WEBVTT

00:00:00.771 --> 00:00:05.043
KYLE: Kingdom Hearts IV put out 
this promotional collage this week.

00:00:05.043 --> 00:00:06.709
And I'm lookin' at this.
I see

00:00:06.709 --> 00:00:11.801
Mickey Mouse jumpin' some 
chandeliers in a library and I think,

00:00:11.801 --> 00:00:14.438
"That's all I really need.
I don't need the rest."

00:00:14.438 --> 00:00:18.235
To me, sometimes, 
the Kingdom Hearts franchise is like

00:00:18.235 --> 00:00:22.309
living in this world where 
if you wanna buy a laser pointer,

00:00:22.309 --> 00:00:26.516
they only come packaged in, 
like, a Hanes 8-pack of socks.

00:00:26.516 --> 00:00:30.268
And so, like, [laughs] you just--

00:00:30.268 --> 00:00:32.451
You just buy the socks 
to get the laser p-- [coughs]

00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:43.196
Full disclosure here, I got 
a bit of a frog in my throat this week.

00:00:43.196 --> 00:00:46.593
So tonight's plan is just to 
keep talking about video games

00:00:46.593 --> 00:00:48.510
for as long as my voice allows.

00:00:48.510 --> 00:00:51.966
So let's start with 
a major scoop from Bloomberg

00:00:51.966 --> 00:00:57.516
about how CEO and founder Jade Raymond 
has left Haven Studios.

00:00:57.516 --> 00:01:00.299
"What's Haven Studios?" you ask?

00:01:00.299 --> 00:01:04.600
They're making Fairgames,
the one with the monkey masks.

00:01:04.600 --> 00:01:09.332
Also, in the corresponding 
Resetera thread, Jason Schreier himself

00:01:09.332 --> 00:01:14.299
confirmed that are removing 
the dollar sign S from the Fairgames.

00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:18.167
I think that's the right call but also
it's not like it's gonna change anything.

00:01:18.167 --> 00:01:21.434
It's like ordering a pizza topped with:

00:01:24.800 --> 00:01:28.116
and then saying, "Wait, hold on.
That's crazy.

00:01:28.116 --> 00:01:28.892
Hold the jelly."

00:01:28.914 --> 00:01:31.147
Anyway, the report itself is a bummer.
It says:

00:01:51.247 --> 00:01:54.040
So for the founder and CEO of the studio

00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:59.522
to leave at this point in Fairgames' 
development, not a great sign.

00:01:59.522 --> 00:02:03.680
I went back and read some articles 
from the launch press event Haven held

00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.314
back when it was first acquired.

00:02:05.314 --> 00:02:08.756
Canada's CTV was there, even.
It was a big deal.

00:02:08.756 --> 00:02:11.281
It's PlayStation's first Canadian studio.

00:02:11.281 --> 00:02:12.981
CTV ANCHOR: And its founder has become

00:02:12.981 --> 00:02:15.888
one of the most influential women 
in the industry.

00:02:15.888 --> 00:02:21.680
KYLE: So yeah, it's a feel-bad story that 
this game might not be turning out so well.

00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:23.490
However,

00:02:23.490 --> 00:02:28.088
there are elements of it 
that are maybe not feel-bad.

00:02:28.088 --> 00:02:31.497
While Fairgames is, yes, 
the monkey mask game,

00:02:31.497 --> 00:02:36.031
it's also the 3D AI-generated mask game.

00:02:36.031 --> 00:02:38.405
And as part of that studio launch event,

00:02:38.405 --> 00:02:41.362
when they were explaining 
what makes it unique,

00:02:41.362 --> 00:02:43.171
a bit thing that was emphasized

00:02:43.171 --> 00:02:48.389
is how streamlined this studio's 
development pipeline was gonna be.

00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:49.148
Look at this:

00:02:56.297 --> 00:02:56.922
Cool.

00:02:58.346 --> 00:03:00.380
Uh-oh.

00:03:04.146 --> 00:03:06.822
Yeah, so because they didn't have 
much to talk about,

00:03:06.822 --> 00:03:08.697
when they were bringing these people in:

00:03:11.455 --> 00:03:12.955
it's mostly just to talk about

00:03:12.955 --> 00:03:16.480
how hypothetically impressive 
their technology's going to be.

00:03:16.480 --> 00:03:21.322
This is the funniest part to me, from the 
GamesIndustry.biz report of the event:

00:03:24.822 --> 00:03:25.471
[raspberry]

00:03:50.978 --> 00:03:52.946
[while coughing] Why are you 
showing the people?

00:03:52.946 --> 00:03:58.080
3 years later, it sounds like they're really 
struggling to get this video game together,

00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.947
despite all of their AI technology.

00:04:00.947 --> 00:04:05.146
And I realize it's not rare for a video game 
to spend 5 months in development

00:04:05.146 --> 00:04:10.154
but do remember, back when Hermen Hulst was 
excited to announce that Haven would be

00:04:10.154 --> 00:04:14.270
joining the PlayStation family,
he had this to say:

00:04:27.646 --> 00:04:30.853
At a certain point, 
I'm not saying it's this point right now,

00:04:30.853 --> 00:04:33.562
but I do fear, maybe in the near future,

00:04:33.562 --> 00:04:38.337
we're gonna have to start questioning 
Hermen Hulst's taste in video games.

00:04:38.337 --> 00:04:40.338
Not his taste in jackets, obviously.

00:04:40.338 --> 00:04:43.445
But you have to wonder 
what he saw in Fairgames

00:04:43.445 --> 00:04:46.204
that isn't present today, 3 years later.

00:04:46.204 --> 00:04:49.079
And then just last week, 
a brand new studio

00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:53.163
received Hermen Hulst's 
potential kiss of death.

00:04:53.163 --> 00:04:54.971
Joining the PlayStation Studios's family:

00:04:56.354 --> 00:05:01.445
Now, before you get excited, LFG in this 
instance stands for Looking for Group.

00:05:01.445 --> 00:05:04.596
So do you remember last year 
when Bungie announced

00:05:04.596 --> 00:05:08.855
they were eliminating 17% 
of their studio's workforce?

00:05:08.855 --> 00:05:13.971
A little part of that announcement
is that there would be an incubation team

00:05:13.971 --> 00:05:18.803
that would become 
a brand new PlayStation Studios studio:

00:05:21.645 --> 00:05:25.446
Personally, I only remember it because, 
at the time, it was codenamed Gummybears.

00:05:25.446 --> 00:05:28.437
Well, you're looking at Gummybears 
right here.

00:05:28.437 --> 00:05:31.929
And what I find unique about 
this particular studio announcement

00:05:31.929 --> 00:05:37.862
is how specific and 
slightly charming it is. They say:

00:05:51.429 --> 00:05:55.803
It's almost like they're blissfully unaware 
of how high the stakes are here,

00:05:55.803 --> 00:06:00.117
that everything within 3 short years 
could just come crashing down.

00:06:00.117 --> 00:06:04.661
And it-- It's also interesting 
how they describe their game.

00:06:04.661 --> 00:06:06.295
Typically, you wouldn't say too much.

00:06:06.295 --> 00:06:11.970
Back in that old press release for Haven, 
they described what would become Fairgames as:

00:06:23.770 --> 00:06:28.752
And that's normal. However, 
here's how LFG describes their game:

00:06:28.752 --> 00:06:42.410
It says, "Frog-type games."
[laughs]

00:06:42.410 --> 00:06:55.028
Well, you can call me stupid because 
I'm actually forward to this game now.

00:06:55.028 --> 00:06:59.686
And then also in Bungie news (that I 
frankly don't have the vocal stamina for),

00:06:59.686 --> 00:07:05.194
and artist named Antireal pointed out 
that Marathon copied a lot of their art.

00:07:05.194 --> 00:07:08.862
Like COPIED it,
took the words right off of their art.

00:07:08.862 --> 00:07:11.361
And in the case of this stuff right here,

00:07:11.361 --> 00:07:16.253
it's, like, an essential part of the 
whole visual identity of their promos.

00:07:16.253 --> 00:07:21.570
And by the way, this is the third time 
in 2 years Bungie got caught doing this.

00:07:21.570 --> 00:07:24.669
And so, I think with 
Marathon coming out so soon,

00:07:24.669 --> 00:07:26.586
there's no way to remove the art.

00:07:26.586 --> 00:07:31.853
They're really just going to have to pay 
this artist, like they did with that Nerf gun.

00:07:31.853 --> 00:07:34.802
Bungie, tsk tsk.
You got off easy this week.

00:07:34.802 --> 00:07:39.186
Anyway, that's Delayed Input.
I'll be back next week, much healthier.

00:07:39.186 --> 00:07:40.259
Thanks for watching.

00:07:51.345 --> 00:07:53.344
I wonder if you're thinking, at this point,

00:07:53.344 --> 00:07:56.102
"Oh boy, he should've just not 
recorded a video this week."

00:07:56.102 --> 00:08:00.185
But how could I when it's 
time for your regular installment of:

00:08:03.809 --> 00:08:07.268
The topic of controversy 
this week is, of course,

00:08:07.268 --> 00:08:11.651
the changes made to Donkey Kong's 
best buddy, Diddy Kong.

00:08:11.651 --> 00:08:14.360
Diddy Kong, this week, 
received a brand-new render

00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.385
that is strangely similar to his old render
with a few small differences.

00:08:18.385 --> 00:08:21.202
Like, his tail's shorter.
He's got a little extra belly.

00:08:21.202 --> 00:08:24.785
You should also know he's got 
a little DK pin on his hat

00:08:24.785 --> 00:08:29.136
instead of the Nintendo logo,
which you know I personally appreciate.

00:08:29.136 --> 00:08:31.428
The Nintendo logo 
never should've been there.

00:08:31.428 --> 00:08:33.985
Yes, he has teeth now, 
which is not a big deal.

00:08:33.985 --> 00:08:37.017
Monkeys have teeth.
Diddy Kong always should've had teeth.

00:08:37.017 --> 00:08:42.610
But perhaps most strangely, as somebody 
was reviewing Diddy Kong's design,

00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:47.151
they said, "No more Sonic the Hedgehog 
eyes for Diddy Kong.

00:08:47.151 --> 00:08:50.726
I'm gonna need you to put 
one centimeter of monkey skin

00:08:50.726 --> 00:08:54.009
straight between his eyeballs,
thereby separating them."

00:08:54.009 --> 00:08:56.410
And the weird thing is, like,
I don't mind it.

00:08:56.410 --> 00:08:58.503
I think that these are 
all nice improvements.

00:08:58.503 --> 00:09:00.836
[monkey sound]

00:09:01.501 --> 00:09:02.701
[different monkey sound]

00:09:03.509 --> 00:09:04.344
[HONK]

00:09:04.344 --> 00:09:07.669
The most recent Switch 1 update 
changed a lot of the player icons.

00:09:07.669 --> 00:09:10.493
Someone on Reddit named thetripp 
pointed this out neatly.

00:09:10.493 --> 00:09:14.177
As you can see, mostly lighting changes,
the obvious DK changes.

00:09:14.177 --> 00:09:15.459
But also little weird ones

00:09:15.459 --> 00:09:19.485
like bunching the plates on the 
back of Yoshi's head all together,

00:09:19.485 --> 00:09:22.167
even though that's not how Yoshi works.

00:09:22.167 --> 00:09:24.283
Anyway, I 'm just saying it's neat.

00:09:24.283 --> 00:09:27.534
I think it's neat that 
because the Switch 2 is coming out,

00:09:27.534 --> 00:09:29.950
somebody looked at all the old art 
and said,

00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:33.243
"We could really improve this here
and this here and this here.

00:09:33.243 --> 00:09:35.193
Diddy's gonna need a shorter tail.

00:09:36.727 --> 00:09:37.925
Dat's da good stuff."