This Week in Games

I Wanted To Ask "He's Made Of Rubber, How Did That Happen?" So Badly, You Guys

Hi, everyone! I'm back! I had a really nice birthday week. Did I get to build my model kit? Yes! And I screwed up Dyna-Soldier's arm—the tip of the peg snapped off, so the arm can't stick onto the shoulder properly. But it was nice to assemble; I'll figure out some way to fix it. I also got to play Xenoblade 3! I didn't even start Chapter 3 because I keep getting distracted with side missions, but that's how these games work. Most importantly, I have a pleasant surprise for you guys that we'll get to in a bit, so let's get into it!

This is...

What did you guys do last week? I'm gone for a whole week, and I come back to the same two stories! Couldn't you guys have, I dunno, kickstarted a new Custer's Revenge or something like that? Geez. Anyway... in the name of not rehashing the same stuff I said last column (though it would be funny if I just copy-pasted the bit and attached "again" to every sentence), disgraced game developer and once-renowned luminary of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka, has been arrested for the second time in less than a month on claims of insider trading. The first time was concerning the development of Dragon Quest Tact; Naka allegedly purchased about US$20,000 in stocks from studio Aiming ahead of the game's announcement. As many had noticed, this would be fine if knowledge of Dragon Quest Tact was publicly known, but it was still under wraps (hence why this is insider trading).

So as it turns out, this wasn't the only time Naka allegedly committed insider trading; Naka also reportedly purchased several shares in studio ATeam ahead of the announcements that ATeam was working on Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, Square's ill-fated battle royale game based off of the Final Fantasy VII remake that barely lasted a year. And Naka is alleged to have invested way more in this one, with reports that he bought the equivalent of just over US$1 million in shares. The irony of the situation is that ATeam's stocks are now about half of what they were worth in 2021. Even with insider info, you don't always win—again, refer to Eddie Murphy's Trading Places (just watch out for Dan Aykroyd's blackface in that one scene).

Investigations are undoubtedly ongoing. We'll know things have really gone sideways if a black-and-red-haired Yuji Naka rolls around and an adipose scientist hijacks the world's communications to call Obama an idiot.

And another one we reported on last week! The rumblings that the FTC was going to step in to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard finally bore fruit, and courtesy of The Verge we now have evidence of a legal motion to block the purchase. The most significant source of complaints concerning the move comes from Sony; although Microsoft has moved to make a ten-year licensing deal with Sony involving the Call of Duty franchise (a deal which Nintendo apparently accepted), Sony refuses to budge.

Holly Vedova, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition (yeah, I'm surprised that exists too), is quoted in the FTC's legal complaint as saying, "Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals [...].Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets." That, in my opinion, is the long and short of it. While we're a long way from that era in gaming where Call of Duty was the central linchpin of the entire industry, and every November was the big release of the newest game in the series, the franchise still brings in plenty of loyal fans. And as cynical as this sounds, Microsoft extending a deal to anyone means Microsoft holds all the cards—everyone else is just playing their game. And as I mentioned last time: this is just talking about Call of Duty. Imagine what a "timed exclusive" Overwatch release could be like. (Though, do we really want another Overwatch when we still don't know if people are still stealing breast milk over at Blizzard HQ?)

Microsoft is approaching the matter with feigned affability, claiming that should the deal go through, it would "expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers." Which, to my ears, sounds and feels like a ton of smoke being blown up my pants. I can't think of the last time mass consolidation and conglomerates led to better opportunities for people. While the case has yet to be seen in court, I'm hoping the FTC throws the book at Microsoft. The gaming community is best served with fewer monopolies, especially if it takes Bobby Kotick out of the picture.

Here's another blast from the past! Way back in my very first column for This Week in Games, I reported on GameStop laying off a number of their correspondents for Game Informer Magazine and kicking up a new corporate focus on cryptocurrency. It's just barely been half a year, and they're already throwing in the towel. I know, it's hardly surprising: crypto was already on a massive downturn when GameStop decided to go all-in on the venture. The situation hasn't improved for the pictures of monkeys with news like Sam Bankman-Fried's recent arrest.

GameStop's news of moving away from crypto comes hand-in-hand with their latest earnings report, which shows a loss of almost US$95 million in the most recent quarter. Their current CEO has stated that the company will focus on "games, collectibles, and pre-owned items." Which, y'know, they should have in the first place. It's dire times for GameStop, to be sure, but their circus isn't very funny anymore; here's hoping something pulls them out of a nosedive.

Well, the Game Awards were the clown show I always considered them to be. You know things will be good when the show brings in Al Pacino to announce the winner for Best Voice Actor, and he points out that he doesn't actually play video games. Full credit to Cristopher Judge on his win for Best Voice Actor; the man took to the stage, and while everyone joked about how long his speech ran for, it was evident how humbled he was to receive the honor. More than a few times, he sounded on the verge of tears. Also, he was very excited to get a chance to hug Al Pacino. Heart of gold, that one. Good on ya, Judge.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Elden Ring both losing to God of War: Ragnarök for Best Music was a total piss-take, I will say. No way those judges listened to God of War's generic "Modern-Day Hollywood Blockbuster With Overdone Percussions And Staccattos" and thought, "Yeah, this is better than You Will Know Our Names." Elden Ring walking away with "Game of the Year" was definitely merited. It'd be nice if this put an end to those exhausting, xenophobic "Japanese games are too Japanese" arguments.

Of course, the capstone to the whole bloody circus was some random kid in the audience following Miyazaki and his team on stage during their acceptance speech and loitering behind them; he went on to take the mic once they were done to spout an anti-Semitic joke. This is a black mark all around: it's mud in Geoff's eyes because some random kid was within arm's reach of some very visible game developers. He could have done some damage to those people if he had wanted to. Second, he gets to have the reputation of being the clown who lets some kid spout racist dog whistles for the whole Internet to see. The kid was arrested after the fact, which is the least they could do, but it was extremely disheartening to see so many people in the gaming community pick up on the "Bill Clinton" jokes without even thinking about it. Anti-Semitism is seriously on the rise, and even if people don't recognize a dog whistle when they see it (which is sadly the point to them), seeing them spread is hurtful. But hey, I'm an Autistic gamer who gets to sit around while everyone makes jokes at the expense of Autistic people.

What really deserves more attention is the lovely story of "Flute Guy," Pedro Esutache. A Venezuelan musician who boasts an impressive collection of over 600 instruments, Pedro stole people's hearts by playing—of course—Xenoblade Chronicles 3's "The Weight of Life" during the "Game of the Year" montage. (Told you the Game Awards made a mistake!)

Eustache remained humble in the face of the Internet cheering him to memetic status; a long-time participant of the Game Awards' orchestra, Eustache actually apologized to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 fans in an interview with The Verge because—get this—he used the wrong kind of flute for his performance (Eustache used a bass flute when Noah, Mio and the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 OST all use the Japanese Shinobue flute). Eustache also took to Twitter to thank people for their adulations. Geoff Keighly has already confirmed that he will be working with Eustache again in the future; I think Geoff needs to hire a better security detail first.

Smoke and mirrors and one heartwarming Venezuelan maestro aside, we still have...

Hoo boy! Ever since Demon's Souls and Dark Souls became the poster children for FromSoftware, Armored Core was pushed into cold storage. And I can't blame them: Armored Core may have had a dedicated fanbase, but it was nevertheless a small one. I still give the Armored Core crowd massive props: I remember when Tips & Tricks magazine organized a showcase for readers' favorite Armored Core builds (this was during the PS2 era, by the way). Fans nationwide sent memory cards with their save files to show off their mecha-darlings. And it's that kind of attachment that Armored Core's open-endedness encourages: a science-fiction series about massively-customizable mech suits, Armored Core encourages players to tinker and experiment with designing a suit they find most comfortable for their play style. Of course, you can't just tack on the biggest and best weapon onto your mecha: depending on your loadout, your unit's behavior could suffer. Too much armor might make your mech overweight, making it sluggish and a total energy hog. Too much weight on the arms means your aim is compromised. And so on.

As the Souls games dominated FromSoft's time, Armored Core fans patiently but painfully bided their time. Some eyebrows were raised a few months back when Google searches for Armored Core led fans to a blank page on FromSoft's website... and now the truth has been revealed: Armored Core is back with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

This trailer was such a fake-out. From the opening shot of a world immolated in ash and flame to the text urging players to "Feed the fire" and "Let the last cinders burn" (which are insanely Dark Souls references to make), it was easy to believe this would be a science fiction Souls-like. But then the title dropped, and all of us cheered like maniacs.

We don't know too much about Fires of Rubicon. What little we do know has come from an interview Miyazaki had with IGN; in it, he confirms—rather insistently, I might add—that Armored Core VI will not play like a science-fiction Souls game. This will not be "Let's take what we learned from Dark Souls and apply it to Armored Core." This will be an Armored Core game through and through. This leaves some fans with trepidation; one of Miyazaki's first directorial roles at FromSoft was with Armored Core IV, which many fans disliked at the time due to the game's faster, lighter pace. Some fans still resent Miyazaki for "ruining" Armored Core.

Fans can now look forward to Armored Core VI release in 2023. PlayStation 5 and XBox Series releases are announced, which is fair—you can't exactly play Armored Core on a Switch unless you use a Joycon Pro. Why, you ask? Because Armored Core requires a crazier grip than the Monster Hunter claw.

Practice your AC Grip while you can, folks.

Capcom gave us plenty of Mega Man Battle Network goodies to feast upon this past week, mainly focusing on the collection's extra features.

So, first off: there will be online battles and trading for this collection. This goes pretty in-depth, with a variety of rules available depending on the version of the game you're playing. If you're playing Battle Network 4: Red Sun or Blue Moon, for example, you can participate in Version Battles which can affect the power of your version-specific battle chips. The trading goes beyond just exchanging battle chips, too: Battle Network 2 lets players exchange Styles over the Internet (elemental forms Mega Man.EXE can assume that modify his base powers). In contrast, Battle Network 3 allows players to exchange customization programs that directly modify Mega Man.EXE's parameters in a puzzle game-style system.

What has me most excited, though, is the news from Capcom that the Legacy Collection is based on the Japanese versions of the game. So these aren't just emulated versions of the original GameBoy Advance titles: these are ports, with all the implied enhancements.

Now, the big question is whether this means the Boktai content from Battle Network 5/6 will be available. While Battle Network 6's Crossover Battle probably won't be back (that requires connecting the game to Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django through a specific add-on for the GBA), I do have to wonder if Battle Network 5's Sol Cross is patched back into the game. Japanese-exclusive chips will be made available for the Legacy Collection in the US via downloads, but that Sol Cross style—an exclusive Boktai-themed form available for Mega Man.EXE—is the real carrot on the stick for me. Sadly, we won't know until the game comes out. Finally, Capcom will be airing the Mega Man NT Warrior anime on their YouTube channel in early 2023 to support the Legacy Collection! Considering they brought back Andrew Francis to reprise his role as Mega Man.EXE for the game's interactive menus, this is an excellent show of fanservice from Capcom.

Look forward to Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection this August 14th on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. And if you really want to see another Mega Man Legends, support this game. Supporting older Mega Man releases shows more support than angry tweets.

So. Last week! I mentioned taking the week off for my birthday (because I really did need that time off—I haven't had a vacation in six years). I already talked about the fun stuff I got up to. But I didn't mention my involvement with Bandai Namco's preview for One Piece: Odyssey in San Diego! We reported on MinnMax collaborator Ben Hanson's coverage of the event, but I was also there! Full disclosure: I didn't take the week off for the event; I was already planning on giving myself time off for my birthday. It just so happened that Bandai Namco sent us an invite, and the event itself was held on my birthday. Life's funny like that!

I don't want to go over One Piece: Odyssey itself too much; I'm working on a preview for the game that should be up in the next few days. So I want to give you guys a behind-the-scenes view of the event itself! It was my first time covering any game preview event in person, so it was a bit nerve-wracking. For one thing, I don't have a camcorder or capture equipment (hey, I've only been an official Games Journalist™ for six months!). For another, I'm a teetotaler, so while all those fancy One Piece-themed mixed drinks looked really pretty, to my uncultured palate, they taste like nail polish remover (apologies to the talented mixologists working the event—sorry I can't enjoy your hard work).

The event was held upon the Star of India, the world's oldest active sailing ship. We had a phenomenal view of the ship from the hotel; it was across the road from us! So on the afternoon of the 6th, we were guided to the ship like a troop of grade schoolers on a field trip. And they put a lot of effort into decorating the ship! Tons of little relic boxes (relevant to the game) were strewn aboard, and there was a giant wall of wanted posters featuring the Straw Hats. I'm extremely behind on my One Piece lore, so the updated bounties and photos of them took me a moment to get used to; Nami's pin-up styled image was new to me (remember when her old poster showed off her pinwheel tattoo?), and I'm not familiar to Usopp referring to himself as "God Usopp." The Straw Hats went downhill ever since they replaced Sogeking with Usopp, man. Oh, yeah, you could also use the Wanted wall as a photo booth, which was a lot of fun!

Because the Star of India is a maritime museum—paleontology buff that I am, I bugged out a little when I saw they had a Mosasaurus fossil on display—they couldn't decorate the interior too much. But there were still plenty of banners for the game all over, along with a fancy ice sculpture and rows of gaming stations for our demo sessions.

One Piece: Odyssey producer Rei Hirata was flown in from Japan for the event and spoke to us about the game. He explained that it was decided to make One Piece: Odyssey an RPG in honor of the franchise's 25th anniversary and to give tribute to its sense of adventure and exploration properly. We were also shown a video from one of the game's other creative leads that gave us further detail. Because the studio wanted to avoid the pitfalls of JRPGs (combat getting repetitive, mainly), things like the in-fight areas and Dynamic Events in fights were introduced. In practice, they're fun concepts and added tons of variety to the three hours of our gaming sessions. After we were allowed to play the game for a bit (and eat some hors d'oeuvres—I regret to admit that I thought the little mozzarella-and-cherry-tomato skewers were actual cherries with marshmallows), we were treated to an interview with Rei Hirata where he further explained the ideas behind the game. When asked how the game would be kept fresh, Hirata explained that the game has tons of options for keeping up your strength besides just level grinding: Sanji's cooking and Usopp's debuffing Trick Balls are useful tools in fights to help curb the increasing difficulty. Hirata added that he hoped that these features, in addition to the Dramatic Events in battles, become widespread fads in battles.

When asked if he was worried his concepts were "gilding the lily," Hirata confided that the slice of gameplay we experienced doesn't contain all of the features we'll see throughout the game. As for why the game was made as a turn-based RPG, Hirata explained that some players of previous One Piece action games complained about not being able to control the characters and the camera at the same time; RPGs allow you to experience how wildly powerful the Straw Hats are without needing to worry too much about positioning. Newcomers are also being considered as far as the writing: while the game is being written as a side-story whose ramifications for the main One Piece series are a big fat shrug from Oda, there is a Grand Log that covers the major story beats so newcomers can be caught up. Also, the Alabasta and Water 7 arcs are used as significant backdrops for the story, given how big they were for fans.

Of course, because (as Hirata puts it) RPGs are all about keeping people guessing about the story, the game will take liberties regarding the Alabasta and Water 7 arcs. There will be in-game reasons as to why things play out slightly differently.

Finally, Hirata answered the most challenging question of all: "Which is your favorite Straw Hat?". (A local Anime News Network writer asked that one.) The poor man actually sighed as he scrambled for an answer but eventually managed to settle on Usopp for his ability to find creative ways to overcome his lack of strength.

After the interview, we were treated to a catered dinner: mashed potatoes, green beans, steak, a whole freaking turkey leg (because Luffy likes meat, get it?), and some really nice salmon. There were also Sanji and Robin cosplayers wandering around and eating with us. It was a lovely evening all-around, and as we left the Star of India, we were able to see the One Piece Odyssey logo projected onto its sails. Also, merch! Bandai Namco was nice enough to give us hoodies, tote bags, and custom One Piece-styled Wanted posters!

All-in-all, it was an entertaining night. I'm very grateful Bandai Namco extended the opportunity to us to see San Diego and play their game. And best of all, I get to meet other game writers from all over the world! It was particularly fun to meet a Brazilian writer who recognized my Saber Marionette J hoodie. We Latinos have Locomotion in our blood, I tell you!

As I mentioned, I skimped on the details about One Piece Odyssey, but look forward to a proper preview of it in the next few days. We'll keep you posted because it's a ton of fun!

That about does it for us this week. It's great to be back! I'm hoping you guys are having a good winter. My PC bugged out on me this past week (I got stuck in a dreaded Automatic Repair loop). Hopefully, it doesn't happen again because I don't have another PC! Look forward to our preview of One Piece: Odyssey, as well as some other fun stuff I've got cooking for you guys. Sound off in the comments, I missed you guys. Be good to each other; I'll see you in seven!