Episode 620: Game Passing

Jonah thought that this podcast would be another short show — but it evolved into a lively conversation about Spiritfarer and other game news.

The news includes:

  • Stardew Valley is coming to Game Pass
  • Tales of Arise will get a PlayStation and Xbox demo
  • Take-Two trying to shut down popular GTA Online mod menu

Let us know what you think at the Facebook page here.

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Episode 737: Nintendo At It AgainEpisode 737: Nintendo At It Again

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Another podcast live on YouTube. You can check the original broadcast here.

Stalker 2 needs 150GB of SSD space, the makers of Black Mesa reveal their new project, which has absolutely nothing to do with Half-Life; Rogue Point is a co-op tactical shooter set in a world ruled not by aliens, but by corporations. Stellar Blade‘s Nier: Automata DLC drops later this month and Microsoft has now confirmed Spyro Reignited Trilogy hits Xbox Game Pass on the 12th November.

  • Palworld developer reports Nintendo’s suing over 3 Pokémon patents for only $66,000 in damages
  • Death Stranding launches on Xbox

Let us know what you think.

The post Episode 737: Nintendo At It Again first appeared on Gaming Podcast.

New Australian R18+ Proposal DraftedNew Australian R18+ Proposal Drafted

A new draft of the R18+ classification has been released by home minister Brendan O’Connor through the Australian Federal Government. The new guidelines closely match those in place for Australia’s film industry. The new R18+ rating removes restrictions on bad language, drug use and nudity; in contrast, the current guidelines forbade the classification of any adult-themed games.

O’Connor’s draft claims that the R18+ rating will allow “virtually no restrictions on the treatment of themes”, and violence in games “except where it offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified.” As far as sex, the draft says, “Sexual activity may be realistically simulated. The general rule is ‘simulation, yes – the real thing, no'”.

Of course, “standards of morality, decency and propriety” is still troublesomely subjective, while “simulation, yes, the real thing, no” is comicly inept for videogames, where everything is simulation. You may be able to tell when live actors are actually performing sexual acts, but when can you tell a videogame character is actually having sex?

O’Connor stated:

“The Gillard government wants to provide better guidance for parents and remove unsuitable material from children and teenagers. The introduction of an R18+ classification will help achieve that and will also bring Australia into line with comparable nations. This issue has been on the table for many years, without the necessary progress to make a change. We’ve recently seen several states publicly express their support for an adult only rating for games and I’m keen to reach a unanimous decision at the July meeting.”

Rather than banning games, why not punish stores for selling mature games to underage children? Or put the onus of raising children on the parents?