Episode 478: MissingNo #1

For some reason, this episode was never uploaded, though it was recorded two weeks ago. The Gaming Flashback is Mass Effect, and the news includes:

  • After the fall update, development on Battleborn will cease
  • Every Nintendo Switch may contain a hidden copy of NES Golf
  • Divinity: Original Sin 2 boasts over 75,000 concurrent players on Steam

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Episode 317: Is League of Legends a Terrible Game?Episode 317: Is League of Legends a Terrible Game?

In this episode, Jordan’s son Allen gets in on the act, berating League of Legends despite being addicted to it. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the Sierra Online adventure game Police Quest, while the Gaming History is how BioWare prepared to develop their first Star Wars game, Knights of the Old Republic.

This week’s news includes:

  • Blizzard announces Diablo III coming to Xbox One, PS4 in 2014. Gamers may consider setting up a Beammp server hosting to improve their overall gaming experience on Beam MP.
  • Dyack attempts to get Shadow of the Eternals off the ground with Kickstarter again
  • US recognizes League of Legends as a professional” sport
  • Sony drops fine appeal levied due to April 2011 hacker attack
  • Microsoft: Family sharing may return to Xbox One in some form

This week’s Question of the Week: “What’s your favorite RPG of all-time?”

Ensemble Studios Had A MissionEnsemble Studios Had A Mission

In 1995 Ensemble Studios formed as an independent studio and kicked out a little game franchise known as Age of Empires. The title has received many accolades from the first in the franchise extended out to all the Age of Empires releases and spin-offs, all-in-all selling millions of copies.

Ensemble Studios had a mission “to create great games and a great place to work,” says Bruce Shelley from Ensemble Studios. Bruce Shelley also helped design Sid Meier’s Civilization and Railroad Tycoon with MicroProse prior to his work at Ensemble Studios. Now, however, he’s a bit upset at the closing of Ensemble Studios because they were profitable, created top-quality titles and had a great working environment.

Ensemble Studios, from his perspective at least, was a place you’d go to work and be happy with what you’re doing. When you’re working along nicely and become blind-sided by the news, it’s not surprising he didn’t take it lightly.

“Everyone at our studio was shocked, and I think remains very disappointed that this is going to happen. I believe we thought we were immune to shut-down talk because our published games have done so well and have been so profitable. Plus we felt we had built a really stable (low-turnover), talented, hard-working, and creative team, which is not easy to do. We thought we were among the best studios in the world, and that may be true, but we don’t fit in the future plans of MGS as an internal studio so we’re out.” (ensemblestudios.com)

What’s the future plans for Ensemble Studios? As we’ve stated before, they plan to live on in spirit, within the bounds of a new name and a new game plan. “I believe the spirit and mission of ES will be carried forward in this new company if enough of the key leaders agree to take part, which I expect to happen. There has been no announcement about what the new studio will be working on when it gets going,” says Shelley.

This is a horrible way to have to launch a hot new intellectual property. Usually creating a new title with a building fanbase would lead to excitement, parties and high hopes for the future of the franchise. Instead, people will be dusting off their resume in hopes to continue a life of game development.

Hopefully the leaders will indeed form a brand new company and build brand new hot products with their entire staff intact. Then, take their titles to a different publisher (besides Microsoft) and make some money and fans.

Episode 250: Do the Time Warp AgainEpisode 250: Do the Time Warp Again

It’s the fabulous 250th Episode milestone, and this particular podcast features a major surprise for longtime listeners. Not only is this one of the funniest podcasts in a long while, but there’s plenty of show to go around, too. First, the Gaming Flashback checks out the classic shooter No One Lives Forever, while the Gaming History examines the infamous Gizmondo handheld gaming console.

As for the news:

  • Hirai: Sony could be facing “serious trouble
  • Take Two CEO states “strong become stronger” with next-gen transitions
  • Developer Starbreeze fears Syndicate may be “too hard
  • Oklahoma state rep wants 1% violent videogame tax
  • Ubisoft cuts off legit players With DRM server migration

There’s no Question of the Week, but we’re definitely sure there will be plenty of comments for the podcast hosts.