Episode 308: That’s What She Said

The regular podcast is back, after the Dr. Who outtakes podcast last week. The show runs a little long but it’s full of insight and wonderfulness. Mostly. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the classic arcade motorcycle racer Hang-On.

The podcast also has two week’s worth of news items, including:

  • Next-gen Xbox formally being unveiled on 21st May in Redmond, WA
  • Rumor: Next-gen Microsoft console will have DVR feature
  • Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded out in June, “re-made, expanded and enhanced”
  • BioShock Infinite, Xbox 360 lead March 2013 US sales according to NPD
  • Nintendo bowing out of E3 Keynote
  • Microsoft turned profit in fiscal 3rd quarter
  • Batman: Arkham Origins inspired by Legends of the Dark Knight

Plenty of Listener Feedback, but no Question of the Week – just ask us anything.

0 thoughts on “Episode 308: That’s What She Said”

  1. @Name pronunciation butchering – Actually, Jonah is pronouncing my name right, Paul. It’s a flat ‘d’ with the accent on the first syllable 😉

    @Machinarium – been there, done that. I just forgot to mention it in my last comment. It’s a great game and I really enjoyed it but it’s still not Broken Sword…

    @XBOX unveiling & DVR functionality – I will most likely own only one next-gen console and it will be the PS4. I don’t want to lose my trophy progress and I am a PSPlus subscriber so Sony got me. It will be interesting to see, however, if the PS4 and the next XBOX will differ fundamentally in what they offer. From what I see Sony is really focusing more on the gaming side of things and I’m all for that. Microsoft seems to want the XBOX to be the only box you need near your TV so get rid of your cable set-top box, your TiVo and whatnot. I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say on May 21st.

    @Jonah’s Anti-Playstation propaganda 😉 – You are for sure more in the know as far as the game developer industry is concerned but is Sony really lying about the progress they’ve made with the developers with the new Playstation and the developer-friendly approach they say they have? Even with the awkward PS3 architecture there weren’t many XBOX exclusive titles and most of the PS3 versions of games were as good as the XBOX/PC ones (*cough* Skyrim *cough*). The launch or close-to-launch list of games Sony showed looks impressive and the list of 3rd party devs they got support from is also something that makes me wait with excitement and anticipation for the end of the year. Granted, I will not get the hardware day 1 as there’s still a backlog of PS3 games for me but I hope to get the 2nd iteration of the PS4 hardware and be happy with it.

    @Leisure Suit Larry – well doesn’t this fit right into the adventure-game void I’ve mentioned before? I haven’t really played the first LSL game so this is something I’m really looking forward to. I hope it has close to none hardware requirements and will run on my laptop. I’m not investing in a gaming rig just to play a 2D adventure game.

    @Nintendo strategy – There is no discussion that the majority of the games nowadays are much easier and streamlined than what we saw some 20 years ago. Do you remember Super Mario Bros. : The Lost Levels? The game that was initially released only in Japan because it was thought to be too hard for us Westerners? I played it on an emulator some years ago and I don’t think I would have beaten it without the save/load options on real hardware.

    I haven’t played any of the latest Mario or Zelda games myself but from what I’ve heard and seen in gameplay youtube videos, the freedom of the player and the difficulty level have increased a lot since the (S)NES games I had played years ago. I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Nintendo to focus on younger players who should not be playing Mass Effects or CoDs but that doesn’t mean that the games should play themselves. Kids have short enough attention span as it is without the games having to reinforce it. Force them to play the same level or platforming stage over and over again rather than show 10 minutes of cutscenes every 2 minutes of gamplay. When they finally succeed after two hours they will feel that they accomplished something difficult and that feeling is most rewarding.

    @’Buy a Wii U’ – The Vita is enough for now, thanks. On top of that, I haven’t really seen Wii Us (how do you even spell that?) in the Best Buys of Poland. Not that I’ve been looking hard but PS3s and XBOXes are everywhere and can’t be missed. The Nintendo consoles? Not so much.

    For the sake of Paul’s vocal chords this 28-year-old ‘kid’ will try to limit the length of his comments… maybe next time… 😉

  2. @Rumour: Next Gen Xbox may actually play video games

    Including DVR sounds like an interesting idea. The ability to record snippets of gameplay and share it with your friends could make for some good times. On the other hand, from personal experience, that feature only works in Halo games. Recording TV sounds like a good idea too. If only Microsoft could improve the quality of contemporary television that would be great. Recording crap programmes still makes for a crap experience.

    @Leisure Suit Larry

    I played Magna Cum Laude on the PC. Made the mistake of removing censorship. Seeing Larry’s 3 inch weiner was a traumatising experience. Not so interested in this remake. The whole idea of a horny video game is lost on me since I am an anime fan. I am conditioned to softcore pornography so this game will be like a pointless point and click adventure.

    @Wii U!!!??? Where are U???!!!

    I don’t have a problem with Nintendo bowing out of E3. The problem is that this decision sends a bad message that Nintendo has simply nothing to show. This won’t help Nintendo to shift those console units. I understand that E3 is a media event aimed at investors and journalists. But to a gamer E3 is an important event about celebrating the upcoming releases. It’s like gaming New Year. The fact that it will be a 1/3rd to short will make for a disappointing event.

    @QOTW

    What was your Golden Age of gaming? For me it was the later years of the sixth generation and the first few years of the DS. Back then I used to care and anticipate new game releases. Each game somehow felt fresh and new. Nowadays they all seem the same. After I got over the whole console online multiplayer thing it kind of went downhill for me. Apart from occasional Skyrim, nothing else lights my fire anymore.

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

Microsoft To Indulge on Hype at E3 2009Microsoft To Indulge on Hype at E3 2009

This year’s E3 should be interesting as we head back to the no holds barred approach to gaming conferences. While E3 tried to go all PG for the last few years, it’s time to get back to the serious business of hype-o-rama. Microsoft’s on board with it and plans to “break the bank” in terms of hypesville.

Microsoft Game Studio’s producer Phil Spencer said:

“[It’s] very exciting, because there’s a lot of stuff on the docket and maybe we’ll break the bank a little bit and talk about things that are further out, which will hopefully get the community excited.”

Microsoft continues to hammer home big announcements at the E3 events even while in the ho-hum lull of the past few E3 events. Last year they nailed Sony with the Final Fantasy XIII announcement and hyped up the New Xbox Experience. What are they going to pull out this year now that we’ve seen Gears of War 2 and have a pulse on some of their Halo ideas?

They’re talking about hyping games further down the pipeline, perhaps to keep people jazzed about what the future holds even in these economic down times. It’s important to keep gamers focused on what is to arrive on the 360 so they don’t sway towards the opposing consoles in moments of doubt.

Of course, this begs the question, will Sony pull out even more hype? Will Nintendo continue to give mediocre showings with “I told you so” sprinkled in their message? Only time will tell.

(Thanks, Eurogamer)

Xbox 360 Fall Update Too Big For Diskless UsersXbox 360 Fall Update Too Big For Diskless Users

If you’ve got an Xbox 360 arcade edition or an older console without a hard disk, you’ll want to clear up at least 128MB of your flash card before powering on your console after the fall update hits. Wait, you’re flash disk isn’t 128MB in size? Oh oh.

Latest reports are stating that consumers that own a 360 without a hard disk, albeit a small group, will not be able to simply install the fall update as the rest of us because they don’t have enough disk capacity. What is Microsoft doing about that? Microsoft’s Larry Hryb says saying they will be “offering storage solutions” for such customers.

We’re wondering, are they going to actually ship people free hard disks? Perhaps a coupon for a larger flash card? Interesting indeed!

“The new Xbox experience will require 128MB of free space. A hard drive is recommended for the optimal experience, to take advantage of some new features, and to be able to enjoy the great movies, TV shows and games available on Xbox LIVE. While we expect the majority of consumers to download the New Xbox Experience without a problem, a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners do not have enough memory to accommodate the update. To help ensure all Xbox LIVE members are able to download the New Xbox Experience and enjoy its new features, Microsoft will be offering storage solutions to the Xbox LIVE community. We are not sharing details of this offering yet. Be sure to check xbox.com for more details in the coming weeks.” (1up)

It was really only a matter of time before the Xbox 360 out grew the fact that they allow consumers to roll with a diskless console. No other console limits you by having both a disk and diskless option; we know why they did it, but now it would seem their having some growing pains.

No doubt, the next Xbox 360 console will come complete with hard disk! Hopefully you were wise and got the bigger console complete with disk.

Episode 732: Let’s Play BalatroEpisode 732: Let’s Play Balatro

No Gravatar

Concord got canceled after only two weeks, Balatro hits the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play on September 26, EVE players are in revolt over CCP’s blockchain plans and a year after outraging developers, blowing up its reputation, and saying goodbye to its CEO, Unity decides ‘Runtime Fees’ are a bad idea so it’s getting rid of them.

Oh, and the PS5 Pro is $700.

And it’s Friday the 13th.

Other news includes:

Let us know what you think.

The post Episode 732: Let’s Play Balatro first appeared on Gaming Podcast.