Episode 512: Heating Up

As Fall approaches, more info on exciting games are starting to trickle in. That, and Jonah talks about how he’s going to Power Morphicon to cover stuff for his upcoming new show.

Otherwise, the news this week includes:

  • Patrick Stewart will narrate My Memory of Us
  • Jagged Alliance: Rage! announced
  • Deep Silver’s Outward coming February 12
  • Dark Souls coming to Nintendo Switch on Oct. 19

Let us know what you think.

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Last week’s podcast was the victim of Jonah’s ISP going down, so this week is a mix of last week’s and this week’s news, as well as a Gaming History on industry legend Nolan Bushnell.

The news includes:

  • EA rumored to nearing deal to stream games via Comcast
  • Nintendo responds to gay marriage petition
  • $300 3D printer coming early 2015
  • Kinect-free Xbox One coming June 9 for $399
  • Philips sues Nintendo, seeks to halt Wii U sales in U.S.

The Question of the Week: “What is your favorite educational videogame?”

Episode 384: Homestar RuinerEpisode 384: Homestar Ruiner

This week’s episode has bad audio, but at least it’s short, due to Jonah’s lingering laryngitis. Paul insists Homestar Runner hasn’t been good in 15 years, while Jonah talks about the NES classic bomb Athena.

This week’s news includes:

  • Nintendo Virtual Store to start selling N64 and DS games
  • Tim Schafer recommends Broken Age players start over from the beginning
  • Silent Hills is officially dead

All this and Listener Feedback.

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…)