The Bobby Blackwolf Show: Recent Episodes
Bobby Blackwolf Studios
A weekly internet radio show and podcast discussing the latest news in gaming as well as sometimes reminiscing about gaming's history. It records LIVE on Sundays at 8PM Eastern/5PM Pacific on the VOG (Voice of Geeks) Network Twitch Channel while taking live calls via Discord and including chat room interaction.
I will be moderating two panels at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo from July 31-August 2nd in Atlanta!Microsoft restores an unrestorable 25 year old account that was hacked after learning the user was a prominent content creator.Valve has says that the RAM crisis is going to get worse, as they are seeing leading indicators that prices will rise even more for consumers in 3-6 months time.A new update to SteamVR and a new Great On Frame page means that the Steam Frame release is imminent. (But not Tomorrow.)Then we talk about the Donkey Kong LEGO set as well as talking to Jamie from OLR about how messy our office spaces are and home videos we have on analog media.
EA Sports has reversed course and taken out unpopular singleplayer microtransactions from College Football 27 thanks to backlash from their own content creator network.Xbox lays off most of iD Software, including many long time employees with deep institutional knowledge, and then says that the team is the same size as it was 10 years ago and this is good, actually.Bethesda's employee union is protesting the layoffs, especially considering some employees who had been with the company for decades were laid off.Then we talk to OLR about game collecting in this new era of digital-only distribution.
A Steam Machine case based on the Companion Cube from Portal is no longer being made - because the company never had permission to make it in the first place.Sony is going to stop producing physical discs starting in January 2028.Sony is shutting down their PS3 and PS Vita digital stores over the next year.Some game preservation groups have said what the only real option is to preserve the artform, and the publishers don't like it.
We talk more about the FIFA World Cup and the matches I attended in Atlanta.Jersey Jack Pinball has announced a new pinball machine based on Sonic The Hedgehog, and the headlines once again focus on the high price of owning pinball. Find a pinball arcade near you and request it so you can play it for just a dollar or two!The Steam Machine has launched with a price much higher than Valve initially intended due to the RAM and storage shortages.Valve has released a new version of SteamOS that can now run on any AMD desktop - for free.Grand Theft Auto VI will not release with a physical edition on consoles, and it came out later that it will NEVER launch with a physical edition.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR IIDX about Transformers Pinball and the 24th anniversary of Orange Lounge Radio.
I went to two World Cup matches this week, so we start the show talking about sports and the cultural exchange that is happening.We remember Bobby Prince, the composer who worked on many 90's era DOS games like Doom and Commander Keen. He passed away at the age of 81.Xbox is possibly closing Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory, in order to "reset" the business.Unreal Engine 6 will be removing blueprints and C++ and replacing them with new technologies that are more friendly for LLM's. They are also wanting to bring every UE6 game into the Fortnite ecosystem.Then we talk to Jamie about Pokemon and Transformers pinball.
Valve will no longer sell physical gift cards in retail locations because of scammers using the cards to steal innocent people's money.Xbox has said that more layoffs and studio closures are coming to "reset" the business.The ESA says that the No Fakes act that is currently going through congress to regulate "digital replicas" will "destroy the game industry". This leads into a discussion of how much actors get paid - even in TV and film.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about Dead by Daylight announcements.
Summer Game Fest was this week, so we talk about the games that Sony, Microsoft, and third parties showed at this Not-E3 week. Included in this is the whiplash of 1666: Amsterdam between the trailer and the playable prologue, the difference between Tupac's estate and his family, and my hopeful take on Persona 6's direction.Crazy Taxi: World Tour was also announced, but has a disclaimer that generative AI was used in the assets, which makes it a non-starter for many fans.The Switch 2 will get a redesign in Europe that allows for an easily replaceable battery due to new EU regulations. Don't expect this design to come to the US, but any new Switch (such as a lite or OLED model) will most likely have the same feature.Then we talk to OLR about Summer Game Fest.
The Doom soundtrack has been inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry!Stern Pinball has announced their new pinball machine based on the Transformers cartoon series, and why you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to play it.Sony has announced that they will no longer be porting their single-player games to PC, keeping them PS5 exclusive.Then we talk about more thoughts on Forza Horizon 6 as the seasonal objectives start coming in.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about Momocon's vtuber meet and greet setup and the Transformers Pinball.
I played through Mixtape via Xbox Game Pass and I enjoyed it - but it's not going to be my GOTY and it didn't really reflect on my personal experience growing up in that time period.But you can wait for a sale - Mixtape's music licenses were agreed to in perpetuity, so the game will not be delisted.I then talk a lot about Forza Horizon 6, and how we've started to enter the roster update phase of one of my favorite game series. (But I'm still loving it)A bill in California has passed committee that will make it illegal for games to be sold that will be unplayable when the publisher shuts down online servers.Then we talk to Brad from OLR IIDX about Forza Horizon 6 and how it scales its difficulty levels.
I got the Steam Controller, and give my early impressions, as well as bemoan the fact that it can only be used in Steam and not in any other PC gaming content, such as games from Xbox Game Pass or Play Anywhere.Valve is implementing a reservation queue for future shipments of the Steam Controller due to the popularity of the first wave of orders.Nintendo has increased the price of the Switch 2 due to the AI infrastructure roll out - memory and storage is more expensive now than it was when the Switch 2 was initially manufactured.New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced that Xbox Copilot for Consoles is being discontinued, so there will not be an AI chatbot added to Xbox consoles as originally planned.Then we take a call from a blind gamer sharing how Civilization V is now completely playable for blind players thanks to a recent mod.Then we talk to Jamie about accessibility and how Dolby Atmos audio works.
I was in Indiana visiting in-laws last week, and this led to a discussion of "third spaces", and a third space I wish was near me - a coffee and board gaming space in Greenfield, Indiana called Hitherto Coffee & Gaming Parlour.The Steam Controller went on sale the day after we went live (and sold out almost instantly) - but the trick is to get funds into your Steam Wallet beforehand so you're not hitting any payment processors.There is a new DRM check for PS4 and PS5 online purchases - but it's not as bad as everyone might think, and it might actually be a good thing for another pro-consumer policy.Xbox is dropping the price of Game Pass, with Ultimate going from $30 to $23 a month, and also removing the perk of having new Call of Duty's on the service from day one...but will people care?There is a new LEGO set for the Sega Genesis - and for once, it is a video game set that is not expensive!Then we talk to Jamie from OLR IIDX about Game Pass and third spaces.
Sorry this was uploaded weeks late - a lot of things happened. We're getting caught up very quickly, though!I was at a tech conference this past week and it was a dystopia regarding agentic AI...and the agents didn't even work properly!While I was in town, I visited the new Nintendo San Francisco store!On the flight home, I started playing Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream, and I'm not as drawn into it as I was the original DS version.There is a new retro console that plays the original cartridges - the Neo Geo+ AES - and is also coming with 10 cartridge rereleases that work on the original hardware.An indie game trailer dealing with serious subjects was pulled from the BAFTA Games Awards while BAFTA talked about championing games dealing with serious subjects.Then we talk to Jamie about the Neo Geo+ AES.
I was on Jury Duty on an 8 day case. Nothing about video games and nothing really juicy, but it was a drain on me.Amazon is shutting down parts of Luna, taking away people's access to games they paid for, and not offering any refunds.The indie developer behind Papers, Please has come out and stated that they will no longer talk about new projects because they are afraid that AI will take them and release something worse before he can be finished.Nintendo is deleting Super Mario Maker 2 levels because they contain hashtags for Mario Maker communities - claiming it is advertising and against the Terms of Service.A chatter says that they miss Video Games Live - but Video Games Live has several shows this year, including one this month.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR IIDX about cats and game streaming services.
Stormgate, an indie online multiplayer game, is shutting down its online servers because their provider, Hathora, has been purchased by Fireworks AI who are turning the online game servers into AI servers.Rec Room is shutting down in June, despite having over 150 million players.Snapchat's parent company has purchased some of Rec Room's assets and hired some of the talent to help them foster an online community.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about April Fools jokes that didn't fool us this year.
EverQuest Legends has been announced - a version of EverQuest that goes back to 1999 but adds features to allow the entire game to be soloable.Sony is increasing the PS5 price by $100 to $150 due to the AI infrastructure roll out taking all of the RAM and storage away from consumer products.Epic Games lays off 1000 Fortnite developers, including leads who were influential in Fortnite's continued success, because their legal fights with Apple and Google took more money than they thought.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about our desired nostalgia bait.
My first job was at Blockbuster Video, so I had to try Retro Rewind: Video Store Simulator.The Metaverse is no longer in VR - according to Meta - they are moving Horizon Worlds off of VR and onto mobile.Nvidia announced DLSS 5 and a vocal part of the internet rallied against it...but what about the majority that aren't terminally online?Bethesda reacted to the reactions and said they would be looking at the tech more before implementing it.Then we talk to DarkSakura about generative AI and where it might be able to be used ethically.
We do start talking about retro computing with the Commodore 64 Ultimate - especially navigating BBS's in 2026 and how they differ from the standard internet we are used to today."Major Nelson" Larry Hryb, formerly of Xbox and Unity, has joined Commodore as a Community Development Advisor.Zen Studios announced that their line of Zen Pinball software is being renamed, and that World Cup Soccer is being delisted at the end of March.EA has laid off a number of developers that worked on Battlefield 6 despite it breaking records - reportedly because it didn't break the records by enough.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about why you should play World Cup Soccer Pinball.
I finally got my Commodore 64 Ultimate Starlight Edition! It's probably the best thing I'll buy all year, but it might not be for you.Valve say that the Steam Machine is still coming this year, just a little bit later than they had hoped.Nintendo is suing the US Government over the 2025 tariffs that affected the Switch 2 launch.Then we talk to Jamie about FPGA based recreations of retro hardware.
The Muppet*Vision 3D experience from the Disney parks is coming to the Apple Vision Pro - and other VR devices.A game archival site is going to go offline because it cannot afford to stay online due to various factors including the increasing cost of RAM and storage due to the global AI infrastructure roll-out.The State of New York is suing Valve over their use of loot boxes, possibly hoping to set a legal precedent to go after larger corporations with deeper pockets and better lawyers.Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about loot boxes and the "gaming" industry.
I was at Dice & Diversions and played a bunch of board games, and I talk about two of them - Magical Athlete, and Draft & Write Records.The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack's Virtual Boy collection has released, and I did buy the $100 piece of plastic to get the headaches I remember.There was a shakeup at Xbox - CEO Phil Spencer retired, President Sarah Bond resigned, and Asha Sharma, a former AI executive, is now CEO.Then we talk to Jamie about the Xbox shakeup and how we can be cautiously optimistic - IF they learn from their mistakes.
At the Sony State of Play, there was a new Digital Eclipse collection released for Rayman's 30th Anniversary - and I didn't get it on launch, going back on my word that their collections were now day one purchases.Steam Decks are now out of stock and Valve doesn't know when they'll be able to manufacture more. This is most likely because of the RAM shortage because AI companies have already ordered more RAM than factories can produce right now.Because of this, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame are also delayed and will not launch in the first quarter of 2026 like originally announced.Riot Games has laid off the majority of the team that built 2KXO two weeks after the game left early access. What is the actual plan for live service games to keep their teams after releasing the core product?Then we talk to Jamie at OLR about the new Stern Pinball release - Pokemon.
I spend the first part of the show excited about my Commodore 64 Ultimate shipping this month and talk about my favorite C64 game as a kid that most people had never heard of - Agent USA. (It wasn't that great.)There is a class action lawsuit in the UK against Valve over their 30% fee on every transaction, and I explain why Valve is the target right now and not any of the other storefronts that also have a 30% fee.Sony has patented a controller that has movable buttons on a touchscreen, and I talk about why it will be great as an option, but not a replacement for tactile buttons.Then we talk to OLR about accessible controllers.
Dice and Diversions, a tabletop/board gaming convention in Atlanta, has been postponed to February due to the ice storm.Forza Horizon 6 was shown off on the Xbox Developer Direct, but no, you will not be flying a Gundam.I got the PlayStation VR2 PC Adapter, and getting the controllers to work over Bluetooth was a multi-day struggle.A VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 was removed due to CD Projekt Red not allowing the modder to charge money for it.Ubisoft cancels six games and delays seven others in order to concentrate on what they think players want.Then we talk to OLR about the Cyberpunk 2077 mod and about launching the second season of the long running podcast.
I was going to be at a tabletop/board game convention next weekend in Atlanta called Dice & Diversions, however mid-week it was postponed to Feburary.An Alternate Reality Game released on Steam in 2018 recently got a lot of negative reviews for being "too hard" because apparently younger people can't send an email correctly.Meta has exited the VR Gaming business, shutting down three of its VR gaming studio acquisitions.Meta is also refocusing its remaining VR studios to be more AI and wearable devices focused, rather than with VR.Then we talk to Jamie about the upcoming debut of Orange Lounge Radio IIDX and where Meta went wrong.
I am back from Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, where we raised over $2.4 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation!I talk about the runs that I hosted, and even quasi-commentated, as was the case with the maimai DX PRiSM Plus arcade showcase.I also talk about AGDQ's move to Atlanta for 2027, and why the city is more welcoming than many people not from around here are led to believe.LEGO has announced a "smart brick" at CES, which has no generative AI but will allow for more technology to be put into certain builds.
I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 next week!We remember Vince Zampella, who we tragically lost this week. He was a force in the gaming industry, even if you weren't someone who regularly played the games he brought to us.Nvidia has announced that a 100 hour per month limit is coming to ALL GeForce Now customers starting January 1st, where previously it was only for new subscribers.I took a look at Daytona USA VR in VRChat and discussed why VRChat is the metaverse billionaires wanted.
I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 the first week of January - tune in!I'm also hosting the English Restream of RTA In Japan Winter 2025 THIS WEEK!Reviews are out for the Commodore 64 Ultimate, and I wish I had bought one earlier so I would have it now.The Video Game History Foundation has released a bunch of ROMs of the 90's era Sega Channel, so you can relive the 90's goodness on your own emulator.Some of Arcade1up's assets have been sold to competitor Basic Fun! who entered the home arcade business earlier this year.The Indie Game Awards have revoked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's awards due to the use of generative AI in development.Then we take a call about generative AI usage in the world.
I'm going to be a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, and I can finally announce when! I'll be hosting Mario Kart World, Jak 3, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Super Metroid, and maimai DX PRiSM Plus!The rest of this episode is actually about our trip to Orlando's theme parks, focusing on Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe, but we do talk a little bit about the newer rides at the Disney parks.We also take a call to talk about Ranma's trip to Super Nintendo World in Japan.
I finally built the LEGO Game Boy, and I go through the elements that it has and the different ways it can be displayed.The USS Enterprise LEGO set came out on Black Friday, but there is a bad typo on the stickers.Tim Sweeney believes Steam should not require developers to disclose if Generative AI was used to make their games, since he claims everyone will use it eventually.Nintendo is buying a Bandai Namco studio in Singapore that assisted with game development.Then we take a caller to talk about the Saudi Arabia influence in the newly resurrected Overwatch League.
There were several debuts on this day, such as Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, but also the final episode of Orange Lounge Radio was done right after my show, and we say goodbye.I will be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 in January! Schedule will be posted in mid December.I am a sucker for the Picross series of nonogram games on the Nintendo Switch, and there are two new games celebrating Capcom and SNK, but they are twice the price of their predecessors.A US Lawmaker has taken aim at the use of Generative AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and calls for regulations to protect jobs.Vedinad, a nominee for Best Debut Indie Games at The Game Awards, has withdrawn his nomination because Megabonk is not his debut indie game release.Then we talk to Rob about Orange Lounge Radio: The Final.
I checked out the Atari 50 Namco DLC and was pleasantly surprised about how well it treated the Atari 2600 Pac-Man port as the programming masterpiece that it is.Valve has announced three new pieces of Steam Hardware to come out in early 2026 - a new Steam Machine, a new Steam Controller, and the successor to the Index VR device, the Steam Frame.Then we talk to Rob about Atari 50 and finally watching the end of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection "dokumentary" and who was left out of the stories.
I did in fact get the Star Trek: Strategic Operations Command tree ornament from Hallmark, and I realized Hallmark is my Funko Pop with regards to spending on geek trinkets.Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed six months, and I believe it is because they fired key employees in an effort to bust unionization efforts at Rockstar North.People have spotted a "PC Cross-Buy" icon in the PlayStation Store.Digital Eclipse is launching a new Atari 50 chapter about the Namco partnership, including talking about the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man.Then we talk to Rob about the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection and the Atari 50 collection, as well as the final month of Orange Lounge Radio episodes.
I did get the Hallmark Xbox 360 ornament, and it does not red ring.Digital Eclipse's Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is out, and while the documentary is great, it isn't the main focus, and apparently the online play is falling very short of expectations.Nintendo has won a lawsuit against a pirate who streamed leaked games.Nintendo has lost a patent claim in Japan that it was using to go against Palworld - for now.Then we talk to Rob about Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection and Dragon Quest I+II HD-2D Remake.
25 years ago today, the PlayStation 2 launched in the US. I recount my lonely camping out at a local store that nobody knew had PS2's, only to get a PS2 that didn't work.Once Upon A Katamari is a new entry in my favorite game series, and reviewers love it but there's an aspect of it I'm not as much a fan of.Microsoft has told the Xbox division that they must make 30% profit margins, something that no game company has been able to do. This explains why Xbox has made the decisions they have made for the past year.Then we talk about how Microsoft has opted all users of the Xbox Game Bar on PC into a Microsoft Copilot feature that periodically takes screenshots of your gameplay and sends it to their AI for learning - even if it's a game you're developing and under NDA.
I spend a lot of time in this episode telling you about Blippo+, the FMV art project originally on the Playdate console but now on Steam and Switch. It's not for everybody, but it might be for you...But first, we talk a little bit about my time with a (company owned) Meta Quest 3 VR headset, and why I'm still being a sucker and buying the Nintendo Switch Online's Virtual Boy plastic case.Atari has announced an Intellivision console that will actually ship - the Intellivision Spirit - with 45 games. No cartridge port, though.Then we talk to Rob about TRON: Ares (we haven't seen it yet) and the Intellivision Spirit.
I give my early impressions of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles after revisiting it for the first time in decades.Microsoft has stated that they are still committed to making traditional consoles.Nintendo has sued a moderator of a Switch piracy subreddit.Then we talk to Rob about Tron: Ares and the upcoming final episode of Orange Lounge Radio.
EA is being purchased by private investors in 2027, and will immediately be saddled with $20billion worth of debt when the deal closes. (EA made $7.5billion in revenue in 2025.)There is a vulnerability in all games using the Unity Runtime released since 2017, so all of those games must be patched before some systems will be allowed to run them.Microsoft has changed up the Xbox Game Pass system to incur higher prices, meaning it is no longer the best deal in gaming.Then we talk to Rob about Game Pass and why it might be a failing of Xbox leadership.
We have an update about the game preservation story from last episode with some more context on why this might not be as big of a disaster as we first claimed.EA was rumored to be going private by being purchased by several investors representing Saudi Arabia. (This was confirmed the day after we recorded this episode.)Doug Bowser announced his retirement as the President of Nintendo of America.Microsoft has announced that there is yet another price increase on Xbox consoles thanks to "macroeconomic conditions."Then we talk to Rob about the music festival I went to last week and how I'm too out of shape to attend music festivals.
The Virtual Boy is making a comeback on Nintendo Switch Online - but you'll have to buy an expensive piece of plastic or cardboard to use it.A devkit and prototype game collection was seized by UK police, and preservationists are fighting to get it back. (There's more to this story that came to light after recording this episode.)Nintendo has been awarded new patents on gameplay revolving around Pokemon battles - but could be used for more general things like summons in JRPG's.Then we talk to Rob about Donkey Kong: Bananza.
I'm back from Dragon Con and got to moderate some panels! I also talk about the artist who was kicked out of artist alley for selling AI art and explain exactly why they were kicked out and exactly why (and which) police were involved.Hollow Knight: Silksong released and broke the internet - and maybe makes a great case as for why digital preorders should actually be a thing.Some indie developers are upset at Silksong's $20 price tag because they can't afford to sell their game for $20 and it isn't as feature rich as Silksong.Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con.
I will be at Dragon Con in Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend, moderating Dragon Con's first ever Speedrun Showcase, speaking with the Dad of Boy himself Christopher Judge, and moderating a panel with the cast of SYFY's The Magicians! (Sadly, the Mortal Kombat panel was dropped from the schedule the day after this was recorded!)Sony has raised the price of all models of the PS5 by $50 in the USA due to the tariffs.Gamestop made a PR move saying they would cover the difference if you traded in a last gen console - but that deal was only for 24 hours.Steam now calculates the review score based on reviews in your spoken language to prevent review bombing from other territories - but they give you the option to go back to including all reviews.Then we talk about games that people were excited for at Gamescom, and to Rob about Dragon Con.
I will be at Dragon Con on Labor Day weekend - and I couldn't talk about my schedule as we were recording, but its out now if you go look.Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development team successfully formed a union!Gamescom is bigger than it ever has been before, and it's a model that ESA should have tried with E3.Then we talk more about Dragon Con and why it's different than other conventions.
Sony has announced that the PS5 has sold over 80 million units, which is better than anyone expected.Sony also said that live service games were not going so great, but they are pushing ahead with their plans.Nintendo has denied speedrunning marathon RTA In Japan permission to showcase any Nintendo games.Then we talk to Rob about UFO 50 and Nintendo's survey about why people like physical games (and did not offer my reason as an option!)
We first hear from a viewer about the Microsoft Movies & TV store going away and why they are particularly disappointed in its removal.Itch.io is currently seeking new payment processors to replace the ones who are forcing content guidelines on their service.Itch.io has started to reindex free content that they originally pulled, since you don't need a payment processor to distribute that content.Nintendo is raising hardware prices of OG Switch hardware and some Switch 2 accessories, but not that of the Switch 2 - yet.Then we talk with Rob about how ESPN8: The Ocho should feature speedrunning and why we think esports hasn't really broken into the mainstream despite valiant efforts by the industry.
July 24, 2005 was when the first episode of this podcast was broadcast live via Shoutcast internet radio, so we spend some time looking at how the last 20 years have been with this show.Itch.io has deindexed every title that had sensitive content on its storefront, in response to payment processors who have given in to very small activist groups.Xbox has announced that some titles that were going to be $80 will now be $70 instead.Then we talk to Rob about 20 years in podcasting and $80 titles going away - for now.
I was at ATL Comic Convention and hosted a panel with the actors from Red Dead Redemption 2!Steam has banned many adult games due to guidelines from credit card processors.Microsoft has abruptly killed their Movies and TV store on Windows and Xbox.Then we talk to Rob about buying movies and TV shows directly from consoles rather than streaming.
I'm going to be at ATL Comic Convention on Saturday, July 19th, running a panel with the performance actors from Red Dead Redemption 2 at 2PM!Last week, I was at Summer Games Done Quick 2025, reading donations and helping raise over $2.4million for Doctors Without Borders.The SAG-AFTRA strike against video game companies is now officially over, and everyone is back to work with better pay and more AI protections.Subnautica 2 was delayed despite being ready, the founders of the studio outsted, and a $250million bonus not hit because they will not make their revenue targets by the contracted deadline due to the delay.Then we talk to Rob about the news I missed while I was at SGDQ.
I will be hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2025 on Thursday and Saturday! I'll be hosting a Super Metroid race, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Super Mario 3, and a Kirby Super Star Ultra TAS!I will also be at the ATL Comic Convention on July 19th to moderate a panel with the performance actors of Red Dead Redemption.I was at Southern-Fried Gaming Expo and played some games (including a dual screen Commodore 128 game!), helped run a panel about obscure games, and moderated a panel with video game voice actors.It was rumored (and proven true after recording) that Microsoft was going to lay off thousands of people in their Xbox division.Beat Saber is ending support for PlayStation platforms, and will only allow multiplayer and new DLC for the Steam and Meta Quest platforms going forward.Then we talk to Rob about SFGE and Fantasy Life i.
I'll be at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo speaking on a panel about obscure games and hosting a panel with video game voice actors!A PSA if you have a Nintendo Switch 2 - update your controllers firmware! There is a firmware update and the console does NOT automatically update your controllers.The Switch 2 is now officially Nintendo's fastest selling device, and is most likely the fastest selling video game console ever.The SAG-AFTRA voice actors strike over AI protections has been suspended, which means voice actors are now returning to work.Then we take suggestions from chat about obscure video games that you might have missed, none of which we actually used in the presentation, but it was good hearing them!
We attempt to do two hours of gaming talk in one hour, so buckle up!The ROG Xbox Ally is the handheld Xbox, announced at Summer Game Fest.Geoff Keighley misled at the Summer Game Fest Kickoff Showcase by claiming that dev teams were smaller than they actually were - erasing the many outsourced parts of the game development process.Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is coming from Digital Eclipse, but is not Gold Master Series #4.The Nintendo Switch 2 is both plentiful and hard to find, depending on who you ask.We then talk about the transfer process, gameshare, clip sharing, the official carrying case, and what I played first.Then we talk to Rob about the Nintendo Switch 2.
I was at MomoCon working with the Momentum 2025 speedrun marathon!I will be back at Summer Games Done Quick 2025 as a host!SAG-AFTRA is now pushing back over Fortnite's use of James Earl Jones' voice to say generative AI voice lines instead of trying to work with existing voice actors who have taken over the Darth Vader character in other games.There are a few games that can't run on the Switch 2, but it's really not as surprising or bad as you think.Then we talk to Rob about how we're going to be at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta on June 18-20th and also running a panel about overlooked classic games.
We start off remembering friend of the network Kurt Boutin, who went by "VOByKurt" in our community and on TikTok.Fortnite introduced Darth Vader and utilized an AI trained on James Earl Jones's voice with permission - however this made Vader say some very naughty things.Hideo Kojima wants a game that forgets what it was doing the longer you step away from it as a player.Then we talk to Rob about forgetting things after putting games down, and how to effectively parry in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
We start talking about what was actually leaked regarding the internet cult film Kung Fury, and why you shouldn't be holding your breath for it to come to theaters anytime soon.Giant Bomb has bought itself from Fandom and has become an independently owned media outlet once again.Nintendo has released a new EULA that gives them more power to go after people who engage with piracy.Then we talk to Rob about Super Nintendo World and the Mario Kart ride's seat sizes.
I spent a week on the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady cruise ship, which actually has an impressive board game collection on board.Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed to May of 2026 in a tradition that has been happening since GTA3.EA lays off 300 employees and cancelled the upcoming game in the Titanfall universe.Polygon has been sold from Vox Media to Valnet, and lays off 2/3rd of their staff. Valnet claims that it will still be the quality that is best for Polygon, despite all of its other sites being click-farms.Fandom abruptly shut down all Giant Bomb livestreaming after sending new brand guidelines making everything PG, which caused some influential people to leave the outlet.Unfortunately, my DNS servers went down half way through the show so the show is a little bit shorter and disjointed. (I merely rebooted my router right after going off the air and everything was fine.)
The Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders will finally go live, and while the console hasn't gone up in price, the accessories have.Greater Than Games, the producer of the board games Sentinels of the Multiverse and Spirit Island, is suspending operations in the face of tariff uncertainty in the US.An Atlanta-area game developer is finally entering early access with their retro-styled platform brawler, so take a look at Elemensional Rift.Then we talk to Rob about the Switch 2 prices and preorders.
Nintendo is assessing the tariff situation, and made a statement that the Switch 2 price was not made with the tariffs in mind. The 46% tariffs on Vietnam were paused for 90 days, but the 10% tariff went into effect.If you ask Google and Reddit, the physical version of Mario Kart World is $90 in the US - however, if you ask Nintendo, it is only $80. The confusion is because the internet is broken.Then we ask the multi-million dollar question - how could Mario Kart World's price have been lowered? You probably wouldn't like the answer as a consumer - but it's a reckoning a lot of AAA titles that are feature-filled or take innovation and risks will have to come to grips with.Then we talk to Rob about the price of everything gaming related, even though our wages haven't gone up to pay for it.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was announced on the same day the United States announced sweeping tariffs across every other nation on the planet. This caused the initial pre-orders for the Switch 2 to be delayed in the US.Vietnam, where Nintendo moved production to from China, had come to the negotiating table as of the recording of this show, and after recording this show, the reciprocal 46% tariff has been paused for 90 days (however the initial 10% still remains.)Board Games designed in the US are affected, too, because there just isn't the manufacturing capability or capacity in the US to do the specialty parts that many board games need. This means that board game prices will either soar, or people will just stop designing new board games.Tabletop Game makers are also facing some tough decisions about how to go forward with their business when the only good manufacturing for their niche product is in a highly tariff'd country.
Before the Switch 2 reveal, Nintendo revealed the Virtual Game Card system, a solution to a problem not many people were having - which caused confusion. We break down who it's for and why it might not be something you would use, since you can opt out of it.Game Informer is back! At least the magazine and staff is - thanks to a crypto company. No word on the amazing Game Informer Vault, though.Sony is preserving PlayStation history on tape backups in a cold storage vault at an undisclosed location, but it's not for researchers - only for internal company use.Then we talk to Rob about the Virtual Game Cards and who they're for.
Yakuza is leaving Game Pass and it's all one of our listener's fault.The United Videogame Workers union has started to help the game industry unionize.Standard accessibility labels are coming across several online storefronts.SNES's are faster now, and it's because of Nintendo skimping on a resonator, so it speeds up over time.Portal is getting a new pinball machine courtesy of the Multimorphic P3 platform.Then we talk to Rob about Arcade1up and how it sounds like they are about to go under - and how our TRON cabinets are now worth a lot of money.
Discord is in talks to go public, which means that we're nearing the time when the platform might become less usable as profits will become more necessary.Forza Horizon 5 on the PlayStation 5 will require an Xbox account linked to your PSN account to play.Classic game publisher Acclaim is returning! While everyone is talking about which games they could resurrect, the reality is only the trademark was purchased, and the new company doesn't own any of the former Acclaim catalog.There's a lot of live investigation about who owns what rights to what games, with a lot of attention to Wizards & Warriors. We still aren't positive who owns it.Then we took a call about Jeff Jarrett's involvement with Acclaim and why that is a red flag.Then we talk to Rob about Acclaim and my old Flappy Bird clone that maybe Acclaim can publish.
We start off talking about preservation of television video from the late 90's and 2000's - and why it looks a lot worse today than we remember when it first aired.PEGI has reclassified Balatro and Luck Be A Landlord down to a PEGI-12 rating from a PEGI-18, which was given because it had elements of gambling. PEGI's statement described how it was modifying its rating rules to account for "fantastical elements" in games like Balatro.EA has released the source code for many of their Command & Conquer titles, which are fun to go through and will help the modding community greatly, but won't really teach you how to make a game in 2025.Warner Bros is closing Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego, and cancelling their projects, including a Wonder Woman game.Monolith Productions had patented the "Nemesis" system from Shadow of Mordor, and now Warner Bros holds on to the patent until 2036, while most likely not using it in any more games - but will stop other games from incorporating the same mechanic.Then we talk about how March is gonna have a lot of great game releases.
Twitch is going to be destroying a decade of gaming history by limiting all Twitch channels to only 100 hours of highlights on their account, affecting only 0.5% of active channels, which apparently include everyone I know in the speedrunning community.An entire US based team of designers has been laid off by Chinese company NetEase, even though they worked on the hugely successful Marvel Rivals.Limited Run Games has put out a warning regarding some recently released NES cartridges that may damage the cartridge or the console due to faulty voltage regulation.Then we talk with the chat about asset reuse and the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, now that Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is out.
A malware infected game was released for free on Steam and delisted - but not before a thousand gamers downloaded and launched it. Valve recommends you format your PC.The creators of E3 have a new industry trade show, and seem to be doing everything in their power to not make the consumers interested - which is great.Former Activision CEO claims that buying Bizarre Creations, the creators of Project Gotham Racing and Blur, was a "bad decision".Then we talk to Rob about if he bought Civilization VII, and about how No Man's Sky's previous expedition rewards got wiped out on consoles.
I visited the Sonic The Hedgehog Speed Cafe pop-up restaurant in Atlanta - a place where you are paying for the experience and not for the culinary excellence. (But the food was fine!)We had a listener correct me on calling the Meta Quest 3 a "low-end" VR headset, and then point me to Arcade Time Capsule, a five story VR arcade. (Bring your own games!)Forza Horizon 5 is coming to PlayStation this year.Then we talk to Rob about the Video Game History Foundation and what he searched for when it opened its digital library.
The first part of the podcast is actually about me getting two new kittens! It takes up the first 15 or so minutes.EA is retiring the Origin PC client, which means that they are no longer supporting DRM for titles on 32-bit PC's, so older computers won't be able to launch The Sims anymore.US spending on physical video games has halved since 2021, spelling doom for people who don't want to lose access to their purchases.The Video Game History Foundation has brought most of their library online for research purposes - magazines, dev notebooks, and other things that aren't the games themselves.Then we talk to Rob about the Video Game History Foundation and what he'd search for first when it goes online.
I was at the tabletop/board gaming convention Dice & Diversions this weekend, run by the same folks behind the Southern Fried Gaming Expo.The government ban on apps by Chinese-owned ByteDance included the popular mobile game Marvel Snap, which surprised its California based developers.The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally unveiled in a CG rendered trailer, with a full reveal occurring April 2nd.Gaming outlet Nintendo Life released a "Better eShop" after a week of development, and silenced many highly rated, award winning indie games in the process.Then we talk to Rob about the Better eShop and the name of the Nintendo Switch 2.
CES was this weekend, but the big news were the leaks of the Nintendo Switch 2, which had not been formally announced at the time of reporting.Nintendo did, however, say that the Genki mockups shown at CES were not official.Meta is discontinuing their higher end Quest Pro headset, instead concentrating on the Quest 3 and Quest 3S line.Valve has announced that SteamOS is coming to other handhelds sooner than you think, with the Lenovo Legion Go S being the first device to get official support.Then we talk to Rob about other CES announcements, like a mini virtual pinball machine from My Arcade.
We are back! It is now 2025, the holidays are over, and it's time to get back to talking about video games.I was in Las Vegas over the Christmas holiday, and went to AREA15 (along with Meow Wolf's Omega Mart as well as the Asylum Bar and Arcade) as well as the Pinball Hall of Fame.I also picked up Balatro. I won on my second game, and I will now retire from the game forever. (Or will I?)Apple has halted production on their Apple Vision Pro headset because they believe they have produced enough units to meet the demand over the headset's lifetime.Stern Pinball has announced a new Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine with celebrity voiceovers as well as a procedurally generated dungeon that changes every Sunday.Then we talk to Rob about my virtual pinball cabinet, and how Zen Studios unlocked the cabinet mode for free for Pinball FX3 users, rather than forcing you to jump through hoops to get a free activation code.
The indie game storefront itch.io was taken down by Funko earlier this week due to a fraud report by Funko that was executed after itch.io removed the offending content.We talk about games being inaccessible, and somehow this devolves to yet another love session for the racing game Blur.The Game Awards was this week, and we talk a lot about the winners and trailers.During this, we wonder aloud why College Football 25 was not nominated for Best Sports Game when it was such a cultural phenomenon this summer.Then we ask what YOUR GOTY was.
We start off talking about where Microsoft Flight Simulator gets its maps - and why the game may be years behind what you can find in the web version.iFixIt now sells official Xbox parts, marking another win for Right to Repair.EA has made 23 accessibility patents free to use for any studio.The Dragon Quest creator wants you to loan your copy of the HD-2D Remake to kids when you're done with it so they will appreciate the genre like we did when we were kids.Then, thanks to chat, we talk about the legacy of Dani Bunten with 80's era multiplayer innovations with Seven Cities, M.U.L.E., and Modem Wars.
I was on the Dragon Con Digital Media Track's "Be Awesome Together" livestream this week, go check it out!Shuhei Yoshida is leaving Sony after over three decades.Sony has officially announced that the PlayStation 2 has sold over 160 million units worldwide, keeping it as the best selling game console of all time.Microsoft will be removing the Xbox Avatars App from the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles in January of 2025 because nobody was using it.Then we talk to Rob about our previous gaming setups, including Bobby's dorm room in college.
We start off by talking about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and its current performance in VR, which has a long way to go to become stable.I finally went through Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series of Tetris Forever, and I loved it, but people who just want the games may not be feeling it.Sony has submitted a proposal to purchase Kadokawa Corporation, which owns many anime and manga companies, but also FromSoftware, the developers behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring.Steam has issued new rules about DLC and season passes which are very pro consumer but make things more difficult for publishers who can't accurately predict release dates.Itch.io now requires AI disclosure for all products, and are making every project declare if they used GenAI in the development of what they are selling.Then we talk to Rob about Pikmin Bloom.
The second DLC for Atari 50 is out, about the first console war, and it has some interesting games - as long as you have a second player on the couch with you.Tetris Forever is also out now, and I give some early impressions of the games included and the start of the documentary portion.SEGA is delisting many classic games on all platforms, probably to sell them back to you at a higher price.Epic Games has said they are supporting the Internet Archive's hosting of Unreal and Unreal Tournament.GOG announced a preservation program that has them taking on tech support and updates for older games.Then we talk to Rob about game archival and when holiday lights should come up.
I finally got to the part in Metaphor: ReFantazio with the mandatory stealth section...I don't like stealth.Nintendo has launched a new music app, and it has a feature that Spotify doesn't - extending the game loop for up to an hour.However, they don't credit the artists on any of the songs, and this is partially due to how Japanese companies work.Sony has closed Firewalk Studios, who made Concord, and Neon Koi, a mobile game studio, just two years after purchasing them.Then we talk to Rob about the Nintendo Music App and the Like A Dragon: Yakuza series on Amazon Prime.
If a AAA game studio is closed, was it ever a AAA studio? Netflix closed their AAA game studio before even announcing a project.The US Copyright Office declined a DMCA exception for Video Game Libraries looking to help researchers access their materials online.A Larian Studios executive made comments about Ubisoft's drive to be more subscription only after the new Prince of Persia was declared not profitable and the team disbanded.Then we talk to Rob about game preservation - which is a very hot topic for him. (Language alert!)
There is a sad update to the new-to-me retro console that I acquired last week...Anybody have a disc tray for a Philips CDi 220?It was a slow gaming news week, but the Bluesky social media network got a lot of growth this week from certain gaming circles, so we talk about its pros and cons.A judge ruled that Google does not have to open up its Play Store to competitors yet, despite the judgment we discussed last week.Bandai Namco isn't exactly laying people off, but they have cancelled projects and left a bunch of employees with nothing to do.Then we talk to Rob about Diablo IV's expansion and the Unity 6 news.
I made my GDQ Commentary debut on Disaster Relief Done Quick, doing a part speedrun commentary and part voice actor interview for a run of TMNT: Shredder's Revenge.I got a new toy - a Philips CD-I, and yes, it also came with Those Games that you're thinking of.Steam has already complied with a California law saying you must disclose that you are merely licensing digital content, not purchasing it to keep.Google must open its Play Store to competitors and not take a 30% cut as a result of the Epic v. Google lawsuit.Microsoft has announced that Xbox will sell games directly on Android devices in November.Then we talk about Nintendo Alarmo and Tetris Forever.
Microsoft has discontinued the HoloLens 2, which was only available to businesses, and have decided to merely support other hardware with their software.Ubisoft has listened to an activist investor, but instead of selling to private equity firms, they are looking into selling to Tencent.This goes into a discussion about art and risks, and why the safe bet is to remake things that already exist.Saudi Arabia is considering buying a larger stake in Nintendo according to a side comment in a podcast interview.Then we talk to Rob about RetroAchievements and Randomizers.
I did my first speedrun commentary for Doronko Wanko at Multithon Rivals 2024!The Atari 50 DLC The Wider World of Atari is out, and has 19 new games and another chapter of video interviews and historical memorabilia.There's a new California law stating that digital storefronts must disclose that you do not own what you purchase, you are merely licensing things, and that the licenses can be revoked.An Activist Investor wants Ubisoft to sell to a private equity firm, and has the support of 10% of Ubisoft's shareholders.Then we talk about Astro Bot, the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo, and the Atari 50 DLC with Rob.
The Hallmark Keepsake ornaments are out, and this year's gaming console ornament is the original Xbox, and yes, I do have it.I'm doing my first ever speedrun commentary on Multithon Rivals 2024! I'm commentating a race of Doronko Wanko on Friday, September 27, at 7PM ET/4PM PT.Minecraft is dropping PSVR support on their PS4 version in early 2025.IBM has won a patent lawsuit against Zynga using patents for the old 1989 online service Prodigy - of which my family were founding members of and I have memories.Nintendo is finally suing Pocketpair, the makers of Palworld, in their own patent lawsuit, but Pocketpair does not know which patents they are violating.Then I talk about Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, coming in 2025, and how RGG studio is so proud of their asset reuse and how it can allow them to release a new major game every 2-3 years.
We start off remembering Andrew C. Greenberg, the co-creator of the Wizardry series of RPGs, who passed away earlier this month.The Crew 2 is $1 until September 23rd!Ubisoft has proclaimed that The Crew 2 and Motorfest will have offline modes before their servers are shut down.The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive quit earlier this week due to failed negotiations to become independent.Unity has cancelled their controversial runtime fees, and just raised the prices of subscriptions instead.Flappy Bird is supposedly back, but not according to DONG Nguyen (who I keep misnaming as Doug throughout the entire live recording, sorry) - it is actually a crypto company who purchased the abandoned trademark and has no ties to the original creator.Then we talk to Rob about a new world record in the gaming podcast space.
We are back from Dragon Con, and I go over the activities I was involved with from a panel perspective. Be sure to check out VOG's YouTube channel for a much deeper dive into Dragon Con outside of video game talk!Tetris Forever was announced at the Nintendo Direct, and it turns out it is Digital Eclipse's latest entry in their fantastic Gold Master Series.SAG-AFTRA has made a deal with 80 game studios for an interim contract for voice actors seeking more protections from AI.Since we last spoke, Concord launched and was removed two weeks later, and players were refunded for their purchase.The Amazon Prime series Secret Level will still air it's Concord related episode, though!Then we talk to Rob about virtual pinball and Dragon Con.
I'm going to be moderating and appearing on panels at Dragon Con! Maybe I'll see you there?Amazon Games boss says that AI is okay because their games have no acting, and AI will only take away the boring work that junior employees use to train up to become senior employees.Atari has announced the 7800+ retro console, which has all of the same features as the 2600+ with a 7800 shell.Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is closing down after 7 years of service, but Nintendo is doing the right thing for island preservation.Then we talk to Rob about mini retro consoles and Dragon Con.
My Dragon Con schedule is out! I'm moderating several panels on the Digital Gaming Track, moderating a Video Game panel with voice actors from Mass Effect, and I get to introduce a Doctor Who companion on stage!The Borderlands movie that bombed at the box office is going to be available on streaming before the end of the month.Nintendo has told developers that the successor to the Switch is not expected until April or May of 2025.This means it won't be announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live, but a lot of other games will be shown (and were shown, as this was recorded before the broadcast.)Then we talk to Rob about Mass Effect.
We actually start off discussing the Olympics - primary the Breaking competition - and why I loved it and thought it was phenomenal, and why I am sad that it's not returning and all anybody saw was the Australian.Apparently the Borderlands movie wasn't that good?At QuakeCon, Doom and Doom 2 got both a 4K remaster as an update.Limited Run Games announced a new version of SNES Doom that even works with a new controller with rumble support.WB Games might be up for sale, as Warner Bros Discovery continues to try to save its shareholders money.Then we talk to Rob about the Olympics and stories from Atlanta in 1996. We miss Mario and Sonic attending...
Gamestop has shut down Game Informer magazine, laid off all of its writers, taken all of its content offline, and used AI to generate a farewell post.Bungie has laid off or transferred another 17% of their workforce in what was described as "inevitable" due to previous spending.A popular resource for video game translations and homegrown fixes for classic games has been taken offline by its owner.We discuss if there is a lack of gaming news because there is a lack of actual gaming news sites, with consumers gravitating more towards personalities and influencers, while actual journalists leave the gaming industry or the media field all together.Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and the lack of gaming news.
In a followup to a comment made in last week's show - there is a certain NES game actually listed in Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition that we totally assumed would not be mentioned.The Xbox 360 digital store has closed - thankfully, it was still a console that had copious amounts of physical media.SAG-AFTRA has authorized a strike of video game voice and performance actors over concerns about AI.Not all games are affected yet, such as Grand Theft Auto VI, or any other game that is already in production - unless they need to renegotiate a contract.Humble Games has laid off everyone in their publishing arm - yet says that nothing will be affected in their publishing arm.Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and how it's changed so much, even with the new update.
It's Episode 900 and our 19th birthday! Episode 1 was recorded on July 24, 2005.Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition released, and I have some thoughts on it from someone who is speedrun adjacent.I also (finally) tell the full story about how I was technically a city semifinalist at the Nintendo World Championships 1990.I was at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo this past weekend, and talk about the pinball and arcade games that were there, as well as some of the panels I was on.Then we talk to Rob about Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition.
I'm going to be on a panel and hosting a Speedrun Showcase at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo next weekend in Atlanta. Come say hi!I was on a virtual panel about doing solo podcasts on the Dragon Con Digital Media Track's "Be Awesome Together" podcast.Microsoft has hiked the price of Xbox Game Pass, and also made the tiers a bit more confusing than they used to be.The Switch is now the longest-running console in Nintendo history.Then we talk about VR and people's first experiences in VR - as well as an attraction called The Void that did not survive 2020.
We dedicate this episode to the memory of Lt. Commander Eddy, host of the Starboard Power Coupling podcast, the Star Trek podcast you hope doesn't fail.I will be at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo on July 19-21st in Atlanta, and will be on a panel Friday night and hosting a Speedrun Showcase on Saturday night!I was at Summer Games Done Quick 2024 as a host/donation reader, and we raised $2.54million for Doctors Without Borders. I talk about some of the things that happened at the event outside of what you saw on stream, as well as talk about the times I was on stream.Then we talk to Rob about if there was any gaming news this week, as well as unveil a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT regarding our involvement with Dragon Con this Labor Day Weekend. If you were ever on the fence about going to Dragon Con, this is the year to go...
I will be once again hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2024! Check out my schedule to see what I'm hosting on Day 1 and Day 3 of the event!Is there a cheaper Apple Vision Pro coming? Signs point to yes.Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, formerly of Xbox, is joining Unity as their Director of Communications.Nintendo is continuing using its DMCA takedown powers against the community, this time taking down properly licensed sheet music arrangements.Then we talk to Rob about the Nintendo Direct.
I will be once again hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2024! Check out my schedule to see what I'm hosting on Day 1 and Day 3 of the event!VRChat has laid off 30% of their team due to incorrect staffing and the inability to scale.Cities: Skylines 2 had to remove virtual landlords from the game because it made the rent in game too high.The new Call of Duty is NOT 308GB after all - that's only if you literally install every version of COD included.Then we talk to Rob about Twitch adding super reactions and why you shouldn't give us $100 just to make emotes appear.
I will be once again hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2024! Check out my schedule to see what I'm hosting on Day 1 and Day 3 of the event!The cost of being featured on Summer Games Fest is pretty high - but there are some indies that can get in for much, much cheaper...if a particular someone likes you.A billboard outside of Summer Games Fest paid tribute to the closed studios and the laid off workers from the past year.Then we talk about the actual games from Summer Games Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase.
Bungie has won a lawsuit against a cheat maker on copyright grounds - which has caused the cheat maker to countersue on DMCA grounds.Evercade has announced the Evercade Alpha bartop arcade units with Capcom games - so now you can use (almost) all of the Evercade cartridges in a small arcade setup!Then we talk to Rob about the Evercade Alpha and what you should know about how not ALL of the cartridges work in every Evercade device.
Atari has acquired the Intellivision Brand and many games, but not the Amico console itself.IGN has bought several media properties of the Gamer Network sites such as Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun, and already started laying off their editors.We do talk a little bit about Little Kitty Big City in this show, as well as do an exercise about scoring my favorite video game of all time, Katamari Damacy, on a recently released "objective" review card from a gaming website, only to find that, objectively, the game is a disaster in their rating scale, despite it being my favorite game of all time subjectively.
Warner Bros Discovery has announced that they won't retire Adult Swim Games published titles after all, instead they will transfer the store pages to the indie developers.New Tesla cars were going to get native Steam integration until Tesla learned nobody actually cared during the beta phase.The UK Government says game companies don't have a legal obligation to keep older games playable.Take Two says that they didn't actually close studios Roll7 and Intercept Games - they just merely laid off almost everyone who worked there.Then we talk to Rob about if we're about to see another video game crash like we did in 1984.
The requirement for Helldivers 2 requiring PC players to link a PlayStation Network account has been reversed - for now.The 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductees have been announced!Microsoft closes four studios from the Bethesda/ZeniMax side of the house, including ones that released smaller scale award winning games.They say this is because they can't actually afford to run all of the studios it bought.Xbox says that they need more smaller scale award winning games coming out of their studios.There is a new John Wick pinball machine coming out - look for it in a local barcade (if you have any) in the next few months!Then we talk to Rob about the fact that it's my birthday and how I want to retire the running joke of me being only 29 years old.
We start off with some clarification from a listener about using the Meta Quest 3 wirelessly with Virtual Desktop to play PCVR games.Dave & Busters is going to be introducing a new feature that may or may not be legal in all states.Helldivers 2 was supposed to launch on PC with a requirement to link your PlayStation Network account, but was put on hold - until this weekend. (This decision was reversed three hours after this episode was recorded.) There was review bombing and even the game being pulled in 177 countries.Then we talked to Rob about Pikmin Bloom, of all things.
After the first six hours of Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, there are some early impressions...And why I may not continue.Meta Quest has once again partnered with Microsoft and the Xbox brand, but it does not mean that VR is coming to the Xbox console.Valve has closed a refund loophole with regards to games in Advanced Access.Then we talk to Rob about Eiyuden Chronicles and how it is very much an old school JRPG, for both better AND worse.
The Game Boy has turned 35 years old in Japan! I try my old Game Boy, as well as discuss how my entire Game Boy library was stolen by a classmate and we never caught him or got any of it back. (And also nobody believed me.)We talk about a viewer comment about having high fidelity VR in an untethered headset - as long as you have high quality equipment.Target is scaling back how much physical media it carries in stores - but it's not eliminating them entirely yet.Arcade1up has partnered with TaskRabbit to build your Arcade1up cabinets for you. Anyone who has tried to install a monitor in an Arcade1up cabinet understands why this is a good thing.Then we talk to Rob about our memories of the Game Boy.
Indie gaming studio Possibility Space has closed its doors, claiming it's because of questions from a journalist for an article that hasn't even been published yet.Star Wars: Outlaws will require an online internet connection to install the physical disc - which makes the game preservation aspect of physical media useless.We're still raising money for Make-A-Wish Georgia - we've smashed the original goal, so we just made the goal bigger.Then we talk to Orange Lounge Radio about their historic 1000th episode!
I'm helping raise money for Make-a-Wish Georgia with the Stream Atlanta meetup group this month - let's make some kids wishes come true!Gaming has reportedly fallen to pre-pandemic levels, meaning we aren't playing games as much as we were just a few years ago.Are emulators coming to iOS? Yes, but no - not in the way the media headlines want you to believe.Then we talk to Rob about our playing time and more about him not starting Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (and me not continuing with it often enough)
Kotaku is deprioritizing news in favor of guides - which leads into a discussion of "Evergreen Content" vs "Topical Content" when it comes to content creation.We go over the Game Developers Choice Awards - which is the awards show everyone wants when The Game Awards happen, but nobody actually watches.Sony halts production on the PlayStation VR2 headsets because nobody is buying them.Then we talk to Rob about evergreen vs. topical content.
We revisit the emulator settlement from last week with some clarifications from someone who is more knowledgeable in the inner workings of that scene than we are.Some emulator developers have gotten spooked enough to take their emulators offline, others have more resolve with more safeguards.Digital Eclipse's second entry in the Gold Master Series is out - Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story. It shows that Jeff is a master of the VIC20, but ends abruptly in 1994 - even though Jeff's story is still being told.The Museum of Play has announced the 2024 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists - who would you vote for?Then we talk to OLR about Llamasoft games that we might have played as kids, and who we would pick for the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
We start off this episode by remembering Akira Toriyama and all of his contributions to gaming and anime.Happy MAR10 Day! Several Mario themed announcements were made, such as adding more Mario games to Nintendo Switch Online, and bringing some Gamecube and 3DS titles to Switch, and a LEGO Mario Kart set (a building set, not a video game) coming in 2025.However, earlier this week Nintendo and the Yuzu emulator team settled for $2.4 million, shutting down the emulator team that worked on Yuzu and Citra for the 3DS.Warner Bros Discovery has informed independent developers that published through Adult Swim Games that their games will be delisted, and the publisher has informed them that they will just delete the Steam pages rather than do the three clicks to transfer ownership to the indie developers. (The indie developers still own the IP and can republish, starting from scratch.)Then we talk to Rob about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and why I'm now burned out on it.
I finished Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth and moved on to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and no, you don't actually know the story, so be wary of spoilers. (Not from me, though!)Octopath Traveler has been delisted temporarily from the Nintendo eShop, most likely due to the change in publisher.Toys For Bob, the studio that brought us Skylanders, is leaving Microsoft after the Activision merger.Sony Interactive performed a Reduction in Workforce this week, closing several studios and canceling other projects in flight.EA has also performed layoffs this week, cancelling several licensed games that were in development. The interesting part of their announcement is how much it actually costs to lay off employees and cancel license deals.This leads to a discussion about if games are really more expensive to the consumer or not, and if the rising game budgets are sustainable given inflation.Then we talk to Rob about how he hasn't started Final Fantasy VII Rebirth yet.
I tried the Apple Vision Pro at an XR meetup for three minutes, which means I'm an expert on it now - and I also met an Apple fanboy who actually believed that everything the AVP did was revolutionary and was never part of any VR device before it. (It was wild!)Sony announced that they are investigating making the PlayStation VR2 headset work on PC - which would be fantastic for the hardware.EA Sports will be paying college football players $600 plus a copy of the game if they opt in to EA Sports College Football 2025, but how will they stop people from creating players who opted out without running afoul of the law?Since there was no OLR, we chatted about JRPG lovers eating good between Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.We also talked about Multimorphic's new title for their modular pinball machine, this one based on The Princess Bride.
We start off talking about the return of EA Sports College Football 2025, because it was teased this week to be returning this Summer, and how it relates to one of the quotes in the show intro.Xbox is bringing four games to other consoles - Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded, to expand the reach of Xbox Games Studios franchises - but don't expect Halo to be on PS5 any time soon.Of course Phil Spencer says he'd love to see Sony exclusives on Xbox, but he's not holding his breath. He thinks it's in their best interest, though.This goes into an explanation as to WHY the console wars are "a thing" for consumers, even if it's not for the industry. It's because of the economic status of the loudest gamers - they can't afford multiple consoles so they want THEIR choice to be the correct one.Then we talk to Rob about the Xbox games going multiplatform.
I will NOT be wearing an Apple Vision Pro during a taping of this podcast, because I'm not buying it. This version, at least.I visited a new pinball arcade in Atlanta, and noticing a new trend in "Eatertainment" venues to bring back Third Spaces to society.Retailers are starting to drop physical releases, which means that game preservation is going to become much more difficult as time goes on for modern day titles.Spec Ops: The Line is an impactful military shooter that wasn't a commercial success, but now you can't buy it anymore as it has been delisted on all the digital storefronts. (Since it has a physical release, you can still buy a copy used, though!)Then we take some time to talk about Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload, since OLR was not happening due to a power outage.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is out, and has been taking up all of my evenings. While the game is great, there are some people that take issue with the fact that New Game Plus is locked behind DLC.Palworld is the new hotness, and The Pokemon Company had to make a statement saying they'd check to see if there was any IP infringement.Microsoft announced that they were laying off 1900 people from the Xbox gaming divisions, including many at the recently acquired Activision Blizzard.Then we talked to Rob about the game industry layoffs and how hard it is to be an enthusiast right now.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 raised over $2.5 Million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation!I was fortunate enough to be a host in-person for multiple games throughout the week, and I talk about my experience both behind the scenes as well as just attending the week long mini-convention in snowy Pittsburgh.Then we talk to Rob about all of the gaming news I missed, specifically the emergence of a game that wasn't known before I left for AGDQ - Palworld.
I'm going to be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2024! I will be reading donations on Thursday night for Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and on Saturday afternoon for Lies of P and Lost Judgment.I am already sick and tired of Steamboat Willie...A 13 year old gamer has "beaten" Tetris by getting it to soft lock - something only a Tool Assisted Speedrun has been able to do so far.A new injector called UEVR can make just about any game made in Unreal Engine work in VR natively.Then we talk to Rob about arcades and arcade scores.
Yes, it's an episode recorded in the afternoon of Christmas Eve and not posted until the new year...the holidays were a thing.I'm going to be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2024! However, my schedule changed since the 24th, so be sure to check the GDQ website for my name to get my updated times.Insomniac Games had a lot of data leaked about their games and their employees, and there's been some interesting takes from media outlets who gleefully posted leaks of other companies that are not posting leaks from this one.Microsoft is deprecating Windows Mixed Reality support and will remove it from future versions of Windows. Consumers will no longer be able to use their WMR headsets after November 1, 2026.I got the Atari 2600+, which plays the old cartridges, and tested it out with their 10-in-1 cartridge, the 4-in-1 paddle cartridge, the newly released Mr. Run and Jump, the updated Berzerk, ET, and Halo 2600. It performed well for being an emulator that dumps cartridge ROM's and takes the original controllers!Then we talk to Rob about the end of the year.
Our December 24th show will take place at 2PM ET/11AM PT/7PM GMT instead of our usual Sunday night time!I was at DreamHack Atlanta this weekend, hosting some events on the Main Stage and playing some neat indie games.The Game Awards were before I left for vacation, and I have some thoughts that might go against what you've heard from others.The ESA has officially declared they are done with the E3 brand - something we all knew but they finally admitted to themselves. It's not for the reason you think.Then we talk to Rob about the demise of E3 and what really caused things to go south in the 2010's.
I'm going to be MC'ing three events at DreamHack Atlanta from December 15-17th at the Georgia World Congress Center!Hallmark has taken my money once again with their gaming themed Keepsake Ornaments.PlayStation is going to delete TV shows and movies that people have paid for due to a licensing lapse with Warner Bros Discovery.EA has patented a technology to allow for your voice to be fed into AI for the protagonist of a video game.Then we talk to Rob about the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer and The Game Awards.
Intellivision has now released Amico as an app, where you can buy $15 versions of their games on Android and play them there.GameMaker, a 2D-focused game engine, has changed their licensing structure to be more friendly to smaller developers.I finished the LEGO Pac-Man set finally!One of our chatters claims that Everybody 1-2 Switch is not just worth the $10 it was on sale, but maybe even $20...?Then we talk to Rob about the Arcade1up Pac-Man bartop that he got, just to oneup my LEGO build...
I finished Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name on Game Pass and I really enjoyed the bite-sized nature of it compared to the mainline games. It also acted as a good entryway into the brawler side of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series.I also played a little bit of Persona 5 Tactica on Game Pass, and I'm not sure it will get me to really appreciate that style of game the way Strikers let me appreciate Musou games.Embracer Group will be laying off many employees and closing down projects after Saudi Arabia backed out of a deal.The Game Awards nominees have been announced, and obviously some people believe their favorite game was snubbed.Then we talk to Rob about The Game Awards.
I'm going to be hosting again at Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 in Pittsburgh from January 14-21st!Unity told shareholders that there would be more layoffs at the company, as the fallout for their new revenue pricing policies continue.I got some new additions to my home arcade - a custom built 4-player generic arcade cabinet, and a custom built virtual pinball machine, both from Monster Arcades.Then we talk to Rob about possible nominees for The Game Awards' Game Of The Year.
Microsoft is going to ban unlicensed controllers from accessing the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles - and there are multiple communities worried about the impacts of this, from members of the Fighting Game Community as well as disabled gamers who can't get an Xbox Adaptive Controller.We use OverClocked Remix on our live stream, and their founder DJPretzel is stepping down from running OCRemix after 24 years at the helm.Then we talk to Rob about Xbox controllers and Super Mario Bros Wonder.
We are back from Las Vegas and TwitchCon! We start by talking all about Vegas and then TwitchCon, and then why the two shouldn't be together. (We were not alone in this thinking!)I also talk about my time with Games Done Quick Express, and raising over $35k for AbleGamers.I briefly visited the Pinball Hall of Fame, and my reaction might surprise you.The PS5 Slim's external Blu-Ray drive will require an internet connection to set up, meaning that once the servers go down, you won't be able to use it in the future to play PS5 games on actual hardware.Then we talk to Rob about Vegas and where TwitchCon might go next.
I'm going to be at TwitchCon 2023 as one of the hosts of Games Done Quick Express!Best Buy is going to discontinue selling physical copies of movies in 2024, and games might be next.CD Projekt has used AI to replace a deceased voice actor in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty with the family's consent.We play some clips of the 1992 ad campaign from AT&T "You Will", where Tom Selleck talks about future technologies that we all use today.Then we talk to Rob about TwitchCon and the difference between being "on" and "off" in the sense of stage presence.
I'm going to be hosting at Games Done Quick Express at TwitchCon on October 20-22nd!Pac-Man 99 shut down its online servers on the night this episode was aired live.Nintendo is shutting down 3DS and Wii U online services in April of 2024.Microsoft is reportedly close to finalizing it's merger with Activision Blizzard. (It actually closed on October 13th.)Netflix is shutting down their app - on the PlayStation Vita. The Vita was supported by Netflix longer than it was supported by Sony.ChatGPT was allegedly used to write the apology for Lord of the Rings: Gollum.Then we talk to Rob about how my view of Animal Crossing has changed due to the circumstances of when I played New Horizons.
I'm going to be a host at Games Done Quick Express at TwitchCon! Tune in on Friday and Sunday at 1PM ET/10AM PT to hear me and possibly see me?Unity backtracked...kind of. They changed some of the policies about charging developers per install of their game, rather than on the sales of their game.Epic Games laid off 16% of its workforce because they need to pay its lawyers for all of their lawsuits. This includes selling Bandcamp and shuttering entire studios they recently purchased.The Meta Quest 3 is almost out, hoping to take on some of what the Apple Vision Pro is claiming it can do.Then we talk with Rob about the other things that happened in the week when I was out on the ocean.
I'm going to be at Twitchcon as one of the seven hosts for Games Done Quick Express! My hosting shifts will be announced on the October 1st show.The TUNIC soundtrack had been taken offline by a fraudulent DMCA claim - and initially the distributor sided with the fraudster.Unity announced a new fee for game developers that charged per install, and just about the entire game industry unified against them. (Since this recording, Unity has walked back some of the changes, but the damage may already be done.)Then we talk to Rob about F-Zero 99.
We're back after some time off and talking all about Dragon Con 2023, including panels about Digital Media content creation, gaming, and even the current state of AI...As well as talking about what video gaming was like there.The current iteration of Atari has announced the Atari 2600+ - an emulator system that plays old Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges!Sony has announced that all tiers of PlayStation Plus will see a price hike, some as much as 30%.Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con and getting me into Pikmin Bloom.
I'm going to be at Dragon Con 2023! I'm moderating and appearing on panels in the Digital Media, Video Game, and Independent Film tracks.There was no live show on August 26th, so you haven't missed anything...Microsoft is shutting down the Xbox 360 Marketplace on July 29, 2024, so get your final purchases in now.In another edition of "game developers being sneaky" - there's a real technical reason for the Blood Moon in Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it has everything to do with the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch.Then we talk about the Tetris movie on Apple TV+ and what other video game stories we'd like to see made into dramatic movies.
I talk about my tentative Dragon Con schedule - where I am on six panels across three tracks, including one with a board gaming luminary! I finally built the Atari 2600 LEGO set, and show off the different parts and how they encapsulate the real thing. People think the Supreme Court ruled on the Epic v. Apple case, but they really didn't...Not yet. Then we talk to Rob about Southern-Fried Gaming Expo and the other content VOG has been putting out lately.
The PS5 is getting new features for accessibility as well as for atmospheric audio for people with home theater systems in an upcoming update. Microsoft is embracing Right-To-Repair by selling repair kits for Xbox controllers. Kickstarter is now requiring that project disclose how they will be using AI to create their projects. This led into a much longer discussion about AI, considering I am about to be on some panels at Dragon Con about AI and I am currently pessimistic on how the tools will be used as they are developed further.
On this very special episode, Rob Roberts of Orange Lounge Radio joins Bobby LIVE in studio for his first ever in-studio guest ever in 18+ years and 859 episodes! We first go into some of the announcements that happened at Final Fantasy XIV Fanfest that Rob did not attend. This is because Rob attended the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo for the first time, and we talked about what the show was like, what we saw, and the panels that we participated in.
My 18th year of podcasting started on July 24th! It's been a fun ride. I'll be at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo July 28-30th in Atlanta, and hosting a Speedrun Exhibition of Silent Hill: Homecoming by AnEternalEnigma on Saturday night at 10PM! Murder By Numbers is free on Epic Games Store this week, and is a great visual novel Picross games that evokes a lot of Ace Attorney vibes. Arcade Paradise came out on Xbox Game Pass and it is a collection of minigames and not exactly a business management sim. (But it still held my attention to the credits...) Ubisoft may delete your account if you don't log into it for years, and some people have received notifications that look like phishing but aren't. The EU has stated that handheld devices like mobile phones and game devices must have removable batteries by 2027. Then we talk to Rob about SFGE.
There was no episode the previous week because of head congestion, but we're back to talk about going to Disney World and riding the new TRON ride. I also bought some TRON merch, including the action figure experience, which was a cool experience with a disappointing end product. Digital Eclipse is making the Criterion Collection of games called the Gold Master Series, and they are starting it off this year with The Making of Karateka. The FTC was unable to stop the Microsoft-Activision merger, so Sony has accepted the deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for ten years. Bungie has won a court case on behalf of one of their employees, a community manager who was stalked and harrassed by someone who disagreed with Bungie's policies. We will be at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta on July 28-30, and Bobby will be hosting a speedrun exhibition of Silent Hill: Homecoming with AnEternalEnigma on Saturday evening at 10PM!
Final Fantasy XVI is out! And I have some early spoiler-free impressions. I talk about the gameplay, story, and a surprising take on the diversity issue surrounding the game. E3 has been cancelled in 2024 and 2025...At least in Los Angeles. Doesn't mean it won't happen elsewhere, but let's be honest, it's not very likely. The FTC has sued to block the Microsoft-Activision merger, and the trial has started. In emails released to the court, Sony said that they'd be okay and that they knew from the beginning it wasn't about exclusivity. Sony testified that they would withhold PS6 devkits from Activision if there is a merger, meaning that Activision games would not be able to use PS6 specific features. (They already do not provide PS5 devkits to Mojang, which is why there is not a Minecraft version natively on PS5.) Then we talk to Rob about Final Fantasy XVI and how the music in it is at least one of the final music packs for Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line.
I start off with some quick impressions of We Love Katamari REROLL, but then go into the Final Fantasy XVI demo. Note that there are some themes regarding some of the characters that some people may not like to witness, which has turned some corners of the internet off from the game. Microsoft has announced they will no longer be making first party games for the Xbox One, but some developers want them to also get rid of the Xbox Series S requirement as well. Embracer Group is downsizing after a large deal fell through - after acquiring many companies, they will now shutter many of them and cancel unannounced projects. Then we talk to Rob about Final Fantasy XVI.
Meta announced the Meta Quest 3 a few weeks ago to be sold next to the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro. Apple has finally invented AR and announced the Apple Vision Pro at WWDC this past week. Mark Zuckerberg is not worried about Apple's expensive entry into AR. Summer Games Fest and the Xbox Showcase had taken place before recording, and we talk about our highlights from them. Then we talk to Rob about him coming out to Atlanta for the Southern Fried Gaming Expo in late July!
I was one of the hosts for Summer Games Done Quick 2023, where we raised over $2.2million dollars for Doctors Without Borders! I talk about what a live in-person GDQ event is like for attendees, talk about why that donation amount is lower than it used to be, and why the event was a month earlier than it usually is. I also go through each speedrun I was a host for, as well as playing some of the pun donations I was fortunate enough to get to read while on stage.
I'm hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2023 next week! Check out when I'm on the air!The European Union has approved the Microsoft Activision merger, even though the UK has denied it.Pac-Man 99 is having its multiplayer shut down and is being delisted on the Nintendo Switch in August.Take-Two has claimed that it's not seeing consumer resistance over $70 games, so other publishers have taken notice and have started raising their prices as well.Then we talk about streaming services, content being pulled and why, people not paying attention to what's being said, and other things since OLR wasn't on after the show.
I will be hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2023 the week of May 28th!Microsoft boss Phil Spencer participated in a podcast interview where he seemingly surrendered the console war to Sony and Nintendo - does he have a point?Activision boss predicts how AI will be used in video games, including with technology that has been done many times before by more independent studios.Then we take calls about Microsoft's platform vs. console strategy.
I start off by showing off an old Heathkit catalog from 1978, and the way that we used to build electronics like you build Ikea furniture today.The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has blocked the Microsoft and Activision merger on the grounds that it could create a monopoly in the cloud gaming space - and even made the decision assuming that Google Stadia failed because it didn't have Call of Duty on it.We also discuss what the next steps could be, because not all is lost yet, but it is a large hurdle that was somewhat unexpected.Then we talk to Rob about why we actually do want Microsoft to buy Activision.
I'm one of the on-air hosts of Summer Games Done Quick 2023, and I talk about the games I will be hosting, including a meme category for a popular horror game.I finally got the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters now that they have been released on Switch, and I'm really liking the quality of life improvements.Xbox users can no longer share screenshots to Twitter directly from their console because Microsoft is not willing to pay $42k per month for Twitter API access.Netflix is ending its DVD mailing rental business, opening the door for Gamefly, which embraced 4K UHD Blu Ray rentals when Netflix never did.Then we talk to Rob about the Pixel Remasters.
I share some historical computer game finds that I have found cleaning out my childhood home, including some advertisements about Commodore 64 adventure games and how much they would cost in 2023 dollars.Sega is set to buy Rovio Entertainment, the makers of Angry Birds. (This has since been confirmed.)However, a more interesting story is how Rovio is trying to run away from the original Angry Birds by delisting it and pointing people to more microtransaction-heavy sequels rather than the $1 original.A new in-person event called "Nintendo Live" is coming to Seattle in September, which is something they've done in Japan over the past few decades but never in the US.Then we talk to Rob about Rovio and Nintendo Live.
We have a live interview with prolific video game remixer Mustin about his decades in music production.He just released a 12-track solo album - Mario Mixtape - to coincide with the Super Mario Bros movie that was just released.The album is available on Bandcamp but is best experienced on YouTube in a visualizer.
E3 has been cancelled again, and possibly for good this time.While E3 didn't have much relevance to consumers anymore, the idea of an industry-only trade show is still very powerful and is still very much needed.Reedpop did announce that they will be working with E3 on future events, which I predict will be them either incorporating the E3 brand into their existing events (E3 at PAX!)Then we talk to Rob about this and he actually predicts that PAX will just rename itself to E3 in the future!
We start off talking a lot about the Diablo IV beta and impressions from someone who hasn't played a lot of Diablo recently.The biggest hurdle has been cleared in the Microsoft-Activision merger, with the UK saying that it is not in Microsoft's best financial interests to make Call of Duty a console exclusive.At Game Developers Conference, the buzzword was how GPT AI will start taking over tasks that entry level game developers currently do, like writing out the "NPC barks" that constitute world building.But there's also interesting new tech like the Unreal Engine "Metahuman" real time facial animation that could be a game changer in democratizing game development.Then we talk to Rob about Diablo IV and if I just need to play it multiplayer to really enjoy it.
The 3DS and Wii U eShops were set to close on March 27th. Sadly this podcast episode didn't make it out in time, but we talk about game preservation and how much it cost one YouTuber to preserve the entire catalog.The FTC has finalized an order requiring Epic Games to pay $245 million back to consumers as a penalty for employing "dark patterns" to trick players into making additional purchases.Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear has stepped down as CEO of Twitch after 16 years at the company. After this recording, Twitch laid off 400 employees.Then we talk to Rob about 3DS and Wii U games to purchase before the store goes offline.
According to Activision-Blizzard, Sony informed ABK and Microsoft in front of EU regulators that they are not interested in a long term deal for Call of Duty, they just want to block the merger.Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has been delayed, but it's not because they are changing the core mechanic like people hoped.The Epic Games Store will no longer be a curated store of quality titles, as they are now allowing self-publishing to anyone that has $100 - but they are requiring multiplayer crossplay with all other PC platforms, which means they must use Epic's multiplayer servers.Then we talk to Rob about Theatrhythm and No Man's Sky.
I start off by talking a little bit more about PSVR2 and my attempt to use eye tracking with a severe astigmatism.Microsoft has been granted access to Sony documents regarding their third party contracts to see what their exclusivity deals are like.Meta has dropped the price of the Quest Pro and the 256GB Quest 2 because nobody was buying them.The International Olympic Committee is doing Esports again - but some of the games are ones that nobody plays but happen to be owned by IOC officials.Then we take calls about the Olympics and No Man's Sky.A chatter made me think the Ides of March was March 5th and not 15th. Excuse my ignorance.
This episode is all about PlayStation VR2 - a great piece of hardware that I really hope gets a large enough software library (with GOOD software) that can compliment it.I discuss trying to set it up in a dark room, because the inside-out tracking needs a bright room with things in it so it can work.There is a somewhat hidden setting that improves the tracking by putting a border on the TV screen which can help when your game is being paused constantly because the headset momentarily loses tracking.I also discuss what it's like to use the eye tracking as someone with astigmatism. It works great for people with eyes that work, but people who's eyes don't work as well might want to avoid using it for things like targeting in Rez Infinite or using menus in Horizon: Call of the Mountain.I talk about playing some of the demos of games that were part of the launch day lineup and what I thought of them. Many of them are already available for Meta Quest 2, so if you have that headset you've probably already played this.Gran Turismo 7 is really something in VR, but know that it doesn't recognize the VR controllers at all, so you'll have to use either the standard PS5 controller or a racing wheel to play it.
This episode is all about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, the new rhythm game filled with Final Fantasy music. It's fantastic.While Square says that this is the last Theatrhythm Final Fantasy title, the developers did tell Spanish-speaking media that they are open to doing Theatrhythm style games for other franchises like Nintendo and the Tales series.Earthworm Jim 4 has been supposedly cancelled, putting yet another nail in the Intellivision Amico coffin.Then we talk to Rob about finding a PS5 in the wild. After this episode aired, I DID receive the PlayStation VR2 so that is what we will be talking about on the next episode!
There will not be a live show on February 12th due to a social gathering revolving around a television commercial watching event.Theatrhythm Final Bar Line has a demo out on Switch and PS4, and you get some item drops if you play on certain days during the demo period.The Free Twitter API was originally being discontinued on the 9th (this changed) but when it does go down, there's a chance the console screenshot sharing functionality will cease to work.I went to an XR Atlanta meetup this past week, and while there was talk of the "metaverse" (that nobody can define) there was a LOT of talk about how GPT-3 bots will make artists obsolete and there are plenty of people ready to hop on that bandwagon. Learn to prompt?!The first true video game GRAMMY award has been awarded to Stephanie Economou for Assassin???s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok!Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all skipping the more consumer-focused E3 because it just doesn't fit in with their strategy this year. Nintendo says it's because they actually don't have much releasing in the second half of the year.Then we talk to Rob about video game soundtracks on both vinyl and CD.
Hi-Fi Rush is FANTASTIC, and it was shadowdropped this week on Xbox, PC, and Game Pass.Following up on a story we had last week, Microsoft actually laid off all employees working in AR and VR, which means that Microsoft's investment in mixed reality may be coming to an end.Several gaming media giants have laid off their employees as well, with the Washington Post laying off people "because they had to" and not because they were underpeforming.Then we talk to Rob about how Forspoken isn't being talked positively about because Hi-Fi Rush and Goldeneye 007 have taken over the discourse.
Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden have come out for modern consoles and are available on Game Pass.Microsoft is shutting down AltspaceVR and is transferring the technology and any remaining engineers over to Microsoft Teams...I bet Mixer fans can relate. Everyone's going to VRChat now, but I don't know anybody there.Sony has announced the PSVR2 launch lineup, and there are some great games that are getting a new version to try to entice people to buy it.Then we talk to Rob from OLR about how he is NOT excited about the PSVR2 launch lineup.
I was a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online, which raised over $2.6 Million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.SGDQ will take place the last week of May instead of the last week of June, but no word on venue yet.I go through all of the runs I hosted for this event, as well as some other runs that I enjoyed.Google is shutting Stadia down this week, but they are unlocking the controller's Bluetooth antenna so people aren't left with a paperweight.
We start off talking about Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 and my hosting assignments.We got a viewer comment about their games of the year for 2022.Nvidia is relaunching the RTX 4080 12GB as the RTX 4070 Ti, something more fitting for the chipset.You can get a PS5 now, according to Sony! The shortages are over.Does Microsoft REALLY not know when Call of Duty first came out, as some articles have suggested? The answer is more complicated.EA has stated that 60% of Madden Franchise saves were wiped due to a storage issue in the cloud.Then we talk to Rob about Arcade1up cabinets and if he has beaten my Tron score yet again.
Happy New Year! In this week of basically no gaming news, we decided to look back at 2022 a little bit and answer questions from the audience on our Discord server.I am hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online early on Monday and Thursday mornings, so come check it out if you're awake!I talk about what might be my game of the year in 2022, except I wasn't able to play many of the games due to life getting in the way.I then answer questions submitted via our Discord server, such as:What is my anticipated sleeper hit of 2023?What games would I want to compose the soundtrack?Is there a game at GDQ I would like to host for?Was there ever a game feature that came out that I said "of course, why didn't we think of that sooner?"What would be my ultimate Arcade1up machine?What is the craft beer scene like in Georgia?
I'm back from a two week hiatus! And I'm hosting two early morning shifts at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023, but at least the second one concludes the Awful Block, so it might be worth it for you to wake up early to experience it.I got to play the Weird Al pinball table, Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity, and I was sold on it except for my ball continually getting stuck on a ramp - made worse by the lack of any kind of ball search functionality in the code.I was on a cruise - the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas - and in the sports bar there were classic arcade games like Mario Bros and Galaga, except they were actually iCades and Beyond Arcades with multiple games in them...Are these unlicensed?Gamers are suing Microsoft to stop the Activision Blizzard merger.John Carmack has decided to leave Meta because he couldn't fight the fight anymore.Then we talk to Rob about The Game Awards and what I missed, other than the security breach.
This is the last live show until December 25th, so we will be off the air for the next two weeks. Enjoy December!I WILL be a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online in January, but I don't yet know what I'm hosting. I give some tips on how to get your donation read on air whether I'm hosting or not.The Game Awards will be significantly shorter this year, with less game premieres than past years. This is due to audience feedback.Callisto Protocol has a very interesting Rules of Conduct for a single player offline game, but I feel like it's just an oversight based on the main game that is published by that company.Then we talk to Rob about Fuser being delisted and why the current corporate "metaverse" is not grabbing people's attention, and what Fortnite is actually doing right in that area.
Sorry this episode is a little late. There was a show recorded on December 4th that will be on the feed on December 7th. Then, we will be back with live shows on December 25th.We start the show by discussing the criteria for Game Awards nomination, based on a caller we had the previous week.The Federal Government is "likely" to block the Microsoft and Activision merger, but nothing is guaranteed.Some amusing anecdotes have been revealed in statements to European regulators by Sony and Microsoft. First up, Sony is worried that Microsoft will behave like Sony and start raising prices of games and consoles.Then, Microsoft claims that they suck compared to Sony and Nintendo.Then we talk about Rhythm Quest, an indie game releasing in 2023 that has a demo out now on Steam.
We start off talking about social media - how the landscape will and won't change, as well as a quick primer on how Mastodon actually works, if you choose to go there.I went to DreamHack Atlanta - an "esports convention" (really, a LAN party but very geared towards competitive gaming) and spoke on a panel about Safety and Security in Online Spaces.I got the SEGA Genesis Mini 2 and played a bunch of the old and new games that are on the system.We spent so much time on those topics, that I didn't actually cover any of the news, but we did take a call about eligibility criteria for The Game Awards.
I will not be on the air next weekend, but I am tentatively scheduled to moderate a panel at Dreamhack Atlanta on November 19th and I have been once again selected as a host for Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online in January! The PlayStation VR 2 is releasing for $549.99 on February 22, 2023, and preorders will begin on November 15th. Apple is preparing their AR/VR push by hiring two of the three cofounders of mixed reality development studio Playdeo. Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida has stated that the cast of the game will not be diverse because, apparently, there were no diverse people in medieval Europe. Then we talk to Rob about pinball (yes, there's a reason) as well as his thoughts on Yoshi-P's statements.
We start off the show by remembering Rieko Kodama, one of the creative leads on the Phantasy Star series, as well as working on Skies of Arcadia. There was a major Esports event in Atlanta - League of Legends Worlds 2022 Semifinals - but you wouldn't have known it looking around town. Atlanta showed up, though, so maybe more events can happen in the Southeastern US. Physical copies of games are now just empty discs - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has just an installer that downloads the 150GB game over the internet. Another game developer wishes they had done the same. Then we talk to Rob about physical games and also taking a break from everything for a weekend.
We finally delve into the Bayonetta 3 voice actor controversy, now that more information has been brought out from both sides. It's sad that there is a real conversation to be had regarding voice actors and their pay in the industry, but we wound up speaking about anything but that. A new company wants to become the Netflix of games - Netflix. Then we take calls about Bayonetta 3, because of course that's what people want to talk about this week.
We start off with some breaking news - G4 has closed up shop again. Mismanagement looks to be the root cause. Nvidia is "unlaunching" the RTX 4080 12GB because it is actually a different card than the RTX 4080 16GB and not just a memory upgrade. The Meta Quest Pro will be $1500 and is aimed at businesses and power users, not for everyday gamers. Microsoft's version of the HoloLens failed tests and soldiers don't want to actually use it yet. Then we take calls about G4's demise, Bayonetta 3 drama, and a little bit about Twitchcon.
We start with a little talk about TwitchCon as well as a dangerous situation that occurred there that we might be hearing about for a while. The best trailer I saw this week was not a movie, and it's very unexpected. Overwatch 2 requires a phone number to play - and it has to be a real one, not a pre-paid or VOIP number. This leaves many lower-income players out of the "free to play" game. The PlayStation VR2 is in "full production" and Sony is expecting to have 2 million units out at launch. No Man's Sky is launching on the Nintendo Switch and is adding fully customizable accessibility modes in it's 21st update after its launch six years ago. Then we talk about the Mario movie and hear a report from TwitchCon from OLR's Rob Roberts.
Google Stadia is shutting down in January of 2023. When it was announced, there was a curious display at GDC that foretold this end. That display was auctioned for charity. Ubisoft will transfer purchases of Stadia content to PC. Other developers reported that they were not told about the shutdown - even the day before. Then we talk to Rob about E3 2023 and TwitchCon next week - where I am not going but he is.
We start off with a viewer comment talking about why the PSVR2 won't be able to natively play PSVR1 titles, and questioning the idea that the tracking change is the reason. Streamer Bait Trombone Champ came out, and it is a really well made meme game that is probably more fun to watch than it is to play. Nvidia says that "Moore's Law Is Dead", which is why new GPU prices will be even higher than before. Then we talk to Rob about new graphics cards and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, which is now on Xbox Game Pass.
A bunch of new games were announced this week with several direct-to-consumer showcases. Yakuza is changing its name to Like A Dragon - which is actually what the series name is in Japan. Theatrhythm is finally coming to the Switch! Suikoden I and II are being remastered so more people can finally play them on modern hardware. Rare has announced that Goldeneye will be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online N64 Pack as well as to Xbox Game Pass, but only one platform will have online multiplayer. Videos, screenshots, and some source code of Grand Theft Auto VI were leaked, and the hacker wants "to make a deal." EVGA will be exiting the GPU business after a rocky relationship with Nvidia. Sony has announced that PlayStation VR 2 will not be backwards compatible with PlayStation VR 1 games, and while it sucks, it does make sense from a technical standpoint. Then we talk to Rob about all of the recent game announcements.
We start by remembering a professional friend of mine who we lost this month - Mike Fahey of Kotaku. We talk about how we would be the two press representatives at Atlanta events in the late 2000's and how we helped out each other professionally and personally. We take some comments from the Discord server regarding issues with the Tilt Five AR headset that other people are seeing, as well as some clarifications at how it works. I went to Dragon Con and had a great time - although a lot of people brought home a really bad souvenir. I hosted several panels, including an amazing one with Master Daniel and Carlos Pesina of Mortal Kombat fame. Check it out on YouTube! Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 will be online due to wanting to not hold their event in Florida. Sony has rejected Microsoft's offer to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for three extra years, calling it inadequate. Then we talk to Rob about him beating my high scores, Dragon Con, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.
I will be moderating SIX PANELS at Dragon Con!! Sony is raising the price of the PS5 in some territories, but not in the US. The reviews for Saints Row are out, and their "meh"ness has caused the Embracer Group stock price to tank. A new leak suggests that Microsoft will allow friends to also share Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and not just family. Then we talk to Rob about Gamescom trailers to watch and Dragon Con.
I'm moderating and speaking on SIX PANELS at Dragon Con in Atlanta! Come find me in the app! I got the Tilt Five AR Glasses that I kickstarted in 2019 and it's pretty rough right now - but nothing that can't be remedied with some more time in development. The Sega Genesis Mini 2 game list has been announced, and there's a lot of good ones on it. However, the Working Designs games like the Lunar series won't be on the US system due to localization issues. Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con.
Unity gets a contract with the Department of Defense and employees aren't happy. Mobile ad company AppLovin wants to purchase Unity so it won't merge with ironSource. (This was turned down after the show was recorded.) Microsoft claims that Sony is blocking titles from being on Game Pass. Microsoft also claims that Activision does not release "unique" games. Then we talk to Rob about a book I found in my childhood home from 1984 that teaches BASIC programming to kids using a novel where you're a computer hacker.
VRChat has pushed a security update that adds the Easy Anti-Cheat tool and bans all mods, many of which were used by people to make VRChat more accessible to them. Meta has raised the price of the Quest 2 by $100. A N*T seller was suspended from the Gamestop marketplace because he stole open source games and sold them for thousands of dollars without licensing them. Arcade1up has announced a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 cabinet at EVO. Then we talk a little bit about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Wave 2 courses and Arcade1up cabinets. At the end, there is a very personal message. Thank you for being part of this for me. Love you, Mom.
It's literally the 17th Anniversary of this podcast - Episode 1 aired live on July 24, 2005 using Shoutcast Internet Radio and an IRC chat room, and has evolved into a Twitch video show 816 episodes later. Thank you for being a part of it! One of the two panels I hosted at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo is now on YouTube - Explaining Speedrunning With Silent Hill 4: The Room Featuring AnEternalEnigma! There were three games that came out this week that I wanted to talk about: The Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels expansion came out, and it's as fun as you'd expect - even more fun than the actual Hot Wheels game! Indie darling Stray is out, and while it had the makings of a personal GOTY, it fell a little bit short for me. And then Live A Live, the 2D-HD remake of a 1994 SNES classic that never made it out of Japan, is actually a really good time. LEGO is releasing an Atari 2600 next month, and I might need it. Then we talk to OLR about yet another No Man's Sky update.
I spent the weekend at the Southern Fried Gaming Expo playing arcades and pinball games! I also hosted two panels, one of which about speedrunning will be hitting YouTube soon. Unity has merged with ironSource, a known adware provider. They are doing this because they need to be able to generate revenue so their investors will stop suing them. Then we have open discussion about E3 being taken over by ReedPOP, and the current state of the G4 TV network compared to when I was involved with it. PROGRAMMING NOTE: DURING THIS EPISODE I REFER TO TAKING A WEEK OFF. PLANS HAVE CHANGED. Due to medical conditions and quarantine, we have opted to move our trip to the following weekend, so there WILL be a live show on July 24th on the 17th anniversary of this podcast, and there will NOT be a live show on July 31st.
I'm going to be at Southern Fried Gaming Expo next weekend and I am hosting two panels/events on Saturday evening! A runner faked a portion of their remote speedrun on SGDQ last week, and I'm not surprised at who did it. It looked like the trademark for the Intellivision Amico was abandoned, but it turns out it wasn't - doesn't give us any hope for a release, though. Meta announced that Facebook will not be required to use a Quest VR headset starting next month. Then we talk to Rob a little bit about my past in music writing (which will be elaborated on in a future episode) as well as thoughts on E3 2023 being run by ReedPOP.
I attended my first in person speedrunning marathon - Summer Games Done Quick 2022 - where over $3 million was raised for Doctors Without Borders. I talk about what it's like to attend the week long event, more than what you see on the stream. I go through my four runs that I hosted, and what worked well with them. Then we talk to Rob about other runs at GDQ as well as what news we might have missed while out.
I'm hosting at Summer Games Done Quick NEXT WEEK - no show on June 26th, but I should be back on July 3rd, airlines willing. Diablo Immortal sales numbers are in, and they went as predictably as expected. Nintendo is allegedly phoning YouTube cover artists telling them to remove their music covers of popular Nintendo tracks. Then we take calls about Tunic, old school gaming manuals, and Orange Lounge Radio's 20th anniversary next week while I'm at SGDQ.
I'm hosting at Summer Games Done Quick 2022 in two weeks - hear me on Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon! Even though there was no big industry trade show, Geoff Keighley put on Summer Games Fest and showed off a bunch of new game trailers - with lots of horror games. Geoff revealed at the end that the 2023 event will include an in-person component, and there's a very interesting reason as to why. Devolver Digital did what Devolver Digital does - but they probably had the best game I had seen all weekend in between Suda51 as a mech destroying the world. (Every word of that sentence is 100% true.) At the Xbox Bethesda Showcase, games releasing in the next 12 months were shown - many of which coming to Xbox Game Pass. The big blockbuster announcement is the partnership with Riot Games - League of Legends and Valorant will be coming with all champions unlocked to Game Pass. But Bobby's favorite announcement was that all of the good Persona games were coming to Windows and Xbox Game Pass - but was saddened to hear it includes Persona 3 Portable and not Persona 3 FES. Then we talk to Rob about the showcases as well as Hideo Kojima announcing he was working with Microsoft to specifically use their cloud technology.
Sega has announced the Mega Drive Mini 2 in Japan, which contains Sega CD games as well as more Genesis games. This is not a Dreamcast Mini because of the high cost of components - whereas the Mega Drive Mini 2 has many of the same components as the existing Mega Drive Mini. Diablo Immortal will not launch in Belgium or The Netherlands due to those countries' laws about lootboxes. Earlier this year, however, a court in The Netherlands overturned a fine against EA over the FIFA Ultimate Team lootboxes. There is now a concerted effort among 18 EU countries asking for regulation on lootboxes from the EU as a whole. Then we talk to Rob about if we'd name our kid after a video game. (No, really...)
Our hearts are with Uvalde, Texas - there is currently an itch.io bundle of NES homebrew games benefiting the families affected. I went to MomoCon this past weekend, and spent quite some time in the arcade area, courtesy of Save Point in Maryland. The ROM for the prototype arcade game Marble Madness II has been leaked, and is now playable by the masses for the first time. Embracer Group is now getting into the video game preservation space with the Embracer Games Archive. Then we talk to Rob about the No Man's Sky expedition introducing roguelike mechanics to the formerly chill space exploration game.
We start off by wishing Pac-Man a very happy 42nd birthday, as the first arcade cabinet hit Japan on May 22, 1980. I talk about some of the memories and merchandise from the time period, and about how the Atari 2600 version is actually a technical masterpiece despite not being very true to the original arcade game. I will be at MomoCon in Atlanta on Saturday, May 27th, just hanging out. Will I see you there? I am hosting four games early on at Summer Games Done Quick 2022! EA is looking to sell, and already had one attempt by NBCUniversal. The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince has taken a 5.01% stake in Nintendo - after already investing in Capcom, Nexon, and SNK. We take a call from a new Xbox Series X owner asking which games he should play in 4K for the first time. Then we talk to Rob about other great games that are on Game Pass, especially for those new to 4K gaming.
The best selling console game in the world - EA Sports FIFA - is getting rebranded to EA Sports FC in 2023. FIFA says that the only reason the game is good is because of their name on the box, and not the software inside. A composer for Street Fighter 5 gave some insight on the future of a character, but now says that he was giving a hypothetical opinion on a livestream he promoted as "ask me about my work on Street Fighter" and, even though he said he had sources, he actually didn't have any sources. Then we talk to Rob about how the video game industry is actually quite small and networking is key.
I've been once again selected as a host for Summer Games Done Quick - this time IN PERSON! Square Enix has sold Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal to Embracer Group for only $300 million. Embracer Group is the Sweidsh version of Tencent - they have made a ton of purchases in the last few months. Square Enix claims they sold these studios so they could concentrate on other moneymaking technologies. Nvidia has been fined by the SEC for misleading investors over how many of their gaming GPUs were being sold to non-gamers. We talk about a viewer comment about Nintendo not doing a good enough job preserving third party Nintendo titles. Then we talk to Rob about Square Enix's sale and their reasoning.
There's a real expensive Final Fantasy VI statue of Terra riding Magitek Armor for sale, and even the series creator thinks its a bit too much. Sony is temporarily disabling the redemption of pre-paid PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now cards to prevent stacking. Twitch reportedly is seeking to change the terms of their Partnership agreement which will negatively affect the incomes of many streamers. Then we talk to Rob about the collectibles market.
Happy Anniversary to us at the Voice of Geeks Network! We soft launched as an internet radio station in April of 2012. In response to Microsoft, Sony has started looking into creating an ad delivery service for free-to-play titles. Right now, it's not as nefarious as it might wind up being. Apple has informed iOS developers that they will remove their games from the App Store if they don't update their finished games once every two years. We talk about old podcasts and the old Friday Night Gaming video podcast I did for two years, where the audio archives are still available. Then we talk to Rob about PAX East and other events finally returning.
The issue reported last week about the PSOne Classics expiring on PS3 and Vita have been fixed, but you won't find any gaming news outlets reporting on it. Microsoft is investigating launching an in-game ad service that developers can use for free-to-play titles. No Man's Sky has launched a new update - the Outlaws Update - which overhauls ship combat and makes their mellow exploration game more dangerous. It has made me - and many others - not want to play anymore because of the new danger. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and Final Fantasy XIV's latest patch.
PlayStation Plus is being rebranded this summer with an essential merging of the existing Plus service with PlayStation Now. This is being done as an answer (but not necessarily a competitor) to Xbox Game Pass. PSOne titles were being expired on PS3 and Vita coincidentally with the launch of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, but we hypothesized that it was a mistake and not "random" as some people have claimed. A random tangent on that story was around how UNIX handles time and what's going to happen in January of 2038. Gamestop has cancelled all preorders of the Intellivision Amico, which is sadly another nail in the coffin of the troubled console. Then we talk about the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer and the Chrono Cross remaster.
The 8-Bit Big Band won the GRAMMY award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella, with their cover of Meta Knight's Revenge from Kirby Super Star! E3 2022 has been completely cancelled - including any digital show - for 2022. There is a difference between a fan convention like a PAX and an industry-only trade show like older E3's - and there's still a place for those in the industry, even if consumers don't directly benefit from it. Other industries - even other entertainment industries - have industry-only trade shows that don't involve the public, but for some reason video games aren't allowed to have the same thing.
800 episodes!? Where has the time gone?? Polyphony Digital has apologized for the recent changes and downtime with Gran Turismo 7, and promises to do better. Nintendo is shutting down Dragalia Lost, their only original title for mobile, later this year. They are also discontinuing a subscription service for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Then we take a call about Chocobo GP and talk about if Nintendo is possibly exiting the mobile market.
Summer Games Done Quick 2022 will be in person this June! Mario Kart 8 Deluxe got its first wave of new courses, and I liked them but a lot of other people haven't. Gran Turismo 7 had a recent patch that changed the payouts for races that made some cars out of reach - unless you wanted to pay almost the entire cost of the game for a single car. The way they did that was with a patch that took the servers offline for 30 hours - making the singleplayer game unplayable. Then we talk about Final Fantasy Origins: Stranger in Paradise, Arcade1up leaks, and a Video Game Quiz card game that I quiz Rob on.
Don't get Chocobo GP. It's a full price game that then plays like Genshin Impact. Princess Peach is joining the LEGO family with new playsets in the Super Mario line, including her castle. Be sure to get another LEGO castle to put the Peach figure in, so she can be in another castle. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp has been delayed indefinitely due to current events - and the reasoning is deeper than just "it's a war with tanks." While the itch.io Bundle for Ukraine is now over, the TTRPG's for Trans Rights in Texas bundle is still going strong. Then we talk to Rob about bundles and Guardians of the Galaxy, now on Xbox Game Pass.
We start off by answering a viewer question - why did I install blacklights into my basement arcade? The Gizmodo Media Group Union, consisting of writers from sites like Kotaku, went on strike for better working conditions, and won right before we went on the air. (But not before the outlets used articles from other regions not represented by the union!) A bunch of Intellivision news from recent weeks which points to the company being sold and the Amico probably never coming out. Then we talk about picking up older games after not touching them for a while, and about the No Man's Sky expedition going on now.
This episode is a pinball podcast - regular video games will return next week. I just got the Rush Limited Edition pinball machine (#944 out of 1000) and set it up - but setting it up wasn't as smooth as it should have been! I also installed the Pinwoofer aftermarket sound kit to get more bass out of the music - which also wasn't as smooth as it should have been. But at least I'm now done buying pinball machines, because my second favorite act Weird Al will never get a pinball machine............oh no. Then we talk to OLR about Rob's new home and things going on in video games.
Nintendo is closing the Wii U and 3DS eShops in 2023, with payment methods going away in the middle of 2022. This means that up to 1000 digital only games will no longer be available to legally acquire in any way. Various libraries and museums are commencing preservation efforts, however the Entertainment Software Association, who represents publishers like Nintendo, continually take them to court to stop them from doing so - even though they keep losing horribly. Print out your photos. Don't rely on just digital backups. There WILL be pinball talk on the next episode...
There will NOT be a live show on February 13th, as I will be watching TV with a small group of people I haven't seen in years. Sony has acquired Destiny 2 developer Bungie for $3.6 Billion. Most of that money went to securing the talent by offering them more money if they stay with the company for several years instead of immediately leaving. The New York Times has purchased viral hit Wordle for over $1 million, and people think it will stay ad-free and free to play forever. (It won't.) Google has deprioritized the Stadia service in favor of the "Google Stream" technology, choosing to spend more resources working with companies like Peleton rather than consumers. Then we take a call trying to convince Bobby to get Pokemon Legends: Arceus, as well as talking about why we're seeing so much consolidation in the gaming industry recently.
Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master was released on PC and Xbox Game Pass, but unfortunately the PC version had to be temporarily delisted because you couldn't actually run it. Luckily, a mod was made to put a bandaid on the problem so people could play it. (But really, Drum'n'fun on the Nintendo Switch is a much better version of Taiko no Tatsujin and frequently goes on sale!) Valve has announced that the Steam Deck will start shipping in February, so watch your emails as you will only have 72 hours to confirm your order when your spot in line comes up. Sega has sold its remaining shares in Genda GiGO Entertainment which means that Sega will no longer OPERATE arcades in Japan after doing so for multiple decades. (This does NOT mean that Sega is no longer making arcade games.) Then we take calls about Taiko no Tatsujin and Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Huge news took place this week that pushed other announcements aside - Microsoft announced their intention to purchase Activision Blizzard King for $68.7 billion. Embattled Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will stay in his position until the deal closes in 18 months, but will then be on the way out. Sony released a statement saying they expect Microsoft to honor all existing contractual obligations, considering Sony is the "home of Call of Duty" in a marketing sense. Activision sold because they dug themselves in a hole with AAA game development, and were looking for a suitor. Rob Roberts and I went on the air on Tuesday with a special VOG Roundtable to talk about this, and it is up on the VOG YouTube.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 Online raised over $3.4 Million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which is a WR for speedrun charity marathons! Check out the show notes on VOGNetwork.com for links to the unofficial charts referenced regarding donations over time and how they were broken down by game. I was a host/donation reader for four games, and it had its ups and downs. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I hope to audition well enough to do it again in the summer. People ask me if I'm a speedrunner, and I used to tell them no...until now. It turns out that the Any% Major Glitches speedrun of The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past is super simple to pull off, and I teach you how it's done, courtesy of a bonus incentive on the final night of AGDQ 2022. Then we talk to Rob about the news that I didn't talk about. Don't let the fact that I didn't talk about the big gaming news distract you from the fact that Georgia defeated Alabama 33-18 to win the 2021 College Football National Championship! Go Dawgs!
We get a viewer comment that lists their favorite games that came out in 2021 - and there were a lot of great games that came out! Stern Pinball showed off the Rush Pinball machine in detail, and I threw my wallet at them. At CES, Sony revealed PlayStation VR 2 - but not a release date or price. E3 has cancelled their in-person show for 2022, conveniently blaming the current COVID variant. Then we talk to Rob about Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Game Pass, and Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 is this week, and I've got three shifts as a host/donation reader! I'm hosting the first half of Final Fantasy XIII on Tuesday, Lost Judgment on Thursday, and on Saturday I have Earthbound and Fallout New Vegas. Hype! Stern Pinball teased a Rush pinball machine...More next week! Tim Sweeney responded to a user on Twitter explaining that the Epic Games Store can't offer gift cards because they don't take as much of a cut from developers as Steam does - which shows where Epic's priorities are. John Madden might be best known as a football coach and commentator, but he was also an influential game designer, shaping sports video games forever. I talk about what it's ACTUALLY like to play video games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Cuphead, and Beach Buggy Racing 2 in a 2015 Tesla Model S - and what you can and can't do while the vehicle is in operation. Then we talk to Rob about our favorite games of 2021.
I got Sonic The Hedgehog running on THEC64, which is the large size version of the C64 Mini, which means if you have that with the latest firmware, you too can play the Sonic Commodore 64 port! Check out my YouTube channel for the raw video footage of Green Hill Zone. There had been a grand total of 15 items sold on the Ghost Recon Breakpoint marketplace by resellers as of December 20th. Ubisoft is being hit with The Great Resignation, along with just about every other industry in the world. Then we talk to Rob about holiday gifts and New Years Resolutions for 2022.
My hosting/donation reading schedule for Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 Online has changed slightly - I talk about which run was swapped out. Sonic The Hedgehog is coming to Tesla cars! But it's a party trick - I promise. A fanmade port of the Sega Master System version of Sonic The Hedgehog is coming to Commodore 64's with the 256k RAM Expansion Unit. Ubisoft has doubled down on its latest moneymaking scheme despite employee pushback. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and investigative journalism in the gaming space.
We start by paying tribute to Masayuki Uemura, lead architect of the NES and SNES, who passed away at the age of 78. I got The Legend of Zelda Game & Watch and talk about how it's different than the Super Mario Game & Watch from last year and if it's worth $50. The Game Awards was this past week, and once you make peace with the fact that it's not intended to really be an awards show but rather a vehicle for game announcements, it was enjoyable. Once of those announcements was about the Unreal Engine 5 demo for PS5 and Xbox Series X called The Matrix Awakens, where any bugs you find are just glitches in the Matrix. Then we talk to Rob about the Final Fantasy XIV queues.
There is a HUGE bug with Xbox Series X consoles and disc game installs - essentially, if you are wanting to get a game on disc to save on your monthly bandwidth cap, you won't be able to do that because you need to use a workaround to force a download of the game to your console. I finally built the Arcade1up TRON cabinet! It was a more challenging build than the Star Wars and OutRun cabinets. It has some issues and is very expensive, but fans who really love TRON and can't afford a used authentic cabinet will really enjoy it. Then we talk to Rob about covering The Game Awards 2021 despite an article blowing something out of proportion over a certain game publisher's involvement.
I got my hosting assignments for Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 and I'll be reading your donations during Final Fantasy XIII, Lost Judgment, EarthBound, and Mario Kart Wii! The Arcade1up TRON cabinet is here, but I was not able to finish building it in time for the show. No Man's Sky's expeditions are returning, which means you have another chance to get the Normandy as a freighter ship! Harmonix has been purchased by Epic Games, and they will now be creating musical experiences in Fortnite. MobyGames, the IMDB of video games, has been purchased by the company that now calls itself Atari. We talk about some Black Friday deals and give a tip on what to do with Xbox Live Gold cards if you already have Game Pass Ultimate. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky.
We read a viewer comment about Forza Horizon 5 and about which FPS people should be playing and why some people may opt for a different framerate than what is obvious. Streamlabs was exposed for having copied another competitor's website, which just started a chain reaction of other companies and organizations accusing Streamlabs of benefiting off of their work without any compensation. Rockstar Games is the new CD Projekt Red with the buggy launch of the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy ??? The Definitive Edition. Then we talk to Rob about Halo Infinite and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
We start off with some viewer comments from previous episodes on the new company Meta, as well as Far Cry 6's email and tracking. There's more talk about Forza Horizon 5 about how it is an ecological disaster (in-game, obviously) but also look at one of it's accessibility options and how it makes the game accessible without necessarily changing any of the physics or other difficulty options. Discord's CEO put out a tweet showing integrations with a cryptocurrency wallet before walking it back after backlash. Konami has pulled Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 from digital storefronts due to the expired licenses of some historical footage - because they probably felt a 20 year license would be more than enough time. A new thrash metal band decided to name themselves Doomscroll, but Doom developer iD Software isn't gonna let them get away with it. Then we take a call from our friend in Mexico to discuss his impressions of Forza Horizon 5.
I attended the Southern Interactive Entertainment and Game Expo's Indie Game Showcase this weekend to see lots of games made in the Southeast that may or may not come out soon - and I give a high level overview of them. Forza Horizon 5 was out to those who bought the Ultimate Edition, and it was worth every penny. EA says that NFT's are the future of gaming, but doesn't exactly explain how. Intel's new Alder Lake CPU's are designed in such a way that Denuvo DRM software believes that they are two separate computers. Then we talk to rob about Final Fantasy XIV's expansion delay.
PAX South has been cancelled by ReedPOP due to the convention not growing as well as hardships from the pandemic. Meta, the new parent company of Facebook, Oculus, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have announced that they will no longer tie your Oculus account with Facebook. They're also removing the Oculus name. If you don't play Far Cry 6 after a bit, a marketing email from the main antagonist of the game will mock you and send you your in-game stats. Then we talk about the Awesome Games Done Quick game list, and to Rob about Disneyland.
I have been selected to be a host/donation reader at Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 in January! Intel has stated that there will be a CPU/GPU shortage until 2023. CD Projekt Red stated that there will be a Cyberpunk 2077 next-gen shortage until 2022. God of War is heading to PC, signaling the start of PlayStation Studios titles getting bigger audiences. During the open talk segment after the break, we talk about Orange Lounge Radio host LOKI's NES game Pixel Poops: Number Two, and some thoughts on the new movie Dune.
Valve has decided that certain currency technologies will not be permitted on the Steam store. Some decry this will be the end of Steam. The Epic Games Store has welcomed those same currency technologies...kind of. Nintendo released the price of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack and...vote with your wallet. HTC announced the HTC Vive Flow, a new standalone headset that looks like aviator glasses and has the best lens technology that all other VR headsets should steal. Sora was announced as the final DLC character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. A little bit of a longer episode due to a temporary power outage at OLR studios! Thank you all for the kind words during my one week "hiatus".
We start off with some viewer advice regarding utilizing the Authy Authenticator app instead of Google Authenticator for your Nintendo Online account. We also have a followup regarding the peer-to-peer networking discussion from the previous episode, along with a list of AAA titles utilizing that method of online gaming. I finally built the gaming PC I started buying parts for a year ago! And it all worked on first boot! But, building a PC has changed a lot since I last did it in 2012. Twitch gets itself another music deal with Warner Music Group - but it's only a benefit to Twitch and WMG artists, not for game streamers who want to play WMG music in the background. Phil Spencer says that Xbox shortages will continue until 2022 thanks to a perfect storm of bad events. I continue talking about my pinball journey with the new code release for The Mandalorian, and how it showed me that a portion of my machine is not working. Then we talk to OLR about New World and the massive queues that streamers are seeing. This is going to be the last episode for an undetermined amount of time. I go into surgery on October 4th that will affect my ability to perform to my satisfaction. Best case scenario is that the show will be back on the air on October 17th - however that is all dependent on the recovery and rehab after the procedure. Keep checking the VOG Network Discord as well as my Twitter account @BobbyBlackwolf for updates. We'll see you when we see you.
During the Nintendo Direct this week, the cast of the Super Mario Bros movie was announced, and Charles Martinet isn't playing Mario. People asked why they would not use the original voice of Mario, when he's not the original voice...You'd be surprised to hear who is! They also announced the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, which adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games to the service. Xbox 360 Gamerpics are returning to the Xbox One and Xbox Series hardware! If you still have the old Bobby Blackwolf gamerpic, now you can bring it back to your Xbox profile. Twitch signed a deal with a music publishing agency that still doesn't let you stream music. Then we take a call about Nintendo's online system not improving, yet they want to charge more money for roms.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 will be online only again in January. The Georgia Indies Bundle on Itch.io celebrates many great indie games made in Georgia for $10. Sony has announced that the PS3 and Vita servers for LittleBigPlanet will not be returning after being shut down several months ago due to a DDoS attack. We pay respects to Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor of the ZX Spectrum. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and the ZX Spectrum.
Dragon Con has taken place, and we talk all about how it was weird, but good. We do spend a lot of time talking about the pandemic and how it did - and didn't - affect Dragon Con, and you might be surprised about some of what is said...Especially if you read a lot of social media. I showed off some LED masks during the segment - there is a Twitch Clip of this available without subscribing, but they are by a company called Neon Culture, and are Arduino LED boards that are fit into masks and other apparel like hats and backpacks. The CEO of Tripwire Interactive has stepped down from that position after making a tweet on behalf of his company about politics - and I talk about why this entire event was worrisome for prospective new game developers in Georgia. The judge in the Epic v. Apple trial has rendered judgment - and if you wanted both sides to lose, well, you got your wish. Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con, No Man's Sky's new expedition, and that tweet he made while visiting my house.
I will be at Dragon Con speaking on five panels! One of which will be streamed on Twitch at the DCDigitalMedia channel. Check out my schedule on social media! I made a TikTok! The first one shows my arcade. You can view it without being a TikTok subscriber, but if you are, follow me at BobbyBlackwolf. Apple has loosened some of their requirements for app store developers in regards to other methods of payment as a proposed settlement to a 2019 class action lawsuit. The indie game developer of Summer of '58 announced that his next game is on hiatus due to the amount of alleged refund abuse on Steam - his game can be completed in 90 minutes so many people are able to get their money back after completion. Then we talk to chat about Gamescom reveals, as well as to Rob about Dragon Con - until the connection craps out. We will be back in two weeks!
The Southern-Fried Gaming expo was this past weekend - and it was my first in-person convention in two years. My feet are tired, but it was an enjoyable time. There's a lot of video in this segment, which you can see by subscribing to our Twitch channel and watching the VOD - but I try to describe everything. Before SFGE, I had played through Boyfriend Dungeon - which is a rogue-lite and dating sim. There's a controversy over the villain being portrayed too on the nose and for people who want to play the game without him, but that's like asking to play Final Fantasy VII without Sephiroth... Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con in two weeks!
The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo is August 20-22 in Atlanta, and will be masks required with an additional ballroom allocated for vaccinated people only which is masks optional. Games Done Quick is currently hosting Flame Fatales, an all woman-presenting speedrunning marathon benefiting The Malala Fund. I won a Newegg Product Shuffle! It's only an RTX 3060 Ti and not an RTX 3080 like I wanted, but I'll take it for now. The Intellivision Amico was delayed but all preorders were offered a gift...that many of us might have already had. A bipartisan bill in the US Senate would force mobile phone makers to allow for competing app stores and sideloading, pleasing Epic Games and Spotify. Then we talk about Dragon Con as well as me being a master at repairing pinball.
The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo is August 20-22 in Atlanta, and has published their Health & Safety Guidelines. Forza Motorsport 7 will be delisted in September - well before Forza Motorsport 8 is released. Activision Blizzard President J. Allen Brack has stepped down following the lawsuit brought on by the state of California. The Intellivision Amico has been delayed again - as announced in an email at Midnight on a Friday night. Blind gamer Stirlock calls in to talk about a new mod that allows blind people to play Hearthstone. Then we talk to Rob about Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo is just outside of Atlanta on August 20-22, and VOG is a sponsor and will be moderating a few panels! If you feel safe attending, come by and say hi! Dragon Con is IN Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend, and have updated Health & Safety guidelines as mandated by the City. I got my first real pinball machine - The Mandalorian (Premium), just off of the production line. I also had to make my first pinball repair! I'm a real owner now... Then we talk to OLR about Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X.
I was on the Dragon Con Digital Media Track Creator Spotlight last week! You can check it out now on YouTube. I got the Elgato Facecam and, while there are some hiccups with it being the first run of a technology product, it does the job it advertises well. The Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony used video game music for the Parade of Nations - but why were some prominent games not used? The State of California has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for gender discrimination among other terrible things. Then we talk to OLR about Dragon Con and doing panels at conventions in 2021.
I will be moderating two panels at the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta on August 20-22 as well as four panels at Dragon Con on Labor Day Weekend! Google announced that they are starting a Pay For Engagement model for games on Stadia Pro that pays developers based on how many days consumers open their games. Some game developers are worried about the long-term impacts on game design of this compensation model. Valve has announced the Steam Deck, a handheld PC that plays most of your Steam library. Then we talk to OLR about the Steam Deck and more Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online is in the books raising over $2.9 million for Doctor's Without Borders. I was backstage for the event and working as a host/donation reader, so I'll talk about what that was like and highlight both speedruns I was on the air for as well as others you should check out. Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) and while it has a better screen in handheld mode, it wasn't the 4K Switch Pro that people wanted in their heads. Then we talk to OLR about SGDQ and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Reminder - I'm doing two hosting shifts at Summer Games Done Quick 2021 from July 4-11! (There will be no live show on July 4th - see you on the 11th!) I rolled credits on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and talk about how it's the best showcase of a next gen console so far. PAX West has been announced to be in person Labor Day weekend, however it is not requiring vaccinations - enraging many on the internet. Harsh reality check in this story... Microsoft unveiled Windows 11 and it proves that they are seeing Xbox as an ecosystem and not merely a game console as we've known it. Then we talk to OLR about in-person events making a return after a year and a half of being virtual.
Reminder - I'm doing two hosting shifts at Summer Games Done Quick 2021 from July 4-11! We take some viewer comments, and the first one is correcting me that nobody uses Pascal as a programming language anymore... We talk a little bit about Game Builder Garage, and answer if it's going to scare kids away from game development because it can get tedious. We then go into a discussion about E3 and it's relevance and if it fulfilled anyone's needs - and about what E3 used to be versus how it's viewed by the general public today. Nintendo announced new hardware during their Nintendo Direct, but it wasn't what people were hoping for. Arcade1up DIDN'T announce what had been leaked, and in fact rescinded an announcement - with no word as to why. They still announced four new cabinets. Then we talked to OLR about E3 and expectations.
Reminder - I'm doing two hosting shifts at Summer Games Done Quick 2021 from July 4-11! Lots of games came out this week, and I give my thoughts on three of them - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Episode INTERmission, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart (super early), and Game Builder Garage. E3 only approved 100 content creators to costream their event out of over 1000 applicants - and warned those who were not selected to NOT create content that includes E3 broadcasts. Luckily, not everything was run by E3, so we talk about the Summer Games Fest Kickoff, the Xbox Showcase, and the Square Enix Showcase.
Summer Games Done Quick 2021 hosting assignments have come out, and I've got an (extremely) early morning block but I also will be hosting THE EVENT FINALE. Sierra On-Line cofounders Ken and Roberta Williams are returning to gaming...kind of, and probably not for long. Sony has announced that Horizon Forbidden West is not a PS5 exclusive, but will also be on PS4, albeit with some graphical downgrades. Also announced is that Gran Turismo 7 and the next God of War will ALSO release on the PS4. There was a report that a bug video montage was made at CD Projekt Red at the end of Cyberpunk 2077's development. It's really not a big deal, because everyone does it. Then we talk to OLR about Arcade1up leaks coming true and the No Man's Sky Prism update.
The Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online schedule is now out - but not host shifts yet. A viewer comments that you can find local pinball machines in your area for both public and private individuals over at Pinside. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD will lock a huge quality of life improvement behind a $25 Amiibo that is already out of stock and in the hands of scalpers. The Summer Games Fest will have a consolidated kick off event around the time of E3, as feedback came back from fans that having things spread out all over the summer was not appreciated. Then we talk to OLR about the Arcade1up E3 leak that we hope (or fear) is true, as well as No Man's Sky getting Mass Effect's Normandy as a fleet ship.
I have been selected as a host for Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online! Stay tuned in the next few weeks to find out when during the event I will be working. Starfield has been reported to be exclusive to Xbox and PC, making PlayStation owners sad, because allegedly it was intended to be a PlayStation exclusive. In the wake of the Epic Games v. Apple trial, Roblox has changed all of its wording and no longer refers to creations as "games" but rather "experiences" - probably to heed off being kicked off of the Apple App Store. Stern Pinball announced The Mandalorian. It arrives in late July. Then we talk to OLR about Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and why this might not be the best time to buy it.
We're doing a second VHS Gaming Tape Stream on Wednesday, May 19th, at 9PM ET/6PM PT at the VOGNetwork Twitch channel, featuring home movies from E3 2000 and 2001! We got a viewer comment about how we used to be able to know if we'd like a game because of game reviews, but now that no longer seems to be the case. Humble Bundle announced that they are reversing their previous decision and have restored the sliders to their bundles - but now take a larger cut for themselves by default. Epic Games v. Apple started this week with testimony from Epic and Microsoft, and lots of time was spent defining what a "game" was and if Fortnite fit that definition. Oh, and a lot of other industry secrets were revealed... Then we talk to OLR about the new Stern Pinball table that was about to be announced, as well as the upcoming Switch game maker Game Builder Garage.
Epic Games v. Apple began the day after the recording of this episode, so we talk about what we hope for and, spoiler alert for the next episode, we got a WHOLE LOT more than we had imagined... We did learn before the trial started that Microsoft was going to lower their percentage for Xbox games, but have since backed away from that proposal. Activision has reassigned most of its studios to work on Call of Duty: Warzone rather than the IP's that made them famous. Then we take a call about New Pokemon Snap as well as previewing the Epic Games v. Apple legal fight.
We take some viewer comments on previous episodes and talk about when movies have been "patched" after going to theaters (it doesn't happen as often, though...) as well as discuss why Capcom is remaking Resident Evil 4 for Oculus Quest 2 rather than making a new spinoff game in the franchise. Jeff Kaplan, creative director for Overwatch, is leaving Blizzard after 19 years. However, this is a trend that is going on across the entire tech industry in early 2021 and is not necessarily specifically related to just Blizzard. Sony has announced that the PS3 and Vita stores are NOT going offline after all. Humble Bundle, the digital game storefront that allowed you to donate lots of money to charity, is now no longer allowing you to donate lots of money to charity and keeping more of your money for itself, making it not so humble anymore. Then we talk to Rob about his thoughts on job changes in the tech industry.
We start off with a viewer comment about E3 going digital and reiterating the importance of networking when in the technology industry, and how a digital E3 eliminates one of the main avenues that the industry used for networking. Oculus has announced Oculus Air Link, a new way for the Oculus Quest 2 to play PC VR titles wirelessly - as long as you have a great wifi connection to a wired PC. The Creative Designer of Days Gone blamed consumers for the lack of a Days Gone sequel, stating that many of them didn't buy the game at full price and waited for it to go on sale or show up on PlayStation Plus, and that's why there's no sequel. Then we talk to OLR about consumer trust of AAA developers and publishers and why that can affect week one sales.
We talk a little bit more about Niantic's AR Headset tease from last week, and why it may or may not have the same fate as Google Glass. Atari is restructuring into two divisions - Atari Gaming and Atari Blockchain, complete with NFT's. E3 is returning as an all-virtual event this year, and some people are wondering why they will ever bother going back to a physical event. Then we talk to OLR about the No Man's Sky Expedition Update.
This was the podcast of me getting corrected, as I was corrected on VR companies, HDMI vs DisplayPort, and USB2 vs USB3. Please accept my humble apologies and Price is Right fail horns. We do get some interesting insider info about the software architecture of PlayStations vs. Xbox. Summer Games Done Quick 2021 will once again, and hopefully for the last time, be a virtual event the week of July 4th. Here's hoping I'll make the cut to host again! Microsoft has announced that the Sony developed (but MLB published) MLB The Show 21 will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one of its release - but it does not mean any other PlayStation exclusives are following suit. Niantic has teased an AR headset - does this mean that they might have figured out how to make AR headsets viable outside of the industrial or medical sector? Then we talk to OLR about No Man's Sky's Expeditions Update.
We had a lot of fun with our VHS Gaming Tape bonus stream - if you are subscribed to the VOGNetwork Twitch channel, check out the VOD! Sony has (now confirmed) announcing the closure of the PS3, PSP, and Vita digital storefronts this summer. Since this was recorded, we learned that they are NOT closing down the ability to redownload existing purchases. Microsoft is rebranding Xbox Live to just the Xbox Network, further cementing their desire for an Xbox ecosystem rather than just a console. Microsoft is the current primary suitor for chat app Discord - what does this mean for the future of Discord communities if it happens? Then we talk to OLR about Sony's backwards compatibility and the future of Discord.
We had our Bonus Stream for the VHS Gaming Tape on Wednesday (after recording the podcast but before the podcast went up) - subscribe to our Twitch channel to watch the VOD! Sony's Save Migration from PS4 to PS5 continues to be special, this time with Marvel's Avengers. (Don't blame Crystal Dynamics on this one, y'all...) Sony has revealed the new controller for the PSVR2 coming next year (at the earliest) for the PS5 - which is very reminiscent of the Oculus Touch controllers (which is a good thing!) A bunch of good PSVR games (as well as good non-PSVR games) are currently free to download for all PS4 and PS5 owners via Sony's Play At Home promotion. Microsoft has reiterated that VR is not a focus for the Xbox ecosystem after a localization error in Italy caused confusion. Then we talk to OLR about the history of gaming podcasts as well as the fun of buying time on an AM radio station to do your own talk show.
There will be a bonus VHS Gaming Tape stream on Wednesday, March 24th at 9PM ET/6PM PT on the VOGNetwork Twitch channel, featuring promotional tapes and possibly some home movies from late 90's E3! (The date was announced after recording.) There is a little bit of current events talk regarding vaccines (and getting them) at the beginning of the show. We take some viewer comments regarding the challenges that hardware developers have had over the last year with social distancing requirements, as well as another reason why we're seeing so many remasters right now. There was some confusion on why transferring save games from the PS4 to the PS5 seemed inconsistent, and we break down some examples. Xbox's $7.5 Billion acquisition of Bethesda was finalized this week, which meant that a whole bunch of games appeared on Xbox Game Pass. But, in the long term, will we actually see big franchises launch day and date on PlayStation or Nintendo consoles? I received the Strong Bad Sings vinyl this week (which sold out in an hour) and we talk a little bit about the resurgence of vinyl in general, and I talk about how hipster I am with my game music OST collection. Then we talk to OLR about the Bethesda acquisition and what that might mean for non-Xbox platforms.
It's Episode 750 and we didn't plan anything special, but there is some reminiscing about the past of this show and another show I did ten years ago where everyone laughed at me for thinking people would spend their Friday nights watching other people playing video games over the internet. The Twitch audience completed a channel points goal to have a VHS tape stream where I go through some of my old 90's era VHS tapes (both promotional and home movies from E3's of the era) so that will happen on the VOGNetwork Twitch channel at some point this month. I checked out the March PlayStation Plus game for PS5 Maquette, a first person puzzle game that seems like it should be clever but sometimes is just frustrating. The Sinking City, a Lovecraft-based adventure game, has been DMCA'd off of Steam by its developer after its former publisher decompiled the game from another storefront, removed some splash screens, and uploaded a new version of it without the developer's consent. Then we talk to OLR about movies being removed from the PlayStation Store.
Apologies for the late upload on this one - there were technical problems on the night of which required more editing (basically cutting out repeated mentions of the frame drops for the live Twitch feed) and real life got a little crazy. We talk about Persona 5 Strikers load times from a viewer email. Cyberpunk 2077's 1.2 patch has been delayed due to repercussions over the alleged hack and code theft. Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade is coming out for PS5 in June, and will be a free upgrade for those who own the PS4 version. It will include a new episode featuring Yuffie that is exclusive to the PS5. FF7 Remake is also now available on PlayStation Plus - however this version will not upgrade to the PS5. Why are there so many remasters coming out right now? There's a very good reason (that some consider to be an excuse) but it shows that we'll be seeing more remasters over the next year as the product of remote workforces in the gaming industry. Then we talk to OLR about the transition from working in an office and working from home, and while the technology is there, not all people can adapt as quickly.
We start off with a viewer comment regarding Google and its connected accounts that could control your entire digital life. BlizzConline was this weekend, and there was a legendary musical act who performed but wasn't heard by most of the audience. However, Blizzard DID announce that it was rereleasing the best game in its collection - Rock N Roll Racing is out with the Blizzard Arcade Collection alongside The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne. The Intellivision Amico has been delayed again - it slipped from its initial launch date of 10-10-2020 to 4-3-2021, and now has slipped again to October 10, 2021 - exactly one year after its initially announced launch. Persona 5 Strikers was released early for people who purchased the Digital Deluxe edition - and I had gotten about 10 hours into it over the weekend. Then we talk to OLR about putting some respect into Diablo's name.
Google cancelled a developer's entire Google account for an unknown TOS violation on YouTube, and after not being able to talk to a person at Google about losing all of their email, documents, and Google Play purchases, it was announced that Terraria's Google Stadia port has been cancelled. CD Projekt Red was the victim of a ransomware attack that stole source code for many games past and future as well as internal documents seemingly "damning" against the company. The hacked contents were subsequently sold on the black market for an undisclosed sum with the stipulation that they not be resold by the original hackers. This includes a dramatic reading of the ransom note left on CDPR's servers. I did roll credits on Cyberpunk 2077 (a couple times) and - the game was fine. Then we talk to OLR mostly about the recently released Pixel Poops on Steam, as well as the Commodore 64 version of the game and LOKI from OLR's NES game Pixel Poops No. 2.
This show was recorded during the Big Game - which I actually have a history with as a performer in a Disney-produced halftime show. EA has announced that a beloved franchise is making a triumphant return - EA Sports College Football is coming back in a few years. I finished Yakuza: Like A Dragon and if you like turn based JRPG style games, then you really should try it out. Apple's VR Headset is rumored to cost over $3000 and include multiple cameras and eye sensors. Google has disbanded the Stadia Games & Entertainment division and will no longer produce first party games for the Stadia service. Then we talk to OLR about the fall of SG&E, the OTHER EA franchise getting revived, and the announcement of Final Fantasy XIV Online's new expansion.
We start by saying we won't be talking about the GameStop stonk, and then talk about it for a few minutes. But, it's really not a video game story, and financial investing kinda isn't our thing. Warner Bros has finally been granted a patent on the Nemesis system from 2014's Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, which means you won't see anything like it in other games until 2035. Which takes us down a rabbit hole of video game patents that have expired (games inside loading screens, practice mode button display, arrows to point you to an objective), some expiring soon (sphere grids, sanity meters, stylish driving trackers), and some expiring in a while (rolling up objects to become bigger, using a wheel to pick dialogue choices, controlling two characters at once with a single input.) Then we talk to OLR about why GameStop is important to people enough to use them as their stonks rallying cry.
Microsoft couldn't read the room and announced a price hike for Xbox Live Gold, but then retracted it about 15 hours later. Apple will finally invent VR and AR by releasing a VR headset in 2022 and AR glasses in 2023 or 2024. Capcom allowed streamers to co-stream their Resident Evil 8: Village reveal event this week, but only if they promised to only say positive things about Capcom. Then we talk to OLR about costreaming events in the future.
I got the GoXLR Mixer, a Windows-based audio mixer geared towards streamers, which does change the audio sound of the podcast slightly and provides more "toys" that I will try to stay away from. We take some viewer comments about the recent death of Adobe Flash as well as a list of anticipated games for 2021. Lucasfilm Games has re-emerged and is now the caretaker of Lucas properties - and also signaled the end of EA's exclusive license over Star Wars, with Ubisoft announcing a new Star Wars game. Also announced was a new Indiana Jones game being made by MachineGames and Bethesda. A common sentiment over this from consumers was "nobody asked for this" which is never something that should be asked in regards of creative media. The Consumer Electronics Show was virtual this year, and even though there usually aren't software announcements there, Sony did accidentally leak third party release dates in their eventually pulled trailer. Then we talk to OLR about some of the great joys we've had meeting certain gaming luminaries during our years on the air.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 Online concluded after raising $2.7 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. As a host/donation reader, I was fully immersed in the GDQ spirit throughout the week and gained some insight into the choices made by the event organizers. I discuss why incentives are sometimes set high (and then pushed), which donation comments I chose to read, why some donation comments never got to me, and then I go through both of my shifts to discuss how tone changed and what I was attempting to invoke when I was on the microphone. On Wednesday night, during the push for the Zelda: Wand of Gamelon All Cutscene bonus game, I started with Devil May Cry 3 by Waifu. This had hilarious commentary with fast action, high paced gameplay. Zingers flew freely. Immediately after that, the tone shifted to a more relaxing tone with the impressive Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 100% by Calco. Both the runner and commentator Niakky have English as a Second Language and were nervous about having to perform in English. Then, on Friday, it was all about Yakuza 6: The Song of Life by Froob. The main donation incentive here was a Yakuza cutscene called "Rugby Baby." I had not seen the cutscene ahead of time, which influenced how we (Froob and myself) chose to present it to the audience. Also: I do explain where "SpikeVegeta And Crew" came from, and how it was trying to cover myself and not create a bigger flub.
We visit some comments regarding previous episodes, including some more reminiscing on the Commodore 64 and how we might have formerly on the wrong side of the law but now on the right one. Adobe has finally killed off the Flash platform, taking the memes of the early 2000's offline forever, unless you use an emulator. We ask the chat (and you) what games are you anticipating in 2021? Then we talk to OLR about the death of Adobe Flash and how it affects our day jobs.
Reminder: I'm hosting on Wednesday and Friday nights at Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 Online! Check the schedule for the exact times. Arcade1up released a firmware update for the OutRun cabinet that added Rad Rally to the list of games - but it doesn't go as smoothly as expected. (Check out the video version of this segment on the VOG Network YouTube channel!) Bobby gives his favorite Games of the Year, some you expect and some you might not expect. Then we talk to OLR about Nintendo possibly still using Amiibos and the upcoming AGDQ.
Reminder: I'm going to be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 Online on Wednesday and Friday evening the first week of January! Come participate in a wonderful event for charity. Cyberpunk 2077 has been pulled from the PlayStation Network Store and are offering full refunds after CD Projekt Red told customers to seek a refund from Sony if they didn't like the performance on last-gen hardware. Even though it's now an Xbox/PC Exclusive, Microsoft is also offering full refunds, but did not pull the game from their digital storefront. If you're wondering how this passed certification - it's because console certification isn't QA, it just makes sure that the game doesn't destroy the console. I have played the first eight hours on an Xbox Series X, and there's some glimpses of greatness in there. Then we take a call about how GameSpot gave Half-Life: Alyx their Game Of The Year award and how it seems like a milestone for VR gaming.
We dedicate this episode to the memory of Eric Engstrom, one of the renegades at Microsoft who brought us DirectX in the 90's, which led to the creation of the Xbox platform. I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2021! Catch me on Wednesday night hosting Devil May Cry 3 and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and again on Friday night hosting Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. The Game Awards took place, and it went well for being a virtual event. Cyberpunk 2077 launched with a major epilepsy trigger based on real medical devices used for diagnosis purposes, but was patched by the time we went on the air. I finally received The C64 - the full size version of the C64 Mini, and the addition of a fully working keyboard that is true to the native Commodore 64 layout makes it my favorite "retro" console to date. Then we take calls about the epilepsy trigger in Cyberpunk 2077 (along with correcting some surprising disinformation) and more talk about The C64.
Dear Sony - if I have a PS5, why do I want to download the PS4 version of a game on top of its PS5 version? Nintendo updated the firmware for the Switch to version 11.0, and it opts you into sharing your data with Google Analytics. Learn how to opt out, which you need to do in TWO SEPARATE PLACES. I rented Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory from Gamefly (it's like Xbox Game Pass for physical media) and, sadly, it's no Theatrhythm. I put together the Arcade1up OutRun cabinet this week - a sit-down driving cabinet that actually does its job well. The full video of this segment is available on YouTube. Then we talk to OLR about Dragon Quest XI's Definitive Edition now on Xbox Game Pass and why its 2D mode is disappointing.
G4 had a reunion special with the "original cast" - without any of the actual original cast from G4's launch in 2002. I got my Xbox Series X, so I talk about how the Smart Delivery system makes the Internet necessary to operate the console, even if you buy the games physically. I also got Yakuza: Like A Dragon, and I am enjoying my foray into Yakuza x Dragon Quest. Then we talk to OLR about No Man's Sky's HDR bug still not being fixed on the PS5, as well as early G4 memories.
We now have a merch store! Profits on the store help VOG Network grow. I give more impressions of the PS5, specifically about games that you already own that have PS5 versions (and how to get them) while also talking about a glowing bug in No Man's Sky with respect to the HDR implementation. The Video Game History Foundation has emulated the unreleased Sega VR headset without actually having the hardware - and now you can play Nuclear Rush with any OpenVR compatible VR headset! Nintendo shut down the Big House's Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament due to utilizing unauthorized modifications and hacks of possibly pirated software. Then we take calls about the takedown of Twitch streams of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity because it released elsewhere in the world before the USA, and how my Xbox Series X was getting here the next day.
Before talking about the new consoles, we talk about how the story has ended between Tommy Tallarico and Roblox over the Oof sound. The Xbox Series X is the biggest Microsoft console launch ever, according to the company. Yet, some people still don't have the one they preordered. The PlayStation 5 WAS acquired, and we give some impressions on the console, its size, the controller, some settings you'll want to check out, the state of atmospheric audio, as well as Astro's Playroom, Bugsnax, and Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales. Then we talk to Rob about the PS5 and his time with the Xbox Series X.
I got Hasbro's Animanatronic The Child (Baby Yoda) toy and it's cute and great for your cosplays, even if it doesn't exactly cooperate on command as much as they claim it does. The internal storage capacity of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S leave much to be desired, and the lack of options in terms of expanding them leave even LESS to be desired. Arcade1up announced a sit down driving cabinet featuring the OutRun franchise - sadly the live audience decided to talk all about Spy Hunter instead. Then we take a call about the NEOGEO MVSX arcade cabinet as well as wondering if this is the right time to release new consoles.
No, it's not a paid sponsorship, but I start by giving much love to Atlanta's Gaming Bar and Restaurant Battle & Brew, which is a local business that could use your business if you live here. We have some discussions about topics from previous episodes - Pokemon cards, the Video Games book from 1982 (which is on Archive.org!) and Oculus Quest 2's Facebook registration. Sony has stated that PlayStation VR will not run on native PS5 titles until 2022 at the earliest, saying that the market is not there in a market they dominated in sales. Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed to December, which is extending the crunch time - however the CEO said it wasn't so bad and then had to apologize. Then we take calls about Sean Connery games and talk to OLR a little bit about Genshin Impact.
I start off with a very quick announcement about an event in January I will be participating with...AGAIN. I rescued all five of my old Commodore 64's! None of them work. I reread a 1982 book for adolescents about video games called Video Games by Daniel Cohen. It's amazing. I also read the brand new book from Sierra On-Line Founder and CEO Ken Williams detailing the rise and fall of my favorite game company as a kid. Twitch has mass deleted content due to DMCA complaints from the recording industry without any ability for streamers to file counterclaims. Then we talk to OLR about predictions on the future of gaming.
Let Me Show You My Pokeymans - I found some Pokemon cards from E3 1998 while going through my things at my childhood home, and some are worth thousands of dollars??? I got Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and I was surprised at how effective it actually is, and how much promise it shows Alternate Reality gaming for more than just having fun with your pets. The Oculus Quest 2 has a requirement that you must have a Facebook account in good standing, which means if Facebook decides you shouldn't have an account for whatever reasons, you now have a paperweight of a VR device.
I went back to my childhood home this week and pulled out some interesting finds from my past. Intellivision had a stream on 10.10.2020 (their original launch date) to show games and the hardware, as well as release a PC version of Breakout, made by the bit.trip developers. There's a new book on Sierra On-Line written by Ken Williams - it just came and I hope to finish reading it soon. ScummVM has merged with ResidualVM, allowing for both 2D and 3D adventure games to be preserved and enjoyed by modern audiences. Amazon Games has cancelled their free-to-play shooter Crucible after a buggy launch and needing to reallocate resources. Chinese free-to-play open world RPG Genshin Impact, however, made $100 million in it's first two weeks, recouping its development costs. Then we take a call from a blind gamer to talk about the "accidentally accessible" games Hades and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
We talk about some of the games that came out this week that we've been playing - Hades, Super Mario Bros. 35, and Star Wars: Squadrons in VR. Nvidia has released drivers to fix the crashing RTX 3080 cards - and it has nothing to do with capacitors. CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 developers will be facing mandatory crunch time for the next six weeks after saying that they will no longer be doing crunch time. Then we talk to OLR about Minecraft Steve in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and who will get to sleep first - Sakurai or YoshiP from Square Enix.
The Xbox Series X preorders went live this week - and they were just as bad as the PS5 and RTX 3080's were. But at least people bought Xbox One X's! The RTX 3080 DID make it into the hands of some humans who then reported crashing issues due to some aftermarket cards using cheap components. Amazon has entered the game streaming space with Luna, complete with their own Stadia-like controller. Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media for $7.5 Billion, which includes Bethesda, id Software, and more. Are they making a play in a console war or are they aiming somewhere higher? Then we talk to OLR about ZeniMax, Xbox Series X ordering, and how orange is looking kinda sus...
We first read some viewer comments from previous episodes about Microsoft Flight Simulator and Apple's game streaming policy for iOS. We launched a new initiative at VOG - VOG Roundtables - where we bring on a panel of content creators to discuss a single news event in gaming. Twitch tested mid-roll ads to be played randomly during live streams, muting the audio and shutting people out of exciting moments. The test concluded after three days, and we have some suggestions on middle ground that could be done. The PlayStation 5 Reveal event was this week, and preorders went live immediately, and left many people not getting one. The next morning, Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 3080 video card went on sale, and sold out before you could buy it, thanks to bots buying all the stock and putting them up on eBay for thousands of dollars. Nvidia says they will make more available soon. Xbox Series X and S preorders will go live on Tuesday morning. The bots are ready to snag all of those as well. Then we talk to OLR about preorders and about the Nintendo 3DS family of handhelds finally ending their production run.
Atari Historian Curt Vendel passed away unexpectedly last week - he was the first phone interview I ever did on my podcast way back on Episodes 12 and 13 in 2005 to talk about the Atari Flashback 2, which did not emulate an Atari 2600 but was an actual Atari 2600 on one chip. There is a GoFundMe for his family. Dragon Con Went Virtual and it was great! There are a lot of panels on the Digital Media Track YouTube channel that feature myself and Rob Roberts. I was on the British Invaders podcast about the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game. I was on the Almost Daily Discourse podcast talking about random topics. Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 will be virtual like SGDQ was, and volunteer applications open on September 24th. MAGFest cancelled its January convention without Force Majeure, and held a telethon on Twitch to raise $100k to pay all the penalties. Microsoft announced the Xbox Series X and S early due to a leak, and also announced that EA Play was coming to Game Pass. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is coming back, and this time it will be on PC so preservation will be easier once the license expires again. Apple is now allowing game streaming services to operate on iOS - as long as each individual game has its own app on the App Store. NVIDIA announced its intentions to buy CPU maker ARM. Then we talk to OLR about conventions and what we're doing with Twitch Channel Points at VOG.
Dragon Con Goes Virtual this coming weekend, and I am on three panels for the Digital Media Track! Check them out on the DCDigitalMedia Twitch channel. There was an addition to the stack of NES consoles on my desk - a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament of the original NES. There are also other Nintendo themed ornaments for 2020! The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment in Oakland, California has had to close down and move their collection into storage. They hope to return in two years. Apple has made good on their promise and turned off Epic Games' developer accounts on Friday, but a judge ruled they had to keep the account related to Unreal Engine active. I talk a little bit about Flight Simulator 2020 and what it was like to fly into an extremely calm hurricane. Then we talk to OLR about The MADE and the upcoming Dragon Con.
I was a host at Summer Games Done Quick 2020! I hosted the amazing Devil May Cry 4 run by Mekarazium. I give some insights from behind the curtain on how the virtual event was done and my hopes to do it again in 2021. I will be a part of Dragon Con Goes Virtual over Labor Day weekend, being on three panels with the Digital Media Track as well as possibly in a segment on DragonConTV. Facebook has stated that a Facebook account will be required for Oculus headsets starting in October, unless you already have an Oculus account, in which it will work until 2023. Millionaires and Billionaires (some say Trillionaires) are still fighting, as Epic and Apple are still having their spat over revenues. Apple entered some emails into the lawsuit as evidence that shows what negotiations did (or didn't) take place. Then we talk to OLR about SGDQ and Microsoft getting involved with the Epic/Apple lawsuit.
Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Online had just started when this episode was recorded, and I hosted the Devil May Cry 4 run! More information on the next episode! There was a 66GB patch for the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone due to the file structure of the game on Xbox consoles. Other platforms only had about 1GB. Epic started its legal feud with Apple by adding their own payment options to Fortnite, which caused Apple to remove it from the app store. Epic decided to also take on Google at the same time because the Google Play store also takes a 30% cut of all purchases. Then we talk to OLR about Fortnite and SGDQ.
I am ACTUALLY hosting a shift at Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Online! Catch me Wednesday night, 10PM ET/7PM PT hosting the Devil May Cry 4 speedrun. If you wish to donate, please DO NOT MENTION this podcast or VOG Network as it will not even make it to me, but you can donate towards the host's choice of incentive which I will choose that night based on what incentive needs help. The Intellivision Amico has been delayed to April of 2021 due to obvious reasons. Apple proclaimed that they are protecting their customers by not allowing Microsoft's Project xCloud and Google Stadia on iOS devices because they wish to individually review each and every title on the services. The LEGO NES Kit has arrived, and I built the $230 behemoth and talk about the building process as well as how it works. Then we talk to OLR about LEGO building and Apple's stance on cloud gaming services.
We start with a viewer recommendation for Rogue Company out on the Nintendo Switch. Microsoft Flight Simulator will have VR close to launch - but only for the HP Reverb G2 headset. The LEGO Super Mario sets have now come out, and we take a look at how this set differs from other LEGO sets, as well as how the interactivity takes place between the base set and various expansions. Then we talk to OLR about how LEGO Dimensions might have inspired LEGO Super Mario.
The Xbox Games Showcase was this week, and there were actual gameplay reveals! But, does it signal that Xbox is bowing out of the "console wars" and going in a different direction? (Note: during the Xbox Showcase conversation, there was discussion about Tetris Effect Connected and it's lack of VR. I didn't realize at the time of recording that it was also going to be an update for the existing versions of Tetris Effect, so I can still play it in PSVR even though it's going to be on Xbox Game Pass.) At San Diego Comic-Com this weekend, the G4 Television Network announced that they will be returning in 2021 - we have some theories as to where. Then we talk to OLR about G4 and Game Pass.
We first celebrate the fact that we've been on the air for almost 15 years, but really there's not much celebration. Comments from a previous episode are shared about if games should cater to everyone and if you need to play every AAA title. LEGO is releasing a $230 kit that has a NES and TV with a rotating World 1-1, and I want it. Metacritic is asking you to wait 36 hours after release before submitting a user review for a game. Microsoft has discontinued the manufacturing of the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Microsoft has also discontinued the digital sale of 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. Then we talk to OLR about all these discontinuing and the possibility of online play being free on the Xbox ecosystem.
I contributed a video to the Virtual Southern-Fried Gaming Expo about how we used to play pinball at home before people could bring actual pinball tables home. Dragon Con has finally been cancelled 60 days out of the convention. There will be a virtual event in its place. Sony has made a strategic financial investment in Epic Games, further cementing their relationship with the Unreal Engine technology for both games and movies. A chat on our Discord about The Last Of Us Part II spurned a discussion on if games need to cater to everyone, and why the terms "play" and "game" might be holding back the medium. Then we take calls about video game pinball turning real, and the possibility of travelling in a year or two.
I have a personal announcement regarding Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Online! I did a video for the Virtual Southern-Fried Gaming Expo this weekend, playing a bunch of old pinball video games poorly. It premieres on Saturday at 6PM ET on their YouTube and Facebook pages. The price of new AAA games might be finally going up to $70 after being $60 for 15 years. EVO Online has been cancelled due to allegations of sexual misconduct by one of its founders. Then we talk to OLR about the Arcade1up Burgertime cabinet that they just received.
Dragon Con gave an update to allow memberships to roll over for 2021 - I'm guessing that they will cancel sometime around July 3rd due to that being within two months of the show. Oculus is discontinuing the Oculus Go to push the Oculus Quest. Nintendo has decided that the investors were wrong and are pulling back from the mobile gaming market. Microsoft abruptly announced that they are discontinuing their Mixer streaming service and transitioning to Facebook Gaming. Then we take calls about the majority of Microsoft retail stores closing as well as why we at VOG chose Twitch over Mixer.
PAX West and PAX Australia have been cancelled, and are being merged into a week long PAX Online. Billy Mitchell has been somewhat redeemed - the Guinness Book of Records has restored his Pac-Man and Donkey Kong accomplishments after their own investigation. The FDA has approved the first video game to be used as clinical treatment for patients with ADHD. There was an interview shot at SIEGE 2016 that was never uploaded to our YouTube channel, so we aired it tonight. It is with Ron Jones The Artist of The Indie Cluster, an Atlanta-based cluster of indie game developers that promote each other as well as the game development industry to lower income schools, and the esports world to parents. Then we talk to OLR about why we're not playing The Last Of Us Part II (and why it has nothing to do with any Twitter controversy.)
We start off talking about the concept of "stagger breathing" and how it applies to keeping yourself available to make change without burning yourself out. Persona 4 Golden is now out on Steam, finally killing the PlayStation Vita. The Last Of Us Part II is quite possibly the "most accessible game ever" with over 60 accessibility options so everyone can experience the game, no matter their physical capabilities. This week during Not-E3, we had a huge PlayStation 5 reveal featuring first and third party games, as well as an artist rendering of the console. I read Imagine That! An autobiography about the black engineer who worked on the APF MP-1000 and The Imagination Machine in the late 1970's, Ed Smith. I profile his life, his time in the industry, and share some of his insights about the industry and his role in it as a minority. During the call with OLR, we talk about how the music industry is now levying DMCA takedowns on Twitch clips, and why they have the legal right to do so.
We took last week off because our voices were not the ones that needed listening to. That being said, I do reflect on my own views on the systemic biases that are prevalent in society today, and how I am attempting to fix how I was raised. On that note, I discuss a pair of black video game pioneers that weren't in history books until recently. (Not kidding - I actually look for them in my gaming history books from 2001 and they're not mentioned at all.) Jerry Lawson was the inventor of the game cartridge for the Fairchild Channel F. He came up with the solution to allow for ROM chips to be swapped out without electrocuting the user. His design paved the way for Atari, Nintendo, and Sega to take gaming to new heights. Ed Smith was the lead engineer and salesman for the MP1000 console and its accompanying Imagination Machine. While the console didn't do well in the marketplace, it was a technical achievement and personal triumph. His autobiography was published in January and I've got a copy coming. Like it or not, Georgia is further along in opening than many places. So, I visited Portal Pinball Arcade in Kennesaw, GA, to see what playing pinball was like during a pandemic. Then we talk to OLR about what's going on in the world, what we missed last week, and Clubhouse Games.
This is the start of the summer convention series that won't be, with many conventions going online, like MomoCon. The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo shirts are available until May 29th, and they look amazing. I figured out my jittery graphics problem with The Elder Scrolls: Blades, and it wasn't what I thought it was. The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is now here, and I talk about my thoughts after two hours with it. The Georgia developed game where you play as a shark terrorizing fish and people is out! I've got some early impressions of Maneater. Then we talk to OLR about watch parties and seeking more podcasts for the Voice of Geeks Network.
The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo has been canceled for 2020 voluntarily, which means there is no Force Majeure to protect them financially. Consider buying some merch to help them afford 2021. The Elder Scrolls: Blades is out on Nintendo Switch and I'm having some funkiness with the graphics. The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is finally coming to North America two months after it was advertised as "now available." The Unreal Engine is now royalty free to developers for the first $1 million in gross revenue. This led to discussions about the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo shown this week, who the audience was supposed to be (and who saw it instead), then to The Elder Scrolls: Blades and Twitch Watch Parties.
We open with some viewer comments on the leaks of The Last Of Us Part 2 and on EVO possibly doing online fighting tournaments. I've gotten burned out on Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the daily grind is now just a grind. The City of Atlanta has passed an ordinance to continue denying event permits within the city which cancels the Dragon Con parade, but it is not "Force Majeure" enough to cancel the entire convention. Microsoft's Inside Xbox touted "gameplay reveals" of third party Xbox Series X titles, but had very little human-controlled gameplay. Then we talk to OLR about how I finished Final Fantasy VII Remake and we're now ready to do a spoiler cast.
We start off by following up on previous conversations regarding September events and the linearity of Final Fantasy games. The NCAA will soon allow student athletes to profit off of their Name, Image, and Likeness, but that doesn't mean that the NCAA Football video games are immediately coming back. The Last of Us Part II was leaked heavily but it didn't come from Naughty Dog or Sony. Then we take calls about EVO going online and the beauty of Xbox Game Pass.
The TurboGrafx-16 Mini is "now available" in the US, however you can't actually order one, and those who already did won't see theirs shipped until 2021...Unless you order from Japan. Dragon Con and PAX both announced that their events on Labor Day weekend are proceeding as planned. I explain why that's their only option right now due to how event insurance and venue contracts are structured with respect to pandemics, as well as when and how they can safely cancel. 160,000 Nintendo Network ID's have been leaked, causing Nintendo to shut off the old login service and force everyone to a Nintendo Account, which now has two-factor authentication. Then we take calls about Final Fantasy VII Remake along with a spoiler-free tip on a part of the game that crashes and how it is very linear and corridor-heavy like Final Fantasy XIII.
I was on the VR365 show talking about the beginning of consumer VR in 2016 on this four year anniversary of that event. Corona Relief Done Quick, an online-only speedrunning marathon, was this weekend raising money for Direct Relief. Viewer comments from previous episodes include VR talk as well as esports on TV talk. I've played both Persona 5 Royal and Final Fantasy VII Remake, two reimaginings of great JRPG's. Microsoft and Nvidia have put super duper graphics in Minecraft With RTX, now in beta for Nvidia RTX cards. The Nintendo Switch shortage is due to resellers using bots to buy all the stock so they can flip it on eBay. Then we take calls about PC racing wheels and if Animal Crossing: New Horizons is dumb and for babies.
This week we have Andrew Greenberg, co-creator of the upcoming Tabletop RPG Fading Suns: Pax Alexius, to talk all about the art of creating Tabletop RPG's, how they differ from creating video games, and how we can still play our tabletop games in the current era of social distancing. I talk a little bit about my time with Final Fantasy VII Remake, and that I find the easy mode just right for what I wanted to experience for my money. In the call with OLR, we also talked about how the remake has affected us and also talked about how we're coping with the current times.
Tommy Tallarico, President of Intellivision Entertainment and creator of Video Games Live, joins us LIVE on Twitch to talk about the upcoming Intellivision Amico console! This episode is posted in its entirety on the Voice of Geeks Network YouTube channel, as there are more nods to what's showing on the video than is typical for the audio podcast.
We have some followup conversations regarding Animal Crossing: New Horizons and doing curbside pickup at Best Buy. The sports world is turning to esports, with the eNascar iRacing Pro Invitational pulling in 900,000 viewers in the US. Summer Games Done Quick has been postponed from June to August. Half-Life: Alyx is now out for VR devices, and it's the AAA-quality VR game you've been looking for - even if I won't play it much. Epic Games has announced that they're getting into the game publishing business with really good terms for developers. Then we talk to Rob from OLR about Animal Crossing.
The Georgia Livestreaming Network has launched as a promotional network for Georgia based streamers and podcasters, of which this show is one of them. Because of everything going on, esports aired on cable TV and nobody complained - congrats to iRacing and the eNASCAR sprint cup on FS1! Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now out on Switch, and I am a cheating cheater who cheats. Gamestop fought the law, and the law won in the end, as Gamestop was forced to close its doors as it is not an "essential business." A new trailer for the Intellivision Amico was released with three minutes of gameplay. This would have been the week of Game Developers Conference, so more details on the Xbox Series X were released. Also, Sony did a deep dive on the PlayStation 5 architecture that was great for developers but not so much for consumers. Then we talk to OLR about Animal Crossing with some advice on what happens in the future.
Apologies for this episode being delayed getting on the podcast feed - it's been a rough week. The world is going through a lot right now - and unfortunately this podcast isn't a complete escape. We do discuss it and how it relates to gaming. We'll be discussing it again. Unfortunately it's impossible to just "ignore" it and give an hour of complete respite. I was a panelist on the inaugural panel of the Georgia Livestreaming Network - a Georgia based group of streamers promoting each other and games made in Georgia. I completed my Summer Games Done Quick hosting audition! I talk about the process without giving specifics. It's a really interesting process that is as nervewracking as it is fun. LEGO has announced a Super Mario playset that is actually an interactive game, and not just building castles. Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming to the PC four years after its console launch, and PlayStation fanboys believe this is the death of the brand. Then we talk to OLR about Star Trek: The Cruise.
In a show that was blissfully recorded in a time before all mass gatherings were cancelled for several months, we talk a lot about the impact of COVID-19 on gaming and sporting events, not realizing that just about everything would be canceled mid-week. Keep that in mind when listening! At the time of recording, E3 was still moving ahead with their June show. (Spoiler alert: this changed several days later!) However, they were working without one of their main partners for the rebrand of the show. The indie game The Long Dark was pulled from NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and the developer gave some insight as to why, which calls into question the role virtual machines play in gaming. Then we talk about the Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo, and what our favorite PS2 game and first DVD played on the PS2 were. Wash your hands.
I will be at the Georgia Game Developers Association meeting on Tuesday, March 10th, to talk about how game developers can better use livestreaming and podcasts to build their brand, and I talk a little bit about the type of message I want to send regarding when to engage with people like me. After spending most of the last episode admonishing companies for abandoning conferences due to COVID-19 fears, the Game Developer Conference went ahead and just postponed their show, leaving a lot of people in a lurch with non-refundable plane tickets and hotel expenses. At PAX East, which still went on just fine, Harmonix announced the video game version of Dropmix - Fuser. The creator of the Konami code passed away this week. We thank him for enriching our lives with extra lives. Since nobody was calling in, I ask people why I was sent a peanut butter can admonishing my (correct) pronunciation of "GIF" and I explain why it's pronounced the same way as the peanut butter brand and why we don't pronounce any other acronym based on the words it represents.
NOTE: This episode was taped before more information was released about the nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, and there will probably be a little bit of crow eating on the next episode. We start off by reading viewer comments about Sony waiting for Microsoft to announce the Xbox Series X price before announcing the PS5 price. Bethesda is the latest company to pull all of their titles from the recently launched NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Sony has pulled out of PAX East due to fears of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which prompted the Mayor to ask them to reconsider. Square Enix pulled out of their PAX East panels, not sending their Japanese development team for Final Fantasy XIV, but was still manning a booth. Sony and Facebook Gaming/Oculus pulled out of GDC, leaving some of the people showcasing in their booth out in the cold. (Spoiler alert - they weren't the last to do so.) Then we talk about Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE: Encore, and tips for going on a cruise ship.