Episode 376: Giggles and Stuff

The episode is a little late in publishing, though it was recorded on time – you know, real-life delays. However, it’s worth the wait as the Gaming Flashback is Team Ico’s second title, a PlayStation 2 title called Shadow of the Colossus.

There’s also some of the meatiest news of the year, which includes:

  • Joystiq and Massively shut down amid AOL downsizing
  • Left Behind Games executive fined millions by the SEC, banned from trading stock
  • Bill Gates says he’s concerned about machines becoming super-intelligent
  • Google changes UK privacy policy, but avoids hefty fine

The Question of the Week is “Should Nintendo partner with Disney?

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While compiling a list of games to respond to a user question on the TD Gaming Podcast, I’ve noticed something about this years gaming lineup: their mainly all sequels! Are there any new franchises taking a risk in the market or just more of the same? Some are not really “sequels” but spin-offs of the same franchise.

A few examples of some October time frame titles: Fable 2, Far Cry 2, Gears of War 2, Rock Band 2, C&C: Red Alert 3, Saints Row 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids 3, Tekken 6, Call of Duty 5, Guitar Hero World Tour, Tom Clancy End of War, Sing Star Vol 2 and others.

There are a few original titles: Afrika for the PlayStation 3, Little Big Planet (PS3) and Huxley (360 and PC). Most of the original franchise creations seem to be PlayStation 3 related, probably because the console needs some major hits to spur more sales.

Is the market so competitive and risky that new franchises are becoming a rare breed? Last year we saw Assassin’s Creed and before that Viva Pinata and Gears of War exclusive on the Xbox 360. Consider Viva Pinata a “slight” failure in terms of excitement and Gears of War a success, that’s 50/50 in terms of risk vs. reward.

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Episode 302: Just a TwosomeEpisode 302: Just a Twosome

This week Jonah and Jordan go it alone without Paul, which is unfortunately since the Gaming Flashback is the classic Nintendo 64 title Paper Mario. It might be just as well as the events of the last week made the crew ramble on about the industry at length, making the post much longer than usual.

This week’s impressive news items:

  • John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of Electronic Arts
  • Firaxis announces Brave New World expansion for Civilization V
  • Will fans back an Alice 3 Kickstarter, asks American McGee
  • Lord British explains Shroud of the Avatar‘s offline gameplay and DRM
  • Facebook of Italian automobile company mentionsGran Turismo PS4″
  • Team Meat sitting out on developing for next-gen consoles

Lots of Reader Feedback, but no Question of the Week this week – just too much show.

Episode 389: Live From E3 2015Episode 389: Live From E3 2015

Part of this long episode was recorded live from the LA Convention Center floor at E3 2015, where Jonah and Paul were fresh off waiting in line for Disney amibos. There were some news items covered there, while a few more news items were recorded here.

Rather than list all of the news items, we’ll just relay the Question of the Week: “If Nintendo isn’t revealing a new console, should they skip E3 altogether in 2016?”

All this and listener feedback, too.