A month ago, the gaming community was concerned about a lot of serious problems. Gamers flew into the forums and discussed various topics until they got hoarse in their throats. But what is it that worries us so much? In this compilation we remember all the recent scandals and nostalgic about the life we lost!
Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard. Monopolists or not?
On January 18, Microsoft announced it was buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Since the company previously managed to acquire Bethesda, Obsidian and many other companies, gamers began to seriously think about whether Microsoft would become a monopoly?
Someone was worried that Phil Spencer (Phil Spencer) would slowly squeeze the entire gaming industry under him, and then throw out some nasty stuff. On the other hand, another part of the community was happy that Microsoft was breathing new life into forgotten Activision Blizzard titles, starting development Warcraft 4 and make the new Diablo a masterpiece. The skirmish between the camps was serious.
We also analyzed the deal, wondered what the ramifications were, and wondered if the anti-monopoly agency would impose a ban. It was a great time because today gamers from Russia hardly worry about the affairs of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
Are you excited about the deal with Microsoft and Activision Blizzard?
Xbox Series X/S vs PlayStation 5. Who will win?
Buying Activision Blizzard has forced gamers to unleash yet another console sting operation. The community started arguing again about which is cooler: Xbox Series X/S or PlayStation 5.
Will they come true? diablo 4, Overwatch 2 and new Call of Duty on Sony console? Will the Japanese company respond by buying Capcom or Konami? Will it get its own Game Pass? In response to these questions, Xbox owners smiled indulgently, looking toward a huge number of studios purchased and an ever-expanding subscription.
Today, such disputes are of little importance. Sony and Microsoft have suspended supplies of equipment to Russia, closed digital stores and abandoned gamers who have not hurt anyone.
Stores sell vidyuhi resellers. How to be?
In January, NVIDIA announced the RTX 3050 graphics card with a suggested retail price of 25,000 rubles. As planned, it was supposed to solve gamers’ problems, but everything turned out to be much more complicated. Stores began to sell it at a high price, and the number of lots was catastrophically low. At the same time, it was rumored that most vidyuhi were outbid even before they went on sale. There was a serious scandal.
Some lucky ones were lucky enough to grab an RTX 3050 for 40 thousand rubles. At the same time, the price seemed to someone too high, because the price for vidyuhi gradually fell. Unfortunately, we all know what happened next. You can still find the RTX 3050 for sale, but you’ll have to pay about 80,000 for it.
NFT and STALKER 2. How dare they?
Remember the glory days when gamers who had heard about NFT rolled up their sleeves and started destroying companies. That’s how it was with STALKER 2, whose authors offered to buy the rights to NPCs, weapons and much more. But the fans caused such a scandal that GSC Game World had to hurriedly switch shoes.
“Dear stalkers, we hear you. We have made the decision to cancel everything related to NFT in STALKER 2. The interests of fans and players are the most important to our team. We’re working on a game that should bring you fun – no matter the price. What’s important to you is important to us.”
How petty does this situation seem now. Development of STALKER 2 has been officially suspended, all GSC Game World projects have been withdrawn from sale in Russia, and gamers can only dream of the times when arguing over NFT was relevant.
Is Horizon Forbidden West Mass Effect 2?
On February 14, the embargo on reviews was lifted Horizon Forbidden West. Gamers went to read the opinions on the sequel and found that most journalists compared the novelty to Mass Effect 2. As, the hub resembles Normandy, the plot is in many ways similar to the one in BioWare’s creation, and the final quest is clearly inspired by the “suicide mission”.
What is the reason for such comparisons? Did Sony send journalists a manual telling them point by point how and about what to write about? Did they deliver a briefcase of notes along with the training manual? Gamers have been discussing this topic for a long time and comparisons of every game to Mass Effect 2 have become a meme. To bring back those glorious days…
Incidentally, we never mentioned Mass Effect 2 in the Horizon Forbidden West review. If you want to read our thoughts on the game, click here.
Aloy’s appearance. Pies or sausages in the dough?
After the release of Horizon Forbidden West, gamers again started discussing Aloy’s appearance. While some believed that the heroine had not gained enough weight, others thought her appearance was beautiful. As a result, Wangs divided the community into two camps.
Fans have argued about it in YouTube comments, Twitter, forums and even in our review. Unfortunately, this topic is of no interest to anyone. Given the rise in prices, no one will have cheeks anymore.
Patch for Cyberpunk 2077. Did CD Projekt RED fix the game?
On February 15, CD Projekt RED released a next-gen version Cyberpunk 2077. A big patch was supposed to make the game more beautiful, save gamers from bugs, increase opponent’s IQ and much more. But what actually happened? Unfortunately, the result is not unambiguous.
Cyberpunk 2077 really started to break and crash less often, and ray tracing added charm to Night City, but the difference can’t be called cardinal. Many were upset that the developers had been working on the patch for over a year but have not made any real breakthroughs.
Gamers just got a version that can be called reasonable. Many were counting on new content, but with the patch they only added a lot of little things, like the ability to chat with Grandma Judy and admire intimate photos of Panama.
Now CD Projekt RED is discussed without going into the features of Cyberpunk 2077. The developers were among the first to ban gamers from Russia from buying their games. It’s a shame, given the way our community has supported the company during difficult times. What the fans of Geralt and Johnny Silverhand were guilty of, no one has explained.
Optimization. Why did the developers give up on her?
In February, many good games came out, but almost all of them were poorly optimized. For instance, Elden Ring did not impress with its manufacturability, but the FPS on any video card did not exceed 60. At the same time, the number of frames per second dropped at tense moments, when the dragon poured fire on the swamps.
Total War: Warhammer 3 also didn’t work properly, presumably because of Denuvo. IN Dying Light 2 also added protection, making it inconvenient to put on a medium iron.
These days these issues seem ridiculous as you can’t buy these hits on console and on Steam the titles have either been pulled from sale or have gone up in price. If the previous Elden Ring cost 2500 rubles, now you have to pay 4,000 for it, while Warhammer 3 can not be bought at all.
Battlefield 2042. When will it be playable?
When letting go, only the lazy didn’t kick However, Battlefield 2042 still hoped DICE would come to their senses and fix the game. Unfortunately, instead of patches and new content, the developers told fairy tales and mentioned more and more new dates. Soon the game will be six months old, and the authors couldn’t even add the promised results table.
Now the situation around Battlefield 2042 doesn’t seem so exciting. EA has exited the Russian market and will not be able to purchase a multiplayer shooter. Gamers who already own the game are also puzzled by bigger questions.
Prices from Square Enix. Why so expensive?
When Square Enix Revealed Gate Prices Final Fantasy 7 and beyond Admittedly, gamers were shocked. 5719 rubles for a game for PC is expensive to say the least. Not surprisingly, the price tag caused a scandal. But who would have thought that this is just the beginning.
All publishers have recently increased prices. For example costs Football Manager 2022 has increased from 2699 to 6999 rubles. The cost of Forpoken will soon also rise – you will have to pay 7,499 rubles for it. Is anyone buying new items at this price? Difficult question.
A month ago we argued about all sorts of things: we couldn’t agree on an opinion, defended a point of view and juggle arguments. Now those days are remembered with nostalgia. How happy we were…
Were there good times?
Source: VG Times
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.