Games Inbox: Will Metroid Prime 4 be out this year, Xbox closure anger, and EA Play problems

Enjoyably pointless
I literally don’t want to talk about Xbox. I’m just so disgusted with the way Microsoft has acted and feel foolish about myself, in previously scoffing about the inevitable downside to them buying Activision Blizzard. I was actually considering buying an Xbox Series S as a Game Pass machine, but they can jog right on now.

Instead, I want to talk about something happy and pointless: Nintendo speculation! So, we sort of have it confirmed now that the Switch 2 won’t come out this year (sort of confirmed is usually the best you get with Nintendo), so that means they’ve got six months to fill with new releases and we only know about some cheap NES Remix variant.

I don’t want to say they’ll be scraping the barrel, because that implies the games will be worthless, but what I’m expecting is Xenoblade Chronicles X and Zelda Wii U remasters. Probably some little weird release, maybe a Kirby or something, and then maybe another 3DS remaster… possibly Kid Icarus: Uprising.

But the big question for me is will Metroid Prime 4 be out this year? Trying to guess that all depends on whether you think Nintendo was just going to release it as soon as it was ready (more or less) or if it’s being held back for the Switch 2 launch. My feeling is they know Metroid isn’t a big enough draw to make an impact at launch and they need the franchise to be bigger, so they won’t want to miss out on selling it to the Switch’s massive audience.

So, on that basis, I guess that Metroid Prime 4 will indeed be Nintendo’s big Christmas game. With an enhanced version for Switch 2 launch, that’s something like £10 extra if you own the original. I now look forward to being proved completely wrong on every count.
Onibee

The only answer
Like everyone, I was a bit shocked by the news Xbox was closing four studios, and in particular Tango Gameworks, but I think there’s a fairly simple reason that Microsoft will never say publicly.

You’ve got to imagine that at the start of Game Pass and this generation there were targets to be achieved. We know Game Pass hasn’t hit them from reports of Phil not getting his bonuses, and whatever the target for console sales, it certainly didn’t involve the Switch outselling them still.

As a result, I don’t doubt that their budget has taken a massive hit, to the point where closing studios is the only way they’re going to hit it. Having just shipped games, that’s left Tango and Arkane Austin in the awkward position of not being halfway through the development of a new game, making the obvious choice to cut as it doesn’t mean cancelling a game due for release any time soon.

I don’t know where Xbox goes from here though. I thought the strategy of make lots more games, Game Pass, and a cheaper console was decent, but it’s made no impact. Starfield not even moving the needle slightly really proves that games will not change console. In fact, other than Zelda: Breath Of The Wild I can’t think of a single game in the last 10 years that I would buy a whole second console for.

It’s nice seeing the Xbox games released on PlayStation doing well, but it also underlines the fact they were good games. Sea Of Thieves is still at No .3 in the PlayStation chart, which is crazy. A six-year-old game that had no impact on selling Xboxes shouldn’t be that popular! We’ll see if it’s still popular at the end of the year, but it sort of suggests if it had came out on the PlayStation it might have been up there with the other big live service games all this time.

Maybe multiplatform really is the only answer for them now.
Tim

GC: Games do sell console, just not Starfield. Imagine, instead, if Skyrim, or something of equivalent quality, had come out last year as an Xbox exclusive.

Stay focused
Aside from selling a gazillion Switch consoles, could another reason why Nintendo haven’t suffered the same turmoil as Sony and Microsoft in slashing jobs and closing studios is that they’ve stuck to the traditional ways of making and selling games?

Barely any of the live service and subscription approaches, but just selling games as is, whether physical or digital, at a reasonable price, in line with past generations.

With no insider knowledge, no doubt I’m greatly over simplifying things, but I’d imagine it’s something like ‘Studio A sold B number of games, bringing in C amount of revenue and profit. Thus, we can allocate a budget of D for their next title to expect a decent return.’

With subscription packages involved for Sony and Microsoft, how do they decide how to break down the revenue for different studios? Is it by the number of downloads, the amount of time spent on a game by players? It must be a nightmare to budget for this… not to mention all those people (including me) who took advantage of their generous conversion scheme, getting loads of free months of Game Pass.
ttfp saylow (gamertag)
Now playing: Botany Manor and Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom (still!)

GC: Nintendo has made live service games before, such as Splatoon and, arguably, Animal Crossing. They also have a subscription service, which seemingly has more subscribers than Game Pass. But your basic point, that Nintendo is fully focused on making quality games, is true. Microsoft, and increasingly Sony, always seem to be looking for something else to do other than just buckle down and ensure a steady supply of great games.

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A mountain to climb
I finished Stellar Blade last night and despite all the hullabaloo I really enjoyed it. Story is total fluff but most stories are. I definitely liked the combat system and one of my personal favourites, bizarrely, was that it reintroduced a sense of vertigo in games. Too many times have I yawned when your character controls to the point that any semblance of trepidation is erased, because every action is performed without error.

Just push the stick and press ‘X’ and you magnetically land on the ledge over a vast chasm. Here, much like a FromSoftware title or, in my opinion, very much like The Last Guardian, due to the protagonist’s slightly hyperactive movement, a lot of the jumping isn’t as precise as you’d expect.

That’s what I enjoy more, as even though I’ve traversed the Watzmann Mittelspitze to Südspitze, CMD Arête, and Crib Goch in winter raiment, etc. I feel far more panicky aligning jumps in Stellar Blade or getting the boy to not fall into the abyss during a play through of The Last Guardian.

It’s certainly one of the better, more original PlayStation 5 exclusives. Enjoyable game in a slightly unenjoyable gaming landscape at the moment.
Wonk

GC: We’re not sure we’d describe it as all that original, but it is a really good game.

Physical pleasures
Will you be reviewing the indie game Animal Well? Is just saw the review on Eurogamer and it seems to be pretty good. I notice it will soon be available to pre-order on Limited Run Games on physical PlayStation 5 and Switch. I hadn’t heard of the game before, until I saw it listed on Limited Run Games.

They have a couple of other interesting physicals to pre-order at the moment, with Rogue Legacy 2 for PlayStation 5 and Switch. Also, they have The Lara Croft Collection for Switch, which contains Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light and Lara Croft And The Temple of Osiris. Having played both the isometric Lara Croft games on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4, respectively, I have enjoyed them a lot and highly recommend them.
Andrew J.

GC: Our Animal Well review should be up later today, if it’s not already up by the time you read this.

Lo-fi gaming
It is a sad state of affairs in gaming today.

The price of making and buying games and consoles has skyrocketed during a cost of living crisis.

Microsoft buying developers en masse just to close them down at the altar of profit. Sony has a huge selling console but a largely generic, mediocre game line-up and an obsession with nonsense live service game.

Sorry to Sony and Microsoft but you have lost my custom.

We have had a golden age the last few generations, with great and affordable titles on PlayStation 3 and 4, and Xbox consoles. That is over now.

I am honestly tired of it. Elden Ring was a great send off for PlayStation 4 but PlayStation 5 and Xbox are hugely unappealing now.

Enter Nintendo as the saviour of the industry.

The Switch is the little console that could.

It allows me to play handheld or on TV. It has all the Nintendo games you could want.

I mostly play indie games or last gen remakes. Balatro, Dave The Diver, and Slay The Spire are outstanding on it. I have a bit of a Football Manager addiction on it too.

Just got remasters of the Metro games and Dragon’s Dogma for around £3 each from the eshop.

Developers and punters should flock to Switch 2.

Those developers unloved by Microsoft and Sony should try and release on Switch 2. Reasonable budget and priced games, which will find a home if they are good enough.

Let’s quit the tech arms race and embrace the lo-fi joy of the Switch 1 and 2, and play games like we used to.
Johnmc1978 (NN ID)

Unfair Play
This is a warning to others and also a cry for help on what to do.

I bought an EA Play monthly subscription roughly 10 days ago. I wanted to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, It Takes Two, and Wild Hearts.

The issue is that even though on Sony’s website and EA Play’s website it lists them all as part of the subscription it in fact tries to charge me for all of these but Jedi: Survivor. It also tries to charge me for a couple more games which should be on the list and I am not the only one, judging by EA community help forum.

I have tried to have live chat with both Sony and EA but both were no help at all and EA was extremely frustrating, as they had the cheek to send me the PS Plus games list, which everyone reading this will know is completely different, and implied that I was being a bit dopey and said that it was simple. All whilst not being clear one ounce about where they were taking me, as I could of got to the PlayStation Store in five seconds myself, without the vague direction for taking me somewhere which is null and void to my issue.

They wouldn’t even give me an email address to complain to about the lies about the games list. I was hoping someone knows the complaints process for EA or has an email I can message.

Number two, I am making everyone aware not to touch EA Play with a barge pole and, three, I wanted to make this public so they actually sort it as the latest update was that they are apparently investigating it. That was Tuesday, 30th April but no updates since then and more and more people messaging them asking for a fix or update on a daily basis.
Callum

GC: We’ve never used EA Play but perhaps a reader can advise.

Hard to believe
I honestly find the unmitigated tunnel vision and mismanagement in Microsoft’s Xbox division extraordinarily concerning. How is this behemoth company – who not too long ago ludicrously spent $69 billion on Activision Blizzard – going to close down its only first party Japanese developer, that was responsible for one of the most charming, original, and fun games of last year in Hi-Fi Rush!?

Wasn’t Phil Spencer lamenting the fact that Xbox struggles to attract Japanese exclusives a while back and what he could do to fix that? And now we know why. To go from the original Xbox having some of the best Japanese exclusives of its era, like Jet Set Radio Future, OutRun 2 (timed), Otogi, Dead or Alive 3, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Ninja Gaiden, to their current situation is dire.

It’s not like Hi-Fi Rush was a triple-A production that sold dismally, it was a modestly budgeted game that was a breath of fresh air for the Xbox portfolio. And not only was it a critical darling but it sold pretty well, won some awards and resonated strongly with gamers. This just doesn’t add up. And now the chances of The Evil Within 3 may be lost forever, which I find incredibly unfortunate as the first two games were among my favourite modern action survival horrors.

Shinji Mikami must’ve seen the writing on the cold corporate wall before his departure from Tango a few weeks ago. Personally, I hope to see some, if not all, of the ex-Tango gang go on to work with Tango veteran Ikumi Nakamura’s new studio at Unseen. Or perhaps, fingers crossed, a new independent developer headed up by Mikami-san. Or maybe they could find a new home at PlatinumGames, after their nascent stab at the roaming beat ’em-up genre. Just wishful thinking here.

Then we have the unceremonious closure of Arkane Austin – another talented developer that, although they stumbled with the ill-conceived and ‘ Zeni-Maxed ‘ Redfall still gave us the excellent Dishonored and Prey games. But at least Arkane Lyon was unscathed in the debacle.

How Microsoft could gut themselves of such creatives is beyond comprehension to me. Tango Gameworks, especially, were arguably one of my favourite developers working today. So with their ignominious deletion, and the diminished lustre of flagship brands like Halo and Gears Of War, I’m honestly starting to consider abandoning my Xbox Series X, depending on the line-up of games this and next year and whether they fully transition to a multiformat strategy. I really fear for Double Fine Productions now though…
Galvanized Gamer

Inbox also-rans
I just wanted to pass on my thoughts to Phil Spencer at this tough time. I hadn’t given this any consideration until Mike Ybarra’s comments. Chin up, both of you. Hope you all feel better soon.
r-s-w

After selling my Xbox One this week I was thinking, I’ve had many reasons for selling my consoles in the past, but I never thought that appalling and selfish treatment of game developers would be one of them. But here we are.
Adams6legend
PS: I know you were joking but SNES Remix sounds like a fantastic idea to me, GC!

This new Nintendo console will be called: Swiitch TwU – a portmanteau of Switch, Wii, and Wii U while playing with the spelling of the word ‘two’.
LeighDappa

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The small print
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