The Weekly Download

Massive layoffs are set to hit Xbox as Ubisoft closes studios and reduces global headcount

• Season 1 • Episode 33

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The Weekly Download by Big Games Machine is your essential weekly speedrun through the biggest stories in the global video games industry. 

This week's story:

Hosted by industry experts, Tom and Alex, we break down the most intriguing, complex, and vital developments of the week to keep you informed.

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Links to today’s talking points:

SPEAKER_02

It makes no sense to me from a business perspective to be pushing the exclusivity line again. Welcome to the weekly download, the definitive weekly podcast on the video game industry. Oh, hello, hello. Welcome back to the weekly download brought to you by Big Games Machine. A few caretaking things, first of all. Apologies for the lack of episode last week. We we had a really good episode planned. We we recorded and but we ran into some unfortunate technical difficulties, which meant we had to uh unfortunately cancel last week's episode.

SPEAKER_01

So if you feel if you feel like you missed out on uh for older than the average gamer men opining about their time and destiny, then uh then just drop us uh just drop us a a comment and and we'll we'll we'll respond. I'll give you all the files. I'll give you all the files.

SPEAKER_02

But no, we're we're back. I Alex and I were just saying to each other, it's been a few weeks since we have have done an episode together. We had Yaz, obviously, is come in and and done a few episodes and and we've swapped roles and and other such things, but we're back. The uh the the gruesome toosome, back to to delight your your ears and your eyes with all the latest news in the world of video games. Unfortunately, quite a negative set of stories today. Yeah. We we'll be looking at Nintendo in Japan, Twitch 2 sales. We'll also be looking at the news that's come out as of the last day, really, that Xbox is looking at conducting another big round of layoffs. And I'd say, I know we've spoken about how positive uh Asher Sharma's reign, I guess would be the word, has been so far. But this is definitely going to be a big test, I think, for public reception to this slightly changed and new version of Xbox. I know, I know you have thoughts, let's hold them until we get there. And then finally, we'll also be looking at Ubisoft, who always tend to be in the news and not for great reasons. Again, this week we're looking at more layoffs and studio closures at Ubisoft. So that's kind of the headlines. We'll we'll break away and we'll come back in a moment and we'll start with this news about Nintendo Switch 2 sales in Japan. And our first story of this week's episode is the news that Nintendo Switch 2s are struggling to sell in Japan. But there's there's a lot of context to this. I think let's look at the context. So Nintendo raised the price of the Switch 2 in Japan from at the end of May on the 25th from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen. So kind of doing the quick maths, we're looking at like 20% ish, quite, yeah, quite a significant rise. Now, before because Nintendo announced that this price increase was coming, this triggered a really huge wave of purchases. So we were looking at during May 200,000 units a week because of people surging to get out and buy the the Switch 2 ahead of this deadline. We've then, in the aftermath of that, seen an 87% crash in sales the the following week down to around 31,000 units. The original Switch, which also had a price increase at the same time, saw just 229 units in that same time. So the I think the headline here, Alex, is Nintendo Switch 2 sales Crater by 87%. But there's a much bigger story here that with context, things aren't that drastic either.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, no, there's a lot going on there that doesn't seem quite right. I mean, firstly, you saw it's a one-month change. I mean, we've got a you know, it it's only just kind of come in. Uh and before that, they saw a spike of what's that, about 10, 20, 20% on sales. So minus that from the conclusion. But you've also got to think like, okay, one, we're moving into summer, people play less games then. So, you know, the people that wanted one, went out to buy one, you know, that intent was obviously driven by the fact that things were going, and then people who cost living, difficult everywhere, including Japan. Uh probably like, okay, well, we can wait until you know a sale, we want it, or a bundle, or something like that. So all of that's going to impact it. But I think also and something that this is the Japanese language, this is the region-locked version of the system. This was the underpriced version, and the the international one kind of remains the same, which is still more expensive than that. So Japan had always been getting this incredibly cheaply. I mean, from my time in Japan when I lived there, I would have mentally converted that to around £250. The price it is currently, which is obviously, you know, a good chunk less. And they're still getting a big discount by having that region, making the choice to be region locked and language locked for the Japanese market, which is, you know, I was gonna say not to reward Japan, but it would be uh an even more expensive system in Japan. Uh wages and things haven't increased as much in the last 20 years from my recent visit. Um so you know, and we've seen we've seen Sony do the same thing, haven't we?

SPEAKER_02

Uh with these different models to to shelter, I guess, the domestic base from international issues, which is entirely fair.

SPEAKER_01

I I I I think Did we did we talk about this when they announced it? Because I I feel like I told the story recently, because this happened when they did it with cigarettes as well. They introduced a new cigarette tax, they put taxes up, I think, from 5% to 1%.

SPEAKER_02

I think I remember you have told this story.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but but uh give us a little of the. Oh, we've cured smoking. We've cured smoking, because the month after they put the tax up No one bought any cigarettes were cratered, but only for like one or two months till the store people had bought the five percent off had run out, and then the same people went back to smoking. And often worse, because when you smokers when they've got a massive not to generalize, but a lot of smokers will smoke more when they have more. So, you know, it actually was the the reverse of solving the problem.

SPEAKER_02

We'll we'll see. We were looking at like 50,000 units a week before the announcement. We'll see if the if there's an impact to this price increase in the next few weeks, won't we?

SPEAKER_01

Or I think even going further in the next few months because uh it went up, it went up 300% before the I misread the the notes here. It went up 300% in the weeks before. Yeah, it might very much recover until August at least, and then they'd still still gonna be up. Like the idea that they were gonna maintain those sales was ridiculous.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it it it it's Nintendo not on purpose, but it's essentially Nintendo making an announcement created a bit of FOMO for people who were in the position where they looked and they thought, I haven't bought one up until this point because nothing has pushed me to do it, but I know I'll get one eventually. I can do it now, I might as well do it now. And then after that, yeah, we're now seeing the sales will have dropped so much because now you're very much in the territory of the price has gone up, the price is going to be like that for a while. People will only buy the system if they want it immediately. So I to me, what will be really interesting is seeing when these changes come to the West, which is in September, we'll see the prices rise in September. I wonder if we will see something similar in August where we see the sales spike massively because people are still in a position where they're like, oh, I don't know if I do want one yet, but if I'm gonna get one, I know I will eventually, and I can, I'll do it now.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm absolutely certain that something you'll want to discuss at the end of the show will impact that the decision that you're gonna want one eventually. Maybe. But I would also Yes, absolutely. This is the first console generation where you're incentivized to buy it early because it's gonna go up in price, like across the board. Like I never thought I'd feel smug for buying a launch PlayStation 5 because I got a deal. Like, that's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_02

Well, yeah, that's all I feel like that about the pro. And the pro was so expensive. I mean, I managed to get it a little bit cheaper, and I and I offset the cost by selling my original PS5, but I thought, like you said, Alex, in the past, early adoption has you've paid a tax essentially to adopt early because you get, you know, you get to kind of buy into the excitement, the hype of a new system. I've always felt quite comfortable paying a bit more because I very much want to be in the having those conversations and in enjoying it. And and now it is kind of the smart move. I I think the last thing I want to touch on on this is I think we're seeing the same thing with the Switch 2 as we are with the Switch. We saw a big drive in sales, then they cratered massively. I do wonder if the increase to the Switch in Japan and eventually in the West, I wonder at what point that leaves the cost of uh the price of being an affordable system, which is potentially a a a concern, although this is we're nine years into the life of it now, so I don't think it's the biggest concern. But I I wonder if it'll be harder to frame on the source as a budget device.

SPEAKER_01

I I didn't see the numbers on the pro oh no, there are some here. Um so yeah, that's the original, and also that's good they're gonna be the O L E D switch. Um and I say that because the handheld switches when I was out there were 20,000 yen, so you know, 10,000 or so cheaper than the switch light. Yes, the switch light, sorry, yeah, yeah. Uh and those were like 200 yen for or 2,000, 20,000 yen for limited edition one, so cheaper than this. And so I just wonder if it's like, okay, it's going up in price, how many people are really gonna buy it? Like it's a good thing. I think people want to think the affordable system will continue to buy the the light.

SPEAKER_02

Well, yeah, and and and let's be realistic when you look at the wider context around the price of other consoles, the Switch is still the cheapest. The Switch 2 is still the cheapest, and even better with the Japan only unit, which is even more of a discount than you'd be paying anyway. So I'm not I'm not worried. I don't think Nintendo is all of a sudden going to struggle to sell Switch 2s, especially with some of the announcements they've made this week. Uh but definitely I I think an interesting case study into the you know, that unintentional FOMO from Nintendo that I spoke about, where they, in a very consumer-friendly move, made that announcement and then must have been looking back and being like, whoa, we should just do this every time. Look how many units we're selling.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's not unintentional, isn't it? I think to the I mean, but you're not gonna miss out, you're just gonna pay more. I mean, that's almost everything over time, isn't it? Like FOMO on the food shop.

SPEAKER_02

Get your bread now, get your bread now. But no, I I think Nintendo will be okay. Um, I think obviously the the reporting on this is factually correct, but there's a bigger story here around that price increase, which is is causing this. Now I do think we'll see the same thing in the West and in September, and then that will recover by the time you get to November and December.

SPEAKER_01

Because it's yeah, I was gonna say, like, it'll be in you'll you'll see a big dip from September, October, but the moment Black Friday hits, people will be buying those gifts again anyway, right? Like people that want to switch. Hopefully, all the parents out there that are like, my my children want a switch, are aware of this change because there'll be people who are less tapped into the industry who could get nastily stun by this increase that they're not anticipating, which is gonna feel I'd feel really bad if somebody's like, Yeah, no, no, I'm budgeting for it, I'm gonna buy it, mmm, and then they get stunned by the state.

SPEAKER_02

But then I think we have to give Nintendo credit that Nintendo have been very up for, especially in the West, you know, you've got months to but you but you've got to know they're giving them plenty of notice.

SPEAKER_01

There are a lot of parents that won't know, and if it they're buying it for a five-year-old that also isn't keeping abreast of the current financial trends and markets, they might not mention it to their parents either.

SPEAKER_02

Little Timmy, have you heard of the surge in AI GPUs? Right. Hear me out.

SPEAKER_01

It's gonna impact my Christmas brother, Santa. No, it's gonna impact my Christmas present. Like it's a dark.

SPEAKER_02

You've got a GPU for Christmas, little guy.

SPEAKER_01

It's all we can afford. Um that's you know, like you say, very pro very good of Nintendo to give that warning. It allows people to make those purchases, make those changes if they want to, but I do feel bad. I always have this kind of like pain in my heart when somebody's trying to do the best for their kids and then get stung by something unrelated and they're unable to deliver it. And an increase like that could make a huge difference.

SPEAKER_02

And we are back with our second story of the day, and we are talking about Xbox again. I think we've spoken very positively about Xbox in the last couple of weeks. We're not necessarily talking about them negatively, but we've got news to discuss, which is that Xbox is reportedly planning major layoffs that will likely take place just after the end of its uh fiscal year, which is June 30th. New Xbox CEO Ash Hashama sent a memo around internally that stated that Xbox is sitting on a quote, razor thin 3% profit margin, having spent $20 billion over the last five years, not included in Activision Blizzard acquisition, while annual revenue in that time declined by half a billion. I don't think you need to be a a top CEO or financier to know that having spent that much money and to be making a lot less money from it isn't ideal. I think what really stands out to me about this is that it's it's a real contrast between the public Xbox we've seen in the last week, where we've had, you know, the the big summer showcase, the the return, although it's very vague, the return of exclusivity, which is something that Xbox players and fans have been calling out for. And then the flip side of this is the internal realities which we're now seeing being reported, which is that things don't look great for Xbox on on the back end. You know, they are continuing to have issues that we've seen them have over the past few years. And one of the big things is that reportedly the marketing budgets are are going to be getting slashed massively, which I mean if you're not going outside.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean if you're not going outside of the Xbox, if you're focusing down on Xbox and you're not needing to advertise to other spots and everybody and you're trying to move everybody everybody over onto Live? What's it called? No, it's not live, is it? What's Game Pass? Move everybody over into Game Pass. Why marketing? It's gonna be that you can download it for free, right? It becomes Xbox marketing it all as a single entity, and like you that leaves you with, you know, possibly the flagship things to get people into the ecosystem, but then you can promote everything internally within that, which could be a great way to save on, like say, the marketing budget, but it's still a weird place to be. It's gonna feel strange.

SPEAKER_02

I really struggle, and I I know we've spoken about this internally at work, you know, when we're chatting, we've spoken about it with other you know members of of of the BGM team. To me, I really struggled to see this kind of news coming out and reason that with the exclusivity thing. It it makes no sense to me from a business perspective to be pushing the exclusivity line again when they're clearly struggling with revenue. I I don't see how cutting I I don't see how moving away from Yeah, if moving away from 150 million players on Switch or console, so I don't know how many players, but you know, 20 million on Switch 2, 100 million on on PlayStation 5. Obviously they'll keep releasing on PC, but to me, you're cutting off the majority of players games.

SPEAKER_01

It's a longer game than that, and I'm sure things will still come to PC. Like, you know, the Yeah, I think PC is not in doubt, I don't think. And it'll probably not be on Steam, it'll be on the Game Pass on PC. So you're cutting off, as you say, you're cutting off a huge portion. And I wouldn't be surprised if some of those games still came to Switch. It's not the same, like we were saying before, like there are pick there are very few people who just own a Switch. Most people own one or the other. But the moment you go completely exclusive, then you're you're just why would you ever? And Sony withdrew exclusivity, I think, on the last podcast I I presented, I think that came around. So it's like, okay, well, if we're not all playing ball, then like let's pull the plug on this. Because if you're you're just selling Xbox downriver, it becomes purely a digital platform at that point, you might as well not bother putting the investment into new machines. And I don't think that that's nor is that.

SPEAKER_02

But that's not where they're not where a lot of their audience is at the moment. No, of course, but I I I just struggle to to reason with some of these decisions because I just don't I think yeah, PC's not in doubt. I I think there's no way for them to really I imagine it'll still be on Steam as well, because if Project Helix is by all accounts a PC, essentially, there's no way you can really gate people from playing the games however they want to access them. And I I I think I think putting games on PC but not having them on Steam, that feels like a really silly move. So I don't think it's a good idea.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'd say except that's that they're already 30%, you know, that they're take Steam takes its cut. They they probably negotiate a different rate with Steam in in that case. Because I think it's not a good thing. Because they can compete directly, can't they? Yeah. Like why why would you give up that kind of level of Yeah. That amount of your profit if you're already worried about the theory.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, 100%. Oh yeah, this is what I mean though. I that it it it seems odd to me. I I mean something else that Ashasharm has said is that you know, she's admitted that Xbox in the past has overextended itself trying to chase game pass subscriptions, cloud streaming, hardware subsidies. You know, they're well aware of the fact that they've made mistakes. I still there's something else that I've seen from her at the Bloomberg conference over the weekend where she was pressed on Activision Blizzard, and and she wouldn't take a stance on whether that was a good deal or not after a few years. And I and I think that's something that hangs over Xbox as well. I think they've got this $75 billion acquisition, and I think they're still struggling to figure out Well, they are, but then they've got they've still got to climb out of that hole, haven't they, that was invested into them. And I I I really I want Xbox to do well. I I do. I just worry when we see Xbox has had major layoffs for the last three years. It looks like it's happening again this year. There's also rumors going around that studios, more studios might close and that Xbox's like Xbox Games studios will have a slightly different lineup. So what will that look like? I know we've spoken about uh like uh the Psychonauts developer Superfine, no super fine. Double fine. Double fine. Double fine, that's it. I'm just combining different developers there. Um but we we've spoken about double fine before, and and I look at this situation and I think, well, if we're trying to figure out how to make you know, how to make more back on our investments, where does a studio like Doublefind sit compared to some of the the bigger ones? And I think I know we've I've said this exact thing to you on this podcast, DoubleFind is a great studio to have if you're all in on Game Pass and it's about creating a catalogue of great great games, fun games, quirky games. But if that's less of the case and it's more about are we making sure that everything we invest in is obviously ultimately that's what it's about making money, where do some of these more smaller niche studios sit?

SPEAKER_01

And I think if these rumors about some studios closing are true, I I sadly think something like Double Fine is I mean is potentially the thing you've got to hope is because I know they were but I they were very good reports when they closed a number of studios, including Toy for Bob and Tango Gameworks. As long as then as long as they're allowing them some autonomy, and I think they did a th I my recollection holds when they did Toys for Bob, they basically were allowed them to be sold, but then were allowed like write a first refusal on the next project or something. So they kind of gave them independence, they gave them autonomy, they didn't dissolve the studio and take the name and take the IP. It was like, okay, you're you're allowed to make that, and then if we don't want it, then go with go out and do what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you've got you've got to hope that if if that if those rumours are true, and I'm not for the record, I'm not say it's not double fines. It's just a name that I'm throwing in there, but you Yeah, you you have to hope Well, we were speaking about this yesterday, weren't we? It's commercial success versus critical success. You can make a great game and you still lose out because of And I think that's just the industry's brutal like that. But I I hope if there's obviously going to be a lot of job losses here, which is terrible. I hope that if we do see any studios potentially coming under fire, that it's not going to end up in a a PlayStation situation where Sony acquired all these studios and closed them all down, and then all these people are left who were independent for years beforehand, got bought up bought up and and all of a sudden they're they're in trouble because of the the whims of of the the industry and whatever direction it goes in.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, I I think I imagine, like we said, these these layoffs are reportedly going to be taking place at the at the end of June into the start of July. So I think we'll definitely be talking about this again when when it comes around and we see what the reality is. But definitely a big test for this new Xbox. You know, that we've spoken so positively since March about how much they're listening to player feedback and how things seem to be turning a bit of a corner. But we know from the work that we do this will be a rough storm to ride out, and and as much goodwill as has been generated in the last few weeks, and and i it it might not be.

SPEAKER_01

I think this will game impact and going back to those poor parents who don't know what's going on with Nintendo and are going to get charged more at Christmas. Like this this won't affect a lot of people that are just interested in games, but those that watch the industry will definitely impact and and everyone will be impacted down the line when less creative games kind of are produced by by Xbox or on Xbox. Uh because you know, I'm sure that the studios and the talent I'm sure that a lot of the studios and the talent will go out and continue to create somewhere. But it it will be a strange thing. And and you know, I am sure in what is already a very stressful environment for a lot of people in terms of you know money and finances, as we keep harping on about today, it feels like, having this sort of Damocles hanging over them, not knowing if they're gonna have a job at the end of the month is going to be a a huge stress on top of, you know, if they are the ones that are put out there. So I hope whatever happens, their their packages are good and and they find something else quickly.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, well welcome, welcome back to our third story of the day. We're we're kind of continuing straight from where we left off, really, by looking at the the news that Ubisoft has already conducted what it earlier in the year it said was its big final round of restructuring and and layoffs. We've we've now had the news that both it's Winnipeg and Belgrade studios that were mainly support studios, they will both be closing down alongside restructuring of roles in in the Barcelona studios and layoffs estimated to be 50 to 100 employees at its studio in San Francisco, which of note was the team behind X-Defiant. More on that later. In total, we're looking at just under 400 roles potentially at risk. I mean, Alex, I don't know where to start on this. I just think Ubisoft is really Ubisoft is supposed to be making games. We should be talking about the games they're making, but they're really not able to break away from the public perception now, which seems to be layoffs, studio closures. To me, it's very hard not to view Ubisoft as a brand in not necessarily a negative light, but there's always negativity surrounding it. And most of that isn't really about the games at this point. It's more about the operations.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think the other side of that is that the games tend to be, and I mean this in the I'm gonna try and be as even-handed as I can with this. They are unremarkable now. There's very little to take your attention because everything they're doing are very solid, very good games, sorry, polished, but generally within IPs. So there's nothing to get you excited or draw your attention away from the fact when Ubisoft is mentioned that it tends to be negative news. Good games, negative news for the most part. Like I'm sure you could throw some examples that are kind of out of there, but you know, they've got this Assassin's Creed black flag, it'll be solid, it'll be great, but it it's black flag again. They don't have anything else that's blowing excited about excited about a Resident Evil remake. One rule for one rule for Capcom, another rule for Ubisoft.

SPEAKER_02

But but I think you look at we've spoken about Capcom before, and I know Square Enix in the same way about how clever they are with using remakes to support what else they're doing. If you look at Ubisoft this year, the only two games they're releasing which have been announced, and we're looking at just consoles only, they've got a few mobile things, but the the Black Flag remake uh in July, and then the Rayman Legends remake in October, that they that's their only two major releases. Did they come out the same year originally as well? Am I dreaming? They came out really close to 2013.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, around then. I think they both did.

SPEAKER_02

You know, they've they've already released there was the 30th anniversary edition of Rayman earlier in the year. Uh but even going back and looking last year, we've got Assassin's Creed Shadows and Prince of Persia, The Lost Crown on a few other platforms. But the the reality is that Ubisoft is not releasing games. Like they're not releasing a lot of games.

SPEAKER_01

They are, but they do have we're we're constantly surprised by this though, aren't we? Because you know, Rainbow Six Siege, an ongoing concern, I think, for honors still going. Skull and bones, I think, is still like they they're maintaining a lot and um the division, like that they they're maintaining live service games that we're just not looking at.

SPEAKER_02

And X X-Defiant. And X Defiant. Although, although we'll see what that looks like now that if you're a if you're someone who's a fan of X-Defiant, I think and and this, let's not forget, Ubisoft pitched X-Defiant as the next big live service shooter, and they were very bullish on it. And now we're seeing that the team behind that is facing layoffs, team reductions.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but we saw this with Marvel rivals as well, right? Once it moves into live service mode, they they downscale the most expensive studio, which San Francisco will be. Granted, that doesn't apply to Winnipeg and Belgrade, because obviously the Belgrade, I imagine, is a more affordable studio. I don't know about Winnipeg, uh, though Canada obviously gets a lot of tax uh benefits for development there. But I imagine it's as we move into a live service model, we're gonna save money on those by putting the the ongoing support elsewhere. Which is what I was wondering with the the what the people they are cutting. Like there's a there's this ongoing idea that Ubisoft is ultimately looking to try to sell it. Like they're just looking to sell it and kind of be out. Uh Guillermo and everyone are just like, meh, that's the vibe that's something's going in the wrong direction if that's the attention. That's the point. Like, if you let go of these, then you know your yearly profits that are going up because it's not a fixed cost, and they can outsource to independent studios those same things.

SPEAKER_02

Well, they've they've they've been notorious for being, you know, look here, two of these studios which are closing down, which are essentially support studios. Ubisoft have been quite notorious for having loads of studios in loads of different parts of the world that all work. Say, like, I I think if you look at the credits for Assassin's Creed Shadows, there's about 15 different studios there. But that's the idea of having support studios in-house, essentially, because they're under the Ubisoft name, that's very antiqu antiquate uh antiquity. Old fashioned antiquated. I'll stick with old-fashioned. Broke my brain. Because we are seeing a lot of this work outsourced. So I'm kind of RAI, of course. Uh but soft. Just gonna just gonna let that keep going in the background. But I think these kind of these closures do make sense because I don't think it's a business model that works anymore. Whether it is, as you said, to in the longer term look to sell it on as a much leaner proposition, potentially, but I think what we are seeing is Ubisoft is consolidating everything it has into the main offices and studios and regions that it works in. Something else that we're seeing is that a lot of these cuts are in in publishing, in marketing, in in regional PR, which I think supports this idea that they're they're they're they've realized that they're not making enough from that very acute, narrow focus in specific regions. And it's a case of let's scale things back. The marketing we're gonna do is gonna be the same for everyone. It's not gonna be hyper-localized and we'll see.

SPEAKER_01

And if you know they're thinking that they don't need a marketing department because they don't need it all the time, then I know an absolutely great PR a marketing agency that they could use to go with the game.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I mean, if you're only releasing two remakes in a year, then you don't really need marketing, do you? I I think I they sell themselves, don't they? Yeah, I I I you know, I don't think I even said to you this morning, I don't know if this story would make the cut today it has, but I think there's not too much more to say about this because we just keep we keep seeing this from Ubisoft. It's I I feel for Ubisoft because I think it's very hard, like I started with when I was talking about the public perception, it's hard for them to break out of that now. I think their their perception within the community of players is at an all-time low. And I even think on the industry side, when you see what they are doing with these closures and restructurings and and other such things, it's hard to have too much faith in in what they're trying to do because it's not really clear what the end goal here is. And you know, we might see a slate of great games coming out in the next few years, but a lot of the projects seem to be stuck in development hell. I do think that having your biggest games of the year both being remakes, one of which no one even asked for a remake of, is an interesting decision. But I don't know. Well maybe we'll see Black Flag sell 15 million copies in a week and it'll save them, but kind I kind of understand going back to Black Flag.

SPEAKER_01

It was the last really big release. I don't understand going back to Rayman Origins. It looked incredible. And remaking it with a completely different art style. Yeah. Just make a new Rayman game. You can keep the same gameplay, make it a but what like Origins was a particular style.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know why they're doing it, because it was And I don't think it will sell very well. I I think I think it will do gang bosses on Switch too. But most of the people who will buy it, I think, are gonna be the people who already know how good it is. It feels like a like you said, why not make a new one? And welcome to this week's rapid rundown. Rather than looking at a few of the funnier and more light stories we've seen over the last week, this week we're basically just gonna be very quickly looking at all the new announcements, release uh not releases, announcements, release dates we've seen, teasers and such, and from all these showcases, and and just having a little natter about them. Now, Alex, I think I know which ones you're maybe the most excited for, but I'm gonna ask you, hey Alex, which announcements are you really excited for? And do any of them rhyme with more resident evil D-Makes?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yes. Now I am very excited for Co-Veronica. I'm confused by the choice to do Veronica next. I know it's the one that a lot of fans have been crying out for, but it kind of sits. How much do you don't know anything about this, do you, Tom? It's a no. Essentially, one of the big bads, you probably know this, uh, of Resident Evil is Albert Wesker. And this is like midway through his character arc. And while you could argue that the first remake, uh E1, uh, which they're probably saving for the anniversary, would be where were the kind of beginning of that tale, and that's already been remade. I think a lot of people that are fans of the new lot haven't played the Resident Evil 1 remake because it's in a different engine, it's not over the shoulder, it's still the kind of traditional uh fixed camera angles. So I think starting at this, there's gonna be this kind of guy that looks a bit like uh albino Neo that walks in halfway through and starts backflipping, and people are gonna be like, what? There's an assumption of this classic character is known by a lot of players, and I'm sure with YouTube and everything, it'll be filled in. But within the storyline, they're about to drop a superhuman into the story with no context, and that's gonna be wild for people.

SPEAKER_02

I I've seen, as you know, I'm not a resident evil person, but I've seen that there apparently it will link to Requiem. Is that correct? I've seen a few things that there'll be links to it, which is interesting.

SPEAKER_01

I guess they can, they can put in new hooks. Like I'm I'm very m I'm very keen for them to start rewriting from around five to like start making tweaks to the story because I think it it five, yeah, they they clearly didn't have a cohesive idea. And I think now they're revisiting it with that in mind and it gives them the opportunity to do that. But as it sits, I don't know what those overlaps would be.

SPEAKER_02

So to clarify, your most excited announcement, your your most exciting announcement from the last week is a remake. A remake.

SPEAKER_01

And I'll take Alien Isolation. I'll take Alien Isolation. Oh yes, yes, you go. What brand new previously unknown IP are you thinking of going for?

SPEAKER_02

What I'm really excited to play on my brand new next generation Nintendo system is a game that I played for the first time in 2012 and then have gone back and played the original version of. Uh Ocarina of Time.

SPEAKER_01

A game that's already been remade once.

SPEAKER_02

I have my uh I have my Zelda Lego here, uh, among others. I'm a self-comfort.

SPEAKER_01

Next month, last month's to buy that if you want it before it's delisted.

SPEAKER_02

True. The Deku tree, and it does come in the Ocarina of Time version as well, if you want to uh celebrate the the release. Uh but yeah, I I I'm really excited for Ocarina of Time. I I think that's my biggest one. I've I the I've still not finished Resident E Present Evil. I've still not finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Uh very different kind of game. But Revelations looks really good as well. But to me, like Ocarina of Time is it it was the the 3DS remake was the first Zelda game I ever played.

SPEAKER_03

It feels so old. Don't worry. And yeah, I just I I I fell in love with it and I'm well I've gone back and played the original.

SPEAKER_02

Good. But yeah, Ocarina of Time is the one. The original Ocarina of Time or the original Zelda. I tell a lie. Link's crossbow training is technically the first Zelda game.

SPEAKER_01

That's not a Zelda game. It's a Link game. It's not a Legend of Zelda game, it's Link's Crossbow Training, it doesn't have the subheader. I know, but technically, in the same universe.

SPEAKER_02

And I was like, who's a who's this guy? But yeah, I I'm really excited for Ocarina of Time. I soon as the yeah, I think unfortunately with Leak Culture nowadays, I was aware of it potentially being a thing. But to me, as soon as I heard the first notes of Sarat Sarya's theme, I want to make sure I get the name right, otherwise people will crucify me. But as soon as I heard the first like notes on the on the flute in the in the trailer, um, yeah, I was immediately like, oh, it's it's actually happening. Uh I think the fact that they've used similar language to what Final Fantasy VII remake has used in terms of this idea of the game uh of the story being reborn, you know, the legends reborn makes me think that it's not just going to be uh a remake in the in the way that um that the 3DS version was, which makes me quite excited. You know, I'm I'm I know that people will complain that it's another remake, but the way I see it, I the 3DS game was 13, 14 years ago at this point. You've got an entire generation, two generations of of of kids and and anyone that's fallen in love with Zelda since Breath of the Wild, which exploded like no game in the series ever has. And I'm really excited to see new people coming and playing Ocarina of Time. It's not my favourite, but it's that's wind waking, because it's respect well. I respect the fact that it, you know, for when it originally came out, it it changed everything. And playing it on the 3DS, I I do remember just thinking, wow, this this game is amazing. And yeah, that's that's what I'm very excited for.

SPEAKER_01

And and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort for the Thumb Wars. Well, I I actually I I've got two like movie IPs or non-gaming IPs. Oh, I mentioned Alien Isolation 2, which means I've got to go back and actually finish Alien Isol uh Alien Isolation one. I want that game to be a little easier because it's just a bit I mean, I'm sure it isn't as hard as I'm making it out to be, but I'm trying to do things perfectly, and you know how that kind of goes wrong. But the other one is Star Trek uh Shadow Frontier, I think it's called. Is that what the new one is? Yeah, Shadow Frontier. A horror movie in the world of Star Trek makes or a horror game in the world of Star Trek makes all the sense in the world. You're going to new places, absolutely wild. The idea of like a monster of the week that just is coming for you could be incredibly exciting, and especially I mean no, that's me being biased. Star Trek's one of my other things, like there it is. Undoubtedly, Star Trek could be a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02

They could have played it so much safer and not you know I don't like horror games, so I've got no interest in it, but I they could have played it so much safer. But you're right. The I I always think to me, the idea of horror in space is infinitely more terrifying than like horror on not just Earth, but a planet on on the ground. I think the idea of being in space and having whatever it will be chasing you and coming for you, it's I'm surprised that Star Wars, we haven't seen anything from Star Wars in a bit of a horror kind of way.

SPEAKER_01

There was there were inklings of it, but they never kind of followed through during Rogue One. Whatever that beast was that kind of sucks your brain, it's like that's a pretty horrible idea. They just never give you. In my head, I'm saying Sarlac, but I know that's not that.

SPEAKER_02

No, no. Uh see in conclusion, we're excited for all the same IPs that we've loved for years.

SPEAKER_01

For decades. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing. Please, nothing new. Feed me my IP slop, please. Yes, please.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, please, Nintendo. Please give me strangely realistic looking link.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know who's making the Star Trek game now that I've said that. That's uh an interesting one. There we go. Game games uh games excite. No, no, that's a different one. Someone I like to do.

SPEAKER_02

I'm gonna start doing you go and have a look. I'll start doing the wrap-up.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, start wrapping up.

SPEAKER_02

I'll yell at his name in two seconds. Yeah, thank you so much again for tuning in to this week's episode. Definitely, you know, more a bit more serious than the past few weeks and looking at the the realities of the industry with layoffs and such, but a lot of stuff that we will have to keep an eye on and come back and speak about in the future. If you have enjoyed this episode, please, if you're watching on YouTube, if you're listening on Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you get your podcasts, please drop a like, follow, subscribe. We produce weekly episodes of the podcast alongside our weekly download newsletter. Uh the newsletter you can find in the description. That's available via LinkedIn. So you get all the most important stories of the week. You get our thoughts and you get what it means for the the industry at large. So if you're if you're struggling to stay abreast of of everything that's going on, I struggle to do that, and I'm the one writing these things. So I I sympathize, but don't worry, we've got you covered. Uh Alex, do you have any closing remarks?

SPEAKER_00

It was Blueber team. It was Blueber team. Of course it was Blueber team. Should have thought. It's a 50-50. It's a 50-50. But if they do anything like they did with Silent Hill or or We're praying for a Silent Hill-esque experience.

SPEAKER_01

And it's Rolorin as well, who is she came, she's right here. My little Lego Rolloren came with the uh shuttlecraft. That's it. That's my final thought.

SPEAKER_02

That's your final thought. So well, again, thank you, Alex, for joining me. It's it's it's been a while. Um it's always good to have a little professional natter. And and and that's us for another week. We'll see you next week. Thank you so much for tuning in and uh have a good day. Bye bye.