Julius

Although it won’t be exclusive, everything seems to be pointing to Cyberpunk 2077 being on Xbox’s stage next month, which I think could be pretty big for them. I just don’t know what they do right now. Do they go all-in this year, despite being some thirty million units or so behind the PS4, to go out on a final hurrah? Or do they save their big reveals for their next console? Bigger question yet: will there be a next console? They aren’t ever going to find their way into the Japanese market in a noticeable way, despite a number of attempts, so should they instead focus on serving only a Western audience? Or is that what they’ve been trying to do anyway? Personally, I’d like to pick an XBO up at some point, just because of the BC, but I don’t feel like I’m in any rush to do so because there aren’t any major releases coming from/exclusive to them which would make me purchase one before the end of this generation. Maybe they should throw a lot of money to use some currently dormant licenses? Throwing money at Konami in particular comes to mind, as that’s all they seem to care about now these days anyway. Would a Metal Gear Solid 4K Remake Collection, a new Silent Hills game and Suikoden VI do much for them? I think it could, and I feel like the concept of the latter in particular (picking up some dormant JRPG franchise licenses) could help them make some sort of significant movement over in the East.

If only the guys who helped to market this film helped with marketing on the other FOX superhero films...

Nintendo’s E3 site has their video presentation named as the ‘Nintendo Direct: E3 2018’, so I guess I’ll update the original post. Aptly named, but I preferred ‘Nintendo Spotlight: E3 [insert year here]’, if I’m honest Oh well, less than a month to go now!

Man, that blows. On the upside, it will hopefully give people (myself included) enough time to become well acquainted with the first two and enjoy the third game as much as longtime fans surely will

It’s also been 10 years since we’ve seen Sinnoh, so... though, based on past precedent, I wouldn’t have expected that game this year anyway: we’ve been having remakes every other generation for a while now, so I’m surprised to see so many fans up in arms about Sinnoh being “skipped”. @Glen-i I think @Vileplume2000 is on the money; if Pikachu and Eevee are the starters, we probably won’t be able to evolve them. If we can, I’d imagine it would be fairly late into the game. @Hero-of-Time @Ronnie I agree that leaks are really damaging, and aren’t good for either the potential audience of the game or it’s developers. It surprises me a little bit just how much more under wraps the reveals saved for The Game Awards seem to be than for something like E3, as both of them are massive showcases/conferences. I’m still excited for this year’s E3, but when I hear a tease that Capcom are bringing two games to it, I have a very good idea of what it is that they’re going to show. It really does kind of suck. With regards to Pokémon in particular, substantial leaks have been much more common over the last 2 years, at least as far as I can remember, which seems to be a result than of the games now being localised in China (the SM and USUM leaks were China-based, if I recall correctly).

This was posted on 4Chan around the same time as the supposedly leaked image: I don’t think GO’s mechanics coming to the game will be too prevalent, apart from what I assume would be an optional Joy-Con shaking/touch screen flicking to attempt to capture a Pokémon. I agree with @Glen-i that a Pokewalker feature being added to GO would make a lot of sense, and is a great idea. I don’t know how I feel about the idea that these are Yellow remakes with Red and Blue having a role in the story but not being the catalysts for it, unless it is, in fact, a sequel, though. I’m sort of on the fence right now about this, because we simply don’t know enough from the allegedly leaked information, so I can’t wait until we (supposedly) find out more about the games later this month. If this is all true, potentially catchable Pokémon being visible in the overworld (seen in the “leaked” image) is something I’m excited for. Just holding out for Johto to play into this somehow too

A supposed 4Chan leak from a few months ago put this image out into the wild, with the game supposedly in a relatively early state: In it, you can see the tail of a Gyarados, and a trainer riding a Lapras with an Eevee on their head. It was noted that the tiles looked flat, and it was deemed to be fake. However, 4Chan has just put this logo out into the wild: In it is depicted the title Pokémon Let’s GO! Pikachu, and, supposedly, the title of the other version is Pokémon Let’s GO! Eevee. It could easily turn out to be nothing and be a fake, but I feel like it’s worth posting. With the Eevee atop the trainer’s head in the above image, I’m reminded somewhat of Pokémon Yellow; perhaps these titles will be the modern Pokémon Yellow (and Pokémon Brown)? There are also other hints towards this besides the supposed logo for the game, such as in Emily Rogers’ piece, but it’s a bit deep of a rabbit hole for me to jump into right now. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see

Yeah, I think that an introduction of a Pokéwalker system in GO is a great idea. Very nervous but excited that the reveal is supposedly later this month. Nervous, because, well, it could - and probably will - be divisive, and people will inevitably complain that they haven’t seen enough before remembering that E3 is just around the bend. I’m also nervous because the fan base was always going rabbid for news, and every single day that goes by without the reveal will only make them even crazier. And if it’s not revealed by the end of the month? Emily Rogers is probably going to be in a lot of trouble... Waiting for this should be a great way to pass the time in the build-up to E3 EDIT: Emily has said that there will be no reveal this week.

I hope so, but like I said above...I’m not a fan of the title, if any of this turns out to be true and the title remains the same. I can already imagine children asking their parents asking for Star Fox Grand Prix, and their parents responding that they already have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so why would they get another racing game? Just seems to be a bit of a potential branding/marketing nightmare. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, at least, was very direct with its title; from it, you can easily figure out that it’s a crossover between Mario and the Rabbids, and it’s some sort of strategy or action game. I read Star Fox Grand Prix and my mind immediately went to Mario Kart

Worst kept secret. Gameplay reveal tomorrow. I guess it’s confirmed that Forza are missing Horizon 4 and going straight to 5, then?

Officially confirmed after the Wal-Mart listing and Bethesda’s teasing. Gameplay reveal tomorrow.

Though many of these things were reported in the Eurogamer article, it sounds much more exciting in this context, and I don’t know why. Probably something to do with Eurogamer being wrong in the past or something. I think Star Fox Grand Prix could be a bit of a damaging title, if I’m honest, though - because that title does make it sound like your typical racing game. Right now I’m imagining pod-racing from Star Wars with a decently sized hub world, vehicle customisation, etc., and it doesn’t sound that bad. I guess I’m slowly warming up to the idea.

Eurogamer seems to be in agreement with supposed leaks that happened over the weekend, which claim revealed that Retro are working on a Star Fox racing game. I doubt that this is the case. Mario Kart has been veering into Smash Bros. Kart territory for a while, so I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just bring Fox over to Mario Kart 9 or something, as opposed to making this its own game. I’m still holding out hope that they’re working on a new IP. Or something. In fact, I’d take pretty much anything besides a racing game from them (unless said racing game is F-Zero related). Here’s to hoping that we find out next month at E3...

What blows my mind is that a quick glance at the final league table shows us that United (81 pts) were closer to Arsenal (6th, 63 pts) than they were to City (1st, 100 pts). As great as Man City have been this season, and as beautiful as their football has been, it’s their consistency (and a great attitude to be so consistent) which has set them apart. Sure, I suppose you could say that about any team that wins the Premier League (especially in recent years, where pole position has been claimed several games prior to May more than I can remember happening before), but I think it shows the difference in attitude (if not personnel) between the title winners and everyone else. United and Liverpool have been woefully inconsistent this season, despite both of them making it to a major cup final. They’d play some brilliant football at times, and the latter in particular have been great to watch, but they just drop far too many points against the smaller teams on a regular basis - especially so in the second half of the season. Chelsea weren’t woefully inconsistent, but we were consistently woeful from the turn of the year up until spring; I point at the higher-ups not sanctioning more transfers last summer and during January when it comes to that particular slump, considering that we were 3rd - just 1 point shy of United in second - on Boxing Day. Our team was very clearly exhausted at times this season, and when we did get out of our rut, it was one game too late. Tottenham ran out of steam towards the end of the season, but that’s not too surprising. Their team is still relatively young and inexperienced, but they were quite lucky in hanging onto that Champions League spot in the end. I’m not sure where to begin with Arsenal. Fingers can be pointed at almost everyone - the team is frontloaded in that it has excellent attackers, but relatively poor/inconsistent defenders; Wenger’s tactics have once again been off throughout much of the season; fans calling for Wenger to leave throughout the season deflated the morale of almost everyone involved with the club - and I don’t know where they go from here. They need a relatively young manager who isn’t satisfied with just Champions League qualification when it comes to league positioning; they need someone like an Allegri or a Simeone to light a fire under everyone’s behinds and get this defence organised. I don’t really have feelings for Stoke or West Brom going down, but I do feel sorry for Swansea, and wish they would have stayed up (though, the same goes for Southampton). They’ve played some stunning football whilst in the Prem, and I don’t think anyone will forget the time of Laudrup’s managing and Michu and Bony’s wonderful striking just a few years back. I wish them the best in the Championship, and I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Also, an honourable mention to Newcastle and Burnley this season, who have played well beyond everyone’s expectations and finished much higher than many would have thought at the start of the season. What a year. With as many as 13 managerial positions likely to swap hands this summer, next season should be all the more interesting. Here’s hoping for a tighter contest

What a poor showing from us. The board will point fingers at Conte, and while he can certainly be blamed for getting the tactics wrong today and at other times this season, the biggest problem this season have come from a clear lack of conviction from the higher-ups. We needed to sign more players. I wonder if winning the FA Cup would prove anything to the board? Well done to Liverpool for qualifying for the UCL, because they’ve had a brilliant season with some spectacular football. The same goes for Tottenham too, even if they have fallen off in recent weeks. Oh, and thank goodness City scored that last minute winner. Nothing would have annoyed me more than them drawing to a relegation candidate on the final day of the season and not being the first team to reach 100 points in PL history. Its been a great season with some great moments. The FA Cup final and the final round of the season in all of the other major European leagues next weekend, the UCL final the following weekend, and the start of the World Cup three weeks later should tie a bow on a memorable season of football quite nicely!

Okay, now I’m willing to wait patiently. I love FFVII’s OST (like I’m sure many of you do) for so many reasons, and this has notched my hype for the game (and my willingness to wait a long time for it) up a few levels.

I’m not too worried about today, to be honest. Champions League qualification is now out of our hands (well, I mean, it has been for a few months); all we can do is win against Newcastle and pray to the footballing gods that Liverpool lose to Brighton. It’s not impossible, but I do feel that it will be undeserved if we do qualify, because we took our foot off the pedal for a few costly months and Liverpool have played excellently for most of the season. It’s going to be a real shame if Conte ends up leaving. I’ve said it before, but our squad was far too small at the start of the season, and he hasn’t been backed up in the transfer market like he should have been, which is the very same reason for which he left Juve. Tactically, clearly, he’s one of the best, but our squad has been in need of a minor overhaul for years now, and a major one if he was going to ever have a team suited to his style of play.

Sakurai-san is apparently taking it easy with this game when compared to other titles he’s worked on, only working 10 hour days (from 10:00 to 22:00 with a 2 hour break) and taking two days off a week. Apparently as working over 45 hours per month of overtime can lead to an investigation, so that likely played into his decision to take it easier this time around. I think this is great, and I only hope that it continues to spread in the gaming industry (and every other industry where possible, for that matter). As much as I love games and people who are passionate about what they do, the stress and consequent burnout that comes from being overworked is something that I’m familiar with (heck, and I’m only 19!), and it’s especially scary when you’re the one overworking yourself, because you forget where the brakes are, let alone having the confidence to pull them when you need to. People should always come before the end product. Nice to meet your for the first time on these forums, @LazyBoy this sounds awesome (albeit anxiety-inducing). I’m in!

I think that’s a smart move by them in the long run. With the way things are reportedly shaping up, it always seemed like it was going to be their smallest game of this year; I don’t think they would have been so eager to come out of the woodwork to do the same for the other games which might turn up on their stage this year (reportedly Doom 2 and a Bethesda Game Studios game) alongside Rage 2.

Splatoon/Fire Emblem crossover confirmed?! Or, better yet: a Splatoon Musou game?!

Some more gameplay, courtesy of Game Informer:

I’ve said it before, but give me Kanto set in the present day (i.e. 20+ years after the originals) with some big geographical and ecological differences (I mean, look at just how much Unova changed in only 2 years between BW and BW2, or how much Kanto had changed in GSC and HGSS, 3 years after the events of RBY and FRLG) and I’m game. I mean, if they can throw in Johto and a main story along the lines of the one we saw in Gen V too, then they definitely should. I just don’t want to revisit Kanto in a state that we’ve already experienced before. Let’s see if people settled on Cinnabar again, or if it turned into a tourist attraction. Let’s see some new cities, towns, gym leaders, Elite Four members, etc. What’s Silph been up to? Has Team Rocket come back, or has an evil team with an ambitious goal beyond making money taken their place by hunting down Mewtwo? Or, you know, let’s see what that guy in Vermilion was constructing. Throw in some mechanical adjustments (such as maybe some Kantonian/Johtonian forms, or, again: interactable wild Pokémon in the overworld’s routes, similar to how other JRPGs handle it) too, and voila: a Kanto (and Johto?) most people wouldn’t mind journeying through. I’m all in if we do return to Kanto later this year and we see something like that. But I’m out if all we’re getting is another remake. It probably makes some sense, too. I can see them making something like this with the Gen VII engine making use of full HD assets and having it out this year, before taking a break next year and coming back in 2020 with a more advanced and nuanced engine to bring Gen VIII to life. Financially, I don’t think a pair of games which have included Kanto has sold less than 10 million units, and it was always going to make financial sense for them to return to the region some day. We’ll likely learn something substantial by the end of Nintendo’s E3 video presentation (so, within the next 5 weeks!), and I do think that a Pokémon Direct prior to E3 could be on the cards again. There’s probably a spin-off game or two in the works, and I think they’ll want to clear up how Switch Online will affect Pokémon Bank or the new games’ online functionality. I’m excited

And BAM. Evert ten Napel, a Dutch soccer commentator who has lent his services to EA for FIFA games, has seemingly confirmed that the UEFA Champions League and Europe League licenses are coming to FIFA 19. I was planning on skipping the next game, because of how much I’m surprisingly enjoying FIFA 18’s gameplay when compared to FIFA 15 - 17, and I’m only a couple of seasons into a managerial career mode which is proving a lot of fun. But this sort of throws a wrench into that...I think I’ll be picking this up if it does turn out to be the case Now if they could just finally add the Club World Cup and actually flesh out the manager mode a bit more...