Looks like Sony has lost and the Activision Microsoft deal is all but done. So, what are the possibilities? Yeah, okay, sure. We know they are going to mostly pump out COD year in and year out til they get their ROI. BUT what if they didn't? What if those ten studios they are getting brought back old IP or made some new stuff? Let's just imagine!

Nintendo had its Indie World Direct this morning and presentations like this are always good windows into where the Indie world is going. We believe there's two types of indie devs - chargers and chasers. Chargers are the guys who seem to be in the right place, at the right time with an idea lots of people wanted and they didn't even know it. This is your Stardew Valley, or your first Battle Royale. Chasers are the guys who are making games that, while possibly wonderful, are chasing the trend established by the other guys but in their art style. 

This might be the best time ever to be an indie dev, no matter which type you are. There's more tools, and platforms for your game than ever. That should be wonderful for us as consumers too, right?

Is it here?! Super Mario Bros dominating at the box office. Last of Us crushing it on streaming services. Are we finally having our Marvel moment for video game adaptations? And if we are, what comes next?

So, E3 is truly and wholly dead this time, right? With nothing on deck to replace it, and no one left to save it. Plus RE4R was fantastic, but maybe some changes took away more than they added. Add to that: Lily Gao is being harassed by the worst of the RE community over her performance.

This week is a round up of mini topics because it seems like so much happened in the last week.

Community driven creative development is always a big win! If only because it means the industry is seeing what people actually want, but also because it increases the longevity of a game when you have a community that can, and is, building new content for it. We saw this with Counterstrike, Far Cry, Crysis, and even the birth of the Battle Royale from Arma 3 mods. Now that the Unreal Editor has been released - are we on the verge of new game genres like the moba or battle royale?

We all saw this coming. We had a good time last week talking about lame, but beloved villains. Of course we have to do it for our beloved heroes. 

So, lets talk about why our favorite heroes are lame, and maybe why that is good.

The Yoshi P commentary really stirred the hornets nest. 

The early 2000's were the wild west of the digital age. Other, more poetic, writers have said that before, and sometimes it's the only way to explain it. People from all over the world were just starting to interact with each other via online gaming, forums, or even Myspace (tm). Add to that: gaming journalism, while not new, was still sorta niche. Gaming hadn't quite exploded yet and G4, gaming magazines, websites were all targeted toward a very niche, sheltered audience made of edgy, horny, dudes. To say there were common jokes, terms, and themes that today would be viewed as ignorant at best - would be a massive understatement.

The point is: if you look back and haven't changed, or can't confront that past - you might be an as*%^le. Or Adam Sessler, apparently. (I don't know that, I haven't read his tweets. Don't get mad Adam, it's just a joke.)

This week's episode is all about that wild a time in the early oughts' gaming media/culture. And we aren't pretending we were above it. Both of us have regrets, and were plenty stupid. 

So, if you take only a single thing away from this episode, let it be this: F&^% G-Fuel.

I have a few friends who really love VR. The conversation usually goes in circles, beginning and ending with "how to make VR worth it". Today, former Nintendo USA CEO Reggie Fils-Amie tweeted an infographic from statista showing projections that VR will remain niche in the coming years. His commentary was " Until there is a 'must play' experience, this will be true."

So what is that must play experience?

Sony released it's first State of Play for 2023 and there were a couple surprises outside of the presentation too. Let's hop in and talk about Sony's outlook for 2023!

Whole lotta GaaS games are getting the axe! Many companies who went all in on live services games are now in hot water. At one point it was considered the golden goose, with an EA CEO famously saying: "If you make a single player title and don't have micro transactions - you're a [expletive deleted} idiot."

Of course they went on to get lootboxes all but banned and brought intense scrutiny to microtransactions in general. Truly the villain we needed - we thank them for their service.

So, was it EA who shot the golden goose? Ubisoft or Square getting greedy? A mix? Let's discuss!

It turns out Nintendo won't be light on releases this year. Both of us were delightfully surprised by this direct. But the direct being so big is probably why they didn't want to bother going to E3. Perhaps the back half of 2023 will be light on releases...

Free to play games may be running out of GaaS and E3 won't have any of the first party publishers attending. Bubbles are bursting all over and who's to say whether it is a good or a bad thing long term. Join us as we talk about the reckoning!

For the first time in years - Microsoft seems to have a little something for everyone. Personally we were delightfully surprised by the new Tango Gameworks shadow drop - Hi Fi Rush. While this line up isn't the most exciting line up we have ever seen, it is fun. And it points to Microsoft having a very good E3 this year. Let's talk about their first six months of 2023!

Ubisoft is a sinking ship. And not just because of the latest Skull and Bones delay. It just seems like it cannot get out of their own way. From unexpected bombs like Rainbow Six Extraction, to a road map littered with GaaS titles, it can't help but feel like we are watching a once legendary publisher in its death throws.

25 years ago began possibly the greatest year in gaming. 1998 saw the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina of Time, Half Life, Resident Evil 2, Banjo Kazooie and much much more. Has there ever been a year as great for as many genres all at once? Has there ever been another year where every publisher was pushing their slate this hard? 

The first six months of 2023 has some very exciting releases. But oddly enough - the back half of 2023 is a blank calendar... Does this mean E3 2023 is going to be epic? Or will there be nothing of note?

You ever miss an old trend? Maybe a game, or genre that used to dominate. Like I miss couch co-ops. I've said it before, I'll say it again but I do.

Well today's episode is all about those dead trends we think could come back or at the very least that we want to come back.

It's that time of year, again. Where we compile our top ten games from the year and make an argument for why you should play them if you haven't. This was a pretty solid year for gaming and so we actually have a top twelve. Matt did the rankings, so there are a couple surprises for me when it comes to which games made what number, but overall all of my personal favorites made the top ten and I'm happy.

Can't avoid it anymore. We're talking AI art and AI driven game development today. Mostly about it sucking, but I am open to counter arguments.

It's the worst kind of surprise. We've been waiting and hoping and everything has been lining up to be a winner, but instead it's a big wet fart. Today's episode is inspired by Callisto Protocol and all the games we got hyped for, that had everything going for them, but let us down hard anyway.

This week we invite you to come back with us... to the 70s. Yes! Shag carpeting, in your pants and your home! A time of TVs with dials, wood paneling, and whacky as hell box art. A time when giants walked among us... and did coke and partied in jacuzzis during work hours. We're are talking a little about Atari. Atari was wild.

It's that time of year where we devote an entire episode to the things we are most thankful in gaming this year. If you're in the states you may be travelling or otherwise in need of some company this week - let us be that for you!

As always, we are thankful for you. Thank you!

Today's episode is all about games that started strong and tapered off. Maybe it held a whole lot of promise, or had such a strong intro it just couldn't live up to it. Maybe the game is still good by all accounts. It's an evergreen episode, and subjective - so let us know which you agree/disagree with or maybe one you feel strongly about!

Sorry in advance for the awkward pause. I am sick with a sinus cold and literally forgot the word "sponsor". Matt steps in to save me an dmaybe you'll get a good laugh about it.

I don't know if this ever happens to you, but have you ever loved everything about a game - the puzzles, the story, the environment - and then the combat sorta drags it down? Whole game a ten but you just don't care much for the combat? Today we are talking about games that are better without it.