Episode 403: Jam and the Hooligans

The episode is a day late, sorry about that, folks. In this episode, we wish Paul was with us to discuss what he thought of the release of Jem and the Holograms in theaters. The banter is strong, but not overstuffed like last week.

Lots of news this week, however:

  • Konami insists Hideo Kojima still works at company
  • 343 Industries not ruling out PC port of Halo 5
  • Rebellion rescues Kickstarter backers from GRIN’s bankruptcy
  • Classic car combat RPG Autoduel may be making a comeback with inXile
  • Pete Hines: Entire game not on Fallout 4 PC disc
  • Vivendi seeking more shares of Ubisoft, board seats

The Question on the Week: Do you prefer first person or isometric RPGs?

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Episode 515: Telltale ClosesEpisode 515: Telltale Closes

This week follows the stunning announcement over the closure of Telltale Games and the repercussions of the shuttering of one of the most influential companies in the industry. There’s also Scott continuing to gush about Dragon Quest XI and Jonah enjoying the 2008 version of Prince of Persia again. That, and Fallout 3 headlines the Gaming Flashback.

News of the week include:

  • Telltale employees left stunned by company closure
  • Swiss soccer fans temporarily stop game to protest esports
  • Brian Fargo will try to buy back Interplay if The Bard’s Tale IV sells well enough
  • Rez creator’s musical re-imagining of Tetris launches in November

Let us know what Telltale Games you were hoping to see in the future.

Microsoft Avatar’s and DashboardMicrosoft Avatar’s and Dashboard

Microsoft has come out and validated some earlier rumors about Xbox 360 Avatar’s and their 3D dashboard design. Apparently, this is to build more of a community and bring a bit of the Mii-like influence from the Nintendo Wii to the 360 hardware.

It seems Microsoft is taking some of the concepts from the Nintendo Wii which were poorly implemented due to the lack of any real network community and bring them to live with a more integrated useful system. This proves Nintendo was on the right track but shows off their lack of integration and fear of bringing people together.

“Create, share, and have fun with all of your friends… but avatars are just the beginning. The new Xbox is tailored for the living room. Here we are at the community channel — instead of a list of friends, you actually see them.” (joystiq)

Nintendo’s cute little idea of Mii’s and sharing them with friends was fantastic, a great bullet list feature, but rather useless. Typing in friends codes gets old way too fast and there really isn’t anyway to vocally chat with people on your friends list anyway, so who cares?

Microsoft has proven to know a bit about the community space, has parental controls and a fairly reliable LIVE system for making it all happen. Although Nintendo should look at this with a bit of pride, given duplication is the best form of flattery, they could learn a few things about how to work a community into your console too!