Cashews

@Cherip-the-Ripper the art style/work was the best I've seen on a western cartoon in a very long time. The jokes were pretty decent. The story was actually kind of surprising (like who was bad and who was good). Voice work was about as good as VA gets. Props to Ice Cube and Jackie Chan.

I don't have any bad things to say about it. It was much better than Mario Bros and I enjoyed Mario. I didn't see Mike Morales so I cannot compare it. From the previews I expected to enjoy TMNT but ended up liking it a lot more than I expected I would. Whole family of 4 enjoyed it.

FYI for those that haven't seen it - the movie is really good. I've never been a turtles fan and I really enjoyed it.

I am disappointed these are so expensive. I was planning on shelling out for one - I assumed $5-8. Now I won't.

@Stickleman I wouldn't call Uncharted "poorly casted". The movie had big, capable actors - the movie just stunk. I'd put that on writing and direction.

It would be nice if they added the original in the final package.

@Dark_Knight then Sony would not sell remasters though.

The TopGear review is pretty funny. I was skimming some reviews. Most UK sites hated the movie while hollywood based publications liked it. Funny.

These thrice daily articles will drive more sales.

@Ultrasmiles No, but Platinum probably created all of the battle mechanics for XVI.

About halfway through the JPY trading session the company has leveled off a bit. That's good - it means it isn't in freefall. Yesterdays huge spike in volume means some institutional owners sold off though. That's bad.

@Luvstagrind fighting game fans call them platform fighters. It's a better term.

Microsoft will have no trouble finding the marketing team that is first for the proverbial chopping block.

@Sherlock- could be. But the stock going down 15% in a day doesn't lie. That is investors selling off. Tomorrow will be more telling than a one day selloff.

either or, the company is in big trouble. That isn't an opinion.

@OrtadragoonX tbh never played Black Ops 2 - I have heard from so many places it is a great, classic game.

CoD upped the ante on other games as well. Battlefield, specifically Bad Company 2 (DICE) was so damn good...probably because of the CoD competition. They've gotten so much worse too.

Hey! I know people here will gnash their teeth at the prospect, but maybe MS can bring them back to form. Crazier things have happened.

@Sherlock- he had 3 sources from accounts and it was from the post-release investor call. Bloomberg sucks, and this guy might be a liar (probably is) but no one is pulling the story back or contradicting it in any meaningful way. Likely true. Even if it isn't true - it's true. the CEO will be talking about it soon enough - the stock's price tanked today. He'll say something this week - likely tomorrow.

@AsterZero I can see it around 6 or less. It has fallen off all of the meaningful charts and has gotten enough word of mouth as to put a stain on it. From all appearances - it seems to be their most expensive game made as well.

here is a fun article about 16 from Kamiya (DMC, Bayonetta) He tosses Kratos in as well.

https://www.eurogamer.net/bayonettas-hideki-kamiya-believes-japanese-developers-should-be-proud-of-jrpg-term

@ApostateMage we are. It is going to be a turn based HD2D.5 pixelated game just like Hades exclusive to the Galaxy Z fold phones.

@Beerheadgamer82 I'm talking about the launch year of the first really big Infinity Ward game. Nothing played like that before it really and it took the world on by storm. It was one of the most fun experiences I ever had in a video game and everyone was talking about it constantly. So fun.

It's too bad IW didn't stay independent and see where CoD would have taken them. They would have likely bought out Activision at some point if they wanted to.

@Beerheadgamer82 when CoD4: Modern Warfare came out there was nothing like it - it was perfect.

@Nem Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 3: WWI Edition.

@JackiePriest yeah that is marketing telling people what to say and blogs/gamers believing it.

There is a huge gulf between truth and what gamers will believe.

wait 3 months for the next report. Holy christmas that one is going to show just how big a disaster this thing was.

@Strikke Problem

Capcom said they expect LIFETIME sales of Streetfighter 6 to reach 10M ish. Just above the mis-aligned SF5. which only released on one console.

https://esi.si.com/fgc/capcoms-10-million-copies-sold-sf6-prediction

Capcom isn't full stupid like SE. They know their limitations and project sales at a reasonable amount. They will be correct about SF6. So their investors can trust the words out of their mouth.

Unlike SE who look like incompetent fools on the regular.

Judging from this forum - this seems like a really popular move with the fans.

@StrawberryTurtle the first thing I did when I bought the new console a few months ago was pick up Elden Ring. It was the only time I've felt real fomo was when it released.

when you buy a new console there are ajust a few you HAVE to get.

It would be a lot of fun and only bring more and more people into the fighting game category. I am all for bringing as many people into this genre as possible.

There isn't a game experience like 1v1 where you are pitted against someone and it is your skill versus their skill and that's just about it.

I am pumped that the genre seems to be getting so much more attention this year. The games coming out on top of SF6 makes this the best year for fighters in god knows how long.

@ChrisDeku like I said - deep dive it all you want. The information is all there - I'm not going to open a research facility on SE's failures. I spend enough time on it already I wouldn't touch this company as an investor with a pole that reached Japan.

@Americansamurai1 if they aren't - and then they raise the price back after a few weeks running this sale - they are going to have a heck of a time trying to sell product at it's original price. They may be training people to wait.

interesting Fall incoming!!

@zekepliskin yes, that is because Sony sucks when they do that. Nintendo doesn't do that. So our conversation really applies to s*** companies who take games completely offline or ship bad product.

@ChrisDeku From Square Enix (quote from this past report):

"“Net sales [are] up year-on-year due to the launch of Final Fantasy 16 and other new titles,” the company says, “but operating income [is] down, partly due to amortization of development cost. New titles were unable to offset weak performances from existing titles.”

That is how they do it and have done for years. if you want to deep dive into their accounting system it's all there.

@zekepliskin and you can re sell it and you can still play your game when they shut down the shop updates, etc.

I'll always choose physical over digital. I won't do any of that silly waiting a year for some limited edition release or another...but if it's available on the first week I'll get that instead.

@RadioHedgeFund lol what? Final Fantasy is a niche title? That is so nuts it is hard to respond to. If FF didn't have that brand there is no way on this earth it would have sold 3M copies. This series and this series alone, is the literal entire reason any of you are on this website. FF7 was the literal system seller for the PS1. It is what drove that console's initial success. That is it.

The only reason you could ever call it niche, which is patently wrong, is because SE has been mis-handling this brand for over a decade.

@4kgk2 Final Fantasy 13 sold a very respectable amount on the X360. Had SE made the intelligent choice to keep growing that audience - who knows what might have happened?

They are a very poorly run company who are always 10 steps behind the trend.

@NotSoCryptic just speaking to your comment on FF7's "more story to tell".

Strong disagree there. If you are talking about the ending - I thought that was the best part of that game - and one that should be implemented in more games. I hate how everything now has to be tied into a nice little bow. Finish the main quest, the point of the game and then let the reader, viewer, player use their imagination to discover what might happen next.

This was the era when Square was king. They had the writers and were insanely inventive with every game's gameplay mechanics. That is exactly what is missing today. Horrible, groan inducing writing and gameplay lifted from other games. It's a problem.

@ChrisDeku Incorrect. Profit is down 80% because SE chooses to take their development costs on the quarter the game is released. FF16 released last quarter - so they took 70% of the development costs on the same quarter. They likely chose this accounting because in the past their titles would continue to sell well past the first big impact release dates - and it would show all profit. Mobile and MMOs are a part of the equation - but a small part. That is fans of FF desperately searching for answers.

What you said about the stock is correct. However, with this news it is down 13% on the day - right around 56. It will be hitting those 52W lows soon enough. I was looking at the US ADR earlier which is hovering at 52W lows.

I thought it was one of the best ones put on so far. The venue seemed really good for the live fans, the shoutcasters were on point and the competition level was high.

Very well done event and a lot of fun to watch.

@stua12t everyone always says "Sony should buy them." Why would Sony want to? Sony likes profit too - they don't want declining brands.

@Americansamurai1 you may be right. the stock has been stagnant for a very long time - it is tanking further right now - it will raise a few eyebrows of interest.

I hope it is anyone but tencent.

@Jayslow they are doing the financials and the major investors say "are you ever going to make more money?" They feel the pressure say, "just wait for 16 it is going to shake you to your core." it fails then they say "wait for the next expansion of 14 it is going to sell so much." etc forever.

They have to keep the big guys satiated or they sell out en masse and the stock price tanks. the stock is tanking as I type this - so it is probably happening.

@Th3solution FF16 was number 34. It should be gone next week.

@colonelkilgore when you say "full stop" and then keep typing it isn't a "full stop".

and periods do just as well as typing out 'full stop'.

@Powerplay94 Nope. The costs associated with FF16 were off the charts. Not only does this company not understand how to make games people want to play - they have no idea how to reign in costs. Some people have figured out this game cost as much to make as a comic book hollywood CGI blockbuster. They have to figure out how to make a game for a reasonable amount of money as well as one people want to play.

tough deal for the new ceo.

@Kidfried companies yes but not in the media space as much. SE still has an inflated sense of self. You can tell by their stupid sales projections. Fandom is still rabid - but new people don't care about this company at all - they are has-beens for a half decade at least.

Someone could buy them for the IPs at a discount yes. I wouldn't but I'm sure Tencent would be happy to.

So hopefully this blog and the people who read it will listen to the more sensible people who post here. Publishers saying this or that to gamers and the bloggers is always marketing - a lie.
The only report that matters are the financials. I will take my formal apology - typed and a minimum of 250 words - on my desk EOB. Thank you. You can leave now.

@Americansamurai1 SE isn't worth much. They on a near constant decline. Most companies don't want to buy publishers on the downswing - they buy them when the line is going up and to the right.

@Neverwild MS didn't give them a cent for 14. The same quarterly that showed 16 was a bomb showed a significant slowdown in their MMO category. They need MS not the other way around.

Pretty cool they add a free version. I like that smart promotion.

@Vega37 Being called entitled? By whom? developers? I do not give a wet s*** about their titles for their customers. They are only here by invite. If they price wrong and go out of business - they can get thrown out on the street in the dead of winter, their children kicked out of the best school, the wife left penniless when needing her cancer treatments.

I'm cold and hard when it comes to this stuff and realize we are all here by invitation only - we live; we die- the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west.

cheers!

@EYEBALL the younger generation isn't the problem here.

Oy vey I love that Marisa so much. I suck with her though - I don't know how to close the distance gap.

@Perturbator "Playstation - Lose Your Humanity"

This game should wait for the HBO tv series remake. That would make more sense.