Episode 250: Do the Time Warp Again

It’s the fabulous 250th Episode milestone, and this particular podcast features a major surprise for longtime listeners. Not only is this one of the funniest podcasts in a long while, but there’s plenty of show to go around, too. First, the Gaming Flashback checks out the classic shooter No One Lives Forever, while the Gaming History examines the infamous Gizmondo handheld gaming console.

As for the news:

  • Hirai: Sony could be facing “serious trouble
  • Take Two CEO states “strong become stronger” with next-gen transitions
  • Developer Starbreeze fears Syndicate may be “too hard
  • Oklahoma state rep wants 1% violent videogame tax
  • Ubisoft cuts off legit players With DRM server migration

There’s no Question of the Week, but we’re definitely sure there will be plenty of comments for the podcast hosts.

0 thoughts on “Episode 250: Do the Time Warp Again”

  1. 🙂 Now that is a nice surprise! Glad to hear the old crew again.
    @NOLF:
    NOLF was a pretty cool game. The developers also released modding tools and a part of the source code as an SDK, and that created quite a community around it.
    The game was geared around comedy; too bad they don’t make any games like that.
    Don, it’s LithTech, not LeechTech.

    @ Sony could be facing “serious trouble“:
    Sony IS in serious trouble. PS3 never selling too well, then getting its root key exposed, then PSN getting hacked, then Vita tanks, then they change the EULA to have users dismiss their rights to class action lawsuits … man! 2011 was not the year for Sony.

    @Take Two CEO states “strong become stronger” with next-gen transitions:
    What’s a bit weird (and worrisome) is that the company is in a good shape because of its franchises. Really? No new games, just rehashes of the same?

    @Developer Starbreeze fears Syndicate may be “too hard“:
    Well, the difficulty can ramp up, as long as it ramps up instead of being a vertical wall of a learning curve.

    Ninja Gaiden was ok-ish. Contra was also ok-ish. Granted, at the time I was playing those, I had all the time in the world to try again after a failure.
    Now, emulators can create saves, so …

    @1% violent videogame tax:
    Good luck with that. 90% of the games are violent.

    @Ubisoft cuts off legit players With DRM server migration:
    Something tells me that the backlash they will get for this will not change their mind about this particular DRM system.
    The article has said it all: so far, DRM only hampered legit customers.

  2. That was a really nice surprise! I had never listened to a podcast made by them, but I really enjoyed it. Seeing as this was only published on a Sunday, is there still going to be an episode on Thursday?

    @Developer Starbreeze fears Syndicate may be “too hard“: I agree. The least they can do is TRY to make an easy mode, or maybe they could implement a quick-save feature which is the only thing that keeps me playing hard games.

    @Ubisoft cuts off legit players With DRM server migration: I have no idea why they are still trying with DRM. Can’t they try to find some other system, it’s already evident that DRM drives customers away.

  3. When I heard Don’s voice before the intro music I smiled. Then Jennifer did the intro. Hard to believe that it was almost a year ago when the handover happened and the Episode 200 quiz happened.

    I don’t get too much time to post up a comment normally, but I wanted to say thanks to the old crew for gracing my ears once again. As one of the first podcasts I subscribed to, the “married couple and their pal” were part of my weekly routine. I hope they get a moment to see the comments from the old listeners who loved them.

    Not to say that the new crew are bad (except Paul – Hate mail!), but I haven’t found things flowing quite so well as you clearly can’t record in the same room like Derrick and Jennifer.

    So from someone who has listened to all 250 episodes, thanks.

  4. hahaa. I was right I guessed it right thanks jonah for bringing them back for this episode but I sure do hope they could stay permanently I’m not saying that the new guys suck ,just sayin I miss the old days. Do I get an award for guessing the special happening right? Jk

    @sony could be facing big trouble
    there’s no doubt that sony is indeed facing a big problem coz the ps3 the vita the issues and almost everything they have done last year was a failure….uhhmm maybe they should consider quitting and make tv’s instead

    @ ubisoft drm server migration
    This is the main reason I bought a cracked copy of assasins creed revelations.hahaaa advantages

    Wish the old guys could really come back and join the new guys

  5. It was great to hear Derrick, Jen, and Don’s voices again. This was a really, really pleasant surprise.
    Hope all of you and your families are doing well.

  6. Thanks folks, it took a lot of effort and scheduling to find a date that all three of us could pull off-crazy lives lately.

    Too bad it’s so tough to build a career/job out of podcasting otherwise doing these things all day (Leo Laporte style) would be nothing but a gift. Unfortunately, real life and other opportunities struggle to take up time.

    I’m overjoyed that many of the original listeners keep going far after the core group of the show has moved on. Jennifer and I created the podcast roughly five years ago and to know there is still a team pushing on with it is pretty crazy.

    Perhaps that’s what happens when people do it with a passion over a profit. Granted, profit is always nice too 😉

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

Episode 332: Blue Light UnspecialEpisode 332: Blue Light Unspecial

Gaming Podcast is back after a week off, as Jordan talks about playing games on his brand-new PlayStation 4, while Jonah is anxious and worried about the Xbox One launch this week.

There’s also a ton of news this week, including:

  • Unlucky PlayStation 4 owners face ‘blue light of death’
  • Report: Apple in “talks” to purchase co-creators of original Kinect tech
  • Ubisoft explains why launch games underwhelm
  • Xbox One launch official broadcast available through Spike, GameTrailers
  • Survey: only 1 percent of gamers want a Wii U this Holiday season
  • Ken Levine defends BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 1‘s length
  • World of Warcraft not going free-to-play, stop asking
  • More Fallout 4 evidence pops up with trademark registration

And the Question of the Week: “What was the best budget game you ever bought?”

Gaming Podcast Week OffGaming Podcast Week Off

We had to take a week off due to a death in the family. My grandmother passed away from Alzheimer late last week and we had to spend the beginning of the week with the family and the events that come with the passing.

We’ll be back next week in full force. So, here is a 39 second podcast explaining it, hosted by Liam our son.

XBLA’s Braid Needs More SalesXBLA’s Braid Needs More Sales

XBLA offers great opportunities for the indy developer but everything comes at a price. Over the last three years Braid‘s developer Jonathan Blow spent a reported $180,000 to create the popular Braid title on Xbox Live. He’s going to need a lot more sales before he can celebrate the highly valued, highly reviewed title.

The Independent Games Festival was kind to him, giving him the “Innovation in Game Design” back in 2006, since then he’s put his money where is mouth is; his own money. There are good times and bad times when you’re discovering your dreams. The reviews surely made him feel great about the work he has done over the last three years but a review won’t pay the bills.

It may be a hard road ahead for Jonathan, hopefully at least breaking even on the project. Although he may not look back at the game as a financial success we can only imagine he’ll have a lot easier time getting funding or publishing for his next title, if that’s the path he chooses.

(Thanks, Kotaku)