MoKat

Failed: Nobody really wants NFT from Ubisoft [Cheraw Chronicles]

Quote

You can safely call it a failure. Ubisoft thought it could earn more with NFTs from Ghost Recon Breakpoint, among others. But apparently no one is waiting for that.

In addition to DLC, game studios have created something new to earn money from the game. That is, by means of a non-fungible token (NFT). By offering NFT to the game, fans should be induced to buy it. Unfortunately, in practice it does not go smoothly. At least for the NFTs launched from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft launched NFTs but it’s a total failure [geaRX News]

Quote

Ubisoft had announced a few weeks ago, its intention to include NFT in its video games. While the CEO of the firm seemed most optimistic, the public gave him a cold shower, while the studio offered NFTs for sale on the game Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

These NFTs were used above all to buy products and skins in the game, nothing that helps the user to advance in his game, so as to maintain a “free to play” aspect in Ubisoft’s games, l ‘purchase of NFT is not compulsory to have the most complete experience possible. But according to Liz Edwards, who works for the game Apex Legends, Ubisoft reportedly failed to sell more than 15 NFTs, a bitter failure for the French firm.

{Edit: Upper Echelon Gaming did a video about it - The Ubisoft NFTs Have COMPLETELY FAILED }

*waits for major sites/publications to chime in*

First Class Bus "The JET" from Washington, DC to New York City

How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers

Quote

With Roblox Corporation now being valued at more than $45 billion, we ask whether the kids making the vast majority of its content are being taken advantage of?

The answer looks like "yes" to me.

BTW, EuroGamer published an article about this video - Roblox "exploiting" young game developers, new investigation reports

IGN Southeast Asia - Roblox Remains Vague on Alleged Abuse of Young Video Game Developers and Player Base

IGN NA: *crickets*

That's way cool! I played Zaxxon and Raiden a lot, but I'm not familiar with the rest.

I dunno what it was called in Japan, but a local arcade had one called MagMax that was kinda goofy & very challenging (just try to get all the pieces & keep them together- easier said than done). There was a version for the NES, but I never played it; most reviewers say it was a disappointment compared to the arcade.

Found this while looking for something else:

How to Go HIGHER than 999% -- Random Smash Ultimate Facts

Stolen Source Code - Myth of Empires and Ark: Survival Evolved [Upper Echelon Gamers ~12 min.] (Please pardon the SurfShark ad :P)

Quote

Myth of Empires is a rising survival sandbox title that was gaining traction, and players by the day. However... in the competitive world of gaming, things are not always predictable and as the game began to thrive, it was removed from steam by a competitor who claims their source code was stolen.

The source code for Ark Survival Evolved was allegedly stolen and repurposed into what we see now as a new game entirely... and it is also alleged that previous employees of Snail Games made this possible through what can only be described as corporate espionage. Lets dig in.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious that Myth's UI was originally from Ark.

(Video also contains a nice primer for finding stuff on LinkedIn)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Announced For PS4, Switch, And PC [IGN]

Quote

Persona 4 Arena is Ultimax headed to modern consoles. Atlus revealed during The Game Awards that the popular anime fighting game will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC in 2022.

Developed by Arc System Works, Persona 4 Arena Ultimatax is a fighting game spinoff of Persona 4 featuring familiar characters such as Chie, Yukiko and Teddie. It's known for its heavily stylized graphics and fast-paced combat, both of which are typical of Arc System Works.

We praised Persona 4 Arena Ultimax for its accessibility in our original review, writing, "There are plenty of good things to say about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. It looks and plays great, it’s easy to dive into for beginners, and rewarding to learn for veterans. It’s irresistible sense of style speaks for itself, but given how much I love its predecessor, the biggest compliment I can pay it is that it’s 100% the sequel that Persona 4 Arena deserved."

Mostly, though, it's exciting to have Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on console for that excellent remix of "Reach Out To The Truth."

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releases on PS4, Steam, and PC on March 17. While you wait, you can play Persona 4 Golden, which is now available on Steam.

{Edit: trailer ahoy, courtesy of GameSpot!

That reminds me of something I read recently...

Lions and Tigers of the "Pokémon" Series [Level Skip]

Quote

Since we've previously tackled Pokémon's bears, it's only fitting we cover its lions and tigers (oh my) next. After all, there's something about big cats that radiate both majesty and power. Sure, Pokémon has its smaller felines like Meowth and Glameow, but when you're searching for something as strong as it is cool, these jungle animals are hard to ignore.

Usually Fire or Electric, Pokémon's largest cats often complement their agility with a plethora of offensive powers to quickly overwhelm foes. But with several creatures to browse, which predators reign supreme? Here's a glance at the many Pokémon lions and tigers!

* still thinks Incineroar looks cool ^.^ *

More Christmas projects:

Yeah, I'll stick with a green wreath for the 2nd puppy

New Rugrats Is Making New ‘Traditions’

Quote

Then there was a lull until earlier this year, when Klasky Csupo came back with a new Rugrats for a new generation, a computer-animated revival of the same name streaming on Paramount+, Nickelodeon parent company ViacomCBS’s subscription service. In addition to creators Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain, the show is executive-produced by veterans of the original series, Kate Boutilier and Eryk Casemiro, who wrote the immensely popular special episode “All Growed Up” and developed its sequel series, All Grown Up! And the vast majority of the cast from the original series has returned to voice the child characters (the late Christine Cavanaugh being one sad exception), although the adults have been recast and, in some cases, reimagined.

Yeah, the title made me wince; the word "reimagined" did too.

*crosses her fingers & hopes for the best*

On 12/3/2021 at 11:03 AM, TheRedStranger said:

Have you noticed no one reaches out to the actual potential victims of these situations? They politicize it, affirm their confirmation bias like vultures feeding on corpses, then leave the bones of innocent people in the firing line licked clean. 

Yes, and it disgusts me.

On 12/3/2021 at 11:03 AM, TheRedStranger said:

But companies like Twitter, YouTube, Meta, are kind of stuck on the crossfires of our culture wars. And we need to address that if we want to be genuinely debasing of cancel culture.

I agree. Dosen't help that Big Tech tends to fuel the cancel culture flames though.

Christmas present for a friend:

Almost done with these...

Just saw this & wanted to share:

Sonic Forces - What Happened? [~17 min.]

On 11/18/2021 at 10:49 AM, TheRedStranger said:

Part of me would love to see it explode.  But honestly, I am not a fan of witch hunts either.

I kinda feel the same way.

Here's the latest dirt on the Activision saga...

Activision Blizzard CEO's duty to disclose sexual misconduct claims falls into legal 'gray area,' expert says [Yahoo! Finance]

Quote

On Wednesday, a group of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shareholders joined a chorus seeking to oust longtime CEO Bobby Kotick after The Wall Street Journal reported that he knew of sexual harassment and rape claims at the gaming giant but failed to report some of them to the board.

The outcry has raised questions about Kotick's duty to disclose what he knew about sexual misconduct allegations within the video gaming company. Frustrations over the matter have been escalating since August when California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision, alleging that female employees were subjected to sexual harassment and unequal pay.

That was Nov. 17th, btw

Quote

“Generally, the CEO, CFO, anyone at that level, does have a fiduciary responsibility, if something comes to their attention — whether it's embezzlement or sexual harassment, or whatever it might be — to inform the board,” Jeffrey Cramer, senior managing director at Guidepost Solutions, and former federal prosecutor, told Yahoo Finance.

No argument here.

Quote

The Journal reported Monday that Kotick, who's also a board member, knew but failed to tell the rest of the board about the alleged rape of a female employee of Activision’s subsidiary, Sledgehammer Games, by her male supervisor. Internal documents, the Journal's report states, show Kotick held back the extent of what he knew about complaints “of employee misconduct in many parts of the company.”

The rape complaint, which was reportedly settled out of court without alerting the board, adds to federal regulatory investigations into the company's handling of misconduct. 

On Tuesday, Activision's board released a statement in support of Kotick. "The Board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention," the statement read.

I'm not surprised.

Quote

“The board will do a thorough review, and then once the board has more information," Cramer said, "that position might change."

I'll believe it when I see it.

I think I've fixed the issue with Might & Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven, so maybe I'll finally be able to record the game's "Easter Egg". It's an area in the game that was based on the layout of New World Computing's offices, and thanks to a strategically placed Fly scroll, you can reach it from the very beginning of the game.

A better name for this video would be "A brief History of the Electric Vehicle"

"Steer Events"

Works in progress:

This needs a little touch-up work & it will be finished:

Painting of "Salaire" (9" x 12" canvas-board); dunno what I'm gonna do with it yet.

19 Minutes of Elden Ring Gameplay Preview [GameSpot]

And some members of the Souls community share their experiences with the Network Test:

A Magical First Playthrough of ELDEN RING [VaatiVidya ~ 30 min.]

I played Elden Ring for 30 hours... my thoughts [Iron Pineapple - 25 min.]

Elden Ring - Gameplay Impressions & Breakdown of New Mechanics [Fighting Cowboy ~ 30 min.]

Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye - Official “Branding Issues” Clip (2021) Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld

‘Eternals’ review: One of Marvel’s worst movies so far [NY Post]

Quote

The most important difference between the Eternals and X-Men, however, is that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Halle Berry’s Storm are layered, fascinating character studies. Angelina Jolie’s Thena has the personality of a bar of soap and an accent that suggests her semester abroad in London was the best four months of her life.

All the characters are similarly bland. Richard Madden’s Ikaris is hot, can fly and has laser eyes. Gemma Chan’s Sersi is able to change inanimate objects into other inanimate objects, but God forbid she alter her facial expression.

🤣

Wot IGN has to say about it - Sonic 2022 May Be Called Sonic Frontiers

Quote

Sega recently filed new trademarks for a number of its franchises including one for a game called Sonic Frontiers, which may well be the name for Sonic's mysterious 2022 entry.

As reported by Gematsu, the video games publisher filed a number of new trademarks last month, including a move to secure a trademark in both Japanese and English for a new game called Sonic Frontiers - a move that has prompted speculation around its still-unnamed upcoming Sonic project.

While the publisher hasn't stated the purpose of the trademark, it is possible that it could be the name of the new Sonic Team game currently in development by the studio. The game was initially teased back in May during a short trailer that showed Sonic running through a forest-like setting and confirmed a 2022 release date.

Sounds like it's still in devolpment.

Quote

Rumours have centred around the idea that the new Sonic game could take an open world approach, something that the name Frontiers would tally with, although it must be stressed that this amounts to speculation at this point.

So, more like Sonic Adventure (?)

17 hours ago, Mike Arcade said:

I forget what it's called, but there's a mod for M&M8 that allows you to play through 6&7 plus use the same characters all in one save file.

I've heard about that. The mod is OP; imagine starting M&M7 being able to cast Day of Protection & Armageddon

FINAL FANTASY XIV: ENDWALKER Launch Trailer