Sony Interactive Entertainment changes its infrastructure, Wolfenstein 2 makes a statement on Nazis, and I decide my next game to play in November (with the help of you!) on this 3rd edition of The Roundup.
Shaking things up at Sony
Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House stepped down from his position this week and will remain the Chairman until the end of 2017. House has been with Sony since the launch of PlayStation 1 and remained a pivotal leader in the development of the console for the past 27 years. Effective immediately, John Kodera is appointed from his Deputy President position to President and CEO.
“PlayStation has been a huge part of my life for more than 20 years but with the business having achieved record-breaking success, now seemed to be the right time for me to pursue new challenges.” – Andrew House
There is no doubt House has helped formulate one of the best gaming consoles ever made. PlayStation has been my main gaming platform growing up, I am thankful for all of his contributions throughout the years. The future is bright for PlayStation, and I wish the best for House I can’t wait to see what Kodera has to offer.
Sony’s press release on change of management can be found here.
Is Wolfenstein‘s slogan even that controversial?
Wolfenstein II comes out on October 27, and Bethesda Softworks is finding themselves in some controversy over its promotion.
In a recent trailer, the game adopted anti-Nazi slogans such as “Make America Nazi-Free Again” and “#NoMoreNazi”. The game is receiving backlash by far-right groups. Many people believe Wolfenstein changed it’s original premise to accommodate a far-left stance. America is in a sensitive spot because of Trump presidential drama, political stance over racism, and the Charlottesville protest. Some people also see this as an attack because Trump’s presidential campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again”. Inserting more what appears to be liberal propaganda during the country’s current state has everyone’s panties in a bunch. But here’s the deal:
The Wolfenstein franchise has always been about killing Nazis.
Clearly we’re not going to have immediate resolve for a while in the United States. Nazi has become a trigger word and inciting response like this. I see the use of “Making America” as a play on words on relevant news. Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines made his stance that he doesn’t mind being on this side of the discussion, but he also makes a very important distinction this is what the game has been about since 1981.
I acknowledge the overall thought of Nazis is a hot topic right now in my home country. I also recognize the slight notion of certain keywords will bring drama everywhere. I’ll save my pure uncensored stance for a later discussion, but I will say this…
If you are complaining, you have never played the game.
November: Nier Automata or Nioh?
To my wonderful followers of this blog! In November, I plan on playing The Fractured But Whole, but I am also deciding on one more game. Give your vote and let me know which game I should play!
Downtime 
Definitely agree about Wolfenstein, but I don’t think the choice of slogans was incidental. Extrapolating the recent controversy is a great way to present a stance as a developer and, let’s face it, feed your marketing. I don’t think MachineGames would be remotely coy about their opinion regarding Nazis or feel any love loss should someone expressly choose not to play their game because of this sentiment. Again and again, it’s interesting to gauge the actual demographic of those protesting a product, whether they’d even be inclined to actually buy that item in the first place.
Also, my vote’s for Nioh. I’d love to see more diverse perspectives regarding it, but it’s console exclusivity seems to be an obstacle to more casual reviews.
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