This Week in Games

The Final Countdown

Hey folks! Lots of interesting news this week, but first, I'm going to go on a little editorial.

Earlier this week, the developers of multi-platform indie horror game Martha is Dead posted this notice on Twitter, stating that because Sony had demanded eleventh-hour cuts to the game's content, the physical copies of the game would be delayed. (Digital copies are unaffected, though still subject to editing.) Knowing how difficult and costly physical releases of games can be for small studios – and how having to completely re-do the process due to mistakes or licensor demands can be financially devastating -- my immediate reaction was “wow, this blows!”

And then I thought about it some more, and I got even more mad. We've been seeing this sort of thing happening way too much lately, particularly on Steam and the PlayStation Network.

Nowadays, storefronts like Steam have such a huge presence that not being allowed to sell on there can be the death-knell for a small developer. These online storefronts can set standards for what kind of content they want to offer. That's their right as a private business – though, because these storefronts are so huge, they can wake up one day, decide a certain type of game or content is no longer wanted, and suddenly a bunch of developers and publishers can't sell their games anymore without editing and re-submitting them… if the storefronts will even bother looking at them again.

Large publishers can deal with this sort of thing. Smaller publishers and devs, though? They don't have the clout, money, or experience to push back. This sort of thing can ruin them overnight.

We've seen this a lot on Steam: visual novel releases with adult content get edited to meet the platform's standards, only to be rejected – with some getting yanked down after release. Sony's been putting harsher content standards on fanservicey games like Senran Kagura, forcing delays and late software revisions. And now they're here, right before release, getting antsy about the content of Martha is Dead. I've heard about the scene in question that rustled their jimmies, and while it is incredibly gross and disturbing… that's kind of the point of a horror game made for grown adults. If they had a problem, they should have said something sooner instead of getting cold feet at the last minute.

Not only does it feel like these “acceptable content” policies for storefronts change at a whim, but it also seems like it doesn't apply equally to all publishers and developers. Sony can publish a fairly graphic sex scene in The Last of Us 2 because that game is *~critically acclaimed art~*. Netherrealm Studios and WB Games can include some really stomach-churning fatalities in the modern Mortal Kombat games. I'm sure that Rockstar Games is already planning to “push the envelope” with something in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI and there will be very little pushback because GTA prints money. Shifting standards and letting the big boys skirt the rules is blatantly hypocritical and directly affects small and marginalized developers. It's a frustrating situation that affects all kinds of games, and we should be paying more attention.

(Also, please consider supporting alternative storefronts for buying PC games like itch.io or publisher stores. Not only do they allow more content than Steam, but they also give a bigger cut back to the developers. It's a win for everyone!)

Anyhow, that's my (long) starter rant. Let's talk about countdowns! We've got a lot of them this week, some for announcements, and some for the death of beloved consoles.

ATLUS AND CAPCOM HAVE BROUGHT OUT THE CLOCKS, BUT WHAT ARE THEY COUNTING DOWN TO?

Behold! Capcom has introduced a mystery URL! What could it possibly be for?

While there's speculation from some circles that it might be related to Resident Evil, most folks (myself included) think that this is probably counting down to some sort of Street Fighter related announcement. Street Fighter V released its final DLC content not too long ago, and that character – Luke – was said by Capcom to be “the future of Street Fighter,” indicating that they already had something in the works.

Also: the countdown ends right around the same time as the conclusion of the current Capcom Pro Tour event. That's awfully convenient! There's also a big Street Fighter sale on Steam going on and Street Fighter characters crossing over into SNK's King of Fighters All-Star mobile game. Hmmmm. There might be something here, folks! Of course, this is Capcom we're talking about, so there's like a 50% chance this announcement gets leaked somehow beforehand.

And then there's the Atlus countdown, which is… considerably less ambiguous, given that it's on a website with “Soul Hackers” in the URL.

Soul Hackers, as you may or may not remember, is part of the Shin Megami Tensei series’ Devil Summoner spinoffs. It originally released back in 1997 on the Saturn in Japan, got a port to PSOne, and then saw an enhanced and fully localized 3DS re-release in 2012. (If you're curious about the 3DS version, you should probably buy it soon – we'll get to that shortly.) It's basically “what if the Metaverse happened, but it was based on the internet circa 1997 and was more than just figuratively soul-destroying?” It also featured the best female character in MegaTen series history, the incredibly rad demoness Nemissa.

It's hard to say what exactly this new Soul Hackers thing is – a remake? A sequel? A mobile gacha game? But something Soul Hackers is clearly coming. I'm hoping that, whatever it is, it sticks to that charming late-90s aesthetic vision of the future of the internet rather than going for full-on modern commentary about meta, crypto, and web3 BS. I get enough of that crap in my Twitter feed every day, thanks.

THE 3DS AND WII U ESHOPS ARE SOON TO BE SHUTTERED

Alas, all things must come to an end. With the Switch currently perched high atop a mountain of console sales, the Wii U and 3DS have been sent into the videogame equivalent of hospice: no new games being released, but still getting minimal online support to keep their games and eShops connected. However, their days are now officially numbered: Nintendo has announced that all eShop purchases for those two systems will be ending in March 2023. It's not a complete shutdown yet – you'll still be able to re-download stuff you bought for an unspecified amount of time post-closing – but the message is clear: if you want digital games on the Wii U or 3DS, you'd better get them soon.

You might remember that Sony announced a PlayStation Store shutdown last year for the PS3 and PS Vita, only to reverse that decision a few weeks later after massive fan outcry. (Who knows how much longer that will last, though…) In contrast, the response to Nintendo's decision is more of a sad recognition that, yes, these consoles’ time has ended. Keeping up old game servers and storefronts can be extremely costly and difficult, as this Twitter thread explains. In fact, the anger is less about “Nintendo is shuttering these stores on legacy platforms” and more about “hey, why the hell is Nintendo so amazingly bad at giving people access to their back catalog of games, and demonizing those who turn to emulation when they have no other affordable and accessible options?”

I mean, it's always a good time to be asking that question, but this particular turn of events has brought it to the forefront. Their recent turn towards Disney Vault-style FOMO on things like the Super Mario 3D All-Stars set and their classic mini-console reissues has added fuel to the fire. Why is the company with perhaps the greatest legacy games catalog out there so unwilling to let you pay money to play what you want, how you want, when you want? With the eShops closing, even more games (including some emulated GBA and DS games that were only available on the Wii U store) will once again be made unavailable unless you're willing to pay an absurd premium for a used copy at a retrogaming convention.

Anyway, redeem those prepaid eShop cards, folks, because in a little over a year there will be less places to spend them.

THE SONIC CINEMATIC UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the film) has a new trailer from THE BIG GAME. Let's have a watch!

Paramount and Sega are expecting this to be quite the success, it seems. They're so confident, in fact, that they announced via the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account that there's a third movie already in preproduction… and a spinoff live-action series for Paramount+ to further elaborate on the film universe.

Movie universe Sonic is definitely here to stay. How many Sonic continuities are there now? I think an Into the Sonic-Verse feature is long overdue at this point, but that might draw the attention of Ken Penders again, and nobody wants that.

NEWSBITS

• Aksys Games held an announcement stream just before I started writing this week's column. They've got a bevy of otome games coming over the next year for the Switch, including Piofiore: Episodio 1926, Lover Pretend, Paradigm Paradox, and the yet-to-be-titled in English Kima wa Yukima ni Koinegau. But if that's not your area of interest, fear not: they're also bringing out throwback 2D fighter Blazing Strike for PS4, PS5, and Switch along with the absurdly cute 3D dungeon crawler Mon-Yu (full Japanese title too damn long for anyone to want to type out) from beloved Wizardry-style game specialist Experience Inc.
  
  Finally, there's Horgihugh and Friends, an absolutely adorable 2D scrolling shooter starring a cartoon doggo and catte flying old-timey planes. This one's been out on the Japanese eShop for a while, and I'm surprised it took this long to make the journey over. Definitely check it out if you like shooters or cute co-op games.
• It's a weird week for retro throwback announcements, with some revivals of games I don't think anyone expected. First off is this enhanced 3D remake of Toaplan's trend-setting arcade game Snow Bros from Korean developer CRT Games. No footage yet of this (for now) Switch exclusive, but the “SATAN AWAITS” in this promo screenshot seems so amusingly, bizarrely out-of-place.

Secondly, there's Ganryu 2, a sequel to a Visco-developed Neo Geo action game very few people know about. Why is it getting a sequel? Beats me, but seeing as how other Visco obscurities like Vasara, Andro Dunos, and Breakers are getting updates and sequels, I suspect that Visco probably licenses out their IP really cheaply. Well, at least Ganryu 2 looks interesting enough. I'll play it.
Finally, Limited Run Games is re-releasing The Eye of Typhoon, a Korean fighting game with an interesting history. It's a sort-of sequel to the Neo Geo game Fight Fever, and this game was also slated to hit the Neo at some point… but only came out on DOS PCs and the 3DO. Also, the company that made both games, Viccom, was instrumental in helping SNK find success in the Korean market – so much so that SNK named one of its most beloved recurring game characters after the company's late president Kim Kaphwan.
Hey, they finally fixed a lot of Cyberpunk 2077! It was trending on Twitter for a few hours after CD Projekt Red showed off the new fixes, further proving that the game should have released this year instead. But then it seemed like everyone remembered “oh, right, Elden Ring's almost here” and any desire to go back to Cyberpunk

I think that about wraps things up for this week. Any thoughts on the Martha is Dead debacle? Theories on the countdowns? Recommendations for Wii U and 3DS games to grab before the eShops go kaput? Drop your takes in the forums linked below! Take it easy, enjoy the weekend, and support your favorite small game developers!