LastStandMedia
patreon
Defining Duke, Episode 160 | Palworld + Hellblade II - The TRUTH About Xbox's Dilemma
🕑 Added 2024-01-25 17:00:12 +0000 UTCFollowing the Xbox Developer_Direct, we have much to unpack. In the world of Avowed, we received an extended showing that gave us more gameplay, but some viewers were still left with that same sense of uncertainty. With the game confirmed to be AA style, in an alpha state, and aiming for a Fall 2024 release, the Duke boys get into the expectations surrounding this title and what is missing. Meanwhile, Hellblade 2 was at the center of its own sort of conversation. While it did have an incredible showing, details presented after may have warped the perspective a touch. Hellblade 2 will sit at $50, be digital only, and is stated to be a similar length to the first game. Considering the amount of trailers shown off and how it was revealed alongside the Series X, many were expecting a more grand expansion compared to the original Hellblade. With these two side-by-side, it paints a clearer picture of what expectations should be set for the 2018/2019 draft class of Xbox. However, Xbox has secured both exclusively and in its own service, the biggest game of 2024. Palworld has stormed onto the scene breaking all sorts of records on Steam and there's little doubt that by the time you hear this episode, it will have gone on to set more milestones for itself. While there is controversy surrounding the artistic direction of the game, the Dukes can't help but enjoy it. Is that wrong? More importantly, what is the impact that one of the biggest games ever is going to have on the industry, and Xbox in particular? It's a packed week, so let's unpack, shall we?
Timestamps:
0:19:42 - Avowed Extended Gameplay from the Xbox Podcast
0:37:02 - ID@Xbox introduces Indie Select
0:49:10 - FF16 coming to Xbox?
0:51:46 - Was Quake 6 teased?
0:54:40 - Changes are coming to Halo Infinite
1:04:33 - Year of Closures
1:12:23 - Square Enix Marketing changes
1:16:39 - Cyberpunk 2 could have multiplayer
1:22:16 - What We’re Playing
1:30:32 - Are Japanese developers dominating this generation?
1:37:53 - Hellblade 2 is digital only, priced at $50
2:09:11 - Palword is a huge success
2:31:39 - Walmart is prepping to remove Starfield from shelves
2:43:28 - Game Pass Pick of the Week and Ending Questions
Comments
Ben Lealand
With the founders of rocksteady forming there own new studio how good would it be if they made the tmnt last ronin game , dreams are free I guess
A Hind D
Man Matty kept it REAL this episode on the Hellblade stuff.
Carter Evenson
Matty’s dogs on the car sound system is nails on chalkboard 😅great show fellas 😂👏🏻
NeO JD
Nicky V went in 😄
MetroidIsBetterIn2D
Just listened to the Hellblade section: People who are misinterpreting or taking issue with what Matty is saying about Ninja Theory and Asobo making Naughty Dog style games are just being either ND or PS fanboy weirdos imo. It has always been abundantly clear what Matty means by this and those people should touch some grass. I say this as someone who absolutely adores The Last of Us Part 1 and Uncharted 4. Those games are 10/10 imo.
Gonçalo Ferreira
Matty just comes across as completely misunderstanding Naughty Dog and the success they have. Doubling down on Plague Tale being Naughty Dog style game it just makes you wonder which ones? Is it because you have an older character protecting a younger one? That’s basically how close they get. Ninja Theory has never made a game with the same level of attention to detail as Naughty Dog… what’s the frame of reference here? DMC(lol), Enslaved(lol), that terrible PS3 game? Hellblade was an indie game with awful puzzles, basic combat, and a whole lot of walking. Is it because of motion/performance capture that Ninja Theory is compared to Naughty Dog here? Also they don’t need this comparison, the devs probably don’t even like the pressure of expectations coming from that comparison. Nothing about the comparison makes sense, nothing is gained.
Stinkling
Xbox would allow a literal bucket of poop onto gamepass. Theres no seal of quality on there, dont kid yourself. Anything to pad out the game number.
DiscipleGamer
You know as I read through these comments the toxicity is astounding.
Davario
Matty's take on Square Enix is interesting. Would he be singing this song if these titles were coming to Xbox? These titles don't have a proven track record on this platform that is why Square chose to opt out, sure they lost sales but let's not act like it is in the millions. Sony and Nintendo ( both Japanese companies) are the current market leaders have strong historic ties with Square Enix and it's only logic to understand why they have the partnerships they do. Xbox and or Gamepass is not the saviour of SE so why keep acting like they are? If anything Square release too much too soon, that's there primary issue. They market through Directs and State of Play primarily which in this day and age is most consumers way of choice. If they just timed there releases to not cannibalise one and other then there more original and new IP would sell much better.
Brandon
We're all excited for the next acquisition and will revel when Xbox buys the next big publisher. Sucks you can't enjoy it and instead decided to be a brat about the whole process :(
John
Palwlorld - Do you think the fact that this game is on GamePass means that Nintendo doesn’t won’t have much of a case? Xbox looked at it and had a chance to deny it, but they didn’t. They are marketing and proliferating it on their platform, if the devs are sued, wouldn’t Xbox also be caught up in that lawsuit?
CUMSoftware
Halo Infinite getting sunsetted… OBVIOUSLY. Good riddance.
Otacon_Ocelot
Damn all these layoffs…almost like y’all shouldn’t been cheering on biggest merger ever. If you say I’m sorry for the devs now is just admitting you didn’t know what you was talking about prior to it closing. Ignorance
Zeke the Plumber
Thanks for reading the Avowed write-ins, I appreciate the discussion
Carlos Hernandez
Oof bad timing
Michael Welter
The timing! You'll get it next week.
MrMattyPlays
Yeah, unfortunate timing, but we’ll dive deep into those next week. Might be for the best as this story seems to be moving fast with lots of updates.
joseph lemons
Just missed talking about the layoffs oof
Michael Mashpotato
Yooo…. 🙌
