The Thursday letters page worries about the current state of the video games industry, as a reader looks forward to Exodus and Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Life as we know it
If Gears Of War: E-Day really did cost $500 million I don’t even know what to say anymore. The game has clearly been a bomb – no one has an Xbox and its Steam numbers are really bad – and yet somehow it cost half a GTA to make? How is a decision like that even possible at a company that’s trying to tighten its belt and is happy to lay off 3,000 people at the drop of a hat?
We’re well beyond the usual publisher making weird decisions angle now and at a point where these companies have actually gone off the rails. I mean, look at EA. $18 billion in debt and they’re already shutting down studios and cancelling games. What’s the point of it all? All it’s doing is making money for a handful of execs and everyone else, including the fans and the industry at large, is suffering.
I honestly wonder whether gaming is going to survive at this rate. It’s not a question of being unhealthy, it feels like companies are purposefully sabotaging themselves and the whole industry is dying, at least in the West. EA will never be the force it used to be again and that means the biggest independent publisher now is… Ubisoft?! Doesn’t that just say it all!
Jeffries
Popular choice
All the amazing games released this year and the best-seller is a basketball game? And one that even the people that bought it don’t seem to like. Sometimes I feel the number of people that actually appreciate good video games is a lot smaller than we think, because this is actually not uncommon and I remember even 20 or 30 years ago being surprised and disappointed when I saw the top 10 charts and realised what actually sells and what doesn’t.
Want GTA 6 news?
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.
All of a sudden I’m glad GTA 6 is coming out this year (I don’t personally have any interest in it) because at least we know that will be the best-seller of the year. But add that and Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC and it probably won’t be till you get to the fifth best-seller until you actually hit anything good.
Tomfall
Product support
Well, I had to purchase something off Amazon and wasn’t going to pay a fiver for delivery, so signed up for a fortnight’s trial of Amazon Prime.
Then I remembered the games, the lovely free games. ‘Now this is pod racing!’ And so faffed around working out how to get it working on my Xbox Series X. Turns out you have to play it using the browser, at least that’s the only way I could see anyways.
I actually got it started but hadn’t played it before sending this email so my query would be… how or even does it save and do I get achievements?! And is there any way to just load it up on the Xbox full stop. Anyway, off the carve up the sands.
big boy bent
PS: Tell me Darth Jar Jar is an unlockable racer!
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The real BioWare
Got a real shock when I read the news about BioWare on Thursday morning. Well, it was shock at first but once you think about it for a few minutes it becomes completely expected. Let’s face it, BioWare lost it after Mass Effect: Andromeda came out and haven’t been the same since (I never played Dragon Age: The Veilguard) and everyone that ever made the company what it was has long since left.
Finding out that they only have 50 people left says it all, because how are you going to make a modern game with that few people? So yeah, I still curse EA for even buying them in the first place, but this deal was done years ago.
I’m just looking forward to the new games from some of the former developers. Exodus has a bunch of Mass Effect people working on it, and it looks pretty good, while Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic has the director of both Knights Of The Old Republic and Mass Effect 1. Those are much close to being the real BioWare, than the shell of a company EA just shut down.
Glottis
Not dead yet
RIP BioWare.
Thank you for Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic and Mass Effect.
Like many before, such as Psygonsis, Free Radical, AM2, Criterion (for Burnout), Tango Gameworks, Midway, and Neversoft amongst others…
Gaming will never feel the same.
G4RBO
GC: Technically AM2 still exists and, as we mentioned in our article, Criterion isn’t dead – it just feels that way. Tango Gameworks is also still going, after Krafton bought them from Microsoft, although only around half the original staff have stayed on.
Darker Ages
Sony certainly have lost the foresight to see the loss of physical media may be a regrettable choice. With the news of Phantom Blade Zero receiving a physical copy in 2027, which is bizarre to see why it’s following the same template as Black Myth: Wukong and Alan Wake 2. I honestly wish it was that way from the start. But 2028 will indeed be the dark ages, for fans worldwide and for myself.
No disc for the next God Of War title, after Laufey. The Last Of Us Part 3, if it ever gets made, will be digital only. Uncharted. Maybe a new Killzone game, or a remake. Ratchet & Clank will no longer be physical. It’ll be a tragic end to disc manufacturing and physical collections. But the world is already digital, so it’s the future. Which is why it’s a lovely time to be a Nintendo fan.
I’ve been building a steady physical collection. Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom on Switch 2, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Three Houses, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Donkey Kong Bananza, Astral Chain, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, and just today I’ve also secured quite the gem: a Japanese imported Bayonetta for the Nintendo Switch.
That’s deeply rare, especially here in the UK, to find in a store. It’s even £85 at CeX, which is second-hand as well. Along with my copy of Resident Evil: Generation Pack, these are two prime examples of the true novelty of physical collecting. To have these on a shelf and just to know you have history to cherish, it’s true happiness.
I will still be purchasing the PlayStation 6 and Project Helix, whenever they are officially announced, but it’ll be difficult to be a Sony fan in the future. But I’ve been there since the PlayStation 2. I’ll always be there, until my last breath.
Shahzaib Sadiq
PS: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is next. So excited for it.
PlayStation 32X
With all the complaints about the likely price of next generation consoles, maybe Sony and Microsoft should look to the past for inspiration.
It’s time to bring back the hardware add-on. Forget the PlayStation 6, Sony could release the PS5 Supercharger, letting players enjoy all the new releases at higher frame rates and resolutions.
Or what about better backwards compatibility? Say hello to the PlayStation Legacy Dock, capable of playing your PS1, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 disc collection on modern hardware.
It didn’t work out for Sega, but maybe the gaming world is ready to give the idea another shot.
Niall Maguire
Don't miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
40 years of fun
In regards to Tim’s letter on Thursday.
I totally get where you are coming from, I have a sister-in-law that bought a Switch 2 just to upgrade her Animal Crossing catalogue and persona. I personally held back off buying a Switch 2 until they released Star Fox.
Nintendo is a weird company to try to figure out. On the one hand you assume they want to make money and on the other, they really don’t care for anyone’s input outside of Japan. Everybody else thinks in straight lines and they just think sideways while dropping road blocks at the same time.
More power to them I say. There is nothing like competition to keep your business healthy, except competition that keeps you guessing and thinking on your feet.
I’ve been a Nintendo fan since the late ‘80s. I’ve had it from the Sega fans, and also Sony fanboys, that I’ve been making the wrong call all along. When, if you look back? All companies gravitated towards Nintendo’s way of thinking.
As fun is worth more than money and lasts a lifetime.
That is exactly where I’ve been at for nearly 40 years.
freeway 77
Inbox also-rans
I was really excited at the idea of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 but I thought EA was not doing it. I really don’t want to buy anything from them ever again, to be quite honest.
Focus
That list of companies that EA has ruined over the decades… just awful. Mind you, I can’t remember the last time I played one of their games. If you don’t care about football they’ve got virtually nothing anymore.
Wishbone
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.