I’d argue that has become more commonplace as some gamers become older, with less free time, and tastes tend to mature and solidify, and some gamers get younger, and desire the social aspect that they simply don’t get in school or their neighborhoods.

When you’re a kid, and your parents are the ones purchasing games,…

To be fair, Crusader Kings 2, being a PC game, is incredibly moddable to the point where you could install certain mods and be playing what is essentially an entirely new game.

You don’t get that with CoD, and I say this as someone who put hundreds of hours into the OG Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

It’s also hard…

Kesha, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, Jessica Simpson, any of the Nickelodeon girls, etc. I think any teen star, especially from that aughts era were often victims of abuse, whether sexual or financial, and then vilified by the media for being “crazy” because of it.

Unless she sexually propositioned them...at absolute worst, she did some weird shit with the lingerie. But when it comes to emotionally “dumping”, not only is that vague, but it’s so commonplace amongst people of wildly different ages and maturity levels that to single her out solely because she has some notoriety…

I’m not sure if they’re forecasting a change in their business, or just complaining.

I don’t want Xbox to go out of business, I think that would be bad for gaming. But I also loathe the idea of all media being bought up and made exclusive by platforms and big merger culture. Whether or not this deal is fully approved, it’s not good for gaming, period.

The argument isn’t in bad faith because none of the other competitors who engaged in the practice are either making consoles (such as Sega), are out of the industry entirely (Panasonic, Mattel, 3D0, SNK), or are keeping their mouths shut because they still engage in the practice (Nintendo).

There would be no legal…

The thing is, Microsoft’s strategy is brilliant because it doesn’t really depend on whether or not they complete the ABK acquisition as-is. What do I mean?

In a contentious merger like this, the DoJ (and often the companies involved) will usually offer a settled merger that has certain conditions. One of which could be…

The issue is that even though it has been a part of the industry for decades prior to Sony, the companies that started it, except for Nintendo (who hasn’t said a peep about the merger), are all either out of gaming entirely, or haven’t been a console player in the better part of 20+ years.

Microsoft bringing up past…

Exactly.

I don’t particularly mind the title, if only because I recognized the game isn’t for me for a variety of reasons (the top two being the battle system and the fact I’m not purchasing a PS5). It’s clear from watching a number of let’s plays (something I did for FFXV as well), that FFXVI has the scope and…

I’m sorry if you don’t like “action games”, but speaking as someone who has played every FF game since VII, this is still FF, and I am personally glad they’ve found a way to evolve the games and breath some much-needed life back into the series.

In terms of battle systems, the PS2-era games (FFX and FFXII) were damn near perfect in spite of being utterly different from one another.

X managed to make an otherwise slow, strategic, and tactical system very engaging and fun to experience, while XII managed to make a system that could’ve been clunky and aggravating…

No.

Excluding FFXI because it’s an MMO, but FFX was a much slower-paced game than either FFIX or FFVIII.

For one, the battle system simply did not allow for truly active time battles. In fact, they got rid of the ATB system (and its derivatives) that had been used in all prior FF-games dating back to FFIV. The system…

The interesting thing is that Square Enix fully understands what calling a game “Final Fantasy” entails, particularly when it’s a numbered, mainline title. It undoubtedly sets up certain expectations amongst the consumer and fanbase because of how strong the brand is, and the type of game you can expect to play based…

I’ll play devil’s advocate with a counterpoint.

There’s a longstanding history of Square Enix titling certain games differently based upon the significance of the departure in either storytelling, gameplay genre, or both.

Final Fantasy Tactics was not mainline titled because of significant gameplay differences from…

I’ll throw out an argument that I don’t think I’ve seen made, but I believe is rather cogent.

One of the more forgotten titles is Lightning Returns. When you look at it, gameplay-wise, there are some significant similarities between it and FFXVI. It’s not nearly as action-focused, but the fundamentals between the two…

Or did everyone just forget how FFX & XII were criticized for not being “Final Fantasy enough”?

That’s the part that doesn’t make much sense.

If the accountant was blocking his methods of getting cash, of which utilizing a debit or credit card is one, how did he buy the Rolex? A $12k purchase, if the accountant was paying attention, is gonna raise some red flags. If Mulaney was squirreling away money somewhere…

The two scenarios you gave would open MS to legal issues because they are promising parity in order to get the deal approved.

I disagree on the first part.

Microsoft is in a financial position to do just that, not only because they can afford to do so (and Sony and Nintendo simply can’t), but also because they aren’t wholly dependent on IP to drive console sales, and vice versa. In fact, these purchases are less about console sales, and more…