"Good" and "great" are seldom the same man.
-Winston Churchill
I've actually just heard of all of this, so I had to go through the text messages and some of the commentaries concerning Zoe.
In terms of how she handled her personal and professional life I am actually kind of torn in how to criticize her actions.
Obviously Zoe was not the ideal mate (or spouse, since in one of her posts she inferred that she was married). Zoe was not a person I would ever want to be in a relationship with because of her proclivity towards unfaithfulness and lying. Her lack of moral character belies her "innocent victim" persona often employed by many who seek to hide behind a cloak of intelligently-spun tales to save face in the light of truth: for this, she ought to be ashamed. In her right mind, she should apologize to everyone she hurt: not only to her boyfriend/husband, a number of girlfriends which includes least one wife that were betrayed by their husbands/boyfriends because of her indiscretion, but to thousands of fans and followers who looked up to her and believed in her.
Zoe's business acumen, however, shows the ruthless resolve and the caste-like and isolated desperation of a Dickensian socialite. With this facet of Zoe's personality in consideration, you see that she elegantly wears a public personae that is strategically causing the current "uproar" regarding criticisms towards her. Basically, her public face is a construct cleverly crafted by a social tactician: if you attack her newly-manifested private face, you will draw the ire of netizens viewing her socially-acceptable and innocent public face. The duality here is that the formation of her public life of being a well though of and "buzzworthy" game developer came at the cost and destruction of her private life. Many things she has done to assure the upward mobility of her career has basically undermined and sabotaged every relationship away from her career, with significant ramifications, as we have all seen.
Although I am a fervent advocate for a level playing field, sexism (as well as a lot of other "isms") and the propaganda to continue such things will not go away. As long as people can use it to oppress other people you pretty much have to accept how certain people will react to being under such constrictions.
Although some of the relationship chatter is going above my head, what Zoe Quinn has done isn't new at all; for example, the "casting couch" concept is in everything from acting (where the term came from) to getting good grades in school to getting that promotion. Even heterosexuals do it to other heterosexuals, males or females, in the form we commonly call "sucking up", to be kind. What Zoe did there is not new at all, not even to gaming.
Even though other companies didn't do things as drastic as what she has done, no one can say that companies didn't (please excuse the term in light of the respective subject) whore themselves out to get good ratings. We all know that an early copy for review or a well-placed gift basket given or not given will sway the opinion of a game critic one way or another.
What she has done is deplorable but the sad part is that she, in her own mind, may feel justified in doing so being an indie with a great game, but no way to display what could be her one big shot. Unlike, let's say, a big company that can give out gift baskets, she could only operate with what she has: and that "tool" has been used to put people in high places since time immemorial.
As a matter of fact, if you compare her actions to keeping her game (and by extension her company) afloat, she didn't do much different when Cleopatra made "concessions" with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to keep Egypt from being a conquered empire. Through her feminine wiles, she was able to keep herself sovereign much longer than it would have been possible b herself. On the more self-serving side, Zoe's actions drew parallels to why Herod Antipas beheaded John The Baptist: Salome's mother in law had Salome dance in front the ruler and he was "swayed" to execute an innocent man.
Although the stakes are much lower in Zoe's case, the cause and effect are the same. People in desperate situations will use what they have to keep themselves in positions of perceived power; even if it means relegating themselves to deplorable circumstances and will be justified in their own eyes because of barriers they perceive as insurmountable.
What I believe she was trying to do was trying to accelerate her connections with the gaming industry to give her game some publicity, and by doing what she did, she exchanged her integrity for notability; and just like in the days of Caesar, she permanently altered, if not destroyed, her personal life as part of this Faustian arrangement to uplift what she valued above all else: her game. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of people who will not pass up an offer to either take advantage of remarkable individuals in a vulnerable position or people's willingness to sleep with people of "power" for their own advancement.
As it is written: There is nothing new under the sun.
Cleopatra: she is as beautiful as she is cunning.
Nagoshi Studio’s YouTube channel with the Gang of Dragon trailers appears to have been removed following reports that NetEase will stop funding.
Dear team,
Xbox has always been different.
We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.
re-evaluating exclusivity 💀
PS players will need to go back to pretending to dislike Xbox games
Or meaning since it’s doing so good they might just do everything day 1.
They didnt say re-evaluating their multiplatform approach.
🤣🤣🤣 Xbox is so dead. I know you scared🤣🫵ӿ 97;
Even when the topic is strictly Xbox he can't stop talking about PlayStation. Xbox has basically become the hate of PlayStation... and not much else.
Hurt over video games 🤣🤣
Lmao we all grew and got jobs but apparently you stayed home broke 🤣🤣.
Man I love loyal dogs like you. MS kicked Spit and slapped you around but you still come back on all 4s.
Good little boy 🤣🤣
My only question is what games are PlayStation gamers gonna play now? They don’t really come out with new games anymore. I’m looking forward to wolverine, but after that then what?
Lmao
There’s no way after everything it’s going back, the damage is done
What you are seeing now is the new management telling what the core fanbase (aka…you) want to hear so they are pumped full of hope and are more likely to invest in the next Xbox console
When Phil took over after the awful Xbox One reveal he did the same thing, he told people what they wanted to hear for damage control.
It’s crazy people are getting suckered into this again.
FWIW..... wasn't the new management speaking to the other staff.... not so much us (regular folk)?
And you'll now go back to again thinking exclusives suddenly matter, that multiplatform is no longer the future, or that revenue from multiplatforms doesn't matter, like all you flop flopping xbox grifters lol.
The whole post just sounds like the previous phil corpo slop talk to me, whole thing reads like a nothing burger lol.
“re-evaluating exclusivity”
She also said this.
“The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.”
I don't know if they have a model anymore it's flipped so many times since the xbox one reveal
There's a bunch just like him but that's what happens when some rely on dreams, hope and wishful thinking. lol
"pretending"? Bro gears hasnt broke 1mil on ps5, and starfield hasn't passed 200k, Hellblade 2 was even stated to be a financial disappointment in sales on its own console, let alone ps5. Im not saying people don't like them, but they certainly aren't setting the community on fire, Forza may be different tho
Xbawx is ''re-evaluating exclusivity''... Translation: After throwing all sort of crap to the wall to see if something sticks but clearly nothing worked, we, including our lord ''in charge'' Phil came to the conclusion that exclusives indeed do matter so please forget if we ever said otherwise.
Yup, I feel it in my gut, next gen belongs to xbox, PS6 is cooked...
Someone can’t sleep after those 5 million forza games PURCHASED by PlayStation owners🤣 🧌 💥
Well with the decreased price of gamespass even with cod off it there is no way it is profitable given the cost of making their 1st party games (not if you actually include that cost in gamespass costs which they typically dont but should) they will just make a loss without the sales on
If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.
Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.
We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+
True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.
I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.
If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.
Actual fans dont move on... they can add to their hobby while waiting for the next new release. If you believe what you typed then I guess PS fans moved on too.... you know, since its been a Sahara for 1st party games this gen.
Funny world where Sony is pro consumer and Xbox is not? At least according to what you loyalists have been saying all this time 🤭
@itveds For how many years have you been doing this sad stuff? For how many years have you been creating fake accounts to troll? For how many years have you always been cl vnn
Pathetic incels with nothing better to do than argue over a box... Because they don't have any good games to play on theirs, obviously. If your precious box is so special, why don't you shut the fuck up and go play it?
I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.
I don't see them removing PC from the equation. Considering MS has a heavy enough investment in the PC market, it would be foolish to abandon them. I could see them taking away games from PlayStation or ensuring they are timed exclusives at the very least. Say what you will but if Call of Duty ends up becoming a timed exclusive to Xbox machines, that would hurt PlayStation, don't pretend like those games don't sell millions.
They would lose out on a lot of CoD sales tho. Doesn't PS make up most of the sales?
Their lifeline of solely the Xbox consoles is dry. Good-Great games on a 1st party scale can't be made at a loss so willingly - sent to the Xbox to only sell limited copies.
They invested billions scooping up studios and need to start making returns.
Sucks that nearly every company is publicly traded and have to be so shareholder biased but that's how it is.
Their words are strong but it'll take time to see what their actions accomplish. Lowering the cost of Game Pass and taking CoD off of it was a good clear start.
More like, allot of their base just played game pass. So now they need to encourage them to start buying again.
Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.
PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy
Wonder how much money was lost on perfect dark, hellbalde 2, 300 million lost revenue
by putting cod on gamepass. The recent Jason schrier news that Xbox has cancelled dozens of projects, spent 70 billion just to see Xbox sales further collapse and gamepass see little growth.
The fact is this has been PlayStation's most profitable generation and they are making loads of money and selling plenty of consoles and games. While MS won't give you any sales figures or profit numbers for Xbox, says it all really.
It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.
They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.
Insider Gaming writes: "Marathon was one of the best-selling video games in March 2026 in the United States. On Wednesday, Circna released the best-selling games of the month, and it featured six new releases along with two games returning to the top 20 after previously falling out."
Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
well it's not on Switch / Switch 2.. so their number would be zero.
The game had a decent launch however the userbase numbers are dwindling on Steam.
“ Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
Does it hurt you to hear a SONY game was BEST selling ?
You gotta let go of those OBCURED feelings 🤷🏿
I mean the only reason MLB was the best selling title was because it was multi-platform. Likewise with Marathon. Will ring true for MS games. Only Nintendo titles are truly flexing their muscles when they chart as they are only to be found there.
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
I’m sorry did you wrote something smart ?
Or are you trying to to be funny because you failed at both
Now kid run to mommy legs the grown ups are talking.
Don’t bother writing anything I will not respond to a bratty child like you
Yeah sure, yet the player count is no where near what they want for a AAA game with so much money behind it
Why people are trying to spin this game like it’s done overly amazing is baffling to me.
It won’t even be a blip on peoples radars by the end of the year .
You must me typically wrong cuz those Steam chart numbers (AKA where the game sold the MOST) is less than what Hunt has, and Hunt didn't cost $500 million to make lol
"Zoe's business acumen, however, shows the ruthless resolve and the caste-like and isolated desperation of a Dickensian socialite"
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N...
This is a very insightful blog.
I'm sorry but I think my "pretentious radar" alarm is kicking in a bit--for example, how is Zoe's situation in any way "caste-like"? Is it because she's an indie? Female? In what way is she oppressed by some system that caused her to inherit the belief that her situation is fixed and that selling her body was the only option? Who (other than herself) told her that this is the way things must be in order to get your indie game noticed?
Phil Fish didn't blow anyone to get noticed. Nobody told excellent female indie game designers such as Kim Swift or Kelley Santiago that they had to drop the drawers just to get noticed in the industry. I doubt that Quinn's decision to exchange sex for favors wasn't originally initiated by HER (what's the chances that each and every one of those male journalists would have simultaneously thought up of the idea to approach her first for sex, let alone have even met her in person, had it not first been at her request to meet up)?
No there isn't a caste system. There isn't a rule that says that her game won't be noticed because of some perceived oppressiveness or classist/sexist social norm that says she can't advance in this industry due to being an indie, or female, etc.
The reason why she did this is most likely due to a lack of confidence in her own game (from what I hear it isn't all that impressive). And she turned to a trick that only 2 types of people would resort to using it: Either a person who is living in a society that only objectifies women and never embraces them for their contributions as hard workers (Think: The world of "Mad Men" tv show); or a woman who in modern times is aware of the great opportunities for an ever-increasing equality for women in the workplace, who instead of taking it for granted, decides to resort to victim-like mentality of sexually submitting herself to men (who never asked her to do it in the first place) so that she can convince herself that this was "necessary" for her to get ahead in an industry that already proved that women can be discovered based on skill alone, not sex or even gender-bias. Santiago and Swift BOTH were award winning indie game designers STRAIGHT out of college. They didn't have to defile themselves with strangers to win an award. If anything, gamers who played their games demanded they be awarded due to the quality of their games.
So to conclude, there is no caste system in terms of indie recognition--not gender-wise, not budget-wise, not anything. Quinn did it because she lacks confidence in her ability to shine in her field of work. Plain and simple.
Any "perceived insurmountable" obstacles that Quinn thought were in her way are due to her lack of skill in design, or lack of confidence in it. Not due to some real threat like Cleopatra (whom is used as an example in this blog) had to endure. Quinn is disgusting, a cheater (getting ahead of QUALITY female and male designers by offering sex with perverts), and an opportunistic coward who tries to pretend that her gender gives her yet another pass to avoid criticism (first using sex to avoid criticism by journalists of her game, and using her gender/faux female victimization to protect herself from a new kind of criticism).
She's such an embarrassment to the women who had to actually work hard to make good games. What a loser.
One more thing: The journalists had no power over her for her to think that she must submit to them sexually. The power was in HER hands: by making a QUALITY games. Had she done that, we would be discussing her for the right reasons, not the bad humiliating reasons she is known for today.
I smell an apologist...lets condense what you just said. She is not that bad guys men to it toooo!!1!
"What I believe she was trying to do was trying to accelerate her connections with the gaming industry to give her game some publicity"
"What I believe she was trying to do was trying to accelerate her connections with the gaming industry to give her game some publicit"
If she's trying to give her game some publicity, she wouldn't have destroyed a charity event that's sole purpose was to get more women into game development, even if they lacked the ability to code or do other things that are necessary.
I'm sorry, but you're coming off as an apologist who's trying to do the same thing many others have tried before and many, so called, journalists are doing today;
-This is nothing new
-Why are you getting mad, this doesn't affect games
-Who cares if she slept with five men, it's her life
-It's already in all sections of life and some women have to sleep with men to get somewhere
And every single one of these are bullshit "arguments" concoted to defend an honorless, disrespectful, self centered nepotist sh*tstain, her honorless boyfriends and her band of merry followers.
Here, for your education;
http://i.imgur.com/Lk7YJ7s....
It's a "somewhat" known fact that Cleopatra was in fact not as beautiful as the legends make her out to be. Maybe she did some beautiful things behind closed doors, but she wasn't beauty to look at.