The Games Letter: Press Start

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Games Letter. I’m Jason Dean, former Games Editor/Writer for Lee Enterprise. You may have previously read my gaming articles and reviews on local news websites like Madison.com, STLToday.com, BuffaloNews.com or many others.

Now, I create content for TheGamesLetter.com. You can expect the latest gaming news in your inbox every Monday morning. Whether it's video games or board games news, we have you covered. Here are the top stories this week.

Big delays for big games

If you were waiting for over a year to play Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League or Starfield, you will have to wait a bit longer.

Suicide Squad, which was scheduled to release on May 26 was pushed back again, with no new date given. The game, which was originally planned to release in 2022 has been in development by Rocksteady Games as the successor to the popular Arkham Batman series.

According to the Bloomberg article, the delay is to fix bugs and improve aspects of the game that were lagging in development. Negative feedback from a gameplay showcase earlier this year may also factor into the delay. However, it may be too late in the development to pull the always online requirement or fix missions that seemed repetitive, two of the main concerns from the showcase. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is anticipated to be released this year.

While a release date for Suicide Squad is still unknown, Starfield received a release date. The highly anticipated space game from Bethesda Studio, makers of Skyrim and Fallout among others, will release on September 6, 2023. Like Suicide Squad, Starfield was originally planned to release in 2022, but was delayed to “the first half of 2023.” While Bethesda did not make that deadline, it will still be released in 2023, in theory.

We’re going to need a bigger box

Gloomhaven was until recently the top rated game on BoardGameGeek. So, it is no surprise the sequel to the popular game would be a big deal. However, I doubt many anticipated exactly how big it would literally be.

Weighing in at 35 pounds, the new game named Frosthaven was so big it needed a special box. Why not just make a bigger box? From the Polygon article:

“Turns out that while most domestic shipping is based largely on weight, the price of international shipping is more dependent on volume.”

To accommodate this, the designers hired a submarine engineer to design the box. You can read the full article on Polygon.

Trailer time!

A number of notable game trailers dropped this past week. The biggest of these is a teaser trailer for the new Resident Evil 4 remake. Along with the trailer, a new demo of the game was released on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum released a story trailer. The date says 2023, but would not be surprised if this one was pushed until 2024.

Tekken 8 released a Paul Phoenix gameplay trailer. While there is no release date for the game yet, it’s anticipated to release in 2023.

Finally, City Skylines announced the sequel with a new trailer this week. It’s anticipated the game will also be out this year.

This game’s for you

What do you do when you’re the biggest brewery in the world, and you want to clear up misconceptions about your new product?

You make a game, of course.

As a way to market their new hard seltzer, Anheuser Busch created the game Misconceptions. Players try to decipher fact from fiction in this party card game.

It feels like replayability would be problematic, but if you need a copy to add to your collection, you can order it online for $20.

The Ruthless history of Monopoly

Monopoly is one of the most popular board games ever. But its history is just as cutthroat as the actual game.

American Experience recently aired Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History on PBS. The show takes an in-depth look at the history of the board game, including its actual origins and the dispute about who created the game.

One interesting fact from the show: the board is based on Atlantic City. You can watch Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History online.

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

Want early access to Diablo IV? You can sell your soul (or at least your cholesterol level) to Kentucky Fried Chicken for early access by purchasing a Double Down sandwich.

Microsoft claims Sony Playstation has 70% of the global market share.

Doom co-creator John Carmack is not a fan of online-only games.

The popular free game Marvel Snap has made over $50 million in revenue.

How SimCity 2013 was so disastrous, it killed the franchise.

New releases this week:

3/14: The Wreck (PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch)
3/14: The Forest Cathedral (Xbox and PC)
3/16: The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (PlayStation VR)
3/17: Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch)
3/17: WWE 2K23 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)

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