The Thursday letters page thinks E3 2023 would’ve been better than The Game Awards, as a reader suggests Starfield needs to slow down.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
PLEASE NOTE: We are currently preparing content to run over the Christmas and New Year break and, as usual, we’d like this to include Reader’s Features. So, if you’ve had an idea for a feature, that you’ve never got around to writing, then sending it in now would be the perfect time. In can be on any subject, but anything taking a long-term view of recent trends or games would be particularly apt.
Money priorities
Interesting to see the ex-Rockstar developer talk about why they always deprioritise the PC. Although I don’t really see why a company of Rockstar’s size can’t have GTA 6 come out at the same time as the consoles, given it’s really just a resource issue.
What I do wonder though is how this factors into the way other publishers treat PC versions of multiformat games, which have basically been completely terrible for the last two years or so and always needing multiple patches to get working properly, if at all.
I’d always heard vague suggestions that recent graphics cards are the reason but now I’m thinking it’s because everyone considers the PC version low priority, because it makes less money, and so they… just don’t bother putting much time or money into it.
When you think about it, not bothering because there’s less money to be made makes total sense as an explanation. Occam’s Razor and all that.
Kendal
Second look
So what do we think is going to be in Trailer 2 for GTA 6? I’m assuming they’ll lay out the story more and give a better idea of the size and scope of the map, but the question for me is are there any special new features that are waiting to be revealed?
Is it really just GTA 5 with better graphics or is there something it does that has never been in the series before? Like maybe campaign co-op or some sort of gangster sim style strategy element? Those are just guesses, I don’t necessarily want them or think they’ll be there, but at the moment we really know very little and I’m curious to see how Rockstar will handle things from here on out.
Tater
Ephemeral announcements
Maybe it’s just me but I cannot remember a single thing about The Game Awards and yet I stayed up all night to watch them. Three hours I sat through and yet it went in one ear and out the other, which is not a good sign. I had to concentrate really hard and remember Monster Hunter was the last thing to be shown at the end, but it didn’t really show anything.
E3 was so much better in every way. The reveal were longer, they weren’t so ‘random’, and you actually got the developers to speak for more than a few seconds. And because they were broken up by publisher there was actually a chance of remembering them and putting them in some kind of context.
I hate that the publishers purposefully let E3 die and I hope they come to regret it eventually, although I doubt there’ll be any revival anytime soon, or probably ever.
Corky
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Slow down
I’m still struggling to understand how Bethesda could possibly have thought not having city maps was a good idea in Starfield. I’m also very wary of what this new travel system is, whether it’s transporter beams or vehicles all it’s going to do is make it even easier to avoid actually exploring anywhere, which is so important to the appeal of Skyrim and Fallout.
You want a reason to go slower, not an excuse to go faster and miss even more stuff along the way. The problem at the core of Starfield is there’s no reason to ever hang around. You’re always just going to the next waypoint as quickly as possibly, usually using fast travel if you can. Speeding that up even more seems like the opposite of what’s needed. I think Starfield is just a lost cause, to be honest, and they should just hurry up with The Elder Scrolls 6.
Ollie
Easy answers
Sadly, that Disney ‘interview’ was a very good example of why we need events like E3 and for industry people to get interview by more than one person ever few years. You learnt absolutely nothing from what he said, only a few quotes were printed, and the whole thing seemed more like a vague ad for Disney than anything else.
I’m not saying he would have said anything much more if GC or someone spoke to him but at least we would have had the chance, instead of him going to the one place he thought (correctly, apparently) he wouldn’t get any tough questions. What a shame.
Lantard
Worst of the worst
I’ll say it and it will be remembered as this. The Day Before is the worst game of 2023 and one of the worst games, of all time. You can give Redfall and The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum a lot of stick and they deserve it. But they were full releases and weren’t just fraudulent scams. I can’t say the same for something as dreadful as The Day Before.
Actually, I can. There was another game that also scammed customers. The Last Hope. A rip-off of Naughty Dog’s masterpiece The Last Of Us. 20-minute length, no story, graphics that would insult a reference to the PS1, and a terrible cosplay of Ellie. It was dumped on the Switch eShop and it was barely even a game. More shovelware than anything and until Sony took heed and removed it, it remained as a scam.
Not even the King Kong game, was as bad as that, and isn’t as deceptive as, The Day Before is. The company took the money from consumers, who weren’t smart enough to sense lies when it was so apparent. It’s my good luck that I never gave this game a thought for the entire development process. GTA 6 took my attention away and I’m thankful for it all.
These are the two worst games of the year. Redfall isn’t a scam. Gollum was just a bad game. King Kong is even worse, but they can’t compare to these two failures. I’ll even say this, I’d rather play The Quiet Man over these two scams.
Shahzaib Sadiq
GC: Have you played any of the games you mention?
While stocks last
The Boo Amiibo is currently in stock on the UK Nintendo Store, here’s the link.
I’ve been checking the Nintendo site every day for a while now, for any amiibos I would like and I have never seen that one in stock before.
I have tried to post when amiibos are in stock and out of stock but after a few hours they get removed. I tried to post about the Joker amiibo being out of stock on the day my Inbox letter was printed but it got removed a little while later, unfortunately.
Andrew J.
PS. Don’t forget that Epic Games Store are giving away a free game from today each day (Wednesday 13th December), I presume up until Christmas.
Usual targets
Just wanted to say great job on the Mike Rose interview. It was eye-opening to hear this from a publishing boss, although I suppose his words should come as no surprise. I am seriously concerned though, are we heading headfirst, nosediving, towards another video games crash?
All of the 2023 layoffs, estimated by GC to be around 9,000 now, appear to have only targeted the actual developers on the ground, not the execs. I don’t see how this doesn’t come back to bite them. Add to this the Microsoft acquisitions, which will lead to job losses any day now, and the spiralling costs of making video games. Overall, it really doesn’t seem like a healthy industry.
Nintendo, I suppose, would be fairly insulated, but I do think even some of the bigger names in gaming are ‘struggling’. I say struggling, but it’s more that they’re not hitting their unrealistic, post-Covid targets. EA Sports FC appeared to have a strong release, but I’ve seen it discounted everywhere and this was before Black Friday. This suggests to me that it hasn’t been as successful as EA hoped.
Mike Rose highlighted how Game Pass is currently providing a safety blanket to publishers, but what happens when Microsoft stop throwing money at Game Pass? You know it will happen at some point. We also have the poor reception to the latest Call Of Duty, Modern Warfare 3, which has sold well despite the overwhelming negative reviews. I think they’ve gotten away with is this year, but will gamers be in such a hurry to get next year’s instalment after being burnt this time around?
It’s a funny environment we find ourselves in as gamers these days. They’re taking longer and longer to make, and costing more in the process, but are the games, at heart, more fun than the ones released in the past? The fact they’re taking longer to make builds expectations and hype to, at times, unrealistic levels. It’s an interesting philosophical question, but I’m seriously concerned for the future of this industry. It’s never a good sign when a publisher says they feel embarrassed to be in the industry.
Matt
Inbox also-rans
I’m not sure there’s a more embarrassing addiction possible than sniffing the exhaust fumes of a Steam Deck. I mean… what?
Lobo
If Silent Hill 2 remake is a flop, are we all officially giving up on the Silent Hill revival? Because I’m beginning to think it’s going to.
Bronche
GC: Not until Silent Hill f comes out.
This week’s Hot Topic
The 2023 Game Awards happened last Friday, revealing not only the award winners but the usual suite of new trailer reveals, but what did you think of it?
How much notice do you take of the award nominees and, in general, do you think the winners were justified this year? Do you think there’s a better way to organise the awards and do you feel there are any categories that should be added or removed?
What do you think of the emphasis on new trailers and announcements and does this enhance or diminish the award ceremony? Is the large amount of advertising distracting or an understandable necessity to fund the event?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
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MORE : Games Inbox: Why video game publishers wanted to kill E3, GTA 6 photorealism, and The Day Before
MORE : Games Inbox: Baldur’s Gate 3 game of the year dispute, Elden Ring DLC no-show, and Blade on PS5
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