Kevin Kenson

PAX West Panel announcement for "Nostalgia Reborn: The Impact of Remastered JRPGs in Modern Gaming" on Monday, September 1st, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM at the Firebird Theater, located at the Summit, Level 5. Panelists include @Justthegmes, @Kevinkenson, @Orbalology, @Camfinalmix, and @Dallahgames

Hey people going to PAX West! Gonna be doing a panel with some real cool folks talking about the remake/remaster trend, especially in how it pertains to JRPGs, come by and check it out if you're gonna be around!

I don’t listen to Black Pink and I immediately guessed this title correctly lol

LIVE 🔴 Directly to You S2E9 w/ @kevinkenson.bsky.social!

Talking Nintendo’s Partner Showcase, the general state of 3rd party Switch 2 games, & some other gaming news from the past week 👀

THEN Pokemon stuff w/ @thecoltonshow.bsky.social

🔗 www.twitch.tv/watchredirect

Today, IGN Entertainment announced that it would be laying off eight members of the IGN Creators Guild. This is 12% of our bargaining unit, and comes just days after our sister union, the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, underwent similar layoffs impacting 15% of their members. It also comes just months after our multibillion-dollar parent company, Ziff Davis, instituted a company-wide buyout that shrunk our unit numbers, with the express intent of avoiding future layoffs. And it comes just a little over one year after three of our members were laid off almost immediately after our union went public. The company has told us that the reason for this layoff stems from a Ziff Davis-mandate to cut costs despite several quarters in a row of year-over-year revenue increases, to which IGN Entertainment responded by coming for our members' jobs. This is perplexing to us, as we are told again and again that IGN Entertainment has had a tremendously successful year thus far thanks to their hard work. In just the last few months, our members have been absolutely essential to major events and livestreams, including San Diego ComicCon, Summer of Gaming, and IGN Live. Every single person impacted today was involved in and critical to the success of those events. Meanwhile, IGN Entertainment continues to spend money on costly acquisitions, only to turn around and gut those companies in the same way it is cutting away at IGN itself. For instance, last year, it acquired Gamer Network, and almost immediately laid off a number of staff critical to making those sites successful. The company has not responded to the union's questions about whether its budget for future acquisitions is being reconsidered as a cost-saving measure alongside these other apparently necessary personnel cuts. At a time when it is more necessary than ever to support its creators, IGN Entertainment is choosing to eliminate the individuals who ensure IGN remains competitive as generative AI

threatens our reach. We have been told that expert opinion pieces, original interviews, and work that leverages our staff's deep knowledge of gaming, tech, and entertainment are all essential to combating AI summarization and regurgitation of our work. Management has responded by cutting several individuals who do that exact work, as well as others whose job it is to ensure that these written and video pieces are published in a speedy manner — another component of combating AI we're told is critical. This continued cycle of repeated, aggressive cuts to our staff and being asked to do more with less, only for management to continue to spend on new business it isn't interested in sustaining cannot continue. We will enforce our interim agreement that guarantees better severance and other protections to laid off members, as well as demand additional support for those impacted. We will continue to bargain over our first contract with the aim of enshrining even better protections against further layoffs, working conditions continuously degraded by understaffing, and the encroachment of generative AI. And we won't stop fighting to ensure IGN remains the best destination for trustworthy, original, exciting, and creative work covering video games, entertainment, and tech. While IGN Entertainment management may not value us, we value one another and the incredible work we can do together. Behind the articles, videos, social posts, playlists, and maps of IGN are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet to be pushed around when some number at the top isn't big enough. Without us, there is no IGN.

Today, IGN laid off eight extremely valuable members of our union and workforce via directive from our parent company, Ziff Davis. This, after two incredibly successful live events IGN Live and SDCC, and yet another corporate acquisition.

Please take a moment to read and share our full statement:

Oh that is the exact plan when it drops.

EVO is for fighting games like what New Years is to gym memberships

Got that EVO feeling of reinstalling every fighter I own, putting a solid 4 hours into each of them, then get distracted until the cycles renews a year from now

I’d be on board if recruitable Anna gets any degree of dialogue or characterization

PAX West x Good Vibes Gaming Creator Sweepstakes Enter for a chance to win a 4-Day badge to PAX West 2025! NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Open to U.S. residents of 50 US & DC,...

We’re teaming up with the fine folks @officialpax.bsky.social again to give away a few 4-day badges for PAX West 2025! To enter, simply hit up the following link, but act fast — the giveaway ends this coming Monday (8/4) at 8:59pm Pacific / 11:59pm Eastern! GOOD LUCK!

gleam.io/Vi5eY/pax-we...

We're getting off the plane rn and on the way to your home ARE YOU READY!?

I need the Octopath Traveler 0 Collector's Edition to sell out so I don't keep refreshing the page and hover over the add to cart button.

Haley PAX is tomorrow

I PLAYED MARVEL TOKON: FIGHTING SOULS!

youtu.be/otXL39aXE9E

Switch 2 price is stable for now, but with the OLED only being $50 cheaper it feels pretty inevitable that we’ll see it go up as well.

Thought of this as we saw the reveal this morning lol

YouTube video by Party Chat: A JRPG Podcast Everything Announced at the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase

If you want to hear some longer more in depth thoughts on today's Partner Direct, plus me ranting about Donkey Kong Bananza and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, check out the new episode of my Podcast with @camfinalmix.bsky.social

youtu.be/Rk2dLkz5Z8w

YouTube video by Kevin Kenson That Nintendo Direct was... Fine.

While there's a couple highlights I absolutely adored, the general vibe of today's Direct as...ok. Here's my thoughts at length

youtu.be/xjuSkBLp2I0

yuuuup, I'm still excited for these but looks like I'll be grabbing them on other systems in order to have true physicals. Depending on the upgrade path options available I wouldn't mind grabbing an OG switch cart, but that's been hit and miss as well.

Posting Direct thoughts soon but Square Enix continues to be the main partner at Directs that grabs my attention. Elliot looks very much my jam and the new Octopath Looks like they're reworking the mobile game into a single player title. I'm all for it.

testing

Panel Information

Just got officially listed! west.paxsite.com/en-us/schedu...

Happy Birthday and welcome to the 30s!

I felt the lack of friction as well and pushed through, hard mode is *much* more the kind of experience I was expecting and clicked more for me.

Oh damn, Stay safe out there!

Who am I gonna see at PAX West this year 👀? Looks like on top of finally going for the first time, I'm gonna be doing a panel this year too!

we all have our giant robots we don't want to get into

To everyone (especially my streamer friends) I will be working with @gamersoutreach.org again for their next event Spooktacular Streamathon! If you are a streamer and want to raise some money to help get games into the hands of children in hospitals feel free to DM me!

I’m so sorry James, I’m not that far away if there’s anything you need that I can help with.

Holding up a hardbound book titled “Mythic Bastionland: Before Into the Odd” by Chris McDowell

Shiny new copy of Mythic Bastionland arrived today, think I’m gonna try running this for my players next after Shadowdark.