In one month, next-gen becomes a reality. The Xbox Series X launches on November 10, and the PS5 launches on November 12. A ton of games like Fortnite and Apex Legends are quickly making that jump, while a slew of new games may be best played there. For example, while Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on the PS4 and Xbox One, the best experience will likely be on the next-gen hardware. While the landscape still needs to be sorted out, though, much about the next-gen services will remain the same.
PS Plus, Games with Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and more will indubitably go through some changes after the launch of next-gen consoles, but thus far with minor exceptions, it seems that they will be mostly the same. PS Plus subscribers are getting access to the PS Plus collection, Xbox Games with Gold stays the course, the paywall around Xbox Live and PSN remains, and Game Pass continues its growth. Many changes will likely come as next-gen becomes the dominant gen of consoles, but at least starting off, November 2020 presents some unique challenges for PS Plus and Games with Gold. Nothing that can’t be overcome by either, but challenges nonetheless.
The first is the most obvious: the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The games for November 2020 will be announced in about 2 weeks or so and will become available basically the week before. Depending on the games, that could be a shelf-life of one week effectively. After all, as many transition to the new consoles, there’s little reason to play old games. That said, there’s little doubt that mainstay shooter titles will continue to see life on new consoles, such as the aforementioned Fortnite and Apex Legends, but new single-player experiences will be overshadowed.
Truth be told, even for those who stick with the PS4 and Xbox One in the early months, there’s little reason to play old single-player games when games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Demon’s Souls Remake, Godfall, Spider-Man Miles Morales, and Cyberpunk 2077. This will end up putting both companies into a bind, as they need to maintain the popularity of the services, yet have to consider how overshadowed any offering will become.
For example, if the two companies bite the bullet and offer lackluster games, then they open themselves to criticism. There’s really not a louder, more fervent voice than a PS Plus or Xbox Live subscriber whose unhappy with the games on offer. This may actually be worse for PS Plus which has gone all-in on proving its value for the past couple of months, whereas Games with Gold has mostly been business as usual. There’s an argument for whether or not Game Pass effectively makes Games with Gold redundant, but that’s neither here not there.
On the other hand, if both or either go all in, they risk wasting a good selection of games. Sure, there would likely be downloads that week before new games release, but no matter what it is, it has to weigh that shelf-life risk. All in all, this particular challenge itself has a short shelf-life: whether blown away or disappointed with the free PS Plus games or the free Games with Gold games, there’s just a few days until new games for both consoles start dropping.
New consoles this fall but new games every fall are practically another holiday for gamers. Between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (and the various other holidays), there’s tons of things to celebrate. This applies to companies like Microsoft and Sony as well, although one just needs to look at October 2020 to see how the two approach the holidays. Every game made available via Games with Gold either had a cutesy Halloween vibe to it like Costume Quest or gave it to the more macabre nature of the holiday like Maid of Sker. On the other hand, PS Plus gave fans access to one racing game and Vampyr, with only one of those clearly fitting the season.
This seems to be a pattern with PS Plus where one game to fit the holiday releases, but nonetheless, November 2020 and Thanksgiving shouldn’t be treated any differently. Thanksgiving, regardless of its historical connotations and the time period of early Native-European relations, is something no one should forget. Each company should strive to offer a game that keeps this holiday in mind, but there’s quickly a limit there: what could they actually offer?
Ignoring what has been offered in the past, very few games come to mind. There’s simply not enough representation of Native American culture in many video games, but in particular, in video games which get it right. The remaster of Assassin’s Creed 3 could capture this spirit, but this would be overshadowed by the release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Mulaka is a good option, as it is a 3D platformer which supports the indigenous Tarahumara culture that it depicts. Never Alone is the perfect game to capture this spirit, as it was made in collaboration with Inupiat and indigenous people of Alaska, but has been offered before.
Reports seemingly indicate that games made about and by indigenous people are on the rise, but the simple truth is that are as many which depict the culture stereotypically and/or ignore its thoughts on the matter altogether. For example, while Civilization 6 may be a good offering because it depicts the Cree nation, the culture itself has criticized its inclusion here because of how it betrays the tribe’s values. Others may look at fighting games like Mortal Kombat 11 and Killer Instinct which include a Native American fighter on the roster (and ignoring the release of MK11 Ultimate next month), but both games have been criticized for their stereotypical depictions and have responded to them in a mixed manner, if at all.
The obvious thing that Sony and Microsoft may do here to just select some random games and effectively ignore the purpose and historical context of Thanksgiving, but that’s just as bad. If Halloween gets special treatment (and seemingly Christmas, at least to some degree), then Thanksgiving and the history there shouldn’t be ignored. Inclusion and representation are not just blanket terms to be thrown around, and while it shouldn’t take a holiday for it to happen, there’s no reason that this part of history should be overlooked.
PS Plus and Xbox Games with Gold‘s October 2020 offerings are available now.
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