Afleveringen
-
Apple relents on it's app store stance. The Microsoft/Blizzard merger starts to pay off and we have a list ... and another list. that's right, we have 2 lists for you tonight although they are on the same topic.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
Remember how we talked about Apple would never allow user to download games from an app store that wasn't apple, well under pressure from gamers and regulatory agencies, Apple has agreed to allow downloads from rival Epic's app store.https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/apple-reverses-course-clears-way-epic-games-set-rival-iphone-app-store-rcna142741https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/apple-reverses-course-allows-epic-games-launch-fortnite-app-eu
Gamers reap their first benefit of the Microsoft aquistion of Blizzard. This week Microsoft announced that Diablo IV will be available on Game Pass. This is available on both XBox and PC. You can go grab that now.https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/26/blizzard-announces-its-skipping-blizzcon-this-yearhttps://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/diablo-iv
We hear about the triple A titles all the time but this week Nintendo held it's announcement of upcoming Indie titles. Here's the list and a couple of them that really peaked our interst.https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/17/everything-announced-during-the-april-2024-nintendo-indie-worldhttps://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/News/Indie-World/Indie-World-1440347.html
Not to be outdone, Microsoft held it's Indie show this week. Here's what they announced.https://kotaku.com/xbox-game-pass-palworld-vampire-surivors-1851444052https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/29/24144369/id-xbox-indie-showcase-april-2024
-
We are having another TV centric episode. We will discuss another huge video game based hit on streaming and we may even have a list based around TV shows. Beside TV we have another tone deaf statement from an ex Blizzard exec that sort of epitomizes how out of touch they were.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
Oh Blizzard, here we go again. In a completely tone deaf message Mike Ybarra, former Blizzard president, said that gamers should tip developers when they like a game.https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/tech/video-game-exec-slammed-suggested-players-tip-developers-always-put-burden-on-customers/https://www.thegamer.com/no-we-are-absolutely-not-tipping-video-game-companies-blizzard-president-mike-ybarra/
We have another huge crossover hit as the fallout series on Amazon prime has taken the world by storm. It's just exception done so let's discuss the show.https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-fallout-tv-show-gave-the-fallout-games-a-huge-player-bump-as-everyone-remembers-they-like-fallouthttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-04-12/amazon-s-fallout-show-is-a-fantastic-video-game-adaptation
We had "Last Of Us" and now"Halo" and "Fallout" that have been huge hits. So what video games are out there that we would like to be turned into a TV series. Well The National News has a list so the's go through that and see what we agree with and which ones we aren't so hot about.https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2024/04/13/video-games-tv-shows-adaptation/
-
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
-
Some sad new in the comic world. There's some Playstation news and we have a couple of great lists to take a look at.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
The comic world lost a pioneer and inspiration when akira toriyama passed away this past week. His Dragon Ball comic is revered as one of the best animes ever. His creativeness and vision will be missed.https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/arts/akira-toriyama-dead.html
Some PS5 news. The PS5 pro specs were leaked (yes, there is a PS5 pro coming) and the PSVR2 production was halted. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-vr-2-headset-production-paused-report/1100-6521906/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/impressive-sounding-ps5-pro-specs-and-release-window-reportedly-leaked/1100-6521894/
One of the studios that has brought us some of the best games ever produced is Naughty Dog. Well IGN put out a list of all the games they have developed and well you know we couldn't pass up a great list so let's dig in and talk Naughty Dog.https://www.ign.com/articles/all-naughty-dog-games-in-order
We love video games. We love the story and escape that comes with playing them but sometimes you just want to throw the controller at the damn screen. We all know that feeling. Which begs the question, What is the hardest game you have played? Well yardbarker came up with a list and well you know how that goes around here.https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_25_most_challenging_video_games_of_all_time_031524/s1__38319193#slide_5
-
Nintendo picks it's battles and the Game industry takes another hit.
http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
Sony lays off approxamately 85 of its work force. This include the closing of a full studio in London a week after the CEO visited and said all is well. Just another in the blood bath that is the gaming industry this year.https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/27/24084494/sony-playstation-layoffs-2024https://fandomwire.com/playstation-ceo-jim-ryan-closes-london-studios/#:~:text=Jim%20Ryan%20shuts%20down%20London,hand%20and%20an%20uncertain%20fate.
Speaking of that gaming industry bloodbath, add almost 700 employees at EA to that total for the year. Along with a few other smaller companies that's over 2000 employees in February alone. So what is this all about and what does it mean for our games going forwards?https://gameworldobserver.com/2024/03/04/game-industry-layoffs-over-2000-february-compared-to-2023
Just over a week ago, Nintendo sued the developers of the leading Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu, for “facilitating piracy at a colossal scale.” Now, it appears that Yuzu will give up without a fight — and give Nintendo everything it wanted. And it affects the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, too.https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/4/24090357/nintendo-yuzu-emulator-lawsuit-settlementhttps://hard-drive.net/hd/video-games/yuzu-shuts-down-to-better-emulate-video-game-industry/
The Last of Us was definitely one of the biggest and most talked about shows of 2023. Starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal it was an amazing adaptation of a video game and we now have the cast for season two that details the game sequal.https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/the-last-of-us-season-2-cast
-
... Labor strife in the video game industry. We discuss a pokemon wannabe as well as the future of micro transaction and oh yeah, another video game awards show and all the winners.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/Show Notes
We've talked quite a bit about layoffs and force reductions in the video game industry lately but why is that happening? I think we have touched on our theories but this article from polygon looks into the current development industry and why these things are happening.https://www.polygon.com/gaming/24074767/video-game-industry-layoffs-explainer
Take pokemon. Throw in Arc: Survival, a little rust and a smidgeon of Fallout and you have the latests game from Pocket Paire called Palworld. Some (well a lot) feel it's a rip off of Pokemon? But is it? Let's take a look at what's the same and well what's not.https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/palworld-game-pokemon-response-rcna135687https://screenrant.com/pokemon-palworld-survival-game-clone-rip-off-fakemon/
We all thought that micro transactions were the future of video game monitization. We have talked about this also quite a bit. We were wrong. Here's the future and it's bigger than we thought.https://www.pcgamer.com/if-youre-wondering-why-diablo-4-has-a-horse-for-sale-with-dollar65-of-premium-currency-stuck-to-it-let-me-introduce-you-to-price-anchoring/
And yet another video game awards show. Here's the run down of winners.https://www.ign.com/articles/dice-awards-2024-winners-the-full-list
Game Review
Palworld - Diddi
-
http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
Show Notes
Embracer Group, the company attempting to forge one video game publisher to rule them all, has just presided over another round of layoffs. Eidos Montreal is letting go of 97 game developers and support staff, the company announced today on X.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/29/24054659/embracer-eidos-montreal-layoffs-deus-ex
CES 2024 happened while we were away. The big kids at the gaming table tend to use their own events to announce their own devices. Microsoft isn’t going to announce a new Xbox in Las Vegas. Don’t expect a Nintendo Switch 2, either. That leaves the attention that is at the Consumer Electronics Show for the niche, weird, and decidedly enthusiast hardware. So let's take a look at the best gaming things announced at this years CES.https://www.inverse.com/tech/best-gaming-hardware-ces-2024
Blizzard has been through some stuff in the last couple of years and the last couple of weeks were no different. Here's what is happening at our favorite company to dish on.https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffshttps://www.digitalspy.com/tech/a46558068/blizzard-odyssey-cancelled-microsoft-layoffs/https://gamerant.com/blizzard-president-johanna-faries-announcement/Halo looks amazing.https://www.polygon.com/23984110/halo-tv-show-season-2-releaes-date-free-youtube
-
We're talking TV
http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
It's award season and although the big emmy show is in a couple of weeks, there is a smaller show known as the Creative Arts Emmy Awards which has a lot of the awards such as best visual effects and prosthetics and the such. The last of us was up for several awards on this as well as the golden globes so let's get into who won and how the show did.https://kotaku.com/golden-globes-the-last-of-us-succession-emmy-awards-1851148385https://www.emmys.com/news/awards-news/creative-arts-news-240106https://edit.emmys.com/sites/default/files/press/creative-240106-v1.pdfThere are a lot of video games scheduled to be released in 2024, currently around 125. As much as we love a list that was still a few too many to go over so we needed a way to whittle that down a bit. Well Inverse came up with a list of the top 13 annd that seems like a pretty good number so here we go.https://www.inverse.com/gaming/2024-video-games
OK, completely off topic here. Being the beginning of the year theres a lot of what's coming this year and this topic is no different. We are going to take a quick look at what gamespot says are the top 9 TV shows coming this year.https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/most-anticipated-tv-streaming-shows-2024/2900-5018/?ftag=NL&campaignName=GameSpot-Report&date=010624&lctg=b3a7b738bd17d2fa16eb5ab92783891fb0c35bd6f93fb6c92ad5b2d8754d0c30#1
-
It's all about the game show awards so lets get to it.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
Show Notes
The game show awards took place last week and , well it's as good as a list so let's run down the winners for you and discuss the angst around this years show.https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/all-the-game-awards-2023-winners-revealed/2900-4977/?ftag=NL&campaignName=GameSpot-Report&date=120823&lctg=b3a7b738bd17d2fa16eb5ab92783891fb0c35bd6f93fb6c92ad5b2d8754d0c30#12https://thegameawards.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu2z5M4gmno&t=4s -
Blizzcon returned and was epic again and we have all the details. IGN inadvertantly misses the mark and there were more layoffs in the video game industry. AND we have a list!!! Sort of. The video game award nominees were announced so we'll run down the games that were nominated.
Show Note
BlizzCon 2023 has happened and its opening ceremony was filled with big announcements, including Diablo 4's first expansion called Vessel of Hatred, three new expansions for World of Warcraft in The Worldsoul Saga, a new Overwatch 2 hero named Mauga, and much more. Here's all the info from the annual celebration of all things Blizzard.https://www.ign.com/articles/blizzcon-2023-everything-announced-and-revealedhttps://news.blizzard.com/en-us/world-of-warcraft/24022616/world-of-warcraft-at-blizzcon-2023-news-round-up?blzcmp=app In our last couple of shows we've talked about layoffs in the Video Game industry and what that impact has been on the people and games. Well that tend has continued so let's take a look at the causes and ramifications of these layoffs.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-11-20/video-game-industry-layoffs One of our ongoing points of emphasis on this show is to bring to light the plight of women in the video game industry. Well IGN lit up that light inadventantly this past week when they published a story celebrating their 30 years of covering the gaming industry with exactly zero women highlighted.https://www.inverse.com/gaming/pc-gamer-women-in-video-gameshttps://www.reddit.com/r/GirlGamers/comments/17vpjst/not_one_woman_in_30_years_not_one/https://www.pcgamer.com/celebrating-30-years-of-pc-gamer/Nominations for the 2023 Game Awards, recognizing the gaming biz’s best games and creators of the year, have been announced. So lets take a look at the nominees in the more important categories and give our take.https://variety.com/2023/gaming/news/game-awards-2023-nominations-alan-wake-baldurs-gate-full-list-1235787390/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2023-nominees-announced-see-them-all-now/1100-6519120/ Mention Black Fridayhttps://www.ign.com/articles/best-buy-black-friday-video-game-deals-ps5-nintendo-switch-xbox-series-x https://www.ign.com/articles/black-friday-2023?utm_source=piano -
A week after the merger clears Microsoft decides to kill a good deal of that good will with it's latest policy update. Ragnar has had his hacker license revoked. Bungie and is the latest developer with financial issues The party of the year is set to take place in Anaheim and if you are going to play some of these older Ubisoft games you better get to it.http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes:
In an apparent policy change, Microsoft has begun blocking “unauthorized” accessories, like controllers and adapters, from use with Xbox consoles. Users who connect an unlicensed third-party device to their Xbox are given two weeks to continue using it before it’s blocked from use completely.https://www.polygon.com/23938582/microsoft-xbox-unauthorized-accessories-0x82d60002https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23938206/microsoft-xbox-controller-block-unauthorized-accessory-error-0x82d60002
A hacker gang that breached various high-profile companies like computer component manufacturer ADATA and video game publisher Capcom within the last several years has been arrested by an international police force, according to law enforcement agency Europol.https://kotaku.com/ransomware-gang-ragnar-locker-capcom-2020-hack-1850953547
While the scope of the job cuts is currently unclear, Bloomberg’s reporter Jason Schreier claimed Bungie CEO Pete Parsons informed employees that a company-wide meeting would be held on Monday to discuss the situation.https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bungie-is-the-latest-playstation-studio-to-be-hit-with-layoffs/
Upcoming this week or just happened if you are listening to the published podcast, is the long awaited return of Blizzcon. So with the aquisition by Microsoft complete what can we expect to find out at this years fan love affair with the irvine, California company.https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzcon/24021890/blizzcon-2023-broadcast-schedule-tune-in-live-november-3-4
Ubisoft has announced plans to shut down online services for nearly a dozen video games, including Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The games will lose online functionally on January 25, 2024.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-will-shut-down-online-services-for-10-games-in-2024-including-older-assassins-creed-titles/1100-6518764/https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-assassin-s-creed-splinter-cell-servers-shutdown-1850974513
Video Game Review:Cities: Skylines 2 - Diddi
-
Xbox gets a lot bigger ... officially. Heads roll over Unity pricing debacle. Lots of people want to build something the Starfield lead quest designer leaves to work on a new game.
http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes:
Its oficially official, after almost two years and sometimes contentious clashes between regulators and the companies, The Microsoft - Activision/Blizzard was finalized on October 13th. Lets take a look at what the means for the gaming landscape.
https://www.subscriptioninsider.com/type-of-subscription-business/subscription-gaming/microsoft-finally-closes-69m-activision-blizzard-acquisitionhttps://www.theringer.com/video-games/2023/10/13/23915767/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-acquisition-merger-takeaways
So what does Microsoft actually own now that the merger is complete? Well we have a list for that.https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/2023/10/13/every-activision-blizzard-game-franchise-xbox-now-owns
Unity the world’s leading platform for creating and growing real-time 3D (RT3D) content, today announced that John Riccitiello will retire as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231009494331/en/Unity-Announces-Leadership-Transition
Minecraft already has the distinction of being the bestselling video game of all time. Today, it adds more down to that particular feather in its cap with the announcement that it has sold a staggering 300 million copies.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67105983https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/15/23916349/minecraft-mojang-sold-300-million-copies-live-2023
Will Shen was at Bethesda for nearly 15 years, serving as a designer on games including Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield. He is now leaving the studio and joining Something Wicked Games, where he'll serve as lead content designer on its first game, the open-world RPG Wyrdsong.https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-lead-quest-designer-leaves-bethesda-to-work-on-the-open-world-rpg-wyrdsong/
-
The king has returned. Epics force reduction is ... well ... epic. 3 strikes and your out and we have a new platform to stream to ... sort of.http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
The king of MMO game development has returned to his castle after leading a successful quest into the gaming wilderness. That's right, the one and only Chris Metzen has returned to Blizzard entertainment to be creative director of World of Warcraft.https://www.xfire.com/chris-metzen-returns-creative-director-world-of-warcraft/https://www.pcgamer.com/chris-metzen-returns-to-blizzard-full-time-to-create-the-next-generation-of-adventures-in-world-of-warcraft/
Epic Games Inc., the company behind global megahit Fortnite, the Epic Games Store, and the wildly popular Unreal Engine, is laying off 16 percent of its current workforce. This report, first coming from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, sees almost 900 employees losing their jobs.https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/28/tech/epic-games-layoffs-fortnite/index.htmlhttps://kotaku.com/epic-games-store-fortnite-unreal-engine-layoffs-1850882501
So in the two weeks since we last recorded, the SAG-AFTRA union voted to strike against the Interactive Media Agreement which is escentially the video game industry. The union did go on strike and earlier this week negotiations broke down without an agreement. So what is the current state and where does this leave upcoming titles?https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sag-aftra-members-authorize-video-game-strike-1235598617/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sag-aftras-talks-with-video-games-industry-ends-with-no-resolution/1100-6518071/
Oh Elon, what are you up to? The pllatform formerly known as twitter ran a test this week that showcased a game streaming event. So how did it go and do we think we will be moving to X in the future?https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/twitter-x-live-video-game-streaming-feature-demo-8965109/https://www.themarysue.com/x-streaming-is-twitch-style-live-game-streaming-coming-to-twitter-answered/
Just EA doing EA things in the most condecending fashion. FIFA 24 launches and players are up in arms about it already. Here's why.https://kotaku.com/ea-fifa-24-fc-loot-box-ultimate-team-pack-odds-scam-1850891916
Last episode we talked about AI and how that will impact video games. Well those concerns came to fruition this week and although not in thee video game world, they will have impact on the games we play in the future.https://www.ign.com/articles/tom-hanks-warns-fans-beware-dental-plan-ad-featuring-ai-version-of-himhttps://www.ign.com/articles/robin-williams-daughter-calls-out-disturbing-ai-recreate-late-fathers-voice
Review
Steamdeck Revisited - Diddi
-
We are going to focus a bit on the business side of video games today with a small detour into the world of will they ever learn with a dash of back to the future with XBox. So lets get into it.http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
Who is the most hated company in all of gaming? Activision-Blizzard? Nope. Its not Riot Games either and even though EA is notorious for its microtransaction nonsense (and recent layoffs at Bioware) its not them either. You could also argue that Konami, Apple, and Ubisoft all have a good reason to receive plenty of hate from gamers too. But despite reputation of those companies, the most reviled company in the game landscape right now is Unity.https://www.themarysue.com/planned-parenthood-gaming-hated-company/https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/18/23879029/unity-pricing-model-changehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-18/unity-overhauls-controversial-price-hike-after-game-developers-revolt?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTY5NTA1NjI4MCwiZXhwIjoxNjk1NjYxMDgwLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTMTZYUzFUMVVNMFcwMSIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.TW0g4uyu_9WyNcs1sDARt9YUgkkzXQlA9BcsFmcr7pcYou might no think that the current SAG-AFTRA strike wouldn't affect the video game industry but that doesn't take in the big picture. See, a lot of the voice actors that bring the characters to life are members of the actors guild. Video games have been exempt from this so far but if they vote to strike in solidarity what would it mean for the video game industry?https://deadline.com/2023/09/sag-aftra-president-fran-drescher-urges-members-approve-strike-authorization-video-game-companies-1235548504/
Oh, when will politicians learn? Haven't we had enough studies by now that prove that video games are not detrimental to youth development. Well someone should tell that to French president Macron because he spit out one of those ignorant statements earlier this year and had to back track this week.https://news.sky.com/story/emmanuel-macron-backtracks-on-video-games-after-blaming-them-for-french-riots-12964322https://fortune.com/2023/09/18/video-games-integral-part-of-france-emmanuel-macron-riots/
The Microsoft - Activision/Blizzard merger is the gift that just keeps on giving. Two little tid bits that have come from court documents are the next XBox console release date and a tripple A title that won't be shared with Playstation. Although neither one of these things is happening any time soon let's look at how this could impact video games.https://kotaku.com/xbox-series-x-s-game-pass-gen-10-release-date-microsoft-1850849528https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-targeted-a-2028-launch-for-its-next-xbox-console/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-6-not-coming-to-ps5-and-wont-release-until-2026-at-the-soonest-microsoft-says/1100-6517794/?ftag=NL&campaignName=GameSpot_Report&date=091823&lctg=20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065According to former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, non-endemic companies like Netflix or Google are one of the biggest threats to the video game business today. Listing his top three concerns for the industry in the years ahead, he claimed that "consolidation can be an enemy of creativity," and that "rising costs in gaming are an existential threat to all of us." He then referred to non-endemic companies like Netflix, Google, Apple, and Amazon as "barbarians at the gate." Let's take a look at whether we think these companies represent a threat to video game business.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-playstation-boss-says-gaming-faces-existential-threat/1100-6517539/?ftag=NL&campaignName=GameSpot-Report&date=090723
Game Review
Starfield - Diddi
-
It's all Gamescom this week. With the cancellation of E3 this year Gamescom became the big focus of the gaming world. We take a look at all the announcements and what got us excited.http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
Wow, just wow. Gamescom opened with a bang and long ass opening ceremony. There were a ton of announcements and trailers so here is the list. We'll see which one we were interested in.https://www.lifestyleasia.com/bk/entertainment/gamescom-2023/https://www.gameshub.com/news/news/gamescom-2023-all-the-news-trailers-announcements-2626965/https://www.polygon.com/2023/8/22/23841795/gamescom-announcements-trailers-onl-2023
https://www.ign.com/articles/gamescom-2023-everything-announced
Geoff Keighley's Game Awards has become the defacto measuring stick of the best games of the year but Gamescom did come up with it's own list. Let's take a look at that and see what they came up with. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/2023-gamescom-winners-1235575636/
-
I didn't write an introduction this week ... bad host.
http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
Netflix is kicking off the first public tests of its cloud-streamed games. Beginning Monday, some Netflix subscribers in Canada and the UK will be able to check out Netflix games streamed to select TVs, connected TV devices, and on the web from Netflix.com.https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/14/23829262/netflix-cloud-gaming-testing-tv-web
As you may remember, we brought you a story a while back about China restricting the amount of hours minors could play video games. Well there is enough data now to do a study and the results may surprise you ... nah they won't. As predicted the restrictions had little or no affect on players gaming habits.https://scitechdaily.com/billions-of-hours-little-change-new-study-questions-video-game-restrictions/
AI is all the rage right now but the technology brings up some interesting questions, especially when it comes to the actors that voice our favorite characters. The current Hollywood writers strike brings up some interesting points concerning this dilemma so let's take a look at that and how it will impact or games of the future.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-08-14/actors-strike-voice-acting-games-ai-call-of-duty-activision-ea-sag-aftra-interactive-agreement
You know we like a good list around here and with the year being a little half over we figured we would take a look at the best games of the year so far. Well polygon had the idea first but we decided to piggy back on their idea. Mostly filled with remasters and sequels but the big new IP's are scheduled to hit later this year. Lets see where we agree and disagree with Polygon.https://www.polygon.com/23648669/best-video-games-2023
-
More Microsoft - Activision/Blizzard merger drama. There's a new switch on the horizon. Politics invades our video game worlds and Xbox home screen gets a face lift.http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend their merger agreement pending the outcome of negotiations with UK regulators. Both parties will now have until October 18th to finalize the transaction, after missing last weeks original deal deadline. Microsoft will argue its case for its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to be reconsidered for approval to the UK this coming week using the details from the FTC failed attempts to block the deal.https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23797238/microsoft-activision-blizzard-merger-agreement-extensionhttps://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813956/microsoft-activision-blizzard-cma-argument-uk-regulator
Nintendo’s next console will reportedly be portable like the Switch and is targeting a release in the second half of 2024, according to a new report today from VideoGamesChronicle. VGC cites “multiple people with knowledge of Nintendo’s next-gen console plans” that reveal Nintendo’s Switch successor is aiming for a release in the second half of next year, to ensure there’s plenty of stock at launch. Nintendo wants to avoid the stock shortages that plagued the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S release for months (and years for some). https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/07/31/nintendos-next-console-will-reportedly-be-portable-like-switch-targeting-secondhttps://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-nintendo-switch-2-targets-2024-with-next-gen-console/
Russian propaganda is spreading into the world’s video games. In Minecraft, the immersive game owned by Microsoft, Russian players re-enacted the battle for Soledar, a city in Ukraine that Russian forces captured in January, posting a video of the game on their country’s most popular social media network, VKontakte.https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/technology/russia-propaganda-video-games.html
Starting July 23rd, a new Home experience is rolling out to all Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. This update is designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/07/26/welcome-to-your-new-xbox-home/
Video Game ReviewPikman 4 - Diddi
-
Black Panther finally gets a game. Another game developer has labor news. One of our favorite comics and TV shows makes a crossover appearance and everything announced at the Nintendo direct.
http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com
https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
In exciting news EA has just announced a new studio along with an upcoming game based on the Black Panther franchise. The studio is called Cliffhanger Games, and it's based in Seattle. It's made up of veterans of Monolith Productions, the developer which previously made both Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. There are also veterans from God of War, Halo, Call of Duty, and more on the dev team.https://www.gamesradar.com/ea-black-panther-game-announcement/https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/10/23787287/ea-black-panther-game-single-player
There have been countless reports and allegations of low pay, long hours, and poor working conditions within the gaming industry over the past several years, especially when it comes to QA testing departments and other key areas of game development. As a result, a growing number of video game studios have decided to unionize, with some of the most publicized examples including Zenimax and Activision Blizzard. Sega of America joined those ranks this week as their members voted to unionize the workforce.https://gamerant.com/sega-of-america-union/
He can fly. He can shoot lasers from his eyes. He is incredibly strong and bullets just bounce right off him. He also is one ... big ... asshole. Bet you thought I was talking about that other guy. Nope, we were describing the one and only Homelander , who along with Starlight and Black Noir are coming to Call of duty this week. You will be able to take on the persona of these characters to battle royal in the popular Call of Duty multiplayer games.https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/07/10/the-boys-invades-call-of-duty-this-week
Nintendo held its summer direct presentation this past week and the 40 minute show had lots of reveals (well a few anyways) and lots of information about upcoming Nintendo games. So lets take a look at what was announced and see if we are intrigued by any of it.https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-direct-june-2023-everything-announcedhttps://www.theverge.com/2023/6/21/23768463/nintendo-direct-june-2023-announcements-trailers-news
Video Game Review
So Much Great TV Right Now
-
The FTC goes full United States and sues to block the Microsoft - Activision Blizzard merger. Sony is ramping up it's cloud gaming game but the big event of the last week was the XBox games showcase which of course we'll dig into and give our thoughts on.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block Microsoft from completing its deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard, the latest antitrust challenge to the proposed merger but one that could hasten a conclusion to the drawn-out dispute.https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/ftc-to-file-injunction-blocking-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-ftc-ab5dd455ed5a2785983d8373915e3531
The revamped PlayStation Plus is one year old as of June, and Sony Interactive Entertainment is observing the milestone with a 10-day stretch of activities and giveaways. More importantly, it’s begun testing cloud streaming of PlayStation 5 games, a big step for PlayStation Plus premium members.https://www.polygon.com/23760883/playstation-ps-plus-extra-games-june-2023-premium-collection
Xbox brought a ton of games to the Xbox Games Showcase 2023, giving us a good idea for what to expect on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC for the rest of the year and beyond. Let's go through what they announced and see what we are looking forward to.https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-games-showcase-2023-everything-announcedhttps://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/06/11/xbox-games-showcase-starfield-direct-recap-everything-announced/
-
In the UK the plot thickens as it pertains to the Microsoft acquisition of Activision/Blizzard. A new trailer was released for the telltale treatment of the Expanse. Apple turns to Sony and says "Hold my Beer" and what about the current state of the gaming landscape as we know it now will be cringe worthy when we look back on it.
http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show NotesMicrosoft could consider pulling Activision from the UK market as one extreme option to bypass the country’s block of its proposed $69bn acquisition. That’s according to a new Bloomberg report, which states that Microsoft president Brad Smith will meet with UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next week to voice his frustration over the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block the deal.https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-could-withdraw-activision-from-the-uk-to-counter-acquisition-block-its-claimed/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-02/microsoft-s-smith-set-for-talks-with-uk-chancellor-over-deal-ban#xj4y7vzkg
Ever since this game was announced The Game Awards in 2021, I've been looking forward to it. A new trailer for The Expanse: A Telltale Series was released this week, detailing the upcoming game based on the hit TV series ahead of its launch on July 27, 2023, on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. It did not disappointhttps://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/06/the-expanse-a-telltale-series-video-game-trailer-reveals-a-choose-your-own-adventure-scifi-prequel.htmlhttps://www.comingsoon.net/games/news/1292670-the-expanse-a-telltale-series-story-trailer-previews-video-game
You know that feeling you have when you are watching the rednecks spin a back hoe around with someone riding the tire attached to it? Well I had exactly that feeling today watching Apple reveal their new VR headset at the WWDC. That's freaking awesome and you are out of your minds.https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23738968/apple-vision-pro-ar-headset-features-specs-price-release-date-wwdc-2023https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-vr-and-mixed-reality-headset-release-date-price-specs-and-leakshttps://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-finally-reveals-long-awaited-ar-headset-vision-pro/1100-6514811/?ftag=NL&campaignName=GameSpot-Report&date=060523
Gaming has come a long way in the last few years. What was once a niche media platform strictly enjoyed by the sort of geeks you'd only find in a bad '80s high school movie has now become a form of blockbuster entertainment (and, in many cases, an art form) revered the world over by millions upon millions of players. Despite this, there's plenty of room for improvement. Gaming today is fraught with issues, and money-grabbing schemes by publishers are just the tip of the digital iceberg. These are the failures, the tricks, and the schemes that the industry — and all those who are a part of it — are going to really, really regret in just a few years.https://www.grunge.com/93628/things-gaming-industry-will-regret-10-years/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_7633041&utm_content=1
Video Game ReviewDiablo 4 - Diddi
-
Microsoft/Blizzard moves a couple of steps closer to becoming a reality. Everyone is so angry at just about everything and everyone in the video game world but hopefully they won't be when they conviene in Anahiem later this year and there were soooooooo many game announcements this week. We have all that and a game review to talk about today.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/https://www.patreon.com/joystickandmouse
Show Notes
The Microsoft aquisition of Activision/Blizzard took an interesting turn when China of all places gave it's OK for the merger to go ahead. This is on the heels of the EU's decision to approve the deal ... of course it isn't that big of a deal that China approved because the Chinese can't play any of the Blizzard games anyways. But Hey, there's always Candy Crush for them.https://www.eurogamer.net/microsofts-proposed-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard-approved-in-chinahttps://www.gamesindustry.biz/china-reportedly-approves-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision-blizzardhttps://www.gamespot.com/articles/37-countries-have-now-approved-microsofts-deal-to-buy-activision-blizzard/1100-6514380/I noticed this lately and it seems so has someone else at Kotaku. Us gamers just seem to be really angry at just about everyone, all the time. So, is that true and if so why is that? https://kotaku.com/pc-gaming-gamers-ea-activision-steam-angry-mad-valve-1850397771
In one of the worst kept secrets in gaming, Blizzard announced that in person Blizzcon will return this year. The particulars are the same as far as time and place but no word on tickets yet.https://www.engadget.com/blizzcon-returns-as-an-in-person-event-later-this-year-180934125.htmlhttps://www.theverge.com/2023/5/17/23727227/blizzcon-2023-in-person-dates-anaheim
There was an idie round up this past week and well there were way too many games to mention them all but we'll includse the linksd so you can check them out yourselves. There also was another connect type event this week hosted by netease. Yes that netease. Here's what was announced and how we feel about them.https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/05/round-up-indie-live-expo-2023-every-nintendo-switch-game-showcasedhttps://www.ign.com/articles/all-19-games-revealed-at-netease-connect-2023-justice-mobile-ashfall-and-beyond
Mentions
Race to world first - Liquid winsDiablo 4
Game Review
Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom
- Laat meer zien
