Author: Jonah Falcon

Wii U Launch Price Expected to Be $399Wii U Launch Price Expected to Be $399

It seems that the Wii U will be one of the most expensive launches in Nintendo’s history, as reports indicate that the console will launch at a $399 price point.

In an interview, Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime stated:

“If I’m the head of a household of a family of four, and my disposable income is $50,000 to $60,000, I’m going to continue to look at the Wii because of the software, and it’s a great entertainment device. For consumers who want to have the latest gadgets and have a higher disposable income, that’s for the Wii U.”

Those eyebrow raising comments have laid an expected MSRP of $399 for the Wii U and its tablet-styled controller. Let us know what you think.

Merry Christmas From Gaming PodcastMerry Christmas From Gaming Podcast

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays – did you get what you wanted this year?

Let us know what you got from your loved ones.

We have a few fun reward tiers – our most hardcore fans will definitely want an MP3 of one of the crew or any of the crew recording a voice mail or answer machine outgoing message, or the entire podcast bantering for a few moments. There’s also the requisite T-shirt, which will have the awesome Gaming Podcast logo.

Episode 244: Goodbye 2011Episode 244: Goodbye 2011

It’s the final podcast of 2011, as Jonah, Jordan and Paul will not be podcasting next week. However, there’s plenty of news, reader feedback and a Gaming Flashback of the terrible PlayStation One game, Irritating Stick.

The news for this week includes:

  • EA selling virtual car for $100 in NFS World
  • Modern Warfare 3 beats Avatar
  • Naughty Dog: Move to next-gen is “terrifying
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic sales could already be 1.5M
  • Man sues Sony for ToS update forbidding suing
  • Nintendo only showing E3 Wii U demos at CES 2012

The question of the week is “What game are you most interested in for 2012?” Let us know what you think, and see you in 2012.

Episode 243: Bashing MicrosoftEpisode 243: Bashing Microsoft

The latest episode, which is on the short side after having a really long one two weeks ago, sees Paul returning from the flu with somewhat of a shady attitude this week. Meanwhile, the Gaming Flashback is the 1976 coin-op arcade game Blockade.

The news for this week includes:

  • Gabe Newell teases something for E3 2012 with a “3” in it
  • Richard Garriott working on Ultima successor
  • Microsoft includes “do not class action sue us” clause for Xbox Live
  • Bizarre circumstances surround GSC Game World

All that plus Reader Feedback and the Question of the Week, “What was your favorite handheld game?”

Episode 242: All Nude PodcastEpisode 242: All Nude Podcast

Since Paul is not in this week’s episode, Jonah and Jordan do the podcast completely nude, to help boost ratings. While being naked, rather than a Gaming Flashback, this week is a Gaming Preview, and Jonah and Jordan discuss the recently announced South Park: The Game, developed by Obsidian.

The other news covered includes:

  • Electronic Arts responds to expiring Online Pass issues
  • Bethesda: Divided memory pool causes lag for Skyrim PS3
  • Sony claims Uncharted series has 13M sales lifetime
  • Skyrim Creation Kit landing in January
  • Sony: PlayStation Network now has as high a “world-leading security system” there is

There’s also some Reader Feedback and the Question of the Week is “Have you ever taken a console with you on vacation (not handheld)?”

Episode 241: Air QuotesEpisode 241: Air Quotes

This week features a long podcast, as there’s a ton of news to report. Jonah tries air quotes on a pure audio podcast, while Paul refuses to believe The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword failed to hit the top 10 in software sales.

In addition, the Gaming Flashback checks out the JRPG Ys.

This week’s news includes:

  • Ubisoft polling gamers for next Assassin’s Creed setting
  • Electronic Arts bans a user for saying “badass”
  • Newell: Piracy is “almost always a service problem” and not price, DRM agitates
  • Christwire makes mock petition asking Pres. Obama ban Skyrim
  • Holiday shopping madness sees woman pepper spraying for 360
  • Microsoft refunds victims of Marketplace phishing scam

All this, and a bunch of reader feedback, as well as the Question of the Week: “Did you buy videogames as holiday gifts for friends and family?” Let us know.

Episode 240: ThanksgamingEpisode 240: Thanksgaming

It’s the episode just before Thanksgiving, and both Jordan and Paul have new jobs, as the latter settles into his new Los Angeles home. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the Atari 2600 game Kaboom!

The guys also discuss the following news items:

  • EA targeted for class action suit over Battlefield 3 PS3 bait and switch
  • Modern Warfare 3 makes $775M in 5 days
  • Square-Enix officially opens Montreal studio
  • Blockbuster has “ramped up the rental” of games, getting an “awful lot of support”
  • Rockstar eager to return to Bully IP

The question of the week: “How do you buy games most often these days: retail, online retailer, or digital distributor?”

Episode 239: This Episode is DRM-freeEpisode 239: This Episode is DRM-free

This week, Paul is too busy unpacking in his new home in California, so it’s just Jonah and Jordan, as the news mainly deals with DRM. The Gaming Flashback this week is the Activision racer The Great American Cross-Country Road Race, while this week’s Gaming History doesn’t focus on a video game company or developer, but a fictional character instead, Mario’s favorite mount, Yoshi.

The news this week includes:

  • EA forum bans cause game bans
  • Research film states piracy’s up 20% in past 5 years
  • GOG sez customers hate DRM
  • Steam user database cracked
  • Uncharted 3 launches with 1.1M sold in first week

All that plus Reader Feedback and the Question of the Week, “What DRM would you tolerate?”

Episode 238: No Free PornEpisode 238: No Free Porn

This week’s episode is also abbreviated, as Jordan is somewhere in Pennsylvania looking for a gingerbread house while Paul is still trying to pack his entire NES library into a single suitcase. Jonah and Paul still got in enough time to do a Gaming Flashback on Thief: The Dark Project, and the following news items:

All this and Reader Feedback, too, as well as a new Question of the Week, “If you have the opportunity to read or view a highly anticipated game’s story months before it was released, would you do it or would you deliberately turn it away to preserve yourself from spoilers?” Let us know!

Episode 237: Half a ShowEpisode 237: Half a Show

This week’s episode is abbreviated due to Paul’s move to California, and various Halloween delays. That’s not to say there’s no great stuff in the show, as there are some big debates about privacy and bugs.

The news this week includes:

  • Electronic Arts insists that Origin is not spyware
  • Rumor: Grand Theft Auto V to be download only?
  • Dev: Sword of the Stars II is a “turnip

All that, and Paul feels older thanks to the Reader Feedback.

Question of the Week this time is non-videogame related: What’s your favorite vacation spot?