The EA Buyout is Weird

 If you caught the news that EA is being bought out by a private firm and thought it was weird; you are not alone.  Gamers Nexus has a good video that goes over the details and outlines how shady of a deal this is.  It covers most of my thoughts so saves me having to type it all up.  Go watch the video.

Video summary with timestamps; thanks to Gemini

The video discusses the $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) Games by a consortium of three entities: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners (0:02-0:50). The acquisition raises questions due to EA's history of being voted "Worst Company in America" and the seemingly high valuation compared to other major gaming acquisitions like Activision Blizzard (0:34-1:40).

The Three Buyers:

• Saudi Arabia's PIF: A government-controlled wealth fund with extensive investments in various sectors, including gaming companies like Take-Two Interactive, AMD, and Nvidia (3:42-4:33).
• Silver Lake: One of the world's largest private equity firms, known for its investment in Intel's Altera business and a past investment in a Chinese facial recognition surveillance company, SenseTime, which was later divested due to US government sanctions (4:34-5:46).
• Affinity Partners: An investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, which has received significant investment support from the Saudi Arabian government (5:46-6:25). The video highlights the complex web of connections between these entities and various governments (6:25-6:39).

EA Games' History and Valuation: EA Games is a major developer and publisher known for franchises like The Sims, Battlefield, and various sports games (7:18-8:06). However, the company has faced significant criticism for its microtransaction-focused business model and its tendency to acquire and then abandon or "run into the ground" smaller studios and their beloved franchises (8:21-8:49). The video argues that EA is wildly overvalued at $55 billion (13:44-14:05), especially when compared to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, which included more valuable and consistently high-grossing intellectual properties (14:21-15:46).

Implications and Concerns:

• Ownership Structure: Affinity Partners will hold a 5% stake, Silver Lake will be a substantial minority shareholder, and the PIF will own the rest (8:57-9:05). The transaction is an all-cash leveraged buyout, the largest in history (9:13-9:37).
• Leadership Continuity: EA's current CEO, Andrew Wilson, will remain in his position. The video notes his extensive history with EA and his involvement in the Business Council, a think tank advising US presidents (9:56-11:07).
• Political Connections and Ethical Concerns: The video points out the extensive government connections of the acquiring parties, particularly Jared Kushner's role in facilitating Saudi Arabia's interest in the deal (17:39-18:45). This raises ethical concerns and potential conflicts of interest, especially regarding regulatory oversight (18:45-20:06).
• The Role of AI: The deal is reportedly a "huge bet" that artificial intelligence can significantly reduce EA's operating costs, potentially boosting profits (20:10-20:46). The video speculates this could lead to more "soulless, lifeless cash grabs bloated with microtransactions" (20:46-20:52).
• Saudi Arabia's Gaming Investments: Saudi Arabia has a history of significant investments in the gaming industry, including Nintendo and Take-Two Interactive (20:56-21:10). The Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, established Savvy Games Group with a $38 billion budget to acquire mobile game companies and expand into China, with a potential interest in data acquisition through games like Pokémon Go (21:10-21:49).
• Impact on Consumers: The video concludes that the acquisition will likely be a negative development for consumers, leading to further consolidation of money and power in the gaming industry and potentially more aggressive monetization strategies (25:01-25:40).

 

Testing new Blogger Feature

A Blogger feature update!?  Which just lets me insert search results?  In 2025?

OK I guess.  Here is the "New World Aeternum" search insert.

 

Sunday 9/28/2025 Post: Packer Tie Cowboys

 The Packers went from Super Bowl favorites after weeks one and two; to being the favorite punching bag for /r/NFCMemeWar .  Last week it was an embarassing loss to the Browns after an unthinkable series of events.  Fast forward a week, and while not a loss, another series of unthinkable events lead to a tie with the Cowboys.  The game was a long slog and full of back and forth so was good football to watch, but for a Packers fan it was pure stress.  Below is a picture of my wife taking me to bed last night after the game.

 

New World Aeternum: Tower of Calomel

 A preview of New World's new Outpost Rush (OPR) map, Tower of Calomel, started this week, and after several matches I have some feedback to share. Read on to learn more about this spooky map and its good and not-so-good features.

Dark and spooky!

  First, the theme is on point for a release that is coming out around Halloween. The map is cast in darkness and takes place around the crumbling facade of an old castle. The outer area is full of fountains and gardens. A web of caves snakes underneath, delivering players to different points of interest. The central capture point lies in the castle itself, where a broken staircase leads to an even more broken second floor. Players can look out at the surrounding area from multiple vantage points in the castle. It's a cool-looking map.

A look at the central castle and surrounding area.  The map is much darker than the light in this picture would make you believe.

 With the cool looks comes a lot of clutter, though. There is a lot of uneven terrain where rubble is strewn about or blocks and pillars get in the way of traversal. I found myself constantly getting caught up on objects that blended into the background but protruded enough to stop me. I've missed countless attacks where my target was slightly elevated on a stone or a stairway, or an invisible section of a set piece blocked a ranged attack. I think a pass through the map to reduce both visual and physical clutter would help.

 Optimization wasn't great either, with my frame rate tanking into the 40s/50s for most of the matches. It's worse inside tight indoor areas and better in the outdoor areas. Still playable and with no issues from network latency, so it just seems tied to graphical performance. I am sure this will be ironed out, and this is part of the reason they do preview events for new maps. We had the same issue with Coral Divide when it was previewed, and it was fixed up pretty well by the time it fully launched.

 The map layout is confusing at first, but the more I played the more comfortable I was with it. It is similar to the Coral Divide map, where there are many avenues to move around in, yet you almost always end up at a choke point. With that said, I can see the map being challenging for more casual players, and I think the layout has definitely caused some players to get lost and miss out on contributing to the match. There are some choke-point areas near the spawns, so I've seen a good bit of spawn camping in lopsided matches. If they do a pass to clean up clutter, I think they can also do some work to create more varied paths out of spawn.

Jump pad on the right.  Another look at the map.

 Jump pads have also been introduced to OPR; previously, they were only used on the capture the flag maps. Players can hold the jump button down on a pad and be vaulted in a specific direction. Most often this is to jump over a gap or to go up a level vertically. They are not required, as many areas have other means of traversal to the same spots.

 The jump pads were fun at first, but I am not sure I like them. They are inconsistent, and numerous times the pad never activated and I fell into a gap, or the direction/length of the jump differed from my expectation based on prior interactions. Even if the consistency issue was ironed out, there are other aspects I dislike about the pads. They lead to wonky combat scenarios, with players using the pads as a form of dodge instead of their intended traversal mechanism. Credit to the players who can use them to shake and bake in a fight, but for my taste I'd prefer they weren't there. New World combat is already full of dodges and speed; there doesn't need to be more.

 One thing I really like about the layout is how the gathering nodes are positioned. Trees are next to the side outposts and are clustered together—no more epic journeys across the map to get a pile of wood for building gates and tents. Similarly, the ore is concentrated in the caverns below the castle in close proximity. A quick trip into the catacombs nets a large pile. The closer positioning means faster gathering, which means faster upgrades. If you are a player, like me, who fancies building up the outpost defenses, you don't feel like you have to avoid the entire match to do so. I spent a good bit of time in my matches building up the outposts and at the same time still getting into the fights.

 As far as balance goes, the matches I've been in spanned the gamut—from one-sided stomps (1000 to 13 in one bad example) all the way to nail-biters (1000–997, one of the closest matches I've ever been in). As it's a new map, it's hard to judge what factors into a team’s success, as many players are still adapting, but it does feel like the map layout lends itself to players getting distracted from the control points and strung along in fights elsewhere. Not fighting on the points is a sure way to lose them. This is nothing unique to this map, though, so it's hard to say for sure.

Holy cow that was a nail biter 1000-997!  And I made 4th over all on my team (blue)!

 Some early feedback I read worried the map favored range over melee. While there are sniping positions, such as the second story above the main capture point and the ledges around the castle, there are plenty of places for melee to shine. In my heavy flamethrower build, which is effectively melee range, I rarely felt like I was just a sitting duck for pot shots. I had plenty of cover to navigate around, and I could push ranged players without feeling like it was just empty space between us. Yes, there are certain times where matches got sideways and camping sets in, which is why I mentioned earlier some adjustments to the spawn areas and how players flow into the map from them would help.

 Overall, I like the map. I like the theme and the many nooks and crannies to explore while looking for a fight. I would like to see some cleanup of the visual and ground clutter, and I think a swipe at adjustments to the spawn areas would help. I'd also like to see the jump pads reduced so there are fewer overall, but I am fine if they remain as is. I am looking forward to this map making the regular rotation.

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI (ChatGPT). The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness and em dashes (—) are the AI.   

ARC Raiders Hype Level Over 9000

 ARC Raiders is available to pre-order.  Along with the announcement is a ARC Raiders is available to pre-order.  Along with the announcement is a game trailer.  The music.  The sounds. The visuals.  chefs kiss  

 I cannot wait for this game to come out in October!  A "server slam" test version of the game will be available Oct 17-19 for anyone interested to try before you buy.

Monday Screenshots: Some New World Action

 I am getting back into New World again with the hype building for the upcoming Nighthaven update in Season 10.  So of course I had to nab some new screenshots to go with it!

The starting area of the new 3v3 arena map.  Theme is on point!

Indestructable1 and heartlessgamer; back together and terrorizing 3v3s

And we've still got!

Some passerbys stopped to dance a jig while I played a song.

The gator seems displeased I missed my note here while playing him a song.

Oh we definitely still have it (thanks to a healer).

A nice reward on the PvP track; it's been a while since I unlocked a new PvP artifact!  I don't even have the azoth salt to buy it!

Random shot from clearing a corrupted portal.

All praise the Hippo mount!  My favorite mount skin.

 

Sunday 9/21/2025 Post: Packers Embarassed by the Browns

 The Green Bay freaking Packers were embarrassed by the Cleveland freaking Browns today. The Packers lost in truly embarrassing fashion. The team should be forced to walk back to Green Bay, it was so bad. There were so many chances to finish out the game, but once again Green Bay's inability to properly manage the game or make plays when needed reared its ugly head. To top it off, as is tradition in losing in dumb ways as the Packers, special teams were special once again (how the hell does the special teams coach still have a job after this many game-losing screw-ups over the last few years!).

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

Howling Good New World Aeternum News!

 There is exciting news out for New World Aeternum today with their announcement of the "Nighthaven" update, coming with Season 10 on October 13th! A new zone, a new raid, new procedural dungeons, increased gear score, new perk customization for gear, new set bonuses for items, the return of a gear-upgrading system, and even more changes than I can list right now. It is a massive update and has me excited!

 It is no mystery that New World is my favorite MMO and that my main complaint has been a lack of fresh content to enjoy and goals to work toward. This update brings a massive influx of not only new content but also changes that reset the starting line on goals. It's awesome to see us getting both content and rewards progression in the same update!

Let's dive into some of the updates:

 There is a new zone, Nighthaven, and a level increase from 65 to 70. The zone will be werewolf- and vampire-inspired, which fits very well with much of the Lost aesthetic already in the game. The "vampire hunter" look has been a notable fashion possibility since New World launched. There is mention of werewolf creatures, which should mean new enemy types to fight (I honestly can't remember the last time we got a new enemy type).

 The storyline that ended in the Elysian Wilds will continue with a new arc in the new zone, and I am assuming this will carry players to level 70. It is good to have new levels to go with the content, but I hope there is a bit more investment required than what level 60–65 offered. Many players leveled to 65 in just a matter of hours after the release of Rise of the Angry Earth.

 A new game mode is also being introduced: Catacombs. This is the procedurally generated dungeon experience that was hinted at previously. Catacombs will challenge groups of up to 3 players with procedurally generated expeditions that continue to ratchet up the challenge level the longer players survive. The farther players make it, the greater the reward. I like that it will be 3 players and not require full 5-player groups. Three has always felt like a sweet spot for the game. I also like that, in order to get the rewards, one of the group members must exit successfully, which should lead to fun decisions on when to give up and escape—and who will make the run for it. As a tank, I suspect it won’t be me jetting for the exit.

 A new raid, Isle of Night, is being added. This will be good for those players that enjoy raids. Personally, I’ve never done the first 10-man raid, Hive of Gorgons, so I’m not sure if I’ll jump in here. It’s not ruled out, as I have access to organized groups that run content, but raids just aren’t usually how I like to spend my in-game time. Though, as we’ll see with the progression updates, I may need to make some time for this raid.

 Which brings us to a ton of progression changes for the endgame. Gear score is increasing to a max of 800 (up from the current 725). Along with that comes the concept of set bonuses for certain gear obtained from endgame content like raids. Mix and match the set bonuses to get even stronger results from your gear. Additionally, perk charms and gear will let us change out not only the gem slot but also the other perk slots. Many of those charms will be crafted, keeping crafters relevant. A new perk type, infix, will also be available, similar to what makes current artifacts unique with their perks. Oh, and perks have gone through a hefty overhaul, so expect an entirely new approach to builds in the game!

 If that wasn’t enough, they are also adding back a version of the umbral system where gear can be upgraded from 700 GS to 800 GS. Multiple changes were made to (hopefully) make the system better. The currency is now in a wallet instead of an inventory item, with a limit of 1,000 so they can’t be hoarded as in the previous system. This should encourage players to spend them! I know I was guilty as sin of not spending my hoard of umbrals in the last version. The rate at which they can be earned will be time-gated, which is disappointing but an understandable design decision to slow progression and even it out among the player base.

 Tucked away in the notes about progression and gear is that they are doing away with attributes on gear. All attribute points will now be granted as players level up to max level. Gone are the days of getting an amazing armor piece for your greatsword build only for it to have a +FOC attribute bonus making it worthless. This will also allow them to tie attributes to the gear set feature, so now when changing gear sets it will also change your attributes. Nice!

 Also included is another new Outpost Rush map called The Tower. It was literally years from launch until we recently got the Coral Divide map, and now we are getting yet another! It’s almost like Amazon Games is listening to all the player demand for more maps for one of its best game modes! The map will be available during a preview weekend event later in September.

 The best part of all of this? It’s a free seasonal update. New World continues to deliver amazing value with some of the friendliest monetization in the entire MMO genre. Buy the box, play, and get great updates like Nighthaven for free!

Note: this post was edited with the help of AI (ChatGPT). The thoughts are my own.  The grammatical correctness and em dashes (—) are the AI.   

Thursday 9/11/2025 Post: Packers Command the Commanders... to lose.

 In back-to-back weeks, the Green Bay Packers have dominated their opponents. Last week it was the Lions, and this week it was the Commanders—both of which were playoff teams last season. The question for Packers fans: how long does this last?

 

Sunday 9/7/2025 Post: Packers beat Lions

 What a way to kick off the season! Go Pack Go!