This gamesindustry.biz article is offering less info and context than the press release it is cribbed from.

https://gog.prowly.com/375292-gog-joins-european-federation-of-game-archives-museums-and-preservation-projects-efgamp-expanding-its-game-preservation-efforts

I’ve never heard of EFGAMP, have they weighed in on the Stop Killing Games campaign?

If two platforms share compatibility then developers can choose to target the weaker system and release on both.

For some games this might involve a bit of compromise and cause resentment with the owners of the more powerful system, but for other (simple) games it might not involve any compromise at all.

Either way there are a lot of Switch consoles in the wild and there will be some publisher support for the Switch for a few years yet.

As an example from the other side of the fence ps4 is still getting titles:

https://opencritic.com/browse/ps4/last90

I just had a look at their offer and it has a few issues.

• Customers can’t resell a game license until 90 days after its release day and 7 days after their purchase (whichever is later).
• The option to list a license for sale may be revoked if the publisher delists the title
• The resale price is 100% of the current store price for the title but the reseller recieves only a 25% “resale commission”.
• This commission can be paid as store currency “IRON” or credited to your original payment method for a fee. If your original payment method has expired then only IRON is available.

https://help.robotcache.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029179691-Resale-Policy

So they keep 75% of resale revenue, the purchaser doesn’t see any discounts, and it can’t be used to access delisted games?

Its a bit of a monkey paw.

Any platform that offers transferable digital licenses will get a lot of customer loyalty but is likely to have mainstream publishers boycott it.

It could be structured so that everybody wins e.g. the purchaser pays less than the “new” price, with their payment then split as cash for the original publisher and store credit for the seller.

That way:

1. the purchaser gets a discount
2. the publisher gets a cut of the sale
3. the seller gets credit to spend on new games,
4. the platform gets that credit spent on their store (plus any additional money that might be required to complete a purchase)

As a customer I would find that attractive but I think most publishers would consider it a slippery slope.

It seems SKG = Stop Killing Games.

I hadn’t seen the acronym before.

unless they have a real reason for this new one lol

If they spin this so gen10 Xbox games don’t have to offer feature parity on Series S that will please a few people.

Looks like there has been an update

TLDW?

Simulated Gambling: 
Interactive activity within a game that:
a)     resembles or functions like a real world age restricted betting or gambling service; and
b)     does not provide rewards that can be redeemed for real world currency or traded to other players in-game for real world currency.

Note: For example, interactive activity within games that resembles or functions like real world commercial casinos, slot machines, lotteries, sports betting services or other betting services will be simulated gambling.

https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2023L01424/asmade/text

As far as Australia is concerned the mere appearance of a slot machine is enough, it doesn’t need to function like one.

Its a themed slot machine with fictionalised in game currency.

Defeat your landlord in this slot machine roguelike deckbuilder!

If rated today Australia would give it R18+, but it was reviewed before last years changes so it has been grandfathered in at M with the description “Simulated Gambling”.

https://www.classification.gov.au/about-us/media-and-news/news/new-classifications-for-gambling-content-video-games

Simulated gambling seems to have been grouped in as an adjacent issue as some jurisdictions regulate loot boxes.

Balatro is in a similar position in Australia where it is PG on the play store, M on switch and would be R18+ if reviewed today.

Epic needs to pump their MAU stats to look like a legitimate platform. They know what’s going on and are happy to pay.

What I don’t know is what they actually pay the publishers.

Of the OP list astro bot is ps5 only, final fantasy has a PC release scheduled for january and the rest are currently available on steam.

astro bot (4 titles over 11 years), dragon quest (11 titles over 38 years), ace attorney (11 titles over 23 years), or balatro (winning best indie game at both the game awards and the golden joysticks this year)?

It must be a big rock?!

Thanks for presenting your rational, its well reasoned within the definitions you give.

However the definitions might not be as universality accepted as we might like, for example this presents CRPG as synonymous with “role-playing video game” with ARPGs, TRPGs, MMORPGs, etc as subgenres.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_video_game

We’re going back to what made those early Diablo games feel so awesome but taking them in some cool, fresh directions

And also, you should win things by watching!

I’m not sure I agree.

Claiming that Skyrim is not a Computer Role Playing Game requires some supporting reasoning.

Something like the Berlin Interpretation might help but as it is we don’t know which features you use feel qualify/disqualify a title for inclusion.

As of now, it’s unclear if Corden is referring to first-party or third-party games making their way to Microsoft’s consoles.

This is news only when either: a 1st party strategy is confirmed, or 3rd party titles are named.

That 3rd party timed exclusives go multiplatform eventually is just business as usual.

I’m not sure we need a remake. The ports released in 2017/18 for windows/PS4/XboxOne/Switch work just fine and are compatible with current gen consoles.

This wasn’t as general as many people think:

1. It applied only to “auxiliary games” so anything using the primary engine was ok e.g. running in the fog for assassins creed or practicing moves in a combat game.
2. It applied only to US and Japan so anywhere else was unrestricted. The entire PAL region was unaffected.

But also:

3. The patent was held by Namco / Bandai Namco, they are a prolific publisher but made very limited use of their ability to use loading screen mini games freely.
4. The patent expired in 2015, despite this very few games have used loading screen mini games since.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5718632

I can only conclude that the industry just wasn’t that interested in the idea.

The source the Tweektown article is quoting also says:

Anticipation is so high that some competing game publishers are waiting as long as possible to commit to their release dates for the fall, according to people familiar with their deliberations who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The publishers want to see whether GTA 6 will make its deadline or slip into 2026, these people say, and they’re determined to keep their own games far, far away.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-09/-gta-6-release-date-will-decide-much-of-the-2025-game-calendar

This is probably more interesting, that some upcoming games which don’t have release dates may be waiting for this before they commit to a schedule is somewhat noteworthy.

Allow me to summarise:

Yes, but actually no