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Julius

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Posts posted by Julius

  1. Posted · Edited by Julius

    The Nintendo Switch has officially surpassed same of the Nintendo DS in Japan (32,903,889 vs 32,878,490), making it the best-selling gaming system OF ALL-TIME in Japan! 

    Who would've thunk that this was where things were heading some 7 years ago? 

    • Thanks 3

  4. Posted · Edited by Julius

    My copy has just arrived: 

    GOQhdQmXAAAcdCc?format=jpg&name=large

    Along with the paper airplane and a slightly mangled sticker sheet (thanks, Royal Mail) :p

    Won't be getting to this immediately unfortunately as I've still got a game I'm rounding off at the moment (in which the ending feels so close yet so, SO far away), but I'm very excited to start digging in when I can! 

    • Like 3

  5. Posted · Edited by Julius

    1 hour ago, bob said:

    Strangest managerial appointment in the last 10 years. Where has that come from?! Unless they're just giving him the job while they wait for someone else to become available?

    They've been turned into a bit of a laughing stock after the way they've treated Tuchel (and rightly so), agreeing to parts way with months left of the season despite making it to the UCL semis, though their league form wasn't great the team has also been a jumbled mess in need of a reshuffle for a while now. 

    Essentially, they wanted long-term options, and went window shopping mid-season: either Xabi or they wanted Nagelsmann to return. Xabi committed to a new contract, not getting distracted from the great season they were having and was keen on attempting to defend the title with Leverkusen; Nagelsmann re-upped his contract with Germany to 2026 just last month. 

    This resulted in Bayern trying to take it all back and ask Tuchel to stay on, AFTER higher-ups and club legends had publicly shunned him. Yeah, Tuchel actually has a backbone, probably laughed at the idea and was committed to leaving at the end of the season. 

    This has left Bayern scrambling in recent weeks, and they've been getting turned away by just about everyone: Tuchel is a UCL-winning manager who made it to the semis this year and despite a poor performance in the league this year, they did win the BuLi last year, yet was disrespected by the club, and so I imagine some higher level managers aren't willing to take that on; they're also known to be looking for younger, long-term managers (reportedly still keen on Xabi and Nagelsmann) and so anyone who comes in is only really guaranteed one season to prove themselves before they might try to be moved on.

    So the board have needed to shuffle ideas around, and I guess the potential of Kompany, at a young age for a manager, and what he did at Burnley last season is on their minds – worst case it's a bad appointment, expectations may be lowered a bit externally to some degree, he gets sacked mid-season; expectation is probably that he has a solid season, wins some silverware to shore up his CV, but not enough to stay on, and they go after Xabi and Nagelsmann again next year; or he wows them and he's the young, long-term manager they wanted all along. I doubt Kompany was in their first 10 or even 15 calls made. 

    All I'm saying is, they're called FC Hollywood for a reason, they never should've sacked Nagelsmann ::shrug: 

    Personally I think they should've got Mourinho in with a fixed 2-year contract (because we all know what happens in Year 3), he would've injected some life into the Bundesliga and the squad, and I genuinely think he would've run riot with them. But alas, his stock is at an all-time low and no-one seems to trust him anymore; should've never gone to Spurs. 

  6. Posted

    It's been doing the rounds the last couple of days, but now seems to be heading towards being official: Vincent Kompany is reportedly going to be the next manager of Bayern Munich, after being relegated from the Prem with Burnley. 

    I know he had a fantastic season last year in the Championship, but this has got to be one of the biggest management leaps in recent times, surely? 

    Really curious how far down Bayern's wishlist he was. They must've offered the job to at least 10 other managers before they got to Kompany, and I mean, understandably: who'd want the job right now? Seems a bit of a poisoned chalice where they aren't giving managers a great chance and their board and legends are mouthing off publicly. 

    Good luck to him if it's made official. 

  7. Posted

    The GDC talk for the game, Tunes of the Kingdom: Evolving Physics and Sounds for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has finally been added to the GDC YouTube channel:

    Quote

    At GDC 2024, developers of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom discuss structuring an expanded Hyrule around physics-based gameplay and evolved sound design! Join the game's Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, Lead Physics Programmer Takahiro Takayama, and Lead Sound Engineer Junya Osada as they explore challenges their teams faced when approaching this sequel.

    Definitely going to need to give this a watch over the weekend! 

    • Thanks 2

  8. Posted

    And there it is.

    Leverkusen weren't bad, but Atalanta were just better, and they were just better everywhere on the pitch. Atalanta's first piece of silverware since '63 (Coppa Italia) and their first European trophy ever! Lookman was sensational, Ederson was a stalwart, and Musso in goal was merely there to watch it all play out. 

    51 games unbeaten from Leverkusen is where the run ends. Can't take it away from them, they've been sensational this season. It'll be a "what if?" for a long time to come, but can still finish the season with a domestic double and domestically unbeatable season. Curious to see how they bounce back from this on the weekend and then next season. 

    Think the shock here is that Leverkusen actually lost, but not really that Atalanta won. They've been long overdue some silverware given how they've been run and played for years now. Well deserved. Gasperini's been brilliant for them, come a very long way from his 5-game stint with Inter. 

  9. Posted

    Spectacular way to seal the hat-trick from Lookman. Scorcher of a shot. 

    Atalanta deserve this win. Outclassed Leverkusen everywhere on the pitch. Probably the last place you'd want this unbeaten run to come to an end. 

  11. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Half-time in the Europa League final and Leverkusen are 2-0 down to Atalanta – who are all over them. Very curious to see how they react and how their shape changes after the break. Reminder that Leverkusen's amazing unbeaten season could be coming to an end here. 

    Still really not a fan of the Europa League final being played before the Europa Conference League final...

  12. Posted · Edited by Julius

    14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

     

    Ridiculous. 

    Official:

    Absurd. Saw we were in for the Ipswich manager? The disrespect. He'll go the way of Potter, too, I'm sure of it. We somehow climbed up to European places - which btw we now seem keen to concede based on fessing up to a bit of FFP malarkey - after a stunning latter stage of the season, with this pick-and-mix of a team, and then this? 

    Look, Abramovich, there's a lot to unpack there on an ethical level (though I feel like you can say this about most Prem club owners these days), but Boehly and his gang of yank swindlers have zero interest in this club doing well compared to that guy. None. It's disgusting. 

    8 year contracts? Throwing Tuchel out the way they did? Wouldn't be shocked at all if they went to the Barto-Barca school of finance and we get royally done in a few years down the line. 

    • Sad 1

  15. Posted · Edited by Julius

    5 hours ago, Dcubed said:

    It's been 3,000 years...

    You're going to need to Re Mind me...

    2 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

     

    Hey! Maybe there’s still hope for a Switch 2 port of the KH games after all! :D

    ...is this deja vu? 

     

    • Haha 1

  16. Posted · Edited by Julius

    It is being reported that Toni Kroos will be retiring following the Euro's, as there will be no new contract agreed with Real Madrid. 

    If it's true it's the end of an era for one of the modern greats. Football is starting to make me feel like an old man :cry:

    Still remember when he was meant to be off to United and then Real came in for him after the World Cup for something daft like €25m. 

    Anyways, here's your reminder that Modric's contract is also due to end next month. Not sure if he'd retire, but he's reportedly keen on sticking around the Bernabeu on lower wages.

    Don't know if I'd be able to handle seeing two of the best midfielders I've grown up with bow out at the same time :cry:

     

    EDIT: comunicado oficial – yep, it's official. 

     

  17. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Nintendo have acquired Shiver Entertainment from Embracer, who have worked on ports for Mortal Kombat 11, Scribblenauts, Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1 on Switch. 

    Per Nintendo of Japan: 

    Quote

    Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Japan, President and Representative Director: Shuntaro Furukawa; hereinafter "Nintendo") hereby announces that it has entered into an agreement with Embracer Group AB (HQ: Karlstad, Sweden, CEO: Lars Wingefors)to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Shiver Entertainment, Inc. (HQ: Miami, Florida, U.S; CEO: John Schappert; hereinafter "Shiver") and to make it a wholly owned subsidiary (the "Acquisition").

    ...

    Shiver is a video game development company that develops software for multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch. Since its establishment in 2012, Shiver has partnered with publishers and developers through commissions for large scale title developments, and recently, has worked on porting and developing software titles such as Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1. Nintendo will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Shiver and make it a wholly owned subsidiary. By welcoming Shiver's experienced and accomplished development team, Nintendo aims to secure high-level resources for porting and developing software titles. Going forward, even after it becomes a part of the Nintendo group, Shiver's focus will remain the same, continuing commissions that port and develop software for multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch.

    Time to start getting some ports ready for that Switch 2 launch window!

    Seems like a very smart move given that they've worked together before and with the technological gap between Switch 2 and PS5/Series X|S potentially being smaller than that of their respective predecessors, I can imagine that - I mean, assuming they run well - there'll be more demand for ports from the get-go with their next console. 

    • Like 1
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  18. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Kyle Bosman uploaded an interview with Mat Piscatella the other day, which I finally got around to watching today:

    I thought it was a fantastic interview and highly, highly recommend it to anyone even marginally interested in the business side of games. As someone who loves exploring the numbers side of the industry I thought it was a fascinating watch. 

    It adds a lot of context to what we've been seeing lately, highlights the fact that basically everyone is now turning their eyes to Nintendo and Rockstar next year with the Switch successor and GTA VI respectively to dig the industry out of the hole it's currently in, and also goes into how Pokémon was the IP with the highest growth in backpacks in 2023. Yup, ya read that right. 

    Again: highly recommend! :peace:

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 3

  19. Posted · Edited by Julius

    1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

    Kane really is cursed.

    If he wasn't a Spurs player before, I might feel an ounce of pity for him. Maybe. Bayern are a serious mess at the moment with their board, and it's definitely thrown their season off a good bit too, I feel. We still don't even know who's coming in next season! 

    Anyways, great last day of the Bundesliga season though, not only did Bayern lose 4-2, but Leverkusen have now become the first team to go an entire Bundesliga campaign unbeaten! 

    They're now just 2 games away from an invincible treble season. We all saw that coming when the season started, right? 

    There was also a lovely gesture from fans at the 19:04 mark (team was formed in 1904) with a minute of silence to remember those who never got the chance to witness Leverkusen lift the Bundesliga shield. 

    And, elsewhere, Reus played his final game in Germany for Dortmund, scoring one last goal at the Westfalenstadion:

    He's got his actual final game for them in two weeks against Madrid at Wembley. Would be pretty incredible if he could bow out with a Champions League title to his name, huh? 

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    New PS2 Classics seem to be on their way to the Classics Catalog after Star Wars: The Clone Wars (yes, another one :D), originally released for PS2 in 2002, has been spotted on the backend of the PlayStation Store; it is seemingly set for release 11th June 2024:

    Not one I've played before from memory, so I'd be very interested in checking it out seeing as the little I know about it has me viewing it as the progenitor for the Battlefront games. 

    Anyways, to me this would seem to suggest that PlayStation have a new PS2 emulator around, especially seeing as the description mentions up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters?

    It is also worth bearing in mind here that there was also that slate of Star Wars classics released back in 2015 on the PS4 which included PS2 games like Jedi Starfighter and Bounty Hunter, so I do also wonder if this is something they've prepped from scratch or if there was anything prepped for that collection, as The Clone Wars wasn't included (though that could also have been the case for a number of other reasons). 

    Again, as a Star Wars fan I love it, but it's odd - especially with seemingly new PS2 emulation involved, or at least a fresh approach to it for PlayStation - that this is the game which would crop up first to lead the charge on a potential wave of new PS2 Classics showing up. Very interested in seeing if any other games pop up in the next few weeks before this will likely launch, and also how we find out about it officially, seeing as May 4th is a good 10+ days behind us at this point, and there have been those rumours of a May PlayStation Showcase for some time now. You could time it with The Acolyte I suppose, which kicks off on June 4th? But they feel too unrelated for me to see that being the case ::shrug:

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    3 hours ago, Eddage said:

    People really have rose tinted glasses about the state of the game and the quality of referring/decisions before VAR. Scrapping it would be a big step backwards.

    Ultimately I think it's an issue either way.

    I agree with you that the people in charge of VAR and their training/lack of ownership over issues is what needs to be improved, but after years of the Premier League consistently getting it wrong and seeing it used generally much more efficiently and accurately in other leagues/competitions, I think this being pushed forward isn't so much a commentary on the technology itself, but rather the people on charge of it. Teams voting against it, as I see it, aren't viewing against the technology, even if a byproduct of this being passed could be it being removed for the foreseeable future; they're effectively making it a vote of no confidence in the current referring leadership and VAR overseers. 

    Because I do also think it's a big step backwards if it gets removed at this point, some of the nice QOL aspects people don't think about and a lot of the right decisions being made are being overlooked in essentially returning to a Wild West approach. Semi-automated offsides like you highlight are absolutely going to be beneficial as far as I'm concerned, and I would have also liked similar checks extended to corners in the future, because the amount of times I randomly tune in and watch a replay of a shot taking a slight but meaningful deflection off a defender, or being finger-tipped over or around woodwork by a goalkeeper, only to then see a goal kick awarded is insane. 

    14 hours ago, bob said:

    See, I think that just giving him the award because 'everyone agrees' will cheapen it somewhat.

    I know the award is just a PR and popularity contest these days, but in this case it doesn't even have the popularity part attached to it.

    No doubt if there was a vote, he would come out on top, but I think it feels wrong to just say 'yeah, he deserves it'. He's already going to have an asterisk next to his name, it would be even worse it said *no vote took place, just a general feeling that he ought to have won it

    I'm in total agreement, but I think any retrospective vote would also have questions raised and be a bit of a mess too, for instance the 100 journalists who comprise the voting jury from the 100 highest-ranked nations in the world – are these then going to be the same journalists who would have voted in 2020? Do they still have the full context of that season in their memory outside of a highlights reel to jog their memory? If any nation has slipped out of the Top 100 since 2020, are they still allowed to have their journalist partake and vote, or would their replacement nation in the rankings have their journalist vote? I think you end up with at least one more additional asterisk based on how the vote would be handled. 

    And so on. I totally agree with you, but I guess if nothing else the questions about the vote here aren't around the winner like they should be - the purpose of the vote ultimately is to find that winner - but rather the process and who then comes 2nd, 3rd, 4th...and so on. The other things I see as nice to have – but history will remember who won, and Lewa is absolutely owed that Ballon D'Or in fairness. It's not a serious question for them to entertain which could be why they would be keen to bypass it if they decide to make it happen. 

    Now, how exactly that would track in a year where there were two or more frontrunners, like in the prime years of Messi vs Ronaldo? I'm not quite sure. But hopefully nothing serious enough ever happens again that France Football takes it on themselves to revolve the centre of the football awards universe around the potential early overreaction and subsequent cancellation of the weakest of the five major leagues in Europe :laughing:

  25. Posted · Edited by Julius

    Codename Red has become Shadows and samurai, ninjas and Japan mean it might be my first Assassin's Creed...ever? Outside of a few sessions at friend's houses growing up. 

    In fact, I don't think I've ever bought a AAA Ubisoft game before - for a few reasons - so to have Outlaws and Shadows just a few days apart...well, when it rains, it pours :laughing:

    Should be a nice stop-gap during the wait for the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima if nothing else :p

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