Tag Archives: Playstation

January 8, 2026 · 20:37

Our lull moments

That happens, we all crave it, the option of bliss, inactivity, moments of calmness and we find it in different ways. I for one have this with a video game. Not some edge of seat Epic setting, but the Horizon setting, Skyrim, Oblivion, fall out, the list goes on. And yesterday I saw a list of two dozen games coming to the PS5 and some woke me up. There was off course Wolverine by Insomniac. I will be waiting for that one, but at that point one game turned up that I never expected The game STYX has as far as I know been a Xbox game and it is a excellent game, Stealth of the better variety. And you better rely on stealth as you are a 4’ goblin with his trusty knife. What drove me to this game that any level had several solution to solving it and you got points for completing other ways. It was a lovely time. Now its coming to Sony Playstation and we can rejoice. More important there are a few other settings we could consider. One of them is RYSE, son of Rome. The good parts is that the graphics were really good and the storyline was amazing. The two downsides were in the first was that all combat is massively repetitive. And the second one was that you had too defeat several bosses twice, after the first time he completely reset his health bar. I don’t like this, but that might just be me. So as I see it, when you redo the battle setting of Marius Titus you might have an amazing Playstation winner. So when we consider the funny part, who thought that Frankfurt had more to offer than Frankfurters? Crytek GmbH might be the next great thing coming from Germany, go that is an exaggeration, but the truth is that RYSE might have dies too soon and too small a death, so whilst some might object as it was released 12 years ago, I say ‘be still’ good games overcome systems and generations (example Mass Effect and Oblivion) and those are merely two who made the system generation jump. I think that Ryse could do the same (if the two weaknesses are dealt with) As far as I see it, everyone is looking at what might be (I do that too at times) but at times I look behind me what we left and there is plenty to be had in that direction too. I gave some of this ‘life’ in an IP solution I offered to Saudi Arabia and I still believe it can work, not merely for the games, but for the two sides of that equation that could propels Saudi Arabia’s gaming and other settings a lot further. Don’t be miffed Amazon got the same option, but they decided to ignore this whilst they are banking on AI (good luck with that).

So whilst we were given ‘Amazon Pulls AI-Powered Fallout Recap After Getting Key Story Details Wrong’ which comes with “According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Amazon is betting AI can identify key plot points for a series to be synchronized with a voiceover narration and dialogue snippets.”” Apart from the settings that are incorrect and incomplete. Amazon needs to realise that this is all programmed and the programmer might not see what needs validating and verification. They might not know, but the fans will pick up on this instantly. And Engadget gives us ‘Amazon’s AI-generated recap tool didn’t watch Fallout very closely’ this relates to games, because when these people get the AI part ‘working’ they will go over games in that same way and that is where the blunders start adding up to the folly of people who blindly believe in AI. Because I mentioned once that 2026 will be the setting of AI court cases and I was proven (yet) again correct as we are given ‘CanLII and Caseway AI reportedly moving towards settlement in copyright dispute’ as well as TechCrunch given us 8 hours ago ‘Google and Character.AI negotiate first major settlements in teen chatbot death cases’ merely two cases in the second week on January. So, how many more will follow? Only seven hours ago we were given ‘Musk lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion can head to trial, US judge says’ and all this relates to games, because last November we were given ‘Ubisoft Reveals Teammates – An AI Experiment to Change the Game’ and I reckon it will merely take one slip up to thwart the statistics of a player and he will be crying in the lap of some ambulance chaser. A setting I saw coming a mile away which a few people have experienced if they are stealth players. 

As such my lull moment gets blown away with some AI character, team mate or not. But that might merely be me, but what Ido remember was call on this setting months ago and now we see two being settled, whilst OpenAI is now entering the dock for what might cost them a pretty penny. Did those shareholders consider that this might become the destination of their investment?

Have a great day.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming, IT, Law, Media, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 28, 2025 · 14:13

Are doornails really dead?

I got a nice surprise today. I got a story (at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/2025-was-the-year-xbox-died-130000467.html), the only inaccuracy I think is that the contraption was dead already, for about 2 years. So I got to wonder. What happened to:

Mojang studios (Mincecraft) $ 2.5 billion
ZeniMax Media, Bethesda $ 7.5 billion
Activision/Blizzard $68.7 billion

Which gives us $78.7 Billion and it shouldn’t be allowed to go into a bad bank, that interest is still due. The last purchase was only completed in October 2023. So what happens, sell it to Saudi Arabia? The interest (said to be around 5%) implies that Microsoft is still meant to pay $3.935 billion interest on an annual basis and there is no way it gets to be reflected away, although I might advise Saudi Arabia in particularly Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi that he should not offer a Halala over $50 billion for the entire package. I don’t think Microsoft is allowed any leeway for their intentional stupidity. That being said, they bought Mojang studios in 2014 and they did mighty fine work on their Minecraft product, including the PS5 (which still needs the PS4 disc), but that is small fry. The result is truly amazing and the fact that it is still one of the most popular games on any console is due to the Microsoft teams and credit where credit is due I say. Still, as the optional spokesperson for Saudi Commerce, I think it is essential that the Saudi Fleet of airplanes need to be give to all its Microsoft 2024 Flight Simulator players free of charge the fleet of planes that are part of the Saudia airlines, which consists of Airbus A320-200, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 787-10, as well as include the King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah) and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in the base setting of the Flight Simulator 2024. I think that Saudi Arabia is due some VIP treatment if Microsoft wants to flog away their failures. I think that Saudi Arabia is due that privilege. 

I think if you want the grease the wheels of commerce, you better take out your best effort, but that is merely me speaking. This all started in 2013 when they upset the gaming industry, by thinking they could strong-arm gamers towards the Xbox, whilst they never actually understood gamers (I point to the Don Mattrick, the former president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, widely remembered for controversial stupid statement of “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360”) my response was ‘Fuck you Mattrick” and I placed a handful of gaming IP on my blogs for anyone not Microsoft. That’s how I react and these people are still welcome too all that, especially as the Xbox is now dead on arrival, a proper vivisectioned console at your local morgue. So whilst the article gives you “Xbox didn’t enter 2025 in a great state, and it’s leaving the year grasping for help, like an Arc Raider player desperate for a revival after being knocked out. Microsoft cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, two of the most interesting games in its weak upcoming slate. The company brought titles like Forza Horizon 5 over to the PlayStation 5, which prompted Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham to declare he no longer needed an Xbox.” He never needed one and I did mine away years ago, it was just a dust collection setting and I merely held on to it because of Elite Dangerous and Subnautica, when they became available on PS4/PS5, the fate of my coaster to be (Xbox One) was set. Some regrets, but the Xbox360 was awesome, so not that much and it was my first setting for Oblivion and Skyrim, which I also have on Sony. We were also given “There was a chance for Microsoft to reinvigorate the Xbox brand with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X gaming handhelds, but the $600 and $1,000 launch prices placed them out of reach for most gamers. It also doesn’t help that Windows still isn’t well-optimized for portable devices with touchscreens, and those systems also aren’t compatible with older Xbox titles like the consoles. At the very least, Microsoft now has a handheld foothold. But a future portable Xbox console would need to be significantly cheaper to compete with the likes of the Steam Deck, which starts at $549 (following the discontinuation of the $400 LCD model).” But as I personally see it, Microsoft tends to lose interests in solutions that dos not make them shine and the Xbox had nearly rusted through as I personally see it, but there was the news which was available for about three days now and I had other matters on my mind, so it was a nice setting today, I was proved correct all along and as Saudi Arabia is vying to be a digital powerhouse, the setting if upgraded to a better shine, what was left of Microsoft games, might get a decent second life, but the additions to the Microsoft Flight-simulator 2024 will be required, although they might include it as a package deal for the nice price of $50 billion, not a penny more, including the Flight Simulator 2024 might make it worth the time of Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, but that is merely my view on the matter. And there is the setting we need to consider, the Xbox came to life (with massive help of Dwayne Johnson) and grew to new heights in 2005, it actually became a competitor to Sony and made Sony release the PS4 and PS5 with the immense upgrades. Gamers rejoiced and then in 12 years (due to Don Mattrick as I personally see it) it went from hightop to basement level bargain value. Still, I am not happy. Sony was better with Microsoft chasing its tail and that needs to be said and the results as we still see every day its awesome and as I see it, Todd Howard now needs to say the words “Elder Scrolls 6 is coming to Playstation” the Sony and the gaming world needs to hear those words. The Microsoft blame game of ‘perhaps’ and ‘we will service all gamers’ is disingenuous at best and not appreciated. 

So whilst we are given “Its partnership with AMD could easily lead to new handhelds, and it also gives Microsoft a leg up in producing a compact and powerful Xbox PC. After all, why should the company keep trying to go toe-to-toe with Sony’s closed PlayStation platform? Why shouldn’t Microsoft embrace its PC roots to give us a gaming desktop under our TVs? The company has already committed to bringing new Xbox games to PCs immediately, so the line between the two is already blurring. It may be a risk, but evolving into a PC proves there’s still life in the Xbox brand. And crucially, it’s also something Sony can’t easily replicate.” You see, the gamers feel betrayed by Microsoft, even those having an Xbox, they aren’t (don’t say ever in this case) going to trust Microsoft, they tried to play gamers and these players don’t like to be played, they take this personally and that is what Microsoft did in a few ways as I personally see it.

So you all have a good day and those owning a Playstation have pleasant dreams, because Microsoft just bought the bucket from Davey Jones locker. I reckon that this setting is hardest on Phil Spencer, who tried to do everything to make Microsoft gaming work. I think he did a fine job, but Microsoft overhead was ruled (as I see it) by Excel users and that goes against the grain of gamers. Have a great day today, my time for a late lunch now.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming, IT

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 23, 2025 · 23:33

Never out of mind

That is the setting. I saw a trailer (I thought it was an AI fluke) but it had the stars and it reminded me of an old game. Wacky Races on the Dreamcast. I thought it was brilliant. SEGA had a competitor to Nintendo’s Mario Kart. Now, I have nothing against Mario Kart. I loved it on the N64, I also loved it on the Gamecube. And when I get the Switch 2, I will love it again. But the setting was that Wacky Races had an approach to counter whatever Nintendo had in those days. Wacky Races was it and as I loved the cartoon, I was instantly hooked. So I was surprised that Sony never bought the rights. So I don’t know what happened to that setting, but at present and especially with the movie apparently coming, Sony has a renewed option to get that title on their PlatStation systems. 

The game had several nice touches and the fact that every car had its own options, makes it a setting that will give renewed replayability. Set the game to several settings and as the game is played on ‘real roads’ the setting could get its own new lease of life. What is better than play your favourite character racing route 66? And that is merely the beginning. The cartoon gave us hilarious settings and that reflects back on the game and even now as this setting is transposed this game could have multiple settings. The famous ‘walks’ could now be the setting of Wacky Races. The St. Frances way (Florence – Rome), the Camino de Santiago walk (Saint JeanPied de Port to Santiago de Compostela) then there is the Nakasendo trail (Kyoto – Tokyo) And not to forget Lands end to John o Groats over the length of the UK. Now we can make the most of it and make it a cartooned version and we can add more. A setting never shown before and as I see it, you can race it eleven time. There were the Boulder Mobile, Creepy Coupe, Convert-a-Car, Crimson Haybaler, Compact Pussycat, Army Surplus Special, Bulletproof Bomb, Arkansas Chuggabug, Turbo Terrific, Buzz Wagon and who could forget the Mean Machine featuring Muttley. 

A wacky race and as the game gets more and more traction Sony could add its own set of tracks. There is no limit to the setting we could add and Sony had an advantage for the longer of times. There is even an option to add the Iceland ring road to these tracks. The quality of Deeper Machine Learning is almost perfect to add these tracks to their arsenal and Google Maps was kind enough to add these rides to the spectrum and now they only need to set the filters to adapt the tracks to a more cartoon setting. Was it that hard to think out of the box? 

But without fail there is always someone who can do better than me, that person (preferably at Sony) merely needs to raise his (or her) hand and start the setting and now that there apparently is coming a Wacky Races movie in 2026, there is an added reason to take up the baton of crazy gameplay on the PlayStation. There is of course a need to put it on the streaming systems too (Amazon Luna and whatever Tencent has). A setting we tend to forget about but the time is now to make that dent in the competitors. Should you see the need to add to this, my advice is to take a serious look at Fur Fighter (Dreamcast), the Playstation 2 made a mess of that game. Two titles and they were largely ignored. And with the stage of original games at a all time low, the need for quality gaming is now and the stage of these walks are a new ride, that besides the stage that you could also add tracks to this, perhaps Monaco, Francorchamps, Le Mans and a few other tracks like Daytona and the Gold Coast track. All options overlooked and now there is a larger setting to make it work.

Have a great day and when you go for coffee today, outside of the gaming world we do have speed limits, no matter how desperately you crave your coffee.

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming, IT, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 15, 2025 · 11:54

Cracks are showing

That is the setting of this day. In under 5 minutes three articles passed by my eyes and it is a clear sign that cracks are showing. I will give you an article first. The article (at https://www.cbr.com/xbox-game-pass-end-of-era/) gives us ‘It’s Officially the End of an Era for Xbox Game Pass’, I am in the meddle of that settings. I cannot disagree and I cannot completely agree. We are given “Game Pass might be a great deal for players, but unfortunately, it comes at the cost of devaluing developers and their work. If the system keeps running the way it does now, it’ll only get less sustainable over time, and if Game Pass crashes, a lot of people are going down with it.” Yes I agree with that statement, however “it comes at the cost of devaluing developers and their work” is a little validating what a fool hands for their games. Consider Hogwarts Legacy, the devoted Harry Potter fan goes ‘Take my money…now!’ whilst plenty of other gamers go ‘Not in 999,999 years, 11 months, 30 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 50 seconds’, as I see it ‘Not in a million years’ sounds so crass (big smiley). So the statement is out there and lets be clear Game Pass was a great idea. But it comes at a cost. You see, Microsoft needs the game pass to give validation of the Blizzard/Activision deal, together with Bethesda they spend a little over  $100,000,000,000 and as it stands and as I see it, to cross that deal they have to make over $6.5 billion dollars a year just to make the interest go away and last year it merely banked 5 billion an change. This is a loss of well over a billion a year just for the interest of this caper. I thought it was a bad deal the moment it was announced and I wrote about it in 2022/2023. So with the end of game pass this deal gets to be the sour apple that gives Microsoft indigestion. But like the infomercials say “There is more” and there is. 

You see we are also given ‘Microsoft Is Axing This Android App. You Have 3 Weeks to Find a Replacement’ (at https://au.pcmag.com/hosted-email-providers/113075/microsoft-is-axing-this-android-app-you-have-3-weeks-to-find-a-replacement) and you know, there is and there has always been a replacer ent from the day that thing was called into service. It is called GMAIL. It has always worked well and it is not riddled with hidden Microsoft snags. So whilst we are given “A year ago, Microsoft celebrated 10 million Outlook Lite downloads. Effective Oct. 6, however, Redmond says it’s being retired ‘so we can focus our investments’ on the main Outlook app.” I will counter that that this setting was in play since 1998, so the investments should be there and in order. But when you see “so we can focus our investments” and consider the previous article, we see the beginning of cracks in the armor of Microsoft. Cracks in its spin settings and telling the world how great it is doing as a 3.79 trillion company. You see, there is a lot more bad news ahead  for them and none of it is great. Yet that is beyond the third article and it comes with speculations.

You see, the third article is one I have issues with (I’m on the side of Microsoft here). The article (at https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/after-4-months-oblivion-remastered-falls-to-mixed-reviews-on-steam-after-reports-of-poor-and-unstable-performance-on-pc-it-is-still-well-and-truly-a-bethesda-game/) gives us ‘After 4 months, Oblivion Remastered falls to “Mixed” reviews on Steam after reports of “poor and unstable” performance on PC: “It is still well and truly a Bethesda game”’ There are a few issues here. I played it on the PS5 (as one should) and I believe it was a truly great remaster. I found one glitch (optional a bug) and I got around this. Whilst we see that Cyrodil is massively shown in the greatness that it deserves and better than the Xbox360 edition, I got the same feeling of amazement here as I did in the original. And I have a few issues with the “poor and unstable” side of the matter. Yes a steam system and most PC’s do not allow for a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (and neither does the wallet of these gamers), as such they are playing with the overclocking left, right and centre. And not every application allows for that and becomes ‘unstable’. But the term overclocking sells systems and as long as the warnings are there, they allow for it, but software tends to be tricky and I believe that this is shown here. I never did that and I found one glitch (optional bug) in my PS5 edition of Oblivion and I think that this is amazing quality. So there is a larger audience who will ‘convict’ Microsoft in falsehood. 

As I see it, these settings will optionally call for Google to bring back to life the Stadia and I have a setting that will nearly guarantee a starting setting of 6 billion a year and past that stage one an increase to $10-$15 billion annually. I merely don’t want Microsoft to get that part, they tinkered with the freedom of gamers, so they are out. Amazon had the inside track for over two year and they didn’t take me seriously (my speculation of them seeing my idea) and now as the Microsoft cracks are showing we see a larger workspace of gaining over 15 million gamers and a whole lot more in other places. That warrants a new look at the stadia. I thought it was a great idea for the Kingdom Holdings to gain the hand on the Stadia, but as I see it, they seemingly lacked vision there too. As such Google now has a new upper hand and as I accused them of leaving billions on the floor, it is their turn to pick this up, fair is fair.

So whilst the cracks are showing others can gain the leverage of Microsoft (and make it fall at least a third in total value and the would make buy words golden too (and I get to hand a wooden spoon with gold engravings to Phil Spencer) as such my ego is at present a little unbearable to me as well. 

A setting that was foreseen at least two years ago and now there is a new stage in that setting, or better stated a remastered setting of the same stage and that is a nice touch on silly old me.

So have a great Monday, which at present feels like a new Friday to me.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming, IT, Media

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 4, 2025 · 13:19

Revenue ignored

That is the setting I see. It is likely that others do not see it that way and that is fine. I and referring to Ubisoft. I got their product AC Shadow last week. At present I can only afford it as a preowned game, that is life. But as it is one of the first preowned games I am getting in that way, I am now ‘devoid’ of the initial codes for cosmetic extras. That is fine, I get that these codes are not transferable. That is the benefit of the full game purchasers. However considering that this game was as such 50% cheaper, Ubisoft is also out of revenue. So, I am guessing that Ubisoft has the option to ‘reclaim’ additional revenue.

As such I now do not have:

  • Thrown to the dogs bonus quest
  • Claws of Awaji expansion
  • Yasuke Sekiryu Character pack

I am not complaining on this, codes are not transferable and I think that is fair, but then I thought that these codes might be optionally bought for $3-$5 after a while. So lets say that there is a delay to buy these codes by months up to 12 months. So those who bought the full codes get these ‘extras’ for up to a year and after that Ubisoft can get sales from these codes. It could bank them millions. Optionally you could earn them through the Ubisoft store for exchanging these Ubi-coins. That is up to them, but I reckon that this solution is something that could bank them millions. This is set to the dozen of so games they released and for the millions of people who bought a preowned game. I am actually surprised that no one bought this to the attention of that youthful young scoundrel called Yves Guillemot (apparently the CEO of that place). It is not that CEO’s walk away from revenue, as such I wonder why this was decided. I get that there should be an advantage to the buying population, but after 6 month or a year? I reckon that there is a case t be made for that revenue.

And that is after the setting where Ubisoft is walking away from millions. Ah well, some people can afford to walk away from that amount of money. What a luxury.

As I see it, there is now an additional reason to add a Japanese language model to the idea’s that I already spouted and Ubisoft has another reason to reconsider some of the ideas that re out in the open. And as I see it, Apple is dragging its feet as well. But then they decided to call themselves innovative people (lacking innovation that is).

Anyway, from my point of view AC Shadows is a magnificent product. I was a little upset by the 140GB is had to download and it took hours to do this. But then no one is perfect (almost no one).

So whilst you consider the impact of all that material that could now be downloaded to enhance your playing ability, consider the impact of all these games getting a second stage and what additions could now spice up their wallets in addition to issues they forgotten they had. 

Have a great day, Vancouver will join us in this Thursday in a little under 4 hours.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming, IT

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

August 1, 2025 · 23:28

The Nintendo Charge

Nintendo makes another blitz record, it is not the first one, but this one is one for the record books. The story (at https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-has-sold-6-million-switch-2-consoles-and-almost-the-same-number-of-mario-kart-world/) gives us ‘Nintendo has sold 6 million Switch 2 consoles and almost the same number of Mario Kart World’ as for my excuse not being part of that cluster is simple. I just don’t have the money at present. Nintendo played a near perfect awareness game. They went global with the teaser, they followed up with YouTube video’s and gave online presence. When Zero-hour was here. The streets were aligned around shops who sold it with people. We all wanted one, even the ones that couldn’t afford one. And there was a lot of interest. The expanded memory, larger screen, higher resolution, snap click controllers with magnets and the controller was also used as a mouse. 256GB against the 32GB of the original Switch. Basically everything was stronger. One exception, the battery life seemingly is not. I run my Switch on the TV, so I won’t ever see this one issue. And on the TV, you now get 4K. Cheaper than either Xbox or PS5 (not by that much) Nintendo made the record books yet again. In the first 7 weeks the Nintendo sold 6 million Switch 2 consoles and the real screamer is that nearly all of them got Mario Kart World, it sold 5.63 million copies. That is huge. I saw the videos and I would get that as my first game too. 

So when we se all this we tend to think, what is next? But that is it, this setting will hurt Sony as well as Microsoft to some degree. People can no longer afford it all and when they get a Switch 2, their coffers are nearly empty as such, no direct sales for either Sony or Microsoft. Microsoft with its Game Pass will have an advantage over Sony (for the first time) and it will not be as hindered by Nintendo as Sony is, but they too will feel the pain. I reckon that this will continue straight through Christmas 2025. Because those who can not afford it at present, will work harder to get one before or at this Christmas (hopefully me too). 

So whilst we get the quote “Despite being a launch title and being constrained by its user base, Mario Kart World is the series’ second biggest launch behind Mario Kart Wii.” And that makes sense. I see the improvements and the plusses that Mario Kart World is bringing and I reckon that this game alone is the largest push to get the Nintendo Camera as well. It goes further, As of June 30, 2025, the Nintendo Switch has sold a total of 153.10 million units worldwide. This makes it the third best-selling video game console of all time and now add the 6 million Switch 2 systems and we see that Nintendo is overtaking Microsoft by storm. Consider that at present Xbox Series X/S (2020): Estimated over 28 million units as of June 2024. This implies that Switch 2 is already at 21% of Xbox Series X/S lifetime sales. And the Switch already surpassed that. This sets the  Microsoft systems in third position and should Amazon agree to my terms Microsoft becomes the 4th player. Not bad after spending Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. That was money well spend wasn’t it? And should Amazon agree to surpass Microsoft too, that 68 billion dollar anchor will weigh harshly on their actions. The funny part is that neither Sony or Nintendo had to pay that much for anything they bought (as far as I know). And there is more (there always is) Nintendo is should of breaking its own record of the Nintendo DS which sold 154 million consoles. The Switch is now less then a million away from that record. It is anyones guess how far the Switch 2 will make it, but as I see it the numbers are in favor of Switch replacing a lot of systems within the next year. Nintendo said there were no changes to its financial forecast for this fiscal year, which is to sell 15 million consoles by March 2026. I tend to think that this number will be broken in several ways by Christmas 2024. That is before we consider the pleasing notions of all the Harry Potter fans who will be driven to this game on the Switch 2 as well. Yes, Nintendo is about to break record and this is the first time that I am saying this, but Nintendo is now approaching the pole position that Sony holds, as such they will have to up their game considerably if they do not want to be taken over by Nintendo, because that is no longer impossible. I don’t think Sony was ready to see the Switch family as a threat to their number one position, but that is the setting that they face in 2026, as such I wonder what Sony will come up with next. 

The armistice race on consoles tends to be a fulfilling one and there is the second step. When Nintendo get that done, it will find more gamers switching to their side. Although I have always stated that the Nintendo is the system you get next to your usual console, I still believe that and as such Nintendo tends to have great options. I merely wonder when Hogwarts Legacy 2 is released will it be released on day one for Switch 2 too? You might think that this doesn’t matter, but it does. It will be the first moment when Nintendo will have surpassed Sony and that is the kind of news that is massive in its own right. Sony released its PlayStation on December 3, 1994, it went straight to the top from the start and it will have taken Nintendo 32 years to overtake Sony and that is not something to think lightly of. I certainly am not. 

So, I merely have this to say “Well done Nintendo”

Have a great day today 

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 7, 2025 · 14:41

Burning Bridges

This is the setting that Forbes (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/07/05/how-can-we-trust-anything-xbox-says-now/) gave me. You see Microsoft (always happy to get slapped around) gets the crooked eye from Forbes. The article ‘How Can We Trust Anything Xbox Says Now?’ late last night (might have been early this morning) and whilst I am always in the mood to slap Microsoft around, I do have an issue with fairness. As far as I feel it, I have decently slapped them silly on more than one occasion. Yet I have a few issues with this article. They aren’t lying, merely focussing on the wrong side of the dice. The dice states ‘six’, but we could assume the setting that ‘one’ fell, because that is what is below ‘six’ I a not telling you that six is the wrong number. But we tend to see the side of the dice that is up. Yet in early life I learned that randomization is an exact science (I couldn’t resist saying this), you see, the internet is full of dice games. And that is where the problem lies. You see a dice, you think a dice, but in automation, there are no dice. It is a random generator (overly simplified stated STATE(RANDOM(1,6)) and that is what you think happens, but if the result depends on settings and we get STATE(RANDOM(WhatWeSayLow, WhatMightBeHigh)) the numbers get fixed and that is what happens in gaming. This is not a gaming setting as Forbes gives us “After the launch of Hi-Fi Rush, Aaron Greenberg, VP of Xbox Games marketing, said: “Hi‑Fi RUSH was a breakout hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.” The studio, Tango Gameworks, was shut down a year later, and was only saved by a third-party purchase.” You see, there are a few issues with this. The first is that it comes from marketing, a member drenched in wishful thinking (by order of his superior) and ‘advocates’ that setting. Then there is the setting of what happened in that year? Was the market wrong (undecided is a better term) and that gives us two settings that is merely the start. The setting had a future, because a third party scooped in. Then we get “During its FTC trial, Microsoft presented a diagram attempting to prove that it would keep Call of Duty multi-platform, a key point of doubt. The idea was that existing huge franchises like that would stay multi-platform. Some current IPs that Microsoft has bought would be released on other platforms on a case-by-case basis. Then there would be a classification of games, original IPs like Starfield and Avowed, that would stay exclusive to Xbox. While that’s true for those two games so far, this concept has now joined a statement from Phil Spencer: “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not.’”” This setting is a little different. We should see a larger setting. Like, Microsoft never expected that its system would become the joke it has become. I merely raise the setting of 3 Sony’s (or 5 Nintendo Switch) to every Xbox series X, and it is about to get worse for Microsoft (Amazon and Tencent will be joining us soon and in bigger numbers). The market didn’t set the premise that some set their sights on. And the spin isn’t what it used to be. It seems to be the setting of the boy who cried console a little too often. And as I see it, the massive mistakes made aren’t small ones. Only last week were we given “Fable 4 will be released in 2026. An Xbox Game Studios update confirmed the game needed “more time,” pushing it back from its original 2025 launch window.” As such this game is now up to 18 months away. And the world is changing and Microsoft needs every penny it can get. You do remember that they bought $100 billion in IP and the return on investment doesn’t seem to be coming (at present). Now consider the setting that EA, Ubisoft and Bethesda all have shifted timelines and the larger IP deliverers now need a year more and that has got to hurt the Microsoft stage. It doesn’t matter what Game pass does. When the games aren’t coming you get the setting of a courtesan that forgot that it was the maids night out and all her laundry is still out to dry. That might seem like weekend lost, but Microsoft is looking to a lull of 52 weekends in a row. In the meantime Nintendo and Sony are making headway in games and the Microsoft gamers are feeling the pinch. A thought for Microsoft is to offer its population the series Halo and Fallout as free downloads, which might lessen the pressure (a simple but not essentially effective deal) as I see it, these two could lessen the pressure by an expected 16%-20% (up to two months) and it could be spread to one episode a week 8 for fallout and 17 for HALO, it wasn’t difficult, but it is a first thought. It might result in additional sales. Perhaps someone already mentioned it to Phileas Foggy Spencer, he can adjust even more red lines. 

So whilst Forbes is telling us no porkies, the article is missing a few items like time lines and as such the marketing impact. As Status Quo gave us in 1988 burning bridges is a state where actions that make it impossible to return to a previous state of a relationship. At least that was what I got out of it and it still largely applies. The consumer is a fickle beast and it adheres what tantalizes it and that is where the media tends to find its digital dollars. Cyberpunk got that slapped on its chest by adhering to the media in stead of telling everyone that the game will be ready when it is ready. Ubisoft got that with the first Watchdogs and the examples are legion (intended pun). What is on Microsoft that they didn’t have a stronger push for more games. Game pass is only good to a certain degree and when EA, Ubisoft and Bethesda lack releases, the console gets to be a pretty boring place. Microsoft is finding that out the harder way. And still the mismanagement issues do not stop (read: fuck ups) as we are also given “Now, in this latest story, reports have emerged that Phil Spencer “couldn’t stop playing” a new MMORPG codenamed Blackbird from ZeniMax’s Elder Scrolls Online team and was incredibly impressed with it. That was in March, and three months later, Blackbird was cancelled this past week.” In this the fuck up is plural. When he can’t stop playing a game it should be ready, as such when it gets cancelled three months later the question becomes “What on earth are you playing?” You see, when it is an MMORPG it needs to have systems in place and when something like that gets cancelled three months later it can’t have been any good (or so I personally think). 

And in addition we are given “In the same batch of cancellations, we had Everwild, where after a recent visit to Rare, Spencer said: “It’s nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they’re making,” Spencer said. “It has been [a while]. And we’ve been able to give those teams time in what they’re doing, which is good, and still have a portfolio like we have.” That was in February, and Everwild was also cancelled last week.” So what was Spencer doing? As such we have several failures and two cancelations and the other big boys are at least a year delayed. So, I see the setting that these people will optionally see their Xbox gathering dust for a year. Not the reason I buy a console. I have both the PS4 and PS5 and at least one of them is working on a daily basis. Even with the delays I see coming. As I personally see it Microsoft has had a bad decade and when you consider that the bad blood started with the Xbox One gathering momentum over the series S and series X there are a few things going wrong and Spencer would do well to nip this in its tracks (it is too late to nip it in the butt). I cannot see the setting of “whether Spencer is still the best choice to lead this ship”, I would need more reliable data to support that setting and lets face it, it is more than marketing. There is a failure on several levels and as Microsoft is seemingly losing more and more media friends their bad settings will merely continue at present.

So I see that the waves are against Microsoft, but the need to slap them shouldn’t overwhelm warning of ‘needless-slapping’ Microsoft. I don’t think I did that and in this day and age, your console is as much as you can get as the America administration are throwing entertainment in America in a messy situation, that being said, Microsoft is global so as I see it all countries (except Japan) can learn from this. As I see it, Microsoft needs to look at the bridge they burned and consider what can be fixed and what cannot. There is no guarantee that these bridges could be fixed, as their population are consumers, yet when they say “yeah sure okay”, your population is about to go somewhere else and that will be (as I personally see it) the end of Microsoft gaming. 

I might not be a Microsoft fan, but Microsoft pushed Sony to create the PS3 and PS4, when Xbox falls away, I will fear for the setting that PS6 could bring and I like the path PS3, PS4, and PS5 gaming got me. 

Have a great gaming day today

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming, IT, Media

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 6, 2025 · 04:08

When the gamer doubts

That’s me, I doubt things. That is just the way I am. The setting was thrown into my lap as Eurogamer gave me a view I had an issue with. 

The image (and article) gave us that “EA expects Battlefield 6 to have 100 million players – 3x more than the series’ best seller”, this gives me (and others doubt), but the setting gave me pause to think after a while. You see, the biggest contenders for EA are Bethesda and Ubisoft. As such, what does a gamer do when things turn bad? He turns to another game. It is just the thing we do. When the going gets tough, the tough go gaming. So is EA really expecting that many gamers? 

The first thought I had was ‘No Way’ now, that is nothing against EA. I am not a Battlefield gamer, I never was and that is OK, others are and they are welcome to it. One source gave me “So the earnings call confirms that BF6 is scheduled for a release before the end of March 2026” and then there was “On February 5, 2019, EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the game ultimately failed to meet sales expectations, blaming the game’s marketing as well as their focus on developing a single-player campaign instead of a battle royale mode, a genre which had gained recent widespread popularity” The funny part is that I know Andrew, and as such things don’t make sense. You see he is the person that doesn’t go half cocked on 300% of expectations, especially when I see the results of Battlefield V. As such my mind started rehashing all the info it has and two things come to the surface. The first one is that a deal has been struck with Microsoft. A decent idea to get Battlefield on game pass but that alone doesn’t give 300% of people, something else needs to happen. As such the only thing that comes is that either Ubisoft and/or Bethesda won’t deliver on its games. That would get these gamers towards another game immediately. Then there is the combination of both and perhaps Game pass will have a few issues too with other developers. These three would get a massive need for something else on the game pass. I think it is a combination, but I have no data, no evidence of this. The overbearing setting seems to be that Andrew Wilson knows something that is not meant for the media and I get to this stage. It is highly speculative and as far as I know Wilson, he doesn’t push for 3 times the bandwidth on a whimsy. The other thought is that EA is keeping an additional title under the radar and that 300% is meant for two titles. That makes sense too. The reality is that I just don’t know but the setting of 100 million players after the previous never met the initial numbers is just too wild. The chance of EA has a larger additional win is likely, but I cannot state that with any certainty. I just don’t keep EA titles in my front pocket and I still think that they messed Mass Effect 4 up and there is no ME5 until 2027. So what is kept under the radar? ME1-3 remastered? I doubt it, but not impossible. 

The reason remains unclear, but there is no way that it is set to a game that missed the mark previously now getting 300% coverage is not the reason, that tidbit is out the door.

So what the reason is remains unknown for now, but setting up servers for 100 million gamers is an expensive exercise and that is waisting money in a dastardly way. So I reckon that Eurogamer will be taking a deeper look at this seems almost a given, and I reckon that this we will see the real reason during summer, perhaps the active gamers will find the reason spilled somewhere in a dedicated blog on that subject down the line.

Have a great day and try to enjoy gaming this weekend.

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming, Media

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 18, 2025 · 15:01

Are there two coins?

That is the question I put before you. Are there two coins, or is merely spinning with different currencies? That is the setting that the Wall Street Journal gives us. With ‘They Paid $3,500 for Apple’s Vision Pro. A Year Later, It Still Hurts.’ (at https://www.wsj.com/tech/they-paid-3-500-for-apples-vision-pro-a-year-later-it-still-hurts-496de341) we see the (almost) crybaby style of “I never actually needed it”, we see the setting of “It was Apple’s first major product release in years! It’s the first device you look through and not at! Typing can be done in the air! But buyers who wore them in the wild say they got nothing but dirty looks and sore necks. Now, the devices are daily reminders of their misplaced bravado.” As I personally see it, they wore this in the wold, so they would look ‘innovative’ almost like the influencer who wanted to appeal to everyone, but they never knew how. It seems like a variant on the West Wing setting taken from Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin with “There go my people. I must find out where they are going so I can lead them.” As I see it, a pointless exercise that costs money and leads to nothing. I, on the other hand could never afford it and I came up with several IP variants where their customers could have enjoyed the setting. In November 2024 I wrote ‘One step left for a new world’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/16/one-step-left-for-a-new-world/) where I combined education and gaming with languages for the masses. And Apple has his translation software, and that could bestow education and fin for the masses (who could afford it) and beyond that (after a year) it could be transferred to whatever MetaQuest offers. I did that in under two days and even set the premise in this blog to give them the setting to a unique ‘game’ with Guerrilla Games. Did they catch on? No, they are all on a non-existent AI horse (not the one used for Troy), but just as fatal for the people without imagination. So when I see “No player in the virtual reality space has yet to figure out how to drive widespread adoption of the technology. Apple hasn’t disclosed how many of the devices it has sold. The company has struggled to get developers to make apps for the Vision Pro, putting its success at risk, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Apple declined to comment.” I merely laugh. It took me two days to set the premise of close to a dozen ‘games’ (OK, several have an educational nature) and as such it is on Apple. Especially when you see “The company has struggled to get developers to make apps for the Vision Pro” on two days I have the setting for a dozen games (close to 10 all with the same setting) and there is as I personally see it, a need for it. They just needed to get Ubisoft (desperate for more revenue) and Guerrilla Games on board (who might wanna do it, for the unique venture it allows for) and basically this would be close to no funds required, merely expertise and hardware. And as both developers have 80% of the software done. The setting should need little time and from the moment on the visibility rises as gamers all over the world are seeking such a solution and that is merely the start. So is Apple or Timmy the Cook interested in that setting, or are they hiding from the idle bomb called AI to implode in their faces. It could be that the WSJ doesn’t see what could happen, but as I came up with the idea nearly a year ago, I am willing to push the blame to Apple. This is basically what you get when you have mere yay sayers and none of them an innovative bone in their body. 

Could I be wrong?
That is a fair assumption, but I published those articles in 2024 and what have they produced? Nothing, not even an article that my ideas were just not that realistic, which would have been folly as the first setting was seen on a Playstation 3 with a mere 256MB memory on 20GB storage, as such it was produced 18 years ago. And I found a novel use of IP that was over a decade old. The second idea is a bit more dodgy as it was made on a PlayStation 4 with 8GB and 500Gb storage. It should be possible, and that would have been the real people drawer. As such I feel confident that I could set the winning solution. It just needed a conversation between Timmy the Cook and Arjan Brussee. The impact on the world would be amazing. All these so called innovators and they  simply missed that setting. The consequence of no creativity connected to imagination.

So when we see “Fox says he’s worn his Apple Vision Pro headset about four times in the past year.” Did he even consider the setting with real estate? He is a realtor after all. Did he consider that he could show something in 3D in ones view? Just a thought.

The settings are there and Apple needs to consider that idea’s this new needs a tiger team for setting the brand to the developers. As such they need to come with idea’s (perhaps different ideas from me) and see what developers could set the premise? I found two developers, one who desperately needs revenue and they have almost completed (as I reckon it to be) close to 80%. So when did you see a developer who cannot complete the idea for the last 20%. It is a simple question. 

So from there when that first setting is shown these programs can evolve into ‘newer’ settings where people can learn start Arabic, Latin, Italian, French and English. Just on the setting of the same premise and as you evolve the game where clothing was once cosmetic, the larger setting becomes that better clothing and a better location allows for more evolved language skills. Something that could entertain and educate people for weeks at a time. So how was that difficult?

And if Timmy isn’t up for it, perhaps Mark Zuckerberg can see a whole new dimension of options with the Meta Quest. The hungry want to at and more revenue allows for that. The most simple of settings that we can now see and where does that leave Apple? That is the question. Well, of all else fails, Timmy could become the Cook people needs to make them muffins. In the mean time the innovators in the world will take whatever they can to propagate themselves, because that is also a consequence of the innovator gene. You get to go places.

So have a great day, still Sunday here with a mere 225 minutes until dinner.

1 Comment

Filed under Finance, Gaming, IT, Media, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 16, 2025 · 10:00

Insectum

It is time to talk bugs. As I see it there are three kinds, there are the actual bugs, these are settings that crash a game, or make it non-working. The other two are glitches and systemic glitches. Glitches are merely a hindrance they are flaws in a game of program, but they do not dissuade from the joy that the game brings. I saw all of these settings in Oblivion remastered. Let’s be clear. I am not a doom speaker and heralding the ‘Messy setting of Oblivion’, I am (for the most) a game and before I start this article I will say right now, up front, that Oblivion brought the sense of joy I had when I played the game 20 years ago. That is as I see it a massive achievement, 

Virtuos brought their A game and it shows in everything you see and play. This game is 20 years old, as such plenty of laurels for Bethesda as well. It was the reason I bought me Xbox360 and I never for one moment regretted doing that. Yes, I have had the red rings of death and in the end I have had 3 Xbox360’s. But never was there any doubt that it was a great machine and a worthy contender to the crown that the Playstation 2 won.

Still, we were talking about the game. As such, we have glitches, persistent (or systemic) glitches and bugs, there is also the fatal bug, but I haven’t seen that one in Oblivion.

A glitch can be systemic, but does not mess with gaming fun. An example is that when you go from the rain into a ruin, or a cave and you still hear the rain. It doesn’t stop you from having fun, but it is a glitch. Then there is the systemic glitch. When you’re cupboards are too full, because you (me) is a hoarder, the system gets a little confused and will not show everything in your inventory. As such I could not move my sigil stones from the inventory. The solution is to sell off a lot of junk you were holding and that fixed it. There there is the setting that you can not control. A setting where things go a little haywire (because of a dozen reasons), which can mess with the storyline, but the simple solution is to reload the last autosave and often it is fixed. When dealing with these knights of the thorn idiots, I had to reload half a dozen times before I got the mission done (in different places). There is nearly no saving an idiot who thinks he os gods greatest knife fighter whilst surrounded by two Xivilains, loudly engaging them calling in two more. There is no stopping stupidity, it tends to get you killed in the battle field. Then there was the first time I went into the Rockmilk cave. After the first reception area, there is a path down where three spiked traps are. The stage to the left could not be entered, whilst it had enemies. I think it was a glitch, and it was ONLY the first time I entered it, subsequent entries were good. It is my place to collect free arrows and in earlier levels that matters, later too (I had over 400,000 gold), but it is a assured way to get ebony arrows and glass arrows, which are not sold. Apart from the bounty in there, it is a clear way to make headway. Then there are several persists glitches, but the one in Sancre Tor was fixed by waiting at the opportune time (where there are 4 people) and that worked. These settings happen. Anyone who thinks that bugs/glitches on a game this big doesn’t happen is beyond stupid. And for the most part it never bothered the game. Perhaps one setting which was beneficial to me was that the Rumare Slaughterfish were bouncing on the waterline, so in clear view to kill them. For the most, this game is utterly awesome and I never regretted spending the money of the 125GB download time on this. I will be playing this a few times over as I never played a high elf mage, but that was on me. 

The fact that even after 20 years and after Skyrim, this game shows just haw amazing gaming can be and that is never a bad thing.

So don’t call everything a bug, because some games are just too big and a bug tends to have fatal issues on a game and yes, I did crash a few times, but I just reloaded the game and I merely lost a few minutes in its worst scenario. Yet it is not all bad. It made me realise the settings I redesigned for an RPG and as I saw the stage also saw why my mind set a few things the way it did and it makes sense to do so if replay-ability is your goal. I think this should be the mindset of any RPG developer. As such did you consider the soft architectural stage that Diablo (the first one) offered against the planes of oblivion? When you connect the ideas that certain games had and incorporate them into a plane of oblivion? When you aren’t set to a mere version of a game, but when the towers can be radically different, how much more fun can you have exploring? 

So have a great day and when you hear the screaming in the night, that would be the sound of Daedric Princes as I have entered their realm and they fear for their life now. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,