James Batchelor

Nintendo Switch 2 sales: 5.82 million
Mario Kart World sales: 5.63 million

That is one *hell* of an attach rate!

(Yes, bundling helped but it's not like MKW was a pack-in like Wii Sports)

Hey Dianna, I've got a few books that might be the right fit. Feel free to DM me.

Everyone else at the pool vs me at the pool

Smashing Bricks 43: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Smashing Bricks: A Retro Gaming Podcast · Episode

Been wanting to replay Morrowind since Skyrim first came out but was already worried it would be too dated. And it is - but it's still brilliant!

open.spotify.com/episode/4xHS...

Me watching The Lego Movie for the first time: I'll never be that strict with Lego as a parent

Me as a parent: This is Daddy's Lego. It's not for playing, it's for sitting there and looking cool. Go play with your own Lego.

With no GTA, what are the biggest games still to come in 2025? We look at the numbers to pick the biggest games of the year

The semi-dynamic duo is back! Great to join @dringo.bsky.social again for an episode of @thegamebusiness.com, talking about the biggest games coming out this year (in the absence of GTA 6)

Also available on YouTube and all podcasting platforms

Good to get it out of the way early, then!

a man in a military uniform is sitting at a table with papers on it . ALT: a man in a military uniform is sitting at a table with papers on it .

My transition to PR continues: I just sent a press release with all the journalists CC'd instead of BCC'd.

Apologies to everyone on that email. Please suggest appropriate punishments if and when you respond

This applies to games backlogs as well, right? Right?!

Great to see the story of Soulstone Survivors explored through my old stomping grounds. Thanks @lewispackwood.bsky.social

Dossier #83: Discussing Denis Villeneuve As Amazon-MGM continue to drip feed us details of the next Bond film, Alex and James discuss what we could expect now that Dune and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has been given the…

I've only seen three Denis Villeneuve films but I'm intrigued, bordering on excited, to see what he'll bring to the James Bond films, as you can hear on the latest episode of Bond & Beyond: bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com/post/7878000...

a cartoon character is sitting in a chair with the words it 's too hot today below him ALT: a cartoon character is sitting in a chair with the words it 's too hot today below him

Current status:

Digital space: The final frontier CEO Debbie Bestwick explains how digital distribution turned Team17 into a publisher again

And then there's Develop! Similar to Game Developer in the US, Develop covered the ins-and-outs of making and marketing games.

If MCV is the UK's top games business magazine, then Develop was the UK's top development magazine.

archive.gamehistory.org/item/06597ec... (p.11)

The cover of MCV issue 574. Everything is pink.

Since it was published every week, MCV also had a lot of opportunities for special themes and sponsorships. Like issue 574, where every page was turned pink to promote the new pink Nintendo DSi bundled with Style Savvy.

archive.gamehistory.org/item/39c2181... (p.3)

MCV and Develop were essential records of what was happening in the games industry, particularly in the UK. Happy to help preserve almost everything we reported on during my eight years there

I'm very much looking forward to that one! Looks very promising

They did, and it even has the original Garrett - but it's VR only and set in the 2014 reboot city

Thief.

The second one is still the pinnacle of stealth gaming for me. Third one was okay, 2014 reboot was awful. I've been waiting for a better Thief since 2000 (Dishonored is the closest we have)

Dear Nintendo,

Since we still have a month to wait for Donkey Kong Bananza, now would be the perfect time to quietly add Donkey Kong 64 to the N64 Switch Online app.

Thanks in advance.

They already fixed it.

Amazing. I'll have wheels for Discworld, Tolkien, Robin Hobb and Brandon Sanderson please.

The same name thing is not so weird. Plenty of examples, from Trump to Indiana Jones' dad, of people passing their names down.

The not warning about giant apes is definitely weird

No, that first one doesn't work because Diddy and Dixie are here too. Going with the daughter thing.

Very good point. Either this Cranky is a previous unknown DK (it is the fate of all Donkeys to become Cranky), or this is the daughter of the original Pauline, who (as far as I know) was not a singer

The bigger question, as someone has just pointed to me over at the Other Place, how does DK tie his tie?!

Okay, DK having a purple rock monster on his shoulder made some sort of sense, but how is Pauline not going to be seriously injured / ripped to shreds as you're punching your way through rock or rolling through the levels?!

My first game launch, and first game credit! It's been a pleasure to work with Game Smithing on the release of Soulstone Survivors, with Digital Bandidos handling publishing on PS5, Xbox and additional PC stores. Congratulations to both the GS and DB teams - we did it!

SQUEAKROSS: HOME SQUEAK HOME

Solve picross puzzles to create furniture and use them to decorate the perfect home for a mouse. As featured on @wholesomegames.com Direct

[ PC, Mac, Switch / 2025 / @alblune.bsky.social ]

squeakross.cool

Bah, and they don't sync up when you connect later?

I'll keep it on my wishlist. So do you always need to be online? I usually play in handheld mode when I go away for work