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Video game news that reflects on the latest trends and cultural impacts brought on by gaming. From the perspective of a few guys who wish they had more time to play video games!
Episodes
Monday Oct 24, 2022
Monday Oct 24, 2022
Video game companies spend lots of money on games but apparently not on voice actors. And we hoped the latest google service would buck the trend but nope, not gonna happen and why do we play these games anyways?
Show Notes:
Video games are a nearly $200 billion industry. That’s a lot of money sloshing around an increasingly small group of notoriously secretive companies. Where does it all go? At least some of it is poured back into competing storefronts and subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Game Pass. Thanks to a new SEC filing, we now have some hard figures for what this new console war looks like, with both Sony and Microsoft shelling out millions over a single game.
https://kotaku.com/game-pass-ark-ii-survival-evolved-ps-plus-ps5-xbox-sony-1849642722
The English actor who stars in the hit Bayonetta video game series has asked fans not to buy the latest release in the franchise, after revealing that she was offered just $4,000 (£3,500) to reprise the role.
https://www.ign.com/articles/bayonetta-voice-actor-hellena-taylor-says-she-didnt-reprise-the-role-in-bayonetta-3-as-she-was-only-offered-4000
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/oct/16/bayonetta-actor-hellena-taylora-boycott-video-game-pay-row
Google is shuttering its digital gaming service Stadia, the latest ambitious project to get cut as the company looks to shed costs. The gaming service, which launched in 2019 and runs on phones and the Chrome browser, “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected,” wrote Phil Harrison, a Google vice president, in a blog post Thursday. “We’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service,” he wrote.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/google-shut-gaming-service-stadia-ceo-continues-cost-cutting-efforts-rcna50054
There is a gamer in everyone. Some of us spend countless hours saving princesses, dodging bullets or burning tires in an online game. Others are modest gamers and only venture out to roll a dice in a board game. Whether you’re a fervent veteran or a contingent casual, there is something inherent to our being that keeps us coming back to these experiences.
https://mobile.gamehouse.com/news/gravitating-towards-gaming-why-do-we-play-games/
Review:
XBox Cloud Service - Real World - Tim
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
there were two big events since we last had a show and that's excluding the GTA6 leak. Sony held a Playstation State of Play event and later that same day Nintendo held a Nintendo direct.
http://www.joystickandmouse.com
http://shop.joystickandmouse.com/
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Show Notes
Sony held a short State of Play event and here was what was revealed.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/playstation-state-of-play-september-2022-everything-announced/
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-state-of-play-september-2022-everything-announced
https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/09/13/playstation-september-2022-state-of-play-recap/
The other big event was the Nintendo Direct that happened later in the day and it did not disappoiont. Here's everything that was realed and announced during the presentation.
https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-direct-september-2022-everything-announced-including-the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom
https://apptrigger.com/2022/09/13/nintendo-direct-nintendo-switch/
https://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2022/09/recap-nintendo-direct-september-13-2022.html
Review
Steamdeck - Diddi
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
We lose the first unionized game company. We answer that age old question, are video games good for you. Nintendo is apparently an awful place to work if you're a female and Ubisoft tells us all about their upcoming stuff.
Show Notes
The first video game studio in the US to unionize is shutting down. On Wednesday, Beast Breaker developer Vodeo Games announced it had failed to secure funding to produce an additional release beyond its debut title.
https://www.engadget.com/vodeo-games-shutting-down-213519398.html
Video games can get a bad rep as being a time waste, but can they actually have positive effects on brain functioning? A study published in Neuroimage: Reports suggests that video games can lead to increased decision-making skills and improvement in brain activities.
https://www.psypost.org/2022/09/people-who-play-video-games-tend-to-have-superior-sensorimotor-decision-making-skills-study-finds-63890
Even the wholesome family image of Nintendo couldn't save it from the backlash this week over a report that the culture there might have even been worse than the one that has been well documented at Activision Blizzard.
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-of-america-sexual-harassment-sexism-aerotek-1849414921
Ubisoft held their Ubisoft Forward this past week where they announced all the upcoming games and news. If I can sum it up in a statement, I hope you like Assasins Creed and The Division because there is going top be a LOT more of them.
https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-forward-2022-assassins-creed-1849522061
https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-biggest-games-and-announcements-from-ubisoft-forward-2022/2900-4324/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-says-its-big-aaa-games-will-now-be-priced-at-70/1100-6507403/
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
Tuesday Sep 06, 2022
The EA saga continues. We wax poetic through an imaginary game world of Arkham. It looks like there are some new video game inspired movies on the horizon and Sony is in deep shit ... again.
Show Notes
The best video games are imaginary. Often they exist completely in our heads, or in the dreamy space between their initial announcement and what we finally end up playing. This is where “Arkham World” exists. Born from a 2011 Video Game Awards gag, the completely fictitious entry in the massively popular Batman Arkham series is now all some fans can talk about.
https://kotaku.com/batman-arkham-world-spider-man-gotham-knights-wb-1849436007
And just when you think it might be safe to back into the EA waters ... they release Madden 23 which should have been cause for celebration but in true typical EA fashion snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. So just what is wrong with Madden and why are gamers so pissed?
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/madden-nfl-23-is-glitched-up-from-coast-to-coast/1100-6506729/
https://attackofthefanboy.com/gaming/madden-nfl-23s-pc-version-is-a-huge-disappointment-thats-missing-next-gen-features/
Fresh off the success of Uncharted and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 respectively, Sony and Sega are planning film adaptations of even more of their franchises. Deadline reports that Sony is developing Days Gone for the big screen, while Sega says it’s developing adaptations of Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/22/23316140/video-game-movies-days-gone-comix-zone
Sony is facing legal action in the UK, with a new collective action suit claiming that the company has "ripped people off" by taking a 30% cut on all transactions made on the PlayStation Store. Sony, just like Microsoft and Valve, (and Apple) has long taken this cut from purchases on its store, but consumer rights activist Alex Neill is claiming that this is a breach of consumer rights. Speaking to Sky News, Neill explained that Sony is abusing its market share to impose unfair conditions on games publishers, which in turn is raising prices for consumers. ANd as if that wasn't bad enough, Sony announced this week that the price of the PS5 is rising.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-facing-5-8-billion-lawsuit-over-playstation-store-royalties/1100-6506722/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa1d
https://screenrant.com/ps5-price-increase-hike-region-sony-stock-playstation/
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
The recession is hitting everyone even video game companies. There will be no Muskstation or Overwatch loot boxes but there will be more games on NetFlix and we take a look at what a video game should cost.
Show Notes:
The giants of the video game world saw their sales slide in the second quarter, as initial tailwinds from the Covid pandemic faded. In the three months ending with June, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo each posted disappointing results in their respective gaming businesses.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/08/microsoft-xbox-sony-playstation-nintendo-video-game-earnings-round-up.html
Elon Musk Explains Why He Won't Make Video Game Console to Compete With PlayStation and Xbox
https://gamerant.com/elon-musk-video-game-console/
In general, we like to think we know how much something is worth. The decision is based less on logic and more on emotion, an intangible gut feeling. When it comes to video games we know when a game is under, or in most cases, over-priced. Unfortunately, that aptness in designating price to value is disrupted by inflation. So are video games really more expensive now?
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/are-video-games-really-more-expensive
https://techraptor.net/gaming/features/cost-of-gaming-since-1970s
Netflix is accelerating its push into video games with plans to double its catalog of offerings by the end of the year, but for now, nobody cares.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/06/netflixs-video-game-push-sees-few-subscribers-playing-along.html
Overwatch’s latest Anniversary Remix event — the game’s third and final such event — kicks off Today, giving seasoned fans of Blizzard’s hero shooter another batch of skins and a chance to revisit limited-time game modes. The Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event will also bring about the end of loot box sales in the game — Blizzard says that when the current event ends on Aug. 30, players will no longer be able to purchase loot boxes.
https://www.polygon.com/23298533/overwatch-loot-boxes-sales-ending-anniversary-remix-event-date
Review:
World of Warcraft - Fated Raids/Dungeons
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Stadia tries to up it's games. Typical week with Blizzard where they win some and lose some. Another game studio gets gobbled up and we have a list of games that fell a little long.
Show Notes
Google launched click to play a couple of months ago but this week their Stadia offering ot a big boost. They launched 11 new games thaty you can try on their platform.
https://chromeunboxed.com/stadia-9-new-click-to-play-game-trials
Blizzard Entertainment is officially ending new content development for its MOBA Heroes of the Storm and will instead focus solely on keeping the game running smoothly with seasonal rolls, hero rotations, bug fixes, balance updates, and more.
https://www.ign.com/articles/blizzard-officially-ending-heroes-of-the-storm-content-development
"It's almost been 3 years since the last in-person BlizzCon in 2019. In 2020, BlizzCon was canceled due to health concerned raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this was replaced by BlizzConline in February of 2021. There has been no in-person BlizzCon since then and the BlizzConline 2022 event was also canceled. Many fans were hoping for a 2022 in-person but it was cancelled once again due to the filing of a DFEH suit.
However, in the first news we've heard of an in-person Blizzcon since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike Ybarra tells the LA Times that ""We are committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023."""
https://www.wowhead.com/news/blizzard-committed-to-bringing-back-blizzcon-in-2023-los-angeles-times-interview-327585?webhook
Supermassive Games is known for its interactive horror narratives, including 2015's Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and, more recently, The Quarry. This week, Eurogamer reported that Danish company Nordisk Games acquired the studio.
https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/07/12/the-quarry-and-until-dawn-developer-supermassive-games-acquired-by-nordisk-games
Around here we love a good strory. Game play is important but without a good narritive to hold it all together the whole thing gets old quick. But what about the games that get old ... later. The ones that go on a bit too long or started good but just sort of fell off? Well here's a list of them put out by whatculture that overstayed their welcome.
https://whatculture.com/gaming/10-video-games-that-overstayed-their-welcome
Game Review
Elden Ring - Diddi
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Blizzard continues on with its tone deaf direction. We beg Kojima to please make the game he was thinking about making. Overwatch 2 is about to be unleashed on the world and we debate the greatest helmets in video game history on this episode of Joystick and Mouse.
Show Notes
Bobby Kotick will get to keep his seat on Activision Blizzard's board of directors despite catching flak over the alleged role he played in creating the company's toxic workplace culture. At the video game developers' annual meeting of stockholders, investors voted on several proposals, as well as who gets to be on the company's board of directors over the next year. A total of 533,703,580 shareholders have voted to keep Kotick on the board, while on 62,597,199 have voted against it. As GameInformer notes, that means he gets to keep his seat until the next meeting in 2023.
https://www.engadget.com/activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-board-seat-082314098.html
Hideo Kojima has claimed that he recently shelved a project he’s been considering “for a long time” due to its similarity to the Amazon series The Boys. Speaking on Twitter, the mind behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding said that he “put it on hold because the concept was similar (different settings and tricks),” to the Amazon show. “A buddy (male/female) thing with a special detective squad facing off against legendary heroes behind the scenes,” Kojima said. “I was thinking of Mads [Mikkelsen] as the lead.”
https://gamerant.com/hideo-kojima-the-boys-similar-game-concept/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/hideo-kojima-says-he-shelved-a-game-concept-due-to-similarity-to-the-boys/
If you missed your chance to play Overwatch 2 during the game's first beta test, your next shot at giving the game a whirl before it hits shelves this fall is here. The second beta test for Overwatch 2 begins June 28, and will feature the game's newest character, Junker Queen, as well as a new map. Even better, the servers will be open not only for PC players, but those playing on console as well.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-2-beta-begins-june-28-will-feature-junker-queen-and-a-new-map/1100-6504595/
https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/06/24/overwatch-2-will-replace-the-original-overwatch-when-it-enters-early-access
Video game characters have all sorts of different fashion styles. Some like to don street clothes, while others prefer sharp suits. And many of them wear some form of armor, especially those in the more action-orientated genres. Strangely, though, not all of these characters utilize helmets. It's likely because developers don't want to cover up their faces. However, unique headgear can function as an identifier just as well as a character's face. In fact, the appeal of certain protagonists is enhanced due to them wearing cool helmets. As a result, these pieces of headgear have garnered as much fame and acclaim as the people wearing them. Lets take a look at the list that thegamer put together and see what we think.
https://www.thegamer.com/most-iconic-helmets-video-games-ranked/
Game Review
Slay The Spire - Tim
https://www.megacrit.com/
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
It was an all Microsoft kind of week. From their little TV gem to the big presentation with Bethesda among others that just kept dropping bomb after bomb. We'll take a look at all the announcements and give our thoughts on what made us go wow, what we thought looked cool, what we are looking forward to and what we thought was just meh on this episode of Joystick and Mouse.
Show Notes
Maybe it's time for a TV upgrade. Microsoft announced this week that they entered into an agreement with Samsung that all 2022 smart TVs will have XBox Cloud Play built in. No external boxes. Just pair a controller with the TV (doesn't even have to be an XBox controller) and with XBox gmae pass of course, you can play any Microsoft game available in their cloud service.
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/06/09/xbox-app-for-smart-tvs/amp/
"E3 might have taken 2022 off, but the show(s) must go on. Today’s big one is the annual Xbox showcase, which shares title billing with the one first-party studio that’s only released games on PS5 since getting acquired by Microsoft for the price of a presidential election.
Over the course of 95 minutes, Xbox teased a ton of games from across its oeuvre. Some were new. Others have been previously announced. And, of course, the Game Pass logo was literally everywhere. All told, the show was…a lot. let's dig in and talk about all the things"
https://kotaku.com/xbox-bethesda-2022-starfield-redfall-diablo-4-overwatch-1849051030
https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-and-bethesda-games-showcase-2022-everything-announced
Game Review
Diablo Immortal
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
We have twists and turns of a plot nature. We revisit hell and not the dumping a studio kind and we take a look at the future of the video game development work force.
Show Notes:
In an internal all-hands meeting with Xbox Game Studios employees, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said that he would recognize Raven Software’s union. This came after the QA testers at Raven voted to form the first labor union at a major studio. Later Spencer said. “We absolutely support employees’ right to organize and form unions.” So what does tha mean for the Video Game industry?
https://dot.la/microsoft-activision-union-2657041417.html
https://kotaku.com/xbox-phil-spencer-raven-qa-union-activision-blizzard-1848982555
Last episode we told you that Square Enix was selling off it's western development studios. Well that deal dropped and frankly, they got hosed. For the paltry sum of $300 million the Embracer Group got game studios including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal. Embracer also purchased major intellectual properties from those companies, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain. In all, it got more than 50 game properties and 1,100 developers.
https://embracer.com/release/embracer-group-enters-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-eidos-crystal-dynamics-and-square-enix-montreal-amongst-other-assets/
https://venturebeat.com/2022/05/06/the-deanbeat-the-crazy-sanity-of-the-square-enix-and-embracer-group-deal/
Hell is about to be unleashed this week on PC and Mobile as the "You all have Phones don't you" game is finally released. Of course I'm talking about Diablo: Immortal. This game was imfamously announced at Blizzcon 2018 to a great deal of negativity. Well I played it at Blizzcon that year and if you like Diablo, you're in for a treat.
https://kotaku.com/diablo-immortal-loot-boxes-crates-laws-release-belgium-1848996451
Everyone loves a good plot twist. One where everything you thought and were certain of isn't. Well in video games, what are the 10 best? We take a look at a screen rant list and see if they got it right.
https://screenrant.com/shocking-video-game-plot-twists-in-history-ranked/
Game Review:
Tiny Tina's Wonderland - Reviisited
Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
Another game studio is for sale. Gotta catch em all... literally. Which game characters are making bank? Disney looks to try and create a more adult game and there be dragons on this episode of Joystick and mouse.
Show Notes
"Square Enix Selling Tomb Raider, Deus Ex & Thief (And Their Studios As Well)
Let's see if the new owners can also be disappointed by great games that sell well."
https://kotaku.com/square-enix-embracer-deus-ex-1848866849
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office deputies opened fire on four suspects believed to have stolen Pokémon cards and a pizza. One died after being transported to a hospital, while two others were charged with petty theft.
https://kotaku.com/pokemon-card-police-shooting-florida-target-shoplift-vi-1848870113
Video game characters may be the acme of escapism, but most of them do still have jobs within their own worlds. Which ones are paid the most? Online gaming site Solitaired did some number crunching to see who the biggest earner in the gamesphere is.
https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/the-highest-salaries-for-video-game-characters-13287293
New Disney Game Looks Perfect (For Disney Adults). Disney Dreamlight Valley definitely has its fingers on the fandom's pulse
https://kotaku.com/disney-dreamlight-valley-gameloft-ps5-pc-xbox-switch-ip-1848851631
The biggest news of the week, and the worst kept secret of the year was that Blizzard announced the next expansion for wWorld of Warcraft. The heros of azeroth are headed to the Dragon Isles to help restore their poweres and fight an new emerging evil.
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcraft-wow-dragonflight-release-date/
https://www.polygon.com/23031271/world-of-warcraft-expansion-dragonflight-wow-new-class-cinematic-trailer-release
Game Review
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - Diddi - 9/10
https://www.starwars.com/games-apps/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga