11 Most Outrageous Video Game Controversies Of 2018
The tide has FINALLY turned on loot boxes.
Truly, 2018 has been a landmark year for video games. Kratos' triumphant return in Sony Santa Monica's God of War soft reboot, Capcom's most critically acclaimed and financially successful game ever in Monster Hunter: World and, of course, Rockstar's seminal once-in-a-generation labour of love Red Dead Redemption 2, to name a few, have set the gaming calendar ablaze over the last 12 months, but not always for the right reasons.
Deservedly so, Rockstar has been drowned in praise and adulation for the staggering attention to detail it lavished upon Arthur Morgan's Old West adventure, disbelief that flipped praise on its head when tales of the studio's questionable work environment started to circulate, but that furore swiftly dissipated in light of far juicier controversies.
Blizzard proving total ignorance of its fan base's desires with Diablo Immortal's announcement, itself far outstripped by Fallout 76 (and the Great Canvas Shortage of 2018, lest we forget) serving as the catalyst for Bethesda's catastrophic fall from grace, the industry just can't help but one-up itself on the disaster scale, it seems.
2019 will bring with it a fresh batch of meme-spawning outrage, no doubt, but in the interim between now and then, join us, won't you, for a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
11. Waluigi Fails (Again) To Make The Cut For Smash Bros.
Following years of unending requests for Metroid's Ridley to be made a playable character in Super Smash Bros., Nintendo has relented. The Big N, it appears, has finally managed to solve the age-old problem (as well as close the book on a terrific meme) of Ridley's size not being suitable for Smash's format. Miracles do happen, then, but Ninty clearly only has enough juice in the tank to perform one in a blue moon, because one poor sod still hasn't made the cut.
Luigi's purple-loving doppelganger, perhaps for the last time, has been turned away from the all-star party - again relegated to Assist Trophy status rather than playable character - while his rotund counterpart gets all the glory. Granted, Wario has considerably more thorough character development under his belt to justify higher billing, but surely poor Waluigi would have been a top pick for Smash Ultimate's nifty Echo Fighter system? Not in this lifetime.
Worst of all? Nintendo is well aware of Waluigi's fans and sympathisers.
As Waluigi would say, 'WAH'.