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Episode 246: Computer SpecsEpisode 246: Computer Specs

January 11, 2012| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 9:19 pm

CES 2012 is going strong, as Jonah and Jordan do tonight’s podcast without Paul, who is packing for a trip. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the notorious Custer’s Revenge, and a punch of intriguing news and rumors comprise this week’s topics:

Fallout MMO rights belong to Bethesda as Interplay settles
Pachter sez there’s “zero chance” of PS4 at E3 2012
Rumor: Next Xbox tablet-based?
Rumor: Kaz Hirai to return as president of Sony
Diablo III release held due to South Korea (from GameFront)

Plenty of Reader Feedback this week, which is good because we forgot to include a Question of the Week this time.

Episode 245: Hello 2012Episode 245: Hello 2012

January 4, 2012| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 3:47 pm

This week is double-stuffed full of goodness, with over two hours of podcast, as Jonah, Paul and Jordan cover not only the news of the last week, but also recap 2011, talking about games that pleased and disappointed them.

Aside from the biggest news of 2011, the current news items the gang listed to include:

Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony all pull support from SOPA – sort of
Wii U launch price expected to be $399
Guitar Hero may return in 2012
Judge ruling deals Silicon Knights a serious blow in suit against Epic Games
FlatOut 3 dev calls Modern Warfare 3 a “beta“
Bioware defends The Old Republic subscription model, teases free-to-play for older IPs

The podcast also received a ton of new Reader Feedback, while the Question of the Week is “Which would you rather game on – a handheld console or a mobile device?”

Episode 244: Goodbye 2011Episode 244: Goodbye 2011

December 21, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 9:15 pm

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.

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Episode 243: Bashing MicrosoftEpisode 243: Bashing Microsoft

December 14, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 8:28 pm

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 240: ThanksgamingEpisode 240: Thanksgaming

November 23, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 10:47 pm

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

November 16, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 3:32 pm

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 236: Now With PandasEpisode 236: Now With Pandas

October 26, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 8:57 pm

This week, Paul is not around, as Jonah Falcon and Jordan Lund discuss the latest news, which includes pandas. Lots and lots of pandas. That, and a Gaming History profile on David Crane.

The news this week includes:

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria announced
Sony: April PSN outage has resulted in improved service
Deep Silver: “There is a clear technology gap“
Starcraft II DOTA mod will remain free but monetized
“Literally, there’s three of us” on console Diablo III
Minecraft dev wins interim injunction over Scrolls name

With that is Reader Mail and the Queston of the Week: What was your favorite Atari 2600 game?

Episode 232: Remember Pong?Episode 232: Remember Pong?

September 21, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 7:44 pm

This week, there’s no Gaming Flashback or Gaming History, but there is a ton of news and Reader Feedback as Paul is finally present to react to some hate mail.

The news includes some huge items, like:

No PSN unless you waive lawsuit
Netflix adds game rentals to Qwikster
DC Universe Online goes free-to-play
Xbox Live officially a part of Windows 8
Microsoft: Xbox TV this Fall
Rogers Cable ordered to stop throttling gamers
Nintendo and Valve say no to smartphone games

The Question of the Week: What was the very first home videogame you ever played?

Episode 231: Plus One PaulEpisode 231: Plus One Paul

September 14, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 7:24 pm

Paul has some angry comments, Jonah has some angry comments, while Jordan just chuckles and makes a Freudian mistake. In between complaints, the Gaming Flashback looks at the Amiga classic Syndicate, and the following news items:

The Lund Report: August 2011 NPD
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 PC controversy rages
THQ: Next-gen consoles will be discless
Quantic Dreams claims they lost 10M euro on used games
3DS sales jump 260% following price drop
Syndicate reboot finally confirmed and unveiled by EA

Finally, the Question of the Week: What was the most disappointing remake or reboot of a game you’ve played? All that and Reader Feedback, too.

Episode 230: Zombie Nazi MonkeysEpisode 230: Zombie Nazi Monkeys

September 7, 2011| Jonah Falcon| 0 Comment| 8:23 pm

This week, Jonah Falcon rants about the bosses in Deus Ex: Human Revolution while Jordan Lund expresses a desire for cold, rainy weather. This week’s Gaming Flashback is The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, with the following news items:

Lord British wants to make another Ultima, EA not so much
Crytek rebukes “unlawful layoff” claims
Gabe Newell wants Steam on Xbox Live Marketplace
DICE addresses console “limitations” in Battlefield 3
Black Ops map packs hit 18 million sold
Sony targets teens with new PSP
Angry Birds PS Mini problems

The guys also read more reader mail, and pose this week’s Question of the Week: What was the worst game mechanic you ever dealt with in a game you liked?