Posts By Mat Growcott

There’s a lot of problems with the way Microsoft are seen in by parts of the gaming community – and the acquisition hype is becoming part of that. See how gleefully “Craig” was shared after the Halo reveal as proof of that. I’ve never seen a quarter second image shared so widely, even though it would be easy to do for just about any game you care to name. There’s another issue forming though. It’s become increasingly ...

Pre-Covid, Bingo was already proving to be a huge success online. But just who was driving that popularity? The answers aren’t entirely surprising. In 2018, YouGov ran a poll on online Bingo to try and find out who was driving its popularity online. Over the years, a certain stereotype had developed about traditional bingo halls, and I guess they wanted to see what had changed. Yes, the demographics of the two were rather different. At least, they were ...

More than ten years ago, the New York Times ran an article about the shrinking popularity of Bingo. What an incredible difference ten years make. The piece, a very interesting look at those who still loved the game, talks about the challenges and subcultures surrounding the American bingo industry at the time. The difference today is staggering. Gone are the bingo halls of the past, with their snack bars and their daily regulars. Replaced by mobile phones and ...

Apple is set to change the way age ratings work on their store, including more clear indicators for gambling and contests. This is great news for gamblers and gamers alike. There will no more confusion among those who want something very specific, because gambling and contests will be separated. Equally, there should be fewer issues with accidentally downloading something that’s inappropriate or unwanted. This means gamblers will find it easier to get ...

Yes, you read that right. Bingo might actually be good for you, especially as you’re getting older. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to get stuck in, this might be it. People get so hung up about the gambling side of these sorts of games, they forget there are some benefits too. And we’re not just talking about the chance of winning big – not quite a benefit if it’s nowhere near universal. We’re talking about actual ...

When the smoking ban came into effect in 2007, Bingo in the UK all but died. Without gangs of old ladies being able to smoke while blotting off their numbers, they decided they’d rather stay at home. And if that had have been that, the game would have probably all but disappeared. The old style bingo halls were knocked down or converted, and staff were told to start finding other work. It was a game that look condemned to holiday…

Final Fantasy X was everything that the old franchise could be. It took every system and dialled it up to 11, taking full advantage of the PS2 to create a game that still stands on its own today. The same can’t be said for any Final Fantasy game since then. After X, XII paved the way for a new Final Fantasy – a franchise that left behind its old ways to be something more modern, more accessible. That’s not a…

There are a dozen open-world RPGs every single year, and enough of them are post-apocalyptic that it’s almost impossible to have your game stand out unless you have a budget running hundreds of millions of dollars. The solution is perhaps obvious in hindsight. Why not let players create their own weird playable hamster thing? Well, Biomutant has that locked down. Yes, the world has fallen apart. Yes, the remains of ancient civilisations litter the ...

There’s been a fresh wave of concern over the prospect of “cross-gen” games this week – or games that’ll come to both the PS4 generation consoles and PS5/Series X. It’s getting beyond old. Every few months it’s the same thing: “we can’t see what these devices are truly capable of until they ditch PS4 and Xbox One.” And while that’s partly true in some extreme use cases – situations where ...

Covid, strange working conditions, a general feeling of overhype – the first E3 since 2019 is going to be the same as all E3s, but with added barriers. That means a little bit underwhelming, and 2021 has so much more to take into account. That’s not to say it’ll be unwatchable. It’ll be the usual combination of okay trailers, seemingly random mid-tier games being advertised like they’re AAAA and moments of insanity both good and ...