Episode 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.

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Episode 318: Do Androids Dream?Episode 318: Do Androids Dream?

This week’s podcast is full of Android-based console goodness – or badness, depending on your opinion of them. This week’s Gaming History looks at the Nintendo GameCube.

This week’s news includes:

  • Ouya game developers sound off on disappointing sales numbers
  • Nvidia plans July 31st launch of the Shield
  • Telltale Games confirms Clementine returns to The Walking Dead
  • Star Control now owned by Stardock
  • Battlestar Galactica writer/producer collaborating with Sony Santa Monica

All this and Listener Feedback, as well as the Question of the Week: “What is your favorite first person shooter of all time?”

VGRT Gaming Podcast 217: Pre-E3 ShowVGRT Gaming Podcast 217: Pre-E3 Show

The TD Gaming Podcast and Videogame Roundtable merge, as Jonah Falcon introduces VGRT regular Jordan Lund to his new listeners, as the VGRT Gaming Podcast is born.

The podcast is a little rushed, however, as E3 approaches, giving the duo only some time to discuss the eventful past week, which includes the following news:

For this podcast, this Question of the Week is, “What game do you want to learn about the most at E3” Of course, by the time the next podcast is launched, that question will probably be satisfied. As for Reader Feedback, we didn’t have time to answer it, but we will respond to it next week!

Rhythm Gaming Saturation Point?Rhythm Gaming Saturation Point?

Rhythm Gaming is all the rage, or is it? Turns out Guitar Hero: World Tour didn’t meet or exceed the figures they hit with Guitar Hero III. Where GH3 brought in $115 million in the first week, GHWT brought in $67 million in the same time frame.

Why?

There are plenty of factors that could cut down the sales units, considering those that can purchase Guitar Hero World Tour don’t have to purchase additional instruments to play the game like they played GH3.

  • Rock Band 2: This game arrived before Guitar Hero 3 and folks went for this game instead because it was first to launch. Some gamers have to make a choice on which to purchase because they can’t buy both.
  • Hot Games: Although Rhythm gaming can be fun, a lot of great games are arriving this season so gamers have to make some big decisions.
  • Economics: The economy isn’t exactly thriving right now and retail outlets are already predicting less than stellar numbers.
  • Saturation: Since the original Guitar Hero game, we’ve had a number of titles from Activision including their Aerosmith edition and Harmonix pulling out Rock Band and Rock Band 2. There is talk of a Hendrix version and a Metallic release – how much is too much?

We know people love charts, so here is another to toss at you via Kotaku:

Guitar Hero World Tour Sales, via Kotaku

The break down from Guitar Hero 3 to World Tour is obvious, also apparent is the shift in console when buying into the rhythm gaming franchises. The Wii has started taking more market share, odd considering the DLC isn’t there, and the PS3 is showing its lackluster sales of the console by growing in proportion but not excelling to grab huge share (PS3 fanboys attack!). Sony kicked ass by taking control of the share using their PlayStation 2 with Guitar Hero 3, but has lost that lead for the World Tour.

Will these lower sales figure change the future roadmap for Activision in their Guitar Hero franchise or are they satisfied taking home $67 million in the first week of the launch. That is still a lot of money and probably doesn’t even consider any money they could (or will) potentially make on the World Tour hardware.

Luckily, the rhythm gaming content doesn’t get old with age, it just gets more classic. No doubt Guitar Hero World Tour will be landing in homes over the holidays and into 2009.