How one small word can condemn an entire industry

   Just a few short hours a go, it was announced by the World Health Organization that as of January 1st, 2020 gaming will be recognized a "disorder". As the announcement points out, this refers to the "excessive use of video games that would make people avoid their professional obligations and personal relationships". Or, in layman's terms, when you game so hard that you block out everything else.
  Of course, as a gamer (although more of a "casual"), I find it extremely difficult to understand the logic behind this. People need to be able to take responsibility for their own actions. And (unless someone is already suffering from some type of disease, like epilepsy), gaming, unlike drugs or alcohol, is not something that can endanger a life. So it really is nobody's business how long a person wants to game. It's not like if you play a game 8 hours straight and then get behind a steering wheel, you'll be a threat to someone else.
   This feels like another "boogeyman" situation, where people constantly need to be told by someone who's in a more "official" position how much fun it's okay for them to have. "You can only drink this much", "you shouldn't do drugs", "don't eat meat or carbs or gluten", "try to exercise", etc. Yet more often than not, this only seems to have a reverse effect. A percentage of the population sees this as a method of control through fear or attempt at manipulation and usually responds by doing the opposite or completely ignoring it.

   Yet, contrary to all other examples, gaming, as mentioned earlier, really doesn't have any dangerous influences to a person's life. So this truly looks like someone is coming in and telling you "okay, you can play, but only for so long". Which begs the question: what if people don't want to have a social life? What if they can afford to not go to work and just stay home and play video games literally all day long? On what basis does the WHO come out and baptize them as "disorderly"?
   And if they do decide to officially go down this path, are they truly willing to accept the ramifications? For example, should someone be medically recognized as a "gaming addict" (it's really difficult to type that in without laughing), will they receive medical attention? Rehabilitation? Will doctors receive special training in order to be able to treat it? Will it be specialized depending on the genre of games the patient is addicted to? Will they receive benefits up until they are officially 'cured' of their 'illness'? If someone is diagnosed with a "gaming addiction", will they be able to take paid leave off work in order to seek medical treatment? These are all questions that will need to be answered eventually, if we are to officially recognize gaming as an "addiction".
   See, you can't just randomly throw a word out there and then just try and sugarcoat it. That's the thing. With this decision, the WHO has now officially declared "hunting season" for a wide net of people who were already waiting at the corner to go full force on ostracizing the industry. At the same time, gaming offers various incredible (and quite often, educational) experiences to millions of others around the world, actually helping them get through some of the most difficult situations of their lives. Does it make them a bit more secluded and isolated? Perhaps, but gaming also has some of the biggest, most vocal and most active communities you will ever find (the annual E3 show that begins in a couple of weeks is the best example of this.)

   Most of these people might buy a new game that they've been expecting to come out for a good 4-5 years and then spend over 10 hours a day playing it. They might be gone for weeks. Does that make them "addicts"? No. And even if the WHO's report doesn't center around those people, it has now made it "okay" for them to come under scrutiny or for parents to become unnecessarily worried if they see their child demonstrate a siilar behavior.
   Even if someone spends most of their time play COD, WOW, Fortnite, or whatever the latest fashion in gaming is, who gave the right to the WHO to call them out as "addicts"? So they don't want to deal with the real world and they like to isolate themselves. That's their own personal issue. And nobody should get a say in it. Opening up a Pandora's Box like this can only lead to more trouble between the gaming community and the health industry. And right now, nobody needs another turf war.
   It's just completely absurd that with all the issues going on in the world today (hundreds of thousands of drug and alcohol addicts the world over, poverty, climate crisis, gambling addiction -a real addiction by the way-, illness and so on), this is what the WHO choose to focus on. Deciding on if your great aunt calls you and you tell her that you're too busy to see her because you'd rather spend your weekend playing video games, that somehow makes you an "addict". Give me a break...

The worst kind of strength

   In life, we may come across all different kinds of people. We give somethings to them and take from them in response. I'm not speaking of physical items; experiences, life lessons, emotions. That sort of thing. We learn and grow from all of our various past and present relationships and bonds and based on them we're able to make better decisions in our future ones. That's what it truly means to become wise.
   Of course, just as all other skills, some people are better at this than others. Due to their natural affinity or their individual circumstances, they attain the skills to be able to "read" people and situations much earlier on in life. Thus they are able to turn certain situations to their favor. And the more they need to practice at this, the better they become.
   Others find they don't need these skills, so they don't "flex" their social "muscles" as much as necessary. This however leaves them in a vulnerable state, as they are never able to figure out how it is they are always placed in a certain situation that leaves them feeling victimized or as if they are being used.
   Abuse comes in various shapes and sizes in this day and age. It doesn't need to be physical. In fact, more often than not, it is emotional. And it is practiced by the aforementioned people that have a better hold of how to control certain situations in order to turn them in their favor. Maintaining the balance of people in their lives, being able to climb up in the corporate ladder, learning how much information is convenient to share and how much could prove detrimental towards their goals (even crossing the boundary of dishonesty), these are the things that social manipulators learn how to do from early on in their lives. 
   We're talking about people who may have needed to nurture these skills in order to survive. It is a "dog-eat-dog" world out there after all, and it's each person for themselves. If you're not tough, then you're just not. You can only go so far on kindness and decency and whoever claims the opposite is simply living within their own utopia.
   But what of the victims of this abuse? What becomes of the ones that never had to develop any social skills due to being overprotected, incapable, or, sometimes, even both? Well, the news is not good for them. They could very easily have their money taken or their items stolen or just, as they say, get taken "for a ride." In the best case scenario, they will be strung along by someone more adept than them at reading social situations and left as a "back-up" of sorts should things go awry.
   Regarding that last case, people don't realize that they've been taken advantage of until they're in way too deep. And by then, they've invested too much to be able to do anything about it. It requires a certain amount of emotional strength to be able to cut off someone who has done nothing but keep you on the sidelines of their own life, just in case they feel they might need you for a "rainy day". Especially when you have spent months or even years living within the delusion that they will always be by your side or that they are someone special to you and you mean as much to them.
   And not many people have this certain strength to end things right then and there once they've realized what they've gotten themselves caught into and who this person really is. So they just let the situation deteriorate even further, wasting their time in pitiful attempts to find any slither of space in the life of a social manipulator that they know they should break away from and would be better off without.
   Others, of course, do possess that strength. The strength to say "enough's enough" and to stand up for themselves. To end the cycle of emotional abuse once and for all and move on with their lives. Sure, it may take a certain amount of time, but once it's over, then it's over for good. These are the types of people that may not understand much about social interactions, but they don't really need to, since they stand with their own two feet firmly rooted to the ground. These people don't allow many to walk beside them, so on the one hand they take their few bonds very seriously, but on the other, if their trust is broken, it can not be repaired.
   There are many kinds of people in this life. What kind are you?

The Reunion draws nearer

  Final Fantasy VII Remake. Just those four words across the screen, partnered by the sound of the opening notes of Nobuo Uematsu's "Opening Mission" theme for the game, are enough to send shivers down the back of literally millions of fans. Both those who played the original in their childhood, forming ever-lasting bonds with the game's main characters Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Caid Sith, Red XIII, or even the antagonist Sephiroth, and the ones who weren't around during the game's initial release in 1997 yet, impressed by all that they've seen from it so far and the excitement surrounding it, can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.
   The truth is, the developer of this highly-anticipated project, Square Enix, have had quite a rocky past when it comes to these types of titles, which has left the trust of their faithful followers in tatters. Many issues across the -formerly known as- Fabula Nova Crystallis series, the initial launch of Final Fantasy XIV and the lengthy wait for Kingdom Hearts III don't really allow for much optimism.
   Recently though it appears as if the big-wigs at the company are beginning to show signs of changing their way of thinking. Whereas in the past they would opt to show off a title until there was nothing left of it to show, now there are statements of regret and choosing a different path. For example, recently during the results of the current financial year, their CEO Yosuke Matsuda explained that they feel they "...need to reduce the time between announcement and launch of triple-A titles."

   That in itself is a reason to be optimistic. It means they understand that fans aren't willing to wait around forever for a new game, no matter what it may be called. They may have had a rude awakening from their experience with Kingdom Hearts III, which even though sold admirably, surpassing 5 million copies within its first month of release, wasn't able to turn in a profit for the company since it was too heavily marketed.
   This isn't the first time that Square Enix set the bar way too high with their sales expectations either. I'm afraid I don't recall what year it was, but they were aiming to sell close to ten million physical copies of Rise Of The Tomb Raider, which despite being quite a great game and the franchise having its own following, but there was never any chance it was going to make it that far. Of course, due to exceedingly high expectations, the title was inevitably deemed a failure (although it actually is one of the greatest hits in this generation).
   Going back to Final Fantasy VII Remake, one would hope that all of these experiences have taught the higher-ups at Square Enix to curb their enthusiasm a bit and maintain a low profile. This title does indeed have the potential of breaking records, just as the initial title did, but this is a whole other playing field and one measly little thing is enough to set the entire fan base against you.

   Speaking of which, the recent one-minute and twenty-second teaser trailer that was given during PlayStation's StateOfPlay showing was already enough to set them off. After the initial excitement that lead to over 2 million views on YouTube in less than a week(!), several online outlets or individual fans began their... reactions: "Barrett's voice not a proper representation of the African-American community", an article on Kotaku reads. "Fans in Japan are outraged over Aerith's long face", @RedMakuzawa posted on Twitter... and this is just the beginning. We haven't even seen the infamous Honey Bee Inn scene, where players are tasked with going around looking for items to help Cloud dress up like a woman in order to gain access to a brothel and help his fellow team member Tifa. 
   It feels a bit pointless to keep saying this, but people need to understand that this game is a faithful remake of a game that was launched in 1997, when the world was a different place. If the scene is changed too dramatically, then the purists will complain about it and if it is shown in its full extent, then the developers will be blamed for being insensitive towards the LGBTI+ communities. Everyone is literally waiting at the corner for them. Is there even a point to all of this?
   This was just one example of how high in regard people hold this title. It's like a work of art for them, it needs to be delivered perfectly. All the themes of life, all the funny parts, all the areas of exploration need to be displayed perfectly, otherwise it just won't be worth it. How easy of a task that'll prove to be for Square Enix remains to be seen, yet so far, they seem to be doing a pretty good job at it.
   We were promised more information at this year's E3, which is just three short weeks away. Right now, the internet has gone into overdrive with new rumors regarding release date, leaks, trailers and other things that might be shown being talked about almost on a daily basis. The most recent debate on Twitter is on whether or not the game should be political (a game that talks about how large corporations can destroy planets and where you're part of a terrorist group, I don't know how it can get any more political than that, anyway.) We'll probably get so much more in the days up until the Square Enix E3 Conference (Tuesday 11 June, just in case) that in the end it'll be hard to say which one was real and which were lies just to attract some attention.

   But all of this is just part of the excitement. Hopefully we won't need to wait much longer for the first part of this remake (it has already been announced that a project this large cannot be delivered in one disc so they needed to divide the work) and like the info says, we can play it by the start of the new year. However it'll be a good idea for them to keep it under wraps for a while, let it go AWOL and then begin to advertise it again when it's really close to release. There's really no point in showing off a game today that is meant to be released in September 2020. That's almost harmful to its image. Five-three months before release is a good time in my opinion.
   From all we've read and heard, it seems this will be Square Enix's flagship title (kinda like their main attraction, if you will) at this year's show. They don't have much else going on, other than the expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, Shadowbringers and the episodic releases of Life Is Strange 2. So it would be a little self-destructive if they were to bring it back next year as well. Public interest would wane. If they're shifting into full-on promotion of Final Fantasy VII Remake, then it needs to come out by the end of the fiscal year (March 2020.) Plain and simple.
   Almost five years into production, surely it's enough for just the first of many parts of a single title..? Guess we'll have to wait and see. Till June 11.

At the doorstep of the next generation...

  During the last few weeks it has become public knowledge that the current era of gaming consoles will soon be coming to an end and that we're at the doorstep of a brand new generation. There had been whispers going around for a while now regarding a new Sony console, but these became concrete knowledge thanks to a tweet by the PlayStation account that linked to a Mark Cerny interview on wired.com, where he discussed in full detail what this new piece of hardware hopes to achieve over its predecessor, the PS4.
   This feels like a rather normal evolution of things, considering the PS4 has had its time in the limelight yet things are now beginning to quiet down when it comes to development of new titles. Even lots of third-party studios have gone radio-silent for a while now and there isn't much to anticipate as most games have already been released or are on the cusp of being pushed out the door. So not a lot remains after that.
   At this point, all PS4 fans have to look forward to are Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last Of Us II and Death Stranding. Oh, and maybe Shenmue III, depending on what it looks like. That's it. 3-4 games to support the life of the console. Hopefully it'll prove enough to push it into breaking that unreachable 100 million sales barrier that is currently held by the PS2.

   But other than that, there isn't really much else to look forward to when it comes to the PS4, so anyone could easily tell that the people at Sony Worldwide Studios had already begun to plan their next move for a while now. They strategically chose to sacrifice this year's E3 (and perhaps even last year's PlayStation Xperience) in order to plan for something much bigger in the long run. Cerny's interview is only laying the foundation for greater things to come in the near future.
   Yet at this point, with the PS4 already pushing the boundaries between graphical fidelity and what the human eye can see in real life so close together (and the PS4 Pro going even one step further with its 4K resolutions), what else can this new machine hope to achieve? Well, according to Cerny, it seems this time around, their main concern is not really all about graphics but how they can maintain the feeling of player immersion by greatly reducing loading times.
   (Going into more specifics here so don't worry if you get lost in the terminology...) By creating a more powerful CPU that can read more information in a shorter amount of time, the game won't need to drag out loading times as much as the PS4 does. Which means players will no longer be left feeling like they've forgotten what they just saw or start playing with their phones and going on social media until they can actually move on to the game. It'll all be one seamless experience. Non-stop action.
   That isn't to say that there won't be a graphical upgrade at all, with the term "8K" now coming into the picture. But that only stands for anyone who can actually afford a TV with an 8K display, which, to be honest, right now seems unreachable for a medium income household.
   All this is fine and well, but just as with the previous generation (and the one before that), there is still a ton of information that people need to think about before actually investing in this new piece of equipment, as fancy as it already sounds. Number one, of course, is pricing. Sony seemed to learn a lot from their experience with the launch of the PS3, that was retailed with a $500 opening price tag and have since become more flexible, launching the PS4 at just $400. This could be credited as one of the major factors that lead the to great success over Microsoft in November 2013 when both machines (PS4 and Xbox One) were given out to the public, but also to the long-term sustainability in sales of the console. It's at an approachable price. I myself have bought three PS4s.

   Yet another issue to think about is if it'll even be worth buying this new machine at all. As we have witnessed more than once, no matter how powerful a piece of hardware is and how many other things it can do, if it doesn't serve its main function, then there's no real purpose in buying it. This is supposed to be a gaming console, ergo it needs to have great games. Now to their credit, Sony did have the best games (bar Super Mario Odyssey and Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild) during this current generation, but it's still important to see whether there'll be anything of value during launch.
  I still remember a lot of people purchasing the PS4 in its early days, only to play... Knack or Killzone: Shadow Fall. Is that really why you just wasted $400? Just give it a bit of breathing space and wait for the good stuff to come out. And wait to see if it'll actually be good stuff, because you never know. The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn (which we all know will be coming out on Sony's next console) might end up being awful. Why would you want to take that risk?
   Finally, and this is something I am really worried about, is the emphasis on VR (virtual reality). It seems like it practically came out of nowhere, like some CEO began shouting in a board meeting one day "okay, we're going with this. This is going to be the thing of the future and we need to get everyone on board with it." I never recall anybody asking for VR, yet for some odd reason, Sony (among others) are heavily marketing toward it, like they someday hope to get everyone to forget about gaming in the way it is today and just wear those goggles. I dread to think of a dystopian future where all everyone does for entertainment is just hide inside those things... Get them out!
  All in all, as we slowly begin to write the final chapters on what was an amazing eighth generation of gaming, we look towards the future with a cautious optimism, yet maintain a bit of skepticism for how things will progress. How much further can gaming be pushed? What other great experiences can we look forward to? What will these new consoles even be called? Guess we'll just have to wait and see!