Julius

Demo is available now on Switch, PlayStation, and Steam (per tonight's Capcom Showcase)

Premiere trailer and gameplay overview trailer from today's Ubisoft Forward: I still don't know about the decision to go first-person, and sure it feels a bit like Far Cry, but dang, this game sure does look pretty and like it lives up to James Cameron's vision for Avatar!

Gameplay from today's Ubisoft Forward: Also, a chat with Kay Vess' actor, Humberly Gonzalez (what a cool and unique first name!): So, uh, is it bad if I feel I might be jaded by the last few years of releases? Because this looks incredible – too incredible – to the point that I'm honestly a little suspicious. Am I alone in this? It kind of looks like a dream Star Wars game. Everything from the UI (like the WANTED flashing in red on the screen) to gameplay/cutscene transitions (the planet's atmosphere one caught my eye) to the size and look and sound of every place, just...it's too good. I know it's just a demo and there's a year of polish surely to come with its 2024 release date, but dang, I need someone to rein me and my expectations in here. I mean it's Ubisoft. There's got to be something that's going to go wrong with it...right?

Trailer and Direct from yesterday: Thought this looked great, and it's still probably the only game I'm interested in enough to remotely consider picking up a Series X or S for; which is to say, it's still not enough to justify picking one up for me yet (unfortunately).

Wasn't planning to stay up for it, but I did, because of just how infectious the energy was emanating from the team. Some absolutely delightful and hilarious moments throughout. Honestly? That was the best showing of the last week for me. Bit of a lull in the middle with Alanah during the Narrative discussion (not her fault, just don't think there's that much they could really dive into, so the questions unfortunately ended up being very generic) but everything else was just a goldmine. Worth checking out the highlights or skimming through, for me the opening, combat talk, and music talk were the absolute highlights of the whole thing: we got to see Soken play with Alex Moukala, and we got to watch the combat director absolutely obliterate a hardcore boss. Here's the archive, for your perusal: To focus on one game for 5 hours (with some breaks) and keep a captive audience of some 10k+ on YouTube alone was insane but totally justified, and if I wasn't hyped before...well, I was, but I'm even more hyped now! We also got a surprisingly good live-action trailer for the game: Less than 4 hours until the demo drops. The XVI hype is very real right now

Demo announced – and dropping in just 8½ hours, 09:00 BST on June 12th! The demo will be 2+ hours long and includes the game's prologue – and yes, saved data can be carried over to the full game! Once the Prologue is complete, a special battle demo will become available from the title screen, allowing us to experience the new Eikon abilities! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EDIT: courtesy of the PS Blog, seems like the demo in its entirety will be 4-5 hours long! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Friendly reminder that the Pre-Launch Event, likely where a demo is going to be announced to drop some time this week, is set to start in the next 15 minutes! The event will be streaming on Twitch and YouTube and is set to be nearly 5 hours long, with focused discussions about the music, Eikons, and narrative. It's really turning out to be a XIV Live Letter, should be a good time! Still can't decide whether or not I'll want to check out the demo or experience it all for the first time when the game launches... EDIT: how did we end up with ANOTHER trailer?! So endearing hearing the new CEO of S-E try his best to speak English for this event, and Platinum AND the KH team helped with development! Game's a culmination as always, Koji Fox and Yoshi-P are killing it (joked about how the second part of the demo was set at night so to not worry – it's a test of how dark XVI can get ) as are the rest of the team

Okay, seems like it's been cleared up for the first time in the description for the trailer released on the SEGA channel: Infinite Wealth is 8.

More Xbox money, more Persona 5 spin-off announcements Unclear (as with 3 Reload or ReFantazio) whether it's coming to PlayStation or Switch, but given the art style...surely it is, right?

Okay so this one didn't leak: the long talked about Project Re:Fantasy from Studio Zero! Atlus loves Xbox now? Or their money, at least

Let's pretend this wasn't leaked to oblivion Looks like Xbox and Atlus are once again doing the weirdly ambiguous paid-for advertising where they pretend it's not on anything else. Got to imagine PlayStation is a lock too, but curious to see if this is coming to Switch? I haven't read much on whether or not the re-releases were successful on Switch (even if I'd bet they were), so Anyone want to shout up about money-hatting weirdness here? Please?

This now has a title (Outlaws), year of release (2024), and trailer (below)! Finally something set between Empire and Jedi that axolotl-looking thing looks cute as hell! And today I learned a commando droid in a coat looks cool as hell

Lovely Actors on Actors interview between Hayden and Diego

I don't think this is a case of XVI getting thrown under the bus at all. It's been said before but XVI's marketing cycle has been very up front, I mean it's trailer at the Showcase a couple of weeks ago was already labelled as being it's final trailer – and rightly so, I feel like we've seen a lot of that game without seeing a lot of that game, I don't need to see much more. I think there's much more to be said about XVI's marketing than S-E throwing it under the bus with Rebirth news. Would I have bet on Rebirth showing up yesterday at SGF? I feel like the constant tweets over the last few days with interview questions was a bit of a hint that they were leading up to an announcement, and I saw some people guessing it would turn up, but I wouldn't have personally thought so, because they've done a great job of letting XVI have all of the attention up to this point since we saw Rebirth last summer. But then again, when was the last time Square Enix had two AAA Final Fantasy games releasing in the modern era of gaming releasing within 12 months of one another? It simply hasn't happened. It's uncharted territory. Sure, why not show Rebirth now – what, people aren't going to buy the game 2 weeks away now on the back of a game 10 months away turning back up? Nonsense! We'll be playing both! I don't think there needs to be any fear mongering when it comes to Square Enix giving up on XVI, and I think it's kind of disrespectful to the teams over there at CBU III and Yoshi-P to suggest as much – have you seriously not seen what they've done in turning around XIV Online? They've used a Phoenix Down on a dead game and turned it into a titan in its own right, absolutely buried WoW, and have set the standard for modern MMOs. It's one hell of an achievement. Kitase - you know, the guy who oversees everything FF nowadays - has talked in the past about Yoshi-P being something of an heir apparent to modern FF, and it's great to see him finally get a chance at serving something up for us non-MMO-playing fans. They have full confidence in him and his vision, and virtually every fan interested in XVI or that has played/is familiar with the success of XIV does too. XVI will be judged on its own terms and as its own game, as will VII Rebirth. It really doesn't need to set the world on fire to be a success, I think we should just be happy that these games are now being turned out at a decent clip! I think Rebirth turning up is purely a marketing decision, as it should be, because, well, when else would it turn up in the next six months realistically? The game can't turn up at Xbox with its exclusivity deal, and next to that, SGF is probably the biggest regularly scheduled event with E3 dead and buried outside of The Game Awards (I wouldn't risk leaving it to Gamescom ONL), so sure, why not SGF? Also, for the love of Ifrit and Odin, they're having a huge launch event for XVI this weekend and, unless their plans have changed, a demo is due to drop any day now. So, respectfully: y'all certainly (and consistently) have some weird takes, learn to just enjoy the ride some more

Announced at Summer Game Fest: Never heard of the manga before, but it looks like a typically jolly Toriyama time set against the backdrop of a Mad Max world. Love the vibe!

Early 2024, let's mosey!!! Hype lives! & it does so on TWO discs!!!

Just announced at SGF to be arriving on November 9th! The Dragon of Dojima rises!

Finally: a date! October 20th! Why we couldn't get this at Showcase I have no idea, but alas, there it is!

Friendly reminder that Summer Game Fest is tonight: Don't think I'll be tuning in live, I didn't for The Game Awards last year – just seems a better use of my time to check out the highlights or tune in if I catch wind of anything major being shown off. Got to imagine we get a new Armored Core VI trailer with it coming in 2½ months, maybe some Death Stranding 2 (and maybe show the Kojima doc trailer here for the sake of it?), but other than that? I think Microsoft might have actually snagged some of the more spicier stuff this time around (such as a certain Persona, according to the rumours). Demos for AC and Final Fantasy XVI getting announced would be awesome, and the timing seems potentially right for those? Up until the Naughty Dog update on Factions a few weeks ago I would've hoped a little for that even after it wasn't at the PlayStation Showcase, just because of how they turned up last year with some concept art and some stuff for the show, but now...I don't know what Naughty Dog talks about this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary? Which is such a shame! But yeah, expectations are low outside of From and Kojima turning up in some capacity, as they're known to do for Keighley

We're two weeks away people! And I'm so not reading anything else on this People asking about the demo...wonder if it drops/is announced tonight during Summer Game Fest?

Totally agree, and I mean, I've still got stuff to catch up on when it comes to Star Wars too. I really think in the landscape of today's streaming services, where there is an overwhelming amount of content - not to mention that this has also become the case in every corner of entertainment, from books to games - it's a lose-lose unless you get comfortable with picking your battles. Because of how long TV shows are compared to, say, films, I've become really, really picky when it comes to watching shows...and honestly, outside of Star Wars and a few select anime, I rarely keep up with anything releasing on a weekly basis. Instead I go back and dive into older shows; for example, I finished The Wire a couple of weeks ago and it was absolutely phenomenal, but shows like that which are considered must-watch aren't part of the current conversation, so they get absolutely buried by the constant stream of new releases. We're in a time when people seem to be seeking out new releases rather than just looking for new experiences, and I think it does way more harm than it does good (see: the rate at which these shows now release and how much tighter schedules have become). As for Marvel, yeah, I watch a film here and there but have more or less given up on the TV shows. Really doesn't help that the quality dipped massively after Endgame (from my perspective), so it makes it easier to justify, but yeah, there's simply too much, so just deliberately pick and choose They rebranded like halfway through The Last Jedi back to The Rebellion™ and it absolutely killed me I've said it before, but a big problem with TFA and how it laid the foundation for the sequels - as someone who enjoys TFA! - is that it draws inspiration from Star Wars, and not the things that inspired Star Wars. I think there's one way you can do that well, and that would have been to lean so hard into being inspired by Star Wars that you don't copy the earlier film, but you mirror it. Have the First Order start off in the position the Rebellion were in. Have the opening shot mirror the Star Destroyer chasing the Tantive IV...but with a New Republic cruiser chasing down a small First Order ship. Immediately sets up this idea in a single frame that the New Republic became the thing it swore to destroy, and that heroes can sometimes live long enough to become the villains. Have Kylo and co. actually get caught on purpose, take control of the ship, looking for blueprints to something that the New Republic is building: their version of a Death Star, justified by wanting to protect the galaxy from outside threats, etc. I think something like that would have worked, and worked pretty damn well. Also would've given us more Kylo. Have him and his little band of new age stormtroopers think they're part of this small fringe group, but in fact just basically be a First Order cell (again, going back to Cold War spy stuff). Kylo's entire reason for turning could have been him seeing what the New Republic was destined to become: another Empire. It just adds room for nuance and commentary and is exactly the sort of thing George would've done ("it's like poetry...it rhymes") but Disney wouldn't touch with a pole the size of a space elevator. If he destroyed Luke's new Jedi Order in a story like that he can also see what they're destined to become. The entire trilogy could've then been a commentary on destiny and taking things into your own hands, and the sheer irony of it all (I'm imagining a Macbeth-style "by trying to stop the New Republic from becoming the Empire, they ramped up their armies and the galaxy broke out into war...again", and have Snoke/Palpatine be the one to stoke those fires by giving vague ideas of what will happen like the three witches in Macbeth, too). I do think as an overarching narrative that Palpatine returning made sense, because if there's one overarching villain to the Saga it's pretty much got to be him. It's the lack of planning and "somehow he returned!" of it all which weakens it for me. I'd definitely recommend checking out Andor because it feels more like dystopic sci-fi than it does Star Wars. It's just great television. I love Mando too, for the fun it is, and it feels like a Saturday morning cartoon, but Andor, for me, is one of the best Star Wars productions released under the Disney flag. The Clone Wars, much as I love it, is a difficult sell these days I find. Release order isn't chronological order so a dead Nodian one season could very much be alive the next, and it's a kids show above all else - I grew up with it, so maybe that's where some of my love of it comes from, because it filled a huge Star Wars-shaped gap for me after the prequels were done. There's some more mature and great stuff in there, but early on its not front and centre as it was in later seasons. It's also just A LOT to commit to!

I mean, he didn't exactly leave under the best of circumstances last time, did he? Joan Laporta, who was vying for the position of Barcelona president, publicly made the re-signing of Messi the reason to make him president. It was the start and end of his entire campaign. But he would have known ahead of time looking into the job that it was a practical impossibility – unfortunately, for both of them, I don't think anyone realised just how much Barto had absolutely screwed the pooch with Barça's finances until Laporta came in, and then recognising that the financial situation of the club was much, much worse than they feared. Remember, they had four signings that summer they'd already made - including Aguero, who left City to play with one of his closest friends in Messi! - that they couldn't sign until players were off-loaded. It was a mess. And so Messi ended up having to uproot his entire family from a place he'd lived for, what, some 20 years? Because of the club's absolute incompetence and broken promises. It was clear he never wanted to leave in the first place, and he never got a chance to say goodbye. But what does he gain from going back now? Don't get me wrong, I wanted him back at Barça for that romantic ending everyone else wanted, but look at just how dependent Barcelona became on him in his last few years there, or how dependent Argentina were on him at the World Cup last year. Other than getting a chance to say hello again, and then getting to say a proper goodbye, I don't think Barcelona are seriously going to be competing for the UCL for a few more years (now I've said that they'll probably come close in three!), and other than Xavi as manager, everyone he played with from the glory day has left the club. I don't think it would be a Ronaldo at United situation - I don't think Messi has the same ego to begin with - but I could see it being a frustrating time. Ultimately, I think it's a family decision. He never planned to leave, but people adapt, and after he'd left Barça, do his family want to move back? Why not go somewhere a shorter flight from Argentina, with an overwhelmingly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population? If I were Messi I'd take that over taking my wife and kids to Saudi, that much is certain. As for retirement, I mean, he's clearly not done. He probably just wants to try something new. He once again finds himself perfectly placed as the poster boy for an upcoming World Cup (US 2026). He's won all the major stuff in Europe, he realistically wasn't going to tie Ronaldo for UCLs won (could've surpassed him in goals scored, but again, don't think that sort of thing was ever a real priority for him), and I would be a bit surprised if Miami is his final stop to be honest. I say we bring this thing full circle and he goes back to Newell's. Haha yeah I saw that, and I mean, he's right to point that out because I'd be concerned too. I don't know if it's accurate but I just read in passing that all of their games have been sold out for the rest of the season too, but because of the way sport works over in the US, I think strings will be pulled to have them play at another home stadium (the reason for the temporary stadium is because theirs won't be finished being built until 2025) because it's money left on the table, and have other teams play at bigger stadiums when Messi is in town. Totally agree that it's weird, but if not directly after the World Cup win, would've been weird to have Messi retire on a whimper with PSG. I think he's prioritised the day-to-day and his family life with this move, it seems like there's potentially more to him not going to Barça than meets the eye (like him saying not everyone wanted him back?), but all of that is hearsay. Hopefully we hear more at some point in the future, but for now I'm just gutted we won't get to see him in the UCL again. Seeing Messi on a midweek night of European football is gone and it's come so out of the blue!

And it's official: Messi to Inter Miami confirmed. Bunch of tweets by Fabrizio Romano pulling from the interview, some interesting stuff: From a rumour building steam this afternoon to reality this evening, football news is always wild. EDIT: completely missed it in the early stages of the rumours earlier today, but seems like they've taken a page out of the Juve-Ronaldo book and sponsors and the like are sweetening the pot. Adidas and Apple (for MLS streaming) reportedly offering profits in addition to the previously reported option to purchase a % of an MLS team. Kind of nuts.

While strange, I do think a little sense can be made of it (well, at least more than Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia). Miami has a massive Hispanic community, and last I heard, I think the majority (like 60%+?) of Miami speaks Spanish, and the sense I always got from Messi is that while he can speak a little of some other languages, his preference has been - and always will be - to speak Spanish. There's also the fact that it's much closer to Argentina than, well, Europe is, and having now won the World Cup, Argentina is obviously now nowhere near as hostile a place for Messi as it was, say, 5 or 6 years ago, because he's a hero and nothing but. I think Messi is likely to see what's happening with Barcelona first - remember, when he left, he wanted to stay, just thanks to their finances and Javier Tebas (the La Liga president) having a raging hard-on for Barça, it was actually impossible. They couldn't even afford him on a €1/year contract, he had to go (thank former president Bartomeu for that, I'm still convinced his choices as president were some type of inside job). Now Tebas still has a hard-on for Barça (and Real, and people of colour, apparently, after his terrible handling of the Vinicius situation; the guy's a freaking spoon), but they actually could afford Messi to sign Messi for a more typical wage and potentially defer a % of pay after major sponsorship deals (Spotify) and the continued trimming of the club's wage bill. I think his preference would be to go to Barça, but if he's already learned that that's not an option, then yeah, I can see him leaving Europe, and if that's the case, I can see it being to somewhere like America rather than Saudi Arabia. PSG fans treated Messi pretty terribly (alongside Neymar) during his time there, especially since winning the World Cup in December, so why risk - in the latter stages of his career - going anywhere else in Europe? While I'd argue he's still one of the greatest in the world, his reach of play is only going to become increasingly limited as age (eventually...right?) catches up to him, and I don't really want to see another club treat him the way PSG did these past few months. It's a shame, though, because I would've loved to see Messi in Italy (though a return to Barça is the obvious first choice). The real sad part of all of this is we just missed out on Phil Neville potentially managing Lionel Messi after his recent sacking as manager of Inter Miami. What a timeline that would have been!

New TV spot for Ahsoka featuring some of the footage shown off exclusively at Celebration in April, as well as a release date: August 23rd. Yep, still looks awesome This comes following some new images from and interviews with Empire, with Ahsoka being their story for the month: Eh, I think it's less on you and more on the storytellers. I thought it was weird to use BBY for two reasons: it's incredibly meta to use, but also, does anyone casually watching actually know what it stands for? So I totally agree. I think they could (and probably) have taken steps to make it more accessible to casual viewers, it would take all of 30 seconds at the absolute top end! Totally get what you're saying about it not having the level of distinction that day the prequels and originals had, and I'd say that just how similar the sequels ended up being compared with the original films is perhaps it's biggest failing, and I don't just mean in terms of repeating similar beats (it is what it is), but the overall vibe: similar themes, and similar looks. While we did get some cool new ship designs...X-Wings, but newer? TIE fighters, but newer? Come on! I know they've retroactively justified this with flavour text in the encyclopedias, but as someone who loved how the prequels went out of their way to design ships that would serve as precursors to these staples we all know and love, it just all seemed a bit...risk-averse. And obviously, I'm not saying this is on the Lucasfilm folks, because these sort of calls are made from the top and trickle down. It's such a shame because the sequels could have been the Cold War to the original trilogy's World War II and Vietnam, and I think that would have been awesome. Instead we're now getting that in the books that will bridge the thirty year gap.