Electronic Arts Is Being Bought By Literally The Worst People On Earth, Microsoft Is Running Out Of Feet To Shoot And I Woke Up At 3:00am For Some Stupid Fortnite Shoes

When I first started this blog I promised myself one post a week, when that did not work I promise myself one post a month.... Hey guys what's been going on with you?!? Hahahaha...ha....

You Can't Spell 'Saudi Blood Money' Without EA

Although the industry keeps putting out excellent (mostly) indie games on a near-monthly basis, it feels like it's doing its best to dig its own grave and jump right into the hole. The first horseman comes to us via Electronic Arts, as usual, with the announcement that the company will be completely bought out by the Triforce of Evil Capitalism: Saudi Arabia, Jared Kushner and a private equity firm for an eye-watering $55 billion.

Now I've never been the biggest fan of EA, but they have, on occasion, made some games that I have loved. Ok, yes, this is mostly Mass Effect, but I have also enjoyed the Skate and Battlefield franchises. But this leaves me in a pretty awkward position. For one, EA was having one of the better years they have had in a long while. Battlefield 6 seemed to be a return to form based on how popular the beta was, and I've made my feelings well known on this blog about the current iteration of Skate. But with any money I spend on Electronic Arts, theoretically going into the pockets of journalist-killing fascist vultures, I am much more apprehensive. I was 100% going to buy Battlefield 6 at launch. I know this because I spent most of the last two months grinding the battle pass in Battlefield 2042 purely because they had Battlefield 6 items included. Now, I am not sure I would even get it on sale. Same thing with skate. I already spent around $30 on the Founder's Pack for skate dot because I wanted to support that game, where they can hopefully improve the many faults the game has. Now it just seems like a forgone conclusion that it is going to get shut down as soon as the buyout goes through.

Speaking of getting shut down: let's talk about BioWare. The current iteration of BioWare has been going on the exact opposite of a hot streak. Here is a wild thing thought I had the other day: Of the last three BioWare-developed games, the best one by far was Anthem. Anthem. That is dire. But they still had that new Mass Effect game in development. As absolutely horrifically bad as Andromeda was, it did not completely kill the franchise for me, and with the Legendary Edition being an excellent collection, my hopes were alive for another great Mass Effect game. That hope is finally dead. Even if BioWare survives what is sure to be a brutal series of layoffs and studio closures, I have zero faith that the people who will be running EA will be adopting a 'hands-off ' approach to management. I'm expecting a complete removal of any same sex relationships and anything remotely political that isn't 'actually dictatorships are cool now’.

Where does that leave us? Well, assuming this sale goes through in 2027, for me, the best-case scenario is that EA sells off some of its more progressive and riskier studios and IP. I would be perfectly happy if BioWare and their IP were spun off as independent or purchased by another publisher that would better utilise their strengths. I don't think there is any reality where Battlefield, The Sims or the yearly sports franchises are spun off. So I guess that is where we stand. In the ideal world, everyone would be making whatever they want without corporate or political interference, but we do not live in that reality, and I don't think we ever will.

More Like I'm Going To Game Pass On This

Microsoft raised the price of Game Pass... again. What was once an awesome and convenient deal to get some great games on day one has now turned into a complex mess of tiers and perks that would make that Assassin's Creed Wikipedia chart scoff. I've been a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber for years at this point. The appeal to me was, of course, the day one games. Being able to see a game that has come out on Game Pass and being able to just play it was such a great thing for me. Not only that, but because the launch prices were no longer a barrier to entry for me, I played and enjoyed many games I would not have touched otherwise. Abiotic Factor and Hollow Knight: Silksong, which are two games that will be on my Top Ten list this year, were enjoyed through Game Pass, as have many others. But I'm afraid the bloom is off this rose with this last round of increases.

Enough was enough, and I finally unsubscribed to Game Pass entirely. Before this, Game Pass Ultimate was just under an affordable price that I could keep it on even if I did not use it to its full potential. Yes, I was able to play through Abiotic Factor and Silksong as well as dip my toes into Roadcraft and Dragon Age: The Veilguard (yuck), that is not the case every month. But now at $36 a month, that is just too much. For that amount, I could buy a discounted game I want to play every month and keep it. In fact, last week I bought two games I've wanted for a while: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and Capcom Fighting Collection 2 for $25 each. Two months of cancelled Game Pass would have paid for both of those, and I would have had change left over to buy something else.

The most mindblowing thing about this is that it still would be preferable to buying any Microsoft 1st party title on release. Outer Worlds 2 is releasing at the end of October for $110, so it would still be better for me to pay the $36 when it comes out, play it for the month, then cancel it again. This means that despite the increases, Microsoft would still be losing money from me, and I am sure from many other people as well. All to squeeze just a little more out of people than what they are already doing. Xbox has been the more preferred console of choice for three of the last four generations for me, but I just cannot imagine them surviving as a console maker at the rate they are going. Which is a shame because things that Xbox does, the other platform holders do not: extensive backwards compatibility support and parity with PC. I'm hoping that if a dedicated Xbox console is no more, they at least stick to PC. You might love Xbox, you may hate Xbox, but they are still a competitor, and competition is always better for the consumer.

I Bought a Nintendo Switch 2, And All I Got Was This Lousy Mario Kart

Since my last blog post, I have purchased a Nintendo Switch 2 home video game console and let me tell you I am completely whelmed by it. I wasn't expecting it to completely blow my Luigi-branded socks across the room, but it really is a slightly improved Switch 2. Honestly, the biggest upgrade I have seen so far is the Switch 2 storefront. It loads up quickly and isn't a slog to navigate. What a novel concept!

Perhaps the reason I am a bit indifferent on the Switch 2 is having a Steam Deck OLED, which completely smokes it out of the water on nearly everything: handling, battery life, controls, screen (ohhhh the screen is so nice). Honestly, the only thing the Switch 2 does better than the Steam Deck is backward compatibility. It sure was nice to just download Xenoblade Chronicles X and have it just work rather than having to download a weird fork of Proton to get Arkham Asylum to run.

Now, to talk about all the game. I say game (singular) because I only got Mario Kart World with my Switch 2, and that sure is a Mario Kart game. The big nice feature of the open world has little appeal, considering that 99% of the game is still racing on pre-determined tracks.

I guess it's cool you have to drive between tracks, but to me, it completely wastes the potential of an open-world racing game. There is no Burnout Paradise style point-to-point races where you players choose their own path, you cannot make your own tracks using the network of roads, even just driving the open world doesn't give you anything, other than stickers and coins. On its fundamental level, it is a perfectly cromulent game: looks nice, runs well, plays as you would expect, but that is it. You would think that after the massive success of Mario Kart 8, Nintendo would have put a bit more effort into their technically biggest franchise. But what they gave us was an extremely aggressive 'fine".

Also, I lied before because the Switch 2 game I’ve actually been playing all week is Hades 2. I just got the ending a few nights ago and… I am going to need some time and a dedicated post to talk about what happened there.

Go Play That Daft Punk Event In Fortnite It Fucking Rules

See header and yes I did buy those skins and yes I did wake up at 3:00am to get those horrifically ugly Daft Punk shoes and fuck you I'd do it again.