THQ Nordic PR did a really stupid thing yesterday: They decided to host an AMA on 8chan. Shortly after announcing this, the Internet Outrage Brigade came down hard on them, the AMA was cancelled and the rep apologized by name, claiming he didn't know what 8chan was before agreeing to this. A large number of people are not accepting of this apology and are calling for the guy to be driven out of the industry and for a boycott of THQ Nordic products going forward. The whole thing is stupid and damaging to the industry and I rant about why.

Thanks to my friend Real Caustic being awesome, I was recently given a chance to upgrade to an SLI video card setup for free. It was so frustrating and useless, that I actually gave it back. Along the way, I also discovered that for all its bling and trendiness right now, RGB is probably worst of the worst implemented technologies in PC gaming right now. I walk through my utter befuddlement at all this.

YouTube has once again found itself dealing with an advertiser pullout over a controversy that has received mainstream media attention. As usual, they've responded to it by overreacting and putting policies in place that stand to severely hurt creators, not communicating said changes in a reasonable way and not giving creators the tools and processes needed for them to actually help deal with the issue. And they certainly haven't stood up to these advertisers, who need YouTube as much as they need them and who will come back regardless. As someone who has struggled with the platform for six years, I'm putting all my major planned YouTube projects on hold until this is properly dealt with. I rant about this problem and YouTube's continued disrespect of the creators that give it the monopoly position is enjoys.

The Reddit thead that discusses the chain of events that led to this: https://www.reddit.com/r/YoutubeCompendium/comments/at74l3/2019_february_context_for_the_matt_watson/

The 2019 Rainbow 6 Invitational was this past weekend and I went with Real Caustic and WereTiger. This was the first E-Sports event that I've ever attended and more than that, I've just never really paid attention to E-Sports in any capacity before this, even as a big fan of Rainbow 6 Siege. We had a fantastic time and I really get the draw of E-Sports now. I talk about my experiences with this event and the insights it provided.

My gallery of pictures and videos I took of the event: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7ATyZPwbVErNzV7H8

Earlier this week, Colin Moriarty's CLS Side Quest YouTube series, posted an episode about the increasing calls for the video game industry to unionize. Colin is no fan of unions and wanted to provide a counterpoint to the union drum beating being done in the larger games press. While I agree they need a counterpoint, Colin used a lot of cherry-picked statistics and cases to make his point, ignoring many contradictory ones and also failing to address many of the core issues and massive inequalities between the different levels of large game industry companies and indeed, companies in general.

In this longer episode, I go through many of the points he made, providing counterpoints of my own as a person who is often not a fan of unions but who also realizes that since the game industry is incapable of learning how to treat frontline workers properly, maybe they are the last solution this industry has left, save a massive exodus.

The CLS Side Quest episode, which I highly recommend watching for context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLELQLeIvpg

The new "Volume 2" of The Escapist gaming web site is on fire right now. A site whose previous incarnation failed drowning in controversy, it's once again embroiled in it, due to a poorly written article from it's Editor-In-Chief and prolific games writer and idealogue Russ Pitts, in which he tries to spark a discussion of ethics by poking every controversial element of the games industry, while offering no real solutions and inviting people to comment. After thinking on this and the bizarre timing of it, I've reached a rather frightening conclusion as to the intent of that, go into detail about why and also why if this is true, that The Escapist truly deserves to fail for good.

The editorial that I reference in the podcast, which I highly recommend you read before listening to get context: http://archive.fo/zC2w3

Earlier this week, EA and Respawn Entertainment launched a new battle royale game called Apex Legends, completely out of nowhere and to everyone's surprise. It's a game set in the Titanfall universe, except it doesn't have titans or Titanfall's advanced infantry movement. Also, it's free to play.

I was as cynical as you are but as someone who doesn't care for battle royale games, after just a few matches, this might not only be a battle royale game I put time into, it might be one of the best ones made to date. I talk about my initial impressions after only a few matches and just how talented Respawn truly is to be able to pull this off.

The Anthem demo (which is still very much a beta) went open for everyone this past weekend. After having a miserable time with the "VIP Demo", I got to play through all the demo content with a good crew of people. I had a great time and an more bullish on Anthem than I was before but I still have a number of concerns about it, particularly on the technical side. I go into those and explain why as good as the game could be, that people should wait to pick it up until they see what shape it launches in.

The SkillUp impressions video I reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv5eTZepIWg

#BellLetsTalk day is a social media initiative run by Bell, Canada's largest telecartel, to attempt to destigmatize mental illness. After talking a little bit about the initiative and how Bell's business practices aren't really in keeping with the spirit, I talk about my own lengthy struggles with mental health, to put it out there and show that it's not something to be ashamed of, that it's something you can get help for and that even when it seems there is no hope, you are never alone.

Tell your story, if not for you, for others. Let's talk.

Some prior episodes and a blog post related to my mental health journey:

Episode 4 - Going Caffeine Free for ADHD

Episode 24 - Going to PAX South & My New Mindset

Blog post - So I found out some interesting brain stuff this week

Resources for various kinds of mental health struggles from the Canadian Mental Health Association