Issue 8

Fortnite Threatened With Class Action Lawsuit For Being Too Addictive

I was speechless when I first read this article. It seems like people are looking for any reason to fight against video games. In this case, it's specifically Fortnite, but it will spread from Epic's game to others. The link in this article to another article about the true role of dopamine shows how weak this lawsuit is, but it may hold some water if people begin to support it. Will we see a future where all video games are advertised with a disclaimer for addiction? Will video game commercials become like tobacco commercials where a somber voice has to say "Warning: video games are an addictive activity"? I wonder what the story behind the parents who began this class action lawsuit is. At a certain point, we need to look at the parenting that went on in these households where kids have become addicted to gaming. If games didn't exist, would the kids be addicted to something else? Like reading comic books? Or sports? At a certain point, we have to understand that it's not the games fault. I'll try and keep the newsletter updated with any follow-ups with this story. Until then, what's your take on this? I would love to have a discussion about this topic.

Image credit: Fortnite Twitter

Hideo Kojima Discusses the Challenge of Striking Out On His Own

This is an interesting look at Kojima's restart after leaving Konami. I remember the news of him leaving and the questions that accompanied it, like "what about Metal Gear? What about the new Silent Hills game?" Silent Hills was cancelled, and Metal Gear left a bad taste in our mouths with Metal Gear: Survive. When Kojima announced his own studio, I was excited to see what he had in store. When Death Stranding was later announced, I was a little worried. The original teaser looked weird, and I really just wanted another Metal Gear. But now, Death Stranding is my most anticipated game of 2019 and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Knowing the story behind Kojima's starting out on his own will make the experience so much better. I'm so glad that he was able to secure the funding and team he needed to make this game reality. We should refer back to this article after the release of Death Stranding to appreciate the journey!

Image credit: Hideo Kojima Twitter

Who's That Pokemon?

It's a new edition of Load Save! Welcome back to the weekly video game newsletter that covers what's going on in the video game world. This week's biggest news is the Blizzard Fallout story that's been developing over the past few days. It's a big topic, so I would love to hear your thoughts on it. We also got a new look at a the PS5 this week, so check out that article and share in my excitement! I can't wait for next-gen, I gotta feeling it's something special. If you have any thoughts about the stories this week or just want to say hey, you can respond to this email or tweet me @SethMcMorris. And, you can find me on Twitch at Twitch.tv/Mistermccurry. I'm playing through Celeste right now, but I may switch things up in the future!

As always, enjoy the read!

Development

Wattam Creator Just Wants To Make A Fun, Uniting Game

“I’m so sorry. I don’t care about the game industry." What a controversial yet brave thing to say. Wattam is that game that you have no idea about but when you see an article about it, you want to read it. It's light on details, but this article gives a glimpse into Wattam and the inspiration behind it. Keita Takahashi, the creator, wants the world to know that language can't stop people from working together and having fun. This game looks adorable and knowing the message behind it makes it even more enjoyable. I may not pick this one up on release, but I would love to play it sometime and get that warm feeling in my heart.

Image credit: Official Wattam Website

Pokemon Shield Will Have A Unique Form of Ponyta

In the name of parallelism, I'm linking this short article to match Sirfetch'd announcement from a few newsletters ago. This unique form of Ponyta looks ridiculously adorable, like Game Freak took it right out of a children's book. It's cool that it will be psychic-type (I always have too many fire-type and I can never decide who to use in my main lineup), but other than that there isn't too much interesting news about it. Just a new form! Now we know the unique Pokemon for Shield, do you know which one you're going to pick up? I'm still on the fence, but I'm leaning towards Sword and Sirfetch'd. Heads up, we're about a month away from release, so we're running out of time to decide!

Image credit: Pokemon.com

Up Close and Personal With The PS5

This is so exciting. I woke up the morning that this story broke, and it was one of the best mornings I've had in recent history. It's crazy that a few minor details about a system that's more than a year away has me so excited. I have really high hopes for the haptic controller feedback, and the upgraded shoulder buttons sound amazing as well. I can't wait to get my hands on it! The only takeaway from this article is that there's a slightly higher chance that the PS5 will look like that disgusting prototype rumor that's been going around for a while. If it does, I'll keep my hopes high for a beautiful controller. What's your most anticipated feature in the PS5?

Image credit: Playstation

Reviews

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered Review

I remember playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game on my PC because I had nothing else to do. For some reason, my family had the game and I found it on a lazy day and decided to give it a try. I expected a crappy movie video game that would take a few hours of my time but nothing more. How I was wrong. This game was really fun! It was a great third person shooter that brought me actual joy to play. It's sad to see that this remaster only bring a few graphical upgrades, but it's still nice to have on current-gen. Who knows, maybe some kid will find it lying around and play it out of boredom to find how great of a game it is, like I did.

Image credit: Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered Launch Trailer

Community

Kickstarter Profits From Harry Potter Event

The magic of SEO and luck! This story is a reminder to chase your dreams, because you might get lucky and exceed your goals. In all seriousness, it's awesome that this happened for this small company. Watching the "trailer" reminds me of PS3 title Lair, a huge disappointment that disgraced the name of dragons. But maybe this game will get it right. I surely hope they put out something good with all the backers they have!

Image credit: Day of Dragons Kickstarter

Blizzard Bans Hearthstone Champ For Supporting Hong Kong Protests

This is the hot topic of the week. I talked about it in the last newsletter, but it's important to reiterate that we should be aware of what's going on around the world, especially in the video game community. Video game culture is also taking a part in the protests, as Mei from Overwatch is becoming a symbol for the protests. I side with those who are upset about stripping Ng Wai, the professional Hearthstone player, from his award money and future competitions. It's shameful to see a company act so hastily to try and avoid controversy. It's also important to recognize the two interviewers who were fired by Blizzard after interviewing Wai. They were not fault, but Blizzard desperately wanted to separate itself from this situation. Nobody operates inside a tube. While video games are a great hobby, we still have to recognize the bigger picture of how video games fit into the world around us. It's admirable to see Wai express his passion on the stage that he was provided, and it's a dangerous step away from democracy to filter free speech like this. This a heated topic, so I want to hear what your thoughts are. Do you think Blizzard acted correctly? Could they have handled this better? Let's have a discussion about it.

Update: Blizzard has released a statement regarding this news, you can read it here.

Image credit: Blizzard Twitter

Breath of the Wild 2 Announcement Trailer, But It's 1999

This is so cool that it made me rewatch the original trailer. I'm so excited for BotW 2 and this makes me so much more hype. Not much else to say, other than props to the people who made this, and go play Breath of the Wild if you haven't. I've never known a better console seller than this game. I mean. Wow.

Image credit: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 64 sequel - Nintendo E3 1999 Video

Long Read

A Discussion On Difficulty In Gaming

When Sekiro was released, there was a big discussion about difficulty in video games. The idea of an "easy mode" in the game was floating around, and hardcore gamers got upset and said that it would ruin the game. I think difficulty in video games has been and always will be an important discussion. From my point of view, I enjoy when games provide some difficulty. If a game is too difficult, I either stop playing or I move to something easier if I'm not in the mood to struggle with a hard game. The pro of difficulty in games is the reward it offers once you beat a difficult part. I once spent weeks on the Terra-Nort boss fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Remix. I kept trying because I wanted to know how the game ended, and I was not about to look it up online. I had spent hours on this game and I was not going to let one boss take it all away. It's hard to describe the feeling I had when I finally beat the boss, but you know it if you've ever overcome something that was difficult. That feeling is what draws me back to difficulty in games. In the end, if you're upset about the difficulty in a game, there's thousands of other games for you to play! Take a break from the hard one and come back later. What's your take on difficulty in games? Do you think every game should offer difficulty levels? Let me know!

Image credit: https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/dark-souls

Before You Go

The Weather's Getting Colder, But The Games Are Heating Up

I can't wait to see what happens next week in the video game world! We also have some big releases slated for the end of this month, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, MediEvil, AND Outer Worlds coming out October 25th. On Halloween night, we have the highly anticipated Luigi's Mansion 3 dropping! It's going to be a good end of the month, and November doesn't stop! Thanks for stopping by, until next time!