Gaming Podcast 210: Meretzky Ruined Our Lives

This week we’re flashing back to Grim Fandango and looking back at developer Steve Meretzky and his destruction of our lives in the social gaming space.

We’ve got other news this week which includes:

  • Activision Kills Guitar Hero
  • Blizzard Wants to Release Diablo III This Year
  • Crysis 2 and Killzone 3 Leaked On BitTorrent
  • CliffyB On Why Gears Is Still a 360 Exclusive
  • Ensemble Studios Founder: Age of Empires III a “Huge Mistake

The question of the week is: How many hours do you devote to video games, including social networking games?

0 thoughts on “Gaming Podcast 210: Meretzky Ruined Our Lives”

  1. @Blizzard wants to release diablo 3 this year

    It’s nice that Blizzard aren’t pressured into releasing something when it’s not ready. Valve, too, they’re products take as long as it takes to make them brilliant. It’s just frustrating when you hear nothing about it in the meantime. Heh, reminds me of Radiohead. Not saying anything for 2 and a half years and then all of a sudden saying “hey, albums done. It’s out in 5 days.”

    @CliffyB on Gears 3 being a 360 exclusive

    Marketing dollars would be a big drawcard, so it’s unsurprising they’re staying with Microsoft. And I agree with him, the Playstation 3 controller feels awkward and uncomfortable compared to the 360 controller.

    @Age of empires 3 a “huge mistake”

    It definitely didn’t feel like an age of empires game. If it had been given a different name, I probably would have liked it more, but being the sequel to age of empires 2, my favorite RTS, I couldn’t help being disappointed.

    Also, I’m looking forward to hearing your impressions of age of empires online Jonah. Unfortunately, I don’t have very high expectations for it…

    @QOTW

    Very hard question, since it’s pretty variable. Maybe on average 10 hours a week? actually, i have no idea. I just made that number up really.

  2. @Blizzard wants to release diablo 3 this year

    It’s nice that Blizzard aren’t pressured into releasing something when it’s not ready. Valve, too, they’re products take as long as it takes to make them brilliant. It’s just frustrating when you hear nothing about it in the meantime. Heh, reminds me of Radiohead. Not saying anything for 2 and a half years and then all of a sudden saying “hey, albums done. It’s out in 5 days.”

    @CliffyB on Gears 3 being a 360 exclusive

    Marketing dollars would be a big drawcard, so it’s unsurprising they’re staying with Microsoft. And I agree with him, the Playstation 3 controller feels awkward and uncomfortable compared to the 360 controller.

    @Age of empires 3 a “huge mistake”

    It definitely didn’t feel like an age of empires game. If it had been given a different name, I probably would have liked it more, but being the sequel to age of empires 2, my favorite RTS, I couldn’t help being disappointed.

    Also, I’m looking forward to hearing your impressions of age of empires online Jonah. Unfortunately, I don’t have very high expectations for it…

    @QOTW

    Very hard question, since it’s pretty variable. Maybe on average 10 hours a week? actually, i have no idea. I just made that number up really.

  3. hello its me again just want to let you know that I already invited some of my friends to listen to your podcast its just because that Ilove your show a lot and by the way I like the monster hunter topic suggestion by some random guy who commented bye and more power to your show

    from your number one fan oliver

  4. hello its me again just want to let you know that I already invited some of my friends to listen to your podcast its just because that Ilove your show a lot and by the way I like the monster hunter topic suggestion by some random guy who commented bye and more power to your show

    from your number one fan oliver

  5. @Activision Kills Guitar Hero: sorry for the guys that lost their jobs. If they’re at least decent developers, they should find themselves employed fairly soon.
    As for slow-playing, dunno. Look at Battlefield. Not slow played. Still gets sales.

    And you don’t make a game that suits everybody. You do a game that suits a certain type of people, and make sure all of them buy it.

    @Blizzard Wants to Release Diablo III This Year:
    Thanks Jonah, I was going to mention Valve.
    Derrick, thank you too. I was also thinking on how they split their efforts.

    @Crysis 2 and Killzone 3 Leaked On BitTorrent:
    Oh man πŸ™‚ … apparently master keys is the thing of the past, for developers and publisher, and a thing of the future for pirates.
    As for who’re the pirates … don’t bet anything on teens buying the game. Just as a counterpoint, they don’t have money, and they’re ALWAYS on-line.
    Derrick, Jonah is right though. Piracy is rampant in Eastern Europe. And Jonah, Derrick is right: yes, it is price drawn.

    @CliffyB On Why Gears Is Still a 360 Exclusive:
    Guys, look up Steve Ballmer’s “Developers” youtube video. CliffyB (Epic is a developer) simply proved it right: get the developers on your side.

    @QOTW: I barely have time to play, in general. And just a quick question: what’s a social networking game?

  6. @Activision Kills Guitar Hero: sorry for the guys that lost their jobs. If they’re at least decent developers, they should find themselves employed fairly soon.
    As for slow-playing, dunno. Look at Battlefield. Not slow played. Still gets sales.

    And you don’t make a game that suits everybody. You do a game that suits a certain type of people, and make sure all of them buy it.

    @Blizzard Wants to Release Diablo III This Year:
    Thanks Jonah, I was going to mention Valve.
    Derrick, thank you too. I was also thinking on how they split their efforts.

    @Crysis 2 and Killzone 3 Leaked On BitTorrent:
    Oh man πŸ™‚ … apparently master keys is the thing of the past, for developers and publisher, and a thing of the future for pirates.
    As for who’re the pirates … don’t bet anything on teens buying the game. Just as a counterpoint, they don’t have money, and they’re ALWAYS on-line.
    Derrick, Jonah is right though. Piracy is rampant in Eastern Europe. And Jonah, Derrick is right: yes, it is price drawn.

    @CliffyB On Why Gears Is Still a 360 Exclusive:
    Guys, look up Steve Ballmer’s “Developers” youtube video. CliffyB (Epic is a developer) simply proved it right: get the developers on your side.

    @QOTW: I barely have time to play, in general. And just a quick question: what’s a social networking game?

  7. Piracy – I may or may not download games from time to time using torrents or other sources but I buy my fair share of games especially from developers I know create great games. I honestly believe that the primary issue with game piracy is the price of the games. I’m not going to pay $50 or more for a game that may or may not enjoy and has no resell value if i do not. In fact for that exact reason i download tones of demos on my PS3 so I know what to expect. If the games were cheaper I wouldn’t feel so ripped off and less likely to pirate.

  8. Piracy – I may or may not download games from time to time using torrents or other sources but I buy my fair share of games especially from developers I know create great games. I honestly believe that the primary issue with game piracy is the price of the games. I’m not going to pay $50 or more for a game that may or may not enjoy and has no resell value if i do not. In fact for that exact reason i download tones of demos on my PS3 so I know what to expect. If the games were cheaper I wouldn’t feel so ripped off and less likely to pirate.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 513: Delays and TragedyEpisode 513: Delays and Tragedy

Last week’s episode was delayed by Jonah producing a new show (The Jonah Falcon Show), then by the tragedy on Sunday, August 26. Now, the podcast recorded last week and the one recorded this week have been merged into one big 2+ hour show.

Last week’s news items included:

  • Devil May Cry 5 arrives in March
  • Cyberpunk 2077 quests similar to The Witcher 3 ‘in terms of playtime and complexity’
  • Rumor: Nintendo planning big Switch upgrade
  • Soulcalibur 6 Story Mode and DLC character announced

This past week’s news was simple:

  • EA cancels remaining Madden Classic qualifiers

To be fair, the crew ended up talking about other stuff going on during the week, including the the E3 demo for Cyberpunk 2077 that was finally released to the general public. Gaming still brings smiles to people’s faces.

Episode 352: Get Ready for E3 AgainEpisode 352: Get Ready for E3 Again

It’s the last podcast before E3 2014 starts on Monday. Jonah is still ravaged by the flu, while Paul’s ghost haunts the podcast.

The news this week includes:

  • Watch Dogs sells 4 million in first week
  • Xbox One getting 34 new apps
  • Sony discontinues the PSP in Japan
  • Take-Two CEO skeptical of Oculus’ broad appeal

All this and Listener Feedback as well as a new Question of the Week: β€œHow much info do you try to glean from E3 reports?”

For whatever reason, the file is not working. To listen to the podcast, use this player:

Episode 347: Final FantasyEpisode 347: Final Fantasy

This week’s podcast features the Gaming Flashback of Final Fantasy VI, which takes up a third of the podcast as Paul and Jordan enthuse about the Japanese roleplaying game at length – so much so, that some news items were skipped over due to running length. Jonah prepares for his trip to PAX East 2014 for the weekend. He also proclaims Emperor Palpatine dancing in Kinect Star Wars the best thing to ever happen for Star Wars.

This week’s news includes:

  • Amazon says FireTV will boost mid-market games
  • Borderlands 2 Vita bundle hits on May 6, game launches May 13
  • Molyneux predicts Kinect-less Xbox One
  • Microsoft looking into Xbox 360 emulation through Xbox One

A lot of Listener Feedback this week, and the Question of the Week is β€œWhat mobile games have you played recently?”