Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – is it cross-gen? (pic: Nintendo)



The Friday letters page is not impressed with Microsoft’s recent round of layoffs, as one reader hopes for a new series of Batman games.



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Separate gens It may be just another rumour, to say the Nintendo Switch 2 will be out in late 2024, but like GC says, no other time makes sense, so you barely need anyone to leak the information anyway. Who knows how they’ll unveil it and everything but I would be shocked if the new console isn’t out by Christmas 2024.



If that’s true though it leaves some big questions, such as what games will be released between now and then and if the new machine will be backwards compatible. You can’t really guess at the games, except probably that Donkey Kong rumour is true, but I think the games will work. The Wii and Wii U were actually really good for backwards compatibility and it’s only that the Switch doesn’t have a disc drive that stopped it.



The question for me is whether Switch 1 games will be upgraded on the Switch 2? Will Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom have a Switch 2 edition that you’ll have to pay an upgrade for, or even full price again? I feel it’ll be the first one, Nintendo aren’t giving something like that away for free.



I also like the idea from the reader the other day that most of the new releases between now and then will be smaller stuff and DLC. I don’t think Nintendo will really want to encourage cross-gen games, they’ll want to give a clear reason to buy the new console. Zelda I can see as an exception, assuming it’s as good as we expect, but I think only it and a few other of the most recent games will be on both systems. Focus



Inevitable consequences Normally I’d look to defend Microsoft against all these claims of bad management as I have to say I have really enjoyed my Xbox Series X/S but there’s no excusing sacking 10,000 people just to please the shareholders. Microsoft are still massively in profit, there’s absolutely no reason they should be getting rid of so many people, just take a hit – that you won’t even notice on the balance sheets – and keep them all on.



That said it’s hard to pretend that the first party situation isn’t still looking very rocky. Maybe it’ll be a better picture of the next couple of showcases but it’s only Starfield that interests me at the moment and knowing Bethesda there’s still a lot that could go wrong with that.



These layoffs though… everyone said this sort of thing would happen as soon as Microsoft took over and here we are. I can only wonder what ordinary devs at Activision are thinking right now. Guylian



Final straw It’s not a pretty picture that’s been painted about Microsoft right now. I really can’t believe that 343 Industries have even lasted this long. I think they were only kept around to finish Halo Infinite and given how that’s panned out I think the writing must be on the wall now. Although you could have said that a bunch of times.



What I don’t understand about Xbox is how they solve some problems by just throwing tons of money at it and yet others they just ignore and let fester. If they’ve got a problem with management just kick out the problem ones and get some new ones in. That’s a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a whole studio. And this weeks shows they don’t have any problem with sacking people for little or not reason. Cubby



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A new era So once Suicide Squad is out the next DC game is going to be the first under James Gunn’s leadership right? So that’s probably gone to mean movie tie-ins and a new Batman series? I hope so because the last decade or so has just been one big wasted opportunity.



Since he seems to like weirder characters I’m also hoping for people like Lobo, Plasticman, and Atom to get a look in. There’s so much potential for superhero characters, from both DC and Marvel, and all we ever get are people that can punch harder than usual. Mr Terrific



GC: The Wonder Woman game began development long before Gunn came along, and it’s possible there may be other unannounced titles too.



Big cave Following on from that amazing video of the Nintendo set-up, I thought I’d share this video of a games room/mancave this guy in Toronto set up. It is absolutely unbelievable.



It’s a long video but well worth a watch for all gaming enthusiasts. Hope you enjoy it. There’s a ton of other videos this guy’s done about this glorious set-up too. Dj Kj









Solid story That story about cardboard boxes and Metal Gear Solid was pretty funny. Goes to show you that Hideo Kojima does know what he’s doing more than it seems, either or that or reality is just copying him now.



I’m all for a new Metal Gear Rising, if PlatinumGames do it, but I am one that thinks there can be no Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima. I’m not sure there’s another video game series that depends on its creator so much but the game is so dependent on him being so creative and so weird that unless he’s got a secret twin brother I just don’t see it working.



He’s been fine since leaving Konami and yet Konami have become a complete irrelevance, so I hope whoever it was that pushed him out is feeling clever right now.



Still, it is weird to think that what used to be one of the biggest franchises in gaming now just doesn’t exist. That’s what makes me think that a remaster or remake series, in the style of Resident Evil, must happen sooner or later. But what happens after that, do they just wait for the next generation of consoles and remake them again?



Metal Gear Solid as a series is over and all we can do is watch repeats. Cranston



Name change Like A Dragon is such a terrible name for Yakuza. I know it’s the Japanese name but I’m willing to bet it sounds a lot better in it’s original language. What does it even mean? In what way is Kiryu like a dragon? Does he breath fire and fly in the air? In what way is a dragon like Kiryu? Are they known for being rogues with a heart of gold that are addicted to hostess clubs?



Not that it’ll put me off, I’m definitely going to play Ishin at least, but I don’t really understand the logic. Yakuza was a great name that, to some degree, explained what they game was all about. With Like A Dragon I haven’t got a clue. Prende







Connoisseur’s choice Reading about the possible new Nintendogs game was weird as I haven’t thought about that game or the DS general in so long. Looking back at it, that was kind of a magical time for me as I had a lot of spare cash, before I started a family, and it was the first time the gaming seemed to open up to everyone.



I gave my sister my old DS and she loved Nintendogs (which is why I know about it) and Brain Training and all that. Me, I loved important all the weird Japanese games like Drill Dozer and Ouendan. Ironically, I think that was the last time that gaming seemed like this weird niche thing that you had to have specialist knowledge of to find all the best games.



Now everything is available at the same time everywhere and I kind of miss that. Indie isn’t quite the same because there’s really no way to know about them all but something like Ouendan, if you were in the know you could get hold of an absolute cracker that nobody else knew about.



I guess how things are now is better but it does feel like there are less secrets and just less weird games in general, at least those being made by major companies. Johnson



Inbox also-rans RE: LeighDappa. If your internet is good then Game Pass Ultimate gives you cloud gaming, which would allow you to play upcoming new gen exclusives Redfall, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport on Xbox One via cloud gaming. Microsoft still do the 1:1 Gold to Ultimate upgrade for £1, up to three years. Simundo



Following on from Barry and the reply from Meestah Bull. I have a Wii2HDMI convertor, bought from China for £2. It works absolutely fine. Doesn’t add lag or anything. Best options to get Wii on a HDMI TV is either component (if the TV has a VGA socket, likely get a convertor for component to VGA) or get a Wii U and use native HDMI. Si



This week’s Hot Topic The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Onibee, who asks what video game protagonist would you like to swap games with?



Pick any two games you like, regardless of whether they’re in similar genres or not, and swap the lead character. What would happen and do you think it would be fun?



Is this something you’ve thought of before and how important do you think the lead character is to a game? Are there any you’ve been put off from purely because of the protagonist and whose abilities have you most wished you had in another game?



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