According to Microsoft’s Jason Ronald, it’s all about flexibility.
Original Destiny artist Darren Bacon recalls how Bungie reacted to the art style change of Halo 4 by 343 Industries.
Bungie at that time became the most wonderful bunch of hypocrites in the gaming industry. Knowing this now, gosh the entitlement they felt was out of this world.
Nothing like buying yourself from Microsoft because you don't want to be the Halo Studio anymore, and the FIRST THING you do is sign your next IP over to Activision, for a DECADE, while they are in the middle of ousting the heads of Infinity Ward so they can exert even more control over COD while screwing out the devs at IW...
Should've come as no surprise then that Activision gutted the content of Destiny 1 before launch and was a horrible partner through Destiny 2, until history repeated itself and Bungie had to split from Activision only to wind up in the arms of another major conglomerate that also doesn't know how to handle these unmanageable devs.
Tti their credit they praised the technical abilities of 343 and I remember at the time thinking halo 4 was a huge graphical leap above reach everything else was rubbish when I actually got to play it but there was no doubt it looked good for the 360 and is probably the best looking game on the system.
But ultimately I think bungie has always had a leadership problem and going independent ultimately proved this it's only getting worse with studio heads being outed by Sony for abuse allegations seems like all bungies past success has been in spite of management not because of it.
But really I think the bungie we have today is not the same one we had in that Xbox era of Bungie
I liked the artstyle change. For the most part. Something looked worse but most of everything else looked better. Weapons and vehicles for sure. The wraith come to my mind instantly.
And how can they get mad when the bungie changed it with Halo Reach?
I know a lot of people dislike Halo 4’s arts style, but there’s thing about it I like and dislike. Personally, the Halo 4 design of Master Chief’s armour is my favourite depiction of the character’s armour.
An interview with Tymon Smektala (Franchise Director, Dying Light) where I get to ask him as to how Techland was impacted by its DLC story leaks, how the studio has changed after being acquired by Tencent, where he sees the Dying Light franchise going in future, and how he's been able to maintain enthusiasm for the Dying Light franchise since he joined Techland 10-odd years ago. Enjoy!
Alix Wilton Regan chats with TheGamer about the BAFTA Games Awards, AI, and the need for better protection for actors.
So, include standard rechargeable batteries that can charge through the USB. Seems like it's the most flexible solution, instead of throwing in a pair of batteries they likely buy for a few pennies. Would mean they'd have to spend a few nickels on the batteries instead, but at least you wouldn't have millions of batteries being thrown in the trash after a few weeks.
MS own offered flexibility is an additional $20-25. I can see why they'd want to offer that option. Yeah, people can go buy regular rechargeable batteries as well for about $10-15...but I notice the trend that the options being presented are an additional charge for rechargeable batteries. Regular AA rechargeable batteries can still be replaced with non-rechargeable ones, but I doubt if you give people a pair of recharageable AA batteries they aren't going to recharge them, and I think they'd find their 50/50 preference doesn't mean people aren't willing to use what's available to them.
The battery option is still the best option, especially with an internal battery you can't replace. But for even better performance, buy a USB cable. You can get a ten-foot one on Amazon for 11 bucks. This reduces input lag for instant response time and virtually removes the need for batteries in the first place. This basic knowledge is lost on casual gamers, but it's definitely worth investing in.
Ok....then lower the price and pass the cost saving on since MS doesn't have to invest in lithium batteries. I'm fine with "flexibility" and the option to buy rechargeable, but if you are the same price as the competition that does have rechargeable then you are simply over-charging your customer.
Personally I think having to use swap out batteries in 2020 is ridiculous.. If your able to put rechargeable batteries into the controller and charge them through the control though then I dont see a problem with that.
Their vision with XCloud and the future of where and how these controllers will be used makes sense why they still allow AA batteries.. but they should at least package the console with a play n charge kit.
If I’m on a road trip or at the airport or on the usual metro ride from Penn to Long Island if worst comes to worst I’d at least like to only plug my phone into the wall charger or mobile charger if it’s losing juice when gaming on Xcloud... could you imagine having to plug in a controller and phone to charge at the same time? Instant TSA appearance because it’d look like you’re making a bomb... not to mention that’s just too much wires and ports needed just to relax and play on the go.
So in short AAs make sense.. why the console just doesn’t come with a play and charge kit.. not so much.