Episode 576: PC and PlayStation 5 Showcase

This 90 minute episode is all about the PC Gaming Show and the PlayStation 5 Showcase — plus a rumor about the Xbox Series X. You might say that the entire podcast is next generation.

Let us know what you think.

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Gaming Podcast 128: ProducaGaming Podcast 128: Produca

This weeks gaming podcast tackles the history of Full Throttle and the history of the SCUMM script system created for Maniac Mansion. We’re also hitting up some game news, talking a bit more about games that have changed our lives and taking to heart some great user comments.

This weeks question of the week is of the user-submitted style! Krud asks, “If you could only play four games (w/o new DLC for the foreseeable future), what four would you choose?”

TD Gaming Podcast Kickstarter Fundraising DriveTD Gaming Podcast Kickstarter Fundraising Drive

Well, we hinted at it in the last few podcasts, and now it is live: TD Gaming Podcast is now looking for listener support through Kickstarter.

It’s very easy to donate: just visit our Kickstarter page and click that donate button. The goal is pretty modest, a mere $1500. If all our listeners each donated even just $5, we’d blow by that amount.

What will we do with the money? Make sure we can keep old episodes without having to delete them due to limited server space, and get pro mics for every podcaster. The more money, the longer we can go without worrying about server subscriptions.

We have a few fun reward tiers – our most hardcore fans will definitely want an MP3 of one of the crew or any of the crew recording a voice mail or answer machine outgoing message, or the entire podcast bantering for a few moments. There’s also the requisite T-shirt, which will have the awesome Gaming Podcast logo.

And if you’re in the NYC area, or plan to be, Jonah Falcon will have dinner at a nice restaurant with you. If you’re going to plop that much dough down, how could we refuse a free dinner?

Keep the TD Gaming Podcast alive – donate. We’re counting on you.

Sony, Next Big Software Company?Sony, Next Big Software Company?

Every day we’re hearing of a company running through a round of layoffs or going out of business, it’s really not a happy time. Sony is not immune to the economic troubles either. Sony is talking restructuring and that involves a potential head count reduction of 16,000 jobs due to plant closings.

floppyThis leaves Sony with some hard decisions. Restructuring can mean drastic changes that effect all their product lines. The PlayStation 3 isn’t currently a shining example of high profit margins. The console needs time to reduce its overall cost, chip sizes and bring profitability. Is it in danger?

“Sony’s not in a position to halt all domestic production but it has to do something that drastic,” said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. “If it announces plans to move production overseas while keeping only planning and development functions in Japan, that would be a positive.” (gamestooge)

The yen is losing value in our global economy making it more difficult to export the product and build any type of profitability plan. “A source said this month the company will likely suffer an annual operating loss of about $1.1 billion, its first such loss in 14 years” (news.yahoo.com) All this noise is making CEO Howard Stringer contemplate Sony’s involvement as a “software only” company, making us recall the changes at SEGA to this same result.

The Financial Times reported Sony will unveil details of its restructuring steps on Wednesday or Thursday. It said Chief Executive Howard Stringer was meeting with resistance from some executives to shifting the company’s focus to software from hardware and cutting jobs in Japan. (news.yahoo.com)

Is this just a case of a fearful executive trying to lay plans for a more stable future? Software is easier to develop, pays for itself quickly and becomes pure profit as it ages. Hardware requires constant upkeep at manufacturing facilities, chip reductions and a boat load of quality planning for first shipment. Would Sony go full software?

Let’s face it, Sony isn’t SEGA, they’ve been developing hardware for consumers since anyone can remember and they’ve been doing it with quality and market penetration. It seems absurd to think they’d forgo hardware designs in replacement of a full software solution to the problem. In addition, Sony has already invested a large amount of cash into seeing PS3 through it’s 10-year plan and letting that die now is realizing a huge loss on investment.

If Sony pushes through the economic and maintenance course, the PS3 will become highly profitable, much like the PS2 last generation (with a slower ramp up for sales). Even if they break even after ten years it seems a lot better than throwing all the effort away.

Perhaps Howard Stringer is talking “software” for the next generation home console? You think Sony will create a PlayStation 4?