In a new commentary published by Kotaku, Cole Kronman said “Astro Bot is one of the most entertaining and depressing games I’ve played in ages”. The title of the commentary said the game had a “soulless devotion to the Sony brand” which they explained in the post was a problem with the industry.
“I don’t think Astro Bot is asking for anything quite as insidious as brand loyalty, but it’s somewhere in that ballpark,” Kronman wrote. “Brand appreciation? Brand wistfulness? A desire to see its old IPs resurrected, and its current ones sustained? I balk at that almost as much as I do at the fanservice itself.”
ALSO READ: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Streams Flood The Internet Days Before Official Release
Kronman’s argument was that Sony no longer took risks like it used to in the past, adding that although Astro Bot was a good game it “unintentionally acts as a reminder of a time when Sony was known for taking risks, often on first-time developers whose prior lack of involvement with video games led to radically unique interpretations of what they could be.”
Perhaps, someone needs to remind Kronman that Sony took a lot of risk with Firesprite and Concord, but we all know how that ended. Also, business ideologies have changed a lot over the years. Investors want profit and management are increasingly inclined to play it safe when it comes to investment and game development to avoid backlash from their backers.
Away from the sensational headline that sparked the social media war (which I believe many people dropping their opinion did not read beyond), Kronman did raise a great point which is how the quest for profit and playing-it-safe mindset of publishers is stifling innovation in the game industry.
ALSO READ: Kotaku Editor-In-Chief Jen Glennon Resigns, Calls Jim Spanfeller “An Herb”
Kronman recalled how PaRappa the Rapper was birthed by musician Masaya Matsuura through a long-term, supportive collaboration with Sony. According to Kronman, “Matsuura wasn’t trying to invent a genre; he was only trying to do something interesting”.
“And in his brilliance, he saw past the next thirty years of imitators by implementing a freestyling system, which rewarded players for diverging from onscreen prompts and making something uniquely theirs.”
Astro Bot’s debate got messy so fast
No doubt, Astro Bot has warmed the hearts of many players and was seen as something fresh in a world that’s now plagued with microtransactions and predatory mechanics. Astro Bot was just fun to play and its dedicated fans would not allow any stain on their beloved game.
The debate turned messy, quickly. Instead of addressing the points raised in the commentary published on Kotaku, the discussion nosedived into name-calling, accusations, and counter-accusations. One post claimed the reason why Kotaku hated the game was because it wasn’t political enough.
Kotaku hates Astro Bot because it wasn’t political enough & didn’t have enough ideology in it
— Endymion (@EndymionYT) September 21, 2024
However, it was the heated exchange between a Kotaku staff @agitpopcorn and former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern (@Grummz) that caught our attention.
ALSO READ: 2 Ways To Play PS5 In Tesla Exposed
Kern shared screenshots of comments left by the author of the commentary and another by a Kotaku staff with the caption, “Both Astro Bot and Concord got custom controllers. Guess who’s mad that the woke game failed? So mad they have to take it out on a cute fun game with no agenda”.
Both Astro Bot and Concord got custom controllers.
Guess who's mad that the woke game failed? So mad they have to take it out on a cute fun game with no agenda.
Kotaku isn't even rage baiting at this point, they are genuinely seething. Keep winning, gamers. pic.twitter.com/jbiCr3UgMc
— Grummz (@Grummz) September 21, 2024
In response to the criticism against Kotaku, another staff @agitpopcorn started digging out old tweets made by Grummz as well as accusing the former WoW lead of not being transparent with the Em8er project.
Mark Grummz Kern being outed as a lolicon is devastating to the Em8er project pic.twitter.com/1rpnlftkKI
— Sprog Rockatansky (@agitpopcorn) September 20, 2024
The Kotaku staff shared a petition started against Grummz which now has nearly 200 votes. The petition asked Grummz to account for all the money that Em8er has raised through crowdfunding.
“There has been a potential crowdfunding scam that has deceived gamers for almost a decade, and it has been run by a person very influential in the gaming space,” the petition read.
“This is Mark Kern/Grummz. This petition impacts the thousands of backers and the greater gaming community, as potential crowdfunding scams impact everyone, especially when done by someone so influential.”
What do you make out of the entire debate? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
