Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone

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After the turbulent news cycle, we ease into a week with more consistent ups and downs. This week consisted of highs with Pokemon, Capcom, Star Wars, and Minecraft and lows with Stadia and Blizzard. Let us jump into the news!

Pokemon continues to be a powerhouse franchise throughout the world. The appeal for Pokemon is popular from young audiences to adults. The love for Pokemon was present in London this week. On 18 OCT 19, a Pokemon Center opened in London. The Pokemon fandom came out in droves to see the Pokemon Center. Though the store opened at 10 AM, there were those that arrived as early as 4 AM. There are not too many brands, especially in this digital age, that can attract people to wait hours in line to enter the store. The store closing hour was 10 PM, and they had to end the line at 1 PM when they determined it had a 9-hour queue.

We dedicated our last Showstopper on Episode 12 about how Blizzard's ineptitude led to mass outrage. That outrage continues to haunt them as they cancel the Overwatch Launch event that was to take place at the Nintendo New York store. The event was scheduled to take place on 16 OCT 19, but Blizzard, on short notice, canceled the event on 14 OCT 19. This cancellation surprised us because of how long these events take to plan. Blizzard even had scheduled to have the voice actors in the Nintendo New York store. This action means, to us, at least, they feared the outrage from their current choices more than the wasted planning and effort. Did the Blizzard make the right choice, or should they have made a different choice?

Capcom has seen significant success in titles such as Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 2. Monster Hunter World has sold 58 million copies, and Resident Evil 2 has sold 4 million copies. With these recent achievements, they are looking to revive a few of their titles. Which titles would you want to see be brought back?

We have been open about our skepticism and reluctance when it comes to Google Stadia. From the price of games, the data caps, and latency, there is a decent amount of questions that will need to be answered when the service is officially launched. The next that gives us pause is that as of right now, the Stadia controller will not have wireless capability to connect with other devices. A Chromecast device will need to be plugged into a television or computer to utilize the controller. To use the controller with a cellphone, the controller will need to be physically connected via a wire. This lack of a simple feature seems to be an oversight for the fledgling product. It is not the end of the world, but it seems to be one more hurdle for Google Stadia.

There has been a loud outcry about the suspension of "blitzchung." Many people have rallied around "blitzchung" and in solidarity, have repeated his liberate Hong Kong statement. People have even brought similar pro-Hong Kong messages on the official Blizzard Twitch channel. It has been reported that there have been multiple bans due to these posts. However, Blizzard states that it has nothing to do about the pro-Hong Kong posts. The posts are being banned due to them being spammed in the chat. Though it is understandable, it is another PR debacle that Blizzard seems to find themselves in again.

Electronic Art's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order continues to intrigue us here at AM: Game Zone. We discussed the game on Episode 2 and how the trailer didn't win us over yet. However, the developers continue to release information about the game that increases our interest in the game. IGN released a 28 new gameplay features in Jedi: Fallen Order. Features such as accessing any of the planets in any order, diverting blaster fire from Stormtroopers is necessary for large crowds, and Obi-Wan Kenobi will appear in hologram form. These features and the new gameplay trailer brings a fresh appeal for the game. Also, the game will have three different difficulties in the game so you can create the experience you want.

Minecraft is a substantial cultural phenomenon that has let gamers vast and expansive worlds. With 176 million sold copies, Minecraft is a corn...

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In general, we enjoy our games because it allows us to escape from daily issues. We do our best to keep those issues out of our video games, especially politics. However, that is not always ascertainable. There are times when politics and video games intersect in ways we don't expect and can not ignore. The most recent example of this is the Hong Kong Hearthstone player vs. Blizzard.

The marketing for Batwoman has been terrible from the get-go. It came off as manhating and came off as subpar to the other CW shows. Whether it is merely poor marketing or the show quality is lacking, Batwoman has officially made history as the CW's worst Debuted series. Flash, CW's highest debut viewership, launched with 6.83 million viewers and Supergirl, CW's lowest debut viewership before Batwoman, began with 3.06 million viewers. Batwoman claims the title at 1.8 million viewers. Will Batwoman numbers improve over time, or will the CW drow the show?

We have serious doubts here at AM: Game Zone about the technical challenges and date caps the Google Stadia will have to address. However, the marketing and engineering teams continue to confidentially boast that Stadia will be able to tackle these issues. The Stadia team recently talked about how they are going to handle the potential latency issues. Their solution, Negative Latency.

The concept is that cloud computing will be able to predict the player's potential moves and send the correct sequence to the player. What if you, the player, had a different move set in my mind? Well, to our knowledge, the servers will generate multiple different scenarios and send the one the player chooses. The technology sounds like an impressive feat; the Stadia team state that they are still a couple of years from having this perfected. Will Stadia be able to stand on its own till Negative Latency is perfected?

The Google Stadia list of games is limited to mostly big AAA games. However, the list is an excellent collection of games. The following is a shortlist of games: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Destroy All Humans, Doom Eternal, Orcs Must Die 3, Watch Dogs Legion, and Tom Clancy's: The Division 2. If you want to see a complete list, then go to Google Store.

If you've wanted to pick up a first-party Nintendo game, then this might be a perfect time. A few of the games have a fifteen dollar discount applied to them. We'll leave affiliate links for your convenience and a way for you to support the show at no cost to yourself.

Amazon:

The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Super Smash Bros.

Mario Kart 8

Super Mario Maker 2

Yoshi's Crafted World

Nintendo has done an incredible job in moving Switch units throughout the world. The most recent mile marker Nintendo hit was in Europe. Nintendo has sold 10 million units. They were able to move 30% more units in 2019 compared to 2018 and 40% more compared to 2017.

Hearthstone Grandmaster player "blitzchung" made significant waves while streaming on the official Taiwanese Hearthstone stream. After winning the match, "blitzchung" made a bold statement during the stream, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times." Blizzard's action that not only felt harsh, but politically motivated. Their responses were in line with their policies. Blizzard utilizes the 2019 Heathstone Grandmasters Offical Competition Rules v1.4 pg.12, Section 6.1 which states the following:

"Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard's sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard's Website Terms."

Blizzard is within their ...

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The Joker film performed by Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant. We enjoyed this character film, and how it is a movie that makes the viewer question what happened in the movie hours later. Joker is the high for us this week, and companies such as Electronic Arts never disappoints in providing the lows points to cover. Let us talk about what happened this week!

There were questions about if Sony would permanently keep Spiderman away from Disney after initial negotiations fell through. As of the airing of this episode, Disney and Sony have come to agreements, and Spiderman will continue to be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though we have slight skepticism on how Phase 4 will perform, we are excited that Tom Holand will continue to be a favorite web-slinging character in the MCU.

As Jon and I sat in the theater to watch Joker, we watched the trailer for Episode 9 of the Star Wars Saga. What amused us the most is that the trailer highlights all the other good Star Wars movies. It seems that they were attempting to get the viewer nostalgic to encourage them to watch Episode 9. We can't speak for everybody, but the trailer did not have the intended effect on us. The trailer made us excited about watching all the old films again, and not bothering with Episode 9.

Nintendo has released the Switch Lite, and Jon and I have been able to test run the console. It feels great in our hands, and the picture quality is sharp. Although the text is small on the screen. It is official; the Switch Lite has put the Nintendo 3DS to rest. At the price point of $200, it seems like a great console for the family.

Electronic Arts is notorious about not supporting or underdelivering their games to Nintendo Consoles. It seems that the Switch does not match their goals for monetizing their audience. This lack of support is apparent with every game they put in a sub-par effort in releasing to the Switch. The current example of this is FIFA Legacy 20.

In this age, data breaches seem to be inevitable in these digital times. However, their destructive effects should not be understated. EA's data breach connected with FIFA 20 is a significant misstep for the corporation. Instead of players successfully signing up for the FIFA 20 competitive circuit, they instead were given other player's information. The corporation is under constant scrutiny due to their unscrupulous microtransaction practices in the games they publish. EA can not afford to be known as the company that also has data breaches.

The German Amazon website leaked the future Fallout collection. The collection includes Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition, and Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. This excellent collection worth hours of play will be sold at €40, which is roughly $43. Disappointingly, this Fallout Legacy Collection will only be sold in Germany and the United Kingdom. We are not sure if this a test run that will eventually come to the States, or it will only stay in Europe. Only time will tell.

Streaming services are being positioned to be the primary way gamers engage with their games. Services such as Google Stadia are hoping to capitalize on this developing trend. However, Sony appears to be positioned their services to compete with Stadia. They have reduced the price of the service by $10, making it $10 per month. Sony has an excellent chance of undercutting Google Stadia due to the extensive catalog of games Sony has.

Joker is an exceptional film that people should go and see. However, if you haven't seen the movie and want to stay spoiler-free, then go from 1:45:10 to 2:19:48. It is a film that is begging to be rewatched. There were incredible insights into mental illness and how extreme social isolation effects people.

One of the things we couldn't believe is how people were trying to insinuate this movie would incite violence. People rage that the film shouldn't have been created because of being "insensitive." This film, to us, is the definition of art. If this type of art is not allowed to be created, then how can we explore these topics. What are your thoughts on the Joker film?

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Who knew that the fantasy dangers in Fallout 76 would be brought to the real world! GameStop has recalled the Power Armor Collectible Helmet - Nuka Cola edition due to health hazards. This story and more are part of our news lineup. Let us get into what is happening in the geek and video game world.

Marvel's Kevin Feige is rumored to produce his own Star Wars project. It seems that he will be part of the new wave of projects to be set in the Disney Star Wars Universe. Feige has met with Kathleen Kennedy and studio co-chairman Alan Horn and Alan Bergman. Feige has also declared that he wants Bree Larson to star in the next Star Wars project where he is the producer.

Wakeen Phoenix's Joker is just around the corner, and the internet never disappoints in drumming up controversies. Different groups are declaring that the movie will be a rallying cry for different groups to enact violence. Jon and I find the claims ridiculous. This movie is a piece of art and should be allowed to explore important topics. The topics of mental health and how we treat other people are topics that have profound relevance in our society. What pushes a man to the breaking point? What could we do for our neighbors to prevent what happens to Wakeen Phoenix's Joker? These and other questions we should be able to explore in films.

On Masked Singer, the ice cream mask is revealed as Ninja! He performed Old Town Road as he rode out on a lawn mover. An impressive performance from the career video game streamer! It amused us that he was introduced as a prominent Twitch streamer. Either this show's recording was before his transition to Mixer, or they improperly said where he currently hosts his channel. It is nothing major but enough to make us chuckle.

Mario Kart Tour has released on mobile devices. It is a time for celebration! Or is it? The game is fun and entertaining, but the microtransactions are steep. The 200cc, the game's fastest mode, will cost the player five dollars a month subscription. The subscription also includes gold gifts by racing in tours and badges from challenges. Mario's name is in the game, so he is one of the main playable characters, right? Wrong! He is behind a paywall. There are two ways the player can acquire Mario. The mobile game has a 20 dollar Mario pack. The pack includes Mario, Mario's kart, and other specialty items. The other method to acquire Mario and other characters is through their premium currency. Their top rupees option at 135 rupees will cost the player 70 dollars. The player then pays with the rupees to utilize the "Warp Pipe" to fire off characters, karts, and other items. One fire cost five rupees, and ten fires cost forty-five rupees. Will this monetization model be able to compete with the other options on the market? Only time will tell.

The next Call of Duty is just around the corner, and it appears that some familiar faces will be greeting us again. This Modern Warfare will be a soft reboot of the 2007 release. The 2019 CoD: Modern Warfare will bring back well-known characters and voices back in the game, but the story will be updated to reflect the times. Every CoD has a core focus on multiplayer, and it looks like the game is here to impress. The developers have put in a new "Realism" mode that removes the HUD. In the match, the player can breach doors for ambushes and utilize night vision goggles on nighttime maps. Two new modes will be coming to this title. A 2v2 mode called Gunfight and Groud Wars, which sets large teams against each other. The developers went out of their way to emphasize that Ground Wars isn't a battle royale and that they had no plans to implement such a mode into the game. As of right now, PlayStation has a year-long exclusive on the Special Ops: Survival Mode.

Apple Arcade made a splash in the mobile market by providing premium quality games for five dollars a month. To our surprise, Google is joining in this mobile model. Google is releasing Google Play Pass. The service will be 5 dollars a month, and it will include a wide selection of games. Part of the game collection includes Stardew Valley, Limbo, Old Man's journey, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. If you are interested in trying this service, then their free trial might be a great deal. They offer a 10 Day Free Trial. Then after the trial, the first year is charged at 2 dollars a month.

Lihn "Seiko" Nguyen competed in the Grandmasters League match, but he decided to play this game a bit differently. Instead of giving the game his all and demonstrating is real prowess at the game, he tried to play Hearthstone a...

The game awards are here, and the year is almost most over! What are the categories this year, and is your game listed? Let's dive in and discuss.

We are a few episodes in the series, and we are excited were Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau continue to take the series. The relationship between the Mandalorian the child is a compelling story full a mystery and intrigue. We can't wait for the coming episodes.

Kathleen Kennedy, the president at Lucasfilm, will have her contract end in 2021. Now, before some become excited, this does not mean that she won't resume her role at Lucasfilm. However, Disney has not come out public state the Kathleen Kennedy will continue her position, and Kathleen has been vague about what the future holds for her. We hope that people like Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau with maybe a little Kevin Feige threw in there will hopefully be the next leaders for Lucasfilm.

The PS5 has been announced, and the console race between PlayStation and Xbox has begone. The big question is, what games and services will the PS5 be able to offer over the Xbox. It is shaping up to be a fantastic struggle for the consumer.

Google Stadia is here, and, to the surprise of none, the service is laggy, limited, and underwhelming. We have voiced heavy skepticism and cation when it comes to this service. Especially when there are better services such as xCloud around the corner. Even Amazon is looking to enter the video game streaming space. It will be a competitive market that will allow little room for error. It is our feeling that Stadia has made to many mistakes to correct the course promptly.

The Game Awards are here, and we are excited to list the categories here in the show notes! These are the following categories for the 2019 Game Awards: Game of the Year, Action Game, Action/Adventure Game, Art Direction, Audio Design, Community Support, Content Creator of the Year, Esports Coach, Esports Event, Esports Game of the Year, Esports Host, Esports Player, Esports Team, Family Game, Fighting Game, Fresh Indie Game, Game Direction, Game for Impact, Independent Game, Mobile Game, Multiplayer Game, Narrative, Ongoing Game, Performance, Role-Playing Game, Score & Music, Sports/Racing Game, Strategy Game, and VR/AR Game.

If you are interested in voting, then go to the Game Awards website! Let us know in the comments the games you think will win, and what you hope will win.

If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at:

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