🎮 The Ghost of Origami

The Gaming Community Still Isn’t Ready to Talk About Race

I'm glad articles like these are still being written. I'm glad that protests are still going on around the country. I'm glad people are still talking about this and demanding a change. The hard thing for a lot of people is the fire that's died inside of them to fight for equality in our industries, so I'm glad to see articles like these that encourage those people to continue to push for equality and become allies and understand that this is a long marathon, not just a spring that lasted for a week.

I hope that we will see real changes impact our community and industry. We need to push these companies that are saying they're instituting diversity and inclusion teams in their company to actually include more diverse employees. If we don't keep on them, nothing is stopping them from returning to the way they were before.

Image credit: This article

Microsoft to launch xCloud streaming free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September

I originally tweeted about this when the news broke, but I think this is a great idea and really solidifies Microsoft's focus on inclusivity and services. At this point, I'm almost positive that next-gen will be a battle between Xbox's unbeatable services and PlayStation's killer exclusive titles.

I recently bought a Smart TV, which could be a great platform for xCloud to stream on. I'm already committed to buying a PS5 and I don't think I'll have the budget to buy the Series X, but if I could stream Xbox games to my TV and play them with a PlayStation controller, Xbox would have me in their ecosystem. I can't wait to see what that looks like.

In other next-gen news, Geoff Keighley got some hands-on time with PlayStation's 5 controller, the DualSense, and the built-in PS5 title Astro's Playroom. You can watch that here.

Image credit: Xbox

214 Million Americans Play Video Games, ESA Reports

If your into statistics, this one is gonna be a real treat.

ESA released their annual video game industry report this week and it shows some pretty interesting insights. It talks about who plays, why we play, and how it affects us. It's really cool to see what we've been saying for a long time backed up statistically.

The biggest surprise to me was the increase in Americans who play video games. Only one year ago it was over 164 million, now it's estimated to be 214 million. Coronavirus definitely played a large part in that increase, but it's cool to see this industry grow so much.

Ubisoft executives resign amid sexual misconduct allegations

It looks like Ubisoft is trying to clean house to rid itself of toxic and "mafia-like" culture, but it's hard to tell if this is sincere or if it's performative. According to this article, one of the accused executives. Cécile Cornet, isn't resigning, but is stepping down from her previous position, "pending reassignment."

This is strange to me and I'm going to keep an eye on Ubisoft's moves to see if they're serious about all of this. In other Ubisoft news, they're still insisting that their very political games (Far Cry 6 and Watch Dogs: Legion) are not political, they used a poem about the Holocaust in a cinematic trailer for Legion. and some of their ex-developers have created a new studio. Maybe they were tired of the culture at Ubisoft?

Image credit: Ubisoft

Just For Laughs

The 7 best couriers in PC games | Rock Paper Shotgun

It's been a while since we've had a Just For Laughs article, and with the world seeming kind sad recently, I thought it would be a good time to bring it back. Plus, it relates to Death Stranding releasing on PC this week. An even greater reason to post!

Also, shoutout to the donkey in Dota 2. Who knows what he's doing but you gotta love that blow-up version of him.

Image credit: This article

Feeling a bit ghosty

Welcome back to Load Save! I'm feeling much better than last week so I'm able to put much better work into this issue (that means the return of images, yay!). This was a great week for current-gen games (Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario) and for hype for next-gen. This week we take a look at

Microsoft launching Project xCloud for free with Game Pass Ultimate

The annual ESA Report shows how many Americans are gamers

The current state of mistreatment in the industry

So whether you're becoming "The Ghost" or enjoying your time in a Paper world, I hope you have a great weekend and really enjoy this read.

Stay safe!

Let's Talk!

Each issue of Load Save is filled with articles that encourage discussion. If you have any comments on this week’s issue or just want to say hey, shoot me an email!

You can also shoot me a tweet or find me on Facebook.

Development

Ghost of Tsushima: The history behind Sucker Punch’s PS4 samurai game

I read this article and I'm writing this comment on July 16th, a little under 4 hours before The Ghost of Tsushima comes out. Seeing the respect that was in place while making this game makes me even more excited to journey into this world created by Sucker Punch. I'm so ready to journey to Tsushima.'

I'm going to go watch Seven Samurai now.

With Ghost of Tsushima officially launched, Sucker Punch wrote a short article about their journey of creating the game. It's short, probably to avoid any possible spoilers, but it's still a nice look at the challenge of creating this game after inFamous. Read it here!

Image credit: Sucker Punch

Community

Twitch Forces U.S. Army To Stop Tricking Viewers With Fake Giveaways

Last week I talked about how I felt uncomfortable with the Army using Twitch and video games like Call of Duty to market themselves and try to get new recruits. This week, the Army has done another weird thing on Twitch.

This continues to get worse and I feel like it continues to generate bad will towards the Army. I'm assuming that keeping this Twitch channel around and continuing to support Twitch Rivals is generating them some sort of ROI, but it's hard for me to imagine why that would be.

I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we'll see the Army doing something shady on Twitch.

Image credit: Army

Before You Go

Spending my week as Jin

Thanks for checking out another issue of Load Save! We're getting closer to the 50th edition of Load Save and it's so exciting. I'm not sure if I'll do anything big for the occasion, but I'll be thinking! And, if you have any ideas on what we could do, shoot me an email!

This week I plan to get lost on the island of Tsushima. I've only played a few hours so far, but it's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played and I'm so excited to play it more. Whatever plans you have for the week, enjoy it!

I'll see you next time!