Matt S. is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of DDNet. He's been writing about games for over 20 years, including a book, but is perhaps best-known for being the high priest of the Church of Hatsune Miku.
Hello everyone, and Happy Holidays! What a year it has been, too. An impossible number of great games were released. It has been totally impossible to keep up with the release schedule. We also made significant inroads in our own visual novel project, formally announcing it and getting it so close to being ready to release. It’s going to be…
It’s that time of year again! We’re counting down the days to Christmas with our own little “advent calendar” – one new game to play over the holiday season each and every day. As the year winds down, things get really busy. We’ve got Christmas parties to attend, the end…
It’s that time of year again! We’re counting down the days to…
It’s that time of year again! We’re counting down the days to…
If you’re a fan of JRPGs then brace yourself because July is going to be one very intense month. There are plenty of other games releasing, of course, but the JRPG calendar is particularly packed and, for people that perhaps found Final Fantasy XVI a little untraditional for their tastes,…
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Something old and something new for discussion in this month’s podcast! We kick things off as we always do with a look at all the games releasing in July. If you’re a fan of Japanese games – and JRPGs in particular – steel yourself because the month is going to…
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Nobunaga’s Ambition is more niche than the top strategy games out there that jump to mind immediately when you think about the genre. Civilization and Total War rule the roost, of course. However, there are also the likes of Crusader Kings and Age of Wonders, which have rapidly become major…
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With 16 titles across 40 years, there are very few properties that have had the kind of longevity that Koei Tecmo’s Nobunaga’s Ambition has enjoyed. While it might not be the world’s most popular and accessible strategy series – that goes to either Civilization or Total War – the commitment…
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Final Fantasy XVI is a spectacular blockbuster that is also so much more than a simple “AAA-game”. Where most blockbusters aim to manipulate the player’s emotions but have little ambition beyond that, Final Fantasy XVI dares to challenge players with a narrative of depth and poignancy. It is the rarest…
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Once, many years ago, I read an argument that the enduring popularity of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons in its homeland in Japan has to do with a very real desire for a “sea change” or “tree change” among Japanese urban populations. If this is true (and I believe there is…
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Bleak Sword DX is the latest Apple Arcade game to make its way over to consoles. This Devolver Digital-published title was always an admirable and interesting effort to take the core tension and taut action of the Souls “genre” and make it work on mobile devices. It did work and…
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Hello Kitty faces serious competition nowadays. Once the darling of Japan’s deep and beloved mascot culture, Kitty is under serious threat of being replaced by her direct rival, Rilakkuma. It’s almost poetic. Hello Kitty is the creation of the mascot company, Sanrio, Rilakkuma is the creation of the mascot company,…
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As anyone in PR or communications will tell you, the best time to make a catastrophic announcement is when everyone is busy looking elsewhere. You don’t want to hide it, but you want to push it through the news cycle at a time when you’ll only generate half as many…
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It’s really incredible to think about, but Sonic has been such a major part of the games industry for so long now. The blue hedgehog celebrates his 32nd birthday next week, and to celebrate that, as well as the launch of Sonic Origins Plus, the Australian distributor of SEGA games…
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