Remember the excitement the first time you saw a trailer for The Force Unleashed or Watch Dogs? They brought something a little different to the table, and the anticipation was high. By the time they were finally released, we had already seen so much that the game didn't seem that new or special anymore. Still good games, but some of the wonder and discovery was gone.
Finally, Microsoft came out and said what I thought they always would. This is a good thing for us that still want to play games that use GFWL, in spite of the crappy service. It's not really a 180. The official statement has always been that the service would continue to support existing games. That didn't stop many sites from reporting it as fact based on a blurb that appeared for five minutes on the AoE site.
That said, Microsoft chose to stay silent in the midst of all the rumors. All they had to do was deny the rumor, but they didn't. I think that was done purposely, so that devs would move their games off the platform. That means fewer resources MS has to dedicate to keep the service running.
Make no mistake, GFWL is dead in terms of new games. No games have used it for the last couple of years (give or take), including those published by Microsoft. So, you don't have to worry about that. I think everything has gone according to plan in regards to GFWL, and they are currently figuring out what they want to do on PC in the future.
The problem with this approach is that MS has lost all credibility in the PC online service space. No dev would choose to use their service again. This leads me to believe (hope) that there will be no replacement for GFWL. MS will likely use Steamworks as they have for recent releases and remakes. The alternative is to focus their efforts around Windows 8, but that sounds like the old Microsoft. The mandate these days is to make money on the platforms people use, and on the PC that's Steam. If they really want to show support for the PC, they should release XBox exclusives like Halo and Gears of War on Steam. That would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
I guess this is the end of Gamespot Season One with all the shows getting cancelled and others going into Season Two. Goodbye Feedbackula, we barely watched... er um... knew you.
Nintendo didn't capitalize on their one-year head start, and their attempt to make the touchpad the next big novelty failed. They botched the launch, didn't have many games to offer out of the gate, and most of us wanted a console with more power. That said, it is still the best option for families and kids. A year later, they finally have some good games coming out, only to be met with the launches of PS4 and XBONE. Ironically, I think sales of the Wii U will start to pick up a little after the initial fever for the new consoles dies down. Folks that waited for the new consoles will be able to decide which one(s) they want. Nintendo still has a unique blend of gameplay and franchises. If someone dusts off a Wii to get another taste, they'll feel how painful those pre-HD resolutions are. Nintendo will remain a distant third, and third party support will continue to be an issue. Although, that has always been a problem for Nintendo, and how many GOOD third party games were on the Wii? You buy for the Nintendo games. In the end, I expect a more respectable showing than they have now. We'll see.
One thing that turned me off to the original Rocksmith (i.e. I never tried it) is that I heard the backing track includes the original guitar. Has that changed in the new version? Any option to turn that off and play with the band?
I haven't played the game yet, so I'm not reading the review to avoid spoilers (just the score). But using the first "multiple review" to slam a game generally regarded as great doesn't seem right. I would rather have seen this start in a more positive direction, i.e. maybe an author could reveal why a game that didn't review so well still turned out to be special to them.
superjenius' comments