What were we yapping about a year ago [8/24/24]

My monthly “newsletter” is not going to be complete by the end of this week so in the meantime I thought it would be good to refresh with another entry in this series I enjoy.

Occasionally I will go on the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive to be reminded of what people were talking about a year ago during this past week. Sometimes it helps put into perspective that things that seem very important right now are actually not worth the time/energy. It also can be a reminder of things forgotten, and maybe that they were forgotten for good reasons.

August 18-24, 2023:

• Geoff Keighley’s GamesCom Opening Night Live presentation is interrupted by an individual asking for Grand Theft Auto VI, probably encouraged by the Bill Clinton kid from The Game Awards 2022 show. They would get their wish on December 4, 2023 when Rockstar Games would publish the first trailer for the game after it was leaked.
• The “Lone Developer” narrative has become more prominent, prompted by the one from this week last year: How One Developer Painted an Entire Game by Hand in Seven Years - IGN, and then searching for more, mainly from my remembrance of the Animal Well and Manor Lord conversations online: Stroke of genius? How one developer earned over £250k from games made in 30 minutes | Games | The Guardian, How one developer tapped the Internet's past to tell a timeless story of human connection | GamesRadar+, Solo dev behind breakout Metroidvania hit Animal Well says his game has 256 encounters, but he had to cut at least 500 of them during development,  Dark-Fantasy First-Person Action-RPG VOIN Announced; One developer, one intriguing new game - IGN, A solo indie developer's journey from YouTube tutorials to Steam's front page: 'At one point I just physically collapsed' | PC Gamer, Solo dev makes sophisticated sim Manor Lords using Unreal Engine, 'Lethal Company's' Zeekerss is one of the most innovative companies (fastcompany.com). 
• Suits had a resurgence??? What Netflix’s Suits Phenomenon Tells Us About Streaming - IGN
• It must be exhausting to report on offhand comments from a moron in charge of a company, especially because they so rarely actually happen: Elon Musk's Latest Big Idea for X Is Removing the Block Button - IGN
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has still not released as of this writing, despite aims to be released earlier: STALKER 2 to Debut in Early 2024, According to Developer's Fact Sheet - IGN
• David Harbour says he is done with TV acting David Harbour Doesn't Want to Be the Stranger Things Guy Forever: 'I Got Different Stuff in Me' - IGN. Since the latest Stranger Things season he’s shown up in Violent Santa, Gran Turismo, and a voice and face actor for Alone in the Dark reboot from earlier this year. He is also set to appear in the MCU Thunderbolt’s movie, mostly known for featuring grumpy grandpa Harrison Ford.
• The Last Voyage of the Demeter released, vampires are back! Nosferatu is still coming up, Abigail has now also come out, Renfield released earlier in 2023, and a great fake trailer for a Keanu Reeves vampire movie shows up when you search “vampire film 2024.”
• Black Myth Wukong got a preview update exactly one year before it would dominate upon release: Black Myth: Wukong – The First Hands-On Preview - IGN
• Charles Martinet (most prominently the voice of Mario) has his retirement announced by Nintendo: Nintendo Confirms Original Mario Voice Actor Charles Martinet Is 'Stepping Back' From Recording - IGN
• We learned just how popular Remnant II was as it topped the top 20 games ranked on dollar sales from Circana (formerly NPD) for July 2023 and reached number 18 on the 2023 year-to-date ranking in dollar sales chart. It would not remain on that chart by the end of the year however.
• Johnny Hardwick (voice of Dale Gribble on King of the Hill) passed away
• Wrestler Terry Funk passed away
• Blue Beetle was released and was quickly forgotten as everyone had already moved on to James Gunn’s new DC film slate even at the time of its release.
• Stray rereleased onto Xbox, an indie darling without much substance other than its “the cat game,” which the toy-as-game game Little Kitty, Big City fulfills better as an unpretentious toybox.
• Blasphemous 2 released, enjoyed modest success.
• Marvel Snap released and became a massive success.
• Madden NFL 24 released and did what Madden does. 
• Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon series was building up hype for Part One’s release, who could have predicted both films would be underwhelming?
• Ahsoka started to premiere. I’ll always remember it for the bonkers reception to a shot in its fifth episode: Ahsoka Viewers Hail One Shot in Episode 5 as the 'Best' in Star Wars History - IGN. People go wild for the simplest shit. Also another piece of evidence in the impermanence of these shows, they cease to exist once the next one comes out. Who is talking about Ahoska a year later? All we can talk about right now is the cancellation of The Acolyte. Until Skeleton Crew comes out. And then the next thing. And then the next thing.