Episode 297: Intendo With An I

[Note: Due to a mic issue, some of the podcast is slightly distorted.]

This week’s podcast was recorded a day early due to schedule conflicts, but we make up for it with an actual Gaming Flashback this week of one of the most famous recent RPGs, Knights of the Old Republic.

In addition, there’s a ton of news:

  • Brad Wardell states RTS’s aren’t dying – just waiting
  • Microsoft considered buying Sega at one point
  • UK: Wii U sells just 34,000 pieces of software in January
  • Next World of Warcraft update to arrive in the “coming weeks”
  • thatgamecompany had been bankrupt when Journey shipped
  • Report: Next-gen Xbox will feature Siri-like voice recog
  • Ubisoft plans new Assassin’s Creed game for 2013/14, set in a new time period

All that plus Reader Feedback and a Question of the Week: “What was the first roleplaying game you enjoyed?”

0 thoughts on “Episode 297: Intendo With An I”

  1. Much better microphone Jonah.

    @ RTS’s aren’t dying – just waiting
    So scaling down is an issue, apparently … Well, you can always push up the minimum spec, and leave the lower end PC market for indies.
    I agree with Jordan, blaming the hardware instead of acknowledging the lack of balls/cojones is not fair.

    @UK: Wii U sells just 34,000 pieces of software in January
    😛 this is a big surprise indeed, taking into account the huge library of games available for WiiU.
    On the other hand, WiiU doesn’t have the market share that other consoles have.

    @thatgamecompany had been bankrupt when Journey shipped
    Speaking of cojones, these guys had it.

    As for a small design doc, well, not entirely bullshit. You can do it the Agile way, with lots of cards, each describing a development story. So yeah, technically you do have just a one page document, but the entire description of the design will take plenty of cards to compensate.

    @QOTW:
    Not sure, to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of RPGs. Then STALKER came (Steam labels it as an RPG). Warcraft III had RPG elements in it, but it was still an RTS. I also enjoyed Fallout 3, but that was after STALKER.

    Some encouraging words for Paul: hope you get a job.

  2. @KOTOR

    I loved it. I actually prefer the Old Republic era than the whole Anakin timeline.

    @RTS are undead

    In my opinion a genre never dies. Few years back people were saying that 2D games were dead. Since then we had some brilliant 2D entries. Terraria. Trine. Same thing will be with RTS. They just need the right conditions for a return. A brave studio that will make a new classic and start an RTS uprising.

    @Segsbox 360

    I think Microsoft tried to buy everything at some point. I definitely remember Microsoft wanted to buy Nintendo during it’s Gamecube days. If Microsoft would buy Sega, the Dreamcast might have had a chance. Microsoft would flood it with cash and support.
    But history chose otherwise. Probably for the best.

    @At Wii U sales

    If there is one thing I am sure off is that in February there will be at least one Wii U unit sold in UK. Mine. That’s right. I now own 2 Nintendo branded bricks. My £300 Monster Hunter emulator.

    @Assassins Creed

    Milk the cow while it’s alive and pray it does not turn into a bull.

    @QOTW

    First RPG I ever played was Phantasy Star 2 on Genesis. It’s funny cause I could never complete it because Russian cartridges shipped without memory and you had to finish the whole game in one sitting. The first RPG I properly enjoyed was Pokemon Emerald. I played a few RPGs before it but they were nothing compared to Emerald. That and Final Fantasy X.

  3. The demo of Journey does not do it justice. I too tried the demo in mid-2012 and was underwhelmed.

    Then over winter break, I decided to listen to the great reviews and give the game a shot. Actually bought the disc. It was an amazing experience. The gameplay is very basic, but the immersion and creativity levels are way high.

    By the way, you can solo the whole game. It’s only an option to interact with others (who you will not see in the demo). Everyone looks the same, but has unique musical sounds they make. You can only communicate through musical sounds, and so interacting with others becomes this amazing experience, because you are doing most of the interactions in your own imagination!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 648: Sleeping ScottEpisode 648: Sleeping Scott

[This episode has been re-uploaded due to technical issues]

Scott falls asleep mid-podcast, leaving Jonah and TJ to wrap up the episode. In the meantime, the crew get nostalgic over the “Toys to Life” craze, as this week’s Gaming Flashback is Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure.

This week’s news includes:

  • The Bethesda Launcher will be shut down on May 11
  • PlayStation 5 finally getting Variable Refresh Rate support this week
  • Sony wants someone to shape its Playstation PC plans
  • Baldur’s Gate 3 officially gets 2023 release window

Let us know what you think.

Episode 327: Not-Love LettersEpisode 327: Not-Love Letters

This week’s podcast has Jonah having a new job, while some really long Listener Feedback letters lengthen the podcast. In fact, several discussions between Jonah and Jordan were cut and will be in a near-future Outtakes episode.

This week is full of news as well, including:

  • Star Wars 1313 was to have starred Boba Fett after all
  • Shadow of the Eternals dev Precursor Games disbands
  • Techland: Dying Light isn’t another Dead Island
  • China lifts console ban, Microsoft collaborating with BesTV to make new console
  • Watch Dogs ships on two discs, requires install, 30 FPS cap on Xbox One and PS4

That plus the long Listener Feedback, and Jordan has an appeal to veteran listeners to write in.

Episode 474: That Splat Ain’t MayoEpisode 474: That Splat Ain’t Mayo

This week’s episode not only has a Gaming Flashback, but a Gaming History as well. The Flashback looks at the hardware intensive PC game Crysis, while the Gaming History looks at one of the bigger crowdfunding fiascos, Starforge. Jonah also reminds viewers that the “mayo” in the Splatfest for Splatoon 2 probably wasn’t actually mayo.

This week’s news items include:

  • Lexington video game company sues after personal information posted online
  • New game combines monster taming and Stardew Valley
  • Respawn: “We’re doing more Titanfall
  • Destiny 2 will not offer customization of imported characters

Question of the Week: “What two games would you like to see combined?”