Brendan Hesse

Between some IRL stuff and uh... watching the last couple days unfold on here lol, I am gonna take a big ol' break from Bluesky. But I'll probably be back again soon-ish if I have a cool project or news to share or smth. I'll be around the usual other places until then.

No Nintendo Direct? No problem—here’s the Crawlmmunity Showcase instead!

Putting the Nintendo Community on Trial An appeal to the online Nintendo community to seek deeper analysis and knowledge for content creation.

Putting the Nintendo Community on Trial by @abrambuehner.bsky.social

"We want, we rush, we rehash the same talking points ad nauseam while the content creators steering the discussion fail to wade in further than the shallows. It’s exhausting, it’s low-grade."

Read on:

I love how it captures the vibe of a showcase, but I want the cut where Brendan is doing his links dressed as Iwata dangit!

this ALMOST happened, but I was crunched for time. I even recorded the audio when I was battling a migraine bc it was the only possible time to do it.

But I really want to do it for the next showcase lol.

So I’ve kind of quietly stepped into a new role at GameSpot over the last couple weeks heading up our op-ed section and it’s maybe the most gratifying work I’ve ever done. Sounds cheesy but working with freelancers and bringing their ideas to life has quickly become one of the best parts of my job 🤍

the motor on my walking pad is malfunctioning and I'm gonna have a melt down abt it

I'll check this out!

fuck

Dude again, I agree. Sometimes I prefer remakes! But the point I'm making isn't that "All remakes are bad and philosophically wrong." This is a critique of capitalism and the current business strategies of big companies--specifically, the trend of remaking perfectly playable games for profit.

I'm not saying they're universally wrong, and there are instances where I do, in fact, prefer the remaster/remake.

But I also think it's okay for games to control badly or be unpopular/divisive, and also think it kinda sucks that folks want remakes to perfectly good, playable games.

We don't need to "save" FF8 bc it's less popular and some people dislike it, for example. It's ok that it existsas is has the audience it does. Could we make a more widely appealing FF8? Sure. But why do we need every game to be liked by the widest possible audience aside from profitability?

I really don't disagree that some remakes are more beloved, or popular, or even "better" than the originals.

I also don't think a game being unpopular, or divisive, or "bad" is a big deal since those are all subjective (albeit collective) qualities.

2. My further points in that thread are aimed at the mindset of audiences who *want* remakes, rather than engaging with the perfectly good and playable versions of games that exist already.

That was talking about video game remakes specifically.
Now, two things:
1. Based on current trends and economic realities of the game industry in 2025, I am skeptical that remakes are driven by genuine creative motivation, and more likely only exist as cynical cash grabs, even if they're good.

And again, an important part of my post is that I'm not saying it's universally true. But I definitely think it's true more often than not in the current state of the industry.

See I am just not a person who buys into the concept of "dated" graphics or that "QoL" is actually all that helpful, so we probably won't align on those arguments.

bsky.app/profile/bren...

I mean we can pick and choose examples all day. I'm talking specifically about video game remakes made by AAA companies circa 2025.

(Also, my feelings on this are driven by a fundamental disagreement that more complex technology = "better," at least wrt to artistic/entertainment mediums. I think that idea is largely the result of successful marketing hype, and it actually anti-art).

It's a case-by-case basis for games and movies, but I think it's safe to assume that, in both the current video game and film industries, most remakes are cynical cash grabs because they're safer bets than trying something new.

I don't think there is a difference. Again, if it's motivated out of genuine creative interest to revisit or reimagine the work in some way, I think it's entirely fine. But if it's just to "update" it without being in conversation with anything (like Psycho 1998), then I think it's unnecessary.

brb gotta climb a mountain

We absolutely can, I am just skeptical of the motivations behind most full-on remakes.

Agreed. And I would say in almost all examples, it's because the original developers were enthusiastic about revisiting the game for genuine creative reasons, rather than just "hey what if we did this again but uhhhh, better graphics?"

Also, remake culture highlights the weird "art vs product" aspect of the medium. The need to remake or "fix" games subtly implies that only a game's written/cinematically presented plot holds ageless artistic relevance, and that gameplay and visuals are merely entertainment products. That sucks!

(caveat to mention that I think ports and lightly touched remasters get more of a pass, especially if they're not available on the most modern platforms)

he's bitin the heads off the angels now

holy shit this is one of my my all-time favorite skyboxes and I've always wondered where it came from.

I love hearing that!

ok so your post is how I'm finding this out