Microsoft: Co-Pilot is Mandatory, but “For Entertainment Only.”
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 04/05/26 at 09:48 PM CT
It seems that ever since Windows 11 launched, Microsoft has been obsessed with cramming their AI assistant, Co-Pilot, into every facet of the OS, including bizarre and nonsensical appearances in such barebones programs as MS Paint and Notepad. These OS-level AI features have also had a grating tendency to re-install themselves during updates, even if the user has gone through the effort of trying to remove them.
And if Windows 11 is beyond saving, then Windows 12 is positively sunk, because Microsoft is currently planning to make it an entirely “agentic” OS, in which AI agents within the operating system interpret the user’s intents and desires, then manipulate the system based on these interpretations instead of allowing the user to manipulate the system directly. Indeed it looks like the future of Windows MS has been building towards is one entirely driven by AI...
... Which is why it’s so strange that, in their Autumn 2025 EULA update for Windows 11, they snuck in …
Backlog: The Embiggening – April, 2026
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/28/26 at 02:56 PM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! The most foolish month of the year is almost upon us, once again. So I guess we shouldn’t expect the Games Industry to act in any other way as it continues to destroy itself through greed, overreach, and bandwagoning. Let’s look at the crap we are being so graciously offered for consideration.
At least there’s not a ton of shovelware coming in April. In Licensed Swill releases, there’s a new ‘Winx Club’ game for little girls, based on a a Nickelodeon TV show that started in 2004 (when today’s little girls’ moms were little girls) and ran until... wow! 2019? So maybe there are still a few little girls who are both old enough to remember this IP and young enough to want to buy this game... maybe. There’s also a 3v3 Fighting game based on the Amazon streaming superhero deconstruction show, ‘Invincible.’
The other April shovelware all comes in the form of Noteworthy Ports... and saying these compilations of …
nVidia Reveals DLSS5 Tech: Civil War Ensues
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/22/26 at 03:20 PM CT
It seems that the massive AI investments are starting to bear their first fruits in the realm of videogaming. nVidia recently revealed the brand-new, bleeding-edge 5.0 version of their DLSS upscaling software. DLSS has been around for a few years, mostly as a frame-generator or resolution upscaler, with functionality that “fudges” game visuals on low-end PCs or in games set to “low” in order to stabilize frame-rates and smooth-out low-end visuals on large, Ultra-High-Definition displays. DLSS5, however, aims to use AI for much deeper image analysis, allowing it to enhance the lighting and textures in a game to be closer to “photorealistic” than they actually are.
Unsurprisingly, in our idiotically-polarized world, the Internet has already drawn a line and chosen sides in a civil war over whether or not the results of DLSS5 look good or not.
For the record: They DO look good!
We have seen several examples of DLSS5 in action that were shown off by nVidia, and older …
Tenth Gen: It Looks Like We’re Doing This... Again.
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/15/26 at 03:36 PM CT
All of the news last year was pointing to a final winding down of the long-running console wars, with PC and Mobile gaming as the ultimate winners. With Sony allegedly cooling on hardware sales and wishing to pivot into developing “community,” Xbox seeming to throw all of its resources into the “Everything is an Xbox” campaign, and even Nintendo’s Switch 2 sales cratering after a strong Launch Window, it looked like all of the major players in console gaming (and Xbox – LOL, Xbox) were ready to disappear into the long night.
Alas, those of us who were looking forward to Unified Gaming may have counted our chickens before they were laid, as early 2026 has seen a spate of bad news that seems to have reversed everything we thought we knew was coming.
First, in a surprise move, Xbox fired both Phil Spencer and his presumed successor and protege, Sarah Bond, only to replace them with an executive with no gaming experience who used to be part of Microsoft’s AI …
He’s Everywhere X!: MOAR Yu-Gi-Oh! Edition
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/07/26 at 07:37 PM CT
It’s that time of year, again! The coming of March means that MeltedJoystick’s very own Resident Evil (and Biohazard), Chris, is another year older and another year more irredeemably corrupted. Last year, it was Time to Duel, as I revealed 10 different forms of Chris that were resident in Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, Duel Monsters.
Well, I’ve still been playing a LOT of "Master Duel," and it turns out that the game’s late creator and original artist DEFINITELY had Chris on the brain, as there are EVEN MORE of them than the ones I looked at last year.
10. Soitsu"A vaguely-abstract representation of an out-of-shape naked man daydreaming about his hidden potential by flexing while riding on the back of a paper airplane just feels too familiar to anyone who deals with Chris on a regular basis."
9. Goblin of Greed"Known internationally as ‘Greedy Goblin,’ this character has his own riches-to-rags story arc told through the variety of support cards …
Review Round-Up: Winter 2025
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/01/26 at 02:27 PM CT
Welcome back to another installment of the MeltedJoystick Review Round-Up. Here’s what our staff has reviewed since last time:
Nelson’s Reviews:
Erg, my Winter gaming wasn’t particularly inspiring. I mostly played mediocre games, and most of them cooperatively. The “Next Big RPG” I was excited about turned out to be a major dud, while Sony’s first-party PC ports did nothing to restore my faith in their ecosystem. Let’s hope 2026 manages to be better.
LEGO: The Hobbit – 2.5/5
Sackboy: A Big Adventure – 3/5
Dad of Boy – 3.5/5
Zoria: Age of Shattering – 2.5/5
River City Girls – 3/5
Chris’ Reviews:
Chris finally posted some late reviews of coop games, so that’s good. He also got done with “The Outer Worlds”... then immediately started “Greedfall,” so his Sandbox addiction is still in full effect.
The Outer Worlds – 3.5/5
Baldur’s Gate 3 – 4.5/5
It Takes Two – 4.5/5
Nick’s Review:
Nick’s only Winter review was his …
Backlog: The Embiggening – March, 2026
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/20/26 at 02:34 AM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! With the coming of March, we’re officially at the end of the Fiscal Year, around which all big corporations – including those in Industrial Gaming – build their existence. Will there be any real last-ditch efforts to bring in revenue? Will there be any ambitious go-getters looking to get a head start on the year’s profit margins before everyone else? Let’s take a look!
Well, we’ve got shovelware again in March. The most shovely of shovelware I’ve seen in quite some time is coming in the form of “Neopets: Mega Mini Games Collection,” which is simultaneously Licensed Swill, Casual Swill, AND a Port! Other than that, there’s a couple Annualized Releases in Sports: “WWE” and “MLB: The Show.” That leaves us with a number of Noteworthy Ports, including the “Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection,” a remake of “Fatal Frame 2,” a FOURTH volume of ‘Taito Milestones’ hitting the original Switch, plus …
Discord Attempts Suicide, Soon Forcing Global ID Checks
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/14/26 at 03:18 PM CT
Discord has been the biggest name in gamer chat and communications for a while now, supplanting old-school players like Mumble and Ventrillo through its alleged ease-of-use and plethora of added features. The MJ Crew doesn’t have a lot of first-hand experience with Discord, though, as we’ve stuck with Steam’s build-in text and voice chat features, and, aside from the occasional glitch, have found our favorite digital distribution platform’s added-value features have been “good enough” for our purposes.
And that turns out to have been a great decision, as Discord announced recently that they will be going above and beyond the call of corruption in complying with the United Kingdom’s overweening “THINK OF THE CHILDRED” online ID laws, and will start requiring an ID check or AI-powered facial scan from users – even those outside of the U.K. – in order to continue accessing Discord channels for adults. What “for adults” means is quite vague, and could range …
Backlog: The Embiggening – February, 2026
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/04/26 at 09:35 PM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! Unfortunately for us, the loaf-shaped, fur-covered, wiggly-nosed, pointy-toothed creature did indeed see its shadow, so we’ve got more Winter ahead of us. Will the imploding-building of Industrial Gaming provide us with something new to play during the extra 6 weeks of Winter? Will Indie developers come to the rescue? Or will we have to face our backlogs instead? Let’s dig into it!
We fortunately won’t have to get our shovels too dirty in February. It looks like there’s only one piece of Licensed Swill – a game based on the ‘My Hero Academia’ anime/manga – while there are zero Casual Trash games and zero Annualized Releases. There are a few Noteworthy Ports that are actually deserving of a mention: Three RPGs from yesteryear, “Dragon Quest 7,” “Tales of Berseria,” and “WiZman World” are getting thrown at a new audience (though, of those Noteworthy Ports, one is very much more noteworthy than the …
Last Year’s Best-Selling Console... Shouldn’t Have
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/01/26 at 01:23 PM CT
It seems that we may have jumped the gun in singing the praises of the Nintendo Switch 2’s glorious launch last year, as the latest and blandest from the Big-N only really sold “well” immediately after its launch, with Gamers quickly cooling on Nintendo’s milquetoast Launch Window games (and so, so many Ports/Remasters), leading to a massive drop-off during the 2025 Holiday season. Of course, neither Sony nor Microsoft did any better than Nintendo – and in fact, they actually did worse.
However, there’s one game console that kicked major booty while everyone else was failing... and it’s basically a toy that no serious Gamers or gaming hobbyist has probably heard of: The Nex Playground, a motion-controlled Casual game platform retailing for $250, with 5 pack-in games.
The real question, though, should be, “How in the world did the Nex Playground succeed when it did everything wrong?” Surely we have long enough memories to recall that a significant contributor …
View Archive
