My thoughts on the Zenimax purchase.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog.

Well, this has been quite the morning, I sit down for news and morning coffee only to see the Microsoft has made what is easily the biggest flex purchase in the games industry so far by buying Zenimax media along with all their properties. This news nearly blew me right out of my chair, I mean damn, I knew Microsoft had deep pockets but, a purchase of this magnitude suggests an ever-growing confidence in the profitability of the Xbox brand on Microsoft's part. Now, I know, some of you are saying "but Sony is the console winner" and that may be true for now but, as most of us gamers who have been at the hobby for thirty plus years have seen, console makers tend to rise and fall. I am certainly not suggesting that Sony is fixing to fall any time soon but, they have made their fair share of missteps ranging from the blatant pomposity of PS3's launch to other things such as quality issue with launch PS2's, a very lackluster early lineup of games for said consoles, as well as the more recent cross-play fiasco that had many gamers hot under the collar over something that should have been a standard for a lot longer than it has started to become. 

What I am attempting to illustrate with these examples is that many console makers just make mistakes and they can get greedy and good competition can help to keep them honest. We all remember the absolutely horrid announcement of the Xbox One and their focus on TV and ludicrous DRM philosophy which, of course, was all backpedaled on when Microsoft realized that gamers wouldn't put up with it and that the PS4 offered a much more enticing prospect of lending games, buying used games, as well as a stronger focus on entertaining software. Of course, none of this is to say that Microsoft hasn't done their damnedest to try and catch up but, that bad will really hampered them this cycle on top a heavy reliance on aging franchises and many subpar exclusives with a few gems sprinkled throughout the console's lifespan. 

Moving on to the present, I know that many gamers on social media are absolutely freaking out about this with takes ranging from "OMFG, this is so awesome!" to "OMG, this is terrible!" I totally get the anxieties as well as the enthusiasm as it seems many people still haven't gotten over the Rareware acquisition from long ago when the Xbox brand was still in its infancy and Microsoft treated it much differently back then. I would also like to point out that newer acquisitions have been much less of a complete takeover and more of a mutual partnership with newer studios being able to keep what makes them special. It is also important to point out that the two PS5 exclusive deals (or timed exclusive deals from what it sounds like) will still be honored which means it will not be an immediate uprooting of games, we also know that all current and new non-exclusive titles will be coming to Game Pass which is a huge win for current subscribers of the service. It also seems highly likely that most of the new games coming out further down the line will be Xbox and PC exclusives. Now, it does sound like Microsoft and Zenimax will be addressing exclusives on a case to case basis and we can only speculate what that means at this point without any further clarification. All things considered, if I were to take a shot in the dark, I might speculate that it is highly likely that many big names will be Microsoft platform exclusive with large multiplayer endeavors and possibly free to play titles being multiplatform to maximize engagement and profit. 

So yeah, crazy news this morning, I know not everyone is happy with it but, we will just have to wait and see how things go over the next few years. Personally, I sincerely hope that this goes very well and leads to more quality titles as well as more competition in the gaming space. 

So Sick of Not Streaming

 Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog.

So, as of today, I am hunting for a new job as I have officially left my current position with the company. I really wanted to like the job but, after observing several serious accidents along with almost no on the job training, I came to the conclusion that it simply wasn't worth risking my personal safety, or my sanity for that matter, to continue on working there. 

Of course, this means that my originally planned streaming schedule is going to be up in the air again as I have no idea what work will be like at whatever job I land at next. Sorry for those of you who were looking forward to seeing me on a regular schedule again but, I hope you find it better than seeing me seriously injured or killed which could mean no streams at all. 

So, getting on to the better news, I am looking forward to going live again soon, I am not sure if I will be going live at all this week as we are still unpacking but, I will let you all know on the social medias. As mentioned in the last post, I will be more focused on just a handful of games which are mainly Open World and/or RPG/Survival titles. The first of these will most likely be Fallout 4 on PC as I have been absolutely glued to it lately, of course I will throw some more of those Bethesda games in there as time goes on but, I will also (eventually) start playing some more classic titles that fit the proposed content mold. 

Now, I don't have any plans for any kind of focused playthroughs, speed runs, roleplay streams, and the like; this will simply be me playing the games I love and hanging out with YOU, the audience. I look forward to seeing you all soon and thanks again for sticking with me through all the turbulence.

Later gamers.