SNGP: Recent Episodes
David
David Radd and Tuesday talk about what's been lighting up their systems, discuss the biggest gaming news of the week, and converse about topics ranging from serious B2B subjects to in-depth discussions over games big and small.
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While waiting to find out more about Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls’ single player mode, David Radd completed Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part II expansion and got down with millennial nostalgia in Dispatch. In the news Circana gave their June 2026 U.S. video game market highlights, the Crisol: Theater of Idols has reportedly shut down, Xbox execs try to clarify exclusives policy and Dead Space creator Glen Schofield is retiring. For the topic David Radd discusses their relationship with physical games, PlayStation's deep connection to discs and both why physical games still matter and why they're going away anyway.
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While cheering the return of Nolan North’s Deadpool in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, David Radd walked over a covered up hole in echochrome and let the mid-tier goodness of RoboCop: Rogue city wash over them. In the news Circana reports that 007 First Light and Nintendo Switch 2 Drove 3 percent US Video game spending growth in May 2026. PlayStation announces the end of disc games in January 2028and Sony is closing the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita. For the topic David goes into detail about Microsoft’s plans to Cut 3,200 Jobs at XBOX and divest five studios in massive "reset".
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While wondering if Don’t Nod will close, David Radd went Neo Southern Gothic in NORCO before playing the last Uncharted in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. In the news Grand Theft Auto 6 is ready for pre-order especially on PS5, though not on disc, Sony confirms it’s laying off hundreds at Bungie, Microsoft is raising the price of Xbox Series consoles by $100-$150 and Steam Machine is priced over a grand. For the topic David tried FBC: Firebreak and wonders with recent moves...is there reason to be concerned for Remedy?
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While wondering when Asha Sharma will calm down on social media, David Radd tries talking about Kentucky Route Zero and experiences Nathan Drake's final adventure in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s end. In the news, Ubisoft is closing multiple studios and laying off hundreds, Valve confirms Steam Machine and Steam Frame for summer 2026, Xbox makes Gears of War and Clockwork Revolution console exclusives and considers more going forward, and PlayStation first-party game sales declined for five straight years as output diminished. For the topic David delves into the biggest announcements from the June 2026 Summer Game Fest, PlayStation State of Play, Xbox Games Showcase and Nintendo Direct, giving his take on what new was shown off.
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While wondering when the haedwae price increases will stop, DavId Radd has thoughts on Final Fantasy X, and olays the oddly retro Call of Duty: WWII. In news, Destiny 2 is ending new content, Embracer splits and Sony confirms State of Play, while Circana talks their new tracking method for U.S. sales. In the topic, David defines explorative platformers often called Metriodvanias.
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Hoping that eventually Saros finds a large audience, David Radd reflects on Final Fantasy VIII and plays Pillars of Eternity's White March Expansion. In the news, Nintendo forecasts Switch 2 sales slowdown, as price hikes confirmed, PS5 sales fall behind PS4, while Sony says it’s undecided on PS6 release date and price, Xbox scraps its Copilot AI companion on consoles, and Capcom just sold more games than in any year in its history. For the Topic You talk about Respawn going to space in doing it better than Infinity Ward that most of these developers came from did it better, even if the game did not produce a sequel.
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While happy for Pragmata's success, David Radd played some Magic's Secrets of Strixhaven and gave an update on Ogre Battle 64. In the news, Circana reported that US hardware sales rose 69 percent in March 2026, while Sony explains the 30-day timer for digital games. Xbox cuts Game Pass prices and removes launch-day Call of Duty games while Xbox hardware revenue drops 33 percent year-on-year and Xbox confirms it’s ‘reevaluating’ exclusivity. Nacon has rescheduled its postponed game showcase as Studio Spiders closes. For the topic David Radd ventures into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Gerudo Desert, storms Hyrule Castle and gives his final thoughts on the game!
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While celebrating the life of Yoshihisa Kishimoto, David Radd, talks Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and praises Astro Bot. In the news, PS5 sales reached year highs as consumers raced to beat Sony’s price increases, Rockstar hackers actually made Take-Two’s stock increase, after leaking how much GTA Online is making, Rockstar hackers actually made Take-Two’s stock increase, after leaking how much GTA Online is making, BAFTA Games chair believes Awards can offer hope, as Expedition 33 does well, wins GotY. Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope says he no longer reveals what he’s working on in case it’s stolen or absorbed by AI. in part 3 of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, David goes to the misty forest and flies through the air with the Rito.
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While watching Four Nacon subsidiaries file for insolvency. David Radd muses at Crimson Desert, and reflects on Final Fantasy IX. In the news Epic Games is laying off over 1,000 employees. Nintendo confirms its US Switch 2 games will soon cost more as physical versions as Switch 2 hardware price increases loom as hardware demand softens. PlayStation is closing another game studio: Dark Outlaw Games an PS5 console prices are being raised by $100. Circana reports that esident Evil Requiem tops US February charts, launch sales 60 percent higher than Village. in the topicDavid visits the Zoras and the Gorons in Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
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While contemplating talking about FBC: Firebreak someday, David Radd was cool but crude with the TMNT set for Magic the Gathering, It enjoyed the last performance by every original crew member of Star Trek together in Star Trek Judgment Rites. In the news, Nvidia’s DLSS 5 gets a negative reception upon rollout, Nagoshi Studio reportedly facing closure, Shinji Mikami’s new studio, ‘Unbound’ is revealed, Microsoft reveals next-gen console details, while Epic is increasing the price of Fortnite V-Bucks. For the topic, David takes a speculative crack at the Marvel Tokon roster and teams-enjoy predictions that were quickly proven wrong after recording with the sudden announcement of Peni Parker And the Amazing Guardians (that he honestly considered putting in the roster anyways though not in this team).
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While mourning the closure of Highguard (not really), David talks about Marathon and plays Shinobi 3D (not in 3D). In the news, Sony'sBluepoint pitched a Bloodborne remaster that didn't get made and they are apparently turning off the spigot on PC ports. Circana says U.S. video game spending rose 3 percent in January, Nacon files for insolvency and postpones game showcase. Big story is that Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are leaving Xbox and Asha Sharma is coming from Microsoft's AI division to replace him. We look at Spencer's whole career at Microsoft, from Encarta to Xbox and see how it stacks up.
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While mourning Shutaro Īda, gone too soon, David Radd, talks about Baldur’s Gate 3's boundless appeal and is whelmed by Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. In the news, Nexon is lifted by Arc Raiders, PS6 might be delayed until 2029, while Bluepoint is closed. The 2XKO development team gets downsized, Ashes of creation shutters and Highguard clings to life. Epic insists it gave Horses studio "context" while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins five awards at the D.I.C.E. Awards 2026. For the topic, all the news and announcements from a well received Sony State of Play in February 2026
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While noting that Comcept has dissolved, David Radd avoided treefolk erasure in Lorwyn Eclipsed before adventuring with Nathan Drake again in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. In the news, Sony says Ghost of Yotei sales are outperforming Tsushima and the PS5 sells surprisingly well. Switch becomes Nintendo's best selling system all time, while the Switch 2 sets the first year record for sales. At the same time, Xbox hardware sales crater and Valve delays the release timing and price of the Steam Machine. For the topic, A.I. has been in the news for gaming a lot of late, from slop to ads and art. David unpacks what it means and where A.I. has a place.
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While wondering if the Switch 2 will get a price increase this year, David Radd played the surprisingly good Magic: The Gathering set based on Avatar: The Last Airbender as well as Monument Valley 3's DLC The Garden of Life. In the news, Meta closes three VR studios in their Reality Labs metaverse division, Circana says Battlefield outsold Call of Duty for the first time ever last year, as Black Ops 7 dropped to 5th place overall while Nintendo Switch 2 sold 4.4 million units in the U.S. in 2025 and remains the fastest-selling console in U.S. history. Meanwhile, Maxis stresses "values have not changed" following $55 billion EA acquisition and U.S. lawmakers ask FTC to "thoroughly" review the deal, warning of potential negative impact on workers. For the topic, David discusses the new Ubisoft creative houses, cancels and delays several games including the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and no one outside of Ubisoft's executive team likes it.
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After wondering what's up with Switch 2 sales over the holidays, David Radd played the inferior sequel Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 and played the artistic but vapid Monument Valley III. Meanwhile, Tuesday was actively not reading the plot in Hades II and glided around Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. In the news, Call of Duty co-creator and Respawn CEO Vince Zampella has sadly passed and CD Projekt sells GOG. PS Blog and Steam lay out their most popular games as voted by the fans while the most popular games by gameplay hours remain static. For the topic, David and Tuesday give out their top five games, their favorite topics, their least favorite game and plenty of honorable mentions.
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While wishing Harada well on his retirement from Bandai Namco, David Radd liked all the 50s sci-fi references in Runbow: Satura's Space Adventure, and played South of Midnight, a game with an interesting theme wrapped around a thoroughly mediocre character action game. Meanwhile, Tuesday played a service game in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, while Marvel Cosmic Invasion taught them how to tag and elbow drop a dinosaur. In the news, Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Including the game division, hardware sales and physical game spending in the U.S. just had the worst November in 30 years according to Circana and Xbox was outsold by a little-known Nex Playground console during Black Friday. Activision and announces Call of Duty will no longer release back-to-back Black Ops or Modern Warfare games as Black Ops 7 under-performs while Ubisoft acquires Amazon Games Montreal team, and Take-Two hires former Perfect Dark bosses to form a new 2K studio. For the topic, David and Tuesday delve into Horses, a giallo themed indie game banned from Steam and the Epic Game Store.
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David and Tuesday Discuss just how many awards were won by Expedition 33, and talk about the big announcements from The Game Awards 2025, Including a fan favorite character being included in Resident Evil Requiem, a successor to the Knights of the Old Republic series and the next single player adventure from Remedy.
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While wondering if Call of Duty might finally be falling off, David Radd played Bayonetta Origins: Jeanne’s Story, which shockingly has a story connection to Bayonetta 3 as well as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered, the sequel where the series really took off. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance for the first time and replayed Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, which is still their favorite game in the series. In the news, Valve reportedly removes the game from Steam on the ban for the Russian government and Horses is denied release on both Steam and the Epic Game Store. The Saudi Public Investment Fund looks to be running low in cash while the recent EA buyout will see them owning about 93% of the company. Rockstar reportedly fired staff after Slack policy changes prompted discussion in external Discord and Arc Games spins off from Embracer, including the games Remnant, Neverwinter and Star Trek Online. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about Silent Hill f, wonder if there's too much combat, Contemplate whether the game celebrates furrydom, and speculate that the "f" stands for Fatal Frame
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While wondering if at Bottom has finally dropped out for the Call of Duty series, David Radd played Monument Valley 2 minimalist DLC in The Lost Forest and the story sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - CoD: Black Ops III. Meanwhile, Tuesday found out that Powerwash Simulator 2 is just better Powerwash Simulator and didn't use the melee attack enough in Halo: Combat Evolved. in the news, Valve announces a new Steam Machine, controller and VR headset, PS5 reaches 84 million in lifetime sales while Sony notes that buying Bungie and Destiny 2 have not paid off, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads Game Awards 2025 nominations, and Battlefield 6 leads Circana's October 2025 U.S. video game market highlights. For the topic, David and Tuesday go over the surprisingly interesting Xbox Partner Preview for November 2025 In the highlights including CloverPit, Tides of Annihilation and Vampire Crawlers.
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While wondering if another Mass Effect game will ever come out, David Radd is flying solo and playing some of the extremely odd Magic: The Gathering set in Through the Omenpaths, which is a Spider-Man set without the Man. He was also thoroughly whelmed by the mother/daughter tale in Monument Valley 2. In the news, GTA VI is delayed until Fall 2026 and Rockstar gets dinged for union busting, more Netease studios face difficulty, Amazon engages in massive layoffs as they shift away from making MMORPGs, and Nintendo sees massive sales on the back of the Switch 2 even while their patents face various difficulties. In the topic, David talks about Halo being on PS5, the Microsoft's obsession with TikTok, their cratering Xbox Series hardware sales, what the future looks like for the Xbox division and if he thinks that Microsoft really has any gumption to engage in the console war anymore (spoilers: nope).
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Even though he still hasn't watched the Kirby Air Riders Direct, David Radd kills his darlings in Alan Wake: The Writer And descends into post-modern nihilism in Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Meanwhile, Tuesday has the blandest game experience of the year in Gun Gun Pixies and glazes Devolver while seeing how many times they can say 'balls' describing Ball x Pit. In the news, 1,200 games journalists have left the media in the last two years, Circana reports the Borderlands 4 launch and Switch 2 hardware sales drove U.S. game spending to $4.8 billion, Xbox’s Sarah Bond dismisses exclusives and talks about the future of Xbox, While NetEase divests from another Western studio, Fantastic Pixel Castle as the studio hunts for new publisher to avoid closure. For the topic and David and Tuesday talk about The 3rd Birthday, the weird way the story interfaces with the previous Parasite Eve games, the system in which clothing is torn in combat, and the bonkers time traveling conclusion.
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Well wondering what game that Black Tusk could have made before they became The Coalition, David Radd Watch stuntmen in garbage bags fall into a bunch of traps in Night Trap: 25th Anniversary and finds out how little resolves in Alan Wake: The Signal. Meanwhile Tuesday asks, 'Should Legos talk?' in Lego Batman 2 And determined that Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is an explorative platformer and not a Soulslike. In the news, EA confirms that it will be acquired for $55 billion By an investment group that includes Saudis, PIF and Jared Kushner. Microsoft makes Game Pass more expensive and their rewards program less generous. Also Dune: Awakening developer Funcom announces redundancies despite the game's success and Circana details the U.S. August 2025 sales. For the topic David and Tuesday talk about their favorite moments from the Silent Hill series.
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While thinking that Randy Pitchford needs to get offline, David Radd played Streets of Rage 4's survival mode in the Mr. X Nightmare DLC and found out how many references a game can make to David Lynch and Stephen King in Alan Wake: Remastered. Meanwhile, Tuesday likes the game but hates the hates vehicles in Lego Batman and endures Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (emphasis on the walking). In the news, Metaphor: ReFantazio is crowned best game at Japan Game Awards, Hideki Kamiya talks how Xbox’s canceled Scalebound ‘could’ve been different’ with a Japanese publisher, how the ‘perplexing’ fan response to Bayonetta 3 impacted how he is approaching the Okami sequel, and Clovers' "very strong responsibility" to protect workers from layoffs. Microsoft is raising Xbox console prices in the US again, five months after its last price increase and Darrell Gallagher leaves Xbox following The Initiative’s closure and LocalThunk talks New Balatro update coming when finished, not on a deadline. The topic David and Tuesday talk about the Sony State of Play September 2025, from all the news and announcements along with the gameplay reveals of Saros and Wolverine.
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It's the big one folks, and we walk away... whelmed? While David would not quite label himself a "maniac" while playing Sonic Mania - Encore, he did learn the power of Donkey Kong's stand in Donkey Kong: Bananza. Meanwhile, Tuesday finally got to play a good Gears of War game again, in Gears of War: Reloaded, and helped crash the Nintendo E-Shop when they bought Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots on launch day. For the news this week, we discuss layoffs at Firaxis, the closure of T-Minus Zero Entertainment, and statistics regarding layoffs in America, as well as the top selling Playstation games. We additionally cover a potential deal to revive the canned Perfect Dark reboot by Take-Two that fell through, as well as Microsoft's continued plans to convert every device into an Xbox... including LG Cars. For our main topic, we go over our thoughts on Nintendo's September Direct, covering games coming to both Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, including roguelikes like Storm Lancers, thrilling RPGs in Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined and Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave, and the dreaded... Danganronpa: 2x2.
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While wondering if Microsoft secretly wants to ditch console hardware and focus their efforts on Game Pass in the cloud, David Radd finally talks about the impressive Streets of Rage 4 and goes back to the start of Nathan Drake's adventures in Uncharted: Drakes Fortune Remastered. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Angry Birds Bounce where Rovio made Breakout bad somehow and continues the Lizardcube love, with Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap where mankind doesn’t need a savior such as an alien robot dragon. In news, Sony increases the price of the PS5 hardware $50 across the board for all versions and Herman Hulst talks learning from failed projects. Circana reports that July 2025 U.S. sales were driven by Switch 2 hardware sales. Rod Ferguson confirms he's going back to BioShock as Cloud Chamber suffers layoffs. Meanwhile, Gamescom details the record setting attendance and viewer numbers for Opening Night Live while David and Tuesday talk about the game announcements that excited them the most. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the opening hours of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, what makes it unique for the franchise, their own individual journeys and all impressions both positive and negative.
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While hoping itch.io and Steam can restore their content after blowback by payment processors, David Radd dealt with constant campers in the Battlefield 6 Beta and was impressed by what the Shinobi: Art of Vengence demo offered. Meanwhile, Tuesday encountered the Chaos Hero and Law Hero in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and played some Octogeddon, which is like Vampire Survivors before Vampire Survivors. In the news, Nintendo Switch 2 sells nearly 6 million units while they increase prices on the original Switch in the U.S. while Sony's PlayStation division sees a 137 percent boost to operating income Q1 2025. Meanwhile, Microsoft has stopped development on Avalanche's Contraband, while Blizzard’s cinematic department votes to unionize, and Raven QA workers secure a union contract. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, detailing how the gameplay holds up surprisingly well while much of the humor doesn't, how it worked as an open world game with such limited hardware and how important the game was to the PSP.
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While looking forward to a future where Magic: The Gathering become the Fortnite of CCGs, David Radd tried to produce all the value in Balatro and encountered some of the grossest pixel art ever in Mother Russia Bleeds. Meanwhile, Tuesday had to put shoes on Pauline’s feet in Donkey Kong Bananza and played Digimon Cyber Sleuth, where the police and internet are figments of our imaginations. In the news, itch.io and Steam remove adult content after objections by payment processors, Sony acquires parts of Bandai Namco while announcing a new powersave feature and suing Tencent over a Horizon clone. Circana reports on the record setting launch of the Switch 2 in the U.S. and how Microsoft is the top publisher now on Sony platforms, while other reports place Deltarune as the top Switch 2 digital product and the Switch 2 shatters records in Japan. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the Nintendo Partner Direct for July 2025, discuss the ports and the new games, what third-party support looks like for Switch 2, the presence of so many sports games and note that Silksong wasn't present yet again.
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While wondering if Microsoft is planning on replacing half their workers with AI in the coming years, David Radd wished every level in Sonic Mania was as good as Studiopolis Zone and manage to shoot the Fuhrer in the foot in Sniper Elite V2 Operations mode. Meanwhile, Tuesday is finding that Rogue-lite Peglin is becoming their new Binding of Issac and that Timespinner's "Za Warudo" time stopping power is less key than you would think. In the news, Circana reports that Elden Ring: Nightreign topped the May 2025 U.S. charts, SAG-AFTRA members decisively vote to end the strike against the major game publishers, the founders of Unknown Worlds sue Krafton over Subnautica 2, and Ubisoft names Yves Guillemot’s son to head the new subsidiary. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the origins of Harvest Moon, how Harvest Moon split from Story of Seasons and how indie game Stardew Valley exposed the gameplay of Harvest Moon to a much wider audience.
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While wondering if all future Xbox hardware releases are just going to be white-label products, David Radd beat all of Tuesday's times in My First Gran Turismo and played the final Bayonetta game, perhaps ever, in Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Meanwhile, Tuesday discovered that Pac-Man Championship Edition 2+ is not like Pac-Man for GameBoy and finally played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at a good framerate. In the news, Microsoft lays off thousands, and cancels Perfect Dark, Everwild and project Blackbird, Sega accidentally reveals full software sales numbers, third-parties on Switch 2 are having softer than expected sales and Riot will allow Valorant and League of Legends eSports teams to have gambling sponsors. For the topic, David and Tuesday went hands-on with the Switch 2 and talk about it's form, it's function and how it compares to to other hardware like the original Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck.
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While wondering what shape Marathon will be in when it finally releases, David Radd remarked at everything that's been removed and put into Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber and waits for Trico to do what he needs to do in The Last Guardian. In the news, Switch 2 sells over 3.5 million units in the first week, SAG AFTRA moves to end the strike, Microsoft announces it is working with AMD on its next Xbox devices and Sony confirms PS5 surpasses PS4 in active users and reports more subscriptions at higher tiers. For the topic, David talks about the most exciting announcements from Summer Game Fest and the other assorted shows during the days following. Names and links included for some of the indie titles he liked the best that were easy to miss!
Devolver Direct
-Ball x Pit youtube.com/watch?v=GEK4dEOAQCc
Women Led Game Showcase
-Void Martyrs youtube.com/watch?v=RronEZTjkwY
Latin America Games Showcase
-Tormented Souls 2 youtube.com/watch?v=9YCXz1eY2W4
-Changer Seven youtube.com/watch?v=gWRvBqd__Jk
Southeast Asian Games Showcase
-Burning Sword: Death Sun youtube.com/watch?v=j7KyW_46P94
-Tenet of the Spark youtube.com/watch?v=TNfcK_RJMFk
Future Games Show
-The Expanse: Osiris Reborn youtube.com/watch?v=pIQifuOTTe8
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As Build a Rocket Boy executives ominously leave ahead of MindsEye's release, David Radd got funky with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and was reminded of a worse Horizon Zero Dawn in ReCore: Definitive Edition. Meanwhile, Tuesday got exposed for their Doom: The Dark Ages play via their PlayStation Trophy list and answers whether the story real or not and also was able to enjoy Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny and its bad voice acting without COVID brain fog. In the news, an Ubisoft Forward is not happening in 2025, the Black Panther game is cancelled while Cliffhanger Games closes, news comes out about Switch 2 backwards compatibility, and free updates for some Switch Games on Switch 2. In Daily Gamer news, Zenimax Workers United reaches a tentative agreement with Microsoft. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the State of Play for June 2025, the news and big reveals like 007 First Light, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.
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While happy that Giant Bomb achieved its independence, David Radd explores a psychedelic cult in Mafia III's Sign of the Times DLC and discovers that love can bloom between a pig man and spider lady in Black Myth: Wukong. Meanwhile, Tuesday encounters Santa in 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors though not old Saint Nick and plays DOOM 3 as Warcrime McGee, blowing people’s heads off. In the news, Circana reports that Oblivion Remastered was April 2025’s best selling game in the U.S., Embracer plans the Coffee Stan spinoff while renaming their gaming division Fellowship Entertainment as net sales fall. In quarterly income news, Sony shows higher engagement and profits as the PS5 is close in sales to PS4, they company announces the end of the PlayStation Stars loyalty program and Jade Raymond departs Sony owned Haven Studios, while Nintendo's President talks tariffs, sales estimates and the Switch 2, reportedly taps Samsung for production of their new system while media outlets will not have early access to Switch 2 consoles. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II from the baffling lack of a codex, their favorite weapons and classes and all three game modes.
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While remarking a the reaction to a mere release date for Grand Theft Auto VI, David Radd, David Radd locked up his PS5 twice using the sniper option in Mafia III: Stones Unturned and notes that protagonist Karl Fairburne barely counts as a character Sniper Elite V2 Remastered. Meanwhile, Tuesday deals with anime terminator waifus in Signalis and does a séance Fear the Spotlight because what else are you going to do but a in a boring mid-west town. In the news, the Nintendo Switch sees a major update while Microsoft raises prices on Xbox consoles. Platinum Games seems to be hiring up for another online game while the Astral Chain director confirms he has left the company. In games media news, Polygon is sold to Valnet with staff laid off while Giant Bomb's future is in the air. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about vibes, what games are that have strong "vibes", how it can help a game and sometimes, how the "vibes" end up getting ruined.
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While going solo in this episode, David Radd talks about playing a good aligned Dukes of Hazard in the Mafia III DLC Faster, Baby! while realizing the limits of the appeal of Super Mario Maker 2 to him. In news, Devolver reveals their most successful IP and outlines future plans while cutting staff and Xbox streaming comes to certain LG Smart TVs and all Game Pass Ultimate members, while Phil Spencer confirms Microsoft support of Switch 2. Circana reports that Assassin's Creed Shadows is 2025's second best selling game in U.S. and leads the March charts while Gamesbeat becomes independent, stats show the number of game articles decreasing and Gamurs lays off staff. For the topic, David relates even more news about the Switch 2, how tariffs are affecting accessory prices, signs pointing to the likely number of game-key cards and how this has effected pre-orders (or not) while reflecting on the short and long term prospects for the console.
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While wondering at the overconfidence of certain fanboys, David Radd appreciated the lack of mandatory waggle in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and endured a hail of racial epithets in Mafia III. Meanwhile, Tuesday went inside of SHODAN in the System Shock remake and copes with more Inti Creates writing in Card en Ciel. In the news, the Zenimax Union votes to strike, Microsoft's Quake II AI experiment draws criticism and Astro Bot wins big at the BAFTA Games Awards. Newzoo also reports on trends in the Windows PC and console game markets, such as how Windows PC is increasingly dominated by older service titles. For the topic, David and Tueday report on recent Switch 2 news such as the lack of achievements and price of the Switch 2 Welcome Tour while talking about the tariff threat in the U.S. and how that has delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in North America, looking at how analysts and others view the situation for Nintendo.
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All the news from the big Direct detailing many of the Switch 2's features and several big game reveals like The Duskbloods, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Mario Kart World.
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While hoping the SAG-AFTRA strike resolves soon, David Radd finished Dragon Age: Inquisition with the Trespasser DLC and kept resetting over and over to get the right mithril weapons in Shining Force II. Meanwhile, Tuesday played a Roguelite starting with BAL that isn't Balatro, it's Ballionaire and put some time into Burnout Paradise, the thematic opposite of My First Gran Turismo. In the news, Monster Hunter Wilds led U.S. sales in February 2025 according to Circana, Tencent invests $1.25 Billion in a Ubisoft subsidiary based around Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. United Game Workers Union is formed by CWA while The Game Business Launched by Christopher Dring, and Game Informer is resurrected. In the topic, David and Tuesday go over the Nintendo Direct of March 2025, found out about Virtual Game Cards, agreed it was more of a Tuesday event than a David event and discuss games like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Marvel Cosmic Invasion.
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While fully realizing that Trip Hawkins was an early tech bro, David Radd took at journey to the Deep Roads in Dragon Age: Inquisition - The Descent and played the heavily Dreamcast coded Penny's Big Breakaway. Meanwhile, Tuesday drove like Gwupter Twiblorf in My First Gran Turismo and fought as a chef and soccer referee in Warriors: Abyss. In the news, Hideki Kamiya muses on Scalebound and says Clovers won't just be about sequels, the subject of tariffs affecting physical games is discussed, Disco Elysium successors Project C4, Disco Elysium and Hopetown are announced while Scopely buys Niantic's games division, inlcuding Pokemon Go, for $3.5 billion. In the hype corner, Silent Hill f and Terminator 2D: No Fate are discussed. For the topic, David and Tuesday reflect on the GTA "Hot Coffe scandal, how it impacted U.S. politics, how the ESRB and Take-Two handled the scandal and what the changes were as a result.
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While celebrating Mouthwashing coming to PS5 and Switch, David Radd played the first Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC in Jaws of Hakkon and played one of the greatest Indy games of all time in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Meanwhile, Tuesday played the oddly titled Bloons TD 6 and a chance encounter in an arcade game led them to playing Gauntlet Slayers Edition. In news, Microsoft talks up gen AI for game development, while NetEase pulls support for Western studios as the company achieves new levels of profits. Meanwhille, Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the DICE Awards, while Sam Lake and Lucas Pope are honored at GDC and labor unions criticize Bobby Kotick's remarks. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the origins of MultiVersus, it's up and down development, and what might have caused its downfall.
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While hoping we get more Capcom Fighting Collections, David Radd tried out the charity DLC Ida's Dream for Monument Valley and fought loads of monsters for his irradiated frog in Blaster Master. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for the third time instead of tackling their backlog and enjoyed the "brain turns off, Nazi heads go pop" gameplay of Sniper Elite V2. In the news, BioWare reportedly halves in size as questions linger about the studio's future, while Sony Interactive Entertainment sees its most successful holiday ever as the PS5 crosses 75 million shipped. Meanwhile, Hideki Kamiya showed off a picture of several ex-Platinum game directors as Project GG is removed from the website of Platinum Games. Nintendo reports a 31 percent drop in sales without the launch of the Switch 2, as the company says it has plans for resellers. In the topic, David and Tuesday talked about the Sony State of Play for February 2025, with exciting new game announcements like Warriors: Abyss, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Housemarque's new Saros.
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While hoping the Nintendo Switch 2 will have some sort of achievement system, David Radd continues his journey through impossible geometry in Monument Valley: Forgotten Shores and spends several minutes trying to eject a Spartan from a vehicle they've commandeered in Halo Wars 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday maybe gets into a Souls-lite in Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Nights and inflicts the Dark Souls of electronic board games on themselves in Dokapon Kingdom against the dreaded CPU Kathy. In news, Sony live service games are cancelled at Blupoint, Bend Studio and NCsoft among other PlayStation corporate announcements, Circana revealed Call of Duty is the best selling game of the year for the sixteenth year in a row in the U.S. while physical game sales continue to drop off and the PS5 continues to outpace the Xbox Series. Dragon Age: The Veilgard and EA Sports FC underperform for EA while BioWare restructures and Summer Game Fest 2025 is announced for a Friday, June 6 5 PM ET. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the diminishing sales of the Xbox Series, how Phil Spencer confirms there are no red lines for Microsoft games on other platforms (just before Forza Horizon 5 was announced for PS5) and all the news from the Xbox Developer Showcase 2025, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.
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While bummed about the editors who have left GameIndustry.biz, David Radd constantly thinking of echochrome while in Monument Valley and played the "time-until-double-jump" game in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Meanwhile, Tuesday had to resist being a chaos goblin at all times in Kuukiyomi Consider it! and dealt with cats and dogs living together in Cat Quest and Cat Quest 2. In the news, Jar of Sparks runs out of funding and Splash Damage confirms layoffs as it cancels Transformers: Reactivate. Platinum Games issues a statement about the New Year while a director moves over to Housemarque, Microsoft continues its series of layoffs including in the gaming division, while Sony and L.A. based PlayStation Studios contribute to California wildfire relief. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the official reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2, go over the form factor and the apparent first game, and talk about the large amount of details we still don't know about Nintendo's next system.
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While thankful that the President of Square Enix had no New Year's letter this year, David Radd got started in Shining Force II and was flabbergasted you can't easily see enemy movement squares and spent all of December playing Dragon Age: Inquisition to completion. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Wolfenstein: The New Order, giving them another chance to swoon over Mick Gordon and for the second game did not play Hades II much and instead had Deeprock Galactic Survivors as their holiday game. In news, Tango Gameworks rebrands as a Krafton studio while SNK formalizes their fighting game developer in KoF Studio. The PlayStation Blog shares their annual, fan-voted awards while Hermen Hulst indicates SIE is open for reviving older franchises. Sega indicates they're looking at a subscription service and indicates that more mini-retro consoles are not on the way, while GI Biz lays out the year in numbers. For the topic, David and Tuesday lists their least favorite game they played, their favorite SNGP topic and their top five games of 2024.
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While wondering if the Killzone franchise maybe has a future, David Radd spent some time in Magic: The Gathering Arena and drafted some Foundations and Pioneer Masters and was a literal killing machine in Ghostrunner: Project_Hel. Meanwhile, Tuesday continued the adventures of Gwupter Twibblorf in Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club and restarted Gunfire Reborn after all their save data was deleted. In news, Sony's stock sees highs it hasn't seen in decades while the corporation makes a strategic investment in Kadokawa, Capcom confirms they are exploring old IP, as Hideki Kamiya founds Clovers to work on the next Okami and, in an ominous sign, key Platinum staff no longer list the company on their social media. Meanwhile, Ciricana reports that the Nintendo Switch has surpassed the PS2 as the second best selling game console of all time and that EA Sports College Football is the best selling sports game in the U.S. of all time. In labor news, Zenimax Online Studios unionizes and Activision confirms they replaced actors in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. For the topic, David and Tuesday go in deep with The Game Awards 2024, detailing their (mostly incorrect) predictions, how entertaining it was to watch, the bits of news that came out as well as all of the huge announcements, including Onimusha Way of the Sword, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and Turok Origins.
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While still not willing to step back into MultiVersus, David Radd dealt with a lot of fish puns in Disney's Illusion Island: Mystery in Monoth and played the game that Unicorn Overlord was based on, Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. Meanwhile, Tuesday fought past their fear enough to beat Silent Hill 2 and played the Hades-like that they like better than Hades in [REDACTED]. In news, Circana reports that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 raised U.S. game spending year-over-year by 10 percent in October, Ubisoft announces they will close Xdefiant and Square Enix confirms that Foamstars content is concluding while studios founded by BioWare and Mass Effect veterans Humanoid Origin and World's Untold effectively shut down and Shuhei Yoshida retires from Sony Interactive Entertainment after 31 years. For the topic David and Tuesday go in depth with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, how it controls, the amount of ungodly padding and reflect on what came after for The Legend of Zelda.
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While enjoying the plugs for the original PlayStation in Hackers, David Radd fooled around with the November Google Doodle: a card game dealing with the Rise of the Half Moon instead of doing something productive and engaged in tedious driving sequences in Deadly Premonition The Director's Cut. Meanwhile, Tuesday dealt with the Resident Evil puzzles in Crow Country and experienced first hand how faithful Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven was as a remake. In the news, Sony reports records profits in their PlayStation division while the PS5 sells 65 million units and Kadokawa confirms that Sony Corp. has expressed interest in purchasing the media company. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer says more Xbox hardware is coming while confirming there are no "red lines" on future games for Sony or Nintendo systems and the nominees for the 2024 Game Awards are announced. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the history of the console wars, from it's marketing driven start, crystallization into the Big Three and settling on where it is today, which is significantly less heated than it once was.
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While mourning the passing of Tony Todd, David Radd discovered that the bowguns are functionally just machine guns in Monster Hunter Wilds beta and picks up a potato chip and eats it in DEATH NOTE Killer Within. Meanwhile, Tuesday experiences the ultimate love note to Castlevania in Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania and plays Peglin, a game which is Slay the Spire run through Peggle gameplay. In news, Nintendo confirmed that the next Switch is going to be backwards compatible with the current Switch console as they launch a new music app and lower their profit forecasts based on reduced sales. Meanwhile, Sony shuts down Firewalk and Neon Koi adding that Concord is gone for good, while Ubisoft launches a Web3 turn-based RPG which is immediately plagued by players auto-winning. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss Earth Defense Force 5, the ways it improves on EDF 4.1, why Spritefall waifu is best girl and if it's possible to arrest and alien as tall as a skyscraper.
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While remarking at the chaos embroiling Ubisoft, David Radd watched Jill Valentine get beat up quite a lot in the Resident Evil 3 remake and experienced the game where Rockstar went too far in Manhunt 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday tries to explain the plot of Phantasmagoria and gets punished by falling into pits in RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead. In news, Circana reports that Madden and EA Sports College Football were wildly successful in August in the U.S. while EA Sports FC enjoys a record launch and Astro Bot performs quite well. In other news, mutliple spin-off studios of Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM were announced in Longdue, Dark Math Games, and Summer Eternal. In labor news SAG-AFTRA resumes negotiations with the major game publishers, says it's signed with 49 other companies, FIA declares support for SAG-AFTRA strike and the 2K motion capture studio votes to unionize. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the Silent Hill 2 remake by Blooper Team, how the new combat systems are, how it handles environmental design and the differences in the way the story unfolds.
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Microsoft dropped a Partner Showcase and the SNGP crew of David and Tuesday talk about the news and announcements from it, along with the previously announced topic on Little Nightmares II.
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While wondering how Alien: Isolation 2 will come together so many years after the original, David Radd played some draft with Magic: The Gathering's Duskmorne: House of Horror and tired to count all the references and played the biggest Michael Mann tribute game of all time in Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Meanwhile, Tuesday played enough Gal Guardians Demon's Purge to know they wanted to play Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon instead and might have found a good non-Sandlot EDF game in Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. In the news, Microsoft discontinues Hololens, seeks feedback from studios not on Xbox, and rebrands 343 as Halo Studios. Krafton reveals more details of the Tango Gameworks acquisition, Ubisoft deals with a strike action as its leadership considers taking the company private, and Google is ordered to open the Google Play Store to competitors. For the topic, David and Tuesday delve into Parasite Eve II, what makes it different from the original, why it's closer to the original Resident Evil and if it retains some of the charm of the cult hit.
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While wondering what future Sony's various live service games have, David Radd played Golden Idol Mysteries: Spider of Lanka and Lemurian Vampire and got the origin story of the titular Golden Idol while Tuesday played the Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed demo is automatically better than the original because the player doesn't have to use motion controls along with Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir staring Mr. Nintendo Smith. In news, Annapurna Interactive sees its entire staff resign as the in-development projects confirm they are unaffected, Nintendo sues Palworld-maker Pocketpair over patent concerns, Touch Arcade shuts down after 16 years of operation and Square Enix states that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI did not meet their profit expectations. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss what got revealed in the Sony State of Play September 2024 while also taking a deep dive into the final game made by Team Silent: Silent Hill 4: The Room.
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While hoping the future of Devil May Cry is secure even with Hideaki Itsuno leaving Capcom, David Radd got the recently added and extremely hidden bots in Astro's Playroom and wondered if he'll ever fully enjoy a Supergiant story after playing Pyre. Meanwhile, Tuesday says Jimbo's mind tricks won't work on them in Balatro and can't get past the ugly logo in Easy Come, Easy Golf. In news, Phil Spencer confirms that the Xbox division is eliminating another 650 Jobs, Sony unveils the $700 PS5 Pro, NetEase closes Visions of Mana developer Ouka after it and Tencent scale back Japanese plans and SIE takes Concord offline and immediately issues refunds after two weeks of availability. For the topic, David and Tuesday review the several ways that Demon's Souls established the baseline for the Souls series... and the one thing that it didn't do that Dark Souls innovated on.
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While baffled that Silent Hill: Ascension won an Emmy, David Radd played the solid if simple Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and made sure all of his syntax was correct in The Case of the Golden Idol. Meanwhile, Tuesday played The Mummy Demastered while mostly talking about the abortive Dark Universe and also played Hotwheels Unleashed, because otherwise they'd debase themselves by buying Five Laps at Freddy's. In news, Circana reports that EA Sports College Football 25 leads U.S. July 2024 sales, Annapurna is working with Remedy to make a Control movie and will help fund Control 2, the Raven Software union says Activision is stalling in contract talks and influencers given early copies of Black Myth: Wukong are told not to talk about things like Covid-19, politics and feminism. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the big announcements and games from Gamescom 2024 and the combined Nintendo Indie World and Nintendo Partner Showcase, including Roguelites, a new Capcom fighting collection and that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to PS5.
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While getting serious Battleborn vibes for Concord, David Radd played Contra: Operation Galuga where "The Contra Gene" is said and watched Dante's goofy dancing in Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition. Meanwhile, Tuesday got bodied by a refrigerator in Darksiders III and put some runs into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, which is much better than the Michael Bay TMNT movies. In news, Krafton acquired Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP from Microsoft, Circana reports that Elden Ring tops June 2024 U.S. game sales due to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, Game Stop closes Game Informer and Sony reports a positive Q1 2024 despite hardware sales under-performing. For the topic, David and Tuesday review Xbox One's first year but especially E3 2014, where multiple games were announced then delayed, never released or didn't live up to the promises of the first trailer.
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While wondering about the future of console hardware with reports that launch model Xbox One consoles were refusing to update, David Radd tried the twin-stick shooter Halo: Spartan Assault and wondered how something with so many proper Halo components could feel so dull and also swung around Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and wondered how Peter Parker would be a geek to Black Cat this time. Meanwhile, Tuesday finished Shin Megami Tensei V's Canon of Creation storyline and shockingly did not use Cleopatra that much and dipped their toes in the Visions of Mana demo where all the party members were really chatty with each other. In the news, Bungie lays off over 200 employees despite the success of The Final Shape and ex-employees call for the resignation of the CEO. Meanwhile World of Warcraft Developers and Bethesda Studios both unionize, Activision Blizzard boosts Xbox earning while hardware declines severely and Warner Bros. acquires Multiversus developer Player First Games. For the topic, David and Tuesday discus the history of actor unions and the gaming industry and how that has led to the latest strike by SAG-AFTRA.
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While noting how long the Switch has been available without being replaced, David Radd played Golden Axe II, which is basically just an improved Golden Axe, and experienced the work of mecha fetishists in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Meanwhile, Tuesday played some Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and wondered if it was just them that the combat was so bad (it's not just them) and put a pin in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. In news, Sony partners with Pocketpair for new Palworld company, Microsoft raises the price on Xbox Game Pass and launches a Standard Tier without day one releases while the Xbox TV App launches, Ghost of Tsushima leads May 2024 U.S. sales according to Circana and Tose reports losses due to cancelled games (probably from Square Enix). For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the lessons learned from three years of podcast, talk about the process of making each episode and detail what SNGP means (or doesn't mean).
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While being pleased that sales of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics are off to a hot start, David Radd took an, ahem, journey under water with Abzû and played the surprisingly dour Bayonetta 3 and wonders if the series can even continue. Meanwhile, Tuesday took their final boomer shooter detour into Dusk where they got all the quicksaving and finding keys they could ever want and tried out Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, where Psaro is set up to be a villain right from the start. Xbox president Matt Booty is now saying that leadership change led to Tango Gameworks closure while Sony updates the PlayStation Portal to connect to public Wi-Fi and Capcom purchases Minimum Studios and the Resident Evil VII director is given the same role for the next Resident Evil. In labor news, Bethesda Montreal files for unionization and SAG-AFTRA announces a fourth tier to the indie development contract. For the topic, David and Tuesday try to pin down a genre for Phasmophobia, Lethal Company, and Content Warning while talking about the appeal of these games and how they could be potentially expanded out by a larger developer.
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While being intrigued that Capcom is still making unique games like Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, David Radd played A Fold Apart with page folding puzzles and melodrama and named characters after Xbox executives in Diablo IV. Meanwhile, Tuesday thanked the Emperor for the new navigation system in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Forges of Corruption and played Doom Eternal on Steam Deck, then changed to the Switch version because they didn't want to get out of bed. In news, Dino Crisis does well as part of the Capcom "super elections" and Phil Spencer talks studio closures and portable game systems in an IGN interview. Meanwhile, Embracer closes the Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive and the CWA files labor practice charges against Microsoft. In the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the major announcements from Nintendo Direct June 2024, including a new Mario & Luigi game, a new Legend of Zelda title and a Marvel vs. Capcom compilation announcement!
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In this special episode of SNGP, David Radd and Tuesday have the final word on the biggest announcements from Summer Games Fest 2024, the Devolver Direct, the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 and Ubisoft Forward.
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While getting tired of hearing about Blooper Team's "respect" for the original Silent Hill 2, David Radd played Perfect Dark Zero and was glad that at least mission failures were less common than the first game and held forward to run through much of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. Meanwhile, Tuesday played (not) a horse girl game in Red Dead Redemption and felt bad for shooting a person for a deed as well as Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, which is an RPG being played during the summer but not Tuesday's summer RPG. In news, Bungie and Activision win their suits against professional cheat makers, Stellar Blade tops U.S. sales charts and the Fallout series sees high engagement in April 2024 according to Circana, while the new PlayStation CEOs detailed their near-term plans and it's confirmed that ZeniMax staff are now included in Microsoft CWA labor agreement (just after Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks are shut down). For the topic, David and Tuesday revisit MultiVersus upon its launch to see how much it's changed since the beta and if it holds any more interest.
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In this bonus episode, David and Tuesday have the last word about the recent Marvelous Game Showcase 2024, Silent Hill Transmission (which was mostly Silent Hill 2) and Sony's State of Play May 2024.
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While being much more concerned about the dark consumer practices by Ubisoft for Assassin's Creed Shadows than anything else, David Radd played Fire Emblem: Three Houses furiously to try and complete it before the podcast and shares his complete thoughts. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Grand Theft Auto V and wished it was isometric and also tried Horse Club Adventures, where the main gameplay loop is horse riding and having a nice time. In news, PlayStation announces it will have two new CEOs as the PS5 sells 59 million units and Helldivers 2 sets sales records. Meanwhile, Square Enix announces layoffs in Europe and North America after games like Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth don't make sales expectations and confirms there will be fewer console exclusives from now on. IGN purchases Gamer Network, including GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer, and Xbox President Sarah Bond says Microsoft is launching a mobile store in Summer 2024 while giving a baffling response when questioned about the recent studio closures at Xbox. For the topic, David and Tuesday played Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure and remarked how a piece of DLC doesn't always work well by itself.
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While amazed at how bad Silent Hill Ascension continues to be, David Radd played the uncooperative co-op game Runbow and played the seminal action prequel to Symphony of the Night in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Meanwhile, Tuesday switched Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine to easy because they're an adult and didn't need the hassle and experienced an anime plot about luminous energy in Endless Ocean Luminous. In news, Nintendo confirms a Direct in June 2024 while also specifying that the next Switch will not be revealed there. Meanwhile Dragon's Dogma 2 led the March 2024 U.S. sales period according to Circana while Helldivers 2 is the seventh best selling Sony game of all time. In other news, Take-Two Interactive reportedly shutters Intercept and Roll7 while laying off most of Private Division and Capcom posts its seventh year of growth off of the strength of Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about Microsoft shuttering four Bethesda studios, recall their favorite games from Tango Gameworks and Arcane Austin, detail what this means for the future of planned (and sold) Redfall content and ponder the fate of other similarly sized studios owned by Xbox.
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Wondering when the wave of studio closures will slow, David Radd played some Rayman Legends, which is a lot like a refined Rayman Origins, and also plays Sonic Superstars while remembering how good Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, throwing David off by it not being Hundred Heroes and resulting in a side tangent about the Bloodstained games, and also played Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, where much like the games that inspired it, the story is inconsequential. In news, Take-Two announced that five percent of its workforce will be laid off, roughly 600 jobs, while Embracer announced plans to split into three separate companies. Meta opens the Meta Quest OS to third-party developers while VR continues to lose billions for the company, while Avalanche Studios enters a collective bargaining agreement with a pair of Swedish labor unions. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the storylines of the canon Legend of Zelda games and discuss a timeline they're in that just isn't real.
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While wondering if Dead Space will ever return, David Radd played the orange tabby simulator in Stray and got serious Star Wars Disney sequel vibes off of the end of Killzone Shadow Fall. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Princess Peach: Showtime! which is definitely not Dead Space 2 and brings up Crypt of the Necrodancer, though much of the time is spent talking about Baroque on the Sega Saturn. In news, Embracer's CEO says the restructuring is over while Gearbox Publishing becomes Arc Games. Meanwhile, Blizzard renews its agreement with NetEase to bring games like World of Warcraft back to the People's Republic of China and certain NetEase games to Xbox in the West, Baldur's Gate 3 cleans up at the 2024 BAFTA Awards and IGDA give six points for a sustainable games industry. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about how JRPGs of late have reinvigorated themselves by embracing ideas from Western games, reinvigorated old franchises with french ideas and innovated with open world design.
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While respecting Larian's decision not to do more Baldur's Gate content, David Radd was glad characters don't immediately disappear after going off screen in co-op play in Mario vs. Donkey Kong while using focus to easily dispatch all regular enemies in Ryse: Son of Rome. Meanwhile, Tuesday played "legally distinct Power Rangers" in Chroma Squad and knew that what little weird story was in BlazBlue Entropy Effect didn't matter. In news, CIrcana revealed that Helldivers 2 is the best selling game in the U.S. through February, Embracer divests from Saber and Gearbox, the U.S. government sues Apple for anti-trust issues related to the cloud, and Sega sold Relic to a holding company and agreed on a game development contract with the CWA. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, how it's different and similar to Shin Megami Tensei IV, discuss how Nanashi is a different sort of hero from Flynn, and relate how deep into world religions ATLUS went for this game.
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While amazed that Warner Bros. Discovery learned no lessons from the failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, David Radd experienced all the Web 1.0 meme humor in World of Goo and sees what Hideo Kojima uncensored is really like in Death Stranding: Director's Cut. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright and experienced its dystopian court system and found Ghost of Tsushima to be a surprisingly cozy game. In news, Yuzu creator Tropic Haze settles with Nintendo and shuts down support for the Switch emulator and the 3DS emulator Citra, Warner Bros. Discovery starts removing Adult Swim Games from digital storefronts and Sony backed Deviation Games closes without shipping a single game. The sole piece of positive news is that 600 QA workers at Activision were able to exercise their right to organize. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about systems and mechanics in video games, some examples of heavy (and light) use to both and how systems and mechanics impact the games people like to play.
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While wondering if ZA/UM is capable of ever making another game, David Radd played enough Foamstars to conclude it's dead-on-arrival as a live service and was constantly wincing at the gruesomely detailed fatalities in Mortal Kombat X. Meanwhile, Tuesday thinks Dave the Diver is the new Shovel Knight with connections to Godzilla, Dredge and Guilty Gear (!?) while getting really into the Roguelite card game Balatro, which uses the tricks of video poker for good instead of evil. In news, Circana reports that January saw a 15 percent spike in sales thanks to new titles like Tekken 8 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth while Nintendo sues emulator creator Yuzu. In the sad news of ongoing layoffs in the video gaming industry, Sony and Electronic Arts both announced hundreds of layoffs, shuttering of studios and cancelling of projects. For the topic, David and Tuesday reflect on recent releases like Skull and Bones, Foamstars, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and reflect on how live service games are reaching a saturation point with players tiring of the formula and the biggest players too big to dethrone.
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While shaking his head around the whole situation surrounding Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, David Radd didn't learn his lesson from Crackdown 2 and played Crackdown 3 and also played Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light to cleanse his palette after Radiant Dawn. Meanwhile, Tuesday played something legally distinct Starship Troopers in Helldivers along with Rune Factory 4, where they declared every day to be "bikini day". In news, Microsoft confirms four games are coming to non-Xbox consoles, Nintendo sees profits rise even as sales slow, and Sony posts big holiday profits even as it looks to release on PC in a more timely fashion. Epic Games also announced Disney is making a $1.5 billion investment and that Epic will build an Disney experience in Fortnite. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss Silent Hill: The Short Message, how it's PT but worse, whether the plot is something more akin to Fatal Frame and how they feel about Silent Hill afterwards.
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While glad that all games aren't locked to a subscription service, David Radd knew that Quake II wasn't a new Doom because he fought Strogg and not demons and constantly touched fuzzies in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Meanwhile, Tuesday quickly sampled the very short Mario vs. Donkey Kong demo for Switch and and kept thinking of Alex Casey in the first Max Payne game because they have Alan Wake 2 brain poisoning. In news, Microsoft let go roughly 1,900 employees while questions are raised about their commitment to physical media. Palworld sells over 12 million copies, Nintendo confirms end date for 3DS and Wii U online services, while the Square Enix president confirms that their lineup of games will be reduced for a greater focus on quality. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the Sony State of Play for January 2024, how they both aren't interested in Zenless Zone Zero, can see themselves playing the PSVR2 titles and fundamentally disagree about Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2.
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While wondering if Silent Hill Ascension will ever come back, David Radd tried to make sense of what a septima is in Azure Striker Gunvolt and experiences the life and times of ninja wizard pirate samurai William Adams in Nioh. Meanwhile, Tuesday played as a psychic erotic dancer in One Night Burlesque and is working on unlocking that double jump in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. In news, the Supreme Court rejects the final appeal in the court case of Google vs. Apple and Apple implements payments outside of the App Store (albeit with a 27 percent commission). Circana reported on full year sales in the U.S. with Hogwarts Legacy selling the most in the region, and also worldwide as confirmed by Warner Bros. Games. Meanwhile, the Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked openly of Microsoft's multiplatform future and GameStop shut down their NFT marketplace. In the topic, David and Tuesday talk about Aliens: Fireteam Elite, how the game tries to be like Left 4 Dead with progression, why xenomorphs are hard to make a game about and why auto-turrets are the ultimate weapon.
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While predicting that AAA license games will become even more the rage in 2024 and beyond, David Radd works Kratos's problems out in God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla and furiously tries to do everything he can before the day ends in Pikmin 4. Meanwhile, Tuesday is here to get hit and chew bubble gum in Secret of Mana (and they're all out of gum) and finally plays a game where they can be canonically evil in Cult of the Lamb. In news, the Square Enix President tries to ruin everyone's year early by promising a huge generative AI push for the company, Omdia predicted that VR spending dropped 10 percent year-on-year in 2023, the People's Republic of China announced restrictions on monetization for online games before slightly walking them back and Versus Evil, First Contact and Jukai Studio all shut down. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about their individual favorite podcast topic, their least favorite games and their top five games of 2023.
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While hoping that Sega will start marketing their franchises with '90s style attitude again, David Radd found out that electric charges and invisibility were always in Miles's power set in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and struggled with only 63 inventory slots in Final Fantasy II. Meanwhile, Tuesday is still trying to reconcile a Rougelite having a good story in Children of Morta and finally found the junk-food game they were looking for in Robocop: Rogue City. In the news, there's positive development for unionized workers under Zenimax, while Activision Blizzard settles with the state of California over a discrimination suit and a dispute over hybrid work for Q&A employees, but thankfully Bobby Kotick is now confirmed to be leaving at the end of 2023 along with much of his executive team. Meanwhile, the ESA confirms that E3 won't be coming back, Hogwarts Legacy looks to cinch the best selling game of the year according to Circana's U.S. November 2023 report and Google has a bad couple weeks at court, settling for hundreds of millions with U.S. attorneys and losing a jury decision in an anti-trust lawsuit against Epic Games. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss a Soulslike adjacent game that Tuesday was able to tolerate until the end: Remnant: From the Ashes. They talk about Remnant's odd difficultly curve, the game's unique arsenal and wondering what could have possibly happened to make McCabe so grumpy.
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While wondering what Bayonetta will be like without Hideki Kamiya, David Radd discovered that snakes are “alive spaghetti” in Donut County and takes out the skull Murray to scare people in Tales of Monkey Island. Meanwhile, Tuesday describes Gears 5 as playing Into the Breach levels in the first console Fire Emblem game and finally made it to the end of the Oldest House in Control. In news, the FTC resumes its case against Activision Blizzard, the lawsuit between Epic and Google rumbles on, Experis's staff votes to unionize and Reedpop looks to sell its gaming media properties, including Eurogamer and GamesIndustry.biz. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the news, the award winners and the reveals from The Game Awards 2023 (along with Grand Theft Auto VI, which was officially revealed a few days beforehand).
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While celebrating how the "graded" game resell market has collapsed, David Radd had to stop himself from jumping on enemies in Disney Illusion Island and felt let down by anything not in New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey. Meanwhile, Tuesday got some Risk of Rain 2 mixed up in their Risk of Rain 1 in Risk of Rain Returns and finally escaped the Mind Place in Alan Wake 2. In news, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 leads October 2023 U.S. sales according to Circana, Baldur's Gate 3 sweeps the Golden Joystick Awards and lead nominations for The Game Awards with Alan Wake 2. Sega of America is accused of threatening mass layoffs over the studio's attempt at unionization and Tim Sweeney confirms he was willing to sue Sony to get cross play for Fortnite in the ongoing trial of Epic against Google. In the SNGP topic, David details the system he uses to encourage the play of both new and older games and Tuesday talks about their seasonal habits in gameplay.
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While looking forward to Yahtzee Croshaw's endeavors outside of The Escapist, David Radd has been rendering humanity extinct one six pixel high person at a time in Butcher and enjoying the DLC content for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (other than Not A Hero). Meanwhile, Tuesday played Fashion Dreamer, which is like a style focused version of the Miiverse, along with Alan Wake 2 where they tried to discover how many characters Sam Lake plays. In news, Nintendo revels in their expanded revenue projections, where Pikmin 4 was the best seller in series history and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the fastest selling Super Mario game, along with announcing they were funding a Legend of Zelda movie. Sony, not to be out done, reveals increased revenues and nearly 50 million PS5's sold while they delay half their slate of service games and announce Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has sold over five million units. In other news, The Epic Games anti-trust case against Google started, and Microsoft confirmed that it would start blocking unlicensed peripherals on the Xbox Series. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven, which is an average game but an impressive work of fan service, along with rambling about the various stories and characters of the series which are... well, bizarre.
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While celebrating the extended crypto ice age, David Radd dealt with zombie head textures disappearing in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare and tries to in a chainsaw duel in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Meanwhile, Tuesday refreshed themselves on the story of Alan Wake and made the brilliant decision to go to a haunted hospital on a cursed island in Fatal Frame 4: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. In news, paid early-access helped elevate Starfield to the top of of Circana's U.S. sales chart for September 2023, Nintendo heavily restricts online tournaments for their games and threatens any online content not to their liking, Pete Hines is retiring as head of Zenimax publishing while Matt Booty at Xbox will now be the top person for Xbox and Zenimax and Capcom eyes eleventh straight year of growth, driven by Street Fighter 6 and the remake of Resident Evil 4. In the topic, David and Tuesday break down Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, how it will affect the competitors, major third-party publishers, the FTC, Game Pass and more.
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This week, David Radd and Tuesday discuss Silent Hill 3, from its slow start, interesting reveal half-way through to the messaging around anxiety surrounding personal image and pregnancy.
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While being amazed that Peter Molyneux is reaching a new low with his blockchain game, David Radd appreciated the metalness of the Quake remastered and its four (!) expansions and wishes Mr. X would just leave him alone in Resident Evil 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday played some of Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, the game based on the anime, based on the manga, based on the game series and was very bad at stealth in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. In news, Avalanche and CD Projekt form a union while SAG-AFTRA and the major game publishers fail to reach a deal. Nintendo is shutting down online play for 3DS and Wii U in April 2024, CD Projekt spent tens of millions on the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion and post launch support, while Sony announced redesigned PS5s with cloud streaming coming soon to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. For the topic, David and Tuesday delve into Little Nightmares and the DLC Secrets of the Maw, where a small child is in a scary world, but it's not LIMBO because it's in full 3D this time.
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In this special episode of SNGP, David and Tuesday talk about Paratsite Eve, it's unique setting, it's bonkers plot and the unique RPG system it has.
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While wondering just how hard it would be to win a race in F-Zero 99, David Radd summoned a universe of blades with Sole Solution in Vampire Survivors and shook his head at Jessica's wet-suit design in Resident Evil: Revelations. Meanwhile, Tuesday did the tango in Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways and discovered that Dragon Quest spin offs aren't all their cracked up to be in the Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince demo. In news, lots came out in unredacted Microsoft court documents, including a Xbox Series refresh, the quixotic desire to acquire Nintendo, and how much day one Game Pass games might potentially cost to add. It was also a week of announced departures, with Jim Ryan retiring as CEO of PlayStation, Glen Schofield leaving Striking Distance and Hideki Kamiya departing Platinum Games. Unity also announced changes to their controversial install fee plan and August's U.S. sales were led by Madden 24 and Armored Core VI, according to Circana. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday attempt to define the survival horror genre, detailing the factors they think have high impact (resource management) while have low impact (difficultly) and those that have no impact (camera angle).
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While wondering why they're bothering to continue working on Redfall, David Radd played Crackdown 2, an open world game with all of the filler and none of the story, and fought a cyborg Super Saiyan named for a Shakespeare character as the final boss in The Peace Keepers. Meanwhile, Tuesday plays EDF crossed with BattleBit Remastered in Earth Defense Force: World Brothers and moves on from from war crimes and child abuse to medical malpractice in Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2. In news, ESA confirms that E3 2024 will not take place in Los Angeles as they part ways with Reedpop and SAG-AFTRA members vote on potential strike action against the largest game publishers. Simultaneously, union action seems likely at Ubisoft Singapore, where the Skull n' Bones also recently lost its third creative director and Unity proposed charging fees for the number of game installs, leading to a revolt from angry game developers. For the topic, David and Tuesday review the Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play for September 2023, which had exciting titles on the docket like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Unicorn Overlord, Resident Evil 4 Separate Ways and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
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After wondering why Capcom doesn't just remake Dino Crisis, David Radd beat back the bugs (and other space marines) in Hellfront: Honeymoon and got really into the NJPW content in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Meanwhile, Tuesday engaged in some cruel fashion in Style Savvy: Styling Star and played some Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth because their Dark Passenger required them to get a monster collector. In news, Microsoft announced they would sell the streaming rights to Activision Blizzards catalog to Ubisoft if they acquired the company, in an attempt to placate the U.K.'s CMA and Sony announced that Project Q would be called PlayStation Portal and will come out November 15 for $199. Also in news, Remnant 2 lead U.S. sales of all games in July and Embracer shuts down Volition after talking about its fiscals and it's collapses $2 billion deal. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the marketing and messaging around Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and how things like the lack of X-Men, Chun Li's face and "characters are just functions" practically sank the game before it released.
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While still glowing in the aftermath of an excellent EVO (which Smash Bros. was sadly not a part of), David Radd played Dead Cells where they decimated enemies using the Ice Bow as well as Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion, which was less different than the main game than he would have liked. Meanwhile, Tuesday finally finished up Dragon Quest XI and is considering what to do with the post-game content and played Princess Maker 3 where they actively destroyed their daughter's life. In the news, Sony reported PlayStation sales were up 27 percent as the company looks to get 25 million PS5s sold by the end of the year while Square Enix is reportedly disappointed in the initial sales of Final Fantasy XVI. The Evolution Fighting Championship (or EVO) reported a record number of competitors with over 9,000 (what, 9,000!?) and most of them competing in Street Fighter 6 and Microsoft rolled out a strike-based system for online behavior on Xbox and announced that the Xbox 360 digital store will close July 2024. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss what heroes have abilities that work for action games (like Spider-Man and Batman) and what heroes don't (Superman), breaking down individual abilities and giving examples from existing games.
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While wondering when Namco Bandai will allow people in American to enjoy the music they own, David Radd played Splatoon 2 and realized he was the oldest person currently doing so and confirms how much Katana ZERO is like Hotline Miami. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Yeah, You Want Those Games, Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! which is the actual full title of the viral parody game of those mobile/browser games advertised everywhere along with realizing that Sylvando is the best character in Dragon Quest XI. In news, Circana reports that sales jumped 9 percent in June due to the release of Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy XVI and Diablo IV, and that Street Fighter game (along with Resident Evil 4) drove Capcom to $313 million in sales for the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the U.S. FTC suspends its administrative hearing with regards to Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard while hte U.K.'s CMA asks for more opinions on its own decision. Finally, Nintendo has a record quarter with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom selling over 18 million copies, and solid reports point to a Switch successor console in the second half of 2024. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the man decisions that led to putting Microsoft on the back foot with the Xbox One, something they are still paying for today.
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While wondering how Crypto Mining Simulator could actually be a game on PS4, David Radd stomped opponents on the ground in River City Girls Zero, sat starting at the screen as spells resolved in Trials of Mana and wonders who decided to put in the Xenogears reference into Hi-Fi Rush. Meanwhile, Tuesday likes it in Dragon Quest XI when Jade kicks high and talks about curvy babes in Soul Hackers 2 with characters named Figue and Milady. In the news, the U.S. FTC lost it's court challenge to the Activision Blizzard acquisition and the U.K.'s CMA announces its considering a settlement with Microsoft over the massive acquisition. Meanwhile, a Sega executive calls blockchain games "boring" right before the company announces a new partnership for a Web3 game snd Sega of America staff unionizes. David and Tuesday tangent to talk about the bafflingly low-effort images on the social media accounts of SYMBIOGENESIS and then remark on Xbox Live Gold becoming Xbox Game Pass Core. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss their favorite game composers since 2010, including the biggest AAA and small indie titles and genres spanning hard rock, electronic, and classical.
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While awaiting the coming storm of "AI bros", David Radd got frustrated at Pete again for his cluelessness about Felicia hardy in the Marvel's Spider-Man DLC, City that Never Sleeps and appreciate the fan service (but not the campaign) for Star Wars Battlefront II. Meanwhile, Tuesday is fisting for the exactly what it sounds like in Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! where the ladies can have fine mustaches and happily used the autobattle in Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age while waiting for Jade. In news, plenty of details come out in the hearing to see whether the U.S. government will block Microsoft from completing its merger with Activision Blizzard, including quotes from Sony, Microsoft and Activision Blizzzard executives and revelations of just how many companies Microsoft was looking to acquire. Circana reported that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom absolutely dominated May 2023 U.S. sales, reaching highs not seen in many years, while Apple wants the Supreme Court to consider throwing out the result of their suit with Epic and Daedalic ends all internal game development after the disastrous release of Lord of the Rings: Gollum. For the topic, David and Tuesday share their opinions on Sky: Children of the Light, it's soft and pleasing aesthetics, it's odd structure and it's status as social platform as opposed to a game.
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While giving EA credit for not getting into NFTs, David Radd was playing Marvel's Spider-Man which is a wonder compared to the Amazing Spider-Man games and still doesn't like the way Kid Icarus controls in Ultimate NES Remix. Meanwhile, Tuesday made a weapon to surpass Metal Gear in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and got nervous about getting lost in a spooky building trying to interpret wall signs in Control. In news, the FTC moves to block the Activision Blizzard merger in U.S. federal court and plenty of details come out including Microsoft claiming they have "lost the console wars". Separately, head of Xbox Phil Spencer says and Xbox Series Pro isn't needed while the price is raised on the Xbox Series X and Game Pass in several regions. In other news, Embracer plans to close studios, shed jobs and cancel games while they refocus on their Lord of the Rings ownership and the Los Angeles City Tourism Board dropped casually that E3 2024 and 2025 may not happen in the city at all. For the topic, David and Tuesday have the last word on a wild and eventful back half of June 2023, which included a Xbox Games Showcase that mostly carried promise for 2024 and beyond, a surprisingly solid Ubisoft Forward, a Capcom Showcase that felt a bit unnecessary and finally a Nintendo Direct that had a lot of surprises and showed that the Switch's slate will be full for the rest of the year.
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While wondering why Volvy didn't get his own game from Devolver, David Radd struggled to master the lag-stab in Chivalry II and was surprised to see Satoru Iwata worked on the SNES RPG Arcana. Meanwhile, Tuesday purged the heretics in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and kept mashing the taunt button in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. In news, Microsoft sets up it's appeal of the U.K.'s CMA set to take place in July, and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kottick claims to have raised the money to have bought Time Warner from AT&T and blames company troubles on "an aggressive labor movement" while a former World of Warcraft Writer said he was fired for corporate greed jokes. Apple unveiled their $3,500 Vision Pro AR Headset and Nintendo makes sure the Dolphin emulator doesn't come to Steam and the My Nintendo Store officially closes in Russia. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the contents of the 2023 Summer Game Fest, Day of the Devs and Devolver Direct.
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While wondering why Ubisoft is bothering with NFTs in 2023, David played some of the Street Fighter 6 open beta and found that a lot of their old Ryu skills transferred and remembered when people liked Ubisoft in Far Cry 4. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Advanced War Reboot Camp 1+2 and finally had a good tutorial into the Advance Wars franchise and tortured Koroks in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In news, the European Comission approves the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft with conditions as does the People's Republic of China, though the U.K.'s CMA puts extra conditions on the two companies after blocking the deal. In game sales, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor was the top U.S. selling game in April 2023 according to Circana while Tears of the Kingdom sells over 10 million in three days. In Sony hardware, news, they officially detailed the PS5 accessibility controller called the Access, launched the Backbone One for Android phones and announced the PS5 streaming device, Project Q. Take-Two meanwhile hinted heavily that Grand Theft Auto VI would launch fiscal year after this next one. For the topic, David and Tuesday break down the announcements from the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, from the VR titles, the online service games, the titles that are coming out very soon and potentially exciting new announcements in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Phantom Blade Zero.
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Nice. While getting too emotional and character introductions in Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, David Radd tests the wasteland with nothing but a glorified slingshot in Meet Your Maker and steals faces constantly in Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Meanwhile, Tuesday can't stop making Borderlands comparisons to Gunfire Reborn and makes good on a drunk purchase in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. In news, Phil Spencer gives an exasperated interview with Kinda Funny Xcast which maybe he shouldn't have done and David and Tuesday unpack it. In fiscal news, Nintendo reports that Switch sales were down even from estimates (though metrics were otherwise solid), Sony has the ambitious goal of selling 25 million PS5's this fiscal year and Capcom reports their best sale year in their entire history which raises their stock to all-time highs. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the legacy of BioShock Infinite, from it's troubled development, strong opening, odd twists, controversial ending, unpopular gameplay decisions and politically divisive themes.
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While not really mourning the passing of E3, David Radd played some Battlefield 2042 and could hardly believe it's not a free-to-play game and confirmed that Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is a Soulslike even if it's not that hard. Meanwhile, Tuesday played some DLC for Fire Emblem Engage, where Chrom and Robin are totally friends and nothing else and also played Transformers: Fall of Cybertron where they just want to smash stuff as Grimlock! In news, the U.K.'s Competition Market Authority has blocked Microsoft's proposed bid for Activision Blizzard, which neither company is happy about. Circana is reporting that the PS5 is on tracking ahead of the PS4 and Epic loses its appeal against Apple, while Sega acquires Rovio and has its American branch announce unionization efforts. In the topic, they talk about the recently dropped Street Fighter 6 demo, what's included and what's not wonder what it portends for the full release.
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While mourning the passing of Lance Reddick, David Radd plays the groundbreaking Tell Me Why and FINALLY beats Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn and lays down the ten units they added to their final team. Meanwhile, Tuesday plays some Aces and Adventures and is happy to skip the story and also plays the remake of Resident Evil 4, where thankfully no one makes a comment about Ashley's chest. In news, Microsoft, Ubisoft Sega and Tencent all confirm they won't attend E3 203 before the event is just outright canceled while Circana reports on game sales in the U.S. in February 2023 where the PS5 set all time records for PlayStation brand and the Activision Blizzard deal clears couple of regulatory hurdles while U.S. representatives comment on PlayStation's strength in Japan compared to Xbox. The Game Developers Conference 2023 also took place, while it had solid attendance and gave awards to God of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring, it also saw multiple allegations of abuse. In the topic, David and Tuesday shared their opinions on Deltarune: Chapter 1's story and characters, it's new combat system and how it's both different and similar than Undertale,
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While still trying to remember that The NPD Group has rebranded as Circana, David Radd marches towards the end of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn with his near unbeatable final team, gives Yakuza 0 the score of Yakuza out of 10, and rates God of War: Ragnarok as the most polished game of all time. Meanwhile, Tuesday gets isekai'd into a city of fashion where no one can dress themselves in Style Savvy Fashion Forward and determines the girl trot is in full effect in Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. In news, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda is announced to be leaving while the company shifts offices from Shinjuku to Shibuya, while confirming details of the NFT game Symbiogenesis, with NFTs also interesting The Pokemon Company as well. Meanwhile, Ukrainian developer GSC Game World says that some art assets have been hacked by Russians and that they will not give in to their demands. For the topic, David and Tuesday tackle Scalebound, Hideki Kamiya dream project that was never meant to be. But will it come back? No, but that doesn't stop Kamiya from discussing it every chance he gets.
While still reeling from how terrible that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer was, David Radd was getting his degree in escapology in Escape Academy and turning off the special fonts in Pentiment. Meanwhile, Tuesday avoided turning Borderlands 2 off the second when Claptrap started speaking and is looking for the "master of unlocking" in Dead Estate. In news, the CWA comes up twice, once praising Microsoft and the other suing Activision Blizzard. as the Ukraine Government looks to block the sale of Atomic Heart for its connections to Russia. In departures, the head of the Beyond Good and Evil studio head leaves, Firaxis sees a shake up and Shinji Mikami says goodbye to Tango Gameworks, while Nintendo confirms it will not be at E3 2023. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday discuss their experience with various mobile games, discuss the trade off of time or money most mobile titles present and commiserate that even in the Netflix version of Tomb Raider Reloaded, it still isn't very good.
While applauding Mick Gordon's donation to the Red Cross, David Radd is tortured by Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's minutia, constantly fails mission objectives in Perfect Dark and is confused by the weird depiction of Black Cat in The Amazing Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Tuesday discovers that Camilla remembered the front of her skirt for Fire Emblem Engage and naturally plays as Lilith the Siren in Borderlands. In news, the European Comission and the U.K.'s CMA issue warnings about the proposed Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard as Activision Blizzard pays a fine to the SEC and mandates a return for employees to the office. Meanwhile, NPD's January 2023 sales show Dead Space as the second best selling title of the month and Nintendo gave their Q3 2022 results, down year over year, and presented many known games at the February 2023 Direct. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday discuss MultiVersus, its odd combination of characters, it's surprisingly complicated mechanics, obnoxious microtransactions and some worrying signs for its future.
While mourning all the game reporting jobs being lost, David Radd notices Tequila Gundam in The Great Battle V, rushes to the boss as quickly as possible in Super Bomberman 5 and feels like he's see this before in PREY. Meanwhile Tuesday is doing their Tommy Wiseau impersonation with Fire Emblem Engage and is impressed with all the changes in the Dead Space remake. In news, Microsoft lays off 10,000 employees including at Xbox and Bethesda, a GDC survey shows increased interest in unionization while Ubisoft Paris sees a strike of over 40 people. Meanwhile, Sony reports a record quarter for the PS5 in sales and 11 million in sales for God of War Ragnarok and Blizzard terminates a manager for refusing to use ranking quotas and breaks up the union at Proletariat before it officially forms. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday discuss what does (and doesn't) constitute a AAA video game.
While not mourning that Stadia is dead and gone, David Radd wishes he could slide in Mega Man Powered Up and somehow avoids killing Ensign Ricky in Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. Meanwhile, Tuesday had a much better experience in Forspoken when they turned down the Cuff dialog and laughed at all the localized American names in Raw Danger. Meanwhile, Microsoft withdrew it's assertion that the FTC is unconstitutional while the EU looks likely to object to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, while Activision Blizzard itself refuses to acknowledge the Union at acquired studio Proletariat. Meanwhile, the NPD reports on the best selling games of December 2022 and the year as a whole and Ubisoft cancels three games and sees unrest over an email that reportedly put the onus on workers to turn around the company's fortunes. In the SNGP Topic, the maligned launch and poor fortunes of the Wii U are discussed, from the flawed GamePad to the marketing woes and the poor third-party software support.
While saying that Callisto Protocol is "not a priority", David Radd finally made it to the final stretch in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, mashed the light attack in 3D platform fighter Divine Knockout and has difficultly unlocking a weird movement trophy in Everything. Meanwhile, Tuesday appreciates the differences in the sequel after playing Risk of Rain and finds out what a Magic: The Gathering "bear" is in Inscryption. In news, Microsoft says that the FTC is unconstitutional, the Zenimax Q&A forms a union while Blizzard subsidiary Proletariat looks to do the same. Meanwhile, the Square Enix CEO talks about having a more unified structure while bafflingly doubling down on NFT investments and Sony unveils their controller designed for accessibility, their PSVR2 launch lineup and that the PS5 has sold over 30 million units. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about their favorite topics, their least favorite game and the top five games they played in 2022.
While shaking his head over the recent closure of a Square Enix game service, David Radd enjoys the soundtrack and tolerates the story of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number while resolving DOOM Eternal's story in The Ancient Gods and aslo playing Horde Mode and Battlemode 2.0. Meanwhile, Tuesday starts to warm to FTL: Faster than Light once they start suffocating hostile boarders with the vacuum of space and sinks into the dulcet tones of Ron Perlman while playing West of Dead. In news, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II becomes the U.S.'s best selling game in 2022 according to the NPD's November 2022 sales charts, Activision Blizzard sees its President and COO depart for a blockchain company while Chris Metzen returns to help with Warcraft's narrative. Meanwhile, Amazon was announced as the publisher for the next Tomb Raider and Epic will pay $520 Million to settle FTC allegations over Fortnite purchases. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday dive deep down to figure out the mystery surrounding Returnal's plot and Rogue-lite gameplay.
While sending his thanks to Bill Clinton, David Radd played the fun and goofy Yuffie DLC Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Episode INTERmission and tries to wrap his head around the complex mechanics of DOOM Eternal. Meanwhile, Tuesday can't make it past the first system in FTL: Faster Than Light and enjoys Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, unlike its predecessor. In news, the FTC announced it is filing a suit to stop Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard, Blizzard Albany QA team votes to unionize while Zenimax QA team moves to forms to create a union of their own. Meanwhile, the Smash World Tour is canceled under a cloud of controversy and the Summer Game Fest 2023 is dated June 8th, right before E3 2023. For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about awards winners, the news, and the reveals for The Game Awards 2022.
While astounded at Bethesda's public response to Mick Gordon, David Radd played one of the freshest retro JRPGs ever in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth while living out his mecha all-star dreams with Into the Breech. Meanwhile, Tuesday played the weird spin off to Lenneth in Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume and plays the Magical Hats card from Yu-Gi-Oh! in Bayonetta 3. in news, Sony and Microsoft present their arguments to the U.K,'s CMA over the Activision Blizzard acquisition while Blizzard and NetEase end 14 year partnership in China signaling the end to World of Warcraft in the country for the moment. Meanwhile, the NPD reports that U.S. game sales were roughly the same year-over-year in October 2022, while the Grammy nominations for game soundtracks and Game Awards 2022 nominations are laid out. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about the middle an possible best entry in Crystal Dynamics "reset trilogy": Tomb Raider: Anniversary.
While marveling at the trolling Square Enix did teasing their NFT project Symbiogenesis, David Radd is reminded how good Sleeping Dogs is playing its Halloween DLC Nightmare in North Point while getting distracted by Sebastian being recast in The Evil Within 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday took a wacky trip back to the future in 2004 France and Sengoku-era Japan in Onimusha 3: Demon Siege while looking for Bayonetta Rick in Bayonetta 3. In news, EU scrutinizes the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft in-depth as Activision Blizzard want to impound union votes in Blizzard Albany, and a esports antitrust settlement breaks down with the U.S. Department of Justice. Meanwhile, PSVR2 details come out and Sony reports rising revenues, even as engagement dropped over the Summer, while Nintendo saw increased profits even as Switch hardware sales drop. For the topic, David and Tuesday reflect on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and how it changed gaming forever, in ways both good and bad.
While reinforcing that Silent Hill is not in Maine, David Radd played Lydia rating it "depressing itch.io game out of 10" while wishing that Fatal Frame III: The Tormented was a little MORE like Silent Hill. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Capcom's unlikely platform fighter Onimusha Blade Warriors while barreling towards the end of Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny. In news, David and Tuesday address the situation surrounding Helena Taylor and Bayonetta 3, Activision Blizzard continues to experience both labor unrest and legal troubles, examine the five new Silent Hill projects that were announced in Silent Hill Transmission and look at the launches of FIFA 23, NBA 2k23 and Splatoon-3 impacted the NPD September 2022 chart. The SNGP topic examines the impact Hotline Miami had on Devolver releases, 10 Years after it has released.
In this special podcast, David Radd and Tuesday go in depth about the original Silent Hill 2 and why the horror masterpiece still holds up today.
While noting the sad departure of key development personnel from ZA/UM, David Radd appreciates the visual design of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course while dying constantly and falls under a oldtaku anime nostalgia spell with Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth: Record of Lodoss War. Meanwhile, Tuesday wonders how Onimusha Tactics protagonists Onimaru and Oboro aren't ninjas and decides 20 Minutes Till Dawn is better than Vampire Survivors because it has a gun. In news, Google announces the shut down of Stadia in early 2023 and Activision Blizzard is facing more issues including a new sexual harassment lawsuit, while Microsoft touts the deal publicly on a bizzare website while sparing with regulators in the U.K. and EU. Finally CD Projekt announces its next several game projects while expanding out into new studios. In the topic, David and Tuesday talk about Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut, how it started life as a Silent Hill 2 demake, how it never quite lands on the right tone and while the "survival" aspects aren't really a boon.
In this special episode of SNGP, David and Tuesday talk about Dead Space, what the game did well, the mixed reception to the sequels, and what it influenced and was influenced by.
While wondering if being a YouTuber qualifies you to be a games publisher, David Radd was baffled that a save got overwritten while playing The Ascent and realized that the past can't be changed, even with a time machine, in Quantum Break. Meanwhile, Tuesday sadly can't make a golfer with a sloppy swing in Easy Come Easy Golf and takes orders from papa Odin in Valkyrie Elysium. In news, Microsoft will continue looking at acquisitions as they are confident the Activision Blizzard deal will go through and EA considers the business opportunities if Call of Duty becomes exclusive to Xbox. More E3 details are laid out by Reedpop and Elden Ring is named the best game and the Japan Game Awards. Finally, the August NPD report shows Madden and Saints Row at the top of the sales chart while Valve releases Steam Charts sales data publicly. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about their experiences with The Evil Within DLC episodes: The Assignment, The Consequence and The Executioner.
While not mourning the impending closure of Babylon's Fall, David Radd ruminates over Millennial anxiety in the motion comic Stilstand and is impressed in the web-slinging (not the combat) in Spider-Man 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday gets smashed by the final boss in Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Cindered Shadows and watches lots of anime while playing Power Wash Simulator. In news, the heads of Xbox and PlayStation have a war of words over the future of Call of Duty, GameStop and Square Enix both talk about their blockchain plans, the U.K. and EU look to do an extensive review of the proposed Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard, while Ubisoft details it's organizational changes and repositions its actions on NFT's as "experiments". In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday both go over the September 2022 events, including Disney and Marvel Games Showcase, Ubisoft Forward, Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play.
With a heavy heart over a dearly departed pet, David Radd muddles his way through the rail maze in Myst and relates heavily to moving with an old game console in Unpacking. Meanwhile, Tuesday discovered that World of Horror is very much inspired by Arkham Horror and wonders if Kirin is a wanderer in Gunvolt 3. In news, Sony announces a couple acquisitions, the DualSense Edge controller and that the price of the base PS5 is increasing in regions outside of the U.S. The NPD reveals U.S. sales during July 2022, showing that MultiVersus sold well in a month that was down year-over-year while Quantic Dream sells itself to NetEase. For Activision Blizzard,the CWA file a labor practice charge against the company, U.K. regulator CMA says Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard deal could harm PlayStation and Phil Spencer talks about what the acquisition would mean for Microsoft. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about the magazines, websites, podcasts and video series that had a big impact on them.
While wondering when or if Square Enix will be acquired by a larger entity, David Radd is wondering if he's just here to suffer in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and keeps the quick save and quick load triggers at the ready in Dishonored 2. Meanwhile, Tuesday played Bad North and Serious Sam: Tormental, chasing that next Rogue-lite high. In news, Microsoft presents their own arguments for why acquiring Activision Blizzard isn't anti-competitive, while Activision Blizzard executives are pushing all Blizzard Albany employees to vote on the union, not just the Q&A department, in a likely attempt to get the measure to fail. Meanwhile, Nintendo is dealing with accusations of labor tampering and gender discrimination, while the Embracer Group expands even more, including acquiring the media rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about BioShock and the various story and gameplay elements that have been influencing games for years since, from the tonics to Andrew Ryan and "would you kindly".
While realizing that mobile gaming has evolved into its own industry compared to console games, David Radd was constantly shouting "ZA WARUDO!" in Kirby and the Forgotten Land while basking in the fun gunplay but cringing at the humor of Sunset Overdrive. Meanwhile, Tuesday plays the most Suda51 game ever in Killer7 and plays Troy Baker with super powers in Infamous Second Sun. In news, sales have fallen year-on-year for both Sony and Nintendo and supply issues plague hardware shipments, while Sony outlines the reasons why Call of Duty is so important to their business and Microsoft owning it could shift power in the gaming industry, which seems to be true, even as Activision reports shrinking engagement and lower profits in Q2 2022. For this week's SNGP topic, Tuesday got a Steam Deck in their hands and they and David talk about their impressions of the system .
After being floored by the gross monetization in Diablo Immortal, David Radd faces hippies, a whale and the Devil in Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure, discovers that Charmy Bee is the most powerful Sonic character ever in Knuckles Chaotix, experiences Edmund McMullen's gross neuroticism in Super Meat Boy and pulls of a fourteen-button combo in Skullgirls Encore. Meanwhile, Tuesday continues in Fire Emblem: Three Houses where they wonder if they're the baddies on Black Eagles and confirm Edelgard does not have a kind heart, while a new smoke system for Into the Breach reminds them of the Shamshel fight in Neon Genesis Evangelion. In news, there's multiple new NFT projects, an odd NFT collectible offering from Square Enix, Mojang ruling out NFTs for Minecraft and Epic refusing to do the same for the Epic Store. Meanwhile, the NPD has the June 2022 U.S. sales, the Blizzard Albany Q&A staff organizes and Sony announces PlayStation Stars loyalty program (which isn't NFTs) and buys esports platform Repeat GG. In this week's topic, David and Tuesday talk about the parts of Resident Evil 4 that haven't aged that well, compare it to The Evil Within and sequels in the Resident Evil franchise.
While mourning the passing of Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi, David Radd engages in tedious robot fights in The Great Battle IV, plays the much better (if incredibly safe) Super Bomerman 4, and deals with wiseguys right out of central casting in Mafia II: Definitive Edition. Meanwhile, Tuesday plays some Aliens Fireteam Elite, where they plumbing the absolute depths of Alien series lore and plays some more Fire Emblem: Three Houses where they want to marry Edelgard and become war crimes: the couple. In news, there's announcements around NFT games and consoles while sales in the sector plummet, Blizzard picks up developer Proletariat to help finish the latest World of Warcraft expansion, a U.K. regulator examines the proposed buyout by Microsoft of Activision Blizzard and Blizzcon will apparently return in 2023. Google settlted a class action lawsuit with developers and the EU Digital Markets Act could open the closed platforms on phones. Finally, ReedPop announced that it will work with the ESRB to produce E3 2023... which leads us to the SNGP topic on the troubled expo. David and Tuesday go over the pros and cons of E3 and give their concluding opinion on the annual gaming event.
While he didn't spend a second watching the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 direct, David Radd did play more of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn to find out how broken Ike is once he promotes. Tuesday had a similar experience playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, finding out how comfortable Edelgard was with war crimes, and was thankful that weapons didn't immediate break in Fire Emblem: Three Hopes; they sadly weren't able to Morb in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. In news, a poll shows more game workers are open to unionization, while Microsoft and the CWA enter into a labor agreement while Activision's board is reelected (including Bobby Kotick) though shareholders also voted in favor of an annual abuse report. Meanwhile, a U.K. watchdog says that 40 percent of Nintendo Joy-cons are affected by drift and the NPD U.S. sales tumbled 19 percent year-on-year in May. In this week's SNGP topic, David and Tuesday dive into Anthem and discuss the promising combat, the multiple bugs and the unfortunate story in BioWare's failed attempt at a service game.
In this special off-week episode, David Radd and Tuesday talk about the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, the major reveals of the Capcom Showcase and the big announcements out of the Final Fantasy VII 25th anniversary stream.
Not willing to inflict Diablo Immortal on himself, David Radd was instead wrapping up Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut with visions of the past and notes that Sothe promoted but is still exposes his midriff in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Meanwhile, Tuesday is wondering how anyone plays the Fencer in Earth Defense Force 4.1 and raises some Atomicrops to face the creatively named Corpse-a-Copia. In SNGP news, 18 consumer groups in Europe and 15 in the U.S. call for greater regulatory action on loot boxes, while the ESA insists that E3 will return in 2023 and Annapurna will have their own event in July and Square Enix will have a brief stream in mid-June, but Ubisoft won't have their usual Forward event. In labor news, Keywords Edmonton votes for unionization and Acitivsion recognizes the Raven QA union because they are legally forced to. Finally, Dragon Age 4 has the official subtitle of Dreadwolf, and the series will be getting an animated show. For the SNGP topic, after talking briefly about Devolver Digital Marketing Countdown to Marketing, they recount the big news coming out of Summer Game Fest 2022, including all the news, updates and major announcements.
In this special off-week episode, David Radd and Tuesday talk exclusively about the PlayStation State of Play before Summer Games Fest 2022, discussing The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, Season: a Letter to the Future, Stray, Horizon Call of the Mountain, Eternights, Final Fantasy XVI, Rollerdrome, The Callisto Protocol, Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6, all of which were part of the event.
As Keiji Inafune throws away his remaining scraps of respectability with rip-off Mega Man X artwork being sold as NFTs, David Radd is waiting for the CPU to take turns in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and swiping right (to wipe off the blood) in Ghost of Tsushima. Tuesday meanwhile has been playing the cross between a Rogue-lite and Smash TV in DeathRun TV in addition to Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising, which has a character he lovingly thinks of as "Guts the Kangaroo." In news, Activision Blizzard continues to deal with employee complaints and a newly formed union, while Microsoft says the acquisition is moving smoothly while dealing with accusations of mismanagement on their own. Sony meanwhile, reveals parts of their future plans for PlayStation as well as more details for PlayStation Plus. Finally, sales for the month of April 2022 show increased PS5 supplies and good results or Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Switch Sports, Horizon Forbidden West, and of course, Elden Ring. In the topic, David and Tuesday break down different qualities attributed to Souls-likes and reach consensus on what they think are the most important factors and what are non-factors.
Still mourning the passing of Berserk author Kentaro Miura a year later, David Radd finished reading the manga and returned to Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn only to be reminded why he took a break and risked it all in Ghost of Tsushima's lethal mode. Meanwhile, Tuesday keeps on talking to the same NPCs like a crazy person in order to advance the story in Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and feels an almost pathological need to use a gun in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. In news, Embracer buys most of the assets of former Eidos, including Crystal Dynamics and Tomb Raider, from Square Enix for only $300 million while the company looks to invest in the blockchain (an investment that might not seem as good as it once was). Sony undershot their PS5 sales estimates, but looks to rebound in the coming year even as chip shortages continue, while Nintendo sells over 107.6 million Switches and they have continued sales success, including Metroid Dread being perhaps the most successful in the series so far. Activision deals with flagging Call of Duty sales, anti-union messaging before a key vote and a lawsuit from the state of New York. In the topic, David and Tuesday discuss the development of Kingdom Hearts, which seems to be mostly the byproduct of Tetsuya Nomura doing whatever he wanted with the game design, asking Hikaru Utada out of the blue to do a song or the game (she did) and creating one of Square Enix's most enduring and popular franchises.
While wondering if this podcast will get blocked in the Russian Federation, David Radd wrapped up his time in Loop Hero where he broke through after hours of static progress and also played Yakuza Kiwami 2 which has THAT scene with grown men dressed up as babies. Meanwhile, Tuesday was disappointed to find that Maneater was not Dolphin May Cry and returned to Hades only to find it was perfectly OK. In news, Microsoft's Xbox division reported record non-holiday quarter results among other news bits, there are apparently no stated plans for Bobby Kotick after the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard while that company sees sales and engagement tumble, NPD reports sales are down as the PS5 struggles to meet demand, and Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda is still gung ho for NFT products and Yuji Naka sues Square Enix over Balan Wonderworld. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday wrap up their discussion of Disco Elysium - The Final Cut, where everything that was said in a hangover riddled stupor came back to haunt Harry, discovered the first death is in the heart and also solved the murder.
While he hasn't been stealing tanks in his tractor, David Radd has been playing some Virtua Fighter 2 and winning against Akira using a vertical suplex to get ring outs and playing Sega's wonderfully creative arcade hit Virtual On: Cyber Troopers. Meanwhile, Tuesday tries to resolve their nostalgia for both old Star Wars and Lego games in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga while enjoying Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139... which will never not be referred to as Nier Replicant Long Number. In news, Fortnight raises $144 Million for Ukraine charities and World of Tanks closes its Russian and Belarus studios. Epic is teaming with Lego for a Metaverse game, releases two technically impressive Unreal Engine 5 demos and sees a $1 billion investment from Sony Corp. In Activision Blizzard news, the company appointed a new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, sees the SOC Investment Group recommend against voting for the Microsoft acquisition, sees further scrutiny from the FTC over said acquisition, completes the merger of Vicarious Visions into Blizzard, makes all Q&A workers full time (except those who have looked to form a union), and has accusations that the California Governor's office is interfering in the state investigation. In the second exhausting block of news, Ubisoft says more NFTs coming to their games, Sega says the "Super Game" may be multiple Games and use NFTs while a report states that metaverse games struggle to retain players. For the topic, David and Tuesday look back on the launch of the Switch, the events that lead to its creation and their early impressions of the system.
While he reads about the war in Ukraine, David wishes there was a dedicated jump button in the Cold War arcade game Rush'n Attack, can't quite get the dog to catch the Frisbee in Wii Sports Resort, and is working hard to get the systems in Loop Hero to work for him. Meanwhile, Tuesday hasn't seen a prettier Switch game than Kirby and The Forgotten Land and finds that the voice acting in the Trials of Mana remake is still terrible. In news, ESA confirms that the digital version of E3 2022 has also been cancelled, Nintendo confirms that the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel has been delayed until early 2023, SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan gives the details of the new PlayStation Plus tiers, and Activision is settling one of the government sexual assault lawsuits, is expanding their Beenox Studio in Montreal and faces open criticism of the potential buyout by Microsoft by four U.S. senators. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday examine the history of labor relations in video gaming in the U.S., from the contentious anti-union era into when it was birthed, the "EA Spouse" incident that publicly raised the issue of crunch in the industry, the affect of the SAG-AFTRA strike, and recent accusations of sexism and abuse that have led to fresh cries for unionization in the industry.
While David is wondering how Hol Horse's Emperor isn't in a Gungeon game, he's dealing awkwardly named "Ground Zero" gang in The Combatribes, rejected the idea of not playing as a Power Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie for the SNES and dragging the wizard's ashes back to town in the action-RPG Cadash. On the other hand, Tuesday is dismayed at how slow Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunt is and experiences some tactical espionage action parody in Never Stop Sneakin'. In news, millions are raised for humanitarian causes related to the war in Ukraine by Humble Bundle and Fortnite while Ukraine developer GSC Game World opens an office in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard is dealing with an investigation for insider training, the FTC is looking or more information with its investigation and a fresh lawsuit alleging sexism and CD Projekt RED announces a collaboration with Epic to make the next Witcher with the Unreal Engine (which won't make it an Epic Store exclusive) and Mass Effect producer Casey Hudson confirms he's working on a new sci-fi universe. The former Tango Gameworks developer Ikumi Nakamura launches a new developer in The Unseen, a Devolver co-founder launches a therapy focused game studio in Deepwell, while PlayStation acquires Haven, the studio founded by Jade Raymond. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday reflect on the build up to the launch of the PlayStation Vita and the events of its launch year.
While he cant wait to hear all the genuine anime voices JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R, David Radd has been playing Super Bomberman 1-3 and wishing Ensemble wasn't shut down after playing some Halo Wars: Definitive Edition. Tuesday meanwhile, was scratching an Rogue-lite itch in Wizard of Legend and Exit the Gungeon. In news, as relief payments increase to Ukraine sanctions continue on Russia as that country's government essentially legalized game piracy, a report states that the console gaming industry saw record highs in spending in 2021 and Elden Ring has already sole millions of copies as the best selling game of 2022. Meanwhile, Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show will hold person events in 2022, Konami is holding an Indie Game Connection and Electronic Arts won't have an EA Play in 2022, while the BAFTA game nominations are announced, as are the Famitsu Dengeki Award winners, while Hideo Kojima receives the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts. For the topic, David and Tuesday discuss their time with the Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin demo, talking about the weapon-based class system, the complex combat mechanics, and confirm that Jack Garland's dialog really does border on self parody.
Babylon's Fall trips coming out of the blocks, but David Radd thankfully isn't playing that this week, instead discussing the bad beat-'em-ups The Great Battle II: Last Fighter Twin and The Great Battle III (but not why the Gundam has sad, human eyes), the better licensed beat-'em-up The Pirates of Dark Water and finally a Strider-like (definitely not a Strider-lite) Run Saber. Tuesday meanwhile fawns over Belit in Conan Chop Chop and wonders if "Mouthful Mode" is just a gimmick in the Kirby and Forgotten Land demo. In news, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all cease business in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick leaves the board of Coca-cola and admits the company is having difficultly keeping and retaining talent (for some reason), Nvidia and Samsung are both reportedly hacked and 343 Industries, Next Level Games Twitch all see important departures. In the topic, David and Tuesday have the last word about Sony's March State of Play with game announcements like The DioField Chronicle and Valkyrie Elysium, and talk way too long about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R.
While he didn't spend this week relaxing in an open world game, David Radd did play more of the extensive content of Injustice: Gods Among Us and wondered why enemies had so much health in The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Genesis. Tuesday tried desperately to get their Rogue-lite fix in Conan Chop Chop and continued venturing into a demon infested Tokyo in Shin Megami Tensei V. With the war in Ukraine, the This War of Mine developer donates profits to the Ukrainian Red Cross, Electronic Arts removes Russian teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22, the Ukrainian government calls on Xbox and PlayStation to end Russian support while Apple, Google, and Meta have already moved to do so, and development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is put on hold as developer GSC Game World fight to survive. In the Nintendo block of news, they acquire longtime partner SRD, make sure Smash Bros. won't officially be at EVO and rolls out missions for custom icons with Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Elden Ring meanwhile is seeing high sales, high player counts and high review scores, and Valve wants to bring PC Game Pass to Steam Deck and Aperture Desk Job launches for free. For this week's topic, David and Tuesday try out the Babylon's Fall demo, only to be baffled by the PS3 era brown textures, the terrible motion comic cut-scenes, and rotten service-game options.
After saying goodbye to his PS4, David Radd played the (extremely short) origins for Cyberpunk 2077 on his PS5 and played the excellent story mode in Injustice: Gods Among Us. Meanwhile, Tuesday finally picked up Shin Megami Tensei V and counted the Castlevania references in Vampire Survivors. In news, the government probe into Activision Blizzard expands, Bobby Kotick set up secret corporations for to fund Republican senate candidates, and the Microsoft buyout offer started in earnest after an inflamatory WSJ report on Bobby Kotick. In sales news, the PS5 is estimated to sell well in 2022, and did so in the U.S. in January according to the NPD, and Horizon Forbidden West has the second best PS5 opening in history. For Ubisoft, they say that they'd entertain buyout offers and the A Better Ubisoft group says none of their demands have been met and Electronic Arts privately trashes the FIFA organization, confirms that the next Dragon Age is on track, and criticizes Activision Blizzard's leadership in all but name. For the topic, David and Tuesday mark the release on the new gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077 by recalling the history of the game, from its announcement in 2012, the beginnings of pre-production, the heights of hype with the Keanu reveal, it's extremely troubled launch and the numerous patches since trying to reclaim spent good will.
While not watching the controversy-riddled Winter Olympics, David Radd was playing the perfectly adequate pathfinding game (which is not a Souls-like) Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight and noting that Lana Wachowski is talking directly to the audience in the technically impressive The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal 5 Experience. Meanwhile, Tuesday likes the gameplay in the Triangle Strategy demo but isn't too sure on the story and doesn't quite get the mecha fix they were looking for in Daemon X Machina. In news, Nintendo announces that purchases on the 3DS and Wii U eShops are ending their purchasing feature in 2023, Platinum executives Kamiya and Inaba talk about everything from industry consolidation, to NFTs and Bayonetta 3 and the new studios Rebel Wolves and Gardens are founded. In the Microsoft block, the company says it would continue to publish Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms even after agreements expire and might also push it onto the Nintendo Switch, while indie developers worry about the omnipresence of Xbox Game Pass and the composers of Halo sue Microsoft. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about about their experiences in Disco Elysium - The Final Cut, where they clumsily hit on a disco dancer, desperately want the respect of Kim and considered the terrible advice of the Electrochemistry skill.
The threat of more acquisitions looms large, but in the meantime David Radd and Tuesday play two disappointing "run-it-back" sequels by Inti Creates in Mega Man 10 and Luminous Avenger iX 2, while Tuesday illuminates in excruciating detail the problems with the different characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. In news, Nintendo reports on its successful quarter, including Switch sales, Microsoft tries to deflect over anti-competitive accusations over acquiring Microsoft Blizzard, and in NFT news, GameStop is funding them, Ubisoft is giving them to their developers and Itch.io calls them out in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile, Platinum games seems to be leaning toward service games in its future, while they still want to revive Scalebound. For this week's topic, Disco Elysium is again pushed back as David and Tuesday detail the Nintendo Direct for February 2022.
Hyper Scape might be shutting down, presaging the potential of other future Ubisoft service games, but David Radd is protecting NPCs which he can't control in Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn and finished up the surprisingly long Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, Tuesday must truly be desperate to come to Enter the Gungeon for fun and plays another Inti-Creates game in Master Blaster Zero. In NFT news, Team17 announces plans and reverses themselves in a day, Troy Baker backtracks for his NFT sponsorship, Ubisoft's Nicolas Pouard says gamers "don't get" NFTs, Electronic Arts says they're not exploring NFTs right now and most developers say they're not interested in NFTs, according to a survey. Meanwhile, Epic is continuing to expand their user base on the Epic Game Store and sees multiple Attorney Generals take their side in their civil suit against Apple. Finally, Activision's management didactically warns employees about joining a union, the FTC step in to look at Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Sony shares it's slightly down quarterly report, revises it's hardware forecast down and announces 10 new service games will come by 2026. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday discuss Sony's deal to buy Bungie, what it means and what it doesn't mean for Sony and speculate that this might be the beginning of a year filled with acquisitions.
He's still wringing his hands over Bobby Kotick leaving Activision Blizzard on his terms, but he also took out time to read the word "suzerain" over and over again in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and continues to enjoy the banter between Drax and Gamora in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy while Tuesday is playing some Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and reflecting on a world where people just accept the existence of demons while saying that Inti Creates is great and Azure Striker Gunvolt is a much better alternative to Mighty No. 9 (also made by Inti Creates). In news, Raven's QA department unionizes and Activision Blizzard is being as passive aggressive as possible about this fact, Sony looks to get at least three more Call of Duty games due to preexisting contracts with Activision Blizzard, while Sega establishes a Sapporo studio, Yakuza veterans found Nagoshi Studio and former members of Activision Blizzard Europe found New Tales. Finally, Capcom reports a 35 percent increase in quarterly revenue and Microsoft also sees the Xbox division see it's revenue go up (no word on profitability for the latter). For the topic, David and Tuesday talk about the first Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider game: Tomb Raider: Legend, marking 25 years of the iconic franchise.
David Radd might not be buying anything from EA, but he is finally returning to Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn to confirm that the Greil Mercenaries are better than the Dawn Brigade, enjoys the banter between Drax and Gamora in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and tries to get all the references in Astro's Playroom. Tuesday meanwhile doesn't like Eren in Attack on Titan 2 and feels the time pressure in Creature in the Well. In news, all the console platforms are selling well and Sony is still making some PS4s while Microsoft has ceased production on Xbox One. For NFTs, David and Tuesday lament Troy Baker's endorsement while Sega trademarks an NFT brand. Sony reveals the most popular games on PlayStation in 2021 and also the winners of a fan vote, and the highest earning CEOs in gaming are announced. For the SNGP topic, all other plans are thrown out the window as Microsoft intends to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. David and Tuesday go in-depth about the terms, what Phil Spencer might be planning, the anti-trust element of this that has to be cleared, what this means for Bobby Kotick and the ongoing lawsuit and scandals, the wan state of Call of Duty, and possible responses by Sony and Nintendo.
Tuesday retroactively adds Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! to their top 5 games of 2021, but David Radd didn't forget any of his top games from last year, instead turning over The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds where he purchased all the tools he could as soon as he could, is awestruck by the power of Rick, Kine and Coo in Kirby Star Allies, remembers when Valve released games with Left 4 Dead 2, made up his own story for Halo 5 Guardians, and always wanted to play as Ashley in WarioWare: Get It Together!. Meanwhile, Tuesday prepares for Pocky & Rocky Reshrined by playing some KiKi KaiKai, while shooting people as Laguna in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. In news, Konami announces NFTs, GameStop plans to do NFTs but Sega might reconsider NFT plans if it's just regarded as a "money making scheme". Take-Two pays $12.7 billion for Zynga to enhance their mobile offerings, Sony reveals the specs for the PSVR2, announces the VR title Horizon Call of the Moutain and confirms Ghost of Tsushima has sold 8 million, while the ESA cancels E3 as an in-person event for the third straight year. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about their first half year doing SNGP, what topics they liked, what they learned and what they might do for 2022.
Umbrella Corps doesn't seem like a game for anyone, not even Resident Evil fans, but David Radd ditched that game to play the pixel-art pathfinding game Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition which really wears its influences on its sleeves to the fairy tale-like World War I story 11-11: Memories Retold. Meanwhile, Tuesday torches all enemies as the black mage in Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! and manages to scrounge up a couple people to play Mario Party Superstars with. In news, football and gaming icon John Madden passes away at 85, the Square Enix President talks about NFTs while Final Fantasy XVI was delayed by at least six months by the pandemic, Riot Games settles lawsuit for $100 million and Back 4 Blood adds single-player progression while an investigation reveals the flimsy connection to the Left 4 Dead games. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday lay out their top five games from the year, which didn't necessarily release in 2021.
When not in a GameStop getting frustrated by the selection, David Radd is taking a few tentative steps in NiGHTS Into Dreams... while completing Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, and is thoroughly disappointed by Tearaway Unfolded's third act. Meanwhile, Tuesday's ventures in Yu-Gi-Oh! games naturally leads to Shadowverse: Champions Battle, a fascinating if generically titled CCG video game, along with giving another shot to Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope and kind of digging it. Meanwhile, in news Activision Blizzard has seen its stock diminish 30 percent year-over-year and the experts expect it to fall further still, while Call of Duty games suffer multiple technical issues and the company tries to quench the tide of bad news with a representation report. Meanwhile, Ubisoft doubles down on NFTs and David decides he cannot abide it anymore, while an exodus of employees is reported at the publisher. In the U.K., FIFA 22 is the best selling game at Christmas while a list of best sellers in the region is also complied (which include a lot of FIFA and Call of Duty games) while CD Projekt pays out $1.85 Million to investors while dealing with a couple of small PR embarrassments. For the SNGP topic, Tuesday is very in character playing the gun-wielding Strife and David explodes many corpses as War in Darksiders Genesis.
While gritting his teeth through the hosts of Nintendo's Indie World, David Radd finishes up on Mafia: Definitive Edition and finally finds some good cars while encountering two false endings in Tearaway Unfolded. Meanwhile, Tuesday played some Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel: Dawn of the Battle Royale!! which oddly does not have a battle royal mode and somehow only achieves success with the base class in Risk of Rain 2. In news, Activision Blizzard warns it's employees against unionizing, Ubisoft's head of global game production leaves and their own employees don't understand their NFT push, while David takes a stand on an announcement clearly designed as a distraction by Ubisoft. In news that wasn't quite as frustrating, Nintendo starts expanding into a new space in Kyoto while the Switch has best ever week in in Europe along with a great month in the U.S., while the PS5 didn't sell as much because there were severe supply constraints according to the NPD, and Sony acquires support studio Valkyrie Entertainment and announces new PS5 faceplates. In the Hype Corner, every game in Nintendo's December 2021 Indie World is discussed and given a grade of "hype" or "not hype". In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday look at the history of premium multiplayer shooters and wonder if they have a future at all down the road.
While hoping that Skeleton Man is listening to the podcast, David Radd plays the game starring Skeleton Man (named Sir Dan) in MediEvil for PS4 and remarks at how bad cars controlled in the 1930s in Mafia Definitive Edition. Meanwhile, Tuesday can't help but explore side-quests and get into trouble in World of Horror while trying to make a deck out of cast-off cards in Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist. In SNGP news, Activision is further condemned by state treasurers and Geoff Keighley but the people being let go are on the Q&A team for Call of Duty Warzone, resulting in walkouts. Meanwhile, Phil Spencer talks about the Xbox platform including a dubious remark that he spends "zero energy" on the console wars, Ubisoft launches their first foray into NFTs with Ghost Recon: Breakpoint to immediate disapproval on YouTube and Apple reveals the most popular games on the App Store in 2021. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday give the last word on the Game Awards 2021, talking about the award winners and running down of what excited them most among the new games that were announced.
While wondering why Untitled Goose Game was a suggested holiday gift for "gamers" in 2021, David Radd experienced all the set up and almost no pay-off for Gravity Rush Remastered's story, played the greatest take on Defender of all time in Resogun and manages to Slay the Spire in one attempt. Tuesday, meanwhile, is pushing the activate button along every wall to try and find secrets in Dusk and can't help but deal with fecal matter in The Binding of Issac: Repentance. In news, CD Projekt still has hopes for the long term of Cyberpunk 2077, including multiplayer for it and the Witcher franchises with the new-gen versions still on track for 2022 and GOG seeing a restructuring after losing money. In sales, the Switch reportedly has its best Black Friday ever in the U.K. while the Xbox Series S sells very well due to its basic availability. Epic also purchases Harmonix (though not to make more Rock Band instruments) and the Grinch Bot Act is introduced in congress to protect buyers from predatory bots buying up items for resellers. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday run down their agreed upon list of the new characters added in DLC to Smash 4 and Smash Ultimate, the winner shouldn't surprise anyone who pays attention to SNGP.
While wondering about the veracity of many modern "gameplay" trailers, David Radd has been summoning dragons (yes really) in Dead Island: Retro Rampage while being thankful for the slower game mode in Ghostrunner, Tuesday, meanwhile is dealing with friendly fire in Helldivers and wonders if they're actually playing Resident Evil 6 in Resident Evil: Revelations 2's raid mode. In news, strife continues to engulf Activision as Bobby Kotick's position appears more in peril and criticism from the outside mounts. Ubisoft also is dealing with departures (and one return) while Far Cry 6 has sold well, at least. Electronic Arts has seen key departures from their Dragon Age and Battlefield teams while various sales reports suggest the Xbox Series S has sold well, as has Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl while Neo: The World Ends With You has not. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday both talk about their time with Sandlot's alien blasting adventure: Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair.
While wishing and waiting for a future of embracing hybrid game conferences, David Radd played a truckload of games on Game Pass, including 12 Minutes and its bizzare final-act twist, River City Girls and its terrible dialog, It Takes Two and its gameplay variety, Ori and the Unearned Emotional Moments, and Mighty Goose with his pig companion: Commander Vark. Tuesday, meanwhile, fits the theming of the episode by playing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars while continuing to tell their mother that they don't have time because they're trying to kill Mother in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance. In the truckload of news, it's fittingly lead off with Activision and reports over what Bobby Kotick knew and when he knew it, along with some less-than-stellar Call of Duty: Vanguard sales indications. Meanwhile, plenty of Xbox news came out of the event marking 20 years since the brand's launch, with some indications that Starfield won't be shown off until Summer 2022 and that Fallout 5 is a ways off. Finally, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has a rough launch and the Game Awards announce the nominees for 2021. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday discuss Grand Theft Auto III and its 20 year legacy.
Insomniac's Wolverine game is getting the writer from Spec Ops: The Line, but that game is still years away. In the meantime, SNGP host David Radd has been enjoying breaking rocks in Super Stardust Ultra and is baffled by the low-res graphics and imprecise gameplay of A Boy and His Blob. Tuesday spent some time with David getting in some First Class Trouble, though lets be honest, Tuesday mostly played The Binding of Isaac: Repentance. In news, Nintendo reveals how well they are doing in their Q2 2021 fiscal report, Devolver Digital has an IPO on London's AIM exchange where Sony PlayStation made a 5 percent investment, A Better Ubisoft Group seeks public support for their cause improving the working conditions at the publisher and Square Enix claims that Crystal Dynamics was a poor fit for the Marvel Avengers game. In the SNGP Topic, David and Tuesday discuss the very dry business reasons game conferences first came into being, their extremely online present given the pandemic and their likely hybrid future they're likely to see with both.
As much fun as the online Squid Game of trying to snag a PS5 is, David Radd has also been getting some co-op ninja action in with Shadow of the Ninja, plays a round of Mario Golf: Super Rush, and feels a bit let down by The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. Meanwhile, Tuesday takes out hordes of Ridden (don't call them zombies) in Back 4 Blood and also tries out some Children of Morta, surprisingly not in Rogue-like mode. In news, Activision Blizzard is covered extensively, from small stories like Vicarious Visions losing its name, Digital Legends being bought to make Call of Duty mobile games, and Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV being delayed to 2023, to larger stories like Blizzard co-leader Jen O'Neal leaving after three months in the position and Bobby Kotick calling attention to his salary reduction (something the SOC Investment Group says in inadequate). Meanwhile, Sony PlayStation reports a record second quarter, is still aiming to hit sales targets despite supply constraints, forms the PlayStation PC label, and seemingly updated the PS5 so the CMOS battery failing is no longer an issue. Ubisoft also released its quarterly report, detailing the success of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, that Assassin's Creed Infinity will not be a free-to-play game and that The Division Heartland, Rocksmith+ and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake are all being delayed. Speaking of delays, the Cyberpunk 2077 roadmap proved false as everything was shifted to 2022. In the SNGP topic, Tuesday recounts the odd quirks and failings of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, while David can't contain his incredulity about the game's B-plot, worthy of a bad fan-fic.
The Switch Online + Expansion Pack launch is a bit of a disappointment, but we have other games to play here at SNGP! David Radd played some Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn but spends more time complaining about the YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story VN he was watching simultaneously and enjoys taking pictures of ghosts but doesn't like trotting back and forth across a dilapidated Japanese village in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Meanwhile, Tuesday gets curbstomped by Matador in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and gets annoyed by all the generic ghosts in Luigi's Mansion 3. In SNGP news, Activision Blizzard is denied a pause in the alleged ethics violations lawsuit, renamed McCree in Overwatch, reduced the hard-drive crushing size of Call of Duty Vanguard and cancelled BlizzCon (again). In the vanishingly small non-Activision half of the news, Suda51 talks about future plans for Grasshopper Manufacture while the company is purchased by NetEase, the Xbox Series receives a dashboard update and Xbox hardware revenue goes up with the new system launch (other revenue stays flat), while Epic signs publishing deals with Eyes Out and Spry Fox while CD Project acquires Molasses Flood, developers of The Flame in the Flood. In the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday tackle the surprise PlayStation State of Play, which had a lot of focus on mid-tier games, and go beyond the trailers to lay out all the important information for the 10 games shown off at the event.
Everything's gone pear-shaped, but fortunately we like fruit at SNGP. David Radd is redoing whole turns in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, is done with Alien: Isolation long before the credits roll and wonders why all these Japanese villagers are delivering lines in poorly-acted English in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Meanwhile, Tuesday learns about time-zones in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School and tries to avoid sub-quests in Nier Replicant. In SNGP news, the Switch Online Expansion Pack was priced and people aren't happy, the Xbox won't be getting VR though still wants to expand and make the best AAA games while missing Xbox Game Pass subscriber targets, Valve blocked NFTs and blockchain products while revealing the Steam Deck compatibility rating system and the PS5 ended the Switch's nearly three-year reign as the top selling console in the U.S. For the SNGP topic, David and Tuesday gush about their love for the first Silent Hill game.
Crafting elements do not a crafting game make, but David Radd isn't worrying about that too much while playing Alien: Isolation - Prepare to Hide Edition while he fusses over the Greil Mercenaries equipment in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Meanwhile, Tuesday travels deeper into horror in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School and Siren while realizing that Guilty Gear Accent Core + is actually pretty challenging. The news saw SIE head Jim Ryan talking about wanting to reach a larger audience, Metroid Dread and the Switch OLED selling quite well, the California DFEH is accused of ethics violations for their proposed settlement with Activision Blizzard, and Google counter-suing Epic for breach of contract. This week's SNGP topic takes David and Tuesday to the Black Sage Ranch, where they experience the real-world horror of a cult and the scars it can leave in Sagebrush.
Another week, another Ubisoft live-service game was announced in Ghost Recon Frontline, but David Radd isn't worrying about that since he's talking about how Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's story needs the context of Path of Radiance and experiences a game without any context in the horror Looney Tunes title that is The Evil Within. Meanwhile, Tuesday enjoys Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania even while being baffled by it's expensive and limited DLC while finding out the travails of naming a major NPC SpongeBob in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. In SNGP news, Sony has acquired Bluepoint Games and David and Tuesday discuss which games they might remaster next, Twitch gets hacked after launching a pilot program for paid channel boosting, Capcom announces it will focus more on PC releases and the 2021 Japan Game Awards saw their Grand Prize go to both Ghost of Tsushima and Monster Hunter Rise, somehow. In this week's topic, David and Tuesday list their personal top five Silent Hill environments, with inclusions from all four Team Silent titles.
The Bayonettacast never ends here on SNGP but David Radd's time with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice does, and he ponders if The Evil Within is a comedy and specifies his take on a (theoretical) Fire Emblem: Radiant Duology remake, while Tuesday dives into the demo of Yoko Taro's latest game Voice of Cards and tries to tolerate a Soulslike in Darksiders III. In news, Activision Blizzard reaches a settlement with EEOC, Sony's PS5 is the fastest selling console in U.K. history as they pick up Fabrik, Netflix shows their serious about games by acquiring Oxenfree developers Night School Studio, and Crystal Dynamics is contracted to remake Perfect Dark. And right at the time of Shin Megami Tensei V's release, David and Tuesday go deep into the details of the last numbered game in the franchise Shin Megami Tensei IV, discussing its merits and flaws.
In this week's SNGP, David Radd has plenty of follow-up thoughts on Metroid: Samus Returns before talking about the amazing lead up to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's final act, confirms that Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn has too many units, and runs into Trine 3's abrupt ending while Tuesday probed some earthlings in Destroy All Humans! and likes the environmental design in Darksiders II (distinct from the world-building). In news, Activision Blizzard is dealing with even more departures and investigations by government entities, THQ Nordic revealed a bunch of sequels, remakes and license games in their 10th Anniversary event, Apple blocks Fortnite from the App Store to Tim Sweeney's chagrin, and Twitch signs a deal with National Music Publisher Association to hopefully have fewer streamers get DMCA strikes for incidental music clips. The SNGP topic goes into everything that was at the Nintendo Direct September 2021, including and especially the witchy surprise at the end.
In this SNGP, David Radd returns to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and is reminded of how great it is and continues to not use Meg in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, while Tuesday has mixed feelings on the single-player content in WarioWare: Get it Together. In news, a lot came out in a recent Platinum interview, including about Bayonetta 3, Star Fox Zero for Switch and that the Astral Chain director is working on a new project. Meanwhile, Apple and Epic both manage to end up losing the long-running lawsuit somehow, the PS5 gets long awaited SSD storage capability and Activision Blizzard sees their legal troubles grow (again). For the topic, both David and Tuesday risked wrist strain by holding down the shoulder buttons on the 3DS for Metroid: Samus Returns.
In SNGP 12, what's lighting up our system comes at the start when it should; David Radd gives an update on Metroid: Samus Returns and pokes at Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, while Tuesday finishes Boyfriend Dungeon and has mixed feelings on Dead Cells. In news, Toshiba confirms that chips will be in short supply which means scarcer consoles, the Tripwire president trips over his words and leaves, Sonic Colors Ultimate has a buggy launch particularly on Switch and Sony allows free upgrades for Horizon Forbidden West, reaches a console sales milestone in Japan and acquires VR specialists and former SIE Liverpool veterans in Firesprite. In this week's SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about all of the games shown off at the 2021 PlayStation Showcase. As much as David would like for it to have been called the PlayStation Experience, it was in fact called the PlayStation Showcase, which is not as good a name for Jim Ryan's Stand.
This week on the lucky eleventh episode of SNGP, we go straight into news, where China is limiting the hours that minors can play games (yes, that's a thing they can do), Apple allows outside payments for apps on the iPhone, streamers took a day-off Twitch in protest to hate raids, and the producer of Tekken 7 and the creators of Yakuza, PUBG, and the NES/SNES design all leave their respective companies. Meanwhile, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was not lighting up David Radd's system this week, but he did get a chance to shoot all of the bad guys in Hard Corps: Uprising, grind it out in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and slog through a bit of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn while watching some Twitch VODs, while Tuesday returns to Boyfriend Dungeon, and does like the writing but isn't fond of the combat, and goes retro again by sampling some Okami. In the SNGP topic, the pair discuss the parameters of the Rogue-like genre, citing the very official sounding International Roguelike Development Conference's "Berlin Interpretation".
In the tenth SNGP, David Radd makes significant progress in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and completes the end of the opening Path of Exile campaign (which is really the end of the beginning now). Tuesday meanwhile revisits Muramasa Rebirth and tries the WarioWare: Get It Together! demo while disappointing David by not playing Boyfriend Dungeon. In news, the Activision lawsuit expands to include contractors and the company tries to turn the page to Call of Duty: Vanguard. Also, Horizon: Forbidden West got pushed back to 2022, Halo Infinite was confirmed for December 2021, streaming comes to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a new Saints Row and Marvel's Midnight Suns debuted at Gamescom 2021. For this week's SNGP topic, David and Tuesday talk about Onimusha: Warlords more than any doctor would recommend.
In this week's SNGP, David Radd can't help but rave about Dragon Age Origins a bit more before talking about how he actually played a couple missions in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and was grinding it out in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, while Tuesday went full Rogue-lite this week with their newest obsession Undermine and the quirky but short Boyfriend Dungeon. No Activision news this week (surprisingly), but there was further details on Xbox Game Pass on other consoles (not happening), Nintendo's solid sales over the summer, the Cyberpunk 2077 1.3 patch right as the game was discounted heavily and sales bottomed out, and finally Twitch having to deal with harassment of minority streamers and gambling referral codes. This week's SNGP topic, David and Tuesday go into the differences between interactive experiences and video games while relating their time with Virginia and Paratopic, respectively.
This episode of SNGP sees David Radd finally exit Enter the Gungeon (but not Exit the Gungeon) and deals with bosses in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice both cheaply and not; meanwhile, Tuesday continues playing Diablo III while contending with the Prime Evil of Guilt. In news, the continuing story around Activision is covered including a shareholder response, and there's also ID@Xbox with a focus on indie games for Xbox Game Pass, what happened at Nintendo's IndieWorld Showcase and Sony purchasing Crunchyroll for over $1 billion. In the topic, David and Tuesday both played all six origins from Dragon Age Origins, from Commoner Dwarf to Human Noble, and they give their thoughts on that.
It's SNGP again, and David Radd can barely take more of this in Enter the Gungeon, hardly touched Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and took some hesitant steps into Path of Exile while still loving Sekiro; Tuesday plays the literally ugly game Fury Unleashed and went back to Diablo III (for some season). In news, it's all bad for Activision Blizzard (even the earnings report), Ubisoft is undergoing similar tumult, Sony confirmed it will supply 12 million more PS5s by the end of the fiscal year and Grand Theft Auto V surpasses 150 million lifetime sales. In the topic, David and Tuesday turn to the scandals enveloping Activision Blizzard and detail various game companies they are boycotting past present and (possibly) in the future.
This week's SNGP, David Radd barely makes any progress in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Enter the Gungeon while taking on a drunk sumo in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice while Tuesday plays Metal Dogs (which isn't very Rogue-lite despite its description) and cringes at the dialog in Neo: The World Ends with You. In news, the two discuss the ongoing labor situation with Activision Blizzard, along with game music at the Olympics, the PS5 selling 10 million units and the establishment of a new AAA studio That's No Moon. The SNGP topic deals with SNGP itself, namely the origins of how the podcast came to be.
In the latest ventures into video game land, David gives an update on the dubiously useful Enter the Gungeon shortcuts and raves about the opening of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice while Tuesday hears the Call of Duty for Modern Warfare 2 (and wishes they could unhear it for WWII). In news, EA Play occurred with Dead Space being confirmed to be alive (so to speak), Ubisoft announces Tom Clancy's XDefiant while they shut down Tom Clancy's Elite Squad as the circle of life for service games is discussed, Nintendo says there's no plans for a new Switch after the OLED version, and players appear to be leaving World of Warcraft in droves which seems to be benefiting Final Fantasy XIV. In the SNGP topic of the week, Doki Doki Literature Club is discussed and Monika is surely aware of that.
In this episode, David Radd talks about banging his head on the Gungeon walls and taking a trip in the game Virginia, while Tuesday relates their experiences in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. In news, the Steam Deck has been announced and it's already made a big splash, while Sony's July 2021 State of Play, various delays to 2022 and the celebration of 25 years of Persona are also discussed. In the SNGP topic of the week, David and Tuesday discuss the studio acquisitions of Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, distinguish between studios that have always been internal and those later acquired, and talk about the different strategies that the big three maintain.
This week on SNGP, David Radd talks about his adventure in Shinobi Legions with its wonderfully goofy tokusatsu ninja FMVs, while Tuesday played the deceptive horror game Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. In news, they discuss the new Switch OLED, what's coming to EA Play (and what isn't), along with the future of Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed. Sonic Forces is this week's topic, where David tried to make the goofiest Sonic original character possible, Tuesday can't help but think of the main bad guy as "Edgelord" and both are surprised at how sub-par the 2D Sonic parts are.
In the second episode of SNGP, David Radd goes in depth on his experience with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag while Tuesday talks about their latest Rogue-lite adventures. In news, Cyberpunk 2077 returns to the PlayStation Store, and Tuesday and David detail the brief yet eventful life the game has had so far. In the topic of the week, the history of Sonic the Hedgehog games is detailed for Sonic's 30th anniversary, discussing the twists and turns the Sega's mascot has experienced since being introduced on the Genesis.
In this first episode of SNGP, David Radd talks about the importance of Shinobi for PS2 and Middle Earth: Shadow of War as a reflection of his tastes, while Tuesday talks about their love of Binding of Issac and Onimusha. They then go into the news, most of which is related to E3 2021 (like Microsoft securing the exclusivity of Bethesda's properties and the sales of Metroid games) and end by talking about what they liked and didn't like in the recent E3, where Nintendo had a very strong showing and Square Enix's press conference is talked about a lot, for better or worse.