This week? Resident Evil, Nintendo and Big Stories in Quick Bites

There’s always gaming news. 

This week I’m struggling to connect with a lot of it. You won’t need too much bandwidth to jack in and digest this week’s news.

Resident Evil Going Mobile

No, not just another port. Resident Evil Survival Unit is going to be a mobile, non-canon entry. You’ll build a team using the mansion as your base, and send characters from the RE universe out on missions. The game is supposed to turn into a multiplayer experience, but those details haven’t been revealed.

Why This Matters: If you search Resident Evil on the Apple App Store, this is the only non-console port. It is described as a “real-time defense” game, making it a different style than the mainline games.

My Take: This is exciting. Resident Evil games outside of the numbered series have been a mixed bag, but this one feels like a different enough genre to be fun to pick up and play wherever I am. I’ve already got it added to my Apple account so it will download at release. It might not be the same as what I’m used to, but it’ll keep my favorite characters around when I may not feel up to turning on a console.

Question: Are you excited to play this game?

Nintendo Bans Switch 2 for Used Games

A player had their Switch 2 banned after trying to play games they had bought secondhand. The game cartridges were tied to a previous owner that had used them to illegally copy the game onto a “piracy-enabling device.”

Why This Matters: Nintendo did reverse the ban, and backing up game roms is a grey area. Emulation and piracy often go hand-in-hand. This takes it a step further, targeting games that have changed hands in a legal way. 

My Take: Clearly Nintendo has a close enough watch on their games and licenses to track the exact cartridge used to create a game ROM. It stands to reason they would also realize the cartridge had moved to a different system completely. Yes, the ban was reversed, but it starts to set a precedent for banning games that were purchased secondhand. What’s the point of having a used market if the cartridges can remotely shut down your system.

Question: Is Nintendo reaching too far without enough thought put into their ban?

Quick Bites

Just a few quick hits I want to blow through

• SAG-AFTRA officially ended the video game voice actors’ strike. It’s a great move that will improve their compensation and give AI protections.
• More game delistings. This time, John Wick’s only game is being pulled from digital stores. This one likely comes down to rights issues, but it still sucks to see digital stores continue to lose titles.

There’s a lot more news I skipped, so drop me some comments or hit me up on X, @darkstarshady, if you want to continue the conversation.