Episode 452: Goodbye Princess Leia, Hello 2017

The year has ended, as the last podcast of 2016 was recorded last week, and released today. There’s much discussion that was cut out and saved for a future outtakes episode. Regardless, there’s plenty of show to go around, and the sound quality is also far better than ever thanks to Jonah getting a professional headset and mic.

This week’s news includes:

  • Nintendo registers trademark that could point to a SNES Classic Edition
  • Windows 10 may be getting a new “Game Mode” option
  • The next game by That Dragon, Cancer‘s dev is not what you’d expect

This week’s Question of the Week is “What game in 2017 might you buy that you normally wouldn’t?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Related Post

Guitar Hero World Tour Bundle MayhemGuitar Hero World Tour Bundle Mayhem

You’re looking to pickup a copy of Guitar Hero World Tour, but you’re currently unsure which bundle does what and how much each will cost. That has now been made clear and gamers can go about their holiday shopping business later this month (Oct. 26th) to pickup the bundle of their choosing.

  • USD $190 for the full band kit on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
  • USD $180 for the full band kit on PS2.
  • USD $100 for the guitar/game bundle on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.
  • USD $90 for the guitar/game bundle on PS2.

“And, if $190 just isn’t enough money to spend for you, Red Octane is also offering a special $240 deluxe full band kit bundle that also comes with an XL t-shirt, battery charger, key chain, and guitar case. This deluxe kit is available for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with a $220 deluxe kit offered for the PlayStation 2 and Wii.” (1up)

One other thing that 1up observed in this pricing structure: Guitar Hero with guitar controller was $70, Guitar Hero II with controller was $80, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 with controller was $90 and, of course, Guitar Hero III with controller was $100. Are we slowly being brought to the price point that these publishers want to reach? It seems they’re drawing us slowly to higher values as we continue to purchase into their schemes.

Granted, their schemes are fun as all heck so we’re willing to pay to play, but where will it end? Fairly soon we’ll be paying more money for our controller and rock genre style game than the console hardware with extended warranties.

Episode 566: NBA 2K20 Is AwfulEpisode 566: NBA 2K20 Is Awful

Jonah goes off on a virulent rant about NBA 2K20 and the decline of the series as a whole, while offering milder criticism of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. There’s no Gaming Flashbacks, but plenty of news.

The news items include:

  • Another leak points to new Tony Hawk game arriving later this year
  • Horizon Zero Dawn is coming to PC this summer
  • 2K returns to making NFL video games, but not a Madden competitor

Let us know what you think.

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?

(more…)