The "too many games" problem (Jason Schreier)
How many great games will you never have time to play?
At an unknowable point in the past five years, gamers were granted three wishes:
I want more games to play than I could ever have time for.
I want them to be cheap, if not free.
And I want to be able to play them whenever and however I want.
The result has been great for fans of the hobby, but a radiating headache for game creators. Over the next two episodes, we’ll learn why we’re suddenly drowning in video games (more than we could play in a lifetime) and what both players and game creators are doing to adapt.
Today, we’ll focus on how “too many games” became gaming’s unusual dilemma. Bloomberg reporter and Triple Click host Jason Schreier joins me to explain how the video game business is battling with its own abundance.
Act 1: Heaven for gamers
Act 2: Hell for game makers
Patreon bonus: A big chat about mainstream media and gaming
Act 3: News of the week
On the Patreon
An extra-long conversation with Jason Schreier about mainstream media’s reluctance to cover games
The latest episode of Video Games Journalism 101: Reviews!
Free game of the week
What else I’m enjoying
Act 1: Heaven for gamers
The Video-Game Industry Has a Problem: There Are Too Many Games (Bloomberg)
Hell Is Us review (IGN)
Hell is Us Director Calls Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Shadow-Dropped Release Date ‘A Little Callous’ (IGN)
A new Roblox gardening game is hotter than anything on Steam (GameFile)
Enjoy Schreier’s perspective? Play Nice is now available in paperback!
Act 2: Hell for game makers
Are Old Games Killing New Games? (Push To Talk)
PC gamers spend 92% of their time on older games, oh and there are apparently 908 million of us now (PCGamer)
Arco and the Nightmare of Indie Game Publishing (Qualbert)
5 Hard To Swallow Pills For Better Game Positioning (Push to Talk)
Patreon bonus: Mainstream media’s lack of interest in gaming
Act 3: News of the week
“Close to You” animated short (Nintendo)
UPDATE: Nintendo Releases New Version Of Animated Short ‘Close To You’ Confirming It Was Pikmin All Along (GameInformer)
Pikmin shorts (Nintendo)
The Big Shigeru Miyamoto Interview: ‘I See Nintendo as Like a Talent Agency and We Have Within Our Roster a Lot of Talented Characters’ (IGN)
Battlefield 6’s bots tea-bag when they’re scared, sacrifice themselves, and are so blissfully unaware they couldn’t kill me while I was AFK texting (PCGamer)
Battlefield 6’s launch day patch notes are here and nearly 2800 words, so whip out your reading specs private (RPS)
Battlefield 6 review (RPS)
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year (Game File)
Switch just got a 32-year-old Mario mouse game that was never released outside of Japan until now (Polygon)