Xbox's Subtle New Shift in Strategy, PlayStation Doing More with PC # 385

You are listening to Video Games to the Max. Hello, and welcome to another edition of Video Games. So I'm your host, Sean Garmery with me is usual, mister Morison and joining us today, mister Endi Isbelle. How are you, Sarah. I'm doing great. Thanks you for having me back.

Yes, so it's good to have you back. So we are going to talk about the whatever you want to call that nothing burger big news not so big news from Xbox yesterday after they had their podcasts and what they announced was actually happening, some other teases that they made, and then some things that maybe if you're reading between the lines, might be happening in the future. Also, Sony Maids all right, Sony's head money guy, guy that's

looking at things right now. Hiroki to Toky made some interesting comments as well about they possibly doing some more with PC and how aggressive they could be with that. We're also gonna be We've been playing some games. I've been playing the New Bandishers goes to New Eden. Mark's been playing Persona thirty reload, try out that Pacific Drive demo. We can see Solitaire two, some other things. Ran Newsman playing some games as well, and some other news happening

aside from those things, so we'll get all into that and more. All right, let's get through this pretty quickly. Here, do some housekeeping. If you are watching this live right now, we try to do this every Friday around this time twelve thirty forty five ish Eastern time. You can watch live on Twitch now where you can watch a live on YouTube on and Facebook, our Facebook on Twitter, all that it's there, you can go find it. We're also available later, of course, on demand on the W

two network YouTube as well. And you know, if you want to subscribe and follow you like what you watch, you're here, you can do that on the YouTube channel and you get not only what we do here, but you get all of our other stuff, which is also equally as great. The anime folks talking about all the new anime on a talking cafe, and of course you get relative broadcasting. They cover pretty much everything that has to

do with movies, entertainment, all of that. So anything that has to do with like new TV shows, new movies, they pretty much do review pretty quickly, so go check out what they do too. And you can also listen on podcasts with your ears. You could do that on whatever podcast thing that you want to listen to. The show comes out but later, not instantly like here, but it does show up pretty quickly. How do

you try to edit those? And you can just search video games to the mass relative broadcasting all the time cafe find those shows subscribed, give us a review on whatever podcast thing that you listen to. A song that helps a lot, and yeah, appreciate everybody here, So Randy, thank you for joining us again. You can also check out Randy's are on our Sports Report on YouTube, and you can also check out his new show Bad Brackets,

which I've been on once already talking video game controllers. I did link it on the description of the last episode, so and then you I forgot what's the most recent one is? Super Bowl Moments is the most super Bowl ninety sitcoms coming out on Monday. Hey, there you go. See, I just watched this thing Natural Geographic they to rewind the nineties on Hulu. They had like ten chapters. Again, they talked a lot about ninety sitcoms.

So I'm sure all y'all have your favorites. There's a lot of yelling. There's a lot of yelling in that episode. Good good, It's good to have ones where you have a lot of yelling and funness there. So all right, maybe we're not gonna hopefully not do as much yelling on this show here because we're about to get I don't know, and maybe Mark will it will surprise me here to start yelling. I don't know. So let's get into this Xbox podcast. They did drop it like a podcast. They didn't

even do premiere. I thought they were gonna do some kind of like, Okay, we're gonna show this like it's live or whatever. Maybe it's not. They didn't even do that. They just dropped it, and you're sitting there waiting for like five minutes after three o'clock Eastern, like where is this thing? You know? And it finally does appear. It was twenty two minutes. You can go. It's pretty quick to find. At least they didn't overly stay there welcome and talk forever. I guess let's just go over

what they announced and then we can discuss it. They announced that it's only four games that are coming to other platforms Nintendo and PlayStation. They did not name them. On that show. Phil said that they have deals with the

partners have deals already in place. There was rumors already about a possible Nintendo direct that was going to occur yesterday, and that leads a lot of speculation to they probably just wanted to give Microsoft their platform to talk about this, and then Nintendo's gonna do something next week, and then that's where you're gonna get the announcements of what seems to be High Fi Rush pentiment see If Thieves

and Grounded, because he mentions that there's two community driven live service games, and then he mentions there's two smaller games that were never meant to be these big franchises that sell your box or whatever. That they didn't mean to be these big first party games, and so they want them to have more life on other places. And then he says for sure neither one of them are Indiana Jones and Starfield. But he also later in a vergeon of youew does

not shut the door on anything else not coming to those systems either. He says that they they can't with the way the industry is rightly say that nothing else is ever going to come to their just right now. This is what we're doing. Basically, we're experimenting. What happens with those games will probably tell you what's going to happen later on. And they also announced that there

is new hardware coming once again. They probably are going to put their foot in their mouth with Sarah Vaon saying this is going to be the most technological leap you're ever going to see when the console comes, they said, that's the last generation. This is not the most I mean they can I don't know how this is the most powerful system or whatever that's out there, but it's really not. So they've already said this once, so I guess why

not do it again. Try to get your shareholders to get all excited about your nextbox and your people that are that are Xbox only people as well. They did mention that you you don't have to worry about your digital library and all of that stuff that's going to continue happening. They kind of shut the door on the whole there's going to be any more sports coming besides the ones that are already there, because it's very hard on console licenses and all that

stuff. They didn't talk about physical, but I mean we can get into that. And then also that they're gonna give some kind of update on hardware this fall, so some kind of mid gend thing. Maybe the leaked one that we saw was like a trash can receptacle or some other one. I guess we'll see when that happens. And they're gonna do the Summer showcase again in June, so I guess Mark, I'll come to you here. Do you feel any different than you did the last week after we did the episode

about what they said or didn't say on that podcast. It's pretty funny. I think three of those games make sense. Pentiment Hi Fi Russian Thieves Grounded is kind of a weird one because who cares like they don't have like it's not popular like the A Thieves and it hasn't been popular for years, so that's odd. And then trash Like, Well, the one thing that is going to make the new Xbox really be the big powerhouses Connect three point zero

and I finally bring that back and do it right this time right. The one thing I forgot to mention is they did mention day one game Pass will continue all of their games releasing game Pass, even the activision of Lizzard ones and also Developed four is coming on March twenty eight to game Pass, and

they did announce that there's thirty four million subscribers. Now, of course it looks like about nine million of those are the people that they basically forced over from having xbus Live Gold into the game Pass Core, which you know there is a little bit different from what PS plus does. PS plus did the same thing, they forced everybody over, but you only get the monthly games

and then online. At least, game Pass gives you more games than the ones that you get from just PS plus and you're paying the same price to ten dollars and it only costs a dollar top grade to regular game Pass, where it's a PS plus top grade to extra costs like five more dollars they were from four to five. But of course you are getting a lot more games there, so it is what it is. We'll have to see what happens if Sarah Bond has to wind up coming out and saying that the people

that are on that first tier game pest don't get the Dobo four. But we'll see what happens there. But Randy, any thought on like what was announced? Do you if you're an Xbox only owner, do you feel better about this or are they just delaying the interval or what do you think? Well, if I'm an Xbox only owner. Do I feel better than I

did six months ago? Or after the internet overreacting after the exploded. This is the whole reason, if the whole reason, they're having this right, because yeah, this is at the beginning, they weren't planning to do this,

and then they look very uncomfortable at times talking about this. Also, yeah, they wanted it, well, they said they wanted They were planning on doing this, and they were working on it since December or whatever, and then they had to change the format a little bit because the Internet exploded over nothing. And that's what I laughed so much about all of this. You and I talked about it before I was able to watch it, and then I was able to watch it last night and looked at some different reactions

and stuff, and everyone's like, well, that was nothing. Well what did you expect? It was never supposed to be anything. It was just there, like late winter, early spring update on stuff. Now that the activision Blizzard stuff is getting closer to being completely wrapped up and everything is starting to fall into place, and that's all they were going to do, and

then the Internet exploded. They're like, oh my god, everything on Xbox is going to PlayStation and we're going to lose our libraries and they're like no. It was like, so now everyone's upset because nothing happened. Well, nothing was ever going to happen, but the Internet just threw all these rumors out. So Xbox of course has to respond and go, hey, just

chill, everything's fine. We're testing the waters with some stuff. Sony's testing the waters as we'll talk about later with with more games going to PC and trying to different things. And yes, exclusivity is changing. It is the way of the world, unless you're Nintendo because they continue to live in their

own world. But I think companies are understanding. You put it on your system first, and then after a year or a little bit later, when it's all right, hey a sequel is getting ready to come out, you put the old one on other consoles. You test the waters there, you try to get a bigger fan base and go, hey, you like that. The second one will be on Xbox Day won on game Pass or like

we've said since game Pass originated, Hey you could play. You could spend seventy bucks on Call of Duty, or you can come to game Pass and play for free. You just on your game pass subscription and it's all going to work out. So that's what I loved about all of this. Everyone freaked out for a week and a half over rumors that were absolutely absurd. Xbox came out and said, those rumors are false. Here's what's really happening, and everyone's like, well, where's the big news. Why'd you do

this podcast? There was no big reveals, there was no anything crazy. No, it was just calm down, everything will be just fine. It's the internet makes me laugh sometimes I do see the whole There is still mixed messaging, right, there's still not concrete. Nobody came out and said,

hey, this is just a force. I mean, he did try to say that on the podcast, but then he kind of he'll does this a lot where he'll say one thing and then he'll go and talk on a something he thinks that a lot of people are not going to see because it's not on video or not on some kind of digital stream, and then he'll kind

of say something else. And that's kind of been the issue sometimes with Phil when he's it's great to hear him say these things, right, It's great to hear somebody talk because this visit is so closed off so much, but sometimes he talks like too much, right, And why are you going to say on the podcast? No, I don't want to mislead people and make them think that other things are coming. But then you go on the verges in and you say, oh, but I can't really say that there's never

going to be nothing else coming either. But that's those are two comments that do not contradict each other. Their plan right now are these four games. That's their plan. Their plan right now does not involve Starfield, it does not involve Indiana Jones. That statement is his own thing. Now on the verge, he's saying, but I can't say forever that also can be true in five years, could their game plan be different? One? Yes, So it's not he's not going, well, it's only these four. Absolutely,

these four. He never said that they're playing right now. I'm saying, and I agree with you, Randy, I'm saying, I think for the Xbox owner, that's what they want to hear, right, The Xbox owner that doesn't want to have to go anywhere, doesn't want to have to think about anything. They want all their stuff to always be on this thing. And that's what they got mad about right. They don't want the toys going over to somewhere else. You didn't get that because let's I think there's

some I don't think the reports were totally wrong. I think what they did was Phil was around when the Xbox One came out, and they know what happened with the Xbox One. We're trying to go too far in the future and nobody wants that and they're not ready for it yet. And everybody goes, oh, you know what, I'm selling my Xbox right now, I don't want this. If you slowly start putting games and every year you put maybe one, everybody starts getting used to it and it starts not being that

big a deal. So maybe Starfield, Anymania Jones were being considered at one point and somebody goes, ah, wait a minute, Phil. Phil's like, wait, wait, let's not jump the gun and put everything over there first. Let's do this, see what happens, and then we'll see who's right. Because I do think that there's people in Microsoft. This whole thing about there being a battle between Xbox Ebel, Microsoft people, I think that really is happening. I think there's people saying, we want this right now.

We want the money right now, and they're going, wait a minute, hold on, we're almost there. Let's okay, you can have it. We're not going to put everything over there yet, because it is going to disrespect the people that buy the box, right, It is going to disrespect people that are longtime console owners, as he says, right, So I don't think it does unless it's day one, does disrespect anybody, right, But this is the point, right, even if you do Aniana Jones

like three months later, that's still kind of shitty. Like maybe a year later, all right, we can kind of deal with it. But I think if you're talking about people, aren't I think people are not being so mad about the Sony thing right now because nobody's definitively said we're gonna put this thing day and date. Right. It's him saying, oh, we want to be more aggressive about PC. But he's never saying, oh, well, we're going to go from a year to this timeline. There's no timeline.

He's just saying, at some point, we're probably going to do more with PC if you go and tell everybody, oh, Aianna Jones just came out, but two months, three months later, it's going to show up on PlayStation to get pissed. That's how it used to be, right, Exclusivity deals used to only be three months, didn't Tom Raider like when a year? But still there's been other ones. There were a few months you

get it here or whatever, or how call of duty. Back in the day, you would have maps that would show up on PlayStation two months before Xbox. It's not a big deal. And yes, I'm coming as somebody who's more of a PlayStation guy, and PlayStation is very not They're not Nintendo, but they're very tight knit about what they release and they're barely sending stuff out to the PC years later. But nobody should be upset or feel like, oh I I spent money on this box and now I don't need this

box. You have game Pass on your Xbox. Game Pass is never going to come to PlayStation, so that right, there is a reason to get your box or get it on your computer whatever. That's their mo is to try to get everybody on game pass. Using these four games as a test is a perfect try of all. Right, So, like Mark said, Grounded was not very popular on the Xbox, Well, maybe the Switch community is going to really buy into it. And they're really going to get into

it. Let's give that a shot. Maybe PlayStation gets into it, who knows. Obviously it did not work out. I tried it. It was not for me. Whatever, But so why not just it's far cheaper. Just throw it out there on another console, give it another try and see how things go. See a thieves as continue to grow as more content comes out. Hey, we'll give you the test stuff here on PlayStation, but if you want the new content, then you have to come to Xbox.

Right, this stuff just revolves. Anybody's out there going, oh my god, I can't believe so and so game might end up on a different console. I'm screwed. Nobody bought an Xbox expecting Indiana Jones to be this great system some seller. So if three they are looking at it from that perspective,

like somebody that they're looking at bringing other people in. Indiana Jones does have some cashing of people that are not gamers, right, yeah, I guess, but they're not Those people that are not gaming don't care what they're playing it at. Those people are also like forty and over, So well,

yeah, that's true. That's that's the problem with Ana Jones like, you know, let's say Blade is not exclusive, which it seems like it's not from all because I think if it was a suon they would have said something by now that Blade has a stotter bigger chance because Marvel was more of in the sitegeist right now than uh than say, uh, Indiana Jones. But you have a point, Randy. I don't have a problem with any of this stuff personally because I own all the systems, but I get it

from the perspective of the people that all I own is an Xbox. I don't want to go buy FC. I don't want to deal with the stuff that happens with the pat You don't have to, you know. So here's the way for those that only own an Xbox. If those games go to other systems, it doesn't mean they're not coming to Xbox. You still get

your games. They're not now. It's different if my Xbox bought Activision and when we're going to come out with an exclusive PlayStation Call of Duty game that will not come to our own system, then you can have a problem with it. But if you only own an Xbox, who cares whether games go So what about the So I'm looking at the perspective of right, if I own an Xbox right now, it doesn't mean But when I'm looking at anybody that wants to come into the ecosystem, the shorter you make the window,

the more ability somebody has to wait. And therefore, why do I need to buy an Xbox If all of the games are going to eventually come to PlayStation in two three months or whatever, that's it. That is the selling place. The game Pass by itself can't sell. I don't think game Pass myself can sell the call. That's just me enough. And now they're trying to get the money for the games. Their games have not been at the

same level as Nintendo and PlayStation, and they understand that. That's why they went out and bought all these different companies, and then they try to make them exclusive and then they went, oh wait, it's not making our user base go up, so now let's try to make money on of these games. So that's what I also don't understand from gamers. All we talk about every time I come on the show is layoffs. We're going to talk about more layoffs on this show. They talked about it at the Dice Awards.

Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs, so now you want to hinder what a company can make on their game, which maintains more layoffs allow these companies to make as much money as possible. And I think that's what Phil Spencer and Microsoft are trying to do. All right, we've had them on Xbox. Let's try to continue their growth and their revenue sharing and their revenue streaming so they can make another game and they don't have to layoff a third of their company

after their game comes out. None of this is an issue to game I don't understand, Like, if you're so worried about Xbox dying because of this, Phil Spencer said it. They're not going to make a decision going I'm trying to kill my creation. This is not VisiC Man bringing the nWo into the WWE or Vinsic Man doing other stuff behind the scenes. Is none of

this. They're trying to do the best for their system. And the other thing I just want to bring up, and I want to get a Mark's point on this too, because he and I collect games, So he and I are a different aspect or a different group than a lot of people, those people that are worried that their digital library is going to disappear and everyone was freaking out about this. Anybody care about their Wei library? All those old Nintendo games they bought on their Wei shop? Has anybody gone back and

played any of those? Digital is super simple to download and play and it's easy access, and then we forget all about it. So if for whatever reason it ever did die, nobody's gonna go back and play their Xbox three sixty ten years from now. Chill people. I everone freaks out about stuff, You're never gonna play them again. It's okay, Mark you are you? Are you by? I see you buy retro games all the time. You're on here talking about the retro game you just bought. Maybe you don't

necessarily open the box every time and play each one of those games. But what do you think about Let's they didn't talk about physical games at all here, so they're saying, basically, maybe we shouldn't expect that after Xbox series, your physical games will continue to work going forward, but your digital library

will. Does that concern you at all? That? Uh? Yeah, somewhat, because they I don't know if it's x I don't know if Xbox is really done at but like Steam d list stuff or even delete stuff from libraries occasionally, right, so that that's a worry. I'd much rather have a physical copy of the game, like spec Ops the Line, for example, that just got delisted a few weeks ago or a month ago or whatever, that it can always play then hoping that you know, the store funnel

be up or the download service will be up. I mean, yeah, you have a point, and that is always why physical gaming is is good in that respect that even if they do something to make it to where you can't update the game anymore or you can't play it while you're online, you could always put your system in offline mode and be able to continue to use it that way. But I think it is evident that Xbox is going fully

digital. They already do a lot of the first first party titles. The disc that's in the box is basically a it's there for you to install the actual whole thing on the system, and therefore it's really not doing anything. But they're really the first ones, right, they they're already we've we've talked about that. There a lot of stores are removing you know, there's European stores that are removing them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, But I mean

this is more of a push towards like everything. I mean, Nintendo's seems to be like the one that because they have the cartridge and all of that, and they make the deals with Walmart where you can buy the games ten bucks cheaper there and all that stuff, they seem to be kind of okay with continuing. The things is Nintendo is continue trying to continue the status quo as long as possible. Right they are. They are cool with exclusives.

They do not want to put anything on anybody else's box. They are living in their own world, and they are benefiting from living in their own world because they're selling like hotcakes. And they're fine. Right, we'll see what happens with the switch to But they're also not spending as much on games as Xbox and Sony are, right, and like you said, sustainability, this

is what this whole thing felt like to me. We are trying to continue to have Xbox exist for another twenty years or whatever, and this is the way. Tony may not do it right now, but they will get it eventually, and we're trying to open that door. We're hoping that by doing this it shows the other companies that you can't also do this and it doesn't hurt you and ye, why like that's the big question, Like they want it to happen, I guess, or you know, they want to be

around for twenty years. But they of the four consoles they've made, only one of them has been a success. Right stop or just admit defeat and to take come you know, the third party developer and publisher that people want. But they he did at meet defeat. They're not trying to fight with Sony and Nintendo on that same uh no, because this is him, right, this is him literally saying like we want Xbox feed rund for twenty years.

You just said twenty years or whatever. So it's like, okay, they say fuck it and put Halo on PlayStation and shut it all down. The reason why they can't do that is because we just saw what happened, right the two weeks of people going nuts and the like. These people didn't evangelize the console en us they lost. Oh well, I don't know.

I just so, I mean, killing your entire fan base to go as a third party publisher doesn't If Microsoft just said, okay, we're shopping the Xbox for putting Game Pass on PS five and switch like, all right, fine, what if Okay, but here's the thing. What if Sony and Nintendo say we don't care whether you don't make Constant anymore, we don't want game pass on our at all. They can still become a third party developer, publisher and sell their games to people who actually want them fair enough,

fair enough. I mean, that's that's an interesting strategy. I just don't I can I understand what they're trying to do. They're trying to they have the money to continue to do this. Number one, they can. They can continue to make consoles, uh, sell them at a loss or whatever the heck, keep the that fan base happy, make it destill the entry point while they figure out everything else, right, Because it's not like Internet

is gonna get any better for people in five years or three years. Even it seems like the next console generation is coming really quick in twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven. The Internet's not going to be better for people by then. So the cloud is still not going to be the thing that they want it to be. So for next gen, you have to have a console. I don't know about five or ten years from now. If it's it's gonna be any better at that point or not. They may never get

to realize that whole cloud future. We may never get to that point. Will everybody just have one PC that you put games in and everybody just becomes a publisher except for Nintendo maybe, Who knows, but I guess let's let's try to put the Sony thing in here as well, so we kind of have a little bit more conversation on that. Sony did wonderful sales wise. I'm not going to go through all the numbers. You guys can read that if that's your thing. I don't think we need to spend twenty minutes on

that they sold well, The games sold well. They have one hundred and twenty three million active users. PS plus is apparently dropping very much like the game pass. Subs are dropping just because you know, I think people are realizing that just subs in general was just it's getting ridiculous for everything. Also, again, the whole PS plus premium thing is is such a ripoff still. But that being said, they had to lower the forecast of their PS

five sobs from twenty five million to twenty one to be fair. All the forecasters were saying that apparently twenty five million was always way too much for them to broadcast, so they're kind of having to come back to reality a little bit. Hell Divers, too, is doing amazing. It has two hundred something thousands concurrence on Steam. My whole timeline is sequel enjoying Hell Divers.

It's forty bucks and they did a great job with that. But it's also showing I think that the Heroki Tokey is talking about, our games are costing too much to make. We need to start being more mindful about how much we're spending and development when we make these games, and we need to figure out a way to continue to sell more of our games, more of our console. But our console selves may start declining because we're in the latter half

of the generation. So therefore we need to get more out of our games, and we may be going to more aggressive towards p teacher. He doesn't give a timeline. He doesn't say I'm undoing what Herman Holst and Jim Ryan said. He just says that that's what I think we need to do. I've been sitting here with all of our teams. We have great teams. We love our teams. They are very motivated all that stuff, But then

he keeps talking about the money. He's a money man at the end of the day, Like he's that's what he's focused on again, sustainability right of the of the kind of of gaming moving forward, Mark, we know what your mind said. Oh it's a one, two, three years later. Whatever. What if the PC games coming to PC gets the the it gets smaller and smaller. What if we're talking about not just the live service games, but some of the single player games come day and date or two or

three months later or whatever. Does PlayStation fans need to start going crazy like Xbox fans did all those years ago when when they first announced that. No, because it'show me like a two thousand dollars computer to run any PS four PS five game? All right? Last, and also like, uh, PC gamers aren't the same as console gamers, And that's fine. Yeah, And I think, uh, mister Toky is realizing that right that PC gamers are not the same as console game Uh Randy, you're the PlayStation guy.

What do you Let's say that they did announce that they're going day and date with all of these games. Do we all do? We all need everybody needs to start selling their PS fives tomorrow, and and uh, you know because Marks one hundred percent right, if I sold my PS five right now, I could buy one component for the computer that I would need to be able to run these games and a good thing. And that's fine, Like, I'm not going to go against what I was just saying about Xbox guys.

As a PlayStation guy, put the games out there, right, I'm with Mark. PC is a different area than these consoles. The day and date and Microsoft, Yeah, that's it would feel a bit weird, but maybe that's where the future goes. But as far as PC stuff goes, get it out there. I do like that they do it in a more of a staggered way because then you possibly get somebody that that does have a

good PC and they play the game on your PlayStation. And then six months later, a year later, after all of the updates come out or whatever, or people you want to play this game again. Then all right, now the PC versions out there. Now we have all these accessibility options, you can mess around with all your your your PC optimization stuff, and then all the DLCs in there and you can do all this stuff, and then they buy it again. So I mean, how I see that all the

time with with like five fataty seven. It is like, all right, I can't wait for the PC port to come out, so they play it on the PlayStation and then they buy it again on the PC. And they do that with all of these games. So I think that is the more optimized way. I mean, you can shorten that time for sure. But that's the other thing where once again I've brought it up many times. We talk about layoffs, and we talk about issues in the industry. Everything got

too ballooned. Games take five to six to seven to eight to nine to ten years now to make, and that's if everything goes well. Things go wrong and then everything gets backed up. Naughty Dog, everyone's going, when's their next game going to come out? What was supposed to be the online game, and that's not happening now. So now who knows when the next Naughty Dog game comes out? You gotta love it, Thanks Sean for taking

us over the heat off of it. But now companies are trying to figure out a way to make the money that they're trying to make to keep the people still employed. I forget the guy's name. I've watched the end of the Dice Awards. But one of the people for Balders Skate three when they won Game of the Year. I thought he said it beautifully, like everyone

out there that's doing all these projections, your projections are wrong. You over project things, and then we can't reach your projections, and then you cut people. And he hates to see it, and I thought his speech was fantastic. And that's the issue is they're projecting, like as you said, PlayStation way over projected how many systems they were going to sell, and now they're cutting back. And luckily right now they're trying to find different avenues to

make up that money they projected. Instead of going, well, we're cutting forty percent of Tony, that's what we need to do. Let them figure out other ways to make money. Cut down on on production cost. We don't need these over the top, crazy triple A games that take five, six, seven years to make. Like, go out and and give the money to these guys that take the smaller games that take two or three years that it's not as as costly. Go out and support those games. Show

these companies we're cool with that. Like once every so often, you can give us the last of us Part two, but right, I want it right. I want you to come on to your part, Randy. I think you make a good point in that I think all of us that love gaming maybe we don't care, right, but I do. I do see the point of having the big movie game, the big Santamna game. It does draw people in, right, But if you want those games to continue,

they need to make money somewhere. I just want to I just want to come on here one time where we don't have to talk about like now. I agree, I wish we didn't, but apparently and brace or CEO has to go talk shit also, so you know that we we have to talk about it because this guy can't just shut up and not say anything. It doesn't I don't know how that even helps your shareholders to tell them that the people are basically who cares, They're just numbers. We got to get

through it so we can make the business better. Like yo, that you don't you are apparently are are not even human. You have no care about any of these people that you just laid off. You're just you are the one that messed up. Actually you should be the one resigning because you have a hand and why did this damn deal with the savadis didn't work? So why didn't you cut your your pay and and and you know, resign yourself instead of, oh, yeah, we are cutting a bunch of people and

who cares? We have to do it because it makes our business better, yo, Like, man, at least have some grace when you when you say something like at least Phil tried to have grace yesterday and he said it. It still sounds terrible and obviously doesn't help the Sarah bond, but it's basically like ro row Xbox right after that, so that made it worse. But he tried to be graceful about whatever whatever. The the embrace the CEO

just did was actually horrible, you know. So going beyond that, let's avoid more of these things by allowing and understanding that conto gaming is changing and that it's okay if something goes to PC, it's okay. If Xbox has seen the window and they're not gonna grow anymore and they got to figure out some other way to grow. And Robert is always gonna be on the conquerors

train. I don't know about that. Uh, if they haven't done Banjo Gazoui yet I'm pretty sure we're still not gonna get conquered at this point. We might get blinks to time sweeper, like Mark always says, before we get conquered. So you know that's the thing, is h I think we

just need to adapt as gamers. We need to understand that even though I'm not going to have the money for the PC, if we allow these people to have the game enjoy it. Look at what hell Divers two is doing right now, Like, that's just making hell Divers two more popular, that's

just making people talk about your game. If you're Sony right, Like it's a franchise that was hardly known, you released it day and day and on PC people are eating it up, getting a squad together, paying forty bucks each time on Steam to play it or or on PS five whatever, and they're enjoying the game. And that's at the end of the day. Isn't

that what you want? Like you know, I get it if it ends up like hurting the dev time and and whatever, and like you know, I've heard scor Enix talk about this and other folks are saying that when we have to do the game for PS five and then try to make it the best on PS five A lot of times, that's why you get those bad PC ports or whatever, because they're focusing more on the one system than they are on the PC. Right. Uh, maybe that does show why you

don't need to do everything day and date. But some things it isn't bad. Right. But also I guess something to discuss is they talked about no major franchises coming out this year until probably like after March twenty twenty five, So like no God of War, no Horizon, no One Charged, and no nothing like that. Jeff Grubb does mention they mean we're gonna get an Astro game. Please don't make it in VR only. Please let other people

are not in VR enjoy this game. We loved Astor's playroom. I think everybody that loved that game wants to see a bigger version of what that is without VR and some other ones. You know, we know the Concord games coming and a few other things. Mark, is it a big deal that we're not having another Spider Man, another Horizon and all that. No, because as a Sony guys said, you know five is already is already over with, so kine of the times. No, it's it's fine, like

you don't need every year, doesn't need to be some blockbuster thing. It'd be nice, but I mean Sony is gonna have fanal Fantys seven rebirth. That's all they need. That's that's the big game, right and it's also coming in weeks. Yeah, but you know it's the only time so that it will be on or because the seam or the epic version will be at least a year probably probably. Yeah, So they're good. And it's not like Marcousoft is gonna blow out of the water this year either, so no,

probably not. And Nintendo this is like it's gonna be a quiet year for them too, So perfect for Sony because Nintendo's going to announce there what's two and then that's it feels like that's gonna be it because like after March there's like nothing and they're not rushing to go do that. Nintendo director is

supposed to be a partner director. It's not even like Nintendo's going to announce five other big amazing games that are coming like they're it seems like they're really trying to be quiet so that whenever they announced the switch to they can just give you all the games that are going to be on that thing and not have people waiting for the for what's still coming to the switch one. Randy,

you're the sony guy. I mean, does it bother you that we're not going to have some big blockbuster to look forward to aside from Rebirth? I mean, of course you want what you like games Like I'm still surprised a little bit that Ghost of Shushima two has not even been announced. Curious where that is at. But do I need them know, Coach, Like we talked about it last year, I don't have time to play a lot of games. I still have games from last year. I'm trying to work

myself through. So it's fine. I'm with Mark. Not every year it has to be an over the top year. Last year was insane with the top level of quality of games that we've got all across all of the consoles. So if we have a slower year, which by the way, anyone's like, oh it's a slow year, look at what these first three months have for us, just because we don't know what's coming out after April. Everyone is is no longer doing the Hey this is coming out in nine months.

They're doing a lot more of the Hey in two months this comes out, get excited now, and they're doing the Nintendo approach. Like you say Nintendo has a quiet fall, it's because we haven't hit the Summer Direct yet, so we don't know what they're doing. Once we hit the Summer Direct,

then we'll know what Nintendo's going to do in the fall. So just because right now, like the big titles haven't been announced and it doesn't look like Sony's going to have their own first party stuff, We're still going to have stuff to play in the fall. We're going to have stuff play in

the summer. And even if they're really it's if I'm wrong and we have nothing to play in those There's eight games that have come out in the last two months already of this year that have already hit my backlog that I would love to go back and act should play at some point. So I'm not a quieter year. I mean and Rebird somebody are gonna take like a whole month from so like you know that that game is gonna be huge. Uh, you know, we we've talked about some of the huge games that everybody

come out here on the past few weeks. Uh, there's Dragon's Dagma's two is gonna be huge. There's other games that are gonna be taking up your time, uh in those months, So I think, you know, there, it's not it's not the deluge of games that was last year, but

that's probably better. And also I think we got to think about, like a lot of those games that came out last year were delayed from years before because of COVID, Right, so at some point we're gonna hit that time where there's not this cavalcade games and we're gonna have a bigger waiting time.

And that's okay too. You know, people are starting to kind of have this like you have the Spring is the new Fall, where you have a lot of games released during that time period, then you kind of have, Okay, the summer, we're expecting a lot of people go outside and do things, and then we're gonna go back and rape up for the fall again. Like it's that kind of that's kind of normal. And I think I think for Sony got a little messed up with the Last of Us multiplayer game

getting canceled too. I think that was supposed to be their big fall game, and and credit to Sony, they didn't take another company and go, now you have to crunch because we need a game in October November. So I mean, to be fair, they also could have like waited to release that Last of Plus Part two remaster like later. They didn't have to do it in January. I mean, it's not like season two of The Last of Us is coming out tomorrow or whatever. Like that's on them as well.

They could have waited, you know, but that that's they They know what they have. They know that, like they have other franchises out there. I think Nintendo also has that thing. They just had all their big games release, Like what else is there? I think at this point, Metro Prime four is going to be the big launch game aside maybe a three

D Mario that's been cooking there. But like Metro Prime four has been so we do haven't heard a word of it for so long that at this point, do we really needed to be like the last big Hurrah to switch one? Not really, you know, we just had that with Zelda and Mario Wonder and all that stuff. So Nintendo is good. They're fine, you know, they're they're doing their thing. Yeah, So I think that's the takeaway. Ah, yes, Robert, it'd be cool if we did get

a new Mario Galaxy. Still don't know why we don't have Mario Galaxy two. I'll switch. That's still just is weird to me that that that game did not come. But that being said, let's move to uh talking about we were talking about our games that we're playing. Let's talk about those games here, Mark, you've been playing a Persona three reload finally, or yeah, I've been. I think I'm in August. Okay, you're you're pretty

far. Yeah, well yeah, I just meet like the fourth balls maybe fourth or fifth Yeah, uh yeah, the teams, it's somewhat antiquated, but it's still fun. Like the social interaction stuff is like different from Persona five, and you can see like, oh right, this kind of sucks, but I can see why you kept improving it. I mean, but like, why what don't you what do you feel like it's missing from Persona

five that it's like coming out afterwards. I think that a lot of the characters in Persona three kind of lame, like the the Gourmet King, it's like fat food obsessed dude, and like you don't like in Persona of five, like you pretty much immediately have a group of friends and you know you're hanging out with them constantly. This game doesn't have that at all. It's it's kind of funny, like the group barely seems to like each other,

which is funny. Like the gameplay is like the battlesystem is so good, but yeah, like the first boss having a timer on it, which you you wiped on a two times. I did it because I kind of knew it was going on, or I knew it was going to be annoying, sort of went at it, or like the Tartarists being all the same. All right, I get it, but having an environment the same environment for

fifteen levels is kind of boring. Also, like there's not a ton of places to build different stats or like ways to build different stats, so I'm kind of having to follow like one hundred percent guide, even though I've kind of screwed it up occasion, like occasionally just because I don't want to miss anything. Yeah, that's kind of what I've been doing too. I've been

just using a guide. And the guide I'm using is funny because it's like, oh, go to Tartarus and grind it out to get forty thousand yen. It's like I ran. I ran to that place twice, and I barely got twenty thousand. Like, well, it's like you have to sort of manage the what you get into Tartaris, and then when you sell all the items, you have to like get the equivalent of whatever it tells you.

And I barely did it the first time. Like when I went through, I got to the point where I had no health items or anything left, and then I was able to get to the level twenty two or whatever that it gets you to and then oh it ends. Okay. So then when I sold everything, I barely had the forty thousand yen that it tells you to have, and I'm like, okay, I guess I made it

through that one. And then it tells the next one is like, oh, you got to get to floor ninety something and have one hundred thousand, Yeah, one hundred thousand yen, And I'm like, we'll probably probably in the same power. Yeah exactly, we're going the same guy. Yeah. So, I mean, there's really not that many out there, and they're

also kind of like it's so we it. It is interesting because they added that new feature for this one where if you press I mean, I'm playing on game Pass, so like if you press the the select button or whatever,

you can see what people did during that day. They kind of give you a hint of like, I mean they had that five also, but yeah, but that wasn't in the original Persona Or do you feel like it's missing something for not having the female protagonist or no, I think all these people, you know, it was maybe like deal c late down the road, but they did work a lot of that game for to happen. I feel like it's definitely gonna be It's just like Persona four Golden. They're waiting

to resell you this game again. They're they're gonna put it in like like that battle. We have a Persona five World, should it count as a new game for Game of the Year or whatever. We're gonna be probably doing this again for Persona three whatever they call it. And to your point, Robert, I also felt the same thing with Power World. I'm not huge

in survival games. I did like it for a while, but then it did get to the point where I was like, Okay, this is just kind of like we're playing with the Pokemon, but we're doing survival stuff, and it'd be cool if maybe Pokemons try something like that, but it kind of I got over it after a while. And it is interesting that while people are waiting for new content, they have dropped the like two thirds of

their their players right now. So also, I think hell Divers coming out and really being in the Zecast as well as kind of health with that too. But yeah, anything else you want to say about Persona, I still like it. I don't. I guess there's a good character. I just unlocked her pretty much, so I'm looking forward to it. But yeah, following this guy is just kind of annoying in spots. I agree with you there anything else you've been I've had a few demos team demos. I tried

that Pacific Drive demo, which was weird. I didn't like my Pace four controller and the game does kind of a bad job of towny like what it has. It has like objectives, but it doesn't tell you like how to do them correctly. Maybe that was just a demo problem, right, And I don't think you'll like it because it is a rival game. Yeah, Like that's my issue with it is. I watched that they released like a

ten minute gameplay trailer with the devs talking about it. And it felt like they were in menus a ton way more than playing the game, because it's a lot of fixing your car after you go out there, and if oh yeah, you get stuck out there, then you'll lose your parts and whatever that you did, and it's like, man, yeah, like you said, it really does feel like it's more of a survival game with rogue black

stuff than it is about the things. I mean, that's what I kind of expected, Like it seemed like, you know, but I think people are gonna it's gonna be like a wee happy few situation where people are expecting one thing and it's not quite that and unhappiness will follow. This has kind of been a big uh things. Sony's been promoting a lot on the state of plays. Randy, do you have any interest in specific drive at all?

I don't think I remember ever seeing it, so not sure. Yeah, that's the station Wagon game, station Wagon and sci Fi areas or you know, yeah Apocalypse that one. No, not really no, yeah I remember now just from this one image that box up anything else. I also tried the Star Trucker game or the demo that was cool. Yeah, uh yeah, like yeah, you're driving you know, a truck in space and it looks like a damn truck, which is hilarious. There's just like big

rockets attached to it. But good music, uh, you know, good atmosphere. It's a lot more involved than you would think, because like you don't just have to worry about fuel. You have like system you have to worry about like, oh, you have a power system and it controls a bunch of stuff and you can you know, it's like almost like the Jurassic Park fuse box or you know, they have to reach out the system with that thing. But yeah, I'll play that when it comes out. Fully,

it was interesting. Well, and I know you've been having fun reading Sey Solitaire too, because I know reading Sea Solitaire was one of your Yeah, I got the full I got the full version for beta testing, so yeah, that's a lot of fun. Anything different from the first game that no, okay, different a different story and it's slightly different like new abilities kind of, but it's pretty much what I would expect, but same, you know, good good story, good solitaire action, that's what you want.

I've been I got Adventures Goes to a New Meat in for review. My first like actual proper review for this year, it's been by Focus Entertainment and Don't Nod, so it's those folks, you know, life is strange all that. It definitely has a story. It definitely has a story it

wants to tell. It's set in like the sixteen eighties, so like you know, basically fifty years before or after America colonized over here, and basically it's a story of there's ghosts and you got to figure out why they're there, and you're the banish or you're the one that this this town's been beset by this thing and you're trying to figure out why this happened, and then you go and try to deal with the ghosts that are there, and there's

a lot there's a lot of story decisions you got to make, as in usual Don't Nod games, so there's a lot of dialogue. The the graphics are really great in this game for being a double A title. It's just the combat doesn't seem like it's you know, the combat feels like it's just kind of there. I don't know, if maybe I play it on something that's not normal difficulty, it gets harder, but it definitely feels like the skulls or whatever that you're fighting or kind of just there to give you combat.

But I like exploring that old setting, the old time setting. The all the characters that you meet are kind of interesting to talk to, and and that story around it is very interesting. So I'm gonna keep tracking along. I'm probably like four hours in and see how it goes. But it kind of reminds me a little bit of a Plaguetail, just you know,

you have more you're actually controlling the characters than I think too. And also you have the like interesting dynamics of the this is a not only a woman, but a black woman in those times, and you do get some of those interactions of hey, you're not supposed to be here, you're the servant. What are you doing? Like you know, and they actually have a warning for that as well at the beginning of the game that like, hey, be aware they're going to talk about subjects that for that time were not

great. But I do like that they they do go there. They give you that sense of that time, that feeling of the time of Okay, they did have to deal with this kind of thing, but they're actually here to help. So you got to deal with the whole. I'm actually trying to help you here. Why are you you know, talking to me this week? But yeah, it's out for Xbox PS five PC, so if anybody wants to try it, I think it's actually pretty good. It is full price, so you know, be aware of that. Robert mentions that

Skull and Bones is not a good game. Scott is also watching, he's in playing, he's actually reviewing the game. So I feel bad for him what he has to has to deal with playing this game because everybody I see online, Uh, that game came out today, it had the open bay of last week. The words I see online or this game is boring and that's not good. When when we just talked about last week, how eg mot came out and defended why that game is seventy dollars because it's a quadruple

a game. But then the things that you see on this game for you, remember says it's certainly an experience, but it ain't a seventy dollars experience. Remember remember five years ago when they announced they were going to make a TV show based on it. They did, Yeah twenty nineteen, a female driven TV show like Zones. Yeah, Oh my god, that's still coming right. I'm pretty sure that probably got canceled quietly, Randy, have you

been playing anything a lot of small stuff? Been playing that Turn Up Boy Robs a Bank or whatever it was on on game Pass. I'm getting near the end of it. It's a very short game. Just rob a bank, over and over, do a bunch of silly quests. It's it's silly fun. I'm having a lot of fun with that game. Did that Silent Hill? The answer the message or yeah? The short message I think is what it's called. It's fine, it's it's okay, it's free, which

it's there. I know a lot of people try to compare it with PT. There are some PT aspects to it. The apartment building that you go through is is littered with stuff. Some of the dialogue is a bit weird, but it's a nice little reminder of what Silent Hill is all about, the psychological horror aspect of Silent Hill. And I think this is better than the weird twitch streaming TV show thing that they attempted to do. So hopefully

things are finally going in the right direction. But again, it's free if you want to try. It's like two hours it's not the greatest thing in the world, but it's definitely no pt I'll say that right now. But it's all right. It was fine. I've been playing a lot of fop ivey seven remake getting ready for Rebirth. I'm probably three quarters of the way through it and getting close to the end of it. I still love that

game. It's it's so much fun, And especially now that I played the demo for the or part of the first chapter of Rebirth, I've hit sections in remake that like just already the connections that they're they're making that I had forgotten about. It's fantastic. There's a scene that straight in both of them that I literally hit on the same day when I played the demo and then

was playing through remake. So that's been a lot of fun. So yeah, just mostly a lot of small stuff and just preparing myself for what Rebirth is about to be. Yes, I also bet that ever we had seventy dollars, have you noticed anything like different now that you're like going back and playing it after the you know, you're not. It's not like when it came out and we're all excited and whatever. Like I really going through those middle chapters. I forgot how much of a kind of a slog. It

feels like it feels like those take forever. Yes, compared to the beginning of the game. That feels like it's going on a speedy pace or whatever. I'm hoping Birth goes away from it. But I do feel like they were worried about it being too short of a game, so they were adding a bunch of stuff. Actually, I just got through the Trade the Graveyard. I loved that segment playing through it again, but there are other segments

in it. I'm just about to hit the second time you go through the sewers, and I'm worried about it because I hated that segment when you go through that rat or whatever it is, I'm just about it to hit that segment. The side quests are just as dumb as as remember them. But yes, I have there were definitely parts where it's like it's so great and then it kind of slows down a bit too much. And again, they were trying to turn an eight hour part of the original File Fantasy game and

turn it into forty or fifty hours. This would have it would have been perfect at like thirty, Like if they just would have tightened it up, and that's what I'm hoping for with Rebirth is they've tightened up a lot of that stuff, added in some open wor world aspects to add it into the game time. But I'm sure that this is going to be a long game for how much that they're going to hit in there, So I feel like they don't have to stretch things out as much as they needed to for the

mid guard section because they're hitting so much stuff. But just playing that demo and the Memory of Nibelheim was two hours and we didn't even hit all of it in that demo makes me wonder just how much else is going to get stretched out. And I'm excited for it, but there's there could be some some low moments in this. I'm not worried about that so much because they showed like a gazillion minigame series, like there's going to be so much stuff

to take up your time in that game. Besides uh, the fact that they brought because they could have left Fort Condor in that intermission DLC and said, well, if you want to play that again, it's it's you got

to play that. Like the fact that they took a step and actually made it to where you're apparently geting control the characters, and they have that like goofy little design in there and everything, Like they really went far with making sure that you're gonna have all of these these mini games and things to do. So and then they added the like relationship stuff that wasn't in the original and yeah, and the damn piano. Yeah, people are already starting to

figure that thing out. I cannot wait for six months. You'll play like actual songs on that thing. It's just crazy. Yeah, I think it is. It ends and it's just thrown in there. Yeah, I can't wait for that game. And these two weeks cannot go by quick enough. I'll tell you right now. I am not playing the second demo. Yeah, that's coming out next week for people. The twenty first. I've played

enough. I'm ready for the twenty ninth. Let's go. Like the only reason I played the first demo was because you could save your progress, and after I played it, I go, I'm replaying this part anyway. Yeah, exactly, So I don't Yeah, because you'll have that continuation of what

happens when it ends right there, So I'm ready. Plus they'll improve the Performance this mood because I played Inequality Mode just because I wanted to see what it looked like on the TV. But when I went back and played Remake and Performance when I was I turned it on and I was like, oh, okay, I can see the blurry stuff that they're talking about and everything. Hopefully it does get improved and it doesn't affect the actual game, because

that's what sucked about sixteen. It got marred by the technical issues at first at the beginning. Hopefully there's not the technical issues with this game for sure with all the time that they've had on it. So moving back into talking about news here for a little bit, pretty much everything else that has to do with news this week outside of the Xbox stuff, which it feels like everybody was basically just waiting for that this week is layoffs and companies canceling games,

and ununfortunate passing away of Yoshitaka Riyama due to ONUS complications. Of course, this is the person that created the psunconym series back in the nineties. He's been helping Rabbit and Bear Studios with the Iuden Chronicles one hundred Heroes that comes out in April and he's been you know, big on that as well, and then like the fact that he he passed and then he also like

passed before the game even came out. It sucks like he's the scenario rider for this game and man, like the legacy of these behind it sucks seeing this it's pass away like that. I mean, it's a shame, but it would have been nice if you could see hopefully Iden chronicles actually you know good and Sweakiden was always good but never got the popularity or the preskige.

Yeah, let's hope between this game and then the remasters or remakes whatever that are coming from remasters, Aconomy themselves put a memorial something for him, but they won't. Yeah, I would hope they they do, but ye I can see where they They also don't like if you if you leave the company,

you don't no longer exist to us. It's like a ka, yeah, I still want to know what happened between them like that where it's like, damn, we can't even acknowledge that he really like did work on those games and we sat here and made a collection and everything for it, and we're making another collection like it's just yeah, but sadly moving on from that to ben Ny Namgo. Due to not having an Elden Ring like game that propped up their entire sales for an entire year, saw a huge drop and

income from the last year. Who would have thought ninety six point five percent drop in income and eight point nine percent drop in net sales their dragon Ball in one piece games. Yes, good here that one Piece in dragon Ball games are doing well. At least Armored Corps was popular, but they canceled like five games and also said that they are going to now basically have a

stricter policy when it comes to games. We're going to build an optimum, well balanced title forfourlio, examine our developmental system carefully and strengthen that development with an empass on quality. So kind of similar to what score Nix says. They're trying to do not so much quantity, but more quality. And I think that's a good thing. Yes, I agree. Less anime arena fighters. Please stop making every anime game that you make that isn't One Piece or

Dragon Ball a arena fighter. We don't need that. I'm sure people would love to have their favorite anime franchise e sport in a different way. And then yeah, forget forget that they need to double done and they jump forward too. God please, let's not mention that game ever again. Uh yeah, and Narrito didn't save them either, reently. So what's funny is like elden Ring was still, like, I thin think one of the top twenty best selling games the last year. Yeah, I mean it shows how much

elden Ring was amazing. And then they obviously people are getting ready for the DLC that's gonna come out, uh this year, you presume, So that would help them whenever that DLC does come, But for now, that's that's kind of what they're dealing with. I mean, the problem last year is they only released like two games or yeah, you know some of the nudo game, you know, Armored Corps six and the one Piece one Piece and then the other one tells the Sifonia Ring Mastered. It's like, yeah,

that didn't do that. And then they had that DLC for for tales, but I think that didn't do that hot either, Yeahause it came out too late. I mean that's the problem. And if you haven't played The Tails of a Rise both of those games, that game is coming to Game Pass and PS Plus by the way on the twentieth, So get ready if you haven't played that. Uh, I'm sure you don't have time for a rainy, but it's one to check out, not far fast, play a good

game. Instead, I'll play my garbage. And first we have to talk about Embracer again. I I already talked about the terrible comments that their CEO made today that was really unnecessary and he really should have kept his mouth shut. But they announced basically that, and I'm not talking about Lars wing for

it, by the way, I should have mentioned. But he also talks about basically that even though they've already cut one three and eighty seven jobs, uh, that they're in the final stretch, but more cuts are coming or could be coming, are probably are coming, and that we're probably gonna hear about them at some point other you know, those studios may talk about that before we you know, we announced it ourselves. But basically, get ready

because more are coming. The terrible case for a company, and they've also canceled twenty nine projects. Not great. That's gonna work well to put stuff out and they don't have anything so to start, they had one hundred and fifty three unannounced schemes in development across their internal studios. By the time the third quarter ended in December, they were down to one hundred and twenty four. That's a lot and also that's a lot of damn games period anyway.

But Randy, I mean, this is just another sad case of this company. I am so tired of this goddamn company. I can't stand it. Yes it is. It's we all saw it coming when they were like eating up all these different companies and it's like, this is not going to end well, and yes it is. It's it's getting worse and worse. More and more layoffs are happening. They're like, well, we got to get

all these games out and make all this money. And I don't think Embrace the Group ever realized like how much money it takes to make games and how long it takes before you can see any of that money back, And now they're canceling them. And it's just they made a lot of bad decisions, are like bad you know bets, you know Saints Row or just for all humans. It's like, really, you expect this money, like all all

the remasters that they decided to just hey, let's make this again. So we can make a new game, and then the remaster doesn't do that well, and it's like, okay, well we're not going to make the new game now, and you got everybody excited for nothing, and then it's just double A. Games can work. You just got to have the right people behind them. And this is not the publisher you want. I mean, I watched like an hour and a half the Dice Awards before I fell asleep

because it came on at like eleven o'clock eastern over here. For Randy that's not that big a deal. Came on an eight pm over there, But yeah, Greg, Greg Miller made a joke about the two things you don't want to hear are the Internet's mad and the Embraser group is because you know you're gonna get laid off basically, and it's like or your your game's not going to turn out well, and it's like, man, just it sucks.

It sucks to hear with this company. Is just I don't even want to know what we're going to be talking about in all these weeks that are happening with them talking about more stuff is coming because whenever we do finally get

to the light at the end, of the Tunnel. What's going to be left, you know, like you over, it'll be the companies that are still have a confirmed deal with Idos or I mean, but Christal Dynamis and yeah, Montreal, that'll be about it or something Lord of the Rings related, because they have to use the property because it's the only thing they have left that That last game was stellar, wasn't it. Yes, yeah,

I mean and even that they sold off the rights to Amazon. They had to sell off the rights to Amazon for the tomb Raiders stuff as well, so just to make money. So yeah, not great. Another not great thing Disco Elysium's developer and maker, z A I forgot how you say this this name honestly zom or z A slash Um. They've canceled what was supposed to be an expansion to disco Elysium, a game that I know Yen's liked a lot and that many people did. This was like a under the radar

hit the year it came out. Yeah yeah, it's a big I mean well but like it was like one of those you don't see coming, Like this game came out and it was like oh crap, wow, like balder Skate before we got Ballerskate three like this was like that. You know, they actually canceled the sequel already they were going to do an expansion, and now they have to cancel the expansion, and now they're going to have to

lay off the people that were working on Code Name X seven unfortunately. Uh, you know, they went through that whole thing with the the game director and the art director going at it about who owns the rights to their company and all that stuff, and they just have not ever since, like after the success of disco Elsium. Just it's sad to see what has happened to this company. Instead of going from success to success, they go from just

worse to worse unfortunately. So yeah, let's not I think the farthest way we can get from it shouldn't call them. Probably a good thing at this point when it comes to a little bit. But yeah, it sucks. It sucks to see this for again, that dev that we thought was promising really too to what's been happening here with them. So yeah, sucks. But on a good note, speaking of franchises continuing things, there is going to be another Star Wars game, and respond is making it so already get

excited. About that, because we know what RESPAWD does with Star Wars games. They just make it with those. They're making a Mandalorian Star Wars game. Is that already gets you excited? Randy? We're getting a Mandalorian Star Wars game. Oh wait, wait, I want a baby Oda game first. It'll be funny, it'll be playing. They can't get Pedro Pascal to the voice. I mean they got the money. It's uh, there's this game could work because wasn't that Star Wars thirteen thirteen? What the fuck was

called? Yeah, it was a game for you paints helmet different but like here you go, Yeah, no, I mean it could and you know, Mandalorian is still one of the ones that as Scott says, Star Wars titan Fall, who knows, Yeah, it could have some elements of that in there. I mean if there's a series that you say you're making a game about that, and people automatically are just as excited as you talk about Mandalorian and people are there for that. And Star Wars Outlaws looks amazing and

that's Ubisov doing it. So imagine respond getting to do this kind of thing. Uh, and we already saw what what they can do with their own single player thing. So I'm down with this, give me more, please, even if prescal I would theoretically be down. But there is a long, long cemetery of abandoned or announced Star Wars games that never came out. Yeah, we'll see if it actually happens. And you have to wonder with

them announcing it now, how far into development they are. I mean, how long is Mandalorian going to go on Disney So if this isn't coming out for another four years, Mandalorian ends on Disney Plus, Dore's anybody care about

a Mandalorian game at that point? I think so. I think there's gonna it's another way to continue that, you know, And hey, if this does well and it doesn't have anything to do with it's a separate story from the Mandalorian that's on Disney Plus, maybe that's a way to continue this as well, you know. Beyond that. Yeah, I'm still surprised they haven't tried to come up with a Star Wars Jedi show on Disney Plus. Wonderly.

The only thing I can think of is maybe that dude just doesn't want to do it, maybe or they don't want to spend the budget yeah, do it because they already have a Soca Mandalorian and or yeah. So adding an other one is they might feel like especially with them doing cost cutting right now. But I wonder if that was ever a thought at some point for them. I should have been just liked fuck the Ahsoka show, making a lot of people like the Soka Did you watch it, Randy or no?

No he didn't, Yeah, go ahead, No, I just said you're better off for not watching it. Any thoughts on the X Men ninety seven trailer that I saw. We watched the trailer. I need to I watched it. I have to watch a little funky in spots. Uh. They definitely like de emphasize like rogues ass there's always a problem. And some of the voice acting looked sounded a little a little weird as well like that, And you know, you can say, like, oh, it's you know,

it's been twenty five years or whatever. Yeah, I guess, but you know, maybe maybe recast him then. Yeah, I don't. I wouldn't expect everything to sound just like it did back then. It's been a long time. Yeah, as almost they get scared of the show. I'm good. Yeah, Yeah, I looked a lot more anime though, which I'm not I'm surprised. I'm surprised that they went that route considering, you know, Disney isn't always the biggest fan of anime. But yeah, yeah,

that is is kind of interesting to think about too. On that front. One last thing here that just also along with the Mandalorian news that got announced like pretty much right before we did the show, this hasn't been like once again we're going with this idea of Nintendo doesn't When is Nintendo going announce to switch to Is it going to be this year? Is it coming out

this year? Is it coming out twenty twenty five? Another report already and VU sees saying that they can't confirm it themselves, but they're putting it out there that there's talk of Nintendo might have the Switch to come out as as twenty five and not this year. Randy, where do you sit on like when Switch should come out? Do you think we need it now? I mean, or do you think we can win another year for when they're ready

they're ready? I think a lot of it is they they want to do what they did with the Switch and have a really banger first year for it. I mean, you go back and look at what the Switch lineup was that very first year, and you started at with Zelda and you later on that year had a new Mario, And I think that's what they're trying to set up here, and maybe they're waiting for Metroid to finally get ready to be a launch game and have that three D Mario that you were talking about

is also in that year. I would not be surprised if it got announced this fall. We saw a bigger teaser around the Game Awards, maybe not at the Game Awards, but around that time, and then it just like the Switch, it came out, it comes out in the spring. That That is my belief, especially because we're getting farther and farther into this year

already and we still haven't gotten an the announcement. Usually Nintendo, what it was five six months after they announced the Switch that came out, So we're gonna yeah, I was getting down there as far as exactly, Yeah, it came out of that initial trailer that shocked us all, came out in October, and then March is when the system came out, So you with that is around that time, right they could they could potentially announce it The

original thought was that the reason why they're having this partner direct in February is that they're waiting for March maybe like right tofore, Princess Peach is going to come out, which is like their last like big game that they have announced and then announced that they're doing officially the Switch to or whatever it is, and then maybe you kick the can down the line to June or July, where you're gonna say, Okay, we're doing the announcement, this is what

it is, here's the reveal whatever, and then come out in the fall. But yeah, I'm with you. I'd much rather you have that killer lineup of a year launch again like you did last time, where every month you had something awesome to come out, and you're talking about Switch that entire year instead of oh, well, we know three D Mario's coming, we know Metro Prime for is coming, and then yeah, who knows what else Nintendo has cooking there. I don't I'm not in a rush for it to

come out this fall. I know there are people that are. I just had a you know, our friend Gary Randy. He asked me, you know, I want to buy a Switch for my kids, And I told him hold off, don't buy it because the switch to is gonna get announced and it's most it's likely going to be backwards compatible with the Switch one, which that also that report has also come out that it looks like it will be compatible, so you can buy the switch one games, but you have

the switch too. He's like, man, I hope it gets announced this year because he wanted to buy for him for Christmas twenty twenty four. So I do see that in that you'll miss that Christmas window if you wait until next year. But yeah, I think it depends on if Nintendo thinks that they there's going to be dropping in sales and they really need to announce it, then go ahead. But I'm mark, I mean the is it a

big deal? If it doesn't come out this year? I won't be this year because it's too it's already kind of too late because even if announced it in the spring, it'd be out like the fall, and then you know, the Christmas rush would just decimated. So yeah, next year, it'll come out in the spring and that'll give them enough time to catch up with like making the damn thing. Yeah, especially also if you're if if the timeline is still there, that PlayStation and xpots are going to release their mid

gen things in the fall. Why are you going to release your new switch thing that's gonna be even further down on the graphics front right along with them, and then have like everything instead of releasing in the spring where you could have your own window. Yeah, so I would have told your friend. I would have told your friend, also, just buy a switch now, because you know, two hundred bucks two fifty for a used one. He's not going to buy something news, He's he's gonna buy it. He's he's

probably gonna buy the O lead. And if you're gonna spend three fifty on the O lead, wait till the new one comes out. It's fifty bucks more, and you get the new one. You don't have to worry about at the time. Also, we didn't know that the switch. There was still the rumors about, well, maybe Switch two is not going to be

back compatible. So I told them you might want to wait because if you buy Switch one and then Switch to gets announced and they say it's not that sur patable, and then you have a system that you're buying games for that's not going to be in use anymore after So, yeah, I do think there are a bunch of Nintendo fans that wanted to come out sooner rather than later, but I think it's not the worst thing if it does wait till the spring, for sure. So unless anybody has anything else they want to

talk about here, I think that's it for this episode. There is some things coming out between before we get to Reverb. The that played up game is on game Pass. It came out yesterday. It's basically like a co op version of Overcooked, so even like it's like an online co op version of Overcooked kind of but with you know, not as cool graphics, I guess. And the Mari versus Donkey Kong game, which seems like it's fine. Yeah, it's played the four level demo. If you did that,

it's fine. Like you said, it doesn't should show you any of the two new worlds that are in there, but it's a graphical update of an older game, and it was fine. It's not fifty dollars worth of fine, but yes, true Skull and Bones, which we've already heard from Scott who's reviewing the game, is not seventy dollars worth of fun, but it is. Uh, that's something if you really are interested, maybe you go

and that's this one was great for ub sawt plus. Go spend your eighteen dollars and play it for a month and then unsubscribed and then you know, maybe maybe you be soft won't. That's the one thing that I I'm sad about is that it's that double ed sword that we're living in right now with gaming in that if this game fails, which it looks like it's most likely going to, uh, there's people going to probably lose jobs over this. I mean that we saw Shanghai office is going to closet's be honest. Yeah,

and it sucks to see. But you also don't want to reward the company and think that it's cool that we want them to keep making games like this because you kind of don't want them to. But then also that means they're probably gonna rely even harder on Assassin's Creed and Far Cry and whatever. So you know, I guess you want new ip but maybe not like this one game that was getting a lot of buzz from the Steam. Next Vest that's coming out this week as well, Balatio. It's like this cool like

card game. People should go check that out. Watch a trailer being seen a lot of people saying that they're enjoying it. So and Nightingale, which is that online survival game that kind of has a cool setting of its own. So that's coming out in the twentieth. They keep moving up the release state. I think they're trying to get another game that's trying to get away from the Rebirth stuff, the Last Epoch. It's kind of like a Diablo

like. It's coming out on the twenty first. So I don't know if that you're looking at that at all, Mark, I know you like those games. No, I'm focused and start out to three. Yeah, and then you got Slight zero X, which looks cool. It's very bloody, very glory, but it's one of those like side scrolling, like action titles. I thought it was going to be based on Slave zero forget that. Yeah, and of course Specific Drive as well that Mark talked about though.

Yeah, yeah, that's that's going to be out by the time we do the podcast next week. So for sure, people, if you're interested, there is a demo there. Like Mark talked about how sad Are You Randy that they decided to release that Brother's Tale of Two Sons remake that the day before rebirth. Just gives me something to look forward to later. I don't have to play games the first day they came out, especially a game that it's a remake, because like I already know the story, so I don't

have to worry about spoiler. I'm excited they remade it. Bad timing, but all right, Yeah, that's gonna be it for the show here, Uh, Randy, thank you for being on. Go check out Randy on the R and R Sports support every week. Go check out Bad Brackets. That's a really fun show to go watch. If you're you can go watch our video game Controller one. If you're yelling, it's just a fun show

we're gonna have. There's be a Pokemon one pretty soon. Yelling on that episode, so yeah, I can I put my I gave you my my top four in the Champie already. There's gonna be a lot of yelling on that one because Harry Broadhurst is on this episode and he knows nothing about Pokemon. Oh god, it's gonna be so he's such a wild card for this episode. I care for you and my son to just yell at him.

That's that's gonna be something else. And I'm sure, there's so many people that be like, why did y'all only put through the one fifty one? It's always been the one fifty one? What's wrong with you people? But hey, you know you gotta have other episodes of Bad Bracket. There's so many pokemon you can do like fire Bad Brackets. So yeah, let's make sure you know you can listen to the show on podcasts, go rate and

review all that stuff. Thank everybody for watching, listening, and we'll see y'all later later bye,