Tag Archives: Xbox

July 4, 2026 · 05:15

Colouring your coat

That is the term I am seeing, do you? It comes in support of what I wrote yesterday about physical copies. I also added a few points that I felt were important. The BBC however (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ryjyvjq41o) failed to disclose them and trivializes other parts. As such I am now decently convinced that the BBC is enabling or supporting the Have’s against the have not group. It is a whole new setting of people classification. So as we get the headline ‘PlayStation will stop releasing games on discs in 2028’ it remains a dangerous thought, because whatever advantage they have over others (Steam Deck, Xbox) end there and quite quick, they don’t have any advantage over Nintendo, but they will hand them a truckload of people, right of the bat.

The first debatable setting we see is ““This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” it added.” It does not adapt consumer trends at all and I reckon that in 2027 they will face had choices for the simple reason that people like physical copies. It might not like the fact that people are forced in a download setting and the United Kingdom has plenty of rural areas, when they learn that Sony if forcing them out of gaming, the battle lines will be drawn. Gaming journalist Vikki Blake calling it a “Body blow to consumer rights” and she is right, it is. Whilst we are also given ““It’s of huge concern for game conservation and a massive problem for gamers with lower disposable incomes who rely on part-exchanging or loaning games from friends to keep up with the AAA price tags,” she said.” As well as ““Just one console cycle ago, Sony made a tongue-in-cheek advert about how easy it is to share games on PS4 as a dig at competitor, Xbox.” Which gives us the second setting, because it was not a mere tongue-in-cheek advert, it was more. Microsoft had seemingly ‘embraced’ the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) and so initially did Sony, their terms of service basically acknowledged it, I warned several news agencies of this in November 2013. They seemingly brushed it away. In the 11th hour, they saw the blowback it was giving, so they laughingly brushed it away with the handing of a game disc. Their was nothing tongue-in-cheek about it, Sony got really scared and did away with it in a public joke. So that was what it was and seeing this makes me fume a little. Christopher Dring, editor of The Game Business gives us ““We still see millions and millions of PlayStation games sold as physical goods,” he said. “It’s a significant business and there are lots of players that prefer to buy this way. It’s tough news for retail.”” It is and if Sony pushes this disclose setting they will hurt their own business in massive ways. And it is shown in other means too, as such we see “Sony has also come under criticism for pulling over 500 films and TV shows purchased on the PlayStation Store from people’s collections with no compensation.” There will be a kick around and Sony will not like that fallout. The question becomes why is this done? There is enough evidence not to do that and I am pushed into the squad of a “have versus have not war” the thoughts that Dutch Journalist Luc Sala gave me 30 years ago is now playing part in what was to come into what is about to happen and it is not mere gaming, I reckon that it becomes about what is after that. I am not sure what ‘that’ is, but we will soon find out. 

As I see it, the fact that the entire TPP part was ‘overseen’ gives me the impression that the BBC is embracing the “have’s” in this war and whilst we can accept that everyone takes sides, the journalistic integrity of the BBC is as I personally see it in play, because the journalistic integrity of a place like the BBC should be merely on the fence and not choosing a side, but that could be merely my view on the matter. 

Another side is seen with “The firm said its arrangement with the film production company StudioCanal has ended, meaning it no longer has the rights to sell those TV shows and movies, and they will disappear from people’s collections on 1 September.” I believe it is short sighted, I get that it can n longer be sold, but taking it from a catalog is different from deleting it from anyone who bought it, I reckon that those people are entitled to a download of these series and movies. The materials will be downed in a different setting and we are already seeing that. For example you cannot buy Shogun (2024) in Australia, there is also a setting that in Australia Good Omens (2019) only has Season 1, you can only buy the other seasons through places like Amazon. This discriminatory setting is now getting more and more attention (mainly through hatred of Amazon, which is also wrong) so as these ‘products’ are deleted we will see more and more non-acceptance of these settings and gaming is likely the one place where people unite rather fast. You should ask Microsoft, their ‘online only’ cost them their place in consoles and now whilst they were on par with Sony, they are now trailing towards 1:4, those are strong results of failure, as such I hope that someone at Sony needs to receive their walking papers. This got started somehow and at some point people want to know how started all that. But that is merely my point of view. So I hope that the BBC will soon colour their coat in a more neutral colour.

Have a great day today, it’s Saturday here already and I am a mere 110 minutes away from morning coffee. In Toronto it is still yesterday’s beer-o-clock.

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July 3, 2026 · 10:18

Food for thinking

That is what I saw last night. The source (Tom’s Hardware) an excellent source of information gives us (at https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/playstation/sony-officially-kills-the-playstation-disc-ending-physical-game-production-in-2028-shutting-down-the-playstation-store-on-the-playstation-3-and-ps-vita-systems) ‘Sony officially kills the PlayStation disc, ending physical game production in 2028 — shutting down the PlayStation Store on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita systems’ and there are two parts in there. The second part the PS3 and Vita store shutdown is less of an issue. The be clear I am still amazed they survived them, the PS3 ended its ‘life’ in 2012 when the PS4 came out and as I see it it was quite a run and for it to be supported for this long only gives credit to Sony. The first part is where my mind wen into overdrive. The end of physical media in 2028. Not a good thing as I see it. I for one love my physical media. And for it to end is not a good thing. Consider the congestion the internet faces in 2028/2029. So at present we have God of War Laufey and GTA6 giving us 150GB-250GB each, now consider that there are 93.7 million PS5 systems in the world, so we are given (conservatively given) 50,000,000 times 200GB that is 10,000,000 TB on day one and this is merely two games on day one. As I see it, the global internet is not ready for that much traffic in a week and this is not the whole enchilada, this is merely a day one setting for two games. We aren’t ready for that and taking into account a whole range of other software, the alarm chimes of congestion will resound all over the internet as such I am thinking that this stage should not even be entertained until at least 2035. I reckon that the global internet has been over 80% upgraded by then (a speculative thought), as such we aren’t even sure when this is ready because even as I love the materials of Tom (and his hardware). There is a thought that this was a mere spark of consideration and I reckon that Sony would ill survive the onslaught of that consequence. 

So how serious is this thought? 
As we are given “I say “anyone could have guessed” because you’d have to have your head in the sand to ignore all the factors pointing this way. The biggest of such factors is arguably the reality that Blu-ray drive production has sharply wound down outside of game consoles. But there’s also the fact that the vast majority of games purchased today are already purchased digitally; in Q4 2025, 85% of PlayStation games were purchased digitally, and if you zoom out to look at the entire US video game market, the PC and mobile markets are already effectively 100% digital.” There are a few wishful thinking parts (like “anyone could have guessed”), but there is a larger setting, even if we consider “85% of PlayStation games were purchased digitally” the setting is nice and I have bought a few games digitally (like classics) but the stage where millions of ‘lovers’ of the god of War and GTA6 trample over the internet to get their copy and optionally more titles. Congest would be a lovely setting and as net neutrality is given its stage of hardship, we need to acknowledge that some voices (like allegedly Microsoft giving some people “we can easily with that traffic”) there is a setting that they want Sony to fail, so that they can revive their failed console, because at that point as a ‘treat’ for their gamers they have revived their top 10 physical copy onslaught and ‘just for the fans’ they are making them steel-box novelties. Or that is how I see their marketing throwing these sides about. This last part is purely speculative, but that is how I would play it and as Microsoft is a lot more sneaky than I am, they must have considered this. Nintendo does not have this setting as their largest game (from sources) set that tone at a file size is FC25 (EA Sports FC 25), taking up 45.8 GB, not really large by any standard and a few other titles are a mere 18GB, so they could play this all in a digital store. But the fans (like me) are still handed that feeling when we pick up our physical copy in a story. The unwrapping of our game, the game card in our console. I still remember the day in October 2002 when I picked up my Super Mario Sunshine. That day was magical in part because that game was a step above whatever was out there.

It does not compare to ‘I clicked the download button’ and that is merely on me and a lot of gamers who think like that. But the setting that the internet on a near global setting cannot accommodate people in rural Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Denmark,) and a few other places is a real setting. And that also counts in America. Why do you think that the power of Amazon came from? That neglect gave Jeff Bezos billions and now as we see that some are giving strength to gaming in that way is not a negotiable thing. So, I am not sticking my head in the sand. It will go this way, but not until the internet has had a massive upgrade and that is not liable to be in place before 2035. 

So think of this what you will and I regard Tom’s Hardware one of the finest sources. But this caper is bound to be a cut to the revenue of Sony. So, anyone that disagrees, I say fine. But consider the numbers of merely two titles and consider that 30 to 50 true AAA games released globally each year and they tend to take over 75GB each, now consider that my numbers are actually a lot more conservative than expected and it is merely one system, so now consider Steam deck, Sony, 12 Xbox systems (OK, that was mean) and now rerun these numbers and consider that players like Ubisoft tend to put out patches that can range from 10 GB to 70+ GB depending on compression and their titles are out on many systems. Now rerun those numbers again and see how wrong I might be and not in a good way.

So have a nice day and consider the food for though I left you.

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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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June 13, 2026 · 05:52

Outage, is that an outtake?

That is the setting that Microsoft introduces to its ‘flock’. First we see that Copilot has its second outage this month (which amounts to once a week) and now we are given that ‘Xbox Network outage leaves players unable to sign in and launch games – latest’ (source: GamesHub) we are given “Reports of an Xbox outage began circulating on Friday, 12 June, with users saying their consoles were connected to the internet but unable to properly access Microsoft’s online gaming services. Some players have reported temporary network error messages, while others have said games will not launch or connect online.” Is there anyone still in doubt that physical copies are the answer? In addition we are given “The outage is likely to be especially frustrating for Game Pass subscribers and digital Xbox users, as Microsoft’s ecosystem depends heavily on Xbox Network for account sign-in, game ownership checks, cloud saves, multiplayer, and access to online features. Even players not actively trying to play multiplayer games may run into problems if Xbox services are unavailable.” And my reasoning was simply that there are three paths before we get to a Microsoft server, namely the telecom company, the internet provider and the hardline to Microsoft. The first two tend to be one and the same, but that wasn’t always the case. And I reckon that in rural places this matters a great deal more. Now, I get that this affects Game Pass and that is rough, but the setting is likely to increase when the internet gets to be swamped by people trying to play a game and it is hindered by others having business settings. It is why I always supported Net Neutrality, which implies the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must treat all data on the internet equally, without discriminating, blocking, throttling, or giving preferential “fast lanes” to certain content or platforms. But the United States has seemingly different ideas, or at least that is where they are seemingly heading under the current administration. 

As such I have been a lifelong fan of physical media and some people say that this also comes with issues (like updates), but that is a risk I will happily take. That being said, the HALO patch in 2014 was the largest ever seen (45GB), as far as I see, the damage has been limited for the largest time. And according to CNet, Microsoft has its own moments of generated laughter “The massive Microsoft Windows outage in July 2024 sparked some of the best corporate and tech-support humor the internet has ever seen. Sparked by a bad software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike rather than Microsoft itself, it stranded travelers, grounded flights, and gave millions an unexpected “international blue screen day””

We can laugh all we want and these are optionally bad moments for Microsoft, but the reality is that Microsoft over the products and versions (and systems) have done decently. We can argue (whatever we want) but the downtimes of Microsoft seems to be (by my account) rather low, so they are doing OK in that setting. Yes, I am writing about it, but consider the moon of people using Microsoft and we have three outages this month alone and I am cautiously considering that the Xbox and Copilot outage are possibly related (so our numbers are double dipping). 

As such there is a ‘Microsoft’ issue, but it should optionally be disregarded like a typo on a keyboard. And when was the last time you had a typo on your keyboard? I have them with some irritating regularity, which amounts to at least once daily. In my case my mind works a lot faster than my fingers can correct for. Microsoft might have a similar setting, but that is not for me to say. And whilst some will ‘hide’ behind ‘Microsoft Copilot Goes Down for Thousands, Downdetector Shows’ revealing an article that is less then 300 words, but it took time to reveal that you can advertise with them. Not the way I would embrace, but I don’t advertise as such. So, whilst we wait for the news that the Iranian issues are resolved, some hear President Trump say that a peace deal could come this weekend (source: ABC) whilst the BBC reports ‘Tehran says ‘nothing’ finalised after Trump claims deal to end Iran war near’, it’s been a while since politicians were less reliable than Microsoft ever was. All whilst Politico reports ‘Trump says Iran war has ended. Tehran isn’t so sure.’ So what really is happening in anyones guess. But there is always the chance that all these reporters are fixating on typo’s. Wouldn’t that be the outtake of a lifetime? Have a great day this day.

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May 28, 2026 · 19:33

The game of the name

I was made aware of something that ‘kinda’ confirmed my convictions. The story (at https://www.gamesradar.com/games/diablo/diablo-4-lead-says-small-teams-crunch-because-the-company-is-on-the-verge-of-collapsing-but-even-though-its-not-necessary-for-aaa-studios-you-might-still-have-a-culture-of-crunch/) gives us ‘Diablo 4 lead says small teams crunch “because the company is on the verge of collapsing,” but even though it’s not “necessary” for AAA studios, “you might still have a culture of crunch”’ so where we see “Crunch has been an unfortunate aspect of the games industry for about as long as it’s existed, as companies continually push developers to make release dates and deadlines without a care for anyone’s wellbeing. A current member of the team behind Diablo 4 sees it as a harsh truth for smaller studios, whereas bigger ones are more likely to willfully lean into it. Marcin Undak, lead engine engineer on Diablo 4, gave his insight during a conversation attended by GamesRadar+ at Digital Dragons. “I’ve been lucky to not crunch for a really long time now, since I joined bigger companies,” he starts.” So, we get to ““crunch” refers to periods of intense, often mandatory overtime. Developers work grueling schedules—sometimes exceeding 80 to 100 hours a week—to meet strict launch dates, fix bugs, or complete development milestones”, what a weird surprise. Is that the impact of Microsoft interference? I have this gut feeling (so this is biased to extreme measures):

Microsoft: You know what would be great, get the entire set to cut movies of 4K resolution. The people will love it, the crowds will go wild.
Blizzard anonymous employee: That would take an enormous amount of time getting it all to match the gamer character, so that it all fits.
Microsoft: We don’t care, the people want this, we have evidence from other games.
Blizzard AE: Who will sign off on the required time?
Microsoft: Your boss, we gave him a call.

That is how I picture the Microsoft involvement into Blizzard. They seemingly have no idea what they are doing and they forget they basically never did anything in gaming. They bought Mojang (Minecraft), id Software (Doom), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), Arkane Studios (Dishonored) and several others. They never did the groundwork, only the finished product and that game them a fictive sense of self worth. So this is my (massively biased) view and since then they Acquired Bethesda and more, all to get the gamers towards their Ex-Box. But the real gamers don’t care. They like what Sony and Nintendo gives them. They are primed to the best experience gamers can get and it shows with the value that Horizon: Zero Dawn gives us, a game from 2017. Don’t get me wrong, I have been playing Skyrim a hell of a long time (since 2011), but this is not due to Microsoft, this was Bethesda. And lets be fair, I have loved Minecraft since 2010 when it was Mojang and Microsoft has done plenty to keep the curve high, they really did. But as I see it, they are out of their depth because gaming requires art, not business sense. Only the delusional people think that there needs to be business sense in charge and that is clearly wrong. Business sense is at times required, but in the backseat, not in the drivers seat. 

So the article gives us ““I would say the difference is probably, in smaller teams, you are crunching because the company is on the verge of collapsing,” he continues. “It’s the matter of whether we release this game on time, or we all go home because we run out of money. That’s not the case with bigger companies.” With the added “Of course, you might still have a culture of crunch,” he adds. “But I wouldn’t say it’s necessary, so those bigger companies can choose whether they want their people to crunch or not, because they have money to sustain themselves. We are, thankfully, at a point where the practice is becoming less common culturally. More indie teams actively avoid overworking, and there’s more understanding and unity among workers within the industry when it comes to challenging these norms. Alas, for now it’s still occurring, but perhaps with enough people highlighting the problems, that won’t be the case forever.”” And there is of course the ‘added’ link towards “Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred player finds “theoretically infinite” treasure goblin hack to spawn so much loot that the game can’t keep up” with the added “Over 2,400 treasure goblins in a single dungeon proved to be too many” which actually proves my point. These glitches are there to keep some at peace, so that they can say that they got great loot, but as I see it, (from videos, as I never played it myself) Diablo 3 was the pinnacle of gaming and I played it on multiple systems. As I saw Diablo 4 rear its (ugly) head, I saw that this was another franchise blown to smithereens by people who never understood gaming, they merely bought the players that did and I al willing to be that they fired the ones that never adhered to Microsoft standards and the ones that did stayed quiet to keep their income safe.

As such, this is a largely biased view on the view I personally have, so the excuses I see is the setting that BI dodo’s have on gaming and and Project Red and others learned the hard way, they will bite off the idiots that making ‘claims’ including the media that tells them that the gamers ‘demand this’, the gamers know the truth, we will get a game when it is ready, not when some BI dod says it is due. So we are against crunching. We get that some crunching is required, especially when the gold master is done and a few things prop up. This happens, it always does. And whilst we await the next Horizons game (expected in 2027), we will happily wait until it is ready, the first two games were awesome, we want more than that and I was considering that if it comes with the PS6, there will be a upgraded version of the first two games for PS6 as well. \

Going with that, tomorrow I have more IP for Google. I got the idea watching a walk around video on YouTube (you know the application) and I suddenly had an idea, it kinda related to other IP I made, but in a nice gesture to Google (and to piss of Microsoft even further) I will give it to them donations (of $3,000,000 post taxation) will be appreciated. Have a great day.

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April 13, 2026 · 00:42

Redo from start

Yup, I went there, an old CBM64 error message. And it comes to us through the BBC who (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce84rvx0e6do) gives us ‘Great at gaming? US air traffic control wants you to apply’ So, why the error? Well, I had the inkling to go that route. I loved Kennedy Approach on the CBM64 and whilst in communications with the UNSC (posted in El Gorah, 1982) I was briefly ‘involved’ with flight following and in this case involved meant that I was sitting next to Flight Lt Wruck who was doing the job. It seemed simple and he was exceedingly good at it. So, I saw this getting done for weeks and it looked appealing, but then at 19 nearly everything looked appealing. These thoughts overwhelmed me when I saw the message in the BBC with the added “In a new ad campaign, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is explicitly calling for gamers to apply for jobs in air traffic control when its hiring window opens next week.

The Xbox one logo appears at the start of the video before dissolving into a montage that cuts between images of men playing various online computer games and people, including women, in air traffic control towers looking at their own computers.” And I have two reasons for not doing this. First of all it is in the United States and in this political climate and with the current administration it is the last place I want to be, although that job in Canada might still be appealing. 

The second reason is the setting that it is tainted by Microsoft. And with ““You’ve been training for this,” the ad says.” My thoughts go to “Really? How?” You see, in 1985 the message was clear, anyone stating that Kennedy Approach was reason to become an air traffic controller was given a red flag. I have no idea why, because as I saw it, ATC is something you either like or do not. And what games give you the ATC vibe? Fortnite? I can play that game, but I was used to real weapons and real ammunition. It takes the air out of the opponents (as they stopped breathing), but seriously? What makes a gamer a good ATC person? As we are given “The new strategy tapped into “a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller”, he said.” I am not debating against it, I merely want to know what makes the gamer a good ATC person. I personally would think that an updated Kennedy approach that gives people the skills to do that job, either with additional coaching or with added explanation, or with added settings and more scenarios. Kennedy Approach was initially a Microprose product and I loved playing this game. Then considering that Kennedy approach was insufficient to cater to this (it was merely 58Kb in size) as such an upgrade would be required. But that field could be catered to for Canada and many other countries. You merely need to adjust the settings of a 40 year old video game.

And if gaming is no longer a red flag, my mind starts cruising to mach 8 to get the adjusted settings to work. Still the idea is decently novel and could be applied to several fields. If I remember this correctly, the US Navy had a similar approach as they used Times Warner interactive to produce AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet, or at least that was what I was made to believe. It was a tactical game and has almost no high res gaming screens, but the tactical screens were most excellent.

And the additional catch was “The ad also highlights the salary on offer to controllers, saying it is $155,000 (£115,000) after three years of work.” I reckon that this will attract plenty of gamers, especially as you see the the graphic card requirements that these systems require now. 

But this is not a novel idea, it has been voiced before, but the powers that be see gaming as a non-go setting, but in this day and age, gaming is different and it is real life that now starts emulating games, not the other way around. So as we are given new stations to jobs that are showing a lack of people, gaming is a way to get around to that and the funny part is that these people could get the gist of that job whilst finding out if this is something they might want to entertain. There are settings that work and settings that are less than stellar for a gaming solution. On that note, I failed the doctor test in 1985 (The Surgeon decided I was never going to be a doctor) And we can consider more pressing approaches but it is all between your two ears (the brain). And whilst we think that Kennedy Approach is a good way to see if you could make it as an ATC’er. There are plenty of other sides. Silent Service is not the way to find a sub commander. 

Yet, seriously, did it take 40 years to go from red flag to gamers are welcome? Or is the need for more ATC’ers now too pressing that they will consider all options? This is a serious question, because the underlying setting is that if there are no ATC’ers, flights will have to be cancelled. That is the real question that is part of that. I am fine with the idea that those who scored great in Kennedy Approach (or whatever is now the closest to an ATC screen) are set for a career in ATC at the FAA. But there are questions, because as this approach comes from 2021 under President Biden and we are given “The FAA said last year that it would be considered fully staffed with 14,663 active controllers. It was at least 3,000 controllers short at the time and said twice that many controllers were expected to leave their roles by 2028.” The setting that airports would be short of ATC’ers and the station that hundreds of flights would be cancelled if this is not resolved is not without its own set of cascade failures of flights required. It would be the next massive joke if ground crews are stopping flight crew from getting the job done. And there are additional questions that people will have to ask, because there is no way that this is a setting anyone would like to be on their front door as they are flying to their vacation spot, only to be stopped because there are no Air Traffic Controllers available. 

Yes, sarcasms slaps you it becomes irony and I am not being the doom speaker, merely a person who wants a clear understanding and personally it is too late for me (about 25 years too late) but I kinda like that gaming could invigorate a class of people to take up a new career. 

So have a great day, my Monday started 40 minutes ago.

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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.

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December 20, 2025 · 02:18

With media assistance

That is what I see and I might be wrong, but judge for yourself. There is plenty of evidence around. It all started with an article in Forbes (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/12/18/microsoft-updates-windows-to-stop-users-downloading-google-chrome/) where we were shown ‘Microsoft Updates Windows ‘To Stop Users From Downloading Google Chrome’’ so that doesn’t sound at all ominous. And it kinda reflects the setting I gave over 2 years ago with ‘Are they really?’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/09/01/are-they-really/) which I gave onboard September 1st 2023. We are now given “Here we go again. “Microsoft is trying a new way to stop users from downloading Google Chrome.” We have seen this before. Just as with Apple, the two tech giants are pushing hard to keep users within their own walled gardens, on Safari and Edge. The latest news comes from Windows Report. “If you open the Chrome download page in Microsoft Edge, you may see a new banner at the top.” Instead of just presenting the usual Edge versus Chrome comparison, “Microsoft now focuses on protection.”” I would be the first to state that the statement is missing and they are actually meaning “Microsoft now focuses on protection of self” and it is a slippery slope. They can find the expert in France to find evidence that the bra size of Kim Kardassian is increasing, but they are not able to get a clear independent view of whatever OpenAI gives us against Gemini 3? Go Figure.

As such Forbes gives us “What’s most interesting is that Microsoft has usually stressed that Edge is built on the same Chromium base as Chrome, with all the benefits of Chrome, only better. “This time, those points are missing. The message stays centered on built-in safety features.”” Og course it is, Microsoft cannot allow for the people to gives them grounds of taking sides in that war, they have far too much riding on out, the revitalization of Clippy is on the line and if people (who are speculatively likely) to select Gemini 3 over OpenAI, the walls of Microsoft come crumbling down. They have trillions riding on this and as I see it (I have zero evidence) is that OpenAI underwhelmed whist Google is riding high, as such they have trillions riding on their bad sense of innovation.

And as I see it, it is really bad when they are repeating some of the settings they had in 2023 when edge was on the line, I reckon together with Xbox and Gemini they now lost for the third time, four times if you count AWS versus Azure. The once so highly Microsoft has now lost against Android, Google Search, Sony, Amazon and now against Gemini. A five times loser of technology. So whilst the media ‘accepts’ “Microsoft now focuses on protection.” The truth is predominantly ugly, the truth is that Microsoft is basically done for. 

And the media can hide behind their timelines when they ‘suddenly’ reveal an independent tester (one that meets with the approval of Microsoft) But it might be too little and too late for the media as well. 

So whilst Microsoft hides behind “Chrome attracts more security threat headlines than any other browser. This year, Cybersecurity News says, “Google addressed a significant wave of actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities affecting its Chrome browser, patching a total of eight critical flaws that threatened billions of users worldwide.”

All these vulnerabilities were “high severity with CVSS scores averaging 8.5,” with the world’s most popular browser targeted “by sophisticated threat actors, including state-sponsored groups and commercial surveillance vendors.”” And weirdly enough, my Android is flying high using Google, the only threat I had for a while was influencers pushing me against my will towards Edge. As such there might be truth in the last statement, but I think Microsoft is overselling that idea. And as the evidence s shown to us, I really believe I am right all along. So as you might realise that Forbes hides behind their final words “As you see, none of this is clear cut.” I believe it is and it requires a true independent test of Gemini versus OpenAI. But perhaps I am oversimplifying the problem. I apparently tend to do that and it has nothing to do that I have been in IT for over 45 years. So you all have a great day, I finally look forward to some sleep. The temperature has dropped from over 30 degrees to 24 degrees and it is 02:00. And did you catch the one element Microsoft is leaving alone? It is that Apple is less of a threat than Google is, is it the 26 profiles of their Alphabet? I let you decide. I have seen the light and the seas of snores are beckoning me.

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October 3, 2025 · 21:23

Falling Cards 

That is what happens when you piss of a gamer. And the setting that we see is given to us by the BBC. The story (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgepkwpkg4o) gives us ‘Xbox Game Pass price increase angers players’ where we see “The company announced that the most popular tier of its Netflix-style video games system – available to PC and Xbox players – would rise by more than 50% from £14.99 to £22.99 per month.” That implies that the Game Pass is setting a gamer back to £276 per year. An annual fee of £276? That’s A$565 that comes down to a PS5 console a year. So what is the issue of pricing ones self out of a market? The Xbox is well over A$700, but this is starting to look ridiculous. The setting of Game Pass was pretty brilliant, but as it is showing to be a new form of gaming suicide. We are given “Reacting on social media, loads of fans said they had cancelled their Game Pass subscriptions, with some reporting the service’s cancellation page had crashed due to demand. BBC Newsbeat has asked Microsoft if the outage was linked to a surge in visits.” And in other news we were given “Ultimate – the most expensive tier – allows players to access new games from Microsoft-owned studios on the day of their release. These titles, which include series like Call of Duty, can retail for about £70 if purchased individually. As part of the changes, blockbuster games including Hogwarts Legacy and various Assassin’s Creed entries have been added to the Game Pass library. Microsoft said the new system would “offer more flexibility, choice, and value to all players”. But not everyone sees it that way.” I reckon that pretty much no one would see it that way (except for Microsoft sycophants). Consider that most people buy 1-3 games (to own) for about £200, as such the £76 to play ‘all’ the games? With what is released on Microsoft systems? There is still some appeal if you have both the PC and the Xbox, but I partially fail to see that. 

And there is another setting. You see, Activision was bought for $100 billion. And a few others for a lot less, but the setting is that Microsoft needs to make at least $4 billion to just pay for the interest and that is no longer happening and it is a lot less likely with these changes. Microsoft will be bleeding money for decades because of this. And as some are dropping Microsoft (Denmark and Austria) there will be a much larger setting that Microsoft needs to move on. I never saw the particulars, but I saw this and I saw the implosion within Microsoft at the end of 2026 and that is seemingly happening at this very moment. The fact that “the service’s cancellation page had crashed due to demand” is setting the shift out of gaming for Microsoft, because if that system cannot meet demands, there is a chance that millions might be dropping that system, good news for Sone and Nintendo. Gamers need their space and these two remain. I had seen a new system with a starting set of 50 million subscribers and that is now looking very appealing to the new players Amazon and the Kingdom Holdings. I reckon that renewed contact might become essential. 

As I see it, Microsoft eyes on their ‘price’ became too big and now they end up with a nearly empty eggshell. 

So how much of this is set in stone? I reckon that the pressure of the borrowed $100 billion is driving the upper echelons of Microsoft nearly insane, they bought into this and now their bottom line is drained (as I see it) and that is perhaps the saddest thing of all. Their setting that Don Mattrick started in 2013 would be the undoing of Microsoft, after the run they had with the XBOX360, they threw it all away. more than that. Fable was really big and after Fable III, Fable 4 was announced, then delayed and delayed which is now set to 2026. Chances are that this too will be canceled. An Amazing setting that started in 2004 saw massive flocking by the RPG community, then Fable 2 and Fable 3 (2010) and the people were sold on the Fable story and it was quite a story, but some come in and likely state that it could be bigger, and bigger and now it is as I see it gone, because if the Xbox community vanishes, the need for that game vanishes. The PC world alone will not maintain it. So as I see it the cards for Microsoft are falling and not in a good place. This is exactly why I put some of my Gaming IP out there for non-Microsoft developers. As I saw it, they could grow and whilst I am not a programmer, I do see gaming as the power it is. It can invigorate people in many ways. And now as Microsoft is about to fail, if they took up the setting of the games I offered, they could set out their new terrain in gaming. There is still Bethesda, but as I see it, it is part of Microsoft and as such their games get delays too and the new players will get to carve their name in stone in the vacant places of that stone. 

So whilst we see “Microsoft Gaming revenue was $5.5 billion” And that is great, but the Nintendo revenue is set to be approximately $13.1 billion, as such Microsoft is a mere small fish in gaming, no matter how they slice it. And others are about to carve up a piece of Microsoft in the process. Because Microsoft still has to deal with the $100,000,000,000 invoice. So where will this money come from? And whilst their arsenal of gaming outlets is diminishing, the appeal for their products goes the same way. As such, we might seem to think it will be okay for Microsoft, what products did it actually release? And on what systems were the returns given for the Remaster of Oblivion? 

It might have taken some time, but after 10 years I get to laugh deriving howl of laughter. Microsoft took on too big a chunk of arrogance and they are not turning it into dollars, merely into delays and canceled games and canceled subscribers. All the way until Microsoft gaming is canceled. 

Have a great day and If you are on a PS5 have fun catching the ghost of Yokai and on the Nintendo feel free to Kart around the world. Those victories are the moments you will cherish as long as you live.

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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.

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