Nintendo’s winter, PlayStation’s fall, Xbox’s MasterCard | Kaser Focus

Nintendo and Sony both apparently conspired to have their big September shows on the same day — while I was out of the office, no less. I managed to watch the Direct in the morning (while at the DMV) and I was struck by just how much the company is leaning into Mario this time around. Not surprised, of course — it’s Mario, after all, and the brand is hotter now than ever. But in the next year or so, we’re getting a Mario vs Donkey Kong remake, a Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door remake, a solo Princess Peach title, a Luigi’s Mansion 2 remake and a Super Mario RPG remake.

The State of Play was perhaps less invigorating, but it was no less fun for me. I’m pleased (but, again, not surprised) to see the return of Separate Ways to RE4 Remake, and just pleased to be able to play it again, especially given how much I liked the base game. The new trailer for Spider-Man 2, which promises a much bigger map with more activities, makes me look forward to this October despite the extreme overcrowding. The rest of the games shown during the SoP were interesting, especially FFVII Rebirth, but I’m more interested to see how Sony spruces up my autumn.

Microsoft and Xbox, meanwhile, may not have had a major event, but they’ve still had a big week. Earlier in the week, the company launched an Xbox-branded MasterCard with a points reward system for gamers. It’s an interesting initiative, but I don’t like it for a very petty reason: The card designs are incredibly boring. They look like Xbox gift cards, and I’m hoping the actual items don’t look quite so cheap. Also, Xbox rolled out the new Game Pass Core tier earlier this week, which means that Xbox Live Gold has officially been replaced.

In personal news, I’ll finally be getting a start on Lies of P this weekend — mostly because I forgot to pre-order Mortal Kombat 1. But I hope the former lives up to its promise. I’m not necessarily a huge Soulslike aficionado, but I like the notion of a dark retelling of Pinocchio set in a Belle Epoque setting. But make no mistake: The instant I have the opportunity, I will be playing Mortal Kombat 1 and enjoying every moment of ludicrous gore, as is tradition.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• The Crew Motorfest
• Dune: Spice Wars
• F-Zero 99
• Deceit 2
• Gunbrella
• Nour: Play With Your Food
• Super Bomberman R 2
• Tavernacle!
• Eternights
• Monster Hunter Now

New on subscription services:

• Solar Ash (Xbox Game Pass)
• Gloomhaven (GeForce Now)
• Amnesia: The Bunker (GeForce Now)
• Descenders (GeForce Now)
• Devil May Cry 5 (GeForce Now)
• Gears Tactics (GeForce Now)
• Last Call BBS (GeForce Now)
• The Matchless Kungfu (GeForce Now)
• Mega City Police (GeForce Now)
• Opus Magnum (GeForce Now)
• Remnant II (GeForce Now)
• Space Hulk: Deathwing – Enhanced Edition (GeForce Now)
• Superhot (GeForce Now)
• Vampyr (GeForce Now)
• Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy (Prime Gaming)
• Japanese Rural Life Adventure (Apple Arcade)