AJ Fillari trying to help me write the intro to this post:
Podcasts are like blogs that you can listen to.
We’re at PAX East this weekend in Boston, which is pound for pound my favorite convention I’ve ever been to. I’ll have more coverage of the show on the channel and elsewhere later, but for this week’s episode I decided to answer some of your questions about Square Enix’s great 2025, Epic Games’ latest round of needless layoffs, and some advice for people wanting to get into games writing.
I was a Destiny freak. I started playing during the press preview alpha in the Summer of 2014 and subsequently put in close to 2000 hours across both games. Bungie’s best-in-class gunplay and a strong focus on worldbuilding and visual identity lured me in, but the aspect that kept me playing was the game’s distillation of the MMO as a concept into something less obtuse. I finally had the experience I’d wanted from games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, but on a console and through a form of play I’d already known well via the first person shooter.
This was my hope for Marathon. The extraction shooter as a subgenre hadn’t quite clicked with me in the same way the MMO hadn’t when I was younger. And just like back then, I understand the appeal — the tension and release of finding and then battling to maintain your gear is one that feels inherently like it would be my shit. Removing the focus from becoming a kill-death ratio decimal-point-goblin staring at end-of-match scorecards is always a plus in my eyes, and shifting that focus towards the items you scrounge up on a run to run basis is a genuinely positive move with regards to how I am generally already interacting with competitive shooters.
My hope for Marathon is that Bungie would be able to jump into the genre and shift the focus even further, extend the definition of what an extraction shooter could be and find a cleaner on-ramp for curious players like myself.
By packaging it all up in their table-stakes “best gunplay around” and the most incredible visual identity I’ve seen in a video game in years, I think they’ve nailed it.
On Asus’ latest earnings call, CFO Nick Wu said that the Neo and its aggressive entry-level pricing were “certainly a shock to the entire market.” Wu also disclosed that Asus had some knowledge of Apple developing the Neo back in 2025, much as many of us had heard rumors of a MacBook with an iPhone chip for months — and yet, Asus and other PC makers seem to have been caught flat-footed.
Here’s how Wu described the MacBook Neo, specifically its 8GB of RAM limitation:
“I think when Apple positioned the product, it’s probably focused more on content consumption. This differs somewhat from mainstream notebook usage scenarios, because in that case, the Neo feels more like a tablet — because tablets are mostly for content consumption.”
It’s amazing how frequently PC manufacturers find themselves completely adrift after Apple releases a product that immediately shifts the market. We’re going to watch companies like Asus scramble for an “answer” to the Neo for the next two years, all the while Microsoft will be on their constant path towards divorcing Windows from the consumer market entirely in an effort to embrace an all-AI future.
I'm absolutely in love with Pokémon Pokopia, enough so that it has me wondering if it could have been a cultural moment — Animal Crossing-adjacent, even — had it released later in the Switch 2's lifecycle.
New Horizons launched in March of 2020 to a possible audience of 55 million Nintendo Switch users and went on to sell 12 million units in its first month. This snowballed into becoming the best selling Animal Crossing game, transforming the franchise into a true system-seller.
Pokopia is being released as a Switch 2 exclusive in a market where 17 million consoles have been sold thus far, meaning the chances of it being an “event” like Animal Crossing are small. Word of mouth is strong, reviews are glowing, but the high price of the Switch 2 and the small addressable audience is holding it back from reaching its true potential in some ways.
Anyway, I’m gonna go make my friend Drifloon a better house.
Apple announced a new MacBook today. It’s called “Neo” and it starts at a legitimately surprising $599, is powered by the A18 Pro — a chip designed for the iPhone 16 Pro, comes in four colors that are actually fun, and doesn’t seem to really skimp on the expected features of a “normal” MacBook.
On paper, it’s the perfect device for anyone looking to get into the Mac ecosystem and doesn’t expect to perform too many hardcore creative tasks. The A18 Pro is more performant than the M1 chip that launched in Apple’s industry-transforming MacBook lineup from 2020, meaning it will be capable of running apps for photo and video editing despite not being the main focus of the device.
This is a MacBook for browsing the web and answering email. It’s a MacBook for watching movies and for playing very light games and for listening to music.
I’d buy one for my mom! She’d love the yellow one!!
The MacBook Neo is everything the iPad purports to be… except the Neo runs MacOS. And costs the same as an iPad Air. And comes with a keyboard and a headphone jack and two USB-C ports and equally impressive screen and the list goes on.
I don’t see the Neo as an outright death knell for the iPad — there are certain tasks a tablet with a big touchscreen is obviously better equipped to handle — but I do see it as the answer to years of people begging Apple to put macOS on the iPad. It kills two birds with one stone: The Neo gets people into the Apple ecosystem at a price low enough to be a true consideration when stacked up against Windows laptops in a big box retail store, and it’s simultaneously a perfect replacement for the people who want to be doing more with their iPads but find the operating system limiting1.
Why continue down the path of shoving laptop-grade chips into tablets that can’t make use of the power when you can sidestep the problem entirely? Or what if this is all heading towards a different path where everything starts running macOS and the question is more about what matters to you specifically when it comes to input method?
Would you pay a premium for a tablet and a keyboard just because you need a touch interface for the specific work you do?
So here’s the prediction: Apple will discontinue iPadOS. The regular iPad, iPad mini, and iPad Air will continue to exist, but they will run iOS.
That leaves the iPad Pro, which I believe will begin shipping with macOS. No, not some fork of macOS or “macOS lite,” the real deal. This will live alongside the other Macs in the lineup, and it will be the tablet-style Mac while Apple will keep the clamshell laptop and desktop machines in the lineup. The strongly rumored touch-enabled MacBook Pros on the horizon will come with a new build of macOS that fully supports touch, opening the door to a tablet-style Mac, and why mess with perfection? Put macOS on the iPad Pro and instantly have the best convertible computer on the planet.
I think it’s notable that a full, unrestricted macOS is running on an iPhone chip. It indicates a flexibility to their hardware and operating system lineup that hasn’t really been explored to its fullest extent, and makes me wonder about the possibility of hybrid devices down the line. A chip from here, a piece of hardware from there — now we’re Frankensteining new products out of thin air.
In a world where AI is causing parts shortages in every capacity, it makes sense that we’d see companies like Apple asking what they can accomplish with what they already have on hand. It’s the equivalent of The Cheesecake Factory having a 250-item menu because they’ve mastered the art of using the same ingredients in as many dishes as possible.
Some people may see that comparison as a dunk, but I really see it as ingenuity. And in the case of Apple, it represents a continued break away from their usual “we’ll tell you what you want” mentality.
From now on, when people ask me if they should get an iPad there’s a real chance I might recommend the Neo. And if they start throwing macOS on the iPad and people ask me which MacBook to buy, there’s a real chance I might point them towards an iPad2.
I can’t decide between a chicken salad wrap and the chicken salad with crushed tortilla chips, but I’m sitting in The Cheesecake Factory either way… so I guess that’s a win for them.
⏆
It’s me! I’m one of those people!
Not even mentioned in this piece: MacBook Air brutally framemogged by megachad MacBook Neo alpha.
Today we’re sharing difficult news. We have made the decision to permanently shut down Highguard on March 12. Since launch, more than 2 million players stepped into Highguard’s world. You shared feedback, created content, and many believed in what we were building. For that, we are deeply grateful. Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term. Servers will remain online until March 12th.
I've been thinking a lot recently about the self-fulfilling prophecy of the live-service doomer mentality. A game gets announced at a major event that has whiffs of Fortnite, or of Destiny, or of Overwatch, or of Escape from Tarkov, and is immediately branded as "doomed" by a cohort of anti-influencers whose grift relies on constant negativity until a game comes out so they can get a second bite of the monetization apple with an "I was wrong about GAME" video if it turns out people actually like it. There is an ignorant, righteous tone within the "nobody asked for this" and "everyone just wants single-player games" comments as if all of the above titles aren't or haven't been massively successful — not just from a pure business perspective, but from an active player base perspective.
I love Steam Next Fest so much. Every year, multiple times per year, we get to go hands-on with the future of the medium and try out as many games as possible within a short time frame. I adore the threads in Discord and Reddit and Bluesky and elsewhere in which people share their favorites, and I'm grown to adore doing the same via these videos.
Here are the three demos I played which I think are going to go on to be a huge deal after the full release, but stay tuned for even more Next Fest demo thoughts (very, very) soon.
Sony Group Corp. is shutting down Bluepoint Games, the PlayStation subsidiary responsible for developing remakes of video games such as Demon’s Souls.
Roughly 70 employees will lose their jobs amid the studio closure, a PlayStation spokesperson said, writing in a statement that the decision was made “following a recent business review.” Bluepoint will officially shutter next month.
Following that game, Bluepoint began working on a “live-service” God of War game, Bloomberg previously reported. But it was canceled in January 2025. PlayStation said at the time that it was working with Bluepoint to determine the studio’s next project.
Are we sincerely supposed to believe that in a world where the entire industry is bending over backward to remake and remaster every game under the sun, the studio that’s arguably the best at it can’t find a path to profitability?
Is there any clearer sign of executive-level brainworms running rampant to have Bluepoint working on a God of War live service game, cancel it, and then sit on their hands pretending there’s not a single project they would absolutely excel at producing?
Like, for example, the constantly-requested Bloodborne or maybe these:
For years the advice has been the same: If you want to play Nintendo DS or 3DS games, go on eBay and buy one used. Emulation isn’t there yet.
Baby, I think we’ve crossed the rubicon.
In the past 6-12 months we’ve seen multiple dual screen (or very clever single-screen) handhelds released specifically targeting Nintendo DS and 3DS emulation to great fanfare. The AYN Thor has become a social media darling in a way the emulation hardware scene only sees once every few years, breaking containment and becoming a coveted device by many with no prior knowledge of the product category. And then for over $200 less, you can also get Anbernic’s RG DS which specifically targets the Nintendo DS library at a significantly more attainable price — although there are a few notable drawbacks.
At the core of this though is a landscape that is changing rapidly. As Nintendo slams the breaks on 3DS game preservation, demand to play these games continues to rise. It’s only natural these manufacturers would step up and try providing ways to fill that hole in the market, right?
Discord announced on Monday that it’s rolling out age verification on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users’ accounts to a “teen-appropriate” experience unless they demonstrate that they’re adults.
Users who aren’t verified as adults will not be able to access age-restricted servers and channels, won’t be able to speak in Discord’s livestream-like “stage” channels, and will see content filters for any content Discord detects as graphic or sensitive. They will also get warning prompts for friend requests from potentially unfamiliar users, and DMs from unfamiliar users will be automatically filtered into a separate inbox.
One of Discord’s third-party customer service providers was compromised by an “unauthorized party,” the company says. The unauthorized party gained access to “information from a limited number of users who had contacted Discord through our Customer Support and/or Trust & Safety teams” and aimed to “extort a financial ransom from Discord.” The unauthorized party “did not gain access to Discord directly.”
Data potentially accessed by the hack includes things like names, usernames, emails, and the last four digits of credit card numbers. The unauthorized party also accessed a “small number” of images of government IDs from “users who had appealed an age determination.” Full credit card numbers and passwords were not impacted by the breach, Discord says.
Beyond the obvious privacy concerns, concerns regarding handing my information over to a company that just recently leaked other users’ private information, and the general enshittification of Discord as they gear up for an IPO which will clearly make the product even worse — I just have one question:
Why does Discord leadership feel so secure about their place in the market?
Their app is a clone of Slack that’s been geared towards gamers, which are historically the most picky genre of hobbyists in the world and also the most technically inclined. While I wouldn’t say there is an obvious go-to competitor out there at the moment, the more Discord pushes ads into their product while simultaneously asking for Nitro subscriptions and the more they demand users give up their privacy to stay in touch with their friends, the more likely it is that an enterprising group of individuals will build something similar.
Even if it’s just “good enough,” it’ll be better than using Discord.
And let me be clear: Discord is probably my favorite product I use on a daily basis.
I sold my car a few years ago. I made it through the entirety of 2023 only driving it once, which meant I was paying monthly for car insurance and a (thankfully very cheap) Brooklyn parking space beneath a tree birds adored pooping out of. Once my parents moved out of New Jersey, my weekly trips to visit dried up and my shit-covered Toyota Corolla sat dormant.
I've written before about how much I love driving, how much I valued my time growing up whipping through the mountains of Harriman State Park in New York with the windows down — by myself or with friends — chain smoking and blaring whatever album had the loudest guitars through my car's horrible speakers.
Wishy's 2025 EP Planet Popstar would have been one of those albums. A six-track wonder filled with b-sides from their 2024 debut Triple Seven, the band digs even harder into their sound which has flavors of Sheryl Crow, Angels & Airwaves, Teenage Fanclub, and My Bloody Valentine in equal measure. Opening tracks "Fly" and "Planet Popstar" do a lot of heavy lifting to illustrate how strong the group's hold on their sound can be. The latter's chorus is a soaring cacophony of heavily distorted guitar melodies with an explosive vocal performance matching the heightened emotional moment:
Love at the speed of light Has the thought even crossed your mind? You're the star in my dreams tonight Call me up when you're planet-side And I'll make you mine
It's not often a release makes me miss driving and smoking simultaneously, which I think speaks to Wishy's prowess at pulling from this very specific era of alternative rock. If the title track were the only song I'd heard from them, it would get its own blog post — but having these five other tracks to savor is like audio kaiseki.
It also helps that the album is named after a Kirby world. Bonus points, baby.
Anbernic is back again with an announcement that made me yell out loud, and then quickly begin second-guessing:
Two new emulation handhelds styled after the PlayStation Vita.
As a noted Vita sicko — and one who is in the process of working on a PS Vita retrospective episode for Into the Aether patrons — this immediately feels like the kind of reveal that should be one of the most exciting of the year until we take a second to think about the current state of emulation and Anbernic's recent track record.
Hello and welcome back to Wavelengths! Publishing this episode a bit early due to the general strike to protest ICE taking place tomorrow in the US.
This week’s episode is a (gasp) normal one for once, with some thoughts about Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream’s big showing this morning, the leadup to and actuality of Highguard, Dispatch launching on Switch, and Ball x Pit’s free update — which I absolutely devoured.
After the news I have some questions for you about the future of Wavelengths.
Let me know what you think, and thank you — as always — for the support and for letting me follow my curiosity.
Ben Hanson of MinnMax — a Minnesota-based video game outlet which I happen to adore — created a striking 7 minute video showing footage of the recent events in Minneapolis. It’s a harrowing watch, and one I feel everyone should see and share with as many people as possible.
The truth is being obfuscated by this administration. It’s only thanks to the bravery of those standing outside in below-freezing conditions that we can bear witness to the injustices and atrocities ICE agents perpetrate as they terrorize American citizens and non-citizens.
Hello from somewhere over Ireland. I’m flying back to the US from Paris Fashion Week and thankfully have free wi-fi, which is a pleasant surprise. I’ve been spending the first few hours of the flight catching up on some new music and saw a single and album announcement from Snail Mail. I’ve been a big fan of Lindsey Jordan’s music since her very first EP — an emotionally devastating collection of tracks produced in a way that evoked their teenage sensibilities (complimentary!!).
Jordan’s been through the wringer since that EP released to critical and commercial acclaim, being immediately thrust into the spotlight at a young age and dealing with the dreams and nightmares that come with it. This all led up to a surgery to repair torn vocal cords and months (years?) of speech therapy. Suffice it to say: I’m just glad to learn she not only feels good enough to sing again, but to record and release an album for the first time in five years.
Her new single, Dead End, is fantastic. I’ve been listening to it on repeat for like thirty minutes already. Her melody work is still rock solid and I love that there’s a not so left-field interpretation of these lyrics which are about the multi-year step away from the spotlight.
I've been spending almost all five years of this console generation talking about how strange I've found it. Xbox had some interesting ideas early on about game streaming and library sharing, but then they had to go and become complicit in an ongoing genocide. Sony, meanwhile, has been mostly resting on their laurels for the past few generations — just trying to make more expensive versions of the same kinds of games over and over again and hoping to spin up film and television projects based off of their intellectual property to prove how prestige their output is.
The commonality between them is that both companies have an increased focus on publishing their games to PC. Sometimes these games are cross-platform day-and-date, and sometimes you have to wait a few months. Either way, doesn't it just make more sense to start investing in a PC at this point?
Vine was still around in 2016! Pokemon GO came out that summer! Wild!
Also out today: I did a call for questions and recorded a whole episode of Wavelengths just answering as many of them as I could before my voice started to fail me. Questions like “Is Hytale good?” and “what’s the best way to eat potatoes?”
The answers are “yes” and “let me tell you in great detail!!”
Hello and happy new year! I’m writing this from a completely new desk setup in a new room in my apartment, as Percia and I have spent the past week reorganizing and restructuring our place for the first time in five years. This has involved going through every single thing we own to divide into “keep, sell, give away, and throw away” piles.
Because there’s famously no better time for Spring cleaning than January!!
This whole endeavor has taken pretty much an entire week — morning to night every single day — which has also meant that any and all work has gone by the wayside until the project is done. But at the end of it all, we’ll be left with a much bigger room to turn into a home office / studio / work space, which is exciting. This is the first post I’m writing from here, and it feels great so far.
It’s nice to have windows in the room you work from! Who knew??
All of that aside, a few updates:
First off: I published my Top 50 Games of the Year video to YouTube at the end of last week. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope Clair Obscur fans can be normal about their favorite game being ranked lower than two games where you flip coins. You can watch that video here.
Third: I received a lot of requests to add an annual subscription option to the Wavelengths Patreon, so I went ahead and enabled that! Eternal gratitude to everyone who supports the project.
Now heading into the weekend, we’re in the final stages of the big apartment refresh and I am itching to finally get back to work. I have three videos in the hopper that I’m excited to get out the door, and Patrons already know I’m in the process of figuring out which GBA game to review next.
11,000+ people responded to a question asking “Are you currently taking part in the Xbox boycott?” with 64% of responders choosing the option labeled “I don’t know what that’s referring to.” He goes on to add that many of the comments from those who voted “Yes” misunderstood the boycott to be about recent Game Pass price hikes and not Microsoft’s active effort to profit off of the mass surveilance of Palestinians.
“How would the average video game enjoyer even come across news that this boycott was underway?” he asks before showing the above infographic displaying the number of articles on major video game websites that reference the BDS boycott of Xbox.
It’s worth considering the number of articles posted on these sites on a daily, or weekly basis when referencing this graph.
It’s worth considering our algorithm-fueled social media machine and how unlikely it already is for an article to appear across your feed on any given day.
It’s worth considering using your platform — no matter the size — as a means to get the word out to even one more person.
