Episode 576: PC and PlayStation 5 Showcase

This 90 minute episode is all about the PC Gaming Show and the PlayStation 5 Showcase — plus a rumor about the Xbox Series X. You might say that the entire podcast is next generation.

Let us know what you think.

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Activision and Blizzard LayoffsActivision and Blizzard Layoffs

If you’ve ever been through an acquisition or merger you’d have expected this news to come, but for those new to the concept it’s simple: you can’t keep everyone. After a complete merger you end up with two sales departments, two IT departments, etc.

Do you really need them all? No, not really. You’ll need to keep some on board in order to “brain dump” your job onto others and hopefully stick around for the long hall. Some employees will probably be shuffled to other job responsibilities while some get packages and a thank you card.

These are some of the growing pains when working towards a successful merger, so don’t be surprised or start spreading rumors when a few people are let go. As someone who’s gone through it in two big mergers I can say that certain departments already know their fate ahead of time. Many IT and sales folk start looking for new jobs the minute the merger is announced.

Episode 723: Hellblade and HelldiversEpisode 723: Hellblade and Helldivers

The gang discusses the PC Gaming Show coming June 9, Tesla ending Steam support in its vehicles, Ghost of Tsushima being PlayStation’s biggest single-player PC launch to date (second only to Helldivers 2), Hellblade 2 developer Ninja Theory’s next game reportedly already greenlit by Xbox (and “no plans whatsoever” to close studio), Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher “highly confident” of an Autumn 2025 release window and the Resident Evil 1 Remake is in production and will release in 2026 according to a leaker.

The news includes:

  • This year’s Call of Duty will reportedly launch on Xbox Game Pass
  • Jason Voorhees slashes into the MultiVersus roster
  • Life By You is delayed again

Let us know what you think.

Gaming Flashback: Lode RunnerGaming Flashback: Lode Runner

Lode Runner, a game many of us logged hundreds of hours upon. Lode Runner has a great deal of replay value thanks to its great map editor. The game was first published by Broderbund in 1983, but was first prototyped by Douglas Smith, an architecture student at the University of Washington.

The Lode Runner prototype was called Kong and was originally written for a Prime Computer 550 minicomputer on campus, but shortly after it was ported to the VAX minicomputer. Originally programmed in FORTRAN and utilized only ASCII character graphics (the most basic of characters).

In September of 1982 Smith was able to port it to the Apple II+ (in assembly language) and renamed it to Miner. In October of that same year he submitted a rough copy to Broderbund and he’s said to have received a one-line rejection letter, “Sorry, your game doesn’t fit into our product line; please feel free to submit future products.”

The original title had no joystick support and was developed in full black and white…not exactly exciting. So, Smith then borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game. Around Christmas of 1982, he submitted the game, now renamed Lode Runner, to four publishers and quickly received offers from all four: Sierra, Sirius, Synergistic, and Brøderbund.

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