Dcubed

Spoilers for Ultra Deluxe... obviously

Of course it's not an easy ask, it's a huge mountain to climb for anyone willing to take on the mantle... but it's also one that is filled with masses of opportunity; after all, FIFA is easily EA's single biggest pillar that is propping up the rest of the company's failures right now. I can imagine the likes of Take Two tripping over themselves to have a chance to take a crack at EA's golden goose... And lets be honest, FIFA's gameplay is hardly unbeatable. That series' success has really come from its branding power, not the quality of its gameplay. It was always the inferior series to PES, but it won by virtue of its branding power... something that is now potentially in jeopardy. EA Sports FC might have the incumbant advantage (and would be launching earlier than FIFA's own rival series), but the lack of focus on its core gameplay may well become its achilles heel when FIFA come out swinging with their own series that has a level of branding power that EA have never had to compete against before... I'm not saying that EA are doomed to failure, far from it, but it's also far from certain success too. EA have already failed once with a rebranding of one of their sports series, and it could well happen again. If the stars allign for FIFA and they really manage to come out swinging with a solid rival series? I could definitely see them doing some real damage to EA.

You're assuming that they haven't already gotten in contact with a developer and haven't already started game development some time ago... Also, FIFA said that the game is launching in 2024, NOT 2023. So we're looking at a likely 2+ year development timeframe.

The big twist only happens about 2/3 of the way through... and it is a really great twist. That being said though? The game really should've ended right when that twist happens, as what happens afterwards just cheapens the rest of the experience. But yes, it's pretty typical western/American developed video game design for the most part.

Visual Concepts? If FIFA could strike a deal with them/Take Two, I bet they could put out a belter of a game...

Did... did @Hero of Time just Hate Platinum a game!? I think you may have a problem buddy...

Xbox Series uses exactly the same OS as the Xbox One; all of that console's features were carried forward 100% intact from day 1. First time that's ever really happened since consoles started getting proper OS' built-in, and it's great! More of this please, no need to reinvent the OS wheel each time! (the fact that it took Switch almost 6 years to get folders is a joke!) As for selling your PS5 HoT? I'd say that you're probably better off just selling the PS4 Pro at this point and using the built-in video streaming apps on your TV (or whatever "smart" device you have hooked up) instead. Chances are that they're much better than the apps on these consoles anyway.

Difference here though is that FIFA didn’t win the football war because it was the better game with better gameplay, but rather because EA were the only ones that could afford the full FIFPRO licence… … this time though? They’re gonna have competition that can afford to compete on even footing when it comes to securing the rights to clubs & players… AND they’re gonna also have exclusive rights to the World Cup, on top of the familiar FIFA game branding itself. That FIFPRO licence is non-exclusive, and FIFA certainly have the power to outbid EA on local club licences… I think that EA may well be getting a taste of their own medicine as they start getting bullied about by FIFA’s superior leverage and buying power. EA have long traded on the power of branding rather than the quality of their gameplay… as such, this isn’t necessarily going to be a repeat of Championship Manager/Football Manager.

Oh shit! That was way faster than I thought! So 2024 it is then… It’s Harvest Moon vs Story of Seasons all over again!

Let’s not forget the last time that EA were forced to rebrand a long running sports series… EA’s track record for rebranding ain’t so hot… … and with the rumour mill hinting that FIFA (the organisation) are planning to launch their own football game series with the FIFA branding? I wouldn’t say that success (or even survival!) is a sure thing for EA.

Nice to know it wasn’t just me who saw that Shall be very interesting to see how much the rebranding will affect the game (and EA as a whole). If this rebranding falls flat, EA’s days as an independent publisher could well be over…

Interesting to see that Legends Arceus failed to match BDSP, and likely won’t sell as well overall (especially as Gen 9 cuts off its legs). That’s actually pretty disappointing, especially considering the fact that BDSP is a remake and would’ve also have been much more expensive to make… Luigi’s Mansion 3’s legs are just insane though, and Metroid Dread is a huge success! Great to see! Mario Party Superstars should also comfortably become the second best selling game in the series (behind just Super Mario Party). Nice to see talent being recognised

The SGDQ 2022 schedule is out now! (June 26th - July 3rd) https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule An amazing selection of games here! Kirby & The Forgotten Land (That was quick!!), Metroid Dread (FINALLY!!), Banjo Tooie Any%, NiGHTS Into Dreams, Super Mario Odyssey, DKCTF... even Super Mario Maker 2 is back! This is one of the best selections we've had in quite some time! (Just what the hell is DKC Reverse Boss order!?!? I'm keen to see how that one works!) BTW, for those that aren't aware... SGDQ 2022 will be an in-person event!!! Making it the first in-person GDQ since the COVID pandemic started in March 2020! So this is gonna be one to remember!

So... yeah, Ultra Deluxe is brill! The new content is pretty darn substantial, well worth picking up UD even if you've already played through the original. When they said that there's more than double the dialogue of the original version, they weren't joking! Everything involving... ... is an absolute howler! Also, be reassured that the Switch version is excellent. Full 1080p/60FPS, with only some minor framerate dips in certain places; even has some Switch specific dialogue in certain places!

This comes across as posturing in the wake of the ABK purchase and the FTC's new "hard ass" stance on M&A. There are no grounds to block Sony's Bungie purchase whatsoever. If Sony want to overpay massively for Bungie? That's their perogative to do so.

Of course! We have space, so come join in tonight

I kind of have to just put this out there, but it really is shocking just how much local multiplayer takes a backseat to online multi here; online is literally the first option in the menu when you start the game! This doesn't really feel like a Wii Sports sequel; but rather its own thing. Doesn't help that Miis aren't the default option here (and are actually pretty hidden in the character creator); and the laser focus on online play kind of goes against everything that the original Wii Sports games stood for. Also the music is surprisingly... meh? The game is fun enough on its own merits, but it doesn't feel like Wii Sports at all.

Football is the one. That is all

These are people in customer service and testing positions. I can absolutely guarantee you that for at least the testing positions, there will be an anti-compete clause that will prevent headhunting. It’s standard in the industry; and virtually any contract tech-related job (especially in the US), will have something similar in place. If it weren’t, QA Agencies wouldn’t even be able to function, as they’d just get their talent stolen from them by their clients. It will also be done to prevent potential trade secret leaks, particularly within customer service roles that may have access to business sensitive confidential information; such as sales figures and product/repairs margins. These complaints are largely centred around not having access to the same benefits as full-time employees, which is kind of… well… no shit Sherlock territory really when it comes to the notion of “scandal”. NOA (or any other US company) legally can’t extend the same employee benefits to people who are technically not NOA employees. That’s why it’s an issue with agency/contract work in general; it’s up to the Agency in question to provide their own suite of worker benefits for their employees.

If there is a non-compete "don't headhunt" clause in their contracts (which there absolutely will be), there's nothing that NOA can do about that. Legally, they can't poach the staff from these agencies unless their employees quit the agency, wait out a specified period of time (be it 1 year or 2 years or whatever) and then move into a job position that NOA would keep open for that entire 1-2 year period unfilled. That's not really logistically possible for either NOA or contract employee. Headhunting is a huge thing within the video game industry, which is why gaming companies go out of their way to block it wherever possible. Nintendo also happen to be very good at it, having poached almost all of Squaresoft's old staff, the entierty of Hudson, much of Konami's old staff etc... but there's only so far they can go. A particularily famous example is with Dylan Cuthbert, who joined Sony after quitting Argonaut because Argonaut's co-development contract with Nintendo specifically prevented him from being headhunted by Nintendo; while Dylan wanted to stay working in Japan. Hell, the issue of headhunting is the reason why the VG industry refused to consistently credit their staff all the way from the 70s to the mid-late 90s; to prevent their talent from becoming known and from getting headhunted by rivals.

I laughed.

Oh no, it IS absolutely awful. Agency workers are treated like dirt, especially in the US, where they get no access to health insurance and other essential benefits; since the US social & health system is literal garbage. But this is also absolutely standard for agency workers; and it's something that most people complaining about this "scandal" have no clue about. It's a wider social problem, not something unique to Nintendo, or even the video game industry (though the VG industry is particularily bad with this).

I'm pretty sure that a lot of the forum dwellers on places like Reset Era have literally never worked a day in their lives. The amount of people who are left utterly incredulous every time the smallest "scandal" pops up, and then suggest things that are literally logistically and legally impossible leave me wondering if they've ever stepped foot inside an office or other workplace. There's a lot of "hippie" types out there on these forums... That's not to say that real labour force scandals aren't out there (The ABK stuff is absolutely devestating, and certainly not the norm, even within the video game industry; which is especially bad even amongst the US Tech sector, which is already notorious for its misogyny), but stuff like this contractor "scandal"? This stuff is absolutely pedestrian for a US company.

Very unusual for IGN to actually do some actual journalism indeed! That being said though? There's nothing here that is particularily surprising or unusual for how contract workers are being treated; this is unfortunately the norm, not just across the video game industry, but for contract workers in general. This is doubly true in America, where labour laws are about 50 years behind Europe. NOA's ability to change things is most likely limited by the legal distinction between internal staff and contract workers (since these contractors are technically not NOA employees, they can't legally be given the same benefits as internal staff). To fix this, they'd have to stop hiring contractors and open up more full-time positions; but then you'd have to deal with the don't-headhunt clauses that are almost certainly hiding in every contract agency's contract...

Heads up, the audiobook version of Reggie's book is now out on Audible (the hardback version is out next week; still have it on pre-order).