Episodes
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THIS IS FURUKAWA.
Nintendo has officially confirmed what we've all been waiting to hear. The successor to the Switch will play your existing library of games (and hopefully run them better!).
The news broke in a tweet after a CORPORATE MANAGEMENT POLICY BRIEFING, which is perfect timing since there's nothing else in the world or the news worth talking about.
Meanwhile, The New York Times' tech workers are on strike, which includes the team that supports Wordle. The Guild has asked subscribers to stop playing Wordle during the strike, which would break the years-long streaks of millions of players.
A "Mass Effect" TV show has been greenlit, and rumors of a "Warcraft 2" remaster are circulating.
Plus: More "Metaphor: ReFantazio," a new mobile "Wizardry" game, and a coffee table book filled with archival pages from EGM monthly.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium
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Nintendo fans, rejoice! For the first time ever, you can listen to your favorite songs from Mario, Zelda, and... Pikmin(?) on the Internet, thanks to Nintendo Music, a new streaming app that nobody asked for.
With video game music is hotter than ever, why would Nintendo skip the streaming services and build a standalone platform? And what will happen to all the music fans already get from YouTube? We discuss this strange and adorable development.
Plus: Our first impressions of cut scene simulator "Metaphor: ReFantazio," and hands-on with the beta for "Monster Hunter Wilds."
Also, for the love of God, please vote.
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Episodes manquant?
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Some lucky Nintendo fans took part in a TOP SECRET online test for a new game, and were SWORN to SECRECY about it! Which means gameplay was leaked within 1.5 seconds.
Data miners excavated something codenamed "Rockstock," and as the playtest rolled out, images and videos of the blocky new build-em-up spreading across the Internet - much to the dismay of Nintendo.
So, what is this brand new MMO? And does it have the chops to stick around after the initial excitement wears off?
https://insider-gaming.com/nintendo-switch-online-playtest-program-has-been-datamined/
https://www.ign.com/articles/it-took-about-2-seconds-for-nintendos-mysterious-switch-game-to-leak
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Happy Steam Next Fest to all who celebrate! Miniaturist and friend of the show Sky Burkson returns to share the banger demos he's been dabbling with this week, and what it's like to make a Bloodborne sculpture for Jacksepticeye!
These are the demos we've been LOVING:
Rogue Flight
Heartworm
Empire of the Ants
The Spirit of the Samurai
Beastieball
Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate
Windblown
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No one:
Nintendo: How 'bout waking up to coin sounds every time you move?
Nintendo's latest hardware is here, and it's a $100 alarm clock that turns your mornings into a psychotic fever dream. We discuss why it's weird, bad, and already sold out.Plus: A fascinating (and seriously biased) deep dive into Roblox's horrible reputation.
Colette caved and started "Silent Hill 2," and boy is it GREAT.
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Ubisoft can't catch a break. Their development costs are through the roof, their games are flopping, and the next entry in their marquee franchise "Assassins' Creed" has been delayed, sending share prices (and confidence) plummeting.
Plus, more notes on "Echoes of Wisdom," Matt's continued adventures in the Forgotten Realms of "Baldur's Gate 3," and a point-and-click mystery game on Colette's telephone!
Also, hurricanes: They seem bad! And we completely forgot to talk about the biggest story of the week, in which Nintendo finally busted out the lawyers on "Palworld."
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"The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom" came out for the Nintendo Switch this week, and it is charming, adorable, fun, and extremely innovative. There's just one problem: The frame rates whip around faster and harder than Tingle cashing in his rupees.
Due to the (now passed) hurricane in the Southern U.S., Colette takes a break this week (all is well) and Matt shares his early impressions of a wonderful game with very questionable tech.
Also, Sony's State of Play dropped some release dates, trailers, and updates that are well worth breaking down.
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A big announcement shook the Game-O-Verse to its core earlier this week. "Flappy Bird," the massively viral mobile game from 2014, would be making a triumphant return: New game modes, updated levels, and...crypto?
An entity called "The Flappy Bird Foundation" plans to resurrect the beloved game this year. But as the media poked at this announcement, the plot thickens. The game had been abandoned the same year it was released, due to the immense pressure and scrutiny on its creator, Dong Nguyen. After the re-release announcement, Nguyen tweeted for the first time in 7 years that he has nothing to do with the game, never sold it, and doesn't support crypto.
So...who owns "Flappy Bird?" Who has the right to re-release it? And if IP is "abandoned," can anyone just start monetizing it?
Meanwhile, the PS5 Professional sure is expensive. Crying about game consoles on the Internet is nothing new, but we ask the honest question: Who is this upgraded hardware for? And what kind of prices will the market bear in an era of infinite choice?
Plus: Possible leaked images of the Nintendo Switch 2? And a tale of two very different "Baldur's Gate 3" experiences.
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Busy lives, work schedules, children, and sleep did not permit a co-operative recording this week, so Matt shares how starting "Baldur's Gate 3" last week with Colette's husband Patrick and friend-of-the show Sky Burkson has been a transformative experience.
We shall return with more BG3 shenanigans (and the week's news) next Friday!
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After 8 years in development and two weeks of beta testing, Sony has pulled the plug on "Concord" after a shockingly low player count. The hero shooter failed to pull its target audience away from the 47 other live service games they're already playing, and Sony has de-listed it for sale and refunded those who have pre-purchased.
What does this say about the state of the games industry, and Sony's huge foray into the live service arena?
Plus: A Minecraft Movie trailer gets a mixed response from the Internet, and ConcernedApe hasn't touched "Haunted Chocolatier" for a while
Meanwhile, the preview embargo has lifted on "The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom," and boy-howdy, the new gameplay looks spectacular.
Colette's playing: Peglin
Matt's playing: Sins of a Solar Empire II, and Darkest Dungeon II
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The past week+ has seen an avalanche of announcements, teasers, demos, updates, DLCs, collab-os, and shadow drops. Why?? Gamescom 2024 and a surprise Direct from Miyamoto & Co.
We pluck out the most interesting and hype-filled tidbits, including some games you should download RIGHT MEOW.
Plus: What's up with the puppet museum in Atlanta?
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Another day, another news story about studios laying off hundreds of video game developers. Why did this industry become so volatile? And what makes game devs so vulnerable to job insecurity, especially when the industry's profits have never been higher?
This week we're joined by Dr. Johanna Weststar, a professor of labor studies (and Stardew enthusiast!) at Western University in Ontario, Canada. She's the co-author of a new book, "Not all Fun and Games: Videogame Labour, Project-based Workplaces and the New Citizenship at Work," which dissects 15 years of employment data and trends to figure out why game development is so fraught, and how we can improve it.
There's so much more to the story besides "crunch." The explosion of temporary gig work, erosion of social safety nets, do-or-die publishing schedules, and struggles to unionize remote and disparate workers has lead to a reckoning in the games industry. But despite these challenges, we may be on the verge of a more secure work life for the people who make our favorite adventures — akin to the protections put in place for Hollywood when that industry was still young in the 1930s and 40s. What we do next, legally and culturally, will make all the difference.
Plus: How a blog from 2004 changed the Internet's perception of game dev, and your questions!
Find more of Johanna's work, publications, and how you can connect with her here: https://dan.uwo.ca/people/faculty/johanna_weststar.html
And her work with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA): https://igda.org/dss/
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Larian Studios has shared player data on the 1-year anniversary of their smash hit "Baldur's Gate 3." Among the fascinating tidbits is that only 34 players have reached a VERY rare ending to the story that can only be unlocked through a specific sequence of events. What's more, there's an even SECRET-er ending that cannot be reached by normal means. But one YouTuber found a hack that unlocks the final events no one was meant to see.
Plus, we discuss why accomplishing things in games is sometimes more satisfying than accomplishing things IRL, why that can lead to feelings of guilt, and why giving your brain permission to rest is never time wasted.
Also: Sound sensitivity when it comes to game controllers, and why the MOBAPAD ChiTu Wireless Pro gamepad is Matt's new favorite piece of hardware.
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After a 33 year run, the print magazine and website "Game Informer" has been abruptly shuttered by its parent company, GameStop. Fans and preservationists have been scrambling this week to preserve its decades of articles, but the fate of the digital content remains unknown. We discuss the importance of media preservation, and why it's so hard for companies to commit.
Plus: A Stardew-like with some refreshing mechanics, and what if the Ghibli classic "Kiki's Delivery Service" was a video game?
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Screen actors reached a deal with movie, TV, and streaming studios earlier this year after striking over pay, benefits, and AI. But what about voice acting in video games? Specifically when it comes to AI, they feel more vulnerable in the short term: Audiences have accepted stiff, robotic video game characters for decades.
In response to the looming threat, SAG-AFTRA has gone on strike against 10 major video game publishers (and their subsidiaries that focus on talent work). Time will tell if they walk away with a fair deal.
Plus: Colette has finished "Still Wakes the Deep," and has rave reviews. She's also addicted to the hope-stomping fruit-em-up "Suika Game."
Matt shares why "Nintendo World Championships" is getting MORE fun as the weeks go on, and his new obsession with Capcom's "Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess," which combines action, tactics, RPG elements, and stunning Japanese mythology.
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"Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition" has arrived, bringing bite-sized speed run challenges from our favorite 8-bit '80s games. But more than just a nostalgia hit, this asynchronous online battle has some innovative delights, if you approach it with the right mindset. Matt shares impressions of his first week with the game.
Colette is finally out of her gaming funk and has gone hard on "Still Wakes the Deep," a nautical horror game that seriously delivers on vibes. Plus, her early impressions of the visually stunning action-RTS-tower-defense game "Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess," which is steeped in Japanese folklore. It hit Game Pass this week.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate" asks the question: What if "Hades" had couch co-op? Matt explains why the action roguelike (formerly exclusive to Apple Arcade) is an absolute JOY on Switch.
Plus: RIP Humble Games Publishing(?). The prolific publisher has laid off its entire staff under the management of Ziff Davis/IGN. It remains unclear if games like "Coral Island," "Slay the Spire," and "Unpacking" will still get marking support from this arm.
Also: Super Mario Dubstep!
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We're back in action to answer the question on everyone's mind LAST week: Who is Emio?
A mysterious trailer for a Nintendo-developed horror title set the game-o-verse abuzz. Turns out, the cryptic teaser is actually a sequel to a classic Japan-only Famicom game. Colette breaks down the details.
Also, a MASSIVE update to "No Man's Sky" just dropped, and Matt has returned to the galaxy to photograph new creatures and fancy water.
We discuss why we love being obsessed with a new game, and when going without that can be a challenge. Plus, the flow state of "Grapple Dog," and why the 2023 game "Sailing Era" is an impenetrable wall of poorly translated tutorials that Matt can't stop playing.
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miHoYo released their 3rd(!) gatcha game in the West within four years, called "Zenless Zone Zero," which blends "Genshin" style combat with a "Persona" vibe. It got 50 million downloads within days of release, cementing the Chinese developer as an absolute unit.
So, is ZZZ actually good? Colette shares her early impressions of the PS5 version.
Plus: The Steam Summer sale hit our wish lists hard this year. We share what's in our carts, along with the games our listening community scored on the cheap.
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This week is cut short by work and travel plans, but we have a BRIEF update on the games we're playing, including "Moonstone Island," a title that recently came to Switch. It blends cozy farm life and town romances with a Pokémon-style creature taming system, Wind Waker-esq exploration, and deck building battles.
So, is this indie life sim more than the sum of its heavily-inspired parts?
Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJ
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We really tried to play some hot new demos this week, but alas, Nintendo has graced us with a banger of a Direct.
We tackle each announcement and calibrate hype levels, along with your most anticipated games coming to the Switch (2?). Among them, the reveal of a new Mario & Luigi game, a top-down Legend of Zelda where you — get this — play as Zelda, and the first footage of Metroid Prime 4 ever.
Plus: We remember Colette's 17-year-old cat Ender, who passed away this week.
Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RRJ
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