J4MES OX4D

I think it's brilliant business from Activision. I said back in December that come the halfway point in the games cycle, they will start implementing light pay2win elements in DMZ even with the mode being in beta and that by Spring, there will be aggressive and predatory pay2win bait bundles in play to milk the remaining audience with carefully curated pricing to maximise their income. A couple of people told me I was full of absolute shit and that Activision wouldn't ever dream of doing things like this but here you go. In March they even charged £25 for a bundle which could not be purchased with COD points that was recycled free content from MW2019. 
 
Their aim is to convert as much real world money into store credit aka COD points and to do this, they offer 'perks' aka discounts to people with a low ATV spend or a lesser established purchase history. Loyal customers don't receive such perks because Activision does not reward such things - discounts mean less money from willing paying customers which could also psychologically reduce their impulse purchase potential with future day one bundles if they believe they may get pampered reductions. 
 
None of this is new and that's why I was a bit taken aback in that other thread of users denying Activision's antics when there was literally 5+ years of this industry behaviour with irrefutable evidence of methods and implementation. Activision are in business to make as much money as possible and if they have to shit on the few remaining customers they have to extrapolate as much money as possible, they will at any non-monetary cost. It will be all gone and forgotten come the next game and that's why they don't care.  

Definitely a new one, is ridiculous charging people different amounts based on wealth (Cod points). 
 
Nothing surprises me anymore with Activision and their "strategies". 
 
Would love to hear what @J4MES OX4D has to say about this one. 😂

Not sure how extensive this will become on the platform but Valve have made available a feature where developers can offer timed free trials. Definitely a good option to have especially on games that have questionable optimisation or if a user wants to take a punt but isn't willing to pay up the whole amount with the refund being a fall-back. Will certainly reduce refund requests and the red tape that comes with that. 
Steam just quietly added a new free trial system | PC Gamer
WWW.PCGAMER.COM Starting with the Dead Space remake.  

Not sure how extensive this will become on the platform but Valve have made available a feature where developers can offer timed free trials. Definitely a good option to have especially on games that have questionable optimisation or if a user wants to take a punt but isn't willing to pay up the whole amount with the refund being a fall-back. Will certainly reduce refund requests and the red tape that comes with that. 
Steam just quietly added a new free trial system | PC Gamer
WWW.PCGAMER.COM Starting with the Dead Space remake.  

Not sure how extensive this will become on the platform but Valve have made available a feature where developers can offer timed free trials. Definitely a good option to have especially on games that have questionable optimisation or if a user wants to take a punt but isn't willing to pay up the whole amount with the refund being a fall-back. Will certainly reduce refund requests and the red tape that comes with that. 
Steam just quietly added a new free trial system | PC Gamer
WWW.PCGAMER.COM Starting with the Dead Space remake.  

Absolute catastrophe really. The one mode that was exclusively championed to justify a standalone sequel and was allegedly in solid development spanning years has been cancelled. Well that was the last chance of rejuvenating the brand to what it once was in terms of narrative potential and now all they have is a shell of an MP experience and the depleted community living of past glories of the lore that mean nothing now. 
Overwatch 2's PvE Hero Mode Is Being Scrapped, Blizzard Explains What Happened and Why - GameSpot
WWW.GAMESPOT.COM Game director Aaron Keller and executive producer Jared Neuss discuss why the eagerly-anticipated mode will...  

I think it's mainly on PC where its having issues. PC ports in general have been pretty bad in recent times.

My son has enjoyed the start of it so far and says its better than the first one. I'll ask him later what bits he's found really enjoyable. I'm not into Star Wars so i'm not going to be playing it anytime soon but it does look good when i've stopped to watch some parts of his playthrough.

I've only really had the Gameboy and Gameboy Advanced although I have loosely followed the handheld arena over the decades. It's quite amazing how far these have come even going back several years. Crazy to see Ocarina of Time on the DS for instance. I'd say one of the best would have to be the PSP in terms of games and just the sheer build quality. It's an exceptional piece of kit and I hope the rumours of a new Sony Handheld are true however the tragedy of these now is that they aren't exclusive devices and most can play or stream common AAA games you get on console. Before you used to have device-exclusive games and that was what made them special. Now it's just units you can use while you're in bed or doing a shit. 

It's almost certainly to be a follow-on to MW2 based on the official sources gathered over the past 6 months. The only debate is whether it's gonna be a DLC like originally intended, a standalone spin-off, or Modern Warfare 3. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they still haven't decided this yet.  I can't see it being presented as DLC or an expansion though because of the state MW2 is currently in. A spin-off could be a nice alternative especially under new developers but it may be seen as a weak move for driving sales. MW3 it may turn out to be if Activision just want to wind up and conclude the trilogy early rather have yet another IW effort released within the next two years. 
 
I'm really not holding out much hope but still interested to see what SHG do as they always try their best despite being heavily under-resourced compared to the other studios and having huge personnel turnover. I'm not hyped in the slightest though and if someone said to me you can never play another COD game ever, I would not give a toss. 

I believe it is along with even more in-depth survival aspects. Many games these days get berated for using stale, bloated and dated concepts like this but Zelda seems to get a free pass and people see it new and revolutionary when it just isn't. I watched a video on YouTube last night where some dude was passionately explaining how Nintendo were ingenious with BOTW's guided exploration yet all he was explaining was basically Ubisoft radio towers of the 2010 era🤣

It's almost certainly to be a follow-on to MW2 based on the official sources gathered over the past 6 months. The only debate is whether it's gonna be a DLC like originally intended, a standalone spin-off, or Modern Warfare 3. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they still haven't decided this yet.  I can't see it being presented as DLC or an expansion though because of the state MW2 is currently in. A spin-off could be a nice alternative especially under new developers but it may be seen as a weak move for driving sales. MW3 it may turn out to be if Activision just want to wind up and conclude the trilogy early rather have yet another IW effort released within the next two years. 
 
I'm really not holding out much hope but still interested to see what SHG do as they always try their best despite being heavily under-resourced compared to the other studios and having huge personnel turnover. I'm not hyped in the slightest though and if someone said to me you can never play another COD game ever, I would not give a toss. 

It's almost certainly to be a follow-on to MW2 based on the official sources gathered over the past 6 months. The only debate is whether it's gonna be a DLC like originally intended, a standalone spin-off, or Modern Warfare 3. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they still haven't decided this yet.  I can't see it being presented as DLC or an expansion though because of the state MW2 is currently in. A spin-off could be a nice alternative especially under new developers but it may be seen as a weak move for driving sales. MW3 it may turn out to be if Activision just want to wind up and conclude the trilogy early rather have yet another IW effort released within the next two years. 
 
I'm really not holding out much hope but still interested to see what SHG do as they always try their best despite being heavily under-resourced compared to the other studios and having huge personnel turnover. I'm not hyped in the slightest though and if someone said to me you can never play another COD game ever, I would not give a toss. 

It's a cod game so will be getting even if it is shite.

I got bored with the last one. Plus, if that deterioration mechanic is in this one, well that's just bullshit 🙈

Yeah, Nintendo have a very positive relationship with the media and community in which their games seem to be held to a different standard - I've seen countless family-friendly colourful games be awarded some huge plaudits, when in fact they would be considered basic and just decent under any other developer and on any other system. 
 
I have watched a few video reviews now and it does seem a highly-polished, complete and incredibly stable game (hard to believe this was the normal expectation once in this industry) and also a very good Zelda game. May grab it down the line even though I'm still not entirely sold on some aspects talked-up heavily and the visual style that we had in BOTW. 
 
People that review these games especially for the mass media seem to be Nintendo-focused specialists who don't play other multi-platform titles whereas I play a variety of games across the systems so I'm not sure I'm gonna be half as wowed as some of those who just focus exclusively on all things Nintendo. 

Yeah, Nintendo have a very positive relationship with the media and community in which their games seem to be held to a different standard - I've seen countless family-friendly colourful games be awarded some huge plaudits, when in fact they would be considered basic and just decent under any other developer and on any other system. 
 
I have watched a few video reviews now and it does seem a highly-polished, complete and incredibly stable game (hard to believe this was the normal expectation once in this industry) and also a very good Zelda game. May grab it down the line even though I'm still not entirely sold on some aspects talked-up heavily and the visual style that we had in BOTW. 
 
People that review these games especially for the mass media seem to be Nintendo-focused specialists who don't play other multi-platform titles whereas I play a variety of games across the systems so I'm not sure I'm gonna be half as wowed as some of those who just focus exclusively on all things Nintendo.