Bobfoc

I recently found out that someone I was at school with now works for Team 17. She was on the last Nintendo "Nindies" Direct show.

RATM are charging a boatload for their shows. Still, fight the power.

With the cancellation now official, Microsoft and Ubisoft have announced plans for digital presentations.

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but several sources are saying that the cancellation is imminent. The coronavirus is actually a bit of a face-saver because companies were pulling out even before its outbreak. Bloomberg has reported that the ESA could be looking at making an online-only E3 instead, which would probably be better anyway.

This series has a long history of features being removed for no good reason. I might not mind if they built on the modes that were in, but they hardly ever do.

Close game in the end, thanks to disciplinary issues from a couple of England players. I'm intrigued as to how this will all be sorted with the indefinitely postponed Italy matches.

OK, I've just done it. I don't think I'll be able to watch most streams live, but I don't watch anything else on there. You might as well have my free money.

I don't understand. Why do you need a free subscription to a channel? I thought following a channel was free as it is.

I only just caught the end of this. I'm looking forward to seeing some janky minigames. Whether I'll be able to catch it live is unknown, but I'll be looking at the recap if not.

It's a bit weak that they've disregarded the promotions and relegations from the first time round. On the other hand, four-team groups make more sense. The video mentions that two group winners will get a second chance to qualify for the World Cup via the playoffs. I'm guessing that will be the two highest ranked teams who haven't already qualified, rather than a random draw. I quite like the competition. It beats having several meaningless friendlies, anyway.

I'll contribute the first non-football clip. Ronnie O'Sullivan is someone I really don't like, but the fluency here is undeniable. I remember watching it in 1997 and haven't seen anything quite like it since.

A few thoughts: It looks great. This is the first time I've sort of wished I had a PS4 Pro to fully appreciate how good the graphics are. It's nice to hear orchestral versions of the old pieces of music, albeit I think the originals had a bit more punch. I think the more understated versions are nice too, but they carry less of a sense of grandeur and panic. I'm undecided on the voice acting. I haven't experienced the newer releases in the Final Fantasy VII saga, so my versions of what the characters should sound like is still very much embedded in my own mind. Barret still has a bit of the wacky Mr. T vibe about him. Jessie, Biggs and Wedge sound good enough, though, and it's definitely nice to see them get a bit more attention. The combat's a lot of fun, which is a big thing to consider when we're looking at a game spanning a lot of hours. Having only first played the original version a few years ago, I thought the turn-based system was adequate, but not much more than that, and I think this is a big improvement. I know it won't be to everyone's tastes, but perhaps the "Classic" system will satisfy them a little more. All in all, I'd say I'm more likely to pre-order the game than I was before. I'm looking at it as an alternative telling of an old story and, as such, I'm not going to fuss too much about what gets changed and what doesn't. I do think there'll be a backlash among some people in that regard, but I'm happy to take the game at face value.

The demo is out! Show that Mako reactor who's boss!

The enemy at the back is clearly happy to sit this one out. Someone ought to tell the one in the middle that his attempt to hide behind a sign isn't working.

I've never bought a boxing pay-per-view because they're too expensive for my liking. I listen on the radio instead, which is good enough for me.

I doubt I'll be giving Sonic Forces much of a look, but Shadow of the Colossus is a great addition. The original game holds up well enough as it is, but being able to play a technically superior version on a console I have plugged in is nice.

I think it's a dangerous narrative to be spreading. People are waving away homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism and misogyny as a side effect of depression, which is not a good message to other sufferers at all. Depression needs to be taken seriously, of course, but it should never be used as a "Get out of Jail Free" card for bad behaviour. Depression may have many symptoms, but it can't be used as an excuse when someone says or does something offensive. Ultimately, it's an issue that the boxing community has been all too willing to spin to its own benefit. Just as Floyd Mayweather's domestic abuse episodes were commonly dismissed as "scuffles" in the boxing press, Fury's comments get shrugged off by pundits as being a mere incidental part of a grand story of redemption. In the BBC's follow-up podcast to the fight, Steve Bunce was talking about how unfair it was that Gary Lineker asked him about his comments at the Sports Personality of the Year Award show. I just think that's an ignorant reaction. We can celebrate his boxing achievements and scrutinise his public behaviour at the same time.

And another thing: it's quite insulting to brush off Fury's comments about transgender people being comparable to those who engage in bestiality, homosexuals being paedophiles and Jewish people owning all the banks and brainwashing the population as being symptoms of mental health issues. If you're really going to paint Fury as some sort of mental health messiah, don't use it as a means of dismissing his own deliberate choice of words.

Not to take away from Fury's performance, but I've come across some nonsense on mainstream sites and radio stations over the last few days calling him one of the all-time greats and comparing him to Muhammad Ali. Fury's beaten two big names. Hearing pundits calling him the greatest British sportsperson ever is mad at this stage. Everyone also seems to take for granted that Fury would beat Wilder again. Yes, he'd start as favourite, but a fully swinging Wilder against a lax, complacent Fury could be a different prospect. Never count your chickens before they're hatched in heavyweight boxing.

The content of his games is a bit of a clue as well.

Microsoft has announced that developers can opt into a service that makes games available on a cross-buy basis between Xbox One and Xbox Series X. One such game will be Cyberpunk 2077, meaning that anyone who buys it on Xbox One will get a Series X version of the game as well.

I had to look up House Lipps as I was sure you'd added it in as a joke. But no, it's an actual GRRM creation.

England's first half performance was the best they've played since the World Cup Semi-Final, easily. The second half hasn't been as good, but Ireland have lacked the potency to cause any real problems. It's hard to think that this is the same team that was arguably the best in the world eighteen months ago.

That's Alex Riley.