Wow, we already got a worst game of 2026. That's...an achievement...
https://youtu.be/MlW8ZlszUxU?si=EbKw2hcBQpltNqcc

Happy New Year @Husky-san! I bought a load of Steam games during the winter sale, got the freebies from the Epic Games Store and bought a month of Game Pass, so could we pretty please get pages for the kajillion games I've been playing or plan to play? These include:

Claire Obscure
The Alters
Doom: The Dark Age
Blue Prince
Beholder: Conductor
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Metaphor ReFantazio
Frostpunk 2
I Am Your Beast
Beholder Conductor
Pacific Drive
My Friendly Neighborhood
Slay the Princess
Viewfinder
Sorry, We're Closed
Intravenous 2
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
Pentiment
Halo Infinite
Bright Memory: Infinite
Snowrunner
Gears Tactics
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Trine 4

Many thanks in advance!

Reminds me of the SNES-era Nintendo seal of quality topic. Though, interesting (and worrying) to see the modern twist with the AI …

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# Sony takes action and removes low-quality games from PS Store
Source: https://en.eloutput.com/news/video-game/Sony-removes-low-quality-games-from-PS-Store/
article by Alberto Navarro

- Sony removes low-quality games from PlayStation Store after receiving criticism for lack of control.
- Most of the removed titles came from shovelware studio RandomSpin Games.
- The decision followed a report by IGN which called into question the regulation of content in digital stores.
- Although Sony has done an initial cleanup, there are still games of dubious quality on the platform.

## PlayStation Shovelware
Sony has begun removing a number of games of dubious quality from the PlayStation Store after various media and users criticized the lack of filtering in digital distribution. The PlayStation virtual store, like other platforms such as Steam or Nintendo's eShop, had been receiving a constant wave of titles considered to be of low quality, many of them generated with Artificial Intelligence or reusing content from other games.

The debate over these games, known in the industry as shovelware, was recently revived due to an article published by IGN. In the report, several developers spoke out about the ease with which unknown studios manage to publish numerous titles of dubious origin in Sony's digital storeFaced with this criticism, PlayStation has decided to take action on the matter, removing a significant number of these titles.

One of the main studios affected by this measure has been RandomSpin Games, a developer known for releasing large numbers of games in a short amount of time. Among the titles that have disappeared from the PS Store are Supermarket Simulator Pro, Bodycam Shooter and Backrooms Inside The Escape. According to reports from specialized sites such as PSNProfiles y True Trophies, virtually the entire library of this study has been removed from the platform.

These types of practices not only affected the player experience by flooding the store with low quality content, but also hurt legitimate indie developers, whose games were buried under an avalanche of titles with no quality control whatsoever.

## A problem that affects all digital stores
This phenomenon is not exclusive to Sony. Other platforms such as Steam and the Nintendo eShop They have also been singled out for allowing the publication of titles that contribute little to the industry. In particular, it has been highlighted that Nintendo is especially vulnerable to this type of practice.. According to an anonymous developer quoted in the report, IGN, once a studio gains access to publish on the Nintendo Store, they can release anything with virtually no restrictions.

Microsoft, on the other hand, appears to have a more rigorous filter, as it reviews each title individually before approving its distribution. This has allowed its digital store to be better protected against the proliferation of low-quality games.

## Artificial intelligence and the proliferation of filler games
A worrying aspect in the rise of shovelware is the use of Artificial Intelligence in the production of these games. Many of these proposals not only reuse content without adding anything new, but also They are automatically generated to be launched in large quantities with hardly any human intervention.

Esto has caused a problem on platforms such as PlayStation Store, where these games managed to slip through minimal quality controls.

The case of RandomSpin Games is just one example of this trend. In 2024, this developer He managed to release 19 games in a single year, something that is practically unthinkable for any independent or big-budget studio. The removal of its titles is a sign that Sony is beginning to recognize this problem and is looking to solve it.

## More measures could be on the way
Although this first cleanup has been well received by the community, There are still many low-quality titles in the Sony storeThe Japanese company could continue its work to improve the user experience and ensure that PS Store remains a space where quality is prioritized.

Sony's move also opens the door to a broader reflection on the regulation of digital content. While digital distribution has democratized access to video game development, it has also has created a saturation that can be detrimental to both players and legitimate developersIt will be interesting to see how this situation evolves in the coming months and whether other companies will follow in Sony's footsteps. fight against games shovelware.
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Hai @Husky! Hope you're having a good summer! Requesting pages for miscellaneous games for my listing purposes:

Before Your Eyes
Death Stranding 2
Dungeons of Hinterberg
Neon White
Warhammer 40k: Boltgun as well as the Words of Vengeance spin-off.

Playing Video Games As You Get Older
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KcA0KEtGsnY

@Husky, whenever you have the time, could I get pages for all the games I've been playing and thinking about the last few weeks?

Anger Foot
Blasphemous II
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Cryptmaster
Dredge
Griftlands
Have A Nice Death
Jusant
Kill Knight
Lies of P
Mullet Madjack
Nine Sols
Redacted
Split Fiction
Stasis: Bone Totem
Tactical Breach Wizards
Trepang2
Unicorn Overlord

I've never been able to get into this "hobby". I wouldn't have time for such childish pursuits, as I am too busy running, looking at myself in the mirror, and being an alpha. Touch grass, nerds!

Finally pulled my games out of storage and bought a media shelf to showcase them all. I'm contemplating reducing shelf space by combining some of the series into multi-disc cases. It's weird because I like having them on a shelf displayed but I'm not married to the original cases.. So like I have 4 SOCOM games on the PS2 and I could just take all the discs and put them in a 4 disc case. But then I have to make a custom cover for the "SOCOM Series" or something similar. I guess the real question is if I'm able to make a cover that is good enough by my standards. Of course there's exceptions in games I really love or ones with special manuals like the GTA series or Metal Gear games. But like the Ghost Recons...who cares about some army dude on the cover and the manual is barebones anyway. Same with ATV Offroad Fury series... it's a guy on an ATV I get it. But I want the original games to pop in and play without having to deal with emulation. But then of course I'm destroying any value they have as a collector's item in the future... Then there's also the question of should I sell my Jak & Daxter and Sly Cooper games since I have the PS3 HD collections...am I ever going to go back and play them over the HD remakes? Probably not. But also I don't really need the money at the moment and they're bound to only go up in value as they get rarer... so maybe I should hold onto them....Who knew owning video games was such a headache.

I've been thinking a lot lately about hypothetically how best to introduce my new nephew to videogames once he gets old enough. I have a DS Lite with Namco Museum so I'd consider that phase 0. I'm currently gathering up some DS games for my New 3DS XL which might be the best way to follow up the DS Lite. (initially I thought of placing a DSi or 2DS somewhere between the two but this is more economical)

PSP is definitely not even close to a beginner console when you consider the alternatives. Switch Lite with Pokemon should probably be done as early as he is able to comfortably read. I'd even consider introducing it as a way to help the child learn to read, but I also wouldn't want him to miss out on the story early on. Probably a good way to divide games is by how much reading they require. Pac-Man requires none. 16-bit Sonic requires none. (hint hint) Pokemon and Zelda require a substantial bit. Potentially this fragments you and the child across many different system libraries to comb them for non-reading games before having to repeat the entire process for reading games. But all things considered it's surprising how much the DS Lite -> 3DS idea is able to cover a lot of ground. With the 3DS you have some low reading games and can slowly drop more reading games as time goes on. There is one game, Captain Toad, for the Switch that seems to require no reading and no talent for playing videogames. (there's not even any platforming) So that's a very viable first game. On the Switch you even have access to Sonic Origins and Mario Kart as well, which the parents can join in on. So the 3DS is starting to look a bit more advanced by comparison. (not to mention the 3D slider which is not good for the eyes, and I'd rather wish the system didn't have it. Parental controls?)

One issue I'm grappling with is how to best introduce Mega Man X. Granted the games are difficult and a child might not figure out how to wall jump. All I know is Switch Lite is probably a lousy way since the games are start button intensive and the system has an ass start button. PSP-3k has the best start button in history but the screen has heavy interlacing on sprite-based games. Overall the PSP does seem like the single best way though and you'd have X1-6 in the process. But another option is the 3DS. It only has X1-3 though and the eshop shuts down in under three months, so I have to decide now whether to go that route, but even if I do it means I'd need an eshop card and it means I can no longer factory reset my 3DS before gifting it. (I was wondering whether to do the reset even though it would dissolve all the games I've downloaded to it. They're mostly trash though so it doesn't matter.)

Every 2021 game I played ranked:

Bowser's Fury*
Subnautica: Below Zero
Returnal
Metroid Dread
Psychonauts 2*
The Forgotten City*
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Hitman III
Unpacking*
Scarlet Nexus
Cyber Shadow*
Exo One*

Asterisks are for titles I played to completion. Those I have yet to finish could get moved around a bit. Returnal could very well get bumped to the #1 spot. Not a great year, probably the weakest of the last 20. As much as I think Bowser's Fury is some of the best Mario content ever, it feels very wrong that my GOTY is a four hour chunk of bonus content from a port of a nearly decade old game.

Here's to a new year. I really need Elden Ring to kick some serious ass, and I'm certainly grateful I found a PS5 so I have the means to play it.