Computerchairgeneral

Being owned my Embracer must feel like a death sentence at this point. I mean even if your studio has been spared cuts or closures so far how safe can you really feel with the higher-ups desperately throwing everyone overboard to stop the ship from going under.

Sony finally remembered that Bloodborne existed at the worst possible time. Still, at least the game isn't being outright canceled and judging from the Micolash redesign, it looks like the creator is making the best of it. I do wonder if there's a possibility the creator could sell the game now, since it's now a legally distinct gothic kart racing game and not a Bloodborne fan game.

I wouldn't say that things have been fine for the last few decades. From the moment Roe was passed anti-abortion advocates made it their mission to either limit its impact or have it overturned. Usually this was done through protesting abortion clinics or having state legislatures with Republican majorities write laws that went right up to the edge of banning abortion. Even before Roe was overturned you had some Republican states that only had one clinic that was able to provide abortions and Republicans were always looking for ways to try and shut them down. However, the most effective strategy has been making sure the federal courts are packed with judges who would rule against abortion providers. It mostly flies under the radar, but nominating judges and having them confirmed by Congress is one of the more important things a President can do because those judges will stay on the bench for decades. For example Trump made 226 appointments in just four years.

And that brings us to why Roe was overturned. Because for the last few decades, but especially during the Trump years, conservatives made it their mission to have a Supreme Court with a conservative majority that would overturn Roe. Of course every SC candidate nominated by a Republican had to say that Roe had decided the question of abortion, but it was open secret that the candidates Republicans nominated would, hypothetically of course, overturn Roe if abortion came before the Supreme Court. During the Trump years, conservatives finally got that majority. Due to a series of deaths and retirements in the Supreme Court conservatives were able to finally have six conservative judges vs. three "liberal" judges, a balance that is going to be in place for decades thanks to the way the Supreme Court works.

Sure, it was. That was the big problem when the game launched. And I'm sure all the other claims in the article are equally true.

Hopefully this means more Playstation exclusives on PC in the near future. Maybe even less time between the PS release and the PC one, although I'm not too hopeful on that. Also glad to see some hesitance about embracing the subscription model.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I've been meaning to get to it for a while. Still early on in the game when it's still introducing new mechanics, but I'm enjoying it so far. I was kind of skeptical if I'd enjoy a turn-based RPG Yakuza game as much as I'd enjoyed the previous ones, but the combat is winning me over. Being able to summon a flock of pigeons to peck enemies unconsciously certainly helped.

Glad to see their focused on making the combat feel good. IIRC one of the big complaints about the Outer Worlds was the combat, so it's nice to see them dealing with those criticisms.

Painful for who? I highly doubt any of the CEOs and investors interviewed are going to suffer all that much compared to the artists, programmers, and other employees that are going to be laid off because their company wants to be leaner, more dynamic, or whatever the latest buzzword is.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a fun little game. Wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up on sale but yeah, a cross between Zelda and a twin-stick shooter is a good way to describe it. Had no idea there was a sequel in the works, let alone that it just released, so thanks for that.

Can't wait for the papal encyclical on the morality of a No Mercy run.

I miss gaming manuals. Yeah a lot of them were just sets of instructions and pretty forgettable, but every so often there was one that stuck out because someone had put the extra effort into it. Like the original Jak and Daxter game manual that had a map that detailed the entire route you took through the game. Or the Zelda Gameboy manuals that had these great illustrations every other page. Now the only reading materials games come with is the TOS and the Privacy Policy. Still, it's nice to see some games using them again, even if they are very niche. I really like the idea of a game that requires a physical manual in order to play it, almost as part of the gameplay. Like the article says it would be a very niche thing, but it would be a great experience.

Honestly, it's refreshing to see someone actually brainstorm solutions to these problems rather than just telling people to get mad. It's a long shot but a legal win in any major market could see business practices start to change. Like when the EU revamped its privacy laws and suddenly every website gives you the option to reject some of their tracking cookies. Or whatever the impact of China's new regulations on spending in games actually ends up being. It's worth the effort at the very least.