Episode 403: Jam and the Hooligans

The episode is a day late, sorry about that, folks. In this episode, we wish Paul was with us to discuss what he thought of the release of Jem and the Holograms in theaters. The banter is strong, but not overstuffed like last week.

Lots of news this week, however:

  • Konami insists Hideo Kojima still works at company
  • 343 Industries not ruling out PC port of Halo 5
  • Rebellion rescues Kickstarter backers from GRIN’s bankruptcy
  • Classic car combat RPG Autoduel may be making a comeback with inXile
  • Pete Hines: Entire game not on Fallout 4 PC disc
  • Vivendi seeking more shares of Ubisoft, board seats

The Question on the Week: Do you prefer first person or isometric RPGs?

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Episode 568: Deathspank!Episode 568: Deathspank!

This week’s Gaming Podcast is full of Animal Crossing, which Scott can’t get enough of. You’d think TJ would be all over Resident Evil 3, but he reveals a plot twist, and talks about another game. Meanwhile. the Gaming Flashback is the titillatingly titled Deathspank.

This week’s news items include:

  • Resident Evil 3 Remake brings back unbreakable knives
  • Cities: Skylines‘ fishing-themed Sunset Harbor expansion is out next week
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting review bombed

Let us know what fish you’ve caught in Animal Crossing.

War On Video Game ExclusivesWar On Video Game Exclusives

Typically, we have “exclusive” fallout from the console war which forces the hand of the consumer to purchase all consoles to play all the games they love. Many hardcore gamers are into first person shooters like Halo and Gears of War but also like their Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy fixes. In years prior, you’d have to invest in Microsoft and Sony’s solutions to get your fix. Now things are changing.

With these third party developers playing neutral in the war on consoles, Microsoft and Sony are forced to rely on near “first-party” titles to keep their army strong. Metal Gear Solid is a Sony exclusive and Gears of War and Halo have been Microsoft’s hype babies for a year or so now. The problem? Many of these exclusive games are not divisions, subsidiaries or in any way under the wing of the console makers.

Nintendo holds exclusive rights to almost all their hard hitting titles. Mario, Link, Zelda, Samus Aran and all their mascot style characters are designed, developed and marketed under the name “Nintendo.” These characters are all part of Nintendo’s lineup of solid best selling titles including the Metroid, Zelda and Super Mario Bros. series and all their spin-offs. Nintendo has the power to re-implement their characters into games like Mario Party, Mario Kart, Links Crossbow, Metroid Prime, Metroid Pinball and a huge array of other first party titles.

Microsoft and Sony must continue to play nice with Konami, Bungie, and Epic Games to keep their exclusivity. What happens if one of these developers “betrays” their console and starts shipping multi-platform?

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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.