Games Inbox: What is the best The Simpsons video game?

Tuesday’s Inbox asks whether Fortnite will ever see a major drop in popularity, as a reader has a simple suggestion for what to do with Halo.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Hit & miss
I know it’s nostalgic talking but I really want a retro collection of The Simpsons games.

There seems to be a lot of demand for Hit & Run but I want to play the arcade game again. Throw in the mid-tier Road Rage and the 2007 Xbox 360 game and I’ll be happy.

But why not include the lesser titles for preservation sake as well? (Even that wrestling one…) I’ve never tried those ‘90s platformers so they could be a fun history trip too.

Hopefully the Inbox can work its magic.
Aaron

GC: We don’t think any Simpsons game has ever been particularly good, but we also have a soft spot for the arcade game.

Battle royale
There’s a lot of interest in what GTA 6 will do in terms of Roblox features, which I don’t think Rockstar has ever announced but which everyone seems pretty convinced are going to be in it at some point. I agree that if they work well than a Roblox for adults is going to be massive, and probably even more bad news for single-player games.

But I wonder what it will mean for Fortnite? It’ll be 10 years old next year and that’s a long time for anything to stay popular, let alone something that’s primarily for kids. At some point it’s going to end up being seen as old-fashioned and uncool. After all, you don’t want to be doing the same things as your parents when you’re a teenager. I feel like that’s part of the problem for Call Of Duty right now.

Or maybe it really is a forever game that will always stay relevant through new tie-ins and crossovers and whatever. I have to admit, it’s lasted longer than I ever expected already.
Focus

Story’s end
I don’t want to seem defeatist but as a solution to their Halo problem has Microsoft ever considered… just not making any more? I know everyone tries to make everything last forever nowadays but I don’t see any evidence that anyone has any idea what to do with Halo anymore.

Even those bonus missions from the Halo remake (yes, I bought it – I’m a sucker, I admit) are just a greatest hits montage of everything up to this point. I don’t see any sign of new ideas and as a fan I’m not even sure what to ask for anymore. Except that I’d like to see it go out gracefully, and not be rented out to every developer going – including the people that make Call Of Duty – until they finally admit there’s nothing left to do.
Oster

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Could, should, won’t
I’ve been reading online and from GC readers how Sony going all-digital could bring the cost of games down and now developers are saying it. I’m not being funny but what a load rubbish. For years now, developers have been saying game prices need to go up, not down, and are Sony/Microsoft really going to drop how much they take to bring the prices down? I doubt that very much.

They won’t refund buyers that paid more for the console because of Trump’s tariffs, never mind lower game prices. This is all about Sony taking up to 30% on every game sold, because every game that is sold on the PlayStation 6 will be bought from Sony’s store. Sony gets a cut of each sale, they can also take the games away anytime they like.

Prices hardly ever come down on digital. Sony have said this is to bring the cost of the next console down; if that’s the case, why don’t they sell the disc drive on its own like they did with the PS5 Pro. They could also let a third party make the discs and do everything else to release games on disc but they won’t, will they? Because it’s greed.
David

GC: We doubt it very much too. Sony hasn’t said anything substantial about the PlayStation 6 though.

Legal warning
Just seen the new ‘It happens on PS5’ advert for PlayStation and was reminded of their other slogan, ‘Play with no limits.’ Perhaps they’ll need to change that once they scrap discs.

On that note are you aware of any class action lawsuits? My thinking is that PlayStation 5s being sold with a drive for extra money and then removing the ability to use it for new games would surely fall into legal grey areas. What are your thoughts?
PB

GC: Sony has already tried to cover themselves in that regard, by putting stickers on newly sold consoles, warning of the changes.

A new hope
I very much enjoyed the Star Wars Zero Company interview, GC, and am absolutely looking forward to the game’s release.

I can’t have an XCOM 3, much to my bitter chagrin, but this does sound like as close as we can get at the moment.

I hope it reviews as well as it comes across right now.

However, the one problem is that EA is the publisher; do I need to be fearful of copious microtransactions, in game advertisements or the imminent closure of the developer?

Or, and in my best Topol impression (Fiddler on the Roof reference), ‘On the other hand…’ do I need to give them an olive branch as they’re publishing a style of game woefully in need of a makeover and not their mainstream ilk?

As you can tell I’m not an EA fan and can’t in all honesty remember the last game of theirs that I bought, or maybe, even played.
Shambling Reg

GC: We saw no sign of microtransactions in anything we played and although it’s not impossible they could be added at the last minute, that’s not the impression we got. Bit Reactor is an independent developer, so while their future depends greatly on the success of the game, EA has no direct control over them.

EA strikes back
When I clicked on that Star Wars lost footage story, I felt sure it was going to be the game by Amy Hennig, but I’ve never even heard of Magellan before. Exactly how many Star Wars games did EA start and then cancel? Although I admit this one didn’t sound that great and I can see why that didn’t get too far.

Ragtag sounded like it had lots of potential though, but as I remember it was coming out when EA was going through a phase of giving up on single-player games. A real shame but I guess there’s no going back now the team has split up.
Bootles

Top performer
Thank you for publishing my Reader’s Feature over the weekend. I think the biggest controversy was over the controls for GTA 5.

One thing I have spoken about over the years is my bi-polar. Currently I am in my depressive stage, which has had a big impact on my gaming activities. I’ve only managed two hours of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag since June. This, however, doesn’t stop me from being involved in the hobby just in different ways. GC’s coverage and the Inbox are firm parts of my day.

Actual gaming has helped me in the past, so this time is no different as I wrote about some years back. I have been hunting around for the right game to help me through. Sorry Black Flag you didn’t make the cut this time but I will come back to you.

Over the weekend I visited my local game store, that’s a wargame and hobby shop, not the now defunct retailer. New in was the Starcraft miniatures game. According to Pete the owner it has been selling very well. This led to a conversation about the source material Starcraft and Starcraft 2. A game I must confess to having no knowledge of, as I have only recently joined the PC world of gaming.

With google as my friend I went off to discover a bit of information about it but it kind of led me down a bit of a rabbit hole of Blizzard products. Whenever there is any talk of Activision Blizzard it always Call Of Duty that gets mentioned but the Blizzard side of the business must be raking in some serious dough.

They certainly have some games on their side of the business that have longevity and the games seem well supported DLC/expansion wise. World Of Warcraft is a subscription model and seems very reasonable. Lord only knows how many hours of that game there are.

Is the Blizzard arm of the business in a healthy state? Is it supporting the whole business or is that purely Call Of Duty?

Off to download Starcraft and see what that’s all about. Thanks GC.
Dirtystopout

GC: Funnily enough, Blizzard was only recently described as the ‘top performing’ developer that Microsoft owns, ahead of Activision. That’s primarily due to World Of Warcraft and Overwatch, but there have been rumours of a new Starcraft action game in the last few years. There’s not much evidence, but it’s worth keeping an eye on Blizzcon next month.

Inbox also-rans
I know nobody can answer this, but I wonder if GTA 7 will be another 13 years or if it’ll be much sooner. Or even if there’ll never be one and it’ll become a permanent live service game? Maybe GTA 7 will just be story DLC for GTA Online 2?
Benson

Sad to see the death of Hayden Panettiere, she was really good in Until Dawn, didn’t phone it in at all, despite being the big star of the game. I heart she was in Kingdom Hearts too.
Orion

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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