Episode 550: Kowtowing to China

Blizzard finds itself in hot water as it finds itself having to explain its actions in pleasing the Chinese government, in news that’s still hot and doesn’t look like it’s going to cool down anytime soon. It’s enough to overshadow even an official console announcement from Sony. There’s a Gaming Flashback, the embarrassingly bad FMV game Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties.

The news this week includes:

  • Blizzard is facing a boycott after removing a Hearthstone Grandmaster
  • PlayStation 5 launches Holiday 2020
  • Doom Eternal delayed until March 2020, Doom 64 goes multiformat

Let us know what you think.

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The news this week: Elon Musk’s estranged daughter weighs in on his pro gamer claims: ‘He was a Bronze Torbjörn main. He was fucking dogshit’, Palworld decides it wasn’t April fooling after all, is actually making a visual novel dating sim where you can, uh, ‘dismember and eat’ some of its cast, Death Stranding has crossed 20 million players since launch, If the Switch 2 stumbles, Nintendo has no Plan B, Final Fantasy 9 Anniversary celebration begins, Star Wars XCOM game on the way?, and Shuhei Yoshida believes Nier: Automata was a turning point in modern Japanese games.

ESRB Plugs The LeaksESRB Plugs The Leaks

One of the great places to find news on upcoming games is the ESRB‘s website. They typically rate their games and post the ratings on their site to be helpful to concerned citizens looking to purchase upcoming titles.

Of course, the ESRB gets their titles prior to the game release so posting the rating on their website gives away the names and potential timing for soon-to-be game releases. Dates aren’t required for blogs and news sites to glean an idea of a release and the official title name.

Now, the ESRB might be under the same embargo restrictions game review/preview sites are held to, by not posting game ratings until 30 days after it has been rated, says 1up.com.

What’s this mean for bloggers? You’ll need to look harder for dark corners of the Internet to get your rumors and “official” statements.

Episode 305: Duct TapeEpisode 305: Duct Tape

Paul and Jordan realize the brilliance of duct taping a flashlight to a gun barrel, while more Doctor Who fodder was recorded for a future outtakes episode. Jonah and Paul also express amazement there’s no Sugar Race racing based on the arcade title found in Wreck-It Ralph. Finally, the podcast eulogizes Roger Ebert.

The news for the week includes:

  • Disney shuts down LucasArts, cancels Star Wars 1313, Star Wars: First Assault
  • Thief to feature “classic mode”, removing all assists
  • Microsoft has a clear path to developing Killer Instinct after an agreement with Fox
  • The Witcher 3 confirmed to be DRM-free
  • Bethesda confirms “new version of Doom 4” being worked on, Rage 2 cancelled

There’s also Listener Feedback, and the Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm contest is still open – a winner will be announced next week.