Episode 511: Grim Sky at Riot

The guys discuss the recent report by Kotaku released this week on the shady institutionalized sexism at Riot Games, the people behind League of Legends. There’s also hints of racism as well, especially since everyone in charge is, well, a white male. Otherwise, T.J. gushes about his experiences at EVO, the fighting game convention/competition, and is looking forward to QuakeCon.

The news this week includes:

And Jonah confesses he still hasn’t played GTA5 because, well, GTA4 soured him on the series.

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Robbie Bach says: There Will Be Multiple VictorsRobbie Bach says: There Will Be Multiple Victors

It’s amazing to think we’re in our third year of “next generation” console bliss. Three years have passed since the first Xbox 360 shipped, for good or bad, and it’s time to start thinking about the future.

Or is it?

Bobbie Bach, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices president, seems to believe this generation of consoles will expand out further than the typical four-year release cycle. Perhaps because the console developers have invested so much money in defeating each other in the market and making their console “number one” in the eyes of their investors.

Bach does not believe we’re cresting on the current generation, that is for certain, and we’ve yet to hear any hype over a new next-generation console from Microsoft. They were the first to market so, theoretically, they should be the first in the next-generation as well, right?

Their move to be number one was really a strategic attack which has paid out well, leading them above the past domination of Sony and Nintendo before it. However, they are holding strong with the Xbox 360 and there might be cause to sit tight and let this generation playout before bringing in another piece of hardware.

Bach stated that he believes consoles today are competing at different levels than ten years ago. There isn’t one clear winner, there isn’t one dominating console. There will be victors in different areas of the industry; casual consoles, top game sellers, best graphics and others. It’s not about sheer “units sold” it’s more about being profitable and building a community around your hardware, see Xbox Live as a great example.

Next generation will be full of fantastic new features, ways to connect and crazy hardware specifications, no doubt, but… for many of us, it will take years before we forget the pain and suffering we paid shipping our dead Xbox 360’s back to Microsoft for repairs. Would you be willing to buy into their next generation as their first customer?

(Thanks, 1up)

Retro Gaming Moves: Spinning Bird KickRetro Gaming Moves: Spinning Bird Kick

In 1987, Capcom created a new winner with the Street Fighter series. Knowing the demographic, they went for teenage boys with the desire to play fighting games in the arcade in competitive fashion. But is a good fighting game without some eye candy?

Chun-Li was the star, with her Spinning Bird Kick. Actually, Chun-Li never saw the first Street Fighter title… only Ken and Ryu (mainly Ryu) were available in the first series installment. This got our taste wet for battle, and Street Fighter II introduced us to a whole range of great moves and character designs.

Out of all the characters, Chun-Li held her own as a cute skinny yet muscular female with moves like no other. Her Spinning Bird Kick would allow her to flip upside down and whack the opponent upside the head a few times as they fall to their back on the stone.

Chun-Li, or “spring beauty” in Mandarin, was famous for her sexy anime legs and their spinning doom. Gamers would perform the move that the worse possible time for their opponent, such as in mid-jump when your opponent had nothing but death and peril awaiting their landing.

Ken and Ryu had spinning kicks too, but without the inverted impossible moves of Chun-Li it fell short of awesome. When it comes to animated violence, perceived hot chicks and young boys battling for ego and rights to be the winner, the Spinning Bird Kick and Chung-Li was a great choice.

The British rock band Arctic Monkeys have an instrumental song titled “Chun Li’s Spinning Bird Kick” and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (wikipedia).

It does without doubt, every Street Fighter II player remembers the crazy spinning kicks of Chun-Li and this is what makes her have retro gaming moves!

Gaming Podcast: Monster MashGaming Podcast: Monster Mash

podcast-200x200This week we’re on vacation but Don is not, so he took the time to build out a cool mashup of some of the podcasts most memorable “moments.” Of course, most of them are the strangest bloopers and oddities that we had a couple lol’s re-listening to them. Consider this the greatest moments in the last sixty episodes wrapped up in a 4-minute time period. Holy crap.