Septic Sauce

Are videogames too woke now? This topic keeps rearing its head but the art director at Obsidian did nothing to swell the debate but add fuel to it with his controversial statements that even got Elon Musk involved. You see it all the time. Pronouns in games, switched gender roles, or issues regarding race. Is their merit in the arguments of those detractors that bemoan developers seeking inclusivity? Is the drive for inclusivity coming at the cost of the cogency and integrity of the stories told in games? Or is the discontent being amplified by bad actors who are just grifting?

After confirming that there is no red line on any Xbox games coming to Playstation and other platforms, Microsoft officially launched its new marketing campaign that doubled down on its open platform strategy. But will this strategy, at the cost of the Xbox console gamer, work? Is Xbox actually forward facing in this strategy?

After confirming that there is no red line on any Xbox games coming to Playstation and other platforms, Microsoft officially launched its new marketing campaign that doubled down on its open platform strategy. But will this strategy, at the cost of the Xbox console gamer, work? Is Xbox actually forward facing in this strategy?

Out of no where 343 or should I say Halo Studios made some huge announcements and revealed the future look of Halo games with the move to Unreal Engine 5. It impressed many but also caused some controversy. Metaphor: ReFantazio is Atlus' fastest selling game, with excellent Steam player counts and huge critical success despite the concern trolling from some odd concerns of the internet.

We have now had both Sony and Microsoft present their games shows this week. Expectations should have been high for the State of Play but with a fanbase beaten down in submission, anything from first party, even a singular title, would have pacified the fanbase suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. And that's exactly what happened! Is Ghost of Yotei enough to justify years of anaemia from Playstation and its first party studios?

After several reports about Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy Rebirth underperforming on Playstation, Square Enix have finally officially confirmed the reports. What does this mean for the future of Final Fantasy? Is the appeal of this legendary IP waning? Is this because of the exclusivity strategy? Final Fantasy 16 also released on PC this week but to not so spectacular player numbers on Steam. We also got a look at reported early look at the Switch 2 and some reported specs that put it alongside the PS4 Pro and Xbox Series S. Nintendo has also decided to do what Nintendo loves doing and that's file a lawsuit, this time against Pocket Pair behind the hit game Palworld. Vince Zampella of EA confirmed that a new Battlefield was in the works and is going back to the series' roots, Xbox had a showing at TGS (which hasn't happened yet at the time I am typing this so it could be a whole nothing burger), a State of Play is coming next week and ANOTHER Remaster from Sony that nobody asked for is happening with Horizon: Zero Dawn. I got all this and more to discuss.

Sony finally revealed the worst kept console secret that is the PS5 Pro that has been met with lots of criticism and ridicule after a very limp presentation and a shocking price reveal. Will PS5 Pro make a splash that it needs to with the hardcore? Is the price indicative of the perils of a lack of competition in the console space? Microsoft also announced another 650 employees losing their jobs at Xbox.