Episode 449: More Technical Difficulties

December 9, 2016| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 6:43 pm

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For the second week in a row, the podcast has had some technical issues. This time the problem was less, but there are still present. Part of the reason is that the mic is subpar, the other is that the PC it’s being recorded on has a damaged fan. That said, this week’s episode (and the unreleased episode) were really good. The unpublished one will be issued at some future date when we all need a break (maybe over the Christmas week.)

This week’s episode includes:

Assassin’s Creed 3 goes free, murders Ubisoft servers in the process
After Blizzard shutdown, legacy World of Warcraft server returns this month
Halo 5: Forge custom game browser is launching on PC this week
Report: Nintendo Switch will get GameCube Games

Let us know what your favorite 2016 game has been.

0 thoughts on “Episode 449: More Technical Difficulties”

Donovan says:

December 11, 2016 at 1:14 am

Vanilla/legacy WoW will return!

Reply

Episode 249: Milestone LoomingEpisode 249: Milestone Looming

For those of you good at math, you might notice that the TD Gaming Podcast is one episode away from a special number. While we have a surprise in store for loyal listeners, there’s still this week’s news to discuss. For starters, the classic Silent Hill 2 is the subject of the Gaming Flashback, even though none of the podcasters have gotten a chance to actually play it.

There’s also some interesting news to discuss, including:

Christian group accuses The Old Republic of “warping kids” with pro-gay message
Rumor: Next Harmonix project being released on XBLA, PSN, and Facebook
EA Sports: SSX will bring extreme sports videogames back to prominence
Xbox 720 rumors springing up like wildfire
PS Vita continues to struggle in Japan
SNK brings Neo*Geo back as a handheld

There’s plenty of Reader Feedback, but there’s no Question of the Week, because there’s a special episode coming up. Ooooh, what could it possibly be?

Popcap’s Feeding Frenzy 2 on Xbox LIVE ArcadePopcap’s Feeding Frenzy 2 on Xbox LIVE Arcade

The place to be, this week, is Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) as Popcap’s now released Feeding Frenzy 2 on the 360 platform. Xbox Live Arcade has been the go to place for awesome new content brought in high definition on both shrink wrapped box games along with classic casual titles.

Not into casual games? Perhaps your spouse or children are into them! If you’ve got an Xbox 360 and continually consider it a “big boys hardcore console” it’s time to change your perspective because that’s old world thinking. Microsoft, together with Popcap, plans to change how people game on the Xbox 360 console system.

This isn’t Popcap’s first title, many may remember Heavy Weapon on the Xbox 360. This sure won’t be the last!

Read on for full press release details!

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Studios Closing: The Good, Bad and UglyStudios Closing: The Good, Bad and Ugly

Gamers around the world are going to feel the pain in the 2009 holiday season after the economy shakes apart many great development studios. Electronic Arts feels the pain of being a public company as their investors complain about lackluster revenue, THQ deals with closing studios to extend their runway and other firms will lose more headcount in the coming months.

It’s not all bad. But, it’s going to get ugly before it gets better.

The financial market has played tricks on everyone in our global economy and companies across all industries are going to feel a bit of a tightening around the belt. Investors are shaken and doing their best to protect their investments and cutting loose those that aren’t projecting profits in the near future. Game studios are going to slow their financial burn rates, trim a bit of the fat and hunker down the long term. The end result, next years holiday season will have a few less games because those games are being dropped to the floor now.

Mid-sized studios within larger firms may find their projects canceled or put on hold and their employees re-structured or let go while big studios assess what projects will make the long haul. This is the ugly side of the business, having to make a decision on what games stay and what games go with the grief of having to tell some of your best talent “goodbye.”

The bad part of the industry is occurring today, with publishers posting mediocre profits and trying to convince their investors to be patient and trust they’ve got a firm hold on their destiny. The game industry is not alone in this, many firms are reducing head count and many startups are finding themselves without series A or B funding; they’re closing their doors because the money is being directed to more stable ventures.

What’s the good in all of this?