Would Xbox be better off without the console? (Picture: Microsoft)
The Monday letters page continues to reminisce over classic 16-bit video games, as one reader wants Disney to make a Monkey Island film.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
Xbox Series why
I find it interesting that while the PS5 Pro rumours have been coming thick and fast for a year or more there’s never been any no sign of there being a mid-gen Xbox Series X. I don’t even know what it would be called as nobody ever talks about it, so there’s not a fan name like Switch 2.
That doesn’t mean they won’t do it eventually but it’s looking increasingly like they won’t, and I wonder what that says about Microsoft’s evolving attitude to hardware and the suggestion from some that they may essentially end up going third party.
This used to be an insult thrown at Nintendo, when it was thought of a humiliation, but I don’t think this would be the case for Microsoft. For me, it seems like the most logical and sensible path to take. They already own a number of massively popular multiformat titles like Minecraft and Call Of Duty and there’s no doubt they could’ve made a lot more money with Starfield if it had been on PlayStation 5 as well – especially as it didn’t achieve the alternative goal of increasing Xbox console sales.
Microsoft owning half the games industry would make far less difference if they were third party and all their games came to PlayStation 5 and Switch by default. They’d certainly make more money that way, not only from the increased sales but also not wasting money on hardware research and development.
Goldie
Pulling their weight
Very good Reader’s Features at the weekend. Valve’s descent into irrelevancy has always bothered me and RoboCop: Rogue City is indeed a very good game. However, it was the one about this generation being a failure that I found myself nodding my head along to the most. As the reader says, there have been plenty of good games this gen but that has very little to do with Sony or Microsoft.
As custodians of the console industry they have done an absolutely terrible job of leading by example and they have other publishers and developer to thank for the success (or otherwise) of their consoles, not anything they’ve done. As the feature laid out, Sony started off well but we’re now in a position where we have no first party games scheduled at all and no idea whether the (terrible) idea to focus on live service games is even still the plan.
Meanwhile, Microsoft spend more money than god on trying to guarantee they’re victory and somehow end up selling less consoles than when they started!
And all while Nintendo are just trucking on with outdated but highly innovative hardware and classic after classic game. At this point, other publishers must be thinking about whether Sony and Microsoft deserve the cut of game sales they get, because at this point they should be paying them.
Gort
Counting down
So we don’t know when exactly that GTA 6 is going to be, but if we don’t know what ‘early’ December means cand we at least agree on what is no longer early? I’d suggest that the 15th was that point, although given Christmas it’s probably earlier than that in reality.
I still think it most likely that it’ll just be at The Game Awards, because it just seems to weird to have two events just days apart. And yet at the same point I’d still be surprised if Rockstar wanted to share the, literal, stage with anyone else.
Who knows but it’s now three weeks before we know for certain what GTA 6 looks like and what it’s all about. I can’t wait.
Warlon
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Monkey see, monkey do
I’ve been reading up on Disney’s box office disasters this year, where Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 was the only film that wasn’t at least a major disappointment, and I wonder if this will have any affect on their attitude towards games, in terms of trying to make more but also adapting more.
It seems that the era of the superhero movie is coming to an end, at least in terms of every z-grade character getting a film, but it seems like that toys and video games are going to be the next thing Hollywood latches onto, thanks to Super Mario Bros. and Barbie.
So how about a big budget Monkey Island game to make up for the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean is dead? Or Day Of The Tentacle, Full Throttle, or Sam & Max? I’d love to see Disney encouraging Lucasfilm Games to make more original titles like they used to, instead of just more Star Wars games. Why license other video games to make movies based on them when you already own a bunch?
Sugden
GC: Disney don’t own Sam & Max, but we’d love to see another animated series.
Switching on
For the first time I have bought a new console other than a PlayStation, in the Black Friday deals I’ve just bought a Nintendo Switch OLED. I know next year there is a new one coming out but I couldn’t say no. I’ve got Mario Kart 8 coming with it and I’m going to get Super Mario Bros. Wonder as well.
As for Zelda, not my sort of game. I might give them a go, but next year. I also got three months of Nintendo Switch Online. Tell me is that a bit like Game Pass or is it more like PS Plus? Are there any games you would say I’d like? I’m more N64 gamer than anything else but do like Mario and all the rest of the old school classics.
David
GC: Putting off Zelda seems odd to us but how about Metroid Prime Remastered? Nintendo Switch Online lets you play online, access some unique free games like F-Zero 99, and play a range of retro titles.
Late addition
I stand by my number one choice for the weekend’s Hot Topic but other readers mentioned games that didn’t even cross my mind.
I can’t believe I forgot about Micro Machines and the two sequels. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a multiplayer game my friends and I had more fun with. The banter got brutal at times, and it was hella funny how aggravating it was to get wiped out just before the win.
If it had been a PlayStation game ‘just add alcohol’ would have been an apt marketing slogan. What? I was in my early 20s.
A bit left field this, but I really enjoyed Pop’n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures on the SNES as well. Maybe not groundbreaking, or particularly well known, but it was colourful and fun.
This was an enjoyable Hot Topic to think about. But everyone who contributed, myself included forgot the whole Nintendo hates Europe thing.
That reputation wasn’t unfounded, we were treated like the proverbial red-haired stepchild by Nintendo and even after 20 years there is still controversy over PAL games getting released on Nintendo Switch Online. Just saying.
Mitchell
PS: Lost Vikings was awesome.
Nothing new under the sun
Glad to see some love for Gunstar Heroes in DMC’s Hot Topic letter. Anyone who feels the same may be interested to read this cracking article from Time Extension about its development, with insights from the producers and designers who worked on it.
It even touches on the M. Bison ‘similarities’. Took me a few reading sessions to get through it all, but well worth a look.
Major_Kahonas
GC: We haven’t read the article, but M. Bison’s look is heavily inspired by a character in a pre-existing manga, so he was never an original design in the first place.
More: Trending
Not interested
I read Cubrick’s thoughts on Valve games and how they don’t feel like a company that makes ‘normal’ games any more. This is a common reflection I’ve heard from a good handful of people and it’s a saddening one to hear, it feels a little as if some of the people who espouse this don’t want to play anything that isn’t a single-player first person shooter and balk at the idea of other games becoming more significant with time.
First of all, some of Valve’s modern titles, that they work on to this day, remain the absolute envy of the rest of the industry, even if they’re not for the same audiences. Dota 2 is a game that’s often totally dismissed by people who don’t accept games that aren’t single-player shooters; and while I recognise the MOBA genre is divisive, how can you dismiss the passion that went into it and continues to go into it to this day?
Dota is considered one of the apex competitive games of all time for very good reason – it’s one of the most intricate, mechanically sound games ever made, with so much depth that in over a decade players are still learning more about how to master it; all while set in an incredibly unique fantasy universe filled with personality and charm. It’s a divisive game – a difficult one known for its unbelievable learning curve – but to claim it’s just not a ‘normal’ game, one not worthy of respect, is incredibly dismissive to what went into it and continues to go into it.
And then there’s titles like Half-Life: Alyx. Most players don’t have the hardware necessary to really get into this game, and that I totally understand – VR is still expensive and challenging to fit into many lives. However, more than just a tech demo, Alyx is among the most polished, refined, complete VR titles ever released, one that put the entire rest of the industry to shame multiple times over. It’s a triple-A experience through and through, and a stellar one – one of the greatest games of the decade. For those who think Valve don’t have what it takes to make a single-player game, I’m afraid they’re just off the mark big time.
Valve as a company have changed significantly, and not always for better. However, every title they’ve brought to the world – even the duds like Artefact (a game I even saw the potential in, although it died by several of its own catastrophically bad decisions) – has been an earnest attempt to try and bring something new to the table and satisfy a different kind of gamer.
Valve don’t just make the same single-player first person shooter over and over again, appealing to a slowly shrinking group of players. They’re following the industry, and continuing to make, and work on, the greatest titles in the industry’s history. You don’t even have to enjoy them – god forbid very few people get deep enough into Dota 2 to actively enjoy it, and that’s okay – but I think the company’s output still commands respect, and not immediate dismissal just because it’s not the exact same thing you’ve been playing for decades past.
They’re continuing to blow the industry away in new ways, and I think some self-proclaimed ‘Valve fans’ need to reflect on whether they’re the ones that just aren’t interested; rather than the company.
Howie
GC: Not being interested in Valve’s multiplayer games, and unable to play the VR ones, was the whole point of the feature?
Inbox also-rans
I now have a PlayStation 5 waiting to go under the Christmas tree, this really was a great Black Friday!
Graboid
Is anyone else disappointed that the first thing Hideo Kojima does after setting up his new studio, after being stuck making Metal Gear for decades, is two games in the same franchise? Do we really need a Death Stranding 2?
Homer2
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Cranston, who asks what are the best and worst video game presents you’ve ever received?
As Christmas approaches, and family members struggle with the age old problem of what to buy the gamer in their life, we want to know what the happiest is you’ve ever been with a gift and what was the most disappointing moment?
It can be for a birthday or any other occasion, not just Christmas, but let us know the circumstances, including whether you tried to hint at what the present should be and whether your initial impression of the gift changed over time.
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, part 1: Your favourite 16-bit video game
MORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: Your favourite 16-bit video game
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they’re seen on the site.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
The Monday letters page continues to reminisce over classic 16-bit video games, as one reader wants Disney to make a Monkey Island film.
