This week Valve finally announced its new hardware, no, not a Steam Deck 21, instead the Steam Machine (again, after first trying a decade ago). But that’s not all, a new Steam Controller was announced (keeping the same same as the original Steam Controller from a decade ago), and also the Steam Frame which is Valve’s latest VR headset. The Steam Deck has been a solid success for Valve, selling around 6 million units. This number might not sound too impressive, and might seem far less considering how much talk there is around the Deck in gaming circles and also...

Anemoia, ‘nostalgia for a time you never experienced’. In the previous post I introduced this term and I have continued to think about it in readiness to follow it up...

Part of my PhD research was trying to understand how in the context of videogames there are players around the world who claimed to feel nostalgia for videogames they have never played (anecdotally I had also felt this). Part of this I put down to the cultural memory that existed alongside the medium contributing to a general awareness of the wider canon of significant titles. For example, you might not have played a Final Fantasy game, but it is highly likely that you are not only aware of it but are familiar with its iconography. Another notable factor that explored...

This week Microsoft announced that not only would it be rejigging the three different variants of its Game Pass subscription service, but it would also be raising the prices; with the full and most expensive version (Ultimate) rising to $30/£23. For a company worth almost $4 trillion(!) and one that was able to easily complete one of the most expensive ever acquisitions with the purchase of Activision/Blizzard/King for almost $70 billion, it’s not a good look. Let alone that if we think back just a few months ago when Microsoft let go (fired) 9,000 people, with many of those linked...

It’s been almost exactly a month since my previous post. One in which I was celebrating blogging continuously for 10 months. Long story short, I’ve been incredibly busy with work, which included me travelling to China teaching about videogame design and the wider industry. So, whilst I have been talking a lot about videogames, I haven’t had any free time to write about videogames. A couple of months ago I also started another blog alongside properly reviving my original personal domain which now contains my biography and bibliography. This was something I called a “microblog” but it has quickly become a more...

I’ve been blogging pretty consistently for the past 10 months or so now, most of which on this blog, but now also on my other “microblog” which is linked to my personal domain. The desire to get back into blogging was mostly inspired by how the act of writing helps keep my writing acumen in shape. Blogging was a particularly helpful means of getting my PhD written in the second half as it feels less of a challenge to get something written. Just by doing some writing has helped me with my research, whether it be trying to get my...

The public beta for Battlefield 6 is just wrapping up and so far things are looking promising. However, that’s not to say that we should assume that everything will be perfect upon launch. Partly because the Battlefield series does not have the best track record. Even well regarded games such as BF4 launched in a poor state. The other, is that this is an EA owned title, who have an even worse record and the suits in charge will always favour profit at all costs, unless public opinion turns absolutely dire that they are forced to concede slightly, as was...

Like many people today I listen to my fair share of podcasts. My friend first introduced me to one that was essentially just a repackaged version of a Radio...

Microblogging without the social media aspect.Extended thoughts that come to mind. You can find my in-depth posts on videogames and nosta...

For years I've had the domain jsweeting.me which has always been a basic website that contains general professional facing information about myself, rather...

For years, like many, I used Chrome for all of my web browsing needs, both on my PC’s and on my phone. I even had a Chromebook at one point. Part of this stemmed from using Firefox for a good few years during the 2,000s and noticing it gradually get worse. Then here was Chrome a fast “lightweight” browser that just worked, no tinkering needed. For years it was just that, but gradually it too became bloated. Except, it wasn’t just that, as Google were actively making it worse, in large part because Chrome was a window through which Google...

As part of its misguided "Online safety act" in the UK the Government is now forcing internet based services to add additional changes in order to verify a...

For the first post of a new blog type thing I always start with a post titled Hello friend. This is inspired by Mr Robot which pretty much starts off with...

After speaking with a fellow researcher of nostalgia, I’ve had a statement that he mentioned rattling around in my head. That is about being “nostalgic for the future”. Part of why this stands out for me is due to my research around hauntology and the relationship that media has with it. In short, media (videogames, film, TV, and music) are struggling to imagine a different future. Not only in what these media forms depict but also how they reincorporate elements from past media forms. This contributes to what Mark Fisher refers to as “lost futures” which instead are replaced with...