I would like to say that the level of dopamine I've been getting from interacting with @marioprime.bsky.social is not healthy for me.

Giovanni Colantonio@marioprime.bsky.social · 5d ago

what the FUCK are you TALKING about, how are you getting dopamine from typing on a computer

it's actually sad as hell to use AI for research when research is the fun part. you can just email people and call them on the phone and ask them questions about the thing that they have expertise in. you can read documents & learn cool shit. ok now i'm just talking about how being a reporter is fun

Thank you to @maxfrequency.net for inviting me back on his podcast. I was a really great discussion about the *waves hands at everything* what's going on with the game industry right now!

Max Roberts@maxfrequency.net · 6d ago

"inFamously Insomniac" with @tomasfranzese.bsky.social "Tomas returns to chat about his newsletter Remastered, being the weekend editor at Polygon, & help determine if Xbox or PlayStation is going to win the battle for 'Which Company Can Be the Worst?' throughout 2026. maxfrequency.net/mfp/55/

Remastered is back! Based on interviews conducted during and after Summer Game Fest, I wrote about how @everquestlegends.bsky.social is taking a much different approach to the "classic" reimagining that a lot of long-running multiplayer games have received: www.remastered.blog/everquest-le...

EverQuest Legends Is More Than A Novelty Throwback

Executive Producer David Youssefi breaks down how EverQuest Legends is more than a throwback to the MMO's launch days.

remastered.blog

Had heard the new He-Man movie was low key pretty good, but that was by far the worst thing I watched this year. Terrible, repetitive script that makes fun of the source material in really annoying ways. If the movie itself doesn't seem to like the source material, why should I like the movie?

For @gamespot.com, I wrote about how Xbox's ad-supporting game streaming announcement crosses a line the video game industry has been inching toward for years: www.gamespot.com/articles/xbo...

Xbox Is Putting Ads Before Games, And It Feels Gross

Although advertising is commonplace in video games nowadays, something about Xbox’s ad-supported cloud gaming announcement is particularly infuriating.

gamespot.com

No Remastered tomorrow morning. I just did a great interview that'll be at the center of the newsletter, but it would come in a little too hot if I rushed to meet tomorrow's 11 a.m. deadline. Expect it before next Tuesday, though, as it's about a game launching next week!

Just watched High Fidelity, and it's pretty wild how Mixtape just rips off its whole conceited character talking to the camera about music schtick. Both are also a little too forgiving to their terrible main characters.

It amazes me how much Nintendo has killed it this summer with lower tier IP (Splatoon, Yoshi, Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven) while PlayStation and Xbox continue to play a "who can be worse" challenge while not releasing anything. Nintendo is still flawed, but this shows how much more competent they are.

Giovanni Colantonio@marioprime.bsky.social · 2w ago

In 2015, Splatoon asked “what would a Nintendo shooter look like?” In 2026, Splatoon Raiders updates the question to “what would a Nintendo looter shooter look like?” A surprisingly deep action RPG about the joy of mess making. Can’t stop playing this one. My review. www.polygon.com/splatoon-rai...

Some spicier newsy takes from me today. First, I used the Call of Duty movie's Modern Warfare connection announcement to elaborate on why I'm tired of the series constantly retreading the same ground with Modern Warfare and Black Ops: www.polygon.com/call-of-duty...

Even the Call of Duty movie can't escape having a Modern Warfare connection

We've been getting too much Modern Warfare and Black Ops in recent years for the Call of Duty franchise's own good

polygon.com

Very cool to have Aliens: The Video Games featured in the Remastered newsletter/website: www.remastered.blog/aliens-the-v... (Come for the Pac-Man reference, stay for the Guyz Nite end credits.)

Alien's Rich Gaming History Can Fill An Entire Book

I spoke to Mike Diver about writing Aliens: The Video Games, a book about the history of games connected to that iconic horror film franchise.

remastered.blog

For this week's Remastered, I interviewed @mikediver.bsky.social about Aliens: The Video Games and wrote about the importance of documenting niche parts of gaming history. I also shared my thoughts on 70-style Robot Anime Geppy-X's re-release: www.remastered.blog/aliens-the-v...

Alien's Rich Gaming History Can Fill An Entire Book

I spoke to Mike Diver about writing Aliens: The Video Games, a book about the history of games connected to that iconic horror film franchise.

remastered.blog

The video game industry every month this year:

Hey, so, I was so angry today that, for once, I blogged it instead of posting about it. Games media, especially mainstream games media, cannot keep abdicating responsibility in how it talks about these things an-evening-at-the-inn.ghost.io/video-game-s...

Video Game Studios Aren't Monoliths

I'm just going to come right out and say it this time - treating video game studios like some kind of fantasy football draft, in the wake of mass layoffs no less, is sickening. The last three years, ...

an-evening-at-the-inn.ghost.io

Leave it to this beaver to steal the show during Soulframe's TennoCon gameplay showcase

Soulframe devs confirm 'the beaver will be okay' after high-stakes TennoCon gameplay reveal

Leave it to this beaver to steal the show during Soulframe's TennoCon gameplay showcase

polygon.com

Happy to report that the @soulframe.com Beaver is okay. I repeat, the Soulframe beaver is okay. www.polygon.com/soulframe-be...

Soulframe devs confirm 'the beaver will be okay' after high-stakes TennoCon gameplay reveal

Leave it to this beaver to steal the show during Soulframe's TennoCon gameplay showcase

polygon.com

They're saying "TOMAS AND SIMONE ARE SO ON TOP OF IT"

Tomas Franzese@tomasfranzese.bsky.social · 4w ago

I'm working with @doomquasar.bsky.social on some substantial TennoCon coverage for @warframe.com and Soulframe this weekend! www.polygon.com/warframe-sou...

I'm working with @doomquasar.bsky.social on some substantial TennoCon coverage for @warframe.com and Soulframe this weekend! www.polygon.com/warframe-sou...

All the new Warframe and Soulframe announcements at TennoCon 2026

Digital Extremes is revealing its upcoming plans for Warframe and Soulframe at TennoCon 2026

polygon.com

I still remember crunching a 10-page paper for a Business Ethics class in college right before its due date and thinking nothing of it, only for the professor to grade it and tell me "This is one of the best papers I've ever read in this class." Leaning how to do that sans AI is an art!

Cohen is a Ghost@skullmandible.bsky.social · 4w ago

"how were people writing 10 page papers before AI???" we were smarter than you. you could've been smart, too. but you sold your brain for nothing

we laid off the people who develop the games, we laid off the journalists who cover the games, everyone is freelance and there’s no freelance budget. It’s probably fine though

For Remastered, I wrote about @doublefine.com's PsychOdyssey, a powerful documentary about the humanity behind game dev. I've always felt this was required viewing, but this moment for Xbox, the studio, and devs around the industry makes it as relevant as ever: www.remastered.blog/double-fine-...

After The Xbox Layoffs, This Documentary Is Required Viewing

Double Fine’s PsychOdyssey is worth watching more than ever in the wake of Xbox's recent layoffs and studio sell-offs.

remastered.blog

Just sneezed and noticed I sound like the moon in Rhythm Heaven Groove when I do. Not sure what to think about this.

This is horrific. Even with the silver lining that those five studio will continue outside of Xbox, 3200 people being told they no longer have jobs is absolutely terrible.

This might be slightly controversial considering the sales data, but for Remastered this week, I argue that it's misleading for Sony to blame consumers for the shift to digital when it's something game companies have been manifesting this for years: www.remastered.blog/playstation-...

PlayStation Is Killing Physical Games, Not Us

PlayStation might argue that consumers don't want physical games, but it's truly the one to blame.

remastered.blog

I'm watching that Persona TV show that's of interest, and this guy doesn't look like Joker at all!

A solid slate of Evo reveals this year, albeit nothing that shocking. A little sad Marvel Tokon's beta is pulling the rug out from Avatar Legends' launch, but both of those games look fantastic. Art of Fighting 3 getting new characters in 2026 is wild, too. www.polygon.com/evo-2026-eve...

The Summer Game Fest of fighting games had tons of reveals — here's what we learned

From Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game to Tekken, we're rounding up everything being announced at Evo 2026

polygon.com

It's pretty cool and funny that fighting games have the best obese character representation in gaming. Considering picking up Tekken 8 for Bob!

Sad that the 2XKO's EVO finals is mostly made up of people playing by themselves. It really feels like Riot miscalculated how into a co-op fighting game people would be. They also tried to make it casual, yet it has some weird complexities that make it harder to learn. Odd design choices all around.

I'm keeping track of all the announcements around Evo 2026 for Polygon this weekend. Round-up can be found here: www.polygon.com/evo-2026-eve...

The Summer Game Fest of fighting games is ongoing with tons of reveals — here's what we've learned

From Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game to Tekken, we're rounding up everything being announced at Evo 2026

polygon.com

For @gamespot.com, I wrote about just how much the value proposition of the Xbox Series S has worsened since its 2020 launch. What was once one of the best deals in gaming now just feels like an underpowered console that's hard to recommend over a PS5 or Switch 2: www.gamespot.com/articles/xbo...

Xbox Series S Has Gone From No-Brainer To No Thank You

Repeated price increases to the console and Game Pass have ruined the appeal of Xbox Series S.

gamespot.com