Tag Archives: Switch

August 24, 2026 · 03:22

The pointless choice

That is what I see and that is what I believe is not the issue at hand. So as Pushsquare is giving us  ‘Furious PS5 Players Unplug Their Consoles in Protest as Blackout Gets Underway’ and I have seen this setting before. Now ask yourself “Sony already got their revenue by selling you your Playstation n, so why keep it switched off?” I agree that something must be done, but why do this? Hurting their revenue down the line makes more sense as I see it. So what is to be done? I might think that stopping sales of the PS6 makes more sense, that is until they reinstate physical media. So when we get “The blackout – technically scheduled to start at 7pm local time, but already being observed by many participants – is designed to reduce the Japanese giant’s active users, a key performance metric for the company. Campaigners suggest participants should keep their consoles unplugged from today through 30th August as a minimum. That means no logins, no gaming, and certainly no spending through the PS Store.” As such no spending makes sense, but no logins and no gaming make no sense. I could get along with these two when there is an alternative (like my Nintendo Switch) so there is a partial setting of pressuring Sony and I am on board because the pressures that they are giving to millions of rural gamers. They often lack the funds to play larger releases and they are driven to 2nd hand sales as are metro gamers where the pressures of life are surrounding them and I never forgot the PS4 presentation where Kaz Hirai gave a presentation on how a Sony game disc was given to the person next to him. It was the Sony way to debunk Microsoft (always online) setting that we saw and it was a hidden pun towards the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and I thought it was brilliant and now they attack the rural gamers who have as little as they have by taking physical media away? I was not a fan, they could have opted by raising prices on physical media by $10 (against dropping prices for online media) but that comes with additional pressures too, but it would have made a difference to the rural players. And the metro players that also have a lack of funds would still have an option, but no, removing physical media was their way of dealing with this? I as not impressed and no fan of the acts of Sony, and to leave my PS5 off? No Netflix, No YouTube, seems a little harsh to me and I could postpone my PS6 when it comes to pass and that is an option that I might do, but I feel safe to give the conjecture that Sony will see the error on their way soon enough, because as I see it, Nintendo will rake in the winnings on this setting. I feel that this would add to the pain of Sony. When 5%-25% abandons the setting of the PS6 in favour of the Nintendo Switch 2 would make plenty of sense and that is definitely an option I might go for. There is nothing like the revenue loss that this brings (ask Microsoft) as others might go from a decent 2nd place being degraded to a 5th place, the wooden spoon place. They could revert to giving no results (as they claim they are meaning less) but in the boardrooms the orchestrators of that setting will get decently fried in the snake oil they sold as a solution, but that might merely my  view on the matter. 

So whilst many are blaming the AI settings of their prices skyrocketing (which I am no real fan of either), but to some extent I understand that parts of a console (like memory) would become more expensive. And it will hit all over the place and until these artificial boom settings that AI brings there is no real solution, because I agree that you can never bet against a boom, I merely watch from the sidelines so I can say “Told you so”, which is a simpler and just as satisfying setting, because these wannabes giving everyone ‘their’ version of an excuse is their way of making some ‘it was more complex than  figured, but I got it partially correct’ excuse and by placing my issues in my blog I can always revert to “I gave you the setting months ago” which is still partially nice (for me) but concerning Sony, we are left with pointless choices and I feel that hurting them be denying them the PS6 revenue and handing my money to Nintendo for a Switch 2 is a much better choice. And the setting that Saudi Arabia could go towards a Console seating is not going away and that is merely the optional alternative choice. In all this there is a realistic setting that Sony loses a partial loss of the revenue pie and that hurts them more than anything else and some might evert to the Steam Deck, which is still a loss for Sony and optionally a less pointless choice, but that is merely my view on the matter.

And as I am watching a Yas Mall walkthrough on YouTube (on my PS5), there are a few things that matter. You see, this could also be done on a Nintendo Switch 2, the only thing the Switch 2 is lacking is a decent Netflix port and they might want to make a case of that and soon, optionally Disney plus as well. As I see it, this could enable a lot more people considering the Switch 2 as a worthy replacement for their Sony time and optionally stop the future development of Sony. And when they revert back to physical media we could always get this system the next financial wave time. In this everyone (mostly Nintendo) wins in the meantime and that is merely my point of view. But the setting of pointless actions is deflating my ego even more than doing nothing and leaving my PS5 collecting dust is seemingly empty, Sony got their revenue from me. Still not buying anything form their store makes sense, it hurts their revenue and that is not a bad thing. So as it is 03:15 it is time to sign off and looking at the Yas Mall walkthrough just now passing the Texas Roadhouse, my stomach is growling like an angry bobcat, time to see what the fridge has to quiet that rascal down. Have a great day you all.

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August 18, 2026 · 20:52

What is the path of a coward?

That is what I am settled with, because that might be me. I personally don’t think so, but the settings we see is that there is too much rumble on the ether. They all have something to say and some of them speak a lot but do not say anything at all. We are in the setting that everyone is looking for someone to blame and the United States even more so. The guardian gave us less than 24 hours ago ‘Donald Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ of ending Iran war’ The USA is panicking as I see it. A simple run on oil is now almost 6 months. The USA spend $37.5 billion over a war that could be seen as unconstitutional and now they are about to lose whatever they had in the Middle East. Now we see another ‘exaggeration’ by President Trump. In June he stated ‘Iran war updates: US and Iran sign memorandum to end war within 60 days — as it happened’, it has now been 60 days, so where is that memorandum? So, only 11 hour ago we are given (source: Canberra Times) ‘Iran says it will escalate if US does not honour deal’ and after that the BBC gave us ‘Why has Trump shifted on North Korea?’, where we see “President Donald Trump has said that the US will “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.” So some now refer to President Trump as the anti-Christ, I merely think he is the false prophet, drowning the world in chaos, because in chaos other parties get to profit and that is what President Trump is out for, the United States are done for, the $40 trillion debt is too much and I saw that coming over a decade ago. But President Trump is hoping that if the middle East explodes (thanks to Iran) because that is now the greatest threat to the United States. With the Middle East, China gets to win and that is not what the United States wants. The end of Wall Street is coming and it was foreseen by several parties, but if the chaos erupts, the United States get to play a little longer at the expense of the EU and anyone else that is threatening. Russia in no longer a threat, the Ukraine took care of that. The EU is too deep in debt, because that was the setting that the United States always banked on and so is Japan. The Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia and the UAE) could bank with China and create a total new world order and they will be the foundational stones of BRICS. This is what the United States is seemingly hoping for. Am I right? I think so, but I have no evidence, I can merely postulate this speculation. And me? I rather add more on additional sides of ‘What happened to Junior Sandiego?’ And I am adding at least three sides to this and I have a few ideas on another setting, but that is merely for the eyes of Broderbund. And I have an additional edge to give to them as well. A simple setting of aggregating games and matching abilities on the setting of other games and as far as I can tell there is no IP protection if I set the parameters right. A massive win for gamers all over the world, that is if the insanity of President Trump is allowed to continue, if not, there will be millions of gamers less. So is my setting correct? I think President Trump showed his hand when he started to mention “his “very good relationship” with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.” That was when I figured it out. The United States could only continue if the world is on fire and besides the actual flames, it could not set a match to the Middle East that he left to Iran, he merely had to get Israel to attack Iran with them. And these attacks were a waste of time, I already showed that months ago a more fruitful setting could be given by eradicating the facilities that process oil and they only in part did that, that is what 37 billion got there a partial victory and a complete failure. And I was stumped with my decreased military knowledge (I left the service 44 years ago) and I was stumped, I am nowhere near the Pentagon in knowledge, so how did I know more? Get better results, saw a better strategy? But then President Trump gave the North Korea setting and at that point I figured it out. And the knowledge that power once given can never be receded. The Ancient Romans gave us “Ancient Roman reflections on receding power focused on moral decay, internal corruption, overextension, and the inevitable cycle of rise and fall that follows imperial dominance” that was 2000 years ago and we haven’t learned anything (well almost that little) And my setting is that I tire of this and I much rather work on the design of a new and improved video game than being the person that talks a lot (or writes a lot) and say nothing. Which is where we are now. So sink my ideas, but I reckon that plenty of people are arriving at the setting I am now, President Trump showed his hand with the Kim Jong Un variable and now there are several element in the world are aware of the Chaos setting that President Trump is seemingly unceasing on us all. First Canada, then Greenland, then Venezuela, then Iran and now Korea (North and South) and the media is seemingly all wiling to stuck their heads in the sand as I see it, I am clever, really clever but I am not that clever and others would have found the same I did. So in the last 10 hours, did anyone give you this? Even in a speculative form? I am wondering who got there when I did, but the racking of culprits on that same setting is near absolute zero. So are they the cowards, or am I the coward for thinking that hiding my head in creating a new video game is the act of cowardice? I don’t know but there is a weird game going on and the United States in the thick and the middle of it all, but that is merely my view on the situation. 

So have a great day and I hope to hand the new game (optionally) to Broderbund at some point, if we live that long.

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August 15, 2026 · 10:27

Retro framing

I had this thought this morning. Some might remember the Dragons Lair, a Don Bluth fantasy game on laser disc. I still remember it after 43 years. It was magnificent. It literally was a playable cartoon and it gave us Dirk the Daring dying over and over again until he meets the foe he was after. I spend a massive amount of quarters on that machine, the graphics were just that perfect. So I was considering the idea of a laserdisc added to a Nintendo Switch (2) with a game cartridge with 32GB available. This gave me the idea to include player software so you could replay your laser discs. I was blown away in 1990 when I saw the Abyss on laser disc. The idea surfaced as I am now in the setting of playing 4K games and watching 4K movies, the laser disc gave me that feeling in 1990, whilst VHS and later DVD came nowhere close. And it gave me the setting that this might be the option that could propel Nintendo to heights. But there was a snag, first there was the laserdisc player and the discs themselves often had Laser rot (a side effect of fingers on the disc and cheaper disc coating, so this idea was scuttled almost at the beginning. But then I got to think. A laserdisc has up to 5GB data space (a little less) and Nintendo Switch cartridges are up to 32GB (with smaller sizes available), so the game might be transferable to Switch in all its glory. But why stop there. On march 11th 2021 I wrote ‘In your face space’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/03/11/in-your-face-space/) where I was enthusiastic about getting series and movies on USB, there were two reasons. The first was space, these cartridges took almost no space and the second reasons (source: a Cylon) they come with zero degradation. 

This might be the step that Nintendo needs to become a long term number one in gaming and entertainment. Consider these series Battlestar Galactica, StarGate, Babylon 5, Harry Potter, the Disney movies and so many other series now other options, now one game card per season/movie, and the Switch 2 allows for a software upscaling to 4K. So consider that this would put Nintendo ahead of the pack by a lot. So whilst we see the impact that Nintendo might have, the idea that movies have zero degradation will be a plus sign to many parents. Then there is the option of getting empty packs out that support up to 8 slots and every TV series is printed on two sides, the side with the season and the other side with the series. Now you can move one cover to the 8 pack and put all the seasons (or franchise) in one pack. A setting that might give shivers to the collector as he/she saves a lot of space I am looking at my 8 4K discs of Harry Potter, whilst the game pack setting takes up a mere one disc space. A setting that would become a happy moment for any parent. 

This is a setting that gives Nintendo the growth that they need because the Switch 2 will enable 4K viewing, whilst this is software upscaling, it will give your entire collection a whole new stride. I wonder why no one else thought of this, because I have the ground work for this on my blog for over half a decade and whilst these parties all need revenue, are they so blunt and stupid to rely on their streaming solutions? The setting becomes that traveling parents and rural people outdo metro people by a lot and whilst everyone is saying there is no problem, the setting of revisiting net neutrality is getting stronger and more pronounced. I would think that players like Disney want to head that off whilst they can and as I see it, it is only a short time before lower returns, no traffic prioritization and the setting of it hurting new technology, all whilst people will get hit with higher base price and reduced service choices will hit people all around, that whilst rural people will be in this setting discriminated against. A player like Disney would want to avoid that setting, because the one player that takes rural people in consideration (apparently that will not be Sony) will take the cake, the cherries and the limelight. 

I for one think that Nintendo which has always been a hardware and family solution would be the premiere player in that field. And as I see it, it is not merely Disney, Universal faces a similar stage soon enough and I think that they want to head off whatever they can, because when the issues of net neutrality comes to blows it will be too late for these two players. I reckon that they will face millions of rural connections seeking other places to be entertained, should you doubt that, fine. But when did you actually consider that stage in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Texas, North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and West Virginia? I reckon that Sony never properly did their homework and there is space for Nintendo to head that off. 

Have a great day today, so as it is Caturday, don’t be a wuss and hug a tiger.

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July 30, 2026 · 22:07

Escape

It happens, it wasn’t me, it was an idea I had and I forgot to make a note of it, and now it escaped me. It gave me a few settings towards old dreams I had. I had an idea towards a 2D game, but the people are part of that game. It had to be done over water, the water shaped the levels and the water is the buffer to stop you from breaking bones when you fall. There are a lot of missing parts and it might make a movie, because there were too many missing parts, but the idea was there. These thoughts matter, it gave me an edge over several IP’s I created and it also gave me the military IPs I gave to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These IPs were (as I personally considered) were options to consider in all of that (and I lack a credit card with billions) so I found simpler settings that took care of Iranian assets without spending billions and as such I thought it would be great to hand these ideas to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, free of charge and the setting that someone took care of Iran without bleeding either the UAE or Saudi Arabia for personal profit. At times enemies of life need to be dealt with and that is merely how I roll. So as I went over this some of the thoughts came back. It would definitely be for a movie, but the settings are still hazy. A few ideas are too outlandish because of the settings. But they also paved the way for a few new ideas. You see, I’ve been rewatching movies and it left me with ideas. The idea was based on a British idea it was called ‘Some mothers do ‘ave ’em’ it had Michael Crawford in it, who would get a larger global following with Condorman (which had a part filmed in Monaco) but these thoughts became the food for other ideas. You see, we are all ‘smitten’ with DC and Marvel (I have nothing against either) but in all this movies like Condorman and True Lies were a breath of fresh air. I still think that True Lies would have made an excellent coin flip from the James Bond series and I thought it would make decent new franchise. 

But the ideas I had and some I wrote in other blogs might set not a new movie or TV series, but a new game and one with a difference. So an RPG that is not build around a story hero, but around your real person. A setting where you can imagine what you would like, but now the story reflects around the person you are. And considering that we had Altar Ego in 1986 (Activision) consider that this was done on a mere 64KB, we have a lot more now and consider that you can play the introduction as you like, or you can hand it the truth and let the introduction shape the game. As far as I know, this has never been done before. So the introduction does two things. Teach you the game and it figures you out. I reckon you need a few psychologists for that, but that shouldn’t be a problem. And it goes form both genders, so it isn’t some macho game and in this we see the story line evolve. And here the reference of Condorman and True lies holds up. It is shaped through your interaction with the game. And this RPG game might be a little apocalyptic but I would want it to be close to what we are now. And this connects to ‘Some mothers do ‘ave ‘em’ because Frank Spencer had a vivid imagination and that gets you into these RPG scenarios, but fueled to your psyche. There is still a story line to consider and the game requires one, but the setting is that you have where you get through several stories, so that the game is fueling the game for you is as I see it totally new, but there will be ‘issues’ and I haven’t worked them all out yet, but as I see it, it is not a game that is on my list of working out. So I will hand this to whomever gets the idea to work and that is how indie gaming is prolonged and as there is now an active hatred towards Sony and the disclose settings it is referring to ‘PlayStation fans are fed up with Sony’ with “PlayStation fans are fed up with Sony’s cold communication, lack of disc support, and poor handling of online services and fan events.” And it is my feeling that this is false. It feels more like Microsoft sycophants having a go at Sony. I believe that this is a mistake because no-one is considering rural gamers and they are left in the cold, millions of them but the entire discloses setting is not until January 2028, so we have plenty of time for Sony to reconsider its setting and as I will have a few more games by then, I have plenty and when the need comes high, I still have my Switch and that one is not going without physical media any day soon. So I feel that there is enough time for Sony to correct itself, I have an alternative direction and I can leave enough games to indie developers, so that the only direction for Microsoft and its well deserved wooden spoon is still on the table of happenstances. We all have our weapons and mine is creativity and there is plenty of that weapon systems, games, storylines, scripts for movie and TV. As such I can share whatever I feel like and that is the setting Microsoft overlooked. They are so used to buy whatever they like, that they forgot to fuel creativity and that is now their weak point. So whilst we see the opinion of some as “Xbox is struggling in the traditional console market due to an over-reliance on the Game Pass subscription model, poor hardware sales compared to competitors, and a strategic pivot toward releasing first-party games on rival platforms” and I reckoned that if I flood the market with ideas for indie developers, they will face a setting that others get for free for what they had to pay in excess of $100 billion (Activision/Bethesda), and considering that this anchor is weighting them down and costing them over $5 billion a year. I have room for creativity to hand the indie developers a few nuggets that they can exploit for all the gamers. And the pay off is brilliant, they can copy my work, but as I promoted it online, they cannot lock down any IP based on my work, so they either go into freeware or others can gain, because I am not stopping the indie developers because they are doing fine. As such I have created a new wall of creativity that is bringing down Microsoft. I feel fine doing that. And if they want to buy my IP? Well I am a business man at heart and I have given plenty to the others and Microsoft can buy all my IP for $6,000,000,000 post taxation (we all have retirement dreams). And all these settings are a mere figment of creativity. And lets face it the script of a simple person taking a ride where big tech pays billions (our version of the $6,000,000 man) as I see it, Lee Majors would be proud and was that not every boys dream between 1973 and 1978? I merely increased it by factor 1000 as 6 million doesn’t go far and even one of my IP gets them 6 billion annual and that place has a truckload of IP. 

That’s how I roll, whatever others did to me, I am now getting back close to a million fold. In the end creativity is important, but it all comes down to the numbers and I am talking generically, not dollars (I do like a fat bank account, but it will never define me, I hate greed). 

So whilst I am giving a lot more here that most can see, there is a hidden gem in this story too, the option is for you to find it, because I do like puzzles. So in all this have a great day and see what you can do fighting your own demons. And that takes me to one of the brilliant writings of Steven Moffat. In the episode Demons Run, he gives us at the end a poem:

“Demons run when a good man goes to war”

The setting is simple, you figure out that is was about a demon run, but the quote is brilliant and when the term run is considered to have multiple meanings, and even the stage that it was about a good man going to war. So when you see Anorak the All-Knowing, don’t forget to say hi.

Have a great day today.

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July 28, 2026 · 18:00

As thoughts go

I was relaxing watching my daily dose of YouTube when I ended up watching a replay of the 1993 game Aliens versus Predator, a highly enjoyable game and it brought some settings back. You see, I have been a massive fan of Mad, especially Spy Versus Spy, as such I got the game in 1984 for my trusty CBM64 and I enjoyed loads of the with this game. But why has it vanished? There was later a PS2 version and that was it. I had the first and third game on my CBM64 and I started to mull a few things over today. What if it was relaunched with a difference? The game on your PS5 with upgrades (wait for it), but the largest idea came a little later. So what happens when you get the PS5 game? You also get a license for the PlayStation Portal™ and that opens up new frontiers, especially if the game is also there on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Sony and Nintendo players could face off against one another. As such the game could be launched on Nintendo and Sony with a new option to use it against one another. Gamers not confined to a single platform, but gamers uniting for the joy of gaming and this game will be an exquisite setting. 

Graphically it should improve, especially considering the CBM64 graphics and there would be a seating of versatile levels. Like a square with 2 times 4 bars, ear exits and two ‘hidden’ ways from the left top to the right lower bar and from the left top bar to the right lower bar. I also think that you only see your side of things, but with the bars you hear the music the other spy hears. There are still traps and counter methods (as per trapulator) but it would be nice to have an arsenal with them and they are released per level in the same way it was, but a more versatile collection of traps. The game would view more 3D. The original level settings are still there too, but I would like to increase the amounts of options there. And optionally a new setting, the spy cams that could be released and set in a room so that you can see some rooms when the other spy wanders in. 

And all this could propel the need for the PlayStation Portal™, and it is merely the first game that comes to mind, because a portal is essential for multiplayer settings. You could also play it on the PS4/PS5/PS6 but there is still the essential Nintendo link and as this is also played through the internet, you get the seating to play friends and create new friends no matter whether they are Sony or Nintendo players. And there is a real setting here, there are 176,000,000 switch players and they might like to connect to the Sony population of a little over 211,000,000. 

So back to the game, at least three levels from the start and 2-4 levels added optionally from start, but it makes sense to add them later on. Also the escape, which was a plane, should be in good Spy vs Spy trend, optionally escape with a submarine (arctic level) and a tank escape. All optional that makes sense as both the Nintendo and Sony devices have a lot more than a smile 64Kb. I reckon that Hideaki Nishino and Shuntaro Furukawa should have lunch real soon to see what they can do together. Because there is an upside, as this matures, there is every chance that Sony people want a Switch (I already have mine) and vice versa (I have that one too) as such they could fuel gaming together and create several games that applaud that setting. Titles like Wave Race: Blue Storm, Mario Kart, Soul Calibur, Super Smash bros, the EA sport games all rearing to gain a multiplayer following and the nice part is that the one who owns the license can invite one player at any given time. (So an owner can let a non-owner of that game in)

An optional seating that would fuel the purchase of a game. The idea is to offer a lot more to gamers and that reps itself in revenue, optionally it might fuel the need for subscriptions. Whether it is PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online. I would advice to offer a setting that it is not required one day month, so that people can see what they gain, or they want to ease into this. A setting that a simple spy invoked (I swear it was the white one)

So ponder this setting and have a great day, optionally by playing a game you love.

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July 23, 2026 · 00:49

The choice was mine

There was an option to join the ladies around a tea cosy and whinge about the United States Pentagon and its need for cash, a setting which I did not feel up to or the setting of Ubisoft’s remaster setting as it is. I choose the second option. It felt more relaxing. As I see it, a remaster is a new setting. It could enlarge the original game. It could make the game more intense, and lets face it the original Assassins Creed could use that. 

So whilst we can accept to some degree the voice of a reddit user: 

“Assassin’s Creed 1 hasn’t been remastered because its gameplay loop is widely considered too repetitive and dated by modern standards. Rather than a simple visual update, the original 2007 title would require a massive, ground-up remake-including entirely new mission structures and overhauled mechanics-to satisfy today’s players.”

It seems fair enough, but the first one has a few optional settings that were nice. There is a second setting, the lore of Assassins Creed could be ‘explored’ consider the setting of the third mission (if my memory serves me correctly) the setting is that there were the “33 collectible Hospitalier Flags located in the Poor District of Acre during Memory Block 03, as well as the faction of Knights Hospitalier and target” that is merely one setting. You see there was also the Teutonic Order, the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. So here is the rub, the flags need to be upgraded to show one side the Hospitalier flags and the Teutonic flags on the other side. It would give a choice section and also a reward. One choice makes your medicine more potent, the other side makes your poison more powerful. A simple selection that could influence the game, and it becomes simple as one was housed in Acre and the other one in Jerusalem. There could be other implications as well. Killing the Hospitalier commander makes it possible to use poison against templars, killing the Teutonic commander does not, but makes another setting optional. As such the game could easily surpass the originals Assassins Creed of 2007. Also glyph lore was introduced in AC2, it could be added to AC1 and give additional power to that game. There is so much more to do. The stealth lore of the first game is exceedingly simple (compared to game 5 and beyond) all that becomes available now and it was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, whilst now there is also the Switch to consider and the options of the PS5 and Xbox series X has become a lot more powerful. As such there is a massive reason to reconsider this step. As (my firm believe) that Ubisoft needs money and not riddles with exploration options into creating more IP, reassessing the old IP and creating new IP through that. And there is an additional bonus to recreating that IP, it was at the time the hight of ‘new technology’ which is now 18 years and two generations old. Optionally creating waves of a whole new group of gamers. The nicer side is that the stealth parts of AC2 could be reset to fill this gap taking away (to some extent) the repetitive side of the original game. The addition of the eavesdrop power that was introduced later, gives more options now. Then killing the templars could be upgraded and whilst their impact could be used as well. Behind these templars there is the option that they have keys and getting the right group of them (from the 60 hidden optional Templars) where there are 10 upgrades, 10 times 6, with one having the group of 6 list, one of them having the map and 4 having the keys that could in turn upgrade one item in your arsenal. Also as a group is taken out, the connected allies of them disappear. Making the maps much more ‘peaceful’. All settings that could be added to a remaster. I am sure that more is possible and in that case the ‘repetitive’ side will be massively nullified. And I am doing much of this from memory. I haven’t played this game since I got rid of my Xbox360 and PS3 (I had it on both systems). I am certain that I could find more things to ‘upgrade’ There is one thing I missed in the original. I expected in those days to find more lore in the game. So that could be fixed as well. So whatever Ubisoft does, it shouldn’t ignore the game that started the Franchise, because in 2007 there was nothing like it, and it could set that stage again, especially after nearly 20 years. As such I wish Ubisoft lots of success, no matter what they decide. 

Have a great day.

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July 18, 2026 · 20:14

The unanswered question

That is what I see. I saw all the Microsoft articles pop by and it made me wonder. It is not that they are so great, not in the slightest. So, what brought this about?

First there was ‘Bethesda on Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5 Xbox exclusivity: ‘It’s too early to comment’’ (Source: TweakTown) which gives us “Todd Howard says it’s too early to comment on whether The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 will be Xbox exclusives. Bethesda announced four new Fallout projects, and Microsoft plans yearly exclusives (2026: Gears of War E-Day; 2027: Clockwork Revolution). Skyrim has sold over 65 million copies; Fallout 4 over 35 million.” We then get ‘Xbox Promised to Focus on Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Then It Fired the Teams Making Them.’ (source: Tech Times) This gives us pretty much the same info, but there is one difference “Former Bethesda project lead and Something Wicked Games CEO Jeff Gardiner confirmed 35 U.S.-based Bethesda Game Studios workers were cut on July 6. The OneBGS union, which represents Bethesda workers under the Communications Workers of America banner, reported at least 12 additional cuts at Bethesda’s Montreal location. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filings, public records pulled from state workforce agencies by Game Developer, confirmed 22 departures from Bethesda’s Austin office.” And with “The first 1,600 departures were painful. The announcement that another 1,600 more will follow by the end of fiscal year 2027 transformed pain into dread. People who kept their jobs are not experiencing relief. They are waiting.” This is setting the stage for another setting, but about that later. So then we get to ‘Elder Scrolls 6 gets first update in months from Bethesda’ (source: Gaming Bible) where we see “To say that The Elder Scrolls VI has been a long time coming is an understatement. Bethesda announced the highly anticipated fantasy RPG first during E3 2018, a time so long ago that the gaming convention no longer exists. Since that time, we have had small updates here and there, but we’re yet to learn of its release date, let alone seeing a gameplay trailer. All we’ve seen so far is the cinematic flyover trailer from the aforementioned E3 eight years ago.” And as we are given at present is that “Bethesda Softworks’s estimated annual revenue is currently $382.9M per year” and as Bethesda was part of a $7.5 billion buy, we have to ask the first question, if it takes 19 years to break even (and I am not adding the interest percentage for the loan. And if this includes millions of copies for Sony Consoles (PS3,PS4,PS5), I do not get the comment from Tod Howard “it’s too early to comment on whether The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 will be Xbox exclusives” with the Xbox at a mere 35 million Xbox-X consoles, the entire endeavor becomes nearly unplayable and as I see it, the value of Bethesda goes straight into the toilet. I saw a few other numbers, but I do not trust them as they seem massively pro Sony, I would like to see the real numbers. So with the staff of Bethesda in a caving morale setting, but the one question not asked is that Activision/Bethesda costs almost $84,000,000,000 and there is no way that this is making the money to validate such a purchase. I think I know why they did this. The previous boss wanted everyone to run to Xbox, a nice slideshow, but not a reality. Sony had too much appeal with the titles they have and I opposed the setting. Don’t get me wrong, Microsoft did nothing illegal, merely wrong and as they are figuring out just how wrong. I wonder if they are doing the same thing a Dutch bank did a decade ago. But it all that bad debt in some bank and let that go under, with all the debts attached (a wildly speculative idea from me). So as we are given half truths incomplete pictures, So as Gaming Bible gives us ‘Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters confirmed by Bethesda in huge studio update’ we can see why they are doing it, Oblivion 3 was a huge success (as I see it) they need the other two greats to be successes too. Optionally they might set this to the Switch 2 as well. An acceptable thought. But as I gave the world gaming IP to counter (hopefully equal) Fallout and Oblivion there would be a setting with the same population and more options. This is what innovative thinking brings and I created new ideas, new settings and of course on a non Microsoft system. It was the only way the other makers got the IP for free. I tend to ave a mean streak at times. Microsoft messed with the tranquility of gamers and I handed all others new IP (for free). As such there is a new setting. So, don’t think it was against Bethesda and all gamers will love these remade games (especially on PlayStation 5) and I am happy for Bethesda. But as I see it, Microsoft is done for. They wanted Gaming to adhere to their settings of Business Intelligence and their marketing machine and they anded up with a 84 billion dollar anchor around their necks. 

So as we are now seeing unions and others having a go at Microsoft, it is merely losing its OpenAI Microsoft’s revenue-share demands, though Microsoft remains a major shareholder and primary cloud partner and as the class actions add up, that 84 billion dollar anchor might strangle their board of directors (one could only hope) and as more and more people start seeing that all AI is fake AI, the doors of opportunity will close and the savvy BI people will start to realise that they are not gamers and that branch of Microsoft will close on them.

So, am I crazy? Am I seeing what some cannot, or am I merely delusional? I cannot rule that out, because only a crazy person will consider themselves to be completely right all the time and I could be wrong, but the signals are there and the media is no longer the investigative party they once were, they merely claim it now, but it is laced through a path of digital dollars and that is not an investigative setting.

So, as we are given ‘Xbox Promised to Focus on Fallout and Elder Scrolls’ and then they did away with 3,200 positions were eliminated across Microsoft Gaming (not merely Bethesda) and as we see ‘Unions File Unfair Labor Complaints Against Microsoft Over Decision To ‘Unlawfully’ Fire Xbox Workers’ we see that the hardship for Microsoft is nowhere near over. And I reckon that 3200 positions will affect a few more development houses. So are these projects made redundant? In addition we see ‘Cracks are starting to show in Xbox Game Pass after Microsoft removed a previously promised first‑party game it literally owns’ (source: windows central) as such I reckon that more class cases towards Microsoft will come and if I have my feelers out correctly, they will start this year and likely more than one class case, so if you are Satya Nadella, how does that $84 billion anchor feel now?

Have a great day and remember, if you are an Xbox Gamer, the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and the Sony PlayStation 5 are perfectly valid options and there are 312 million gamers on these three systems and when you think of this that small cluster of Xbox Gamers does’t seem that big after all and that was clear long before Phil Spencer left. 

So have a great day and consider whatever console you select, enjoy the games you play, because joy is a first setting of a gamer and you need to protect your ability for joy.

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July 8, 2026 · 17:38

Reengineering greatness

We all do that at times and I had an idea. You see there is one FPS that I love above all else. That is Metroid Prime on the Gamecube and the Switch. It is by far the most perfect FPS game ever. I have played in at least 6 times (and I never scored 100% on any of them) I am not angry, disappointed or frustrated. The game is just too perfect. And nearly anyone I know who played that game thinks so too. The game scored 97% and when you play the game you’ll understand why. So why make a copy? Well, not a copy, but my mind set to work to base a game on this game and as I promised, this setting too is now immediately co-owned by the UAE. 

So how to make a new game based on this. Well, I went with the ‘hero’ of this story to be Jafar, or at least someone like him. And I set the idea on the locations of an Arabic setting. Like the game locations that Metroid Prime used, I use a similar setting. There is The Royal palace, The palace of the Fakir, the streets of Baghdad, the sewers of Baghdad, the caves of prophesy perhaps a few more. But these are intertwined (like Metroid Prime) and as such created with artistic precision (not my forte, that I live to the graphical experts). So there is a setting where the Vizier is in his office (the council chambers) and you get the intro of the story and like Metroid prime (also in the first Assassins Creed) you are in a setting where you get attacked and get to more through the council chambers from room to room, taking care of business. In the end you are overwhelmed and cast out of the chambers and thrown into the sewers where the story begins. In this you start as a simple fakir, changed by prophesy and now without powers you are alone. In the sewers you are seeking your fortune and by resolving issues you are given your first token. The token of the streets of Baghdad, with that token you can now move through the sewers and into the streets of Baghdad. The tokens are collected in a neck charm, there is also a dark charm, it gets you into the caves of prophecy. To gain favor you need to get the clothes of office, from a simple civilian you get the cloaks of the fakir, the fakir will lead to the suit of the trader, the thobes of nobility and as such the clothes give access to places, as well as a Topi. There are also jewels, rings that give powers, the bracelets of strength and several more.

But this is a story and a challenge. As you gain your first station you will also get the stave of an element (ice of fire) and these settings are gained in part in the caves of prophecy where you will face several djini. If you survive the first fight you get a stave, in subsequent fights you will get a Kufi marker for which you can imbue its power in to gems or add to the staff. The idea is to make yourself stronger and more able to withstand the dangers you face. I am also considering to add a magic carpet (it is an Arabic story after all) but it comes with limitations. The idea of this story is that the lands are in danger and to restore the lands you need to gain powers. Between when you were in the council chambers and now (the start of the game) decades have passed (it becomes clear during the game) so the grandeur of Baghdad (which you see in the beginning) is gone and now you need to restore the land. So as you go through all the levels, where you resolve things the lands are restored. So there are a few versions of the game. From destroyed to great (dark) and great (light). I am partial to replayability. So that is a clear setting for the game. The idea is to add Zarek, Zulrekh, Kavira, Vizaresh, Sakhr, Azrakhil, Tharvex, Samirah, Ishara, Qandisha, Manlen, Qiwa and Salen. The female Ifrit have powers of restoration, healing, illusionary powers and mid powers. The make Ifrit have strength, elemental powers. There is the need for limitations. You can only have a specific amount of powers and elemental powers. Hence the Kufi markers and as you gain powers and abilities you will find new places and stronger staves and wands. So you can upgrade and whilst you are free to explore there is the chance that you are hindered by some powers. For example water and fire powers do not mix, neither do earth and air, but other axes are OK and the stages that two elements will result into a third power. But that is for later. 

The story becomes that in this land, all is lost as friends of the nobles strangled the land into nothingness, the old Malik as well as the Sultan were killed in a tragic accident. As they were replaced, the milking the land and the people began. The challenges are set as the replacements were in league with the Western leaders, the Italians and the Spanish. As such you are called by the djinn, and they didn’t have powers over the western people. As such they are in panic, the westerners are new, they are not swayed and as such one djini (essential to the story) makes a wager where she is games it all for the restoration of you and you are taken out of your own time and pushed into the future without knowledge of what was and as such you start. So whilst we are given the story (which is fed in small instances) the story develops and as you are pushed into the realm of the Djini, you are heading into two directions. The path of light or the path of the dark. And if shapes the lands you are trying to safe. There is a lot more, but that is for next time. I did this in under two hours, as such I did not do too badly. No matter what it is based on, the story and the settings are unique, the story was made up today may me and even if it is founded on the Original Metroid Prime, the scenery, the people and the opponents are nothing alike. And as far was I can tell, there is no FPS based on the Arabic lands. So that is a first too.

Have a great day and try to wake up your creativity today.

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June 22, 2026 · 01:42

Again I feel great

That is at times the setting and it does me no pride to feel good about Microsoft taking another hit in gaming, because the Sony Playstation is still great, but that is in part because the Xbox was close on its heels. Now the only threat it has is the Switch 2 (by Nintendo) and that is pretty much it, so as I had over gaming IP to indie developers (under the condition that it is not created for Microsoft, only Sony and optionally Nintendo too, there are a few others, but no Microsoft. They did this to themselves. So whilst I see now that several are scrapped like ‘Odyssey,’ Blizzard’s survival game was scrapped in 2024 (didn’t they buy that house for $69 billion?), then we get Everwild, Perfect Dark, Contraband and Project Blackbird. So, what use does the Xbox still have? In that context Microsoft is preparing a wave of Xbox layoffs expected to affect roughly 1,000 people and potentially shutter active development studios. So bad news all around and to make matters worse, we get the quote “But as Microsoft doubles down on console exclusives and tries to hurry along heavy-hitters like The Elder Scrolls 6, I’ve got to wonder if it was wise to toss so much in-progress work, some of which was highly praised internally.” (Source: PCGamer), they also gave us two weeks ago ‘Microsoft is looking to speed up development of future Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games’, yet in the side that Xbox is returning to exclusivity, it makes my day in other ways, because  had already (in part) developed the stage for a contender for playing these games, and if that is the case, in that case, the numbers for Bethesda will slump in a major way, according to some “Microsoft has sold an estimated 35 million Xbox Series X and Series S consoles combined worldwide. Because the company stopped reporting exact hardware unit sales in 2015, this total is an industry estimate, and a specific breakdown just for the more powerful Series X is unavailable” and that reflects on the 92 million PS5 units now open to other contenders as well as the more than 115 million PS4 systems. So Bethesda will unlikely ever sell anywhere near the 60 million copies it sold for Skyrim, or the 25 million it sold for Fallout 4 and I created the starting lore of a new IP to replace the gap that Bethesda is leaving in the Sony fandom as well as (I know not how many) Nintendo people will cry over losing the Bethesda games and there will be some desperate enough to get an Xbox for this, but will these numbers really add up to much?

So, will Microsoft chase exclusivity? I get that brands have exclusivity where it counts and now it matters because Bethesda was never exclusive, so what will happen? The fact that there is a lack of information grants the indie developers a chance to break into the Sony and Nintendo vaults with their optional software and as Microsoft is cancelling all over the field, we will get a gap and others will fill it. So whilst we look at ‘Ori director says Game Pass ‘could’ve worked’ if Xbox didn’t ‘slop out mediocre content like a factory’’ (source: Video Games Chronicle (VGC)) Microsoft has a definite lack of stellar games and I don’t know how that is faring as I got rid of my Xbox over a year ago (night have been 2 years ago), so I kinda don’t care, but I did care and still do about Bethesda software and if they won’t arrive on the Sony, I’ll have to forsake the two titles too. But then, I created other solutions and I drew from some of the great games going all the way back to the CBM64 and I seemingly improved on them and as such I feel fine leaving Microsoft out of that setting. So whilst we get Games Luster give us this headline only an hour ago ‘Xbox’s First-Party Studios Face Cuts as Microsoft Eyes Structural Reset’, I already knew that from other sources, but the hindsight is ignored, You see, people see all these stories on their screen and they are now thinking that they have to switch to a Sony (or Nintendo), works out nicely for me, but it is tactically stupid. Microsoft has (according to some) a few trillion (almost three according to some), as such this move makes no sense. Part of it does, but then shut down studios? This gives mixed feelings and structurally unsound stability to the Xbox brand. So as we see “Microsoft is preparing a wave of Xbox layoffs expected to affect roughly 1,000 people and potentially shutter active development studios, as reported by Bloomberg, with the cuts timed to land shortly after Microsoft‘s fiscal year closes on June 30, 2026 – making this not a routine headcount trim but a structural reset of a division that new leadership has already described as “not in a healthy state.”” Add to this the quote “Bloomberg reports that new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has launched a broader turnaround effort that includes slashing marketing budgets, conducting a full review of the game portfolio, and rebuilding the business from the ground up over a stated 100-day window.” If I were Sony (don’t worry I am not) I would be looking into these houses and see if (optionally together with Nintendo) there is anything good there, or at least good enough to fund it to a Sony/Nintendo fruition. That is an option and as such Microsoft has given its brand a lot more competition. And all this happens before the $69 billion for Blizzard has earned its rewarding setting, I reckon that this is still a decade or two away. So in all this, we are given that the stage for Microsoft Gaming is currently (and seemingly) one step away from a deep abyss, the kind that Wile E. Coyote faced many times, I don’t think Microsoft Gaming will survive that step (meep, meep).

The only reason for me to care is that a strong Microsoft Gaming requires Sony to keep on there toes and that is now likely to stop happening. They will still produce great hardware and software, but I fear for the long term innovative thinking of Sony. 

But I am still on the job thinking of new games, so (a delusional me is thinking) there is still hope. But I am not happy about it all, such is life. Time to create a sawmill (snoring).

Have a great day.

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February 7, 2026 · 23:45

Where is the edge?

That was where I was, I had no idea what to write about for the first time in 11 years, but fortunately the BBC helped me out in two occasions. The first one (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkrkd2xlx6o) gives us ‘YouTube’s $60bn revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push’, which his not surprising. The people who initially turned down that offer must befitting themselves over the head with this. So when we see “The figure, which totals the money generated through advertising on YouTube as well as paid subscriptions, far surpasses streaming rival Netflix’s $45bn revenue. It appears to be the first time Google has individually highlighted its video platform’s yearly revenue since acquiring it in 2006.” I reckon that all these data centres require Google (aka Alphabet) to show that they are doing well in regards to other expenses. So when we see ““YouTube is one of – if not the – most-used of all digital offerings, with over 70% of international consumers using it weekly, and over 50% using it daily,” she told the BBC, citing Midia consumer survey data. Kahlert said the different ways the platform makes money – such as through adverts, or charging a monthly subscription to remove them – means it can “capitalise well” on its large audience.” And I reckon it is a way to thwart Netflix with “Netflix has recently sought to ink deals with content creators, including popular YouTubers, in an effort to boost its own offerings.” I reckon that a company getting 33% more revenue than their competition is a decent way to thwart that setting. But what am I thinking? You see, there is more in play here and I reckon that Google will let us now that as soon as they are ready. Perhaps they might be considering the stage I gave with Augmented Reality in malls. You see, malls need an overhaul and rather quick. The eyes of the consumers are too adjusted to malls and at present one mall is as good as another (with the exception of Harrods and the Dubai Mall I think) but outside of these two, they are nearly all the same and an overhaul is required. I think that there is a new level of revenue coming from that, but what do I know?

I think that the optional damage that Netflix might bring and the Data Centre setting is reason why we now see YouTube revenue and that also brings a decent danger, because stable isn’t sexy and the revenue require an annual boost, but how? That is the setting when you make $60,000,000,000 per year and when you consider that this is $500M per month and when that falls down with an expected quarter not being reached, the game changes and that might have been the reason why Google never gave that number, so either Google is stretched too think with the Data Centres, or Netflix is making headway into YouTube content creator. I don’t know which one and it might be both to some degree. 

What is a given is that Google needs to look into new areas of advertising and digital awareness creation. I gave then (via my blog) more than one solution for over two years, so it is up to them to pick up that ball. Pretty simple, not?

But there is more to consider, you see Nintendo just announced (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglk543x3go) that ‘Nintendo Switch becomes gaming giant’s best-selling console in history’ with “The Switch is now the best-selling Nintendo console in history, having surpassed 155 million sales since it launched in 2017.” As such, Nintendo is just short 5 million from the Sony achievement and Sony had 25 years to get here, Nintendo did it in only 8, so it is a given that the Switch will break the PS2. That is not a bad thing for the PS2, it was surpassed by the PS3, PS4 and PS5. It had its day, for me it was more important to see Microsoft fall down to a lousy third place with nowhere near the numbers Nintendo or Sony had to give ad I am still ager to dwindle it down to 4th position, but that requires a few people to move their asses in gear. And with Tencent, the chances are that Microsoft will end up in 5th place. They would be the worthy winner of the wooden spoon (I have a nasty sense of humor).

But this could also drive Googles ‘revenue’, or at least a more global awareness. You see, what I saw as a Sony setting (which they never pushed for) is now up to Google. The option for your Google account to link a secondary account, a gaming account where the gamer decides whether they are openly linked or not. With the secondary account that gives the goods on your gaming settings to an account site and connecting with your friends there so that you have complete communications with them (or not) and show off your achievements in that page and it could connect to all your consoles, so you get a Nintendo account, A Sony account ad a streaming account. (Amazon Luna, Tencent) so now you have your abilities online too, and it is one directional, from the console TOWARDS the account. The same account, but a distinguisher whether it is Nintendo (1), Sony (2), or Streaming (3). And you can set a singular connect (Sony people only see your Sony dealings) and you can add the other accounts to that, with the stage that they are connected over all the devices or not. This gives Google a large benefit towards gaming advertisement and so on. And as Google gets more and more data, the gaming setting becomes more and more important. But it should be left to the gamer if they want that connection open or not. No matter what is done, Google wins and so do the gamers. Because the gamer is central in this. I am weirded out that Google seemingly never considered that, especially as they left billions on the floor with the Google Stadia. But that isn’t really my concern.

What does matter that with the publication of the YouTube revenue, more players will come because they want to capture their grains for greedy purposes. I am considering that like the revenue display, the advertisement revenue and gaming revenue will enable this isn advertisement too much, It is becoming a behemoth of revenue and these ‘princes’ of advertisement (lets call them Mad Men Wannabe’s) are too willing to strike into anything that they can exploit, but that might be merely my distrustful personality. So you all have a great day today. I am melting in the evening with 30 degrees and no relief for me in sight until 06:00.

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