GameStop slammed over ‘appalling’ employee contest: ‘This is an ultimate new low’

Posted: November 6, 2020 in Game Articles
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by Jonathan Lee

GameStop hosted a TikTok contest for employees and among the prizes was a dubious reward: extra work hours during Black Friday.

The contest was posted on the GameStop Conference website, which features competitions for different rewards. One contest, called the “Incisiv TikTok Dance Challenge,” asked store managers to film dance routines with their workers.

It sounded like a fun event, but the reward has raised some eyebrows.

“The winner of the challenge will receive an Echo 8, Echo Auto, $100 VISA gift card and 10 additional labor hours to use during Black Friday week,” the contest rules stated. (thanks, TheGamer).

The language regarding these labor hours are cryptic, and, as Kotaku noted, GameStop hasn’t clarified the offer. Would it have counted towards overtime? Would it have counted as holiday pay? We don’t know.

Gamers on Twitter widely condemned the contest as exploitative and abusive.

“They’re literally making the working class dance for the right to put food on the table,” one user wrote. “This is an ultimate new low.”

“This is absolutely appalling,” another user tweeted. “You want your employees to advertise for you for the privilege to work more hours for you? GameStop can’t die soon enough.”

And this isn’t the first time GameStop has sparked controversy this year. When the United States announced the national COVID-19 quarantine in March, GameStop declared itself as an essential business, to the outrage of its own employees. The retailer closed all its stores later in the month following backlash.

As the United States suffers yet another spike in coronavirus cases, Black Friday is sure to be a fraught environment for GameStop workers. Fall is always the busiest season in video games, but this year’s Black Friday is primed to be especially chaotic.

With the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 both releasing this year, eager customers are going to be swarming retailers in a shopping spree that could result in another explosion of COVID-19 infections.

GameStop creating a contest for tired, unsupported workers to compete for more working hours is not putting forth a very good look.

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Grand Theft Auto “Real Badman” Voice Actor Terry Marshall Dies

Posted: November 5, 2020 in Game Articles
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by Tyler Fischer, ComicBook.com

Terry Marshall, the voice actor behind Grand Theft Auto IV character “Real Badman,” died on November 1. At the moment of publishing, details are scarce. This includes not only the cause of death, but basic information like Marshall’s age. As for the news itself, it comes way of both Marshall’s brother and Rockstar Games. According to the former, Marshall has “departed this physical reality and traded it in for some other dimension.”

As noted, further details are currently scarce. In fact, these are where the details, about both Marshall and his death, end. Marshall’s brother notes the voice actor lived in New York City, but that’s the only other additional detail divulged in the announcement.

“My brother has departed this physical reality and traded it in for some other dimension,” writes Marshall’s brother on both Instagram and Twitter.

Marshall’s death occurred on November 1, but it’s only now that many are hearing about it after Rockstar Games officially addressed the tragedy via its official Twitter account. As you may know, Marshall played Grand Theft Auto IV character Real Badman, also known as Teafore Maxwell-Davies. In the game, Badman is the leader of the posse Yardies.

Of course, when and if more details are provided on both Marshall’s life and death, we will be sure to update the story. In the meanwhile, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to Marshall’s family and friends during this incredibly tragic and difficult time.

Rest in peace, Terry.

‘Halo Infinite’ director Chris Lee steps down amid production turmoil

Posted: October 28, 2020 in Game Articles
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by Kris Holt, Engadget

Halo Infinite director and studio head Chris Lee has stepped down from his role on the troubled game. Lee was overseeing the long-awaited next entry in the Halo series, which was supposed to arrive alongside the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles next month. However, Microsoft and 343 Industries have delayed Halo Infinite to sometime next year.

Lee has been with 343 Industries since 2008 and he has worked on several entries in the series, including Halo Reach, Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. He’s still a Microsoft employee and he told Bloomberg he’s “looking at future opportunities. I believe in the team and am confident they will deliver a great game and now is a good time for me to step away.”

There’s been a bit of a personnel merry go round during the development of Halo Infinite. Lee is the second project lead to leave the team in the last two years. Creative director Tim Longo and executive producer Mary Olson departed last year.

Microsoft roped in Halo veteran Joe Staten to oversee the single-player campaign in August. Around the same time, Pierre Hintze, who led the Halo: The Master Chief Collection publishing team, stepped in to lead development of the free multiplayer modes. As such, Lee’s role on the project was somewhat reduced.

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Fans said Microsoft’s new Xbox looked like a fridge—so Microsoft, uh, made a fridge

Posted: October 28, 2020 in Game Articles
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YouTuber iJustine poses in front of the XBox fridge

by Lillian Stone, The Takeout

When I was eight, some kid in my third grade class created a very rude chant based solely on the fact that my name (Lillian) rhymed with another student’s name (Killian). “Lillian loves Killian!,” the kid chanted. “Lillian loves Killian!”

To get ahead of the joke, I decided to confirm the rumor. “Yeah, I do,” I replied calmly. “I do love Killian.” That pretty much tanked the rumor. It also ensured that Killian stayed a full 30 feet away from me for the remainder of the academic year. The moral of this story: If somebody’s teasing you, it’s best to get in on the joke. Lo, the latest XBox marketing stunt: a full-sized XBox refrigerator.

Some background: According to XBox fans, the new Xbox Series X looks a lot like a mini fridge. To get ahead of the joke, XBox made three full-sized, functioning refrigerators shaped just like the Series X. Just look at those oblong dimensions! The brand delivered the fridges by forklift, sending them to YouTuber Justine Ezarik and, oddly, Snoop Dogg. Actually, it’s not that odd—Snoop’s definitely had his fair share of video game cameos. Slashgear reports that XBox will auction off the remaining fridge to one lucky fan.

Admittedly, the fridge is pretty damn cool. It emits that signature XBox green glow and even blares the console’s start-up sound when opened. It’s also decked out with oversized USB ports and a slot for the Seagate Storage Expansion Card, which is apparently a must-have for serious gamers. According to General Manager of Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg, it’s the “fastest, most powerful fridge” ever made. Seems like the perfect vessel for whatever gamers are drinking these days. Last time I checked, it was Mountain Dew.

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Former Cyberpunk 2077 developer speaks out about brutal ‘crunch’ working conditions: ‘They don’t give a flying f*** about the work balance.’

Posted: October 18, 2020 in Game Articles, Industry
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by Jonathan Lee, In The Know

Cyberpunk 2077 is the most highly anticipated game of the year, but according to a former developer, it’s coming at a high human cost.

An anonymous Reddit poster who identified themselves as a former CD Projekt Red developer described a brutal working schedule and leadership who had a disturbing disregard for the wellness of its workers. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier confirmed the poster was indeed an employee of CD Projekt Red.

I think this Reddit comment from someone who worked at CD Projekt Red is worth sharing, especially since folks out there still think their overtime is limited to 48 hours a week. I can confirm they used to work at CDPR (just got off the phone with them): https://t.co/kWdSzlTUCI pic.twitter.com/XCDjqo2KsH

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 14, 2020

The former CD Projekt Red developer said that some Cyberpunk 2077 teams have been crunching (the game industry term for excessive mandatory overtime) since July 2019. If what the poster is claiming is true, it means that the company has been forcing its employees to work 16-hour workdays for more than a year now.

“The people that want the product out ASAP are the board and the marketing directors,” the former CD Projekt Red employee wrote on Reddit. “And they don’t give a flying f*** about the work balance.”

When Bloomberg released its report on CD Projekt Red mandating six-day workweeks in the two-month lead-up to Cyberpunk 2077’s release, it sent shockwaves through the industry. CD Projekt Red had backed out on its promise in June 2019 when the company’s leadership vowed that it wouldn’t force its employees to crunch.

Fans were divided by the news. Many rightfully condemned CD Projekt Red for labor abuse and reneging on its commitment to work-life balance. However, some defended the company and dismissed the Bloomberg piece as a smear campaign, despite the fact that crunch has a long-documented history of harming workers and has even led to class-action lawsuits.

CD Projekt Red’s defenders claimed that the six-day workweek wasn’t a mandate but rather a collective decision made by the employees. Schreier spoke with several current CD Projekt Red developers who told him this was false — there was never a discussion, only an order.

To clear up another point, I asked a couple of CDPR devs if it’s true that the majority of them wanted six-day weeks over a delay. They said that conversation never took place. One: “We got the email and then a meeting with our team leaders. It was never an option or question”

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 9, 2020

Crunch is a sadly common aspect of video game development, an industry that has a long history of abusing the average worker with the justification that they should be grateful that they even have a job in games in the first place. Though there is no evidence that crunch increases productivity, it continues to remain a toxic cultural precedent.

“And this my friends is why I left the game dev industry,” Another Redditor wrote in the same thread. “I’ve sat through many crunches to the point I didn’t even feel like I was alive anymore.”

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Beware: PS4 Update Reportedly Causing PlayStation Gamers Problems

Posted: October 14, 2020 in Announcements
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by Tyler Fischer, ComicBook.com

Today, PlayStation released a new PS4 update that is reportedly causing PlayStation gamers issues, or at least this is what’s happening at the moment of writing this. The big new 8.0 update adds a plethora of new features and comes with a slew of improvements as well, but it also appears to have broken some features. More specifically, it’s being reported that upon downloading the update, users are experiencing problems with their friends lists, the party feature, and even just general stability issues.

As you may know, this isn’t incredibly uncommon for PS4. In the past, the console has experienced similar issues when it’s pushed updates, particularly ones of this magnitude. That said, in the past, Sony has acted fairly quickly to resolve these issues, however, for now, it hasn’t acknowledged the problem so it’s unclear when the issues will be resolved.

Of course, if you’re worried about the update, you could hold off on downloading it, but without it, you will lose access to a ton of functionality, such as the ability to play online games. That said, you can still play offline single-player games all the same without downloading the update.

As for the update — which you can read more about here (including its patch notes) — it makes updates to party and messages, adds free new PlayStation avatars, adds an option to mute all mics via the quick menu, enhances 2-step verification, removes event creation and private community creation, updates remote play, and makes adjustments to parental controls.

As alluded to, Sony has not commented on any of these reports, but if it does, we will be sure to update the story with whatever is provided.

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Amazon spent 6 years and tens of millions of dollars making a huge new game that just got quietly killed

Posted: October 13, 2020 in Game Articles, Industry
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Alex Wong/Getty Images

by Ben Gilbert, Business Insider

Did you know that Amazon, the biggest company in the world, launched a big-budget video game this year?

The game is called “Crucible,” and you could be forgiven if this is the first you’re hearing about it. Despite being free to play and available on the world’s largest gaming platform, Steam, “Crucible” quickly came and went from the top-100 chart.

One week after it launched in late May, the online multiplayer game had fewer than 5,000 players on average — a major issue, given that it was intended to compete with the likes of “Fortnite” and “Valorant.”

In late June, Amazon pulled the game from digital stores and put it back in “closed beta,” a game-development term that means a game isn’t complete. And in a blog post published Friday night, it killed “Crucible.”

“Ultimately we didn’t see a healthy, sustainable future ahead,” the post said, adding, “That evaluation led us to a difficult decision: We’ll be discontinuing development on ‘Crucible.'”

Any purchases that players made within the game can be refunded, and the ability to buy in-game currency has already been suspended. The game’s matchmaking functionality, which enables multiplayer, will be disabled “in the coming weeks,” with a final sunset date for custom games on November 9, the post said.

“Crucible” is a team-based online multiplayer shooter that takes inspiration from online multiplayer battle-arena games like “League of Legends” and “DOTA 2” rather than competitive shooters like “Fortnite.”

It’s also a free-to-play game with a PC focus, putting it in direct competition with games like “Valorant” and “Fortnite.” Amazon’s goal for “Crucible,” which it had been working on since at least 2014, was to attract tens of millions of players and, with any luck, make it a major esport game.

Amazon’s “Crucible.” Amazon

The contrast between how “Crucible” launched and how “Valorant” launched helps illustrate why the former failed while the latter has succeeded.

When “Valorant” launched this year, it was available in a closed beta that you could access only by watching Twitch streamers play the game live; through a “drop” system tied to Twitch accounts, viewers would gain free access to the beta. This way, new “Valorant” players already had some idea of how to play the game, because they’d watched someone play it live.

In the weeks leading up to and following the launch of “Crucible,” Amazon, which owns Twitch, didn’t use its own streaming service to promote the game. There were no major streamers playing the game and hyping it up, no trailers for it running as ads, and no drop system to gain early access. Similarly, on YouTube, ads for “Crucible” were nowhere to be seen.

“Crucible” had about 25,000 concurrent players at its peak, on May 21. By May 22, two days after launch, it had already disappeared from Steam’s list of the 100 most-played games, which bottoms out at about 5,000 concurrent players.

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GameStop Announces Multi-Year Partnership with Microsoft

Posted: October 13, 2020 in Announcements, Industry
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GameStop and Microsoft announce a new, multi-year strategic partnership just one month ahead of the Xbox Series X console launch.

by Dalton Cooper, Game Rant

Just one month prior to the launch of the Xbox Series X console, GameStop has announced a new multi-year partnership with Microsoft. The new partnership between GameStop and Microsoft is seen as a strategic move for both companies, as they will combine their resources for mutual benefit.

The GameStop/Microsoft partnership will see GameStop stores integrate Microsoft technology. GameStop stores will begin utilizing Microsoft’s cloud-based data storage and business applications. This will assist store associates when it comes to learning customer preferences and will give them “real time information on product availability.” GameStop associates will soon receive new Microsoft Surface tablets that will allow them to “move freely” within stores, allowing them to assist customers without necessarily having to be at the cash register. Additionally, GameStop associates will also begin using Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams as well, with the goal of improving customer experience.

It was also noted that GameStop is now offering Xbox All Access, which allows customers to get their hands on next-generation consoles like the Xbox Series X and S, as well as an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, for a relatively low monthly cost without having to pay for everything upfront.

As part of the announcement, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer released a statement praising GameStop, stating that the Xbox team is excited about continuing its partnership with the retail chain for the Xbox Series X launch. “GameStop’s extensive store base, focus on digital transformation in an omni-channel environment and expert gamer associates remain an important part of our gaming ecosystem, and we’re pleased to elevate our partnership.”

It’s unclear from the announcement if Microsoft is providing some kind of financial incentive as part of the GameStop partnership. It’s no secret that GameStop has struggled financially in recent years, with the company posting huge losses, laying off staff, and closing down numerous stores. Many have predicted that GameStop is on its last legs, but this new partnership with Microsoft may very well be the shot in the arm in the company needs to stay relevant for years to come.

The length of the Microsoft/GameStop partnership is also unclear, beyond that it is a “multi-year” deal. In any case, it will be interesting to see how this partnership pays off. Microsoft has been making big moves going into the Xbox Series X launch, and while this may not be quite as monumental as its purchase of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda, it is still sure to make an impact of some kind on the industry.

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A key selling point of the next-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles can’t be used on the vast majority of TVs

Posted: October 5, 2020 in Industry, Opinion Piece
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By Bill Gilbert, Business Insider

This November, Microsoft’s new Xbox and Sony’s new PlayStation are scheduled to go head-to-head in a competition for control over the next generation of video game consoles.

With that new generation comes the next major leap in graphics technology: Both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X are boasting 4K-resolution games at a stunningly high refresh rate of 120 hertz. What that means in English is crisp image quality paired with smooth motion. Games on both new consoles are promised to look better than ever.

Websites for the Xbox Series X, left, and the PlayStation 5 highlight the visual capability of their respective consoles.
Microsoft/Sony

Whether your television is actually capable of producing those visuals, however, is another question.

For a television to display 4K-resolution games running at such high frame rates, it needs to support those specs — and the vast majority of TVs do not, including many new sets that support both 4K resolution and HDR visuals. That’s because TVs with support for such high frame rates with 4K resolutions are still brand new, and most are still prohibitively expensive.

You’re looking at $950 on the low end — and much higher if you want something larger than 55 inches — for TVs that support those specs. Beyond producing 4K-resolution visuals at 120 Hz, TVs that fully support the next-gen consoles also need a new type of HDMI port to handle all that data: HDMI 2.1.

The latest version of HDMI is available on only the newest modern TVs — many existing 4K and HDR TVs don’t have it, and there’s no way to upgrade an existing port.

In so many words: If you want to take full advantage of the power of the coming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, you’ll almost certainly need a new television.

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PS5 Pre-Orders Are Being Cancelled

Posted: September 30, 2020 in Industry, Opinion Piece
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By Tyler Fischer, ComicBook.com

PS5 pre-orders are being canceled as a result of retailers taking more pre-orders than their supply. This month, PlayStation makers Sony announced the PS5 price and the PS5 release date. The moment it did this, retailers — such as GameStop, Amazon, Walmart, GAME, EB Games, and Best Buy — immediately began to take pre-orders, and it looks like most of them took more pre-orders than they should. In addition to Amazon sending out emails warnings pre-orderers they may not get a console at launch, GameStop Ireland has warned some of its pre-order customers they won’t get their console until 2021. It doesn’t end there though.

VGC reports that UK retailer ShopTo will not be able to fulfill all of its pre-orders unless some customers begin to cancel their pre-orders. In other words, like other retailers, they don’t seem very confident they will have enough stock to meet demand, which begs the question: why are they taking pre-orders before they know how much stock they will have and what their shipping resources will be?

It’s only September 29. The PS5 isn’t releasing until November 12, which is to say these are the early birds getting out early as early birds do. More and more retailers are going to run into this issue. Whether it leads to canceling pre-orders or delaying delivery, the result is essentially the same thing. PlayStation players are getting pre-orders to ensure they have the console at launch. If it arrives weeks later, that hardly counts as fulfilling a pre-order.

If Amazon is anticipating stock and shipping issues, then it’s safe to assume every retailer is about to have the same issue, as Amazon likely has more stock than any other retailer, and it certainly has the greatest shipping resources.

Unfortunately, none of this is very surprising, as it happened with the PS4. And it’s going to happen with the Xbox Series X, because it happens with most modern console releases. And everyone knows this, yet retailers continue to ignore this reality to get that pre-order bump on their books.

The PS5 is set to release worldwide on November 12, priced at $400 or $500, depending on what version of the console you purchase.

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