Hurray, you’ve managed to survive another week in this wacky, wonderful world! We’ve had another seven days filled with developments in the gaming universe, and so here is your weekly roundup of the bad and good. Read on for the highlighted video game news Fails and Feels.
Let’s kick things off with the fails!
Fails
IGN Fires Writer Over Dead Cells Review Plagiarism
Dead Cells reviews were published this week, with most critics scoring it highly. One of these reviewers was IGN’s Filip Miucin who made the foolish move of plagiarizing the YouTube video of content creator “Boomstick Gaming.” As an editor at the largest gaming website, you’d have though Miucin would have the sense to think for himself, as surely stealing the work of a peer would be noticed. Well, it happened and now IGN has made the decision to fire Miucin, with a statement which reads:
“Though we as a community often share feelings and even certain word choices to describe the games we love by using similar frames of understanding, this particular situation stepped over the line and is not a reflection of our editorial standards… We apologize to our readers, developer Motion Twin, and most especially the YouTuber known under Boomstick Gaming for failing to uphold those standards.”
Riot Games is Full of Misogyny and Face-Farting According to Former Employees
In other bad news, former employees of Riot Games have criticized the publisher for being “full of misogyny and face-farting.” Many victims have come forward saying that the League of Legends developer has fostered a horribly toxic, male-dominated frat culture for years. Women employees have apparently been talked over, objectified in private over email, passed over for promotions, sent unwanted photos of genitalia, and repeatedly questioned over their “gamer cred.”
Reputable gaming site Kotaku has worked to corroborate stories of different victims, giving more credibility to the accusations. If Riot Games is indeed breeding a “bro culture” like this, then things clearly have to improve. Here’s hoping this negative publicity helps push things to change.
Anti-LGBT Dragon Quest Composer Spurs Square Enix Response
Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama is clearly a good musician, but kind of sucks when it comes to acting like a decent human being. An anti-LGBT video of Sugiyama from 2015 has resurfaced due to the composer’s involvement with Japanese politician Mio Sugita. In the video, Sugiyama agrees that LGBT support in Japan is too excessive, and that the lack of children from homosexual couples is a severe issue that needs to be discussed. It all comes across as pretty damn ignorant.
As you’d expect, many Square Enix fans were not happy with the composer’s comments. In response to the controversy, Square Enix distanced itself from the anti-LGBT chatter with the following statement:
“The views of an individual do not reflect the views nor efforts of the company. Square Enix employs a global multicultural staff of various beliefs, sexual orientation, and gender identities. As a matter of policy, we do not condone discrimination or harassment of any kind and we respect the diversity of sexuality and gender identity of everyone around the world.”
Feels
Gaming GPU Prices Drop As Ethereum Profits Fall
If you’ve been looking to get into PC gaming over the last couple of years, you’ll know all too well that graphics card prices have been at an all-time high due to the popularity of cryptocurrency miners. It’s been a terrible time for would-be gamers, as those hunting down virtual currency have been nabbing all stock. Well, it looks like the worst of it is over, with graphics card prices now dropping. This is likely due to the falling price of Ethereum profits, with the cryptocurrency no longer being as valuable as it once was.
If cryptocurrency continues to be less profitable, we should see the demand for graphics card continue to fall, meaning lower prices and more stock for those actually wanting to game!
Nintendo Confirms That Luigi Isn’t Dead Following Smash Direct
If you watched the Nintendo Direct live stream, you’ll have seen Luigi appear to be killed midway through the Smash Bros Ultimate presentation. He was taken out quickly and his ghost rose from his body. That’s pretty dead, if you ask me! Understandably, the internet went wild over the death of such a prominent Nintendo mascot. Was he really dead? If so, what a weird way to go!
Well, fear not Luigi fans, for it has now confirmed that the jumpy green boi is indeed alive and well. Nintendo didn’t provide much information on Luigi’s condition, only that he is “okay.” Despite having his spirit torn from his body, we can still expect to see the better brother in future Mario titles. What a tough little dude!
Fortnite Android Beta Release Date Revealed, Samsung Phones Get Early Access
No longer will Android phone owners be left out when it comes to Fortnite phone support. During the Samsung Note 9 reveal event, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney announced that the Android version of the wildly popular battle royale title will be launching immediately for Samsung phones, while other Android devices would gain access over the “coming days.”
The bad news is that you’ll need a pretty high-end device to be able to run the game. Though I suppose that’s understandable, what with the 100-player matches. The other bad news is that the game won’t be downloadable from the Play Store. Users will have to go down the alternative route of installing the title through the official website.
