Episode 643: Bits and Pieces

The previous two podcasts got corrupted on upload, and now I have to reedit them completely. Be patient.

This week’s there’s a bunch of minor news items, covering things like Sony’s lawsuit, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 and the Ukraine invasion, Minecraft frogs, various remasters, and the gang talk briefly about the newly released Tunic.

The main news items include:

Let us know what you think.

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Episode 297: Intendo With An IEpisode 297: Intendo With An I

[Note: Due to a mic issue, some of the podcast is slightly distorted.]

This week’s podcast was recorded a day early due to schedule conflicts, but we make up for it with an actual Gaming Flashback this week of one of the most famous recent RPGs, Knights of the Old Republic.

In addition, there’s a ton of news:

  • Brad Wardell states RTS’s aren’t dying – just waiting
  • Microsoft considered buying Sega at one point
  • UK: Wii U sells just 34,000 pieces of software in January
  • Next World of Warcraft update to arrive in the “coming weeks”
  • thatgamecompany had been bankrupt when Journey shipped
  • Report: Next-gen Xbox will feature Siri-like voice recog
  • Ubisoft plans new Assassin’s Creed game for 2013/14, set in a new time period

All that plus Reader Feedback and a Question of the Week: “What was the first roleplaying game you enjoyed?”

Episode 661: Remasters and ExpansionsEpisode 661: Remasters and Expansions

[This episode was reposted due to being corrupted when the site went down.]

This episode is heavy on remasters and expansions, some bad, some good, some questionable. There’s even a sequel in there.

The news items include:

All this and listener feedback!

DRM Free Spore Steams Forward!DRM Free Spore Steams Forward!

Gamers get upset when developers sneak ugly hacks onto their computers when they just want to play video games. Although gamers really only revolt when they know their being exploited, Spore is a fine example of how not to lock down a video game. Using SecuROM was a bad decision on the part of Electronic Arts, no matter what their PR spin tries to tell us.

Imagine a world of DRM free spore and you may be imagining reality using the Valve’s Steam software download architecture.

“The moderator specifically mentioned Spore but it’s possible this extends to other EA games that used SecuROM as well (like Mass Effect). If a game on Steam uses third-party DRM, it’s supposed to be mentioned on the product page.” (cinemablend)

We’ve been complaining about the Spore DRM for month snow on the gaming podcast, perhaps we’ll have to shut our mouths soon enough.

(Thanks, GameStooge)