-bit video game?
So as to not get bogged down in technical details, we’ll accept any game from a fourth generation home console, so that includes the Mega Drive, SNES, PC Engine, Neo Geo, and peripherals like the Mega-CD. We’ll also accept any PC games or coin-ops released between 1987 and 1993.
What is it you like about the era and how do you think its best games stand up to modern titles? Does your favourite have a modern day equivalent and if not what would you imagine it’d be like?
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Weekend Hot Topic: Three years of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
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The Monday letters page wishes Naughty Dog would stop making remasters, as one reader defends Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.