In this episode, we catch up after a long hiatus starting with a nostalgic look back at Apple Arcade, we explore how the service has evolved over the years and our current engagement with it. We then dive deep into the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2, breaking down its features, pricing, and our reactions to its potential impact on the gaming landscape. Along the way, we also touch on the convenience and pitfalls of various gaming platforms, from Xbox to Steam, and how family dynamics influence gaming habits.

Topics:

00:00 Reunion
01:48 Current Trends in Apple Arcade
03:04 Roller Coaster Tycoon and Switch Port Challenges
06:08 Apple One Bundle and Family Usage
08:19 Subscription Services and Gaming Preferences
12:48 Nintendo Switch Online and Family Gaming
20:51 Switch 2 Announcement and Pricing Reactions
30:57 Upcoming Games for the Switch 2
36:24 Nintendo's Pricing Strategy and Tech Demos
40:22 Physical vs Digital Game Purchases
44:38 Parental Controls and Screen Time Management
51:57 Switch 2 Hardware Upgrades and Comparisons
01:00:03 Gaming Controllers and Accessories
01:10:11 Conclusion

Links:

• Apple Arcade - Apple (CA)
• Apple One - Apple (CA)
• Monument Valley 3 Game Release Date and Everything You Need to Know - Netflix Tudum
• Steam Family Setup – UltraNurdage
• Nintendo Switch 2: All Together, Anytime, Anywhere - Nintendo CA
• LemonCasting - Twitch

Nick is trying to convince Chris to buy a Playdate. How has Nick enjoyed his Playdate? What games are grabbing him? What's he cranking on? Also: There's now VR in Chris' home.

Topics:

• (00:24) - Welcome back

• Play.date
• Podcast.Play.date
• Playdate SDK
• Playdate Pulp
• Playdate game collection
• Catalog Update #1
• Playdate - $199 starting April 7
• Pre-Order for late 2023
  • Cover?
• Playdate Pulp
• Recommendation Dog
• GameDev Journal by Dave Rupert
• Scratch
• The Murderbot Diaries
• Meta Quest 2
• Gorilla Tag
• Lego Star Wars
• Minecraft
• Mario Party
• Pokemon Scarlet
• Castle Crumble Apple Arcade
• It Takes Two

Console Corner

• MarioKart Expansion Pack
• Halo TV series
• Supposedly separate timeline? I assumed prequel
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Lego Star Wars?

Apple Corner

• Crossy Road Castle
• Zen Pinball Party
• Frogger in Toy Town
• Alto’s Adventure - The Spirit of the Mountain
• Globle
• Heardle
• Murdle

Tabletop Corner

• Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Book Corner

• The Bone Orchard

Console Corner

• Siracusa on Bungie acquisition by sony
• Nintendo WiiU and 3DS eShop EOL
• Mario Kart Wheel (available at Costco)
• Nintendo Direct 2022-02-09 Raw Notes
• Chrono Cross
• Radical Dreamers text adventure from Satellaview!
• No Man’s Sky
• Portal: Companion Collection
• Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings
• Lego Brawls
• MarioKart Deluxe Booster Course Pass
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Mario Strikers Battle League
• Nintendo Switch Sports

PC Corner

• Political Arena covered in NYT
• Dad games
• A Little to the Left
• Aperture Desk Job
• Jean and Jorts the cats added to Stardew Valley

Apple Corner

• Crosswordle — Solve backwards
• Wordie Bird — Golf style scoring
• Prattle — Shakespeare word list, variable length
• Worldle — Guess country shape
• Polydle — Play 2-2315 boards at once.
• Mathler
• Risk: Game of Thrones Edition
• Battleship
• Pokemon TCG
• Race for the Galaxy

Want to Watch the Live Show?

• 💙 Follow us on our Twitch channel
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Video version of this episode

Console Corner

• Sony buys Bungie
• Star Trek: Resurgence trailer
• Found via Transporter Lock
• https://www.startrek-resurgence.com

Star Trek Corner

• Takeover! Amok Time battle music
• List of Star Trek Games
• Begin (maybe Begin 2?) (1991)
• Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992)
• Later had MacPlay CD-ROM version (with actual character dialogue)
• Star Trek: Judgement Rites (1993)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Future’s Past (1994)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Harbinger (1996)
• Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force (2000)
• Eventually played expansion pack
• Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force II (2003)
• Star Trek: Conquest (2007)
• Star Trek Online (2010)
• Star Trek Rivals (2013)
• Star Trek Trexels (2014)
• Star Trek Timelines (2016)
• Star Trek: Legends (2021)
• Apple Arcade, covered in episode 29

Tabletop games

• Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game — A Klingon Challenge (1993)
• Star Trek Customizable Card Game (1994)

• Way Too Seriously

Apple Corner

• Hidden Folks
• Bridge Constructor+
• Reminiscent of Poly Bridge
• Crashlands+
• Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis
• Wordle acquired
• Quordle
• Starwordle

Tabletop Corner

• Asmodee purchase by Embracer Group
• Restoration Games

Want to Watch the Live Show?

• 💙 Follow us on our Twitch channel
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Video version of this episode

Console Corner

• Hades wins Best Video Game Hugo
• Power Up graphic novel
• Square Enix looking into NFTs
• Castlevania NFTs
• Axie Infinity NFT rentals 🤮
• Playdate Pulp game maker in public beta
• Bitsy
• Forza Horizons 5
• Skywalker Saga gameplay overview

PC Corner

• Riot Games settles discrimination lawsuit
• Microsoft buys Activison-Blizzard
• Warcraft 3 Reforged

Apple Corner

• A Starting Point
• Jackbox games
• A Five Letter Word for Ripoff
• Hearts+
• Spades+
• Wingspan
• Wordle
• Townscaper converter
• Absurdle
• Primel
• Dordle
• Sweardle
• Lewdle

Tabletop Corner

Skipped this week!

Console Corner

• PlayStation subscription service
• Sonic 2 movie updates

PC Corner

• Star Wars Eclipse cinematic trailer
• Downstream episode 4

Apple Corner

• Apple's 2021 App Store Award winners
• Apple TV Game of the Year: Space Marshals 3, from Pixelbite.
• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Fantasian, from Mistwalker.
• Mac Game of the Year: Myst, from Cyan.
• Apple's most downloaded iOS Apps and Games of 2021
• Builderment

Tabletop Corner

• Scorekeeper
• Gin
• Canasta
• MattRix - trainyard developer

• Nick: Hades if they haven't played it yet (all three consoles)
• Chris: Halo Infinite (Xbox)
• Nick: Civ VI Anthology (if it's still on sale)
• Chris: Dorfromantik
• Nick: iTunes Gift Card (for Apple Arcade)
• Nick: Villainous.
• Chris: Sleeping Queens. 
• Halo TV series teaser
• Download on Relay.fm
• Game Awards
• Star Citizen still not out
• Five formative games meme
  • Nick: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Sim City 2000, Escape Velocity, Myst, Tetris
  • Chris: Space Quest, Doom, Warcraft series, Age of Empires, Diablo 2
• Epic buys Harmonix
• Lego Star Wars Castaways
• Netflix Games: Teeter
• The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
• Pitch

Want to Watch the Live Show?

• 💙 Follow us on our Twitch channel
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Video version of this episode

Console Corner

• Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
• Niantic opens Lightship platform
• MGS games removed due to archival footage licensing
• Unpacking players don't know what a GameCube is
• KotOR available for Switch $15
• Playdate update
• Xbox's 20th Anniversary - adds 70 new backward compatible games
• Ted Lasso car in Forza

PC Corner

• Chris played Civilization 6 for an hour
• Extra Life Game Day - Nick streamed on Twitch
• Political Arena kickstarter
• Mass Effect Teaser

Apple Corner

• Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls
  • Small amounts of action platformer trapped in character/item upgrade menu system
  • Auto attack makes game more accessible
  • This was an IAP powered Android game launched in 2019
  • Worked well with controller
• The Oregon Trail
  • Getting back into it. Many game updates (about 20 onboarding screens!): new trails (California, Mormon), fishing mini game, more story quests (eg bring nitroglycerin to mine without blowing up), more challenges ("contracts" to complete a trail segment with added difficulty)
  • Menus work with controller okay, but definitely touch first
• Galaga Wars+
  • Never played previous release
  • Weird hold to unpause mechanic, bad RSI scenario
  • Fun progression, pretty high difficulty
• Netflix Games
  • First on Android, now on iOS
  • One app per game to follow App Store guidelines
  • not streaming like Luna or xCloud
• Listener Andrew
  • "You and Chris were great entertainment on my way to and from getting cat supplies."
  • Tiny Wings developer wanted to transfer achievements
• 🍋 HomePod mini
• Fraggle Rock TV+ show
• Marathon series / Marathon emulator
  • Friend of the show Angela
  • Gabe wants multiplayer

Tabletop Corner

• MegaCity
• Rating bias towards new games