Episode 502: Spring Flu

Jonah suffers from spring flu this episode, which you can probably here in his voice. There’s a long discussion about isometric roleplaying games, and for the first time in a while, there’s no Gaming Flashback.

This week’s news items include:

  • id Software partnering with Mad Max dev Avalanche Studios to develop Rage 2
  • Radical Heights developer Boss Key Games shuts down
  • Platinum claims it will “turn the action genre on its head”
  • Redditor leaks potential Star Fox racing spin-off from Retro Studios

Let us know what you think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Related Post

Episode 408: Star Wars SpoilersEpisode 408: Star Wars Spoilers

It’s 2016, and the first podcast of the new year is now live. Be warned, there are Star Wars spoilers like Han Solo dying and the entire plot being a rehash of A New Hope, so don’t listen if you don’t want to have your The Force Awakens experience ruined.

This week’s podcast covers the following news:

  • Valve explains Steam issues on December 25
  • Star Wars Battlefront won’t be doing The Force Awakens or space battles content
  • New pachinko laws pushes SNK back to videogames

Question of the Week: “Which game do you really want to play in 2016.”

Gears of War 2 For PC: No – Piracy is BadGears of War 2 For PC: No – Piracy is Bad

The last few weeks we’ve often brought up, on the gaming podcast, our reasons behind why Gears of War 2 wouldn’t be a PC title and only an Xbox 360. Our theory was more of a marketing tactic, assuming there would be no PC version because Microsoft wants to focus the attention of their big titles to the Xbox 360 as it’s a real gaming platform and they want more attention on it.  We might have been wrong.

In a recent interview, IGN asked Epic’s Cliff Bleszinski some pointed questions about the PC release. Like us, everyone has been questioning the move to NOT release Gears of War 2 on the PC especially considering the first game made a PC debut and Epic has always been a big PC developer. Turns out, Epic is utilizing the Xbox 360 as a nice big can of DRM.

“Here’s the problem right now; the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know bit torrent to know all the elements so they can pirate software.” (ign)

Following this answer he confirmed with a definitive no that we won’t see GoW2 on the PC. Of course, they also underscore the fact that the PC can have a wild array of hardware chipsets for video cards and catering to the masses with compatibility is pretty much a nightmare. A system with great DRM and a closed hardware platform is hard to pass up.

(more…)

Will Sony Reduce Prices and Heat with 45nm Chips?Will Sony Reduce Prices and Heat with 45nm Chips?

Reportedly we’re going to see smaller 45 nanometer cell processors in 2009 which leads to similar cost savings as we saw in the Xbox 360 hardware. Cost savings appear on the manufacturing side, of course, along with less power consumed by the processor leading to less heat generated by the console.

The Xbox 360 was able to benefit from chip reduction when for stability and overall heat issues, although the stability is still out for debate at the moment. The concept is fairly simple to understand; heat causes problems in closed systems with few fans and a high degree of complex components. Reduce the heat means reducing the overall need to cool and get air flow into the hot little box.

Console hardware is owned by a broad audience, not all of which understand technology and its ability to boil an egg. Consumers toss consoles and their power supplies in closed cases within their entertainment system and restrict air flow further. Any reduction in heat is a good thing for the console developer.

(more…)