Jasconius Games

A bit of fun! Bandai Namco released some infographics revealing player statistics for Elden Ring, and they show some truly massive numbers. https://www.bandainamcoent.com/news/elden-ring-battle-scars-infographic LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Inspired by a retweet by Razorfist, I delve into some of the things I've run into as an indie dev, some of the challenges indies face, and where I see the industry heading. https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames/status/1642192388343963648 While I do think there is a certain segments of indie games that all look the same, talk the same, and make the same games there is also a huge number of devs that are trying to push the envelope and make something different. The problem is that they're drowning in a sea of pixelart platformers and shovelware. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

News that #Starfield Direct will be a double-feature alongside #xboxshowcase on June 11th this year. Also news that the Australian rating for the game suggests there is no nudity or sexual content. https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/937895-starfield-direct-xbox-games-showcase-double-feature-e3-canceled https://nichegamer.com/starfield-new-rating-no-sexual-content/ With the cancellation of #e3 still ringing in our ears, news that Microsoft's XBox Showcase will be a double-feature with the planned Starfield Showcase this summer. We also have news that the Australians gave Starfield a pretty severe rating for violence and drug use, but the rating mentions there is no sexually explicit material or nudity in the game. This may be a good thing as it allows the plain-vanilla version to be played by younger gamers. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Arkane is looking to remove the persistent online connection requirement for Redfall after facing some backlash about the requirement. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/03/24/redfall-director-says-studio-is-aware-of-player-backlash-to-games-always-online-requirement-claims-they-are-working-actively-towards-fixing-that-in-the-future/ While it appears this requirement will be in place at launch, they're working torwards allowing offline play going forward. This is a great step in the right direction, and I think we should see lots more of this. Sometimes gamers can't be online or don't want the requirement to be there just to play their games, and Arkane is taking the first step towards giving us some autonomy back in our gaming. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Taking some time to look over the gameplay deep dive we got about a month ago and point a few things out I noticed with the gameplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR8GVePOdpY All in all it looks like a very promising game. Squad based shooter with RPG, Stealth, and very reminiscent of Left4Dead. There appears to be a lot of moving parts, but I'm hopeful that Arkane got things all working well together to produce a solid title here. Fingers definitively crossed! LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Congress is yet again targeting gamers. This time for supposed extremism in online gaming. They're using the moral panic of "Extremism" as the justification to go after gaming companies to better police their users online. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/03/10/democrat-lori-trahan-looking-at-legislative-actions-to-shine-a-light-on-how-extremism-exists-in-online-games/ In another out of touch move, Congress is moving to make gaming "Safe" for people by further curtailing their freedom to interact. Democrat Lori Trahan is at the forefront of this push to further invade gaming with more authoritarianism. In a move that doesn't surprise anyone, they're citing the ADL's “Hate and Harassment in Online Games 2022” report as justification for more censorship and control of gaming. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Datamining of the upcoming US version of BlueProtocol appears to suggest some serious toning down of character outfits in yet another move by Amazon to censor games to appeal to a Western (or woke) audience. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/03/14/datamining-suggests-amazon-games-plans-to-censor-western-release-of-bandai-namco-mmo-blue-protocol/ Previous Amazon Censorship: https://youtu.be/wIeb4MfCb5c The move comes shortly on the heels of another censoring action taken by the company against the koren MMO Lost Ark. Seems like Amazon Games just won't take the hint that wokifying these works is not endearing them to their player base. Not only have they westernized the models, they're proud of doing it, according to some interesting statements made by their marketing department. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Gaming is hazarded yet again by another woke organization collapsing under it's own self righteousness. https://clownfishtv.com/the-silicon-valley-bank-collapse-could-mean-game-over-for-a-lot-of-gaming-and-comics-journalists/ https://archive.is/6cH8p https://archive.is/LtXIa https://archive.is/FXVAl This time Silicon Valley Bank is to blame and it's more than just the woke gaming journos that will suffer. Game engines, tech services, and indie studios are facing one heck of a wakeup call from this. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Sharing my channel's latest metrics across a few platforms. Might be of some use to see what kind of traction a tiny channel like mine gets on YT, Rumble, and BitChute. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Time to dig into this announcement trailer and break down some of the gameplay in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raWbElTCea8 While digging through the trailer gameplay, I came across some interesting stuff that not a lot of people are talking about. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Starfield's release date has officially been announced as 9/6/2023 with a Starfield Showcase set for 6/11/2023. While the date has been pushed back from the first half of 2023, I think this is a good thing and I'll tell you why in the video. https://nichegamer.com/starfield-delayed-again-september-2023/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raWbElTCea8 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Luminous Productions to merge with Square Enix after poor reception of Forspoken. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/03/06/square-enix-announces-merger-with-luminous-productions-amid-forspoken-flop/ While many are blaming the bad sales of Forspoken as the reason for this merger, I think there's something else that is driving this decision. My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jasconiusinteractive?sub_confirmation=1 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

#shorts The rumor mill is in high gear, speculating the Starfield Showcase will be announced in the coming days. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/starfield-showcase-announcement-coming-any-day-now-report-says/1100-6511864/ https://gameranx.com/updates/id/443603/article/rumor-starfield-showcase-is-happening-in-the-week/ My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jasconiusinteractive?sub_confirmation=1 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Careful what you say in Ubisoft games because they'll snitch on you. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/20/ubisoft-teams-up-with-uk-police-to-handle-extreme-cases-of-in-game-speech-deemed-life-threatening-we-want-to-be-on-the-right-side-of-history/ Ubisoft teams up with Northumbria Police in the UK to police "harmful online interactions" but this initiative reaches far further than Northumbria, past the shores of the UK. They want to go global, and they want others to join in. My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jasconiusinteractive?sub_confirmation=1 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Games Done Quick has banned the entire Harry Potter franchise, including Hogwarts Legacy in an effort to appeal to a vocal minority of gamers. https://nichegamer.com/games-done-quick-bans-harry-potter-hogwarts-legacy/ https://gamesdonequick.com/submission-guide Not only have they banned Harry Potter, but there's a number of titles on their ban list that make no sense, and show a history of opportunistic virtue signaling by the organization. My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jasconiusinteractive?sub_confirmation=1 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Embracer Group changes their approach to greenlighting games after third quarter numbers show poor sales for the Saints Row reboot. https://www.tweaktown.com/news/90383/saints-row-sales-bomb-has-changed-how-embracer-greenlights-new-projects/index.html Embracer Group will now make a game "earn its right to exist" before being greenlit. This change is a reflection of poor Q3 revenue, specifically around Saints Row. They say they want to focus on quality and "unique positive player experiences" LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

More rumors circling for the release date of Starfield. https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/starfield-release-date-leaked/ https://www.pcgamesn.com/starfield/launch-date-showcase-bethesda-rpg-game https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/15/starfield-showcase-doesnt-have-a-date-as-game-delay-worries-continue-18287966/ I dive into the recent rumors around Starfield's release date, and give my opinions on their legitimacy and some thoughts on when we can expect it to drop. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

A quick look at current Hogwarts Legacy player statistics on Steam and digging into the reviews. I used SteamDB and Steam charts for some player statistics Hogwarts is topping the charts, and now that standard edition has unlocked we're seeing upwards of 50% more concurrent players. This likely means that Hogwarts Legacy is still on track to be a top seller this year. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has been delayed until April 28th 2023 to put some final polish and improvements into it. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/02/01/ea-delays-star-wars-jedi-survivor-says-they-need-more-time-for-polish/ While most of the time, delays happen because of moving targets and badly broken games, it sounds like this was the right call. Respawn is saying the game is content-complete, and the delay is to put some final improvements and polish into the game. If that's the case, I think we might have another great release on our hands here. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Hogwarts Legacy player statistics on Steam and streaming numbers on Twitch are looking really positive. I take a look at SteamDB and SteamSpy for some player statistics and show the current state of things (Hogwarts is topping the charts, even though we're only seeing numbers for the deluxe edition. This could mean Hogwarts is a top seller for 2023 and maybe GOTY. Spells disaster for the wokies, but it's great news for WB Games. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Neil Druckmann praises Elden Ring for it's ability to tell a story without cut-scenes. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/01/30/neil-druckmann-praises-elden-ring-explains-his-philosophy-when-it-comes-narrative/ The NaughtyDog co-president praised Elden Rings storytelling through exploration of the environment and lack of hand-holding. Says that it's something he's trying to incorporate more LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Found a few articles outlining some rumors about how development on Starfield is going and some rumored release dates. https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/leaker-shares-worrying-report-on-starfield-and-redfall-development/ar-AA16NL7C https://www.gamepressure.com/newsroom/starfield-and-redfall-rumored-to-be-in-raw-condition-and-need-mor/z54ff5 https://www.polygon.com/23571596/starfield-release-date-delayed-xbox-developer-direct https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/dont-believe-this-leaked-starfield-launch-date/ar-AA16P286 It's sounds like some bad news on the release front for Starfield and Bethesda as a whole. Not only are there rumors of the game needing more time to complete, but also layoffs and some grim financials coming from parent company Microsoft that could impact the state of the game at launch. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Forspoken tops the charts on Steam Global Sales on it's release day, but quickly drops off the sales charts. https://upcomer.com/forspoken-surpasses-hogwarts-legacy-on-steam-best-selling-chart Although it topped the charts, I decided to dig into the reviews and concurrent users which tells a very different story. Reviews are mixed and heavily weighted negative in shorter play-times, meaning the game may improve the further you get into it, but that's a very bad sign for long term sales. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/

Neil Druckmann hinted at the future of NaughtyDog and Uncharted is not part of that future. https://nichegamer.com/naughty-dog-is-done-with-uncharted-says-neil-druckmann/ Druckmann considers the story to be wrapped up and they have no interest in making another, despite the popularity of the film adaptation. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/jasconius Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasconiusGames Minds: https://www.minds.com/Jasconius Outro Audio: https://soundbible.com/1936-Crisp-Ocean-Waves.html / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Wishlist System Intrusion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1360570/System_Intrusion/