Episode 336: Happy New Year 2014

The first episode of 2014 is now out, as Jonah Falcon, Jordan Lund and Dan Quick recap the major news of 2014.

The news includes:

  • PC gaming exploding
  • Next-gen launches, including Microsoft’s 180
  • Nintendo Wii U suffers
  • Nintendo Announces 2DS
  • Microconsoles launched
  • Tech flops of 2013

Also, some Listener Feedback, and the Questions of the Week, “What was the biggest event of 2013? What was your favorite game?”

0 thoughts on “Episode 336: Happy New Year 2014”

  1. Great Episode guys, sorry to hear you had laryngitis your a real trooper for going on with the show. Hope you got plenty of rest and hot tea after the show.

    I bought quite a lot of games from both GoG and Steam Christmas sale and I really should get to playing them. Like Dan I have been mostly playing minecraft and Civ 5. However my wife got me the Zelda: A link between worlds special edition 3ds so I have been playing the hell out of that.

    Have to admit the bosses are a bit easy and that’s probably due to the “haven’t we done this already?” I mean it’s the same exact place as A Link to the Past. The only only difference is a merging into the walls mechanic and the Roovio giving you all the major tools in the begining of the game (he rents them and sells them later, but still you get them all.) That does take away from the exploring and the thrill of finding these tools. Much like you wold in the past Zelda games and even Metroid as well. The feel of building your character up is always something I’ve loved.

    My family has also been collectively playing the Animal Crossing New Leaf together. Since I bought it for my wife she’s the mayor. It is a fun game to play together building and affecting the town together. So I’m pretty happy with our choice to get 3DS systems.

    I have to admit that I’m surprised EA would donate all proceeds to charity and give them credit for doing something good.

    I never understand the definition that is being used to say PC Gaming is dead. To me dead is something NO ONE is using anymore, not just a niche or minority, of which I don’t even think is really the case. I am grateful to the success that has been happening thanks to Kickstarter Games. Clearly it shows that there is still a demand and PC gaming, and other Genre’s of games are not in fact dead. Stuff like zip drives are dead not PC gaming.

    I think people need a better term like PC gaming being in a slump but not dead. I have voted with my wallet as Dan mentioned, I’ve backed games on their not just for the games themselves but for the principle message of that I am tired of these AAA FPS games. Clearly not buying them was not enough and going to Kickstarter I can get the games *I* want to play. Like Pillar’s of Eternity, Shadow Run returns, Shadowgate, Project Phoenix, Obduction, Space Venture, Hero-U, the new Ultima game, Tides of Numerra, and so on.

    That’s what’s been dissapointing when I would look on PSN or Xbox Live and the majority of choices are just FPS, sports and a few “adventure” games. I waited YEARS for Sony to make GOOD RPG games. There hasn’t been a really good Final Fantasy game since FF9.

    As for Microsoft’s token RPG, the Fable series is to me what Mystic quest is to the Final Fantasy series. I’m a hardcore RPG gamer and I feel like I’ve been scorned by all three of the Major console companies.

    *gets off soapbox*

    Speaking of stagnant Nintendo, they should have worked more on some of their underused IPs like more Icarus games.

    @QOTW: I would have to say the SimCity fiasco was the biggest event. My favorite 2013 game would have to be GTA V. It was a great story and fun game play. 2014 though I know will be a different story as Pillar’s of Eternity should be coming out this year.

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

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.

Episode 255: The Darkness II ContestEpisode 255: The Darkness II Contest

Dan Quick returns again to cover for Paul Nowak, and this week, the Gaming Podcast is offering free copies of The Darkness II Limited Edition, which comes with the main game and some free DLC. The guys are giving away an Xbox 360 version and a PlayStation 3 version. To win, just listen to the podcast and post what your favorite scary movie is.

The game news this week includes:

  • Ex-SCEE senior VP Phil Harrison joins Microsoft’s European team
  • DOOM developer John Romero has “plans” for “old school” shooter
  • EA defends Mass Effect 3 From Ashes DLC data being on disc
  • Notch settles with Bethesda over “Scrolls” trademark
  • DICE: 2GB RAM won’t be enough for next gen consoles
  • Angry Birds theme park to open in Finland
  • GAME puts itself up for sale, GameStop interested
  • Diablo III release date announcement “in a few days“, no PvP in launch version

And yes, they know that the announcement was just made today – May 15th release date for Diablo III.

The contest to win either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version of The Darkness II will run this and next week, with the winners announced in Episode 257.

Episode 529: CrossplatformingEpisode 529: Crossplatforming

Things are starting to get interesting in the videogame industry, as Microsoft is starting to make Live available on other platforms, including the Switch. TJ on the other hand is getting more and more into Apex Legends.

This week’s news includes:

  • Paradox Introduces multiplatform modding on Xbox One and PC
  • Red Dead Online gets competitive fishing, gold armor gunfight in next update
  • The developer of Furi is making a co-op RPG
  • Rocket League gets cross-platform parties

There’s Listener Feedback as well.