Games Inbox: Should Sega team-up with Microsoft in Japan?

The Friday Inbox has trouble getting excited about backwards compatibility, as one reader sticks up for Fast & Furious Crossroads.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

Console team-up
Very interesting rumour about Sega having some kind of massive announcement next week, but I don’t see how it could possible be a new console. The guy even says it’s not Dreamcast 2, so surely that rules out anything along those lines. And those saying a streaming service, it’s basically the same thing. Sega has no tech, very few non-PC exclusives, and just nowhere near the clout to run such a thing, when you compare it to Microsoft or Google.

The rumour I heard that did make sense though is that they could be teaming up with Microsoft to rebrand the Xbox in Japan as a Sega machine. That would explain why a Japanese mag has the exclusive and why a Japanese journalist would think it a massive deal, even if it doesn’t seem quite that big to the rest of the world.

I’m not sure it’s really going to help though. Sega must have been pretty irrelevant in Japan recent if all they’ve been making is PC games and I’m not sure just changing the names is going to make any difference to Xbox’s success if it doesn’t also have games that Japanese gamers like. We’ll see though. I just hope it’s not something lame like a new Sonic game or something.
Pushkin

Sega megaton
As an old school Sega fan I really don’t know what to even hope for from this supposed megaton announcement. I don’t see how it can be a console or streaming service but what else fits the bill? The only thing I want is for Sega to go back to make Sega style games but they haven’t done that for so long now it’s not like they can just flick a switch and instantly go back to making Skies Of Arcadia and Shinobi without just getting someone else to do it for them.

As GC said in their article, the old Sega is long dead. 20 years at least. How they’re going to make a comeback from that I have no idea. I mean, I’d love to see it but how is it going to work? Where are they suddenly going to get the money and expertise from?

My best guess, sadly, is that this will amount to nothing and it’ll just be the guy in Famitsu hyping it up. I hope I’m wrong but this is one thing I’m not going to get overhyped for.
Flatty

Minor positive
I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it or anything but I still have a hard time believing anyone cares that much about backwards compatibility. Microsoft only started making a thing about it because they didn’t have any new games and I really don’t know that playing Blinx The Time Sweeper in 4K with HDR is really going to be enough for me to buy an Xbox Series X.

Like I said, it’s a net positive but I hope they don’t go on about it too much because I don’t really care. I have a feeling though that then next Xbox 20/20 event is going to be all about that and other services and features stuff, like Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud. Very important I’m sure, but I know I’m not the only one that’s just wishing they and Sony would cut to the chase and give us what we want: game footage.

I don’t know if I’m going to be buy a new console this year and if I do the reason won’t be backwards compatibility, it’ll be games and, to some degree at least, price. And I don’t know any more about that now than I have ever.
Plum

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Giving back
Until that reader wrote in yesterday I didn’t realise just how barren the release schedules had got. EA was the one that shocked me the most though. They’ve basically got nothing coming out at all except the usual sports games. I know they’ve promised another Battlefield and Star Wars at some point but don’t they see themselves as the biggest publisher in the world? How can the biggest publisher have no games?

I hope this is just a natural lull coinciding with the coronavirus because otherwise that is some very weak leadership. They’ve got their E3 event which will hopefully show something but you can only imagine how much harder they’d be forced to try if they didn’t have FIFA’s microtransactions to rely on.

Likewise what Activision would do if Call Of Duty was no longer a guaranteed hit. It was start to dip for a few years there but never got bad enough that they had to do anything serious about it. It’s not like these are my favourite companies or anything but they make so much money every year and they basically put nothing back into the games industry.
Colm

Franchise expansion
Great to see that Nintendo theme park area nearly finished, I think it looks great. Between this and the Lego and the rumoured movie it does look like they’re getting their games’ names out there more since the new boss took over and I’m all for that.

I wish it wasn’t always just Mario though. I know he’s the most famous and I guess he makes sense for the theme park but I would much rather see a (CGI) movie for Zelda or Metroid. There were rumours about a Zelda show for Netflix but that doesn’t seem to have amount to anything, which is a shame.

Companies always seem to be looking for the next Lord of the Rings style fantasy and while Zelda’s plots are usually pretty simple there’s plenty to build on there and great name recognition. Nothing’s going to get announced with coronavirus around but I hope Nintendo’s expansion… expands in the future.
Blinko

Raising the games
Having just watched The Last Of Us Part 2 deep dive it’s reinforced my opinion that this year’s big games are all going to disappoint. For me anyway. I’m looking at The Last Of Us Part 2, Ghost Of Tsushima, and Cyberpunk 2077.

I’ve seen gameplay clips of all of them now and I was just expecting… more! No doubt all three look gorgeous but so far the gameplay shown for each of them looks completely run of the mill. I really hope I’m wrong but a gameplay deep dive is a great opportunity to show something different, but none of these games have done that and so I worry that there isn’t anything new in any of them.

Disappointing doesn’t mean bad and I’m sure they’ll all be very good, I was just hoping to see something, other than graphics, that raises them above other games. At the minute though that doesn’t look to be the case.
Adam

After backlash
Thank you for reviewing Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath and marking it down for its price. I wasn’t against the idea of it, if the story had been as big as the main game and there were more characters (I was convinced there’d be more than just those three) but three hours long and three fighters? I can’t believe they’ve tried to get away with that.

What am I saying? I’m sure they’ll get away with it. Some people seem to find it impossible to criticise their favourite games and companies, no matter what they do. All I know is I don’t need to spend £35 to find out RoboCop looks as lame as he does in the trailers.
Kubert

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Not so furious
When the gameplay for the new Fast & Furious game went up I saw a ton of people online mocking the hell out of it, saying it looks abysmal and the worst game they’d seen in years. And despite never having watched the films I was curious about just how bad this game could be, so watched the trailer and it looks… decent.

I mean it’s a bit rough looking but if they manage to nail the mechanics I think it could be a fun title – especially with friends. By the looks of things, it is linear which to be honest is a plus point in many ways, as it seems almost everyone is a bit sick of 50+ hour, busywork laden open world games. So it’s refreshing to have something different for a change. In fact, it kinda looks like a silly PlayStation 2 game that’s gotten a remaster which, again, is kinda cool.

I know it’s all subjective but by people’s impressions, you’d think the game had spat in their nan’s face before giving her a DDT through a coffee table and I don’t get it. I remember the reaction was similar to the reboot of Bubsy, which turned out just to be a totally fine, if generic, inoffensive platformer and not the worst game of the generation as many people claimed.
Wally DüFrankenstein

Inbox also-rans
I saw this on YouTube the other day and couldn’t help feel nostalgic about Metal Gear Solid. Great to hear the voice actors again and what a great exchange between them. Although I’m surprised there was a film in the making, is that true?
Lucratcia (PSN ID)

GC: Sort of. Here’s our story on it and the clip.

Far Cry 5 is free to play on Uplay from now until the end of the weekend.
Andrew J.
PS: Just got a bargain on Amazon, someone was selling the PlayStation Move Navigation controller for about £25 new, including postage. The cheapest price for new on Amazon is now at £112.97! I was going to use it to play Okami on PlayStation 3 with a Move motion controller.

This week’s Hot Topic
The question for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Podge, who asks what classic game or franchise have you never played?

With so many formats over the years nobody gets to play every well-received video game that’s released but what’s the most famous one that you’ve somehow avoided? Was it because you didn’t have the right console or PC, because it didn’t appeal at the time, or simply because you didn’t have the money?

Was there any notable game you went for a long time without playing and recently got a chance to try out? What did you think of it in the end and do you have plans to catch up on the other titles you’ve missed?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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