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Episode 295: We Need a NurseEpisode 295: We Need a Nurse
This week, Jonah has the flu, but still manages to host despite hacking and coughing (which was edited out of the podcast), and having a nasally voice as well. Jordan was not so lucky, and couldn’t make it at all. Despite all this, the crew manages to give Dan a sendoff in his last regular podcast.
The news was also pretty major this week, including:
- THQ finally dissolved, assets auctioned off
- Dead Space 3 micro-transactions for players wanting “instant gratification”
- Disney Infinity to feature on-disc DLC, susceptible to movie spoilers
- League of Legends Team Solo Medbi players receive lifetime bans for anti-Semitism and abuse
- Sony fined 250K GBP for April 2011 hacker intrusion
We also have Reader Feedback and a new Question of the Week: “What kind of microtransactions are acceptable?”
Episode 372: Sony and The InterviewEpisode 372: Sony and The Interview
After a week off, Gaming Podcast recounts the eventful week that saw Song kowtowing to cyberterrorists over a Seth Rogen comedy, while Jonah and Paul have mixed opinions on the controversy.
The news this past week were also big, including:
- Massive patch for Assassin’s Creed Unity issued
- Blizzard considering gold-for-game-time trades in World of Warcraft
- Valve returns Hatred to Greenlight after removal
- Humble Bundle has raised over $50 million
This week also sees new Listener Feedback, and the Question of the Week: “Have you used Humble Bundle?”
Xbox 360 Silver Accounts, Free XBL Cross-Platform GamingXbox 360 Silver Accounts, Free XBL Cross-Platform Gaming
Microsoft has announced they’ll be giving Xbox Live silver accounts access to play some multi-player cross-platform games for free until the fall update. Recently, Microsoft announced free online play with Games for Windows titles, effectively giving PC gamers “gold accounts” to play online.
Most people agree the move to give gold subscriptions to PC gamers was done because PC gamers don’t care to play Games for Windows games online if they have to pay for it. The culture of PC gaming is much different than console gaming on XBL, gamers expect the online experience at no cost; they’re already paying an ISP for network access, paying for a match-making system with a yearly subscription is not desired.
Console gamers don’t have a choice, buying the 360 experience arrives with simple to play games (no drivers, no installs) but limited online choices: pay or go away. Now, silver members will get a little taste of network play, along side PC gamers in the cross-platform Games for Windows titles.
“Supported cross-platform titles include Universe at War, Shadowrun, and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition.” (gamespot)
We question the intention here… is this as a good faith move or are they wetting people’s appitite for XBL so they’ll want to upgrade to gold in the fall? Or, maybe there are some logistical reasons to doing this in the Xbox Live infrastructure to prepare for upgrades where making it free solves a few of their internal upgrade paths and, as a side effect, gives gamers some games to play.
Of course, we’ve seen few people playing Shadowrun or Lost Planet lately. Maybe this will re-popularize a few older titles as well.