Controlled Interests Gamecast

The gaming world was hit with major The Last Of Us Part 2 spoilers this week via numerous leaks posted online. Following this giant mishap PlayStation announced new release dates for both The Last Of Us Part 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima with both coming out in successive months starting in June. The panel, joined by Chris Nunes, talks about that and much more. Some other news covered in this week's podcast include incredible Xbox Game Pass numbers, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's reveal, and much more.

With everything going on in the world it's amazing there's video game news at all. This week the guy's cover all of the Xbox rumors that are swirling around the internet. These rumors include new details about the long-rumored Lockhart Xbox console, assumed to be called the Xbox Series S. Other rumors include a new Xbox headset in development as well as Xbox planning an event for both May and June. With Dom hopping into Final Fantasy 7 Remake the guys talk about their impressions in the long-awaited remake.

Bloomberg came out of nowhere this week with a report outlining Sony's plan for the launch of the PlayStation 5. It seems that the current pandemic has placed them in an odd predicament and their release of their next-gen console will be affected in more ways than one. Uppercut's Andrew Cogswell joins the show to talk about the report and what it means moving forward. In other news the panel talks about the leaked Xbox One Cyberpunk 2077 controller and much more.

PlayStation has finally revealed the look of something associated with the PlayStation 5, its controller. It's called the DualSense and once revealed, boy did the internet have opinions. The panel is joined this week by DualShockers Staff Writer Tanner Pierce and they discuss their initial impressions of the controller. They also discuss what the design means for the console itself. In other news the panel discusses Cyberpunk 2077 doubling down on their release date, ESA skipping E3 2020 entirely, and IGN announcing their Summer of Gaming digital E3 replacement.

We're still in quarantine, which has provided Jerrad and Dom with plenty of time to play video games. The show revolves around Phil Spencer's exclusive interview with IGN's Ryan McCaffrey on their Xbox podcast called Unlocked. On the show Spencer talked about the Xbox Series X, its price, and much more. Jerrad and Dom discuss what his quotes mean and how that shapes the next-gen launch between the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. In other news two new games were announced, and most importantly both The Last Of Us Part 2 and Iron Man VR were delayed inevitably by PlayStation. They close by giving their thoughts on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Resident Evil 3 Remake Demo, and much more.

Amid all of the issues humans are currently dealing with, both PlayStation and Xbox dropped some info on their next-gen consoles this week. The panel is joined by Joseph aka MrBadBit, cohost of The Trophy Room, to talk about all of the specs and features that were and were not revealed. Between the Xbox Series X hands-on by influencers and Mark Cerny's developer focused talk, where do consumers stand in terms of their excitement for 2020's holiday launch? The panel also talks about their impressions with Call of Duty: Warzone, and Dom recounts his playthrough of Death Stranding upon completion.

This week Managing Editor of DualShockers, Logan Moore, joins the show to talk about the cancellation of E3 2020 and much more. The panel starts with talking about the fallout of E3 2020 being canceled and what that means for the industry moving forward. They speculate on how it may effect game announcements, marketing strategies, and possible game delays. In addition to that in-depth conversation they also give their impressions on Ori & the Will of the Wisps, Call of Duty: Warzone, League of Legends, and Death Stranding.

After 4 years Jordan has decided to depart the podcast as a regular co-host. With the 180th episode being his last, Jerrad and Dom felt it was best to let Jordan steer the ship this time around. The first half of the podcast is a conversation spanning several random video games including a Disney kart racer on the Nintendo 64 and the Sly Cooper franchise. Jerrad then discuss some interesting stats related to Jordan's appearances on the podcast from number of consecutive episodes, to total times he was a part of a fireside groove. The show closes out with Jordan discussing what the podcast meant to him and how joining the show felt from his perspective back in 2016.

Phil Spencer took to the official Xbox blog to unveil even more details about their upcoming next-generation console, the Xbox Series X. The panel discusses all of the latest information regarding the upcoming hardware and what if means for players in the years to come. On top of that they discuss Sanzaru Games getting acquired by FaceBook and what that does to the future of the Sly Cooper franchise. At the end of the show Dom gives his early impressions of Death Stranding and Jerrad talks about The Gardens Between Us, Death Squared, and more.

In probably his last fireside groove with Jordan, Jerrad talks with him about all of the recent news surrounding Sony. They talk about how much Insomniac Games cost Sony to acquire and in the same breath cover the news that Quantic Dream will be a self-publishing independent studio moving forward. The news is closed out with an update regarding the Avatar game that was initially revealed by Ubisoft in 2017. In honor of Valentine's Day the guys discuss their favorite video game companions and why they felt such a close relationship with them.