The Xbox Layoffs: What Happened and Why It Matters

But yeah , it's me , rggt um , and joined today again by the absolute switch maestro , the gorgeous marathon gaming , aka scott . How you doing , scotty boy ?

We'll be doing our usual show . So a bit of news , bit of what we've been playing um as of recording . You'll probably you've probably a lot of you heard about uh news at the moment . It's all a bit , um , you know , the news is a bit negative at the moment in in the gaming space .

So we'll , um , we've got a couple of couple of bits of uh sad news but we've got , hopefully , one that's a little bit better . But we'll try and keep you know , try and keep your hopes up try and keep it light-hearted , if we can .

But before we even do the news , it is honour of me to say Scott , what have you been playing ?

So I've been playing a bit of Mario Kart . Well , obviously , like I have been saying the last few previous shows , I've still been ticking over with that . I think last time we spoke I had some friends coming over , um , I think might have been the night of the recording , actually , or day after , so yeah . So I played um some maricart world there .

I've still got basically all the cars are done , all the trophies are done , apart from the 150 . I was taking my time with them going online .

Every now and again with friends I've been playing online , but there's so many character skins to still um , you know unlock , but it's one of those games where it's just fun for half an hour but you don't want to sit there on hours on it , so yeah . So I was like , do you know what I need to get back in some games ?

So I had a bit of a , maybe a realisation , a premonition , I'm not quite sure , but I needed to get back to my original roots and I was thinking about all of the enjoyment I've had with original switch games , all of my when I was on , before I was in coach .

You know , when we did that switch buyers guide back in 2023 at christmas , yeah , I um was going through my hidden gems and when you go through them all they were just when I think back at them like thief simulator and there were some horror ones , even like dead by daylight . Friday 13th , there was mosaic firewatch , all these mystery games and stuff as well .

As well as the horrors , they weren't physical titles . I stumbled across them just having you know . A bottle of wine or a few beers . You're sitting through the e-shop , you go through , you add them to your wish list , you wait for them to sell and that's how you discover . It's hit or miss .

But somewhere along the line of my switch lifespan I started getting seriously heavily into collecting physical and obviously don't want to buy games twice . So a lot of time I stayed off the e-shop because it's a bit like , if you're a big reader , um , obviously you know they come paperback first .

If they do well , I do hardback some of these indie developers they go e-shop first . If it does well , you get a physical . So I was thinking do you know what with a Switch 2 other than the essential big ones , I'm going to try and not stay away from physical . I'm still going to go physical , but I'm not going to forget about the eShop .

Because I need to be playing more games and I thought do you know what the last year I might not have played of the Switch's life ? I might not have played as much games as I wanted to ? Um , so I went on the e-shop and I'll tell you what very impressed .

Now you guys have covered it , but a bit like netflix , you know the way you hover over the thumbnail , it gives you a bit of a trailer . Yeah , I absolutely love that . Um , because previously you just have the thumbnail art and then you think that looks good .

You click on it , go through the screenshots and it would be nothing to do with the game yeah , it was such , it was such a catfish moment . Um , so yeah , I've been going through the e-shop um my friend ed so retro ed uk who does into the show , he told me yeah he told me about the games recommended to you section and that's new .

I didn't know about that so each week they give you like 10 games , so I had a couple from there . Um , but long story short . Um , I've got a lot of games which I've added to wishlist , which I'm going to be getting , and then I thought , right , I'll choose one or two that's on sale now , because the sales end but then they start again .

So I went for Stranded Deep , which is a survival game . It came out in 2020 . The reason why I chose that particular game was it looked a bit I don't know this , and another game looked a bit like Firewatch . Basically , I'll tell you what . I'll tell you the name of the other game .

Let me just open it up , because I only played that one , not as much that was the Long Dark , I think our Kayla George .

But yeah , in terms of the actual game . So how can I sort of describe it really in a nutshell ? So the plane crashes , you wake up in a raft , you go to your island , so straight away you've got like a watch on , you've got , uh , there's things you've . You're a bit like a tamagotchi .

So the things you've got to manage is you've got to keep yourself fed , watered and out of the sun , basically , and it's a crafting game , which is ironic because I'm not into crafting games at all , like when there's a big game , even like the fallout or zelda . When there's a game that involves crafting , I don't really like it .

Even rainbow six , the division , I remember like we could craft certain guns . I normally avoid that thing , um , but I've actually been really , really enjoying it . So you start off , um , just doing some simple things . You know stones , collecting cocon , collecting coconuts , and you can go fishing , so it's really fun .

It reminds me a bit , almost like you can treat it like a bit like Animal Crossing . It can just be the mundane stuff . So first of all I survived six days and then I died and basically I used some of the resources we spawned on the island , but certain things don't , such as stones .

So I looked up and then everyone's like but certain things don't , such as stones . So I looked up and then everyone's like look , you've got to leave your island , go to other islands , because there is other islands out there . So I thought , right , I can see one over there .

I swam there at night , went all the way over there , took a few stones and bits and swam back . But I remember I think I got into a position where something happened like a key resource and I couldn't really progress . So once I died I was like right , I'm going to start again . I get it now .

And you know like when you're really into a game , when you're not playing it , you're watching it . So I was watching it on YouTube and I thought , oh no , so the boat you start on the raft . This might sound really silly . I didn't pull out the beach , so it got washed away everyone playing this game there's predators out there , right ?

so there's proper predators , there's sharks everywhere . But I didn't realise the sharks were getting involved , because I tried I've tried before , like with a spear , to hunt a shark and it didn't seem bothered . So I thought , oh , there must be like NPCs that don't get involved , you know .

So I've swum all the way to the other island , swum all the way back , and then I've put you trouble at night in bed and everyone's going oh yeah , make sure you've got a raft , don't go out swimming , you'll get eaten by sharks . So I must have had the luckiest swim in the world because I've got up and back , anyway . So I thought better of it .

So I've tried to advance everything properly this time . So I've got all the different things , I've got a little system I've built to collect the rain , I've made an axe and you know , and I'm working on collecting resources to make a bird snare trap and I thought , right , I need to go to the next island .

I want to try and not just survive , I want to build , I want to get more , because if you build enough , you unlock certain crafting things and there's a story element . So I think you can even build an airplane to really fly away . There is a story in there .

You have to just go back to the beginning , um , and I think things do spawn slightly different as well . Actually , on your island I don't think it's exactly the same um , but it's the second . So the second time I did it I was like right now I'm gonna go over to this other island . So I swam to an island it obviously wasn't the same island .

I got over there and then , as soon as I got off the boat , a wild boar attacked me and it proper damaged me and I had this . Oh , I didn't think to take anything . All I had was this little um , I think it's just called a croon stone tool , crude stone tool . It's basically like a little shank knife .

You know like you get in prison and um and I we had a good go at each other and it ran away and I thought , right , I'll go hunting that because that's good meat , I won't have to fish , I won't have to catch crabs and skin them , I'm gonna kill it .

And I made a mistake going after the boar and , um , it basically killed me and then when I looked up how to kill the boar , everyone calls it the giant boar , so I think it's the biggest predator in the game .

So I think I just got pure bad luck , so I avoided the sharks then I stumbled across that , so I kind of was like right now I need to make sure I don't go back to that island , or if I do go to that island , make sure I've got enough weapons to kill it , because there was so many materials there . It's clever how it's done .

You want to be at that island , but yes , it's really really good . It's nice to have a real good passion about a game again .

Yeah , beam Team North Beach Games and Fun Labs , but yeah , it was 2020 , licensed from Beam Team Fun Labs . But yeah , I mean it was on Game Pass . It'd be interesting to hear from any of our listeners . Let me know in Discord if anyone's played it , because I've had a real good time of it .

The other game , um the long dark now that's a little bit more well polished , I would say um graphically and with a story narrative . So it reminds me . That reminds me a lot more like firewatch . So you're in a hangar , you can tell you've got some relationship issues . I think I've got that on , is that ? ps4 I don't .

There's actually a paid-for DLC that's about to come out , which might be why it dropped on eShop on a sow , yeah . But basically you're an alcoholic , someone comes to see you , it's bad weather , you shouldn't be flying , but you need the money . And obviously , yeah , another plane wreck . There's a lot of plane wrecks . I hope no one's listening to this .

Going on holiday soon , yeah , so another plane wreck . And then you're in the mountains , in the snow . You've got to survive , but it's very well polished , so I haven't done much on there . I've literally , you know , survived the night . You know , you make a little bed , you heal yourself with some bandages .

The crafting's not really crafting , you just click on it , it does it automatically . You don't really feel like you've got to collect stuff , drop stuff and all that , or harvest things or chop wood . And then , yeah , I've sort of started to climb out of the mountains , but I've just been playing that between .

It's basically been between Stranded Deep and Maricar World , those two . And then the Long Dark is just sort of introducing itself in , but yeah , and then the long dark is just sort of introducing itself in , but yeah , I wouldn't say survival games are my thing , igt , but sometimes you've just got to do something different

I think , yeah , I think , certain game genres I had that with like fps .

isn't going to be for you because of what you think it will be . Then when you actually start playing it , you think , oh , hang on , this is different to what I thought , and then that sort of opens you up to a whole new sort of genre . Then but yeah , that's , I mean , stranded deep .

I've passed over that many , many times , but now you've suddenly got me thinking hmm , yeah , I mean I , I think , at full price .

So I mean , I've had my money's worth already and I love it , to be honest . So I'm going to go back and keep playing it . And I've not even got to the story bit . I mean the thumbnail . You're on a raft fighting a huge you know kraken or something .

So there's definitely stuff out there , a bit like Dredge , maybe you know there's a bigger story , but at the minute I'm just trying to survive and it is really addictive . You know I'll be sitting there on the hand . I've been playing a lot of handheld , actually , while the wife's been .

I play it with the doctor as well , but while the wife's been watching TV , I've got my headphones on . You talk out loud and she must be sick of it because I keep going . Oh no , I've run out of palm flowers . She must be thinking what is he going on about ?

I was like , oh , I should pick that up , I might need that later Harvest it .

triangle , you get me really .

Yeah , it's brilliant yeah you'd be in a box like double tap square , oh it's a low cross . It's all in code , yeah .

And then I must have put Mario Kart World on . And then I was like , right , I need a proper new game . But yes , I'm really , really happy to find a couple of new games , but that is pretty much all I've been playing at the minute . But what ?

So the precinct is done , um . I think I put 18 hours in , I think um to complete it , um oh wow , so that wasn't too far off .

I won't say too much because it's quite a new game , I don't want to spoil it , but opened the story up to corruption and bits which then you have to get off and finish that storyline off .

But once you work out that some of the shifts can be repetitive , because when you look at your shift patterns or your shift rover , that will say what you're doing , how many hours and bits and pieces , but it will also say how many crimes you need to complete in that area . So if there's none , then you know that area is completed .

So try and do the ones where you just got the purple right and that'll say get five crimes in this area and then while you're doing them you'll gain evidence towards the gangs in the story . So you might arrest , say , 10 people on a shift , but maybe three of them were gangs .

You've got evidence against that gang which will then trigger it for you to take that gang's boss on . So that once I worked that out , that freed up a bit . Um , would I say it's worth playing ? I think definitely .

But you've got the modern graphics , um , you've got the cheesy 70 80 storylines and there's . There's nothing's too in depth , but there's a little bit of everything , if that makes sense . Um , so you can unlock cars as you go . You've got a very light upgrade tree so you can upgrade , um how much ammo you hold , your health , your car , um .

So it's all little tweaks , um , but for an 18 hour 18 hours I put into the game I think that's about right . I think you know I was about done with it , but I think it's definitely worth a play . Um , it's very affordable . Like we said last week , it's a lovely steelbook , very , very nice .

I think with that as well don't quote me on that I think I got the digital soundtrack with that as well , which is quite cool . Yeah , I think they've done a good job . I think there's a way about . The money is of the game . If you played American Fugitive then I think you've got to play this .

For what it is , I think it's done well , it's a good bit of fun . Yeah , and I'd like to think they'll do another game in this style , that isometric sort of nice graphics , retro sort of cop game , or like the American Fugitive one . There's enough in them to keep you interested , but that doesn't overstay its welcome .

But that other one you said about , I mean I , yeah , I don't know anything about that um , and I remember there was a old , say old , it might have been ps2 , let's say . It's a similar game where you played on the police side . It wasn't like a ghost recon , first person shooter , but it was a bit more of a serious and not arcadey .

You was with the police , a bit like a swat sort of style game . Yeah , you come through and um , yeah , it's nice to be on that side of the law rather than it being like payday and you're trying to heist all the time it is quite interesting yeah , and I think it's quite good , because they do like .

So you'll have on foot driving or possession charges and you have to click through your little wheel and say , well , they had counterfeit money , they avoided arrest , they tried to assault you . So you tick them all off and then you arrest them .

Then you could either drive them back and book them in yourself , or you call for a squad car and they come and get , get , get the uh , the criminal for you , and you carry on your way . So , yeah , I mean I'm sort of 60 through the trophies . I think it's a very , very doable platinum , I mean you're gonna try and go for it .

Yeah , I mean I've got things like stunt jumps , um booking 30 , um criminals , cause most , most of the ones I must be close to it , but most of them , when I arrested them I would um call for a squad car so I could carry on um in the area where I was working . But yeah , doable are doable . There's like hidden cache boxes around here you can get .

I think I've got five of them , I think there's 20 , so go and find those .

I quite like that . I don't know why . Sometimes it's nice to fulfill another job Like . I remember an indie game on the Switch . It's called . I've actually got the second one in my eShop wish list . It was called Not Tonight . I told you about it . It was about like a . It was a bit of a sort of jokey game . It was about Brexit .

You play a bouncer , you're about to get evicted , you know , due to some European laws coming through . It's a bit of tongue in cheek game , but it was very like retro eight bit sort of graphics or whatnot . But when you was on the doors you'd be earning your money .

When the night , if there was underage to take a bribe and stuff like that , you had to check all their id . You actually had to do the actual mundane day-to-day stuff and I found it quite . There's something quite nice about it . I don't know why , it's weird because you're working when you're not working .

I mean you're on a game , you should be relaxing , playing like a fantasy . But sometimes you find enjoyment in those sort of sim games . Yeah , I suppose no difference of animal crossing , is it when you're looking after a farm or something like that ?

Your right analog stick is your cross and you have to aim it at the person you want . And when you're shooting you can then gently push your analog up to get a head shot or take them down . Or sometimes you'll give them two or three shots and then they'll just the green handcuffs go , they'll put their hands up and surrender .

Some won't , but some of the the battle , story wise , when you go to some of these gangs , are proper shootouts . Um , some of them took me two or three attempts to go through , because you have to sort of get in that cover , go up , take a couple of shots , get back down . You can't just stand and shoot away . You will have it , they'll have you .

So that was quite a nice twist to it , because suddenly from just doing parking tickets , now you're in a gangland shootout . So , yeah , I definitely recommend it . I think , um , for the value of it and how cheap it is . I think , yeah , give it a play . Um .

I think , um , I think it's time for me to say we've scoured the very darkest regions of the internet to bring you the latest stories , and first up this is from over from over at our friends at Eurogamer . They cover this story very well , which is why I've used their article Microsoft Xbox layoffs June 2025 . What's clear and what's not as the weekend nears .

So yeah , this week , as wide expected , based on early reports , microsoft began another sweeping round of layoffs . It's fourth in just 18 months , this time affecting thousands of people across the company .

It's believed more than 9,000 employees have lost their jobs as a result of this most recent move , which Microsoft told Eurogamer were necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace which is very ceo speak there .

But since the announcement , additional reports have surfaced , painting a clearer picture of the devastation brought by Microsoft's latest cost cutting measures , as well as the substantial impact on his Xbox division .

Beyond the significant human cost of the move , which Xbox boss Phil Spencer insisted was necessary to ensure the enduring success air quotes enduring success of the company in a message to staff , further details on the Pacific Studios and projects impacted have now begun to emerge .

Rare's Fantasy Adventure Everwild , which I will say looked very good from what I had seen . I was quite interested in that . It almost looked like a sort of Rare's version of Breath of the Wild . I quite like the interested in that . It almost looked like a sort of Rare's version of Breath of the Wild . I quite like the look of that .

But anyway , unfortunately , rare's fantasy adventure Everwild , first announced in 2019 , has reportedly been cancelled , for instance , leading to the departure of studio veteran Greg Miles after 35 years , who I do believe worked on the original Banjo-Kazooies and all those . He's been there a long time , done some big games for them , so that is sad news .

Microsoft's troubled Perfect Dark reboot , unveiled in 2020 , has reportedly also ceased production and its first-party developer , the Initiative , has been closed .

Microsoft is also said to have terminated its partnership with Crystal Dynamics , which was called in to help on the beleaguered project back in 2022 , raising questions around how that team may also be impacted by yesterday's news .

Elsewhere , in an unannounced Xenomax MMO has reportedly been cancelled , while 200 people are said to have lost their jobs at Microsoft-owned Candy Crush Maker . Keen and nearly 50% of staff at Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 have reportedly been laid off .

The full extent and impact of Microsoft's massive organisational and workforce changes are yet to become clear , with Microsoft only providing limited information to press . It has , however , moved swiftly to deny rumours of Phil Spencer's imminent retirement , insisting the Xbox boss won't be retiring from his position anytime soon .

It isn't just projects within Microsoft that have been affected too . Romero Games , the smallish developer set up and run by brenda romero and john romero , has had the funding pulled on its new shooter . I saw that that's effectively ending the project and a trailer for contraband .

The co-op smuggling game by swedish outfit avalanche games has disappeared from xbox youtube channel , raising questions about the health of the project , with new reports continuing to surface around this week's bombshell its impact on xbox .

Um , we've set up this rolling news blog , which a lot of say is over on um euro gamer , to sift through the confusion and to um collate breaking news and industry reactions as the stories continue to evolve . Um , I'll run through um these key points just quick .

Um , there was uh xbox executives outlines ways um laid off staff can use ai to help them find new jobs .

The rumor was um as soon as this generation was over . So I heard , but what that was about I don't know um , due to layoffs , warcraft rumumble won't receive any more content updates . Then there was context for Xbox's most recent wave of layoffs , and then that

followed up with the last bit we got , which was Romero Games' new shooter , cancelled by Xbox . I mean this to me is Is this ? I mean , is this just an Xbox thing ? Is this just the era we're in , scott ?

but it's very heavily biased on pretty much slagging off um phil spencer . But obviously things can be subjective and obviously you can argue . You know you can read things . They can be worded and make you feel a certain way , can't they ? You're reading an article and if I just I'm glad you read that one .

It was more well balanced but it kind of makes sense , so what they're saying on this metro article .

So I mean , first of all , we're sorry to anyone who has been affected by this , because I believe , the figure that I've got in front of me , I believe there's 4 000 staff that have been laid off , 4,000 this weekend at time of recording this is literally within the last 24 hours , so it's very fresh .

But yeah , phil Spencer has been in charge for 11 years and they're saying that you know it was we already had the success before he was there their biggest success , you know , the original Xbox . It competed but it didn't smash the party away , obviously with their halos and stuff um .

But the 360 obviously had that big , um , amazing spell and for different reasons , because of with the ps3 maybe being a bit more behind , they had the xbox achievements , they had the exclusive , they had a few things to get them ahead , but since then they kind of haven't really been at the races , have they ?

You know , with the xbox one and with the series x , and . And they're saying , what has phil spencer done in 11 years ? You know , two failed consoles and no improvement from first party output , despite everyone saying that . And he wasted I say wasted because he spent billions buying activision blizzard and we didn't see much from it .

It wasn't necessarily a good thing . They were doing well those companies . So it's like he brought out the competition and then let them burn out .

I mean back in the day when you thought of Xbox originally , when the first one came out , you'd thought , oh , it's almost like having a consolized PC , very powerful , in your house , something a bit different to a PS2 and a GameCube .

Then the 360 jumped the gun and beat PS3 out and you had fantastic exclusives and some of the first people to play online were your Call of Duties and stuff xbox one . They , they've really missed the mark with that . But I mean , what is their identity now ? What ? What is their purpose ?

They're going to end up being a third-party developer , which they technically are now Xbox , but they're just going to be a third-party developer , and I think that's so sad . And it now xbox , but they're just going to be a third party developer , and I think that's so sad and it's just yeah what .

They tried to go a different route with games pass um as of recording , I think their . Their figures are 35 million games past subscribers , but I think that has dropped off and I also think it's bottomed out .

But you need them subscribers to keep growing to keep producing the games , to keep getting the money in to put those games on day one we said this last week but day and date you need to keep gaining subscribers and I think when they first started Games Pass , their initial figure was 100 million subscribers and they've plateaued at 30 , 30 , 35 and I think that's

been a struggle . But ever since then that's hard to . I mean , I've criticized playstation in the past for bringing out random hardware bits , but that always seems to be well planned and stuff they've made and built in house , whereas this is latching on to other companies and , um , you know , with the rogue ally and but they all made sense at playstation .

They were looking at it being a separate entity . Yeah , and I think it's a shame .

So , for instance , when he said none of our games will be going over to PlayStation , and then suddenly Forza Indiana Jones Hi-Fi . Rush Pentament and suddenly they're going hang on , you said they weren't , they weren't going on there . Do you know what I mean ? And it's , it's little things like that . We just think sometimes .

I know sony and their ceos are the other way . They're very . They hardly say anything , you know they don't . They run it as a business . So I think some sort of happy medium there . But overall , this is very sad . If you're listening and you have lost your job , like like scott said earlier , um , our condolences , that's , that's very sad .

Um , do I think this is the end of it so far ? You know , I don't think this is um , I think this is news that will keep growing . I think my opinion overall , I think Phil Spencer's now been governed by Microsoft , who have now said right , you've spent all this money , you've billions on these companies . We aren't seeing the comeback .

That's time to reduce this down a little bit now , which , yeah , is sad . But , like I say , I don't think this will be the end of it . I think , as the weeks go on , I think there's probably going to be more news coming out with microsoft and xbox as to where they're heading , what they're doing , you know . Are they doing a new console ?

Apparently they are um see what games they bring out and where they head . But yeah , unfortunately it's very negative news at the moment and it's I'm just finding .

This is the internal statement done to the employees and basically , you know , without reading out the whole news article , he was saying it's been , you know , not taken lightly , but it was done in the mind of , you know , closing down what they think can't be salvaged and then using that money and those people to make better something that they think .

So it sounds like they're having a reshift around , but then , you know , I hope that's true , but they're still , you know , using words like success and they want to change things around and try and improve some of their other parts and studios . But yeah , it's that initiative which does Perfect , dark and Everwild .

So yeah , they're saying they're just trying to change resources away and funding to help the company grow . But yeah , I don't know , it's obviously there's a lot more to it and it's a tough industry . The game industry . Maybe this is just something that has to happen and maybe , I don't know , people working gaming are they used to it ?

You know , like football managers , you have a bad season , you get binned off . Maybe it's just how it is . You know , they land on their feet . Maybe they know there's enough jobs collectively for them and it's a small world . But yeah it doesn't sound too doom and gloom , basically , when you read that statement .

If anyone does want to check it out , yeah , purexboxcom . If you are , you know , solely an xbox gamer , I'm sure you've already , yeah , gone around the internet and looked at everything .

We've got the most people playing online with the most success . And then the next line was sorry , we're gonna have to let you go and you're like hang on , but I suppose money talks and you know , with ai coming in , is this now the shift we're seeing ? But well , like I say we , we covered a bit of this last week .

We're covering again this week xbox news . I know it's negative news . It's nice to have some good , fun stories , but that's our job to cover it , so we're covering it this week any more . Between now and next week , we'll , um , we'll keep you informed again next week .

So , uh , yeah , let's see , let's hope we get some good news out of uh xbox in in the coming week anyway . So , uh , what bit of news you got there then , scott um .

This is from nintendolifecom , particularly by liam doolands . This article is so one company that backed the switch throughout its life was a port specialist , virtues , working on games like dolt , dark souls and the outer worlds for its hybrid platform .

It might just be the beginning of the switch to his life , but the same team is already sounding confident about the new hardware's future .

Speaking to wcc ftk I don't know how you say that wcc f tech recently , uh , owen o'grady , the technical director for virtuose um black shamrock , which is starlink battle for atlas , believes the switch 2 will surpass the success of the original system .

He believes the growth in the handheld gaming market right now , thanks to the devices like the original Switch and even the Steam Deck they've included , will help the Switch 2 success .

So I guess if it adds to the competition it's like if you get a new corner shop down the road where another one adds opposite it just helps them both and it could feed off from this growing demand for gaming on the go with a combination of indie gems , nintendo exclusives and now 888 blockbuster titles , which makes sense because obviously phones are so powerful .

We're getting to that era now where the computers are so powerful . If you can take some of that power and make it handheld , you can take it on the go , then why wouldn't you so ?

North America Director of Business Development , alex Heiss , adds to this , highlighting how the strong brand and proven success of the original Switch system with a 2 attached to the name .

Alex heiss adds to this , highlighting how the strong brand and proven success of original switch system with a two attached to the name should make the value of the new device immediately clear compared to certain other nintendo systems in the past . So I guess they're referring to the wii and the wii u , but that wasn't quite clear for parents .

He says how , although nobody preferably fully predicted the switch to would become the fastest-selling console launch of all time , virtua still had high expectations . So the Switch 2 is the most Inheritive console Nintendo is launching quite some time , dating back to the transition from the NES to SNES .

So comparing it to that era in Step Up , because those were two phenomenal consoles . So no Nintendo console has ever had a 2 in its name . So there's a weird little fact and people were thinking it was going to be Super Switch at one point as well . But that's how confident they are in this whole stuff .

In fact , they're like , no , we don't need to change much , just stick 2 next to it . So Nintendo have confirmed its new hybrid hardware has sold over 3.5 million units worldwide in the first four days of the system's life , also making it the highest global sales level for any nintendo hardware ever .

As of march 31st 2025 , the original switch has sold more than 152 units worldwide in eight years . So I guess the projection is that it's gonna shoot past it , I'm assuming is what they're thinking .

So other third-party developers showing their support for the switch to include companies like cd project red , which is cyberpunk 2077 , which george has been playing , and capcom street fighter 6 , which I did play , but I played that on the ps4 , um , so yeah , it's another lucky's not on . He'd be upset about that . He'd be falling off his chair . Yeah , it's just .

I mean Switch 2 is going very , very well and we've been speaking previously , obviously , about the hardware in the recent month well , week since it came out and how improved it is and it really is Until .

If you guys haven't got a Switch 2 and you've got a Switch , if you know a friend that's got a Switch 2 , take yours to their house , because when you put them next to each other it is so different you don't realise it's a whole generation apart . It's not a minor upgrade . This isn't like PlayStation and PlayStation sorry , ps5 and PS5 Pro .

This is a huge step up .

And that would have been a bigger screen , bigger joy cons , bigger buttons , um 4k on your tv , um 1080p where possible on the screen , and even little bits like um . Make the joy cons connect better . They've done that . Have the . Have a usb uh c port on the top so you can charge it while you're playing with the screen down on the stand .

They've done that . So all these little bits you know game chat they've done that . So it is all . It's all those upgrades you wanted , but it for me , I find it a big step up because not only I mean a lot of people have been . There's been a lot of people moaning about the screen , saying there's a lot of ghost and bits and pieces .

I haven't noticed it myself . They say it's a poor quality screen it looks good to me , so I'm happy with that . Um , but it's , it is such a step up from like they've . They've done everything . So , like you say , the eShop is really good now I think .

They've done every hardware thing we thought they could do . They've tried to keep the prices down as much as they can for the equipment being used , I think . And then the thing that goes really under the radar . I know we touched on it on a previous show , rgt , but they smashed the logistics out of the park .

No one's been scouted , no one's had to pay 800 quid for a console . You can go anywhere and get them . There's no panic .

You done fantastic on that .

The only negative thing I can say is the battery life that we love . The only thing I can say , because it did affect me . So I had my friends over , I left the Switch out and then , yeah , so I played it for like an hour undocked .

I left it out for a night or two nights on the standby mode and then I went to put it in a dock and it was on low battery and I thought on the old Switch that wouldn't happen . You could leave it for all week and you could play it for five , six hours .

But this it is literally because I played Undocked one night for a few hours and the battery started going down . That's the only negative thing , but I know they'll fix it with a newer model and I haven't got a problem with that . To be honest .

They , they they're on a hide into nothing the way they marketed it and people didn't realize that . And even now I have a wii u and I've . I think it was about three months ago . I had a friend come around I said what's that ?

I said it's a wii u and I'm like , oh , I thought I thought the wii's were white and I was like , no , it's a wii u , it's the next one . Oh , I thought wii was like just an add-on for the wii . Well , I was like , no , no , it's a perfect example of it .

But you got to control with the Wii U controller , like some sort of mini game . Like one of you used the actual thing and one of you used TV and he said , said , I'll play Wii U . It didn't clock and then he passed me this white thing . I said this isn't a Wii . I was like what's this ? And it really confused me . I was like where have I been ?

But obviously I must not have been in a full modern gaming era and I had no idea this system had come out . And I had a Wii and I was like , oh , I thought it was just um , like a controller , for you went no , it's . So . I was so confused when he explained to me it's a whole system . I was like is it ?

I literally did not know yeah I'm so , and I'm someone that plays games so I think imagine . Imagine a mum going into a shop . It's such an easy mistake to make , isn't it ?

So , yeah , I think they've done it well . Um , a lot of people complained about the brand and the boxes . It's a bit boring , but if if you're a casual gamer that switch logo you know why change it . You know that logo and the .

They'll bring something out and you don't mind , because it's got a slight adjustment to it . They'll probably sort the battery issue out and it'll be eight months since you've brought the last one or whatever .

It was just the logo slapped on the front , wasn't it ? That was all it was . You didn't need to . That's how you .

I mean that's a long way to go for that .

Yeah , we'll release on this .

I thought of it , asked him and I said if , if these big devs right , releasing like , say , a call of duty , or they're releasing , um , an assassin's creed or you know , one of these big games we all know right Now , me and you , we're in a privileged position . We've got the three big consoles , haven't we Right ?

So if they then say , right , assassin's creed , whatever new one , assassin's creed 20 , whatever it'll be , it's coming out two months time and it's coming out on xbox , series x and s , ps5 and switch 2 , which one would you buy ?

Scott switch , and I think I would as well , because you know you're getting , yes , it's going to look better on the other two , but only marginally . It's not a massive gap , lot before we won't get important . We aren't going to get a poor man's port . You know cyberpunk looks fantastic .

You know it's a really good 4k game and the thing is , if you buy the switch 2 version , you have got the handheld side of it .

You can carry on playing that game and I think , now that they're bringing their graphics up a bit more towards the other big two I think the other two , or even though they say their their competitors aren't nintendo I think they've got to be a little bit worried because that could entice people to buy the switch to port rather than the xbox or the playstation

port . So we'll see , we'll see as things are released and we'll see . Um , yeah , see what happens , but at the moment they're , uh , they're storming away with sales at least there's some exciting .

Maybe they're working on something and they need the money or resources freed up . Hopefully Phil Spencer's got something up his sleeve . Let's try and be hopeful .

But for you all you listeners out there who are football fans you would have heard this week as of recording , with the sad loss and passing of Diego Jota , of Liverpool and Portugal , which leads us over to this story on Push Square which is titled this is , by the way , this is by Liam Croft and it is titled PlayStation fans want Diego Jota PSN avatar to

return after the footballer's tragic death . Playstation fans are calling on Sony to make Diego Jota PSN avatar available once again so they can commemorate the Liverpool footballer following his and his brother's tragic deaths .

Earlier this week , the avatar was available for free in the Days of Play 2024 campaign , but it was only a limited release and is no longer live on the PS store . A thread on Reddit is asking for PSN avatar to return for those who didn't redeem the digital bundle . If you did , then you can still use it changing your avatar profile settings .

It has been my avatar since I redeemed it and now I've I'll never change it unless they remove it . Rest in peace , diego , said . Red Reddit user Messaline , meanwhile Sneakiest said RIP . Like another comment said , it would be nice if they gave the avatar away again .

Maybe different variants , since he had multiple celebration , such as holding a video game controller after scoring . Liverpool attacker Diego Jota and his brother Penafonial , a forward Andre Silva , both tragically died earlier this week in a car crash .

Memorials for Diego Jota have been up and around Liverpool's ground and field , as well as Molyneux , the home of his former club , wolverhampton Wanderers . The funeral for the two brothers takes place on Saturday morning . Rip , diego Jota and Andre silver . Um . This is very sad news . I also added it in um .

They didn't cover this in the story , but diego was a very , very good fifa player , um , and actually had his own fifa team , um I didn't know that yes , yeah , he was a very , very good fifa player a lot of the um .

And just to put in context that obviously he's a young guy and there's terrible things happening anyway , um , to his brother , but I think he , he got married as well , didn't he in a recent few weeks , which is even more yeah , just makes it even more real , doesn't it ?

Um , and also , I noticed that on the liverpool fc uh thread they had put um jotter was an avid gamer and was ranked world number one in fifa 21's champions leaderboard in february 2021 .

He had his own esports team known as lunar galaxy um , formerly diego jota esports , and regularly he regularly uh steamed streamed on twitch during the lockdown during the covid 19 pandemic . He took part in an invitational series of fifa matches run by the premier league , eventually beating future liverpool teammate trent alexander arnold in the final of the competition .

So I think this would be a lovely touch for him .

Hence , you know , his goal celebrations , where he'd sometimes hold a controller . So he was , he was passionate , passionate about gaming too . So , yeah , sad news and yeah , rip , diego Jor .

So when something like this does happen , people do realise that it's more than just the football and rivalry yeah people are people and people have got families and I think that's a great um great thing to add in the news there , igt , and I think they will do that .

It's nice because I wasn't aware um that he was so heavily involved in the east , so I know he's really popular with the pros um , so I think that would be nice , nice little touch to sort of put a little legacy , uh something in place definitely , yeah , definitely .

Um , these guys are , you know , this makes this so much easier for us with , um , their little bit of financial support , which keeps the lights on here , keeps us ticking along , keeps the shows coming out , keeps us recording um , and you know we do different . We do different tariffs , from three3 all the way up to $10 .

Don't worry if you don't , the show is free , it will always be free .

But little things like this is , you know , this makes a difference for us , what we can do when we do it , and it , just like I say , it keeps the lights on here at UCP Towers and we like to reward them , and one of the ways we reward them is they get their names read out on the show each week .

So I think I will hand over to you to start there , young Scott , with our very first name yeah , so top of the list .

Um , this month they're doing balatro , so if you're a balatro fan , get on our discord , because the challenge this month is your highest score . You can get um and there's uh , it's a very , very good prize for that a very good themed prize for the challenge you're dropping , or yeah , there is a little fishing line out there I am yeah .

So , uh , if you're , if you're interested in having , if you like , black truck , if you're interested in having a little high score challenge , join the discord and have a go , because , uh , yeah , the prize that digitalkery has got this month is absolutely fantastic .

If you know anyone that is in the discord , get them to send you an invite , um , or anyway else , you can contact us on instagram , like me or george , and we can send you invites . You can , um send us a email at questions at unofficialcontrollerpodcastcom . We can send send you an invite that way .

But yeah , if you want to join , either ask us on Instagram , whatever or search us on Discord , come find us , come and join it and come join in the fun .

So , yeah , just download it , don't let the .

I don't even know how he has time to work , but , yeah , check out digital mongery on youtube does pick up videos bits and pieces really really good . Um , yeah , so next up we have the gaming gram . Thank you again .

Yeah , enigmatic gaming and enigmatic productions , um yeah , check them out , because they do some fantastic stuff , from movies to games to anything .

They got a very cool games room coming their way , so once yeah , once she's got that finished , I'll get her to put some pictures up on discord and she can show you through their collection that . But , yes , looking very good . So , uh , nearly there , emma , that won't be long . That'll be up and running .

Next up we have um greg , but for some reason I don't . Do you know where greg is , scott I ?

I'm just trying to think of what play on words there is yeah , because he's got to be somewhere in there .

You were looking in the mirror and you were just shouting out F-A-T , f-a-t . And I was like what is he up to ?

That's true , I don't know how many hours I've done , but I want to try and get to another island . It's a bit of a bit of sweet , because you're building up your resources or your materials , what you're doing and then you go to another island and you're like , do you pick up resources , go back to yours or do you try and rebuild again ?

Um , I'm I need to know what's the best thing . So I'm gonna be doing a lot of watching as well as a lot of playing um gta4 . I might leave for now .

Maricara still get a look in um and I , I think by time we next have a chat next week , I I've got a funny feeling I'm going to take a plunge or another eShop title or two in the sale , maybe an FMV , because I've not played one of those for a while and there's a few of those in my basket and then I'll be playing the other game which I keep blimmin'

forgetting the name of the other survival game as well . Oh yeah , the Long is it , the Long , the long is it the long ? It's got a long accent the long , long , dark . Thank you , rg2 . Your memory is fantastic , a bit like your games collection behind you .

I've got to say I'm really enjoying this backdrop of um yeah , it's , uh , it's getting there , it's game room , it's playstation heavy . I can see ps1 , ps2 , ps3 . I can see it all .

So if you've loved that game , or you haven't played that game or would like to play that game because I mean this game is literally a £1.52 game in cex in the uk it's probably a couple of bucks over there in the states if you'd like to join us , like I say , jump on the discord and look for that section . Rgt in the past .

And uh , we basically nor you know with gta4 we set markers where we played to mission stops , had a little chat carried on .

Um , I think with forza , we'll just jump in and everyone can start uploading pictures of their cars and you know what races they're on and what they're up to , and so , yeah , forza motorsport 2 is our second , I have a question on this rgt , if that's all right , you certainly are you gonna be playing with your controller ?

When I'm playing a formula one game in a modern console , to make it realistic , when I pick to change tires , I demand that my wife comes in and changes my shoes , just so it feels like I've got something new , brilliant does she have to do the noise ? yep well , that normally happens .

That normally happens , that's the bunions just popping off , you know , and she slips it on and off , brilliant .

We're now in league one and these young players that we brought through our ranks are now like in their , you know , 70s and 80s rated and they're worth 40 , 50 million , these players , and it's been so much fun finding these brilliant unknown players to bring through .

Now the precinct is done , um , jump back onto there because I've been absolutely loving what I played at that . So and uh , now I've got a new ps3 , I want to play it more .