DISPATCHES JANUARY

Y you do dis?

Dear Nintendo,

There are millions of gamers like me (I checked) who, knowingly or not, like their control stick to mimic head and neck movement – ie, push forward to look down, pull back to look up, just like airplane controls. How you could barbarically excise this option from Switch Super Mario Sunshine beggars belief. It’s obviously to dumb it down for the ‘casual’ Switch gamers, which is ridiculous considering the large number of games on there that already have an ‘invert Y axis’ option – you could just as easily have added more explanation for the poor, confused things. I have always been a dedicated Sunshine fan, dismayed by the reduced acclaim it received, and I was thrilled when it was announced for the Switch, but you have wrecked it for me.

John Budgen

First of all, sir, this is a

Wendy’s, not Nintendo. But it seems that Nintendo got the message anyway, since the game has been patched during the time since you sent your letter. What felt especially egregious about the whole affair was that it required such a simple fix. At least this high-profile example has brought the discussion into the foreground recently, meaning that the industry as a whole will surely take extra care with these considerations in the future.

Talking Sense

The next generation of the future of interactive entertainment has arrived in my household, in the shape of the towering PS5! Exciting times; and the courier would have received a hug if it weren’t for Covid. I could see the disappointment on his face, but rules are rules. Obviously I’ve had to inform the kids that we won’t be able to have a Christmas tree this year, what with the new console requiring the floor space, but other than that the future looks great with Sony’s new machine.

In the run-up to its release, there was much discussion about the design of the console. But it’s only in holding – and using – the DualSense that I realise the controller is the real star of the show here. It is perhaps the most radical evolution of tactile game control since the Wii Remote, and it’s exciting to think of the potential. Astro’s Playroom magnificently demonstrates the variety of tricks that DualSense can perform, and the game itself is such an endearing love letter to the history of PlayStation. Bizarrely, it feels like the most ‘Nintendo’ game I have ever played on a Sony console.

We can’t underestimate the importance of PS4 compatibility too. The PlayStation 4 has built such a strong following that it seems only fair that we can drag our (many, many) unfinished games on to our PS5 consoles. I have no immediate plans to buy any of the PS5 exclusives, in fact: I’ve got the PS Plus Collection and a PS4 backlog to keep me entertained (I’m currently trying to familiarise myself with the controls of Horizon Zero Dawn – how do I swap weapons again?). It will be interesting to see if the coming year brings some innovative and fun use of the DualSense. 2021 needs to be fun, don’t you think?

Ben Bulbeck

“DualSense is perhaps the most radical evolution of tactile game control since the Wii Remote”

Fun, is it? Go on, then, sign us up for some of that. Regarding DualSense, you really have to feel for Sony not being able to get it into players’ hands before PlayStation 5 launched. You’re right – it’s an immediately tangible benefit of this generation of PlayStation hardware, and yet no one could go near it for obvious reasons. The concern, as always, is that game makers will come to neglect its potential over time, as it segues

from “new” to “normal”, and with multiplatform releases it’s likely to receive only token gestures from developers already struggling to wrangle so many different platform variants. On the positive side, it is shipped as standard with every PS5, which will always encourage developers to look on it favourably. That didn’t seem to matter much in shaping what happened with the Sixaxis/DS3’s gyro functionality, or indeed the DS4’s touchpad feature, but we’re keeping optimistic for now.

A new era of Entitlement

It is not often EA receives praise for its actions. The publishing giant was a winner of Consumerist’s ‘Worst Company in America’ two years running in 2012 and 2013, and the blunders that have followed since then have been frequent, whether it be the advertising of FIFA Ultimate Team packs in children’s magazines, the botched release of Anthem, or the company’s complacency with building upon its numerous sporting franchises year over year.

However, it is important to give credit where credit is due, and so I want to do just that. As the above alludes to, EA can be a money-hungry beast, often guilty of sacrificing the quality of its product in the knowledge that its games will sell astronomic numbers regardless.

Its Dual Entitlement program has been surprisingly refreshing, and somewhat out of character for the typically maligned company. As of December 4, players who bought the PS4 or Xbox One version of FIFA 21 – in physical or digital form – would be able to upgrade their copy to its nextgeneration edition free of charge. While this may seem obvious to some, it would have been so easy for EA to make players fork out another £60 or £70 – because players would have done just that.

The upgrades are mostly based around improving immersion, with a focus on graphical enhancements, more realistic broadcasting packages, and a new camera angle to play with, but for a company that has sold annual titles at full RRP doing just that, this more consumer-friendly approach is definitely a step in the right direction. Marcus Hodgkinson

It’s a good point. With so much confusion swamping such issues with this console transition, especially on PS5, who honestly had EA at the top of the list when it came to seamlessness and customer satisfaction? Things really are taking a turn, aren’t they?

Wonder years

Another lockdown staycation recently provided me with the perfect opportunity to tidy up my gaming room – not least because I needed space, plus two extra power sockets for November’s new arrivals.

Of course, it took longer than expected – too much reminiscing about past gaming generations. A cassette of Enduro Racer for the Spectrum rekindles memories of gaming rivalries with school friends, while Mega Drive Road Rash 2 and Speedball 2 recall battles with younger siblings. Sadly, the battered Super Metroid and my Perfect Dark box now also housing GoldenEye show that I really must get better at storing these things.

Some I’d almost forgotten about – Bangai-O, Space Channel 5 and Rez remind me to store the Dreamcast somewhere accessible.

Rez even persuades me to download the updated version for the PS4 – the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Coming more up to date, Super Monkey Ball, WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Lego Star Wars remind me of the first steps taken introducing my own sons to videogames, before Halo and

Borderlands make me grimace at the fact that they are now so much better than me!

The final highlight was even finding an old photo from the Edge Forum meet-up in Bath from 2002!

So, what’s the meaning of all this? Well, as we move into yet another generation (I’ve lost count of how many I’ve done now), it reminded me how much excitement and wonder there will be to come over the next few years. From the unboxing and initial powering-up in just a few weeks’ time to all the gaming innovations we’ll get to enjoy – this wonderment never, ever gets old! And let’s be honest, with this year’s winter likely to be darker than most, its great to have so many positives to look forward to.

Ian Carlson

Hold on – 2002? Was that the one with that guy who did… that thing? And you have… photos, you say? A year’s subscription to the magazine is on its way in exchange for us never talking of this again. Deal?

If you squint

I’ve turned 40 this year, and one of a couple of things that stop me from frowning at that is that I’m still very much the target group for videogames. I enjoy reading demographics that prove to me that I still belong, I love storylines that embrace adult topics, and likewise enjoy that most letters to Edge seem to come from people who’ve passed the magical 30, at least.

And then I move the magazine to within the 30cm range, from which I can decipher the text. I don’t know if anyone can read the magazine comfortably in their lap, really. Some of us have back problems and bad eyesight, okay? Cut us some slack!

A web designer friend once said about font sizes: “It’s called 100% for a reason”. It stuck with me. I think Edge might be a 70% for the text, and a 50% for the image text. I’m aware that the look of the whole magazine comes from the ratio of text to image, and of course larger text could mean more pages, driving costs, but I still gotta say, I wish I could enjoy it without having to squint!

Thanks for considering this should you ever look into some new design decisions.

Jan Thanks, Jan, we will look into it.