I'll have to say paying more for early access. Sports games have done it for a while but now it's becoming a trend with other games like Battlefield V, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Hitman 2. I hope this doesn't continue to happen...

Bethesda misstep. and their opinion and their actions. their statement that they are going to use creation engine for TES VI and Starfield.

Telltale closing. Hate to see folks lose their jobs.

Sony bailing on E3. I get why they did it, but it won't be much of a show without them. Guess I'll skip it this time.

Say what you want about him, but TotalBiscuit passing away was pretty bad news. The closing of TellTale Games was also not fun news.

Closure of telltale

Sony not attending E3. They are always the best part of the show for me. Hopefully they'll be back in 2020.

A lot of bad news in the gaming industry i think has affected a lot of us let me summarise

Telltale Games
PS Vita
PS Plus PS Vita and PS3 Games
No campaign in BOPS IIII
Sony 2019 E3
Game Magazine and Game Master Magazine ends printing cycle for good
Prima Games Guide ends cycle after 28 years of publication
The sad passing of Hidenori Shibao
Gaming Addiction classed as a gaming disorder thanks to WHO
Madden Tournament shooting
The sad passing of Chloe Sagal
A gamer dies due to swatting prank
Gaming delays in general

I think no Psx. Enjoyed the reveals for Vita and VR not just the ps4

Telltale going down hit me hard since I was really excited for Wolf Among Us. Then all the stuff about how they dealt with their employees came out and I was even more disappointed.

Telltale shutting down sucks, had really hoped to play a second season of the wolf among us, but I guess I can forget about that now:/

Locked content and microtransactions in single player games. The gradual shift of games in general to incorporate more and more microtransactions, dlc, paywalls, in game currencies, loot crates, various special, ultimate, gold editions of games, etc.

It's worrying that companies can do this and most people seem oblivious. It does not bode well for the future.

No more telltale games enough said!!

I'd say Yakuza 4's remaster delay in Japan, normally I wouldn't really mind a delay, but given it was set to release soon after Sony started there new policy regarding sexual content in niche games, this delay has me worried that Yakuza is being hit by the policy.

It's got to be Fallout 76...and we thought No Man's Sky caused an uproar....Bethesda really needs to knock it out of the park if they want to get the mojo back in time for Starfield and ES6.

For me it was the fact that Sony was not doing PSX nor would they be at E3 2019. They are a strong influence and I did not like how it basically devalued E3. Runner up would be the hype about all the games that were supposed to be announced at the Game Awards like the new Alien Game that did not happen. No Campaign for COD was also a big issue.

Well, has to be Kingdom Hearts 3 for me.

The game looks absolutely amazing. A Disney/SE hybrid dream come true.

Sadly, in 2018/2019, Square-Enix still decides it's okay to butcher/leave out the original Japanese voices from a game, and to only offer the English dub to their Western customers (and perhaps it might include dubs in German, French, Spanish: I have no idea, and TBH, I really don't care...).

So that's a huge disappointment to me, especially when in recent years Square-Enix has started offering dual-audio in its games, which has been a decision that was received as extremely positive by many many gamers around the world.

There is of course a very slight chance that some Asian releases would have English subs included (like the Japanese release of Metal Gear Solid 5), meaning Western fans could import one of those in order to enjoy the game with Japanese voices and English subs, but to be honest, they usually seem to go out of their way to deny customers that option.

One of the biggest games of this generation, and I won't be playing it because I have no interest in playing it without the original Japanese voices being there...

Huge disappointment. It's 2018, and a global & digital market: This shouldn't even be an issue anymore in this day and age.

No psx this year or Bloodborne 2 announcement yet

I feel torn between what’s the worst for me, and what it just the worst. The worst for me is Bethesda’s actions this year. I never thought a branch of the company that still released great, meaty, single-player shooters would be a part of such a predatory release. Not to mention releasing yet another game that runs terribly, and looks like a late PS3 game.
What I think the worst news is Telltale. Specifically the people who actually making the games being blindsided with losing their income, with no sort of severance. People get fired all the time, I get it. But I worked at a restaurant for eight years, and one day there was a typed note by the owner that they were closing the place. Though we did get two weeks notice. What makes the news for Telltale employees is simply because it’s been made public to us. Most people suffer in silence.

This may not be huge industry jarring news but the Metro Exodus delay shook me to the core.

Hard to single out a 2018 sadness to one thing, but I'll say any publisher that monetized the community any way it could.

Fallout 76 being revealed as an online game...then the other dozen problems with it

Yeah, I'm going to agree with OP's BFII reference, and say that the continued push for grind+MTs is getting to be sadder and sadder. It's so blatant, yet some still defend it.

On 11/19/2018, I read the article by Luke Plunkett.
"The New Spyro Doesn' t Have Subtitles In Its Cutscenes, Which Is Crazy"

This was my personal worst 2018 gaming news.
https://kotaku.com/the-new-...

I'll say that I love using subtitles when available. I'm affected when the audio options are more limited compared to similar titles.

Closure of zipper interactive. I really enjoyed the socom series and even though confrontation had its issues, I probably played at least 1k hours.

Nintendo's purging of ROM sites and subsequent refusal to provide a better alternative

Fallout 76. The whole mess. I was one of those who supported the idea of Fallout 76 after it was announced and gave Bethesda the benefit of the doubt, but seeing the reality behind the hype was kind of sad. All Bethesda games have a rough launch and normally they get a free pass on the bugs and issues but the sheer amount of issues both in the game, Bethesda's response to player's reactions and other controversies have made a "perfect storm" that has, in my opinion, completely destroyed the future of Fallout 76 and severely damaged Bethesda's reputation. I'm not saddened so much by the game itself, but more that Bethesda felt that tossing this garbage at our feet in exchange for our hard earned money was ok in some way.

Gotta be Telltale. I actually don't care for their games at all, but the way it went down was so crappy. No notice, games left un-finished, workers un-paid and no one having a clue what's happening with their franchises. Just a shame really.

the kingdom hearts 3 leak news, the most scary of all 2018 news for me anyway

For me it wasn't a single moment, but the slow realization that Fallout 76 wasn't going to be a good game. I was genuinely looking forward to playing it with my friends, and even when the signs were there I wanted to believe it still had potential. And it wasn't until after release that I finally accepted that we were not going to play it :(

That we did not get any bloodborne 2 news

when n4g started advertisement on this site and my internet data went from 500 MB to 0...that was the saddest day of my life :D

Closing of Capcom Vancouver and Teltale.

The daybreak games Columbus Nova saga. We had a lot of layoff this year from different studios and some even closed but I don't we had any studio as bad as this. I mean it trickled down into the regular news. Then they layoff 60-70 people later down the road then recently another 25. Throw in the nightmare that was there esport league falling apart for h1z1 and then they decide hey lets announce a new arena shooter based in planetside universe and it has battle royale. I mean yay they are still open but you let go all of these people. tried to cover up a massive scandal, and then you end it all with another battle royale. It one of the weirder ones. I just think why didnt just try to finish everquest next each time.

The shooting at the Madden tournament a few months ago.

Congrats to The PsychoGamer!

I'd say the Telltale closure & the concomitant fallout from it. It's one of those stories of disrespectful management that quickly kicks a majority of the team to the curb w/ only 30 mins notice, broken labor laws currently under investigation, and tragic stories like of a newblood who moved across country for this opportunity to only lose it ~a week later. Really terrible behavior that further poisons the 'crunch-time' mentality in which some of these companies appear to operate, and may be the spark that'll light the flame for broader gaming unionization as a result.

Learning that Sony is censoring games. It sets a dengerous precedent for the entire industry and Japan.

Telltale closing

The dissapointment of BFV and Fallout76

I think for me it was EA and their handling of BattleFront 2, what a mess. The game never quite recovered.
Also the chopped up story parts for FF 15 and all the DLC's sporadically released. Having to come back to the game to piece them back together was not cool at all.
Nintendo's handling of the online component for the Switch was and is still lackluster.

Telltale closing due to mismanagement and failure to evolve. Also the industry as a whole trying to transition towards GAAS and online repetitive crap.

"Do you guys not have phones?"

Definitely the closure of Telltale games. Their games were one of the best when they were at their peak. Storytelling was bar none compared to others, with decisions actually impacting the story. Their recent games unfortunately were not up to par and most of them became sort of dissapointments.

I loved them and I hated that they closed down. I hope that more companies will start making better decision making games like Telltale did. I know that Supermassive Studios, Quantic Dreams and Dontnod will be the ones to continue the tradition in making these type of games.

The biggest news for me was more of a lack of news regarding certain properties owned by companies like Square Enix and Konami.

The end of Telltale games
I am big fan of their games and own almost everyone one of them. The good news is that the final season of The Walking Dead will be completed.

No decent information for
FF7 remake.

Blizzard and its inner crisis. Sad to see a great company turn evil. First Blizzard now bethesda...

While I think Telltale was in need of a shakeup to their formula, I did not think they needed to close their doors. It’s unfortunate that they ended up the way they did, and I was kind of looking forward to some of their upcoming projects.

The ending of support for Vita and the high likelihood that Sony won't do another handheld. Vita was the first handheld that I played a bunch of games on and was happy to bring it with me everywhere. PSP was for God of War, Gameboys were for Pokemon (for me, at least). Vita's library was perfect at the start. Uncharted, LBP, KZ, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 G. So much stuff that I loved with console quality graphics. Oh well.

Mass shooting at Madden 19 tournament in Jacksonville really saddened me when i first heard it. Gaming is supposed to be fun and about having a good time but things like these ruin the experience totally. Wish it never happened.

Telltale closing their doors was probably the worst news for me. I mean their games were getting a little stale from not changing their formula up any, but they sure could tell a hell of a story. I liked the point and click esq style of their games, but still had you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next. Telltale you will be missed.

Super Best Friends canceling their LP channel and they broke up after 10 years.

Sony's new content policies and censorship. No PSX, and no Sony at E3 next year

Silent Hills cancellation. That game would’ve been so revolutionary.

Not really anything sad, mostly disappointments. But I suppose I would say that Bethesda will continue to use the same game engine for the New Elder Scrolls game and their new IP.

The shooting at the Madden tournament for sure.

the lack of cross progress in more games. I’d like more games to be like Fortnite (especially rocket league) so that i could continue my progress on my switch or xbox or even ps4 when they allow more crossplay options. I love the ability to do crossplay, now i’d like more cross save games

The tragic end of Telltale Games

I'll have to agree with ziggurcat: John "TotalBiscuit" Bain passing away happened so suddenly. I've been following him in all his ventures since the early Warcraft Radio/WoW Radio days, so I feel like I knew the guy almost as a friend. We knew he had been living healthier and fighting cancer. It seemed like he was getting better, and then all of a sudden it happened. And I don't know how long it had been known, but I just recently found out his widow and legacy, Genna Bain, also has cancer.

diablo immortal

Mine has to the closure of TellTale games including the many dev layoffs that followed

The announcement of Borderlands2 VR as opposed to Borderlands 3 (or really any new Borderlands game). I think fans have waited long enough and we want to see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel rather than a VR experience.

Telltale and its misfortune :-(

Hearing Devil May Cry V has microtransactions.

Not because the game features them, but because the community was up in arms about how Devil May Cry V has microtransactions. To this day, I still think people are jumping the gun. I don't think it'll be pay to win at all, but I suppose we'll see.

Hidenori Shibao passing

Edit:

Going to change my comment to the tragedy that happened at the Madden Tournament. No one anywhere should have to go through that.

I think it was hearing the closure of telltale games. Their products were good I still wonder if it was all due to poor management and not the sales of their ip's

I'll say Sony not attending E3 2019, because I look forward to and love watching all the conferences, and that's one big conference fewer I'm not gonna see.

The shooting at the Madden Tournament.

Why i'm sad ?!

Because i lost my mother to cancer ..the day i got engaged.

The Madden shooting. No gaming news this year came close to being as tragic as that...

That half of the AAA gaming industry sees GaaS as the future.

There's nothing sadder than seeing your 30 year pastime turn into a free for all on wallets, while quality decreases.

Madden tournament shooting it's a shame ppl losing lifes off of something that is supposed to be fun and competitive. Ppl will never see their love ones again for doing what they love

Worst would probably be the passing of TotalBiscuit. I didn't watch too much of his stuff, but the whole story was so sad. There's been turmoil with Bethesda, delays, underwhelming games, studio closures and other disappointments this year, but none of that is as bad as the tragic loss of a great member of the gaming community.

EDIT: The Madden shooting and the guy who was killed from the swatting call definitely belong in the same category as well. Everything else seems so trivial compared to the loss of life.

The Madden Tournament shooting, followed by Telltale closing - not my kind of games but I know a lot of people loved their stuff.

Worst bit of gaming news for 2018? ......Diablo Immortal.

Not hearing a Dreams launch date.

Just to be a bit different, the lineup for ps1 classic, not providing the analog stick version and the supposedly poor quality of the emulation.

Overkill's the Walking Dead, MT's in RES. E 2 remake and Diablo Immortal

It was that there was no news of cold steel 3s localization this year. We got cs1+2 for the ps4 but I wasnt satisfied enough.

Gotta be the Madden tournament shooting. I felt terrible when I heard about it. Telltale closing down also sucked.

Nintendo closing down so many Rom sites. Emuparadise was great for retro stuff. Like they don't even gain anything by doing this.

For me it was fallout 3/nv HD remaster not being announced at E3. I was so looking forward to it and rumors suggested it was real

Fallout 3 and new vegas with all the dlc and updated graphics

Telltale shutting down, *cries*

Madden tournament shooting, Closing of Telltale Games and then Diablo mobile game.

Madden shooting, loss of life is always saddening and a hard time on families. Especially when their life ended unexpected.

No Borderlands 3 info yet.
Telltale Games going under.
Also this may be a bit further back but the cancellation of Fable Legends and closing of Lionhead Studios.

I just recently started enjoying E3... I went to the live showing at the theater of playstation experience I watched every single presentation live on the living room TV, loved every bit of it and now no more playstation experience? Damn! I know there were lots of complaints about the format of the presentation but damn why did they have to do this?! I am genuinely very sad... I was even considering having friends over and taking 3 days off (saturday to monday) for next E3 now not so sure... Why did Sony have to cancel it?!?

No campaign in BLOPS 4

The highly anticipated comeback game Sea of Thieves from rare was my biggest disappointment of the year as it was absolutely terrible

No PAX, no Sony at E3 2019.

Kaz Hirai and Andrew House stepping down at Sony was a big blow especially when things are going so well.

Probably the censorship policies from Sony.

Nintendo's lackluster paid online offerings...waited a year for it only to find that $20 is hardly worth it at this point...and they haven't even acknowledged that they are working towards making it better, leaving us with very little to look forward to.

Fallout 76 was going to be very different from the original ones. Didn't mind multi-player but wish it was at least a traditional fallout with Co-op campaign

sony not being at e3 2019

" Do you guys not have phones ? " Can't be worst than that.

I'd say the Madden shooting that happened earlier this year.

The disappointment of the PlayStation Classic for me. As a PlayStation fan, I and many others were seriously pumped for this. Looked great, just a shame it was limited to 20 games and those 20 weren’t what made the PS1 special.

No Metroid Prime 4 gamelay.

Telltale closing down.

Tell me again how the multiplatform strategy was supposed to fix everything. Look at your results and compare them to Nintendo, which keeps thriving with exclusives. Your loyal fans are gone. And let’s not forget the pile of IPs you purchased only to let them rot.

The worst thing is this is down from last years numbers/expectations which was down from the previous years numbers/expectations. You think about how long “down” has been a consistent part of the communication and you realize those subscriptions are what’s holding that boat together. The price cut of gamespass is still a price raise in a string of price raises. They are trying to use players to offset the missing revenue. Now call of duty is out of gamespass, which is literally WHY they bought the company. To draw people to the subscription. They realized they missed a boatload of money and that wasn’t sustainable. Now you pay for it like you would have if they never bought the company… so why buy the company? Mind you those billions still need to be paid back. Yeah it gives you a chance to say we make the biggest FPS… but the internal conversations must be brutal at high level on topics that really matter. Like revenue. Profitability. And ROI for the shopping spree.

Is this like the 10th quarter in a row they're down 33% on hardware how is that even mathematically possible. You would think their mediocrity would Plateau