Gaming

itch.io is back after being "taken down" by Brand Shield, which was being used by Funko for "AI" brand protection.

Brand Shield's website says the software "delivers cutting-edge online brand protection using AI-powered technology to proactively monitor digital landscapes for trademark infringements, phishing attempts, brand abuse, and counterfeit activity. Our dedicated team responds swiftly to mitigate these threats, safeguarding your brand’s reputation, revenue, and customer trust."

I kid you not, @itch.io has been taken down by Funko of "Funko Pop" because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain

— itch.io (@itch.io) December 9, 2024 at 6:13 PM

Funko pops... never again 🥴We're back if you haven't noticed!

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— itch.io (@itch.io) December 10, 2024 at 7:06 AM

This is not a joke, Funko just called my mom pic.twitter.com/P1ST7DDD2i

— itch.io (@itchio) December 9, 2024

Billy Basso, creator of the sublime and inspiring one-person indie game Animal Well, was on the My Perfect Console podcast this week.

I won't totally spoil his 5 classic game picks for a desert-island console, but he did put obscure PlayStation 1 classic Vib-Ribbon on his list. The episode will be released to non-Patreon subscribers later today:

A rhythm-game pioneer, Vib-Ribbon could run entirely from the PlayStation 1's 2MB of RAM. You could remove the games disc from your console and replace it with any audio CD. The game would then dynamically create custom levels that would sync up with any audio CD, meaning you could pop in a Limp Bizkit CD and play along.

Or just play along with the included soundtrack, which I still play on Spotify from time to time.

Back when Sony genuinely cared about legacy, the company re-released Vib-Ribbon on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2014. At the time it promised to look into releasing the game for PlayStation 4, though that never eventuated, likely due to the lack of CD support on modern PlayStation consoles. This didn't stop the game coming to the PlayStation Vita though, or my Steam Deck.

(I promise I own multiple copies of Vib-Ribbon, physically and digitally.)

Ubisoft's Call Of Duty-competitor XDefiant, which hoped to throwback the online FPS genre to its Xbox 360 days, is shutting down. The game has been pulled from online stores today and new players won't be able to join the game. Multiplayer servers will be available until June 3, 2025.

Ubisoft also says it will coincide with "the closing of our San Francisco and Osaka production studios and to the ramp down of our Sydney production site, with 143 people departing in San Francisco and 134 people likely to depart in Osaka and Sydney."

XDefiant's key difference was a rejection of skill-based matchmaking, where players would be paired with other players of comparable skill. Ubisoft instead opted to put all players together, leading to more match variety but possibly less player engagement.

The game also lacked its own identity, introducing skins from other Ubisoft franchises and having a general free-to-play bright, vibrant but simple visual style.

Around its launch, Activision published a research paper basically rejecting the perceived downsides of skill-based matchmaking. "When skill is utilized in matchmaking, 80-90% of players experience better end-of-match placement, stick with the game longer and quit matches less frequently," the paper claimed. It's hard to argue with that.

Australia really is finally part of Valve's hardware plan. The company's not only launching a normal lineup of Steam Deck models on November 19, but also a Limited Edition White model with 1TB of storage. Via Valve:

Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White has all the same specs as the Steam Deck OLED 1TB model, but in white and grey (and it comes with an exclusive white carrying case).

In a move that'll surely put Valve's servers to the test, the model will be launching at the same time as the Steam Deck's general Australian availability, Tuesday November 19 at 10am AEDT (Sydney time). And it's apparently a one-time option, so when models sell out for the extra $50 compared to the normal Black model, they're gone for good.

Steam Deck™

Steam Deck™ is the most powerful, full-featured gaming handheld in the world.

STEAM

The best bet going forward is JB Hi-Fi, which are offering a ballot approach to pre-orders.

PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection Pre-Order Ballot

JB Hi-Fi is Australia’s largest home entertainment retailer with top products, great quality + value. Learn more about our product range online.

JB Hi-Fi

Otherwise Ebay has scalpers re-selling preorders with huge markups already.

Celebrating 30 years of PlayStation with a nostalgic look

Limited Edition console design takes PS5 back to the early days of PlayStation.

PlayStation.BlogHideaki Nishino

Now, four years on, my guest is about to release UFO 50, a collection of games that combine an 8-bit aesthetic with pioneering design. 

An important update on Concord

Concord fans -- we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar. Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us. However, while many qualities [...]

PlayStation.BlogRyan Ellis

Concord is being removed from sale and Sony is refunding customers on PC and PS5. The interesting part of this post though is this:

However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.

I really wonder if they'll be bothered to rework it as a free-to-play / PlayStation Plus title? It feels like that would have been the obvious option after the lacklustre free beta player counts.

Meanwhile at Nintendo some great timing: