Episode 366: Hashtag GamerGate

One again, the episode gets a little political as it deals with the GamerGate controversy again. No Gaming Flashback or Gaming History, but plenty of annoyed podcasters. As a side note, there will be no podcast for the next two weeks as Paul will be on a trip. However, there will be a new podcaster when the show starts up again.

This week’s news includes:

  • Sarkeesian cancels Utah State presentation following threats of shooting
  • Former GamerGate member explains his departure
  • Unreal, BioShock dev Digital Extremes sold to Chinese companies
  • Games driving “nearly all” Google Play’s revenue growth in US
  • Mobile spending driven by 35-44-year-olds

All this plus Listener Feedback.

0 thoughts on “Episode 366: Hashtag GamerGate”

  1. “If somebody was making death threats against the head of BMW or mortgage bankers, the world would be up in arms…because it has to do with women in games, it’s not a real issue.”

    I seriously don’t think it’s possible to be more full of shit. The death threats against Sarkeesian were published by every news outlet and the entire world was up in arms, but when hackers got hold of the president of Sony’s flight information and made far more legitimate threats against him, no one cared. The only reason people are even talking about this is because it’s about women in video games.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Related Post

Play Zone: Wii + Drunk = Party!!Play Zone: Wii + Drunk = Party!!

When you’ve had a bit too much to drink, there are two choices: move on to tequila shots or… Mario Party for the Wii! Mario Party is amazingly fun when you’ve had a few too many drinks while sober it’s mearly “meh.”

Now, Ubisoft is trying to capture the drinking demographic, or more appropriately, the party crowd. The goal is to create a mini-game set created for partying and having fun with your Nintendo console. Enter, Play Zone, a new mini-game collection for the Wii.

Do we need yet more mini-game collections for the Wii?

“With our new Play Zone party titles, the Wii gamers who like to spend time with friends and family will have fun with the Wii through innovative and involving mini-games,” said John Parkes, Ubisoft’s EMEA marketing director. (next-gen)

Again, more “innovative mini-games” in our future? Ubisoft knows how to make a quick buck on casual games, no doubt, with their Petz franchise doing a killing for very simplistic games (which my daughter finds extremely fun).

The idea of more mini-games is slightly cringing but we do so enjoy a drunk game of Mario Party… maybe this is a good move.

Episode 494: Power OutageEpisode 494: Power Outage

This episode’s release was delayed by Spectrum internet problems which can be sorted with a VPN like cubik thanks to rain caused by El Niño, but that didn’t stop Jonah from enjoying the Turtles. The news was slow this week, so there’s a lot of banter about why Gaming Flashback title Grand Theft Auto IV was one of the best reviewed games of all-time, and how the crew thought it sucked. Maybe it was because of Roman constantly asking them if they’d like to go bowling or something.

This week’s news includes:

  • CD Projekt touts Cyberpunk 2077 as a “blockbuster franchise”
  • Minecraft Chemistry update goes live
  • Bandai Namco outlines plans to address Dragon Ball FighterZ online issues

Let us know what you thought of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Sony Responds To Crashing Sales with Management ShiftSony Responds To Crashing Sales with Management Shift

ps3Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has made some leadership changes in response to their in-ability to get things going in the sales department of the PlayStation 3. Gamer’s continue to refuse to believe the PlayStation 3 is in a bad situation by explaining how badly Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is doing in Japan and Europe compared to the Sony console. And, of course, the Wii isn’t competition to Sony.

“Andrew House, Chief Marketing Officer and Group Executive of Sony Corporation, has been named President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Chief Operating Officer (Co-COO) of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) as of May 1, 2009.” (smarthouse.au)

We’ve been told this is the year of the PS3, this is when they bring it all together. Nintendo’s losing some of their grip on the industry with slower sales, even in Japan. The economy isn’t playing nice with any of the consoles and sales continue to drop, reportedly 17% in March compared to last years numbers.

Australia isn’t proving to be any help to Sony, “for example in Australia a consumer can now buy the Xbox 360 for $299 and a separate Blu ray player and DVD upscale player for $199. Combined this is $200 under the recommended retail price for a Sony PS3.”

Here in the United States, we’ve bought more Wii balance boards than PlayStation 3 consoles. One can argue that the Wii is a novelty system but that really casts a dark shadow on the PlayStation 3. The PS3 is being beat out by a novelty item? Can the new SCEE management change the direction of Sony?