Goafer

Yup. I got my XBone just in time to get it, which as good as the Hot Wheels expansion is awesome fun. Lost to the digital only graveyard now though.

Here's hoping Melania makes a full and speedy recovery.

Got my results. All clear. Pretty much as expected really, given that I didn't have any symptoms. It did occur to me that maybe I shouldn't have done the test, as maybe others need it more and my test would just be an extra one to process for a system that's already struggling. My reasoning is that this study was by Imperial College London and probably isn't being carried out by the same staff that are struggling to keep up with "normal" tests not sure how accurate that is though.

It has arrived and it is beautiful.

That's also the point I'm making, the PS5/Series X/S doesn't either. At least none that I actually want to play. When the next gen games that I do want to play are released, I'll absolutely buy whichever console I have to to play them. Until then, I'll keep my money (and sanity, based on the issues people are having preordering). I'm not shitting on people who want one day one, I'm glad people are excited for both, I just won't be getting either until I actually have a worthwhile reason. A fresh lick of paint on games I can already play isn't enough to justify the cost on its own and the launch games do nothing for me.

Oh, I get the appeal. £450 (in the case of the PS5) for me is too much to pay just for enhancements. If I was ok with that, I'd have upgraded to a PS4 Pro or One X ages ago. Give me new content that can only be played on next gen consoles and that price becomes more reasonable. That price for a (admittedly impressive) "lick of paint", just doesn't do it for me, especially when it seems people are having to jump through hoops to even get one at this point. For me personally, it's not worth the money or hassle currently.

This pretty much sums up my view on next gen so far. That fact that backwards compatibility seems to be the big talking point shows how little dedicated Series X/PS5 content there is to talk about. I'll probably end up getting a PS5 and a Series S. Whichever one gets a must-have exclusive first is the one I'll buy first (PS5 wins if the must-have is multi-platform). Until then, I have little interest in spending that much money on games I can already play (albeit without the enhancements).

This bloody video. It completely blindsided me and got me right in the feels. There are legitimately no words for how amazing I find this. Stick with it, it's a slow start, but fuck me if the feels don't come out of nowhere.

I think that's the thing with leaders. When people aren't sure what to do, they turn to the leaders for an example. When our leaders are changing their mind every 5 minutes and telling us to "Eat out to help out", "go back to work" and god knows what else, then telling us that we need to play by the rules to avoid another lockdown, is it any wonder no one knows what to do or isn't taking it seriously? Add the Dominic Cummins thing on top and they've made an absolute joke of the whole thing. No one is taking it seriously and you can hardly blame them when the very people we turn to for leadership aren't either.

Remember when Sky Digital added games you could play with your remote control? Yeah, it's basically that.

For the last 2 years or so, I've been doing an apprenticeship in marketing alongside my normal job. It wasn't something I necessarily needed, as I've been working in the sector for years, but my company like to put people on courses to give them extra qualifications etc. Given that I have no actual qualifications in it (but plenty of experience), it made sense. Well I passed today with a merit. Not quite a distinction like I was hoping for, but still better than a regular pass.

My name is actually Luke, but I'm just glad he didn't go with "daddy".

Never. You can't make me. You're not even my real dad.

https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-series-x-preorder-xbox-one-x-spike?sf129097858=1 Interesting. Could it be that the similar name has caused people to buy the wrong one?

Looks like I've been selected for a random test as part of a Imperial College London study. Figured I may as well take part, as it only involves a quick survey and doing a home test. I suppose it would be nice to verify that I don't have it and if it helps a study, then we all win.

One game? We're talking all of Bethesda's offering. If Bethesda games mean that much to someone (which to me they don't, even though Fallout was my favourite series for years), then it's hardly a big investment. Go without 4 PS5 games and you've already got the money. If it's not worth that much to someone, then who cares? They're just games. Go without. Or don't get a PS5 and get a Series S/X instead. It's not like these games are completely inaccessible. It just means some people may have to re-evaluate the choice between Xbox and PlayStation or miss out on Bethesda games. I think people are placing way too much importance in a non-essential hobby. They're just games. No one's going to die if they can't play the latest Skyrim port or broken Fallout game.

I dunno, the Series S is the same price as 5 (almost 4) full price games. I'd say if this news bothers gamers that much, it's pretty affordable to buy one for that janky Bethesda fix. Plus, exclusives aren't new. Every generation gamers have had to choose between consoles based on USPs and exclusive games. I fail to see why this is suddenly such an issue.

Having just got an XBOne, it got me thinking about Game Pass again. Back in the Dreamcast and OG Xbox days, I was able to "acquire" games very "cheaply" and it taught me something about my gaming habits; The more I spend on a game, the more I enjoy it. For example, how many of you have spent a couple of pounds on a game in the Steam sale, only for it to sit in your library, completely unplayed? How many of you have done the same for a game you've bought at full or slightly reduced price? When faced with a large library of cheap games, I'm very unlikely to play any of them at length. Partly because I've not paid much for the games, so just letting them sit there isn't a problem, but also because I know I have plenty of other games to move on to. Hit a bit of a temporary slump in a game? Just move on to the next and not look back. Game Pass to me makes games almost "throw away", which isn't how I like to enjoy my games. I'd much rather invest a lot of time in a single, well made game than flit between games on a whim, which is what I think I'd do with Game Pass.

Fixed it for you. As with the Sony exclusives, it's the nature of the business. Both Microsoft and Sony are putting THEIR customers first, as they should be. Why would/should either of them care if another company's customers go without, especially when it comes to something as non-essential as gaming?

How dare you. They have Fable and...erm...Fable 2? Seriously though, I'd love a decent Fable remaster/remake.

I wonder if this will draw the same level of anti-consumer hate that Sony got for their deals. As for Bethesda, I used to love their games, especially Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series, but I've kind of lost interest in them recently. Maybe it's because Fallout 4 and 76 were hot garbage, or maybe I'm just bored of Skyrim releases, but something has made me very meh about the whole thing. It's not really an issue, as I'll probably get both the PS5 and the new Xbox, as the pricing of the S has made it a viable choice, but I certainly won't be doing it for the sake of TES, Fallout or other Bethesda games.

"I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I didn't buy the DLC."

Recreated my real life car again, this time in Forza 7 (and some in Horizon 4). The game also has my Scirocco in, so added bonus.

I've been craving a bit of Forza Horizon recently so I impulsively bought an XBox One S from CEX, as my PC can run it, but it's not the best. Annoyingly, one of the vibration motors in the controller is loose, so it makes a god awful death rattle. Managed to fix it by opening it up and jamming some kitchen roll in there to wedge it in place. Apparently new controllers are almost impossible to find at the moment and the custom coloured ones on XBox Design Lab are almost the same price as the standard, so I did the only thing I could: designed and ordered one. This one specifically: The controllers are so brilliant and the ability to customise the colours really makes them your own. I don't sing Microsoft's praises often*, but their controller options are a stroke of genius. *As I fired up Forza Horizon 4, I was reminded of the main reason I generally hate Microsoft: a 2 minute, unskippable advert for DLC in a game I've paid money for. Fucking shameful.

Microsoft: Our preorder system is better than yours. Sony: