John Swope donated family land to the city of Concord for conservation John Swope speaks to the employees at Chubb Life John Swope wasn’t picky about the performances he went to see at the Capitol Center for the Arts ‘I don’t know what this particular production is about Would you go with me?’” said his best friend and comedy in a theater that bore the name of the company Swope once ran a Concord business leader and philanthropist who presided over a decades-long transformation of the capital region’s art scene the performances were in many ways a culmination of his life’s work who served as the prime organizational and financial force behind the Capitol Center and many other ventures across the state where he and his wife moved to take his first job out of law school in 1963 He quickly ascended the ranks of United Life & Accident Insurance Co. ultimately becoming president of the company that acquired it dove into the civic life of their new home with gusto joining a host of city committees and boards “John Swope was an anomaly,” the Concord Monitor wrote in an editorial upon his resignation from Chubb in 1994 “Not many officers of a big company spend their whole career in one town And not many chief executives of out-of-state corporations become involved in their community with the intensity that Swope did.” the grandson of the former president of General Electric He followed his older brother to Amherst College when he gifted the couple’s former land to the city to create the Marjory Swope Park in memory of his wife “It was a nice spring day down in western Massachusetts We somehow got a small keg of beer and we went over to Mount Holyoke to see if anybody wanted to come and help us drink it.” Marjory was interested and “she was a keeper,” Swope said After they married and John graduated from Yale Law School the couple settled into an apartment on Pine Street so that John could start at United Life While Marjory would have been fine living in a major city John “liked trees” and “found cities a little too loud and overwhelming.” In Concord they found the right mix of city living and open space was asked by the then-president what he saw as his role “He always said a company has a primary responsibility to its shareholders but it also has a responsibility to its employees and it also has a responsibility to the community in which it exists,” Kevin Swope said “And he really exemplified that in all of the areas.” Swope first got involved in civic life as a member of the city’s human rights council in the 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement He later served on the zoning and planning boards but spent the bulk of his time and energy on philanthropy and comedy – became involved in turning Concord’s Capitol Theater into an arts center The Capitol Center for the Arts “would not exist without John Swope,” said Salvatore Prizio “He used his influence and his leadership over at Chubb Life to get Chubb Life to support the initial effort to get the building saved from the wrecking ball,” Prizio said Swope’s financial and leadership efforts continued Swope applied his executive skills to public broadcasting serving as an interim CEO and on the boards of both the New Hampshire and national PBS stations Swope served on the boards of many other institutions and did some legal work with the Sheehan Phinney law firm Swope came to be seen as a model to fellow business leaders statewide for how to engage with one’s community “He was a mentor to a whole generation of business leaders,” said Concord developer Steve Duprey “And I think one of the most important lessons he imparted to us all is that if you have the privilege and opportunity to run a business in the community or in the state you have an obligation to step up and have your business and individually to participate in the civic needs of the community.” In addition to his business acumen and generosity friends said Swope was known for his witty sense of humor John would always have an outrageously funny observation or quip that would help make the day.” who met Swope in 1991 when he got a job at Chubb ultimately became close friends and frequent lunch buddies with him Champlin recalled Swope as a “quiet presence in the city” who made a big impact “I think that he will be remembered as someone who was as generous as he was astute,” Champlin said remembered his father as intensely principled “He had very definite opinions and he had a very strong sense of right and wrong which I think we all appreciated,” Kevin said and the pair became known as “the odd couple in Concord,” according to Wilson the Wilsons would join the Swopes at their home in Woods Hole Swope convinced Wilson to get involved in the Capitol Center where they frequently went to shows together The pair went to their last performance in December Swope “sat down to watch the Super Bowl and then found out he couldn’t stand up out of his chair,” Kevin Swope said He was admitted to hospice care at Havenwood Heritage Heights in Concord seeing him for the last time two hours before he died on Tuesday “He was simply my best friend,” Wilson said Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users Services for the three Concord-Carlisle High School seniors who were killed in a car crash in Florida will be held this weekend died April 25 in the hospital from her injuries The students were on spring break in Florida when their car collided with a tractor-trailer making a U-turn on U.S A fourth student who was in the car with McIntosh and O’Donnell remains in critical condition Relatives and friends of McIntosh will gather for visiting hours at Dee Funeral Home in Concord from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, according to his obituary. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held Monday at 4 p.m. at the First Religious Society in Carlisle, and a reception will follow at Carlisle Public School. The services will be broadcast in the school’s auditorium and available to view on a live stream Contributions in McIntosh’s memory can be made to William’s Be Yourself Challenge to help build The Green House No public services have been confirmed for Wasserman but a private memorial service will be held at a later date Contributions in Wasserman’s memory can be made to The Busyhead Project, a mental health take-action initiative founded by Noah Kahan in partnership with the Vermont Community Foundation Family and friends of O’Donnell will gather for visiting hours at Dee Funeral Home in Concord from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday. Her funeral Mass will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. in St. Bernard’s Church at Holy Family Parish in Concord. Additional seating will be available at First Parish in Concord, and the service will be viewable on a live stream O’Donnell’s family is asking for donations to be sent to the Maisey O’Donnell Fund, which aims to benefit the diving facilities and community in Concord, at the Community Foundation for MetroWest. Donations may also be made by check or by calling the Foundation. Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning. ©2025 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC A man died following an RV fire in the parking lot of the Steeplegate Mall early Saturday morning. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff A man died following an RV fire in the parking lot of the Steeplegate Mall on early Saturday morning. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff A man died following an RV fire in the parking lot of Concord’s Steeplegate Mall early Saturday morning, officials said. The Concord Fire Department received a report of “something burning” at around 3:30 a.m., Concord fire chief John Chisholm said. Crews worked for about half an hour to get the flames under control, according to a press release. “It was burning and when we discovered there was someone inside, we ended up calling the state marshal,” Chisholm said. The state fire marshal did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of its investigation. The identity of the deceased individual has not been released. The air still acrid, the charred-out Sportsmen trailer remained unmoved Saturday afternoon, its sides blown out and the contents of the inside blackened and unrecognizable. It sat next to two other trailers near the TD Bank. The occupant of the closest other trailer, who declined to give his name or answer detailed questions, said that he had arrived in the parking lot a few days ago and didn’t have contact with the owner of the trailer that burned, which had already been in the parking lot at the time of his arrival. “There have been trailers back there for months and months,” said Chisholm, though he was not aware of how long the trailer that burned specifically had been there. The trailer was connected to a rusty blue GMC Yukon on stilts, which did not have a license plate. Nearby the trailer, two whipped cream canisters, a Reese’s wrapper, and three worn tires lay unscathed. By using this site, you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience, measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users by Tyler Colp and the messages was heard loud and clear,” the developer wrote using a Reddit account under the name MrSpug “It was gut wrenching to see our project fail and be the laughing stock of many online.” The developer, who worked at Firewalk Studios before Sony shuttered it a few months after taking the game down said they sympathize with the Bungie developers who put a lot of effort into making Marathon and that they commend them for taking a chance in what is an extremely competitive genre please don’t punish others for our mistakes.” Although Concord was a different kind of game than Marathon, they’re both still published by Sony. One of the biggest criticisms coming out of the Marathon stream was Bungie’s decision to not go the free-to-play route Marathon will be cheaper than most new games Bungie specifically said you can expect to pay less than a “full-priced” title which might put it somewhere around $40 when it comes out in September has people wondering if it’ll end up like Concord calling attention to myself as if I have a horse in this race,” the former Concord developer said in a reply to their post “But to call this game a failure before it’s even out A closed alpha for Marathon will go live on April 23. The best of Polygon in your inbox, every Friday. The long-awaited reveal of Marathon over the weekend has drawn comparisons to the online service shooter which Sony shut down last October to show some empathy for the people working on it It was gut wrenching to see our project fail I have learned that failure is what drives me to succeed No one feels as bad as the people who put their time on the line hoping it will entertain the masses of gamers across the globe." Some people are clearly expecting the same from Marathon: It's not a massive backlash but there is a strain of persistent negativity out there which is what prompted Williams to post his message He acknowledged that talking about his work at Firewalk exposed him to being "roasted" for Concord but said he hopes that instead of going after him for it readers "see that people create these projects and work very hard to be the next big thing." "Seeing the faces of the developers on the Bungie stream gave me hope and excitement for what is to come for Marathon," Williams wrote Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals In response to one of the replies to his message—which have been almost exclusively positive—Williams said he didn't want to call attention to himself with the message because he doesn't have a horse in the race at all "But to call this game a failure before it’s even out he expressed confidence that Bungie will get it right "I am stoked to see the fully polished product," he wrote Andy ChalkSocial Links NavigationUS News LeadAndy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80 From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014 when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes you will then be prompted to enter your display name ShareSaveCommentInnovationGamingA ‘Concord’ Dev Offers Thoughts On Bungie’s ‘Marathon’ SituationByPaul Tassi Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights movies and the internet.Follow AuthorApr 15 It is not ideal to see the term “Concord” trend online after you’ve just revealed your own game but that’s the situation Bungie found themselves in after its recent Marathon reveal given the historic nature of Concord’s failure and the messages was heard loud and clear," Williams said "It was gut wrenching to see our project fail hoping it will entertain the masses of gamers across the globe He goes on to say that just because Concord failed that the public “shouldn’t punish others for our mistakes,” referring to Bungie He says in the comments that “to call this game a failure before it’s even out Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase It is hard to escape the “discourse” online about Marathon YouTube comments or subreddit fretting about it at times it should not be pre-deemed a failure due to a single reveal stream a truly historic flop that shut down in two weeks It had never happened before and if it does again I think it’s worth reading Williams’ whole thread as it should hopefully make you sympathize with the devs making this stuff who are often tossed under a bus immediately during situations like this In this week’s newsletter: Eight years and many millions of dollars in the making the latest high-profile multiplayer flop points to an existential problem in game development • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Everyone who bought it on PlayStation 5 and PC was refunded Concord had been in development for eight years with bespoke cinematics and a long-term plan that would have cost $100m or more to develop even compared with the year’s other bad news for developers and studios Much has been written about why Concord flopped so spectacularly. As Keith Stuart pointed out in his review of the game in which many players already have their preferred game (Overwatch Sony’s marketing of the game also seemed to fail in that almost nobody knew about Concord before it arrived and it’s my job to know these things.) Criticisms were levelled at its characters and design: it was generic and didn’t have any particularly interesting gameplay ideas The failure of Concord is also symbolic of the existential-level problems in modern game development: they are so expensive to create and they take so long that a game can miss its moment years before it is released but if you’re simply trying to recreate what’s popular it’ll be out of date by the time it’s finished My feeling is that people simply don’t have time for another forever game one of the first of the current generation of eternal live-service games that aim to keep players playing for years turned 10 this week: it has become part of the lives and routines of millions even the decades-old World of Warcraft are dominant in their genres What would it take to get those players to abandon it for a new game people aren’t just abandoning the game – they’re also abandoning their friends The live-service game rush reminds me of the time in the 2000s where almost every publisher was trying to create a massively multiplayer online game like World of Warcraft Every day I’d get a press release saying that so-in-so has secured millions in funding for a new Warcraft-killer Some of the resulting games were good – Guild Wars to pick one example – but most of them enjoyed mild to moderate success at best It is striking that this comes right on the heels of the enormous sales of Black Myth: Wukong, a resolutely single-player game. Many factors contributed to Wukong’s success, as I wrote about last week but nonetheless there is huge demand for that game huge demand for single-player games in general I do not want a game that takes years to play A game whose artistry comes before its business model there is an enormous market for live-service multiplayer games; it’s just that most of those people are already playing one I highly doubt that there are untapped millions of players desperate for a hero shooter or battle royale game who just haven’t found the right one yet It’s time that publishers try something new instead One for the kids … Bakeru Photograph: Good Feel CoMy family remains enthralled with Astro Bot who now wakes me up every morning talking about his preferred power-ups (the “frog punchies” are his fave) so on a long train journey recently I gave Bakeru a go It is a distinctly Japanese-flavoured action platformer in the vein of long-forgotten 1990s series Ganbare Goemon For the benefit of the 98% of people to whom that means absolutely nothing that means whacking gorgeously animated yokai with drumsticks as you whirl through a comic-book version of Japanese towns and scenery The difficulty is definitely geared towards children so I found the first few levels almost completely frictionless but it’s been a welcome platformer time-warp nonetheless reminding me of the screenshots of similar Japanese games that I’d pore over in the pages of my Nintendo magazines in the 90s Free weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gaming In more positive news for Sony, details of the long-awaited PS5 Pro have finally been unveiled An extra £200 outlay on its current system price tag buys enhanced technical specs As mentioned, Bungie’s space-opera shooter Destiny turns 10 this week – and as Christian Donlan writes in this anniversary essay it’s a game that people always have something to say about: not just one of the first forever games The Rubber-Keyed Wonder a new film about the development of the ZX Spectrum Does the Minecraft movie really look that bad? Only a 10-year-old can tell us | Rich Pelley Astro Bot review – glittering ideas make Team Asobi’s 3D platformer a gem What the Car? A racing game with a ‘complete disregard for actual vehicles’ I Am Your Beast review – like Rambo on fast-forward Baldur’s Gate 3 plays best on a PC Photograph: Larian StudiosReader Maisie asks this week’s question: After years of happily gaming on the Switch I decided to expand my horizons and invested in a PS4 and gaming laptop The PS4 is great but I’m struggling to get into Steam games – sitting at my desk is just not the same as lounging on the sofa next to my husband Do you have any tips for making PC gaming feel less like work and more like fun as will any Xbox controller – I use an Xbox One pad for PC games now but for many years I used an old wired Xbox 360 one The Steam Deck is also a gamechanger – I unreservedly recommend saving up for one As for a PC-only game that might make all of this seem worth it: these days almost everything is cross-platform But Baldur’s Gate 3 really does play best on PC and if that doesn’t make you willing to put up with a keyboard and mouse If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com but the staff at Bubooza in Concord are adamant: it won’t fall That’s because Middle Eastern booza is more solid than gelato or ice-cream Which means that even though the milky-white blossom-scented ashta flavour looks like a standard scoop booza-maker and co-owner of Bubooza demonstrates travel spots and more – curated by those who know mastic and sahlab don’t impart much flavour – that’s up to a different group of traditional ingredients “Ashta is our flagship flavour,” says co-owner David Isaac of the ingredient similar to clotted cream “We add orange blossom water and rosewater to the mixture too which are common ingredients in Middle Eastern cooking where ashta and chocolate flavours sit side-by-side there’s an ornate copper lid covering crushed roasted pistachios the ashta booza is rolled in pistachios to finish a perfectly balanced Hassan served generations of customers in that Tripoli store “I witnessed young kids growing up eating our ice-creams and later on bringing their children and grandchildren People used to line up in the street outside.” Political crisis in Lebanon led Hassan and his wife to close Originale and join their daughter in Australia A years-long friendship prompted Isaac and Hassan to join forces first with a series of pop-ups before opening a counter at Shareef’s Shawarma Social Club in Concord colourful space with tile and contemporary Middle Eastern design motifs Eventually they’ll open a standalone location with more flavours “I think our booza is better than in Lebanon partly thanks to high quality milk and reliable electricity and refrigeration,” Isaac says but it’s easy to imagine the generations of Australian families that will queue outside to sample Hassan’s latest flavour “I wanted to bring classic ashta ice-cream to Sydney bringing joy and happiness to the community.” Charcoal Chicken and Rosewater Desserts: A Local’s Guide to Merrylands Where Chefs Eat: Peter Gilmore Really Knows Crows Nest Ex-Tradies Grill Hard-to-Find Mexican Street Snacks First Look: Berta’s Deli Knows “Everyone Loves a Sandwich” Rob Knight and Fran Philippe look at an old footing for the ski jump on the trail connecting Marjorie Swope Park and the Carter Hill Orchard on Thursday Fran Philippe and Rob Knight walk up the trail connecting Marjorie Swope Park and the Carter Hill Orchard on Thursday Fran Philippe and Rob Knight look up from the historical sign showing the site of the old Concord Ski and Outing Club’s Winter Recreation Area by Russell Pond on Thursday Rob Knight stumbled upon the historic site around Russell Pond entirely by coincidence He was in the process of helping the Concord Trails committee create a trail connecting Marjorie Swope Park to Carter Hill Orchard The trail was initially supposed to cut through a different area of the woods exactly at the former site of the Concord Ski and Outing Club’s Winter Recreation Area this great half circle disappearing down the side you could see the old bases for the ski jump which consisted of a 30-meter wood trestle ski jump the only physical remnants include a steep dip in the terrain where the slope and chute used to be – although both areas have since been grown over with trees and brush – and piles of stone that used to make up the ski jump’s base “I think a few people might hike right past this and never even notice it,” Knight said formerly the chair of the trails committee discovered the site around a decade ago and wanted to get signs put in along the trail to educate hikers about their surroundings the project has finally been completed thanks to a grant from AARP which has previously helped provide informational signage on other local trails “Part of our having the trails out there is somewhat education so that people experience different parts of the city,” said Fran Philippe current chair of the Concord Trails subcommittee which is an offshoot of the city’s Conservation Commission “Getting into the historic part is what makes it all the more interesting who helps run community outreach and advocacy for AARP explained how the signage falls into the organization’s mission “A huge part of our work is in livable communities,” Davis said “So we have a whole national team that works on livable communities and the Age-Friendly Network One of the domains of livability that AARP focuses on is outdoor spaces and accessibility.” Seeing the finished signs has created an added layer of fulfillment for Knight who sourced information on the site from local historians and has been wanting to share this information with people for a while He enjoys learning the context of the nature around him I’ve loved being out in the woods,” he said “I started hiking when I moved to my house in Hopkinton in 1984 and we started going into the woods and poking around and finding old trails and old roads.” Knight and Philippe are both trail stewards meaning they have assigned trails for which they are responsible a process Knight said is more complicated than people might expect The first step is getting landowner permission to build a route “Then you have to walk back and forth number of times to figure out a route to take,” Knight said which is cutting the brush and clearing out the trail.” Russell Pond and the new historical signs can be reached from District 5 Road or via the main entrance of Marjorie Swope Park For more information on the Concord Trails Subcommittee can be found at www.concordnh.gov/1436/Conservation-CommissionTrails-Subcomm Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com New Hampshire (WGME) -- One person is dead after a fire in Concord fire officials responded to Sheep Davis Road for reports of a RV fire Crews say they saw massive flames and heavy smoke coming from the RV It took them over an hour to put out the fire Officials say they found a man dead inside the camper The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating Information about working in or operating early childhood education services including outside school hours care information for parents including how to choose a service and supporting your child for their transition to school Skills NSW helps post high school students find courses in vocational training across a wide variety of industries and course providers The NSW Department of Education is committed to employing the best and brightest teachers who can teach and make a difference in NSW public schools NSW Department of Education's information on curriculum taught in NSW schools Aboriginal education and communities & personalised support Alice Leung has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools for 2024 a mission and a means of inspiring the next generation of educators and scientists “I’m a very curious person and that’s why I love science My passion for science teaching started when I was very young and my high school science teacher inspired me to become a science teacher,” Ms Leung said Her work at Concord High School has been recognised with one of the top awards available to teachers in Australia – the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools “It’s a wonderful opportunity to promote the importance of science teaching we wouldn’t have our next generation of scientists.” Ms Leung stands out for her innovative teaching methods that make complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging for all students By integrating real-world issues like ecology “I aim to make science as fun as possible for my students,” she said “One of the best things about teaching is when you inspire your students to become teachers themselves Concord High principal Victor Newby describes Ms Leung as an outstanding teacher and a worthy recipient of the award engaged and inspirational leader across our school and more broadly across the scientific community,” Mr Newby said “She has been a vital part of our whole school professional learning team.” A strong advocate for inclusivity in education Ms Leung is particularly passionate about promoting STEM opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds where approximately 70 per cent of students come from non-English speaking backgrounds she’s developed programs that help them access and understand technical scientific vocabulary ensuring that every student can thrive in the STEM field “When my family migrated to Sydney when I was three it didn't matter that they were unfamiliar with Australia's education system they were confident I would receive the best education because they enrolled me in the local public school,” she recalls Ms Leung extends her impact by providing resources and support to fellow educators both at her school and across the nation Collaborating with experts from government she works tirelessly to equip teachers with the tools and knowledge needed to inspire their own students in STEM We recognise the Ongoing Custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieves their potential through education A man was found dead inside an RV that caught fire early Saturday in Concord Heavy fire was erupting from the vehicle when firefighters arrived at the scene on Sheep Davis Road at about 3:30 a.m. according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office They didn’t share more about the man’s identity or the circumstances around the fire Authorities asked anyone with information to contact the fire marshal's office at 603-223-4289 or fmo@dos.nh.gov Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox with our News Headlines newsletter ShareSaveCommentInnovationGaming‘Concord’ May Be Coming Back To Life After AllByPaul Tassi movies and the internet.Follow AuthorOct 12 it’s a perfect time to shoot a hand out of that grave and crawl out again while Concord has gotten multiple updates on Steam the last few weeks from October 6-10 alone it got 20 different updates by a few different users There is obviously no official word from Sony or Firewalk about any of this but the idea here has always been that the game could return to life as a free-to-play version rather than the $40 up-front price it originally asked for when it launched on August 23 The “explore options” bit no doubt included the idea of going free-to-play but the more common notion was that the game was just…dead price did not seem to be the main issue here The game had a completely free beta close to launch which peaked at just 2,300 players on Steam a little less than triple what the game ended up launching with The interest just wasn’t there at any price but I’d argue one is more compelling than the other: 1) Given how much Sony and Firewalk have invested in Concord including years of development time and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars they may at least want to give it a second shot as a free-to-play title in addition to whatever other tweaks to the game they think might encourage more players to return And that seems to be the more likely possibility and you’re not going to redesign the entire roster and the concept of the game eventually feeling the need to go free-to-play to compete after being an established success and it does not seem to be one of those games that can work really hard to turn things around like No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077 the latter of which launched to millions of players ongoing content for Concord had been in the works and so has a multimedia expansion with an upcoming episode of Amazon’s Secret Level As ever I really do feel for the Concord team here but it’s hard to see any kind of resurrection working at all Join the news democracyWhere your votes decide the Top 100 Reasons for you to sign up to our newsletter here Marathon is an upcoming team-based PvP (player versus player) extraction shooter and the first completely new project from the studio that created Halo and Destiny in more than a decade was given on April 12 with the game releasing on September 23 Marathon is still only just approaching a Closed Alpha playtest which does not start until April 23 meaning the game is still in fairly early on in its development Marathon will not be a free game and it does not contain a campaign or single-player mode which has led to hugely premature comparisons to Concord Marathon gameplay was recently revealed and gamers online have been comparing it to Concord / Screenshot from Bungie Concord was a failed multiplayer live service shooter that released in August 2024 but had the plug pulled on it less than two weeks after launch because of just how badly it flopped Firewalk Studios had developed the game from 2016 for eight years and it reportedly cost somewhere in the estimated region of $100m-$200m but when the decision was announced to pull it the game had sold just over 25,000 copies across PlayStation and PC and is understood to have made just $1m And comparisons between the two have even led a Concord developer to urge people not to judge the game too quickly Stephan Williams, a former Concord developer at Firewalk Studios, posted in the Marathon Subreddit: "Concord failed to inspire players and the messages were heard loud and clear It was gut wrenching to see our project fail and be the laughing stock of many online "Seeing the faces of the developers on the Bungie stream gave me hope and excitement for what is to come for Marathon Williams added: "I really didn't want to be 'that' dev calling attention to myself as if I have a horse in this race But to call this game a failure before it's even out is wild to me." Williams' comments came as a number of people online were keen to compare Marathon to Concord One said: "Sony has learned nothing about the catastrophic failure of Concord." "We've really learned nothing from Concord," another said One mentioned Marathon alongside Concord when comparing the two games Another said: "A problem I keep having with Marathon is that (similar to Concord) the characters shown are just.. Marathon being made by modern day Bungie and a bunch of fake gamers who hate gaming and gamers as a whole it's going the Concord route," one posted the sequel to the game that didn't last long and it's going to happen again One said: "All folks talk about with Playstation multiplayers is Concord and think any $40 multiplayer from PS will fail Did we all forget the other multiplayer focused game they released for $40 [Helldivers 2] and became their fastest selling game ever and was nominated for GOTY at the Dice Awards?" And another said they "like what [they] see" so far How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings allowing anyone to enjoy tactical combat from the comfort of their setup and some titles don't make the cut — Firewalk Studios' 2024 release famously became one of the biggest flops in gaming history and Shroud's Spectre Divide dwindled after its pre-launch hype In 2024, Bungie revealed it was joining the FPS battle with a new title called Marathon Marathon's gameplay trailer officially dropped on April 12 2025 earning over 240,000 views in only 5 hours the release also received significant criticism: gamers have since compared Marathon to Concord in droves even calling the title 'Concord 2.' Let's explore what users are saying and how similar the two titles may be — does Marathon have a shot against the gaming greats 'Concord' is widely regarded as the worst flop in game development history The title was a hero FPS developed by indie group Firewalk Studios who promised intense competition in a unique sci-fi atmosphere and the esports world was watching to see whether its drop would refresh the industry and live up to player expectations Concord's failure was unprecedented: the title's player count dwindled as users became dissatisfied with its awkward gameplay and poor mechanics shutting down a mere two weeks later on September 6 and refunding all its buyers with YouTuber and entrepreneur Charlie "MoistCr1TiKal' White branding it a 'flop' in a video that received two million views Concord is ultimately considered a cautionary tale warning developers not to fly too close to the sun — literally development studio Bungie (famous for the Halo and Destiny franchises) released the first gameplay reveal for its upcoming FPS Marathon which amassed over 240,000 views on YouTube The video elaborates on the game's format how matches will function and what players can expect in upcoming releases which users can join through an application process While Marathon's trailer quickly went viral Gamers swiftly took to the video's comment section to converse about its unorthodox graphics and genre "This game looks like it's going to make a concordillion dollars." Another netizen named @elevenfly took things even further by stating: "Concord 2 looks amazing." This meme went viral on Reddit's main gaming sub just two hours after Marathon's gameplay trailer / u/piggycurrency via RedditThis 'Concord 2' moniker seems to have stuck as similar content is going viral on other social media platforms a post on the r/gaming subreddit would appear containing a meme comparing Marathon to Concord The image called Marathon a "corpo (corporate) shooter" and has since received over 10,000 upvotes original poster u/piggycurrency simply stated Concord and Marathon undeniably share several similarities both titles are part of the FPS shooter category and have a bright neon color scheme They also both feature outer-space settings and include hero classes with unique abilities several former Bungie developers were involved in Concord's production while Marathon will include plenty of clones the game itself isn't one and has distinct differences from Concord Reddit user u/teddytwelvetoes also notes in a reply to the viral Marathon meme "comparing Bungie to "Firewalk Studios" is wild lol." Bungie's gunplay is also notably distinct from Concord and other shooters The studio is renowned for enabling weapon customization and facilitating aim assist for smoother duels While it's impossible to tell if good gunplay can carry Marathon if it lacks a strong structure upon release Marathon's Alpha playtest will not open until April 23 2025 and the game will not go live until September 23 It's entirely possible that Bungie could make major updates to the game before that point and address major player concerns One person who has played Marathon is streamer Benjamin 'DrLupo' Lupo Lupo revealed he had been involved in Marathon's playtesting for several years and indicated the game had potential He did state he thought the game "could be better than what it is right now," but confirmed testers were offering feedback to Bungie the title is entering an extremely saturated market with heavy competition Esports icon Shroud's game Spectre Divide similarly prioritized gunplay experience but did not survive against competitors including VALORANT While many gamers are reserving their judgment until a full release Marathon's public perception (and fate) currently hangs in a precarious balance GABBY DESENA © 2025 ABG-SI LLC. - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Concord was pulled from sale yesterday with PlayStation pulling the game digitally and Aussie stores such as EB Games JB Hi-Fi and Amazon all pulling the physical game off its storefronts as well given that not many copies of the game were sold people have already started going to eBay and asking for ridiculous prices Most of the Australian listings are hovering around the $150-200 mark with a lot of the global listings going upwards of $1,500-2,000 It’s expected that by modern gaming standards the physical release of Concord will actually probably become quite rare the controller that was only released in the US is also being listed at quite high amounts The fate of Concord hasn’t been determined yet, with PlayStation saying that is exploring options for the game to reach more players. Get the latest bargains and competitions direct to your inbox and Kathy Kammer share a drink on the patio overlooking the practice green at Beaver Meadow Golf Course and now play together several times a week "It all happened at the Beav," Mulleavey said Emily and Keith Duclos had worked for the previous restauranteur at Beaver Meadow but they didn't want to leave — so they started their own business designed roof trusses in Boscawen for decades "It's not worth renovating," he said of the current clubhouse brought him to the simulators at Beaver Meadow on a rainy Tuesday afternoon Cam Fortier of Concord tees off on the first hole with the Beaver Meadow clubhouse in the background on Tuesday Fortier lives nearby and walks from home to play Steve Quinn sees Beaver Meadow Golf Course as the 18-hole equivalent of Cannon Mountain one where the loyal regulars have returned for years and try to entice others to join them The cars in the parking lot might not be as nice as those at other places Being owned by government entities keeps both places humble and has nurtured more blue-collar roots in a way that their devotees wear with pride He learned the sport at Manchester’s Derryfield Country Club — the only other remaining municipal course in the state — and knows firsthand that municipal courses bring in new players who couldn’t afford to golf elsewhere the course rides the line between humble and shabby before quickly correcting himself: “The building is a dump.” Quinn — who bought a membership when he retired four years ago but has played at the course for far longer — supports the idea of a new clubhouse at Beaver Meadow He noted chronic issues with ugly backups in the bathrooms and pointed to rotting out corners of the wooden beams at the entrance The Henniker resident, though, won’t be among those on the hook for most of the costs to construct an $8 million new building. One of the foremost criticisms of the plan is the expense will largely be funded by city taxpayers. Many residents who have spoken out against the project don’t oppose it outright — though some do — but have urged the city to find other ways to pay for it wrapping up a session on the simulator or loading their clubs into their trunks Beaver Meadow golfers broadly agreed that “something’s got to be done” to repair and upgrade the clubhouse Some want to see the building host more private events and beckon in more non-golfers and applaud the proposal to build a new one Few were familiar with the particulars of the city’s plan or its price tag especially those who lived outside the city citing the expense and seeing something more scaled back People who lived in neighboring communities were more surprised that the course wouldn’t cover the cost on its own “I would think it would pay for itself,” he said Concord residents were more or less split on the idea – some cited a glaring need for an updated facility others pointed to their ever-rising tax bills and hope for some relief Relying on money from golfers to cover the full cost of the clubhouse – like a private course would have to do – has been a non-starter for the leaders and politicians in the city of Concord who say the city asset deserves public funding no differently than the library or public pools Quinn figured it might help keep greens fees down I’m donating the money to buy them a clubhouse.” while Mulleavey was playing and Stone was working in the restaurant and Stone is now engaged to Mulleavey’s sister “It’s the community around this place that keeps it going,” said Stone said he has watched friends his age leave Beaver Meadow to play more appealing courses in Pembroke and Canterbury “It’s hard to see people leaving to go to nicer facilities and nicer areas,” he said “But you see people realizing that we’re paying more in membership While significantly lower than many surrounding courses the $2,295 annual membership at Beaver Meadow is up $1,000 A $3 resident discount was added this year but it’s only available for those playing 18 holes with no cart and 27,805 rounds of golf were played there last year Mulleavey and Stone like that it’s “homey” at the Beav But they think it could be so much more — and see the clubhouse as holding it back When golfers talk about the promise of a bigger restaurant — one without the simulator taking up space in it — they often say it’s for the sake of “the Broken Tee.” Emily and Keith Duclos started their business inside the club this winter when the previous restaurant tenant left They stayed because they love the community at Beaver Meadow “With a proper building and an actual restaurant maybe our winter business wouldn’t be so difficult,” Emily Duclos said “we’re leaning heavily on friends and family The restaurant’s few dozen seats are almost exclusively used by those hitting the links The Ducloses believe the space could be more “They would be stopping the growth of the community here if they don’t build a new one.” Chris Ralphs argued that opponents view a new clubhouse and the course itself too narrowly “Why are people so blinkered on it being a clubhouse for golfers?” said Ralphs who described himself as a Concord taxpayer “Why can’t it be a multifunctional city building giving more opportunity for the city to make more money?” larger clubhouse would create opportunities beyond golf activities Projections from the city manager’s office expect to charge an additional $50,000 in restaurant rent and bring in an additional $35,000 in simulator fees every year in a new clubhouse who currently lives in Sanbornton but was a Concord resident for decades you need to make it bigger so other people can use it for other things,” she said Space for skaters and cross-country skiers in the winter is among them “It doesn’t need to be Pembroke Pines,” Ralphs said three-floor clubhouse at a neighboring private course with its own bridal suite for hosting weddings Frugalists in the city have made the point that if your house needs a new bathroom or has rotting wood you repair it – something the city distinctly decided against renovating what’s currently at Beaver Meadow would be “lipstick on a pig,” and would still cost a lot of money The city committees that rejected the $5.4 million renovation option felt the same way and project engineers have warned that a simple facelift won’t fix the building’s biggest issues who serves on the golf course advisory committee gets why his neighbors in Concord are worried about their budgets “I understand that people are worried that their taxes are going to go up but it’s not going to be that much money.” city estimates for a new clubhouse call for $6.8 million of the $8 million price tag to paid for by a taxpayer bond it would add a little over eight cents to the tax rate or $33.98 onto the bill of a $400,000 home Investing in city amenities that you don’t use is part of being a taxpayer “but I don’t have a problem supporting any of those things.” The clubhouse isn’t the only major project up for debate in the city’s 2026 budget which councilors will shape over the next month Councilors receive a copy of the city manager’s proposed budget on May 9 Capital projects will be taken up in detail on May 22 Public hearings on the budget and a final vote are scheduled for June 5 City Councilors will also weigh $38 million for a police station, $2.6 million in tax dollars alongside federal grants to help pay for major repairs of the Loudon Road Bridge and $1 million for improvements to City Hall, according to projections in the current budget. The $65 million slate of capital improvements, if undertaken in full later this month, would be more than four times the capital budget last year, which was itself the highest capital spending plan in at least five years Both Darby and Jim Zellers live mere minutes from the course They both said that the current building needs far more than just a facelift But Zellers can’t stomach the money coming from taxpayers I would totally agree with a non-golfer that it’s not worth it,” he said “I understand where those people are coming from.” Beaver Meadow has ended the year with a surplus — and paid around $120,000 back into the city’s general fund That surplus isn’t big enough to cover the costs of a new clubhouse or other major improvements on its own like irrigation and a parking lot overhaul and a clubhouse The city manager’s office projects the course will pay an additional $115,000 back into the general fund every year to help cover the clubhouse debt payments Course supporters have committed to fundraising $250,000 over ten years as well He figured this was probably an unpopular opinion one others at the course wouldn’t thank him for putting out there The vision that others shared — for the clubhouse to become a community watering hole where young couples tie the knot and neighbors bring their spouses for a weeknight dinner — it sounds nice to him “But I don’t feel they’ve justified the large expenditure.” Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com You can subscribe to her Concord newsletter The City Beat at  concordmonitor.com Editor’s Note: This story  was updated to correct the first name of Broken Tee owner ShareSaveCommentInnovationGamingThe Ten Reasons PlayStation’s ‘Concord’ Has Failed DisastrouslyByPaul Tassi movies and the internet.Follow AuthorAug 25 is one of the worst major failures we’ve seen in the last generation or more Absolutely everyone saw this coming. From the moment the first real look at the game debuted just two months ago the narrative formed that this was another hero shooter than no one actually wanted And that has certainly been proven true now It’s $40 – This is easily the single biggest factor in why the game can’t even break quadruple digits on Steam that in a market where every hero shooter is free-to-play Concord tried to push its luck with an up front cost with the promise of a bunch of free stuff and few microtransactions thereafter It was not a deal fans wanted to make as this is a game that badly needs to be tested before purchase given that the free beta of the game was that test a few weeks ago Hero Shooter Oversaturation – All you have to do now is say the phrase hero shooter now and it’s an instant turn-off for most players Apex Legends and Valorant remain decently popular new entries are almost instantly shunned and that’s exactly what happened to Concord here from the moment that aspect of the game was revealed It Took Eight Years To Make – While that may signify that Firewalk was working hard on the game for years it’s also clearly indicative of the fact that this went into production right when Overwatch launched and for some reason took nearly a decade to release and by this point it feels dated like something that might have come out a year after Overwatch Absolutely no games should take this long to make Extremely Poor Hero Design And Aesthetics – A core problem with the game is that it’s just…viscerally unappealing an era that existed 30-40 years before its target audience was born The main issue here is not character “diversity” as some have said You can head over to Overwatch to see let’s say not traditionally attractive characters like Junkrat Roadhog and a damn gorilla and see how the aesthetic alone is the difference So few of these designs are appealing and without solid heroes The Anti-Woke Crusade – Some are citing the game with its character design and pronouns in their bios as being the “woke” reason the game failed but not for “the characters aren’t hot enough” reasons Concord did instantly launch with an internet hate campaign attached to it but it’s just another thing dragging it down and now the loudest people on the internet are of course saying the game went woke and as such While this is an industry that awarded 50 GOTY trophies to the hyper-woke Baldur’s Gate 3 last year distracting part of Concord discussion since moment one this is a game where the first official trailer for it came out just two months before launch there was painfully little marketing for it almost as if Sony knew what was about to happen and they didn’t want to throw any more money that way But it clearly cost them a lot of awareness as so many people I talk to had either never heard of the game or at the very least this seems like they were going for some sort of Overwatch-ish worldbuilding here but it seems like a bizarre investment to sink money into high-quality mo-capped cutscenes in PvP hero shooter with the promise of more all the time to further a story that cannot avoid feeling like a “we have Guardians of the Galaxy at home” set-up I cannot imagine how much this decision added to the cost of the game we have gotten to #9 before even talking about how the game plays The weirdest part of all this is that Concord is not a bad game You could even call it a mechanically good But the problem is when you are entering a market like this And if you’re not doing that aesthetically the concept and characters feel like sub-par Guardians of the Galaxy But gameplay feels like a mix of Overwatch Especially Destiny 2 in a lot of ways with ex-Bungie designers having built it That has resulted in a comical number of skills taken directly from Destiny from invisible Hunter dodges and exploding throwing knives Warlock floating and air dashing and solar grenades one other thing that makes it fail to stand out It’s Drowned Out - Not just by other hero shooters but at this exact moment no one is paying attention to anything else except Wukong’s 2.2 million concurrent players and the fact that Valve officially announced Deadlock the same night Concord was released which naturally got tens of thousands of players into that PvP game instantly but it’s clear the concept and execution for Concord did almost everything possibly wrong from start to finish The very first glimpse of Concord was met largely with raised eyebrows and interest in knowing more. To be fair, that first trailer gave us little more than a cinematic look around a ship and a close-up of a very appetising hamburger. Smash cut to the May 2024 State of Play showcase two slices of Concord were shown back-to-back first a cutscene and then a now-infamous look at the gameplay for the five-versus-five arena shooter it’s safe to say that the first impression was a rough one giving us time to go hands-on with Firewalk Studios’ first title so we can see if the proof is in the pudding While many of us at the WellPlayed office jumped into one or both of Concord’s betas and they came away feeling that the online discourse might be a bit harsh the game had one of those trailers that captured me and took me on a journey—its ragtag group of Guardians of the Galaxy from Temu blaggards had me thinking that maybe Eidos-Montréal had lost their Marvel license and was scrambling to keep producing something it all came crashing down with the reveal that this character and setting-rich outing was just a vehicle for another Hero-Based Ability Shooter™ Video games and cynicism go hand in hand – or controller in hand a totally normal response is to see some newly announced thing and immediately start picking holes in it – because video games have found new and unique ways to disappoint us year to year at an astonishing rate I was one of the early-day haters of Concord I was blasting that property well before it was cool purely on the merit that it was an ability-based hero shooter in a landscape littered with many an opus that assures us all that this is totally the one that stands out from the pack An invite to get involved with the early Beta and perhaps see if my crowd-sourced negativity was warranted almost Grinch-like smile and hit the install button – feeling that perhaps I could suffer through a few rounds and produce some hard-hitting journalism on how the game STINKS I shortlisted at least half a dozen headings of things I could lance like a putrid boil – the gameplay I was lining up my fish in a barrel and packing some serious heat When games of this ilk – especially when they offer no real on-the-fly learning – I will often leap into the deep end and see how it will all coalesce I skipped over reading character abilities didn’t bother to check into what objective tips might be displayed and instead joined a game and locked in the first space misfit that interested me – a cat lady with purple hair and a mundane-looking submachine gun I jogged alongside my team and tried to make sense of what I was seeing – some dude in a wide-brimmed hat was manifesting a green aura a giant woman was electrifying the ground and some dude in a gamer headset was jogging off without the rest of us this must be the first step on the road to Suck-town Some lady with wacky glasses was throwing knives at me and I instinctively pushed buttons and let fly with my SMG Some orb bounced out of me and into her before returning to me – okay no idea what that did – and I kept firing and mashed my jump key to avoid the sharp bullshit being lobbed at me way higher than I expected – and peppered my would-be assailant I hit the ground right around the same time as my foe’s body did and I took a moment to process what had just happened surfing that wave of negativity wasn’t as fun as I thought I played more rounds and eventually hooked up with the legendary Adam Ryan to see if the magic could be shared – and you know what We flicked through many of the colourful cast and found each character to have some fun quirks to them that never felt oppressive and shitty within the game the abilities themselves are not massively overbearing and shitty to deal with No ultimate abilities mean that every engagement is easy enough to measure – nobody is about to explode into a cascade of neon dogshit and wipe out the entire team at the drop of a hat the time-to-kill and gunplay are a great deal more generous than what I expected You end up with a product that isn’t quite as shooty as Valorant – yet not ability-dominated like Overwatch 2 It’s this oddly happy medium that was tickling familiar centres of my brain in new ways this hero shooter appeared to stand out from the pack I’ll always be happy to mop the egg off my face if the worst outcome is that something turns out to be fun But apparently, the internet disagreed with me I was kind of amazed to see the range of white-hot hate being leveraged towards the game Some arguments are barely worth repeating – typical rhetoric speaking towards diversity in games being a bad thing – but others were more tangible make it F2P and think about adding a PVE mode to advance the story launching it next month with the current model is setting it up to fail I say this as someone who enjoyed the beta and want to see it succeed — Parris (@vicious696) July 24, 2024 What I feel in my chest is a pre-emptive state of mourning for Concord – because I personally felt a little magic going on But the reception is so cold already that I have no idea how the title will overcome it With the landscape of gaming being so ruthless and unforgiving the idea of a niche title thriving is a hard one to parse – these days the expectation of games is to break records or quietly get in the bin But I do have a flicker of hope because there is something here Beyond the labels and the unfortunate reception – there seems to be a degree of heart Maybe the character-driven narrative nifties will be the deciding factor the one who got stuck into the Concord beta with Ash Similar in some ways and different in others to WellPlayed’s resident Photoshop wizard I leaned on the side of positivity after watching the narrative cutscene and first-look gameplay for Concord I wasn’t expecting to be enraptured with the new shooter nor did I think I would give two hoots about the characters or story but I wasn’t willing to dismiss it after on State of Play showing how do I feel now that we’re on the other side of two beta weekends Ash has already spoken about how the game feels to play but I was also taken by that all-important ingredient: the vibe the initial reveal gave off little more than “we would love to be Guardians of the Galaxy,” so it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Concord has its own visual identity and a strong at that Instead of a sanitised spacefaring aesthetic locations and UI all have a distinct 70s feel to them Stopping short of having the eclectic bunch of aliens and cyborgs cooking with orange Pyrex bowls this familiar yet fantastical approach gives Concord a genuinely unique look that I just wasn’t expecting There’s been a boatload of criticism thrown at Firewalk for its decision to release weekly cinematics to further stories within Concord but fuck it I’m here to see what these legally distinct ratbags get up to I’m someone who wants to be invested in characters in Overwatch and Apex Legends but I just can’t latch onto narratives told through blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it in-game voice lines but I need some meat on those bones to buy in Three cinematics played during the beta weekends laying the foundation of the world and getting everything primed for launch I want to know more about the Freegunners purely because they look so damn cool Kyps is a purple cyborg/robot that focuses on stealth gameplay and she’s kitted out in a beige blazer paired with a wide-leg pant in the matching colour do I want to see more of her interacting with other characters the gigantic yellow robot with the body of a barrel and an obsession with vacuums that rivals my own I didn’t come away from my weekends with Concord without worries or concerns but I didn’t want to put the controller down and the low player count for what was essentially a free trial is a worry but I’m staying positive and rooting for Concord least of all because I think it deserves to be given a chance at success Concord releases on PS5 and PC on August 23 I’m sure you have thoughts on Concord so let’s have them in the comments or on our social media After "careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development" A Nostalgic Punch Hidden Inside a Soccer Ball The Stadium experience is more than a gimmick A great look at what to expect from Four-derlands It’s now officially the season to loop a dog leash around the table leg and sip a cold drink under an umbrella — that is to say outdoor dining is now open for the summer in Concord outdoor seating has attracted new patrons and while expanding seating capacity As a restaurant known for its proximity to the State House and tavern feel being able to bump out into Main street sunsets drew a new crowd I would say summer was almost even a slow few months for us,” Shea said summer is actually one of our best seasons because of the outdoor patio.” participating restaurants will be able to have tables and chairs out on city squares Though some downtown mainstays have had it for years outdoor seating was everywhere during the pandemic as local businesses hoped to bring nervous diners to back It proved so popular that the Concord City Council approved a permanent outdoor dining policy in 2022 aiming to standardize what had been become an increasingly widespread practice Restaurants pay a fee based on how much space they take up like some coffee shops and the Co-op need just a few The city’s official outdoor seating season runs from May 1 through October 31 but it ends two weeks early for any business that is taking up a public parking spot The Barley House didn’t offer outdoor seating before the pandemic but opted to make the change permanent because of its success The City of Concord publishes its list of regulations for outdoor dining on its website it does not keep a public list of participating restaurants 13 downtown businesses have applied for outdoor seating permits Siam Orchid and the other establishments mentioned in this article according to city officials who provided a list to the Monitor You can subscribe to her Concord newsletter The City Beat at concordmonitor.com This morning, 35 Steam players, myself included, started up Concord and decided to play a few games of Rivalry a competitive mode in Concord that dishes out the most XP available After waiting for five minutes (I'm queuing with PS players players are trying to get as much XP as possible and the best way to do this is by killing themselves in Rivalry.  The enemy team continued to off themselves for each of the four rounds I got 15,000 XP for winning and managed to level up after just one game You get tons of XP and have to spend no more than a couple of minutes in-game—the queue times are actually longer than the matches.  This is literally every match of Rivalry in Concord rn because this is the fastest way to earn XP for the Platinum 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/BZ12OV7lc1September 3, 2024 But not all my matches were as clean-cut as my first one the enemy team in the second Rivalry match I played chose death by firing squad I thought we were going to play an actual game everyone in my team realised that no one was coming for us they were standing still in their spawn point my teammates and I ran straight to the enemy spawn to kill them all instead of messing around with the objective.  I did have a couple of games in which at least a few people actually tried to take things seriously While some stayed still and others ran to the nearest map edge one or two competitors put up a good fight matches were over just as quickly as they began.  In one Rivalry match in which my entire team went AFK but I only managed to take out a maximum of two people per round which obviously wasn't enough to secure the win I also got the vibe from my fellow teammates that I was drawing things out too long and obstructing their get-rich-quick hack But not everyone has been successful with this new strategy. "I've been doing this shit for an hour and only went from Level 44 to 45, I am NOT getting this Platinum, bro," one player says on Twitter Apart from just trying to make the most of Concord in its last few days some players are trying to rapidly level up in an attempt to platinum the game.  But it's not all about the platinum trophy Another good reason to level up your account is to get all the free cosmetics and items that come with it Concord is full of really cool customisable options but my favourite customisable item is probably the business card.  This is like your run-of-the-mill name card but instead of getting to pick different backgrounds which means you can make a card that looks unique Then you also get to pick a motto like "Bad for you let's get it done" as well as deciding what two stats you want to display alongside it on the card I currently have my elims and damage dealt but you can put how many 6+ kill streaks you've had there's a decent chance it'll do so by becoming a free-to-play game which also means these customisable items may well be locked behind a paywall if you have a few hours free and want to join in the last-ditch effort to climb to level 100 or just have a fun time watching players hurl themselves off the side of the map Elie GouldNews WriterElie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros ShareSaveCommentInnovationGamingPlayStation’s ‘Concord’ Did Not Break 700 Players On Steam On Launch DayByPaul Tassi movies and the internet.Follow AuthorAug 24 While I said everyone was bracing for impact regarding Concord’s inevitably poor launch even I did not expect to see what I’m seeing now and I cannot think of anything that compares to what’s happening with Concord here PlayStation’s Concord, a game reportedly in the works for eight years (since Overwatch launched, which is no coincidence), has launched with under 700 concurrent players on Steam It’s such a low figure I’m genuinely trying to figure out if something is technically wrong with the numbers here Monitoring the game’s performance on launch day I saw it peak at 697 players a couple hours after launch While I didn’t think it would positively skyrocket after the US got home from work and school across its timezones At 10 PM as I’m writing this late on Friday night It’s been veering between 550 and 650 all day There is the refrain that this is not mainly going to be a Steam game but even being extremely generous and ignoring that say Sony’s Helldivers 2 is played more on Steam than PlayStation at this point Concord’s numbers could be 10x higher on PlayStation and that would still be a horrific launch but 20x more than what we’re seeing from Concord here plus it was #1 on PlayStation’s most-played list for a time Redfall launched with 6,000 players when it came to Steam Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones currently has more players right now Last year’s disastrous Gollum game launched with more players I cannot come up with anything here that’s even a remotely close comparison point And the strangest thing is it’s not even a bad game this entire thing comes down to how unappealing it was it would be remembering that the open beta figures for Concord peaks at 2,300 a few weeks ago that sort of downscaling from the original figure seems possible and there was never any indication to say those numbers were wrong this will be one of the worst major game launches...ever especially when you compare it to time spent on the game (eight years) and cost (no firm reports on this plus this is a game using pricey mo-cap tech for lots of detailed cutscenes) Whatever positivity Helldivers 2’s surprisingly successful launch bought Sony for their live service plans this is the polar opposite to the most extreme degree possible Concord will pull the ripcord and go free-to-play or be added to PS Plus But that comes with the complication that it does not have an actual revenue model given that a selling point was that because it cost money it wouldn’t sell standard things like characters or battle passes Concord has much more content planned from here all of that which you’d expect from any live service launch But it’s unclear just how much investment will be made here if the game has a few hundred players on Steam and at best Further development would clearly be torching even more cash There is an entirely separate article to be written on all the reasons why this didn’t work but it comes down to the main point being again this is a game no one wanted or needed to be made An ill-conceived concept in search of an audience it did not find ShareSaveCommentInnovationGamingSony Acknowledges, Explains Concord’s Failure, And Future ChangesByPaul Tassi movies and the internet.Follow AuthorNov 09 There was some talk that maybe it could return reworked as a free-to-play offering Sony is talking about the failure of Concord and how they will try to avoid situations like this in the future Here’s the relevant comment from Sony’s earnings call yesterday: This feels like a lot of words to say “we made a game and should have made sure anyone actually wanted to play it,” as from moment one Concord received an overwhelmingly negative reception due to A) its general aesthetic and B) the revelation that it would be yet another 5v5 hero shooter in a ballooned market The gameplay trailer released simultaneously had an 8K/82K ratio instead From that moment it should have been pretty clear it did not have much of a chance and it’s hard to understand how no one caught how unappealing the game would be inside Firewalk or Sony which is what Sony seems to be saying will now change with future analysis a high profile one being Marathon from Bungie allegedly out next year but probably more like 2026 That game has been undergoing a lot of community playtesting and its aesthetic is one of its biggest strengths but it's trying to carve out a AAA extraction shooter space that may or may not exist I would be more worried about a Sony project like Fairgame$ and getting the same “we feel good about this” buzz from inside Sony that…Concord also got ahead of launch But the game does not look appealing at baseline and if we are using YouTube as a barometer again its reveal trailer from over a year ago has a 4K/50K like dislike ratio We also don’t really have any idea what it’s current status is Clearly Sony can produce live hits like Helldivers but it cannot afford another disaster like Concord there has never been a disaster like Concord Three family members, including an infant, were hospitalized Monday when they were struck by a vehicle while walking on a rail trail in Concord, according to a joint press release from Concord Police Chief Thomas Mulcahy and Fire Chief Thomas Judge Concord Police and Fire were dispatched to the area of Old Marlborough Road by Williams Road for reports that three pedestrians had been struck by a vehicle firefighters found three people — a grandmother all were taken to area hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening 'Critical to moving forward': Several MetroWest communities benefit from more than $12M in MassTrails grants The driver of the vehicle that struck them remained at the scene and is cooperating with police The area where the crash occurred is a crossing point for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail a 25-mile route along the old New Haven Railroad between Lowell and Framingham The trail is open only to walkers and non-motorized vehicles But it crosses several roads along the route Concord Police are investigating the crash Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime. if you don’t read the specialist gaming press there’s a really good chance you’ve never even heard of it in development for eight years by one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world Released into a very crowded market of what’s become known as “hero shooters”—games in which players pick from predesigned heroic characters and team up for online battles—it felt generic outrageously reminiscent of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Screenshot: SonyAdvertisementIf all the estimated figures from industry experts are correct—and Sony has never rushed forward to say they’re not—this is a project that made $1 million and lost $399 million the biggest movie box office loss of all time was Disney’s 2012 film if you’re watching Good Morning America or reading a piece in your chosen business magazine when the topic of gaming come up it’ll begin something like this: “Video games have come a long way since the days of Pong!” spoken as if from another dimension where video gaming wasn’t an international industry that dwarfs movies a part of daily life for the last half of a century when your chosen breakfast television programming turned to the news that a major movie had flopped at the box office “Films have come a long way since The Horse in Motion!” The colossal failure of Joker 2 has received blanket coverage across all mediums defied all expectations—an R-rated $70 million movie from the director of the Hangover films it’s improbably a courtroom drama musical starring Lady Gaga Could director Todd Phillips repeat his unlikely alchemy a second time a car crash we can all rubberneck for days it seems plausible you could also write such stories about Concord You could make an editorial pitch for “The Biggest Entertainment Disaster Of All Time.” That’s a headline beginning with a personal anecdote about theme parks But trying to find an actual mainstream news piece about this epic entertainment story has left me bewildered looking for cursory stories I could usefully critique before wondering if I was using the wrong search terms Perhaps I was listing the results incorrectly I could not find a single mention of the game or its failure on either CNN’s Entertainment section only has subcategories for “Movies,” “Television,” and “Celebrity.” The BBC did have a news story on the subject! Except this was filed under a “Newsbeat” byline the BBC’s youth-based news outlet primarily broadcast on its youth-aimed music radio stations this story of a business losing nearly half a billion dollars is for the kids This is indicative of that ever-more inexplicable separation this imaginary wall that the press has built around itself to—for some reason—keep gaming out Screenshot: SonyAdvertisementThis made more sense in the 1990s Video games became mainstream in the 1980s and despite the reality that a huge number of games were primarily aimed at adults the penetrative aspects were the cartoony images of Mario and Pac-Man Nevermind the outstanding successes of franchises like Elite and Ultima Nor indeed the popularity of those cartoon-like games among adults those video game things—they were just for kids and covering them would be like reviewing Saturday morning cartoons where best-selling titles like Grand Theft Auto were being released with adult-only certification and enormous multi-billion dollar industries had been built up around the hardware in the minds of the mainstream it still somehow only existed as this peculiarity the geeks and the nerds and the losers and the kids but not far enough to be taken at all seriously It was long-assumed that this was a result of the age of the people running the newsrooms and a new generation would arrive who were born in the ‘70s and ‘80s people for whom gaming had at least been present in their childhood as the establishment re-established itself when the astonishing success of the PlayStation 2 saw the pursuit rapidly become a core part of mainstream entertainment the media remained utterly detached from the phenomena as 40-somethings who’d spent their teenage years playing Tomb Raider and Diablo arrived on the floors of the newspapers and TV networks gaming would finally escape its news purgatory even as gaming moved ahead of movies to become by far the larger industry the non-gaming media just continued to ignore it and we’ve got a story on the scale of Concord “fun” story at the end of a local news broadcast Obviously there’s no easy answer to “Why?” but it’s very likely due to the incompatible nature of games and non-interactive media You can show a clip of a movie on your TV channel and publish an excerpt from a book in your newspaper pages and the last 50 years are littered with disastrous attempts to portray gaming on TV even in a third decade of working as a games journalist yet everyone goes to the movie theater!” But it’s simply not true for instance.) Gaming has a mainstream ubiquity that even the readers of specialist gaming sites don’t really want to believe it has because that success largely comes down to things like the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise and the monolithic success of mobile games like Candy Crush—excellent games that have broad appeal and so are perceived by some as undermining the niche details they might love about their lesser-known games It’s blandly normal to own a PlayStation or an Xbox and utterly abnormal not to have a few games installed on a smartphone no rational reason for the CNNs and Boston Globes of the world not to cover a story as massive as the $400 million entertainment failure Sony suffered this year Not covering the extraordinary story of Concord reveals a deep failure in the mainstream press and one born of a silly prejudice against a medium that towers over the films and television that such outlets are willing to understand It no longer makes sense to believe it will soon have to change surely the next generation of editors and journalists will recognize the reality in which they exist But the evidence suggests they simply won’t instead continuing to just assume that gaming is a niche interest in which their readers are not involved despite likely having played a game of Zen Word or Block Blast on their phone during the subway ride to work that morning themselves And they’ll leave a blockbuster story like that of Concord aside entirely