Checkpoint Daily Podcast

The ESA released a statement this week about their efforts and intentions to properly rate and inform consumers about the contents and chances of receiving said content in loot boxes. Several developers have also pledged to change the way they handle loot boxes as well. We also ask ourselves, if you could go back in time and tell yourself something about the future of gaming, what would it be? We each pick something to troll about, warn about and give hope for. Plus, the guys talk about the most recent Smackdown event held in Detroit.

Following two mass shootings this weekend in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX, the media has been quick to throw the blame at the feed of the gaming industry. Several large political figures including the President were part of the chorus of people decrying video games for their violence. We talk about the way video games are consistently and negatively portrayed in the media. We also catch up with Sarahscopic for the biggest news headlines out of the gaming and esports industries. Plus, we asked our social media followers what the worst mini game or side quest in gaming is and we’ll read the best answers.

We start off monday as always, talking about our weekend. One of the hosts has some big, life-changing news to share with the rest of the crew. As for the rest of them, the majority of the weekend was spent following the media and news cycle as the ‘video games are to blame for mass shootings and violence’ argument is once again brought to the forefront. During the weekend we also saw the biggest fighting game tournament of the year, EVO 19, as competitors faced off in some of the biggest titles in all of esports including, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat 11 and others. Plus, streaming megastar Ninja has abandoned Twitch and signed an exclusive streaming deal with Mixer.

The ongoing feud between Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney and FaZe Clan has had another interesting turn of events. Last month Tfue left FaZe clan amidst various claims including unfair contracts. The story has been quite for a few weeks now but FaZe Clan is now counter suing Tfue for ‘breach of contract’ claiming “you betrayed us.” Meanwhile, across the pond at FarmCon 2019 the Farming Simulator League has held its first tournament and it’s unlike anything else esports has seen before. Plus, while out at EVO 2019 host of Not Your Player 2, Christine “Kooky” Solis got to interview the legendary Justin Wong.

Ninja is a name that everyone knows, even if you’re not a gamer you’ve likely heard of the blue haired streaming sensation. Today he announced he’s leaving Twitch to stream exclusively for Mixer. Plus, the Game Boy is one of the most important consoles of all time. Nate, Norris and Robbie talk about what the handheld meant to them and how it continues to influence gaming today. Norris also leads a game on just how well Robbie and Nate know some of their favorite games and characters by guessing who they are based on famous quotes.

On today’s show we have Sarahscopic join us at the news desk to break down some of the biggest headlines in the industry this week. Including; Overwatch’s in-game microtransactions breaking $1 Billions, Dying Light 2 being confirmed as a cross generation game for the Playstation 4 and 5 and the XBox One X and Scarlet and the Doom Trilogy releasing on the Nintendo Switch. We also check in with our Social Media following and ask them what the best mini-games in a video are.

This weekend played host to the first ever Fortnite World Cup, where winners walked away with upwards of $1 Million each. We also talk about what we did over the weekend which involved Fire Emblem, Fortnite and...roofing? We also talk about games that aren’t played the way developers intended them to be.

According to a story on Kotaku, 74% of adults say they’ve been harassed online as gamers. We dig into the study and discuss some of the results. Plus, what games do you know are dumb but love to play anyway? We also choose what our perfect gaming squad would look like if we could draft heroes from any FPS or Third Person Shooter game.

This past week Joe got to attend Video Games Live Concert and talk to Tommy Tallarico. We also talk about what it might look like if Disney were to buy into the video game space and what that would look like. Plus, GTA Online releases their Diamond Casino and more than 50 countries don’t have access to it.

We start with an interview with Steve Wiseman of First Blood. Plus we’re joined by Sarahscopic at the news desk for an update in the biggest headlines from this weeks Gaming and Esports scenes. Lastly, we talk about some of the worst 90s fads and which ones we’re guilty of perpetuating.