By Nelson Schneider - 12/26/15 at 01:45 PM CT
After last year’s disastrous showing, we here at MeltedJoystick are glad to be able – once again – to present a run-down of the five biggest gaming Fails and the five biggest gaming Wins of the year 2015.
Top 5 Fails
5. OUYA Gutted and Bought-Out by Razer
The Little Indie Console that Couldn’t has officially given up the ghost. After getting off to a rocky start as an Android-based microconsole without Google’s support via the Play Store, OUYA resorted to bribing customers with free money in an attempt to get more people to look at the OUYA Store (I never did spend mine). When that didn’t work, OUYA allowed itself to be bought-out by PC gaming peripheral company, Razer. OUYA’s heart and soul will be ripped out, rebranded as “Cortex TV” and included as a feature in Razer’s own Android microconsole… which will likely fare little better than OUYA itself.
4. Activision Buys Mobile Dev, King, for ~$6 billion
Let’s think about this: One of the Triumvirate of Evil Western Game Publishers has purchased a mobile phone game developer known primarily for its insidious use of microtransactions. What is the most likely outcome? Activision is going to want to make-back that $6 billion using the business they just bought. I hope all you Activision/Blizzard fanboys out there enjoy the increased microtransaction pressure in EVERY Activision game from here on out.
3. Still No Commercially Viable VR Tech for PC or PS4
After last year’s debacle of Facebook buying the VR startup, Oculus, I didn’t think things could get worse for virtual reality technology. Of course, things did get worse! Sony’s Project Morpheus has been renamed PlayStation VR and still hasn’t officially launched, while VR on PC has become a fractured mess between Valve’s SteamVR (via a partnership with HTC), Facebook’s Oculus vaporware (promised for 2016), and Samsung’s Gear VR (which involves strapping a smartphone to your face and pretending you’re using VR). By the time this all shakes out, I’ll probably end up going with SteamVR, since I like and trust Valve but hate Facebook.
2. Japan Censoring or Not Localizing Games Due to SJW Pressure in the Western Games Media
Just when fans of Japanese games thought localization and uncensored content were givens, a massive Social Justice Warrior takeover of the biggest Western gaming media websites has resulted in Japan backpedaling and removing fanservicey content featuring full-grown women from their games. Whenever American partisan politics come out to play in a given arena, the long-time occupants of said arena get screwed-over. Gaming has taken a beating from EVERY side now! We used to have to worry about reactionary conservatives freaking out about violence, sex, irreligion, and the corruption of the youth. Now we’ve got radical liberals freaking out about the fact that every videogame DOESN’T feature feminist, LGBT, and racially diverse content. WE. CANNOT. WIN!
1. Still No Sixense STEM, Further Delayed Until April 2016
I was really looking forward to playing some FPSes with my new Sixense STEM this Christmas. I still have my trusty old Razer Hydra, but the cords are annoying and one of the triggers squeaks, so I’m ready for its successor to come roaring in. Unfortunately for me and other STEM pre-orderers, the fancy motion-sensing controller has been pushed back AGAIN, this time until April 2016.
Top 5 Wins
5. Microsoft Releases Windows 10, Gives Away Free Upgrades, and Creates Official Drivers for All XBONE Peripherals
Not only did Microsoft release their new version of Windows in 2015 (and it’s pretty great), they gave away free upgrades to everyone with an existing license for Windows 7 or Windows 8.x. This move comes after their last major OS revision featured an introductory pricing period where retail licenses were going for $40 rather than the rather high MSRP of $200. To top it all off, Windows 10 finally features full parity with its contemporary Xbox console with regard to peripheral compatibility. While Windows 7+ came with native drivers for the Xbox 360 controller and headset, the poor Chatpad never did receive official support (and the unofficial support is still super janky). With Windows 10 and the XBONE, all three of these peripherals are fully supported.
4. Square-Enix Announces New Studio, Tokyo RPG Factory
After spending the better part of a decade dressed up in the skin of Eidos/Crystal Dynamics, prancing around, and pretending to be a Westerner, Square-Enix accidentally stumbled upon some unexpected success when it released “Bravely Default” for the 3DS. “What? People expect a giant publisher created by the fusion of two RPG developers to publish RPGs?” Square-Enix thought. In response to the stunning revelation that people expect RPGs from an RPG company, this year Square-Enix announced the creation of Tokyo RPG Factory, whose inaugural game, codenamed “Project Setsuna,” will release some time during the 8th Generation.
3. French Consumer Rights Group Sues Valve for the Right to Resell Steam Games
With more and more media products going fully digital, consumers need certain laws to change in order to prevent an unfair imbalance of power between buyer and seller. I’ve been hoping for a digital marketplace to start allowing users to resell their digital purchases for some time, but now a French consumer rights group is actually taking Valve to task. If Valve consents to this type of change and incorporates it into Steam, the other gaming storefronts will have to follow suit or be left behind.
2. GOG Galaxy Released, is Amazing
GOG has been the best way to play classic PC games since… ever, considering how most classic PC games didn’t even work correctly on contemporary hardware at release. The only thing missing from CD Projekt’s DRM-free storefront was a nice client with features to help GOG members organize their libraries and allow installed games to update in-place. GOG Galaxy is the Polish company’s answer to the Steam client, but is totally optional, still DRM free, and managed to move through its entire development in 2015 and release on time.
1. Steam Controller Released, is Amazing
Valve’s reputation for living in a time warp is gradually wearing away as the company has managed to introduce quite a few significant changes and features to Steam in a short amount of time. After last year’s no-show for Steam hardware, I was delighted when Valve actually delivered this year and has made both Steam controllers and Steam Machine-branded PCs (via third-party partners) commercially available. Not only is the Steam controller finally here, it’s really, really, REALLY good! And since it’s still under active development via firmware updates and new features in the Steam client, we can rest assured that it will just keep getting better.
