TriplePoints of Interest – Week of August 31

It was a big week in video games, but for two starkly different reasons. The summer is wrapping up with two major console game launches in Super Mario Maker for the WiiU and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for, well, everything else. On the other hand, late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel sparked a controversy with a comedy segment aimed at YouTube’s new gaming channel and the concept of watching people play video games.

Super Mario Maker and Metal Gear See Critical Success

Two major console titles have launched this week to critical acclaim – Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker for the WiiU and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Nintendo’s latest allows players to create and share their own Mario levels and currently has a score of 89 on Metacritic. The latest in the Metal Gear Solid series – with a rating of 94 on Metacritic – represents famed designer Hideo Kojima’s final production for publisher Konami as the two parties continue their acrimonious separation.

Jimmy Kimmel Versus Gamers

Last week, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel aired a segment making fun of YouTube’s new Gaming channel and parodying the concept of watching people play video games. This lead to many angry comments and vitriol directed at the host from upset gamers, including death threats, which Jimmy Kimmel shared in not one, but two follow up segments on his show this week. This only continues to grow, with much of the games and tech press covering the controversy, and we expect that this won’t be the last we hear from the talk show host on this. 

Machinima’s Slap on the Wrist

Popular YouTube content network Machinima has come under fire from the FTC for deceptive business practices pertaining to an XBox One launch campaign. According to Kotaku, Machinima paid YouTubers to create positive content around the XBox One while preventing them from disclosing that the videos were paid for by Microsoft. The FTC and Machinima have come to a settlement preventing this type of business practice in the future.

The Most Popular Apps of All Time

App Store analytics firm App Annie released a new report this week on the most popular iPhone and iPad apps of all time. GamesIndustry International reports that, in terms of the highest grossing games on the App Store, Supercell comes out on top with their megahits Clash of Clans, Hay Day, and Boom Beach.