“What games have you regretted buying the most?” It’s one of those silly questions that a Twitter account throws out there to maximise engagement (and it worked, with 100,000 views at the time of writing). But it did get me thinking, in the sense of “how can people that claim to love games misunderstand art by this much and treat…
“What games have you regretted buying the most?” It’s one of those silly questions that a Twitter account throws out there to maximise engagement (and it worked, with 100,000 views at the time of writing). But it did get me thinking, in the sense of “how can people that claim…
Read More“Dune: Awakening, the survival MMO from Conan: Exiles developer Funcom, will “sidestep” religion as a main theme in its “alternate history” world set just before the events of the books.” This headline on Eurogamer, coming one day after I slammed King Arthur: Knights Tale for being developed by a team…
Read MoreSome news today on Microsoft acquisition journey towards a monopoly: The company announced that it has signed a “binding agreement” to continue to produce Call of Duty games for PlayStation. This comes off the back of much hang-wringing about the PlayStation being locked out of such a critical load of…
Read More“I’ve been writing a bunch of really awful short stories lately. I mean it. They’re absolutely ghastly… “I’ve been working on this stuff pretty much nonstop for over two years now, adding one unpalatable tale to another, making an entire collection of difficult, dangerous and really horrible fiction. Why can’t…
Read MoreIllusion Software is one of the genuine trailblazers in video games. The studio has been around for 22 years, having been founded in 2001, but it’s all over now. The company has announced its imminent closure, and in its shutdown notice, also said that it would also be taking all…
Read MoreValve’s inconsistencies around what is and isn’t too offensive for its platform are at the point where it is so blatant that there are ulterior motives at play that it is incredibly offensive. Here’s a story of two different sets of games to illustrate. The first involves Hitler. Steam is…
Read MoreAs anyone in PR or communications will tell you, the best time to make a catastrophic announcement is when everyone is busy looking elsewhere. You don’t want to hide it, but you want to push it through the news cycle at a time when you’ll only generate half as many…
Read MoreAs a child, Murao Junpei is captivated when a male ballet soloist takes to the stage at his sister’s ballet recital. A passion awakened in him, Junpei asks his parents if he can start doing ballet. His father – a stunt coordinator for films – suggests he tries something “manlier”…
Read MoreDid you know that you can’t produce your own alcohol in Japan? It’s illegal to brew your own beers and wines in Japan without a licence, even for personal consumption, so those little hobby breweries and home beer kits that are so popular in many parts of the world are…
Read MoreAround this time next year, there will be a special event near Fuefuki in the heart of Yamanashi Prefecture (the one you travel through to get to Nagano from Tokyo). For decades there has been an annual recreation of the Battle of Kawanakajima, one of the most compelling and dramatic…
Read More