Controlled Interests Gamecast

Jerrad and Dominic prepare for The Game Awards on December 6th. They begin by chatting about Dom's experience with Fallout 76 and how it's at odds with the internet's rage. Knowing that The Game Awards are going to showcase 10 plus new game reveals the guys speculate on what could be revealed on the big stage.

On a fireside groove featuring Jerrad and Jordan, Jordan gets to express his opinion and feelings on Sony skipping E3 in 2019. Spoiler: He's not too happy about it. In news the guys cover Spyro Reignited Trilogy's impressive UK sales numbers, Ubisoft reversing course on their Rainbow 6 Siege censorship, and Microsoft possibly releasing a disc-less Xbox One S in 2019. The big topic this week revolves around the October 2018 NPD numbers and how Call of Duty continues to dominate and shatter records.

The panel covers all of the updates and announcements at X018 including Microsoft's acquisition of Obsidian and inXile Entertainment. They also talk about the news that Activision revealed at their latest investor call that Destiny 2 has under-performed for them despite seeing success in September 2018's NPD numbers. The biggest news of the week, however, is that Sony has announced they're skipping E3 2019. Why?

The panel talks about their experiences with Red Dead Redemption 2, what they love about it, dislike about it, and why Dom needs to pick it up as soon as possible. They cover some interesting sales news concerning Forza Horizon 4 and the previously mentioned Red Dead Redemption 2. In other news they talk about Ubisoft censoring Rainbow 6 Siege as it enters the Chinese markey, Final Fantasy's Tabata resigning from Square Enix, and Junichi Masuda saying he will no longer direct Pokemon games.

The panel talks about the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct and how it makes them feel as we approach it's December launch. They also talk about Red Dead Redemption 2 and the Nintendo Switch's impressive sales numbers. Rockstar apparently has tons of plans for the next 5 years according to a reported new leak. Lastly, the guys talk about the PlayStation Classic's lineup of games and Microsoft's rumored new studio acquisition.

The guys cover a bunch of news this week including the September NPD numbers. Jade Raymond has left EA and the guys ponder what went wrong and what's next for her career wise. PlayStation is causing more worry than hope with their PSN name change beta invites which has the panel scratching their head. Why did PlayStation force this out? Lastly, the panel looks at the impressive sales numbers for September and discuss the numerous records Spider-Man PS4 shattered with its release.

Jerrad and Jordan talk at lengths about Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey in this week's fireside groove. They also talk about how Ubisoft should add Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia into a release cycle with Assassin's Creed. In the news the guys cover Black Ops 4's crazy sales numbers, Spider-Man's upcoming DLC and New Game Plus updates, Red Dead Redemption 2's download size finally revealed, and Battlefield V taking a risk with their single-player War Stories mode.

The guys start by listening to Jerrad give his impressions on Assassin's Creed Odyssey. They discuss what it does well, what it improved from Assassin's Creed Origins, and despite being great why it doesn't feel authentic to the franchise. Dominic also gives his thoughts on Super Mario Party which landed on Nintendo Switch last week. In the news the guys discuss Skybound saving Telltale's Walking Dead, PSN name changes announced, Microsoft's Project xCloud streaming initiative, and the rumor that Microsoft is close to acquiring Fallout: New Vegas developer, Obsidian Entertainment.

The guys cover the rumor floating around Resetera that Rocksteady's next game is called Batman: Arkham Universe and will be a multiplayer games-as-service experience. CD Projekt Red announced that they had recently received a demand for payment from the author of the Witcher series, A. Sapkowski. According to Sapkowski’s lawyer, he is seeking $16.1 mil. stating that the studio exceeded its right to use the IP. CDPR has already rejected the request on the basis that he wants additional royalties exceeding what was previously agreed upon. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nintendo will be introducing a new version of its popular Switch console next year. On the latest PlayStation Blogcast, Shawn Layden, PlayStation Worldwide Studios Chairman stated: "For 2018, I know this is going to be a disappointment to some people, but we decided to not hold PlayStation Experience this year.”

The panel covers Red Dead Redemption 2 which will reportedly have a download size of 105 gb on PS4. Xbox owners should anticipate a similar size. The game will also support online for 32 players, which is slightly more than GTAV Online’s 30 player cap. RDR2 will indeed have some DLC releasing on PS4 exclusively for 30 days. They also discuss the PlayStation 4 getting a cross-platform platform beta for Fortnite, as well as a ton of Xbox news. Xbox & Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer announced the return of X0 with X018 taking place in November of this year. It’s Xbox’s own fan event that differs from fanfest due to Microsoft’s involvement in terms of announcements and such. The event hasn’t been since 2006 and will take place on Nov. 10th and 11th in Mexico City. Spencer said to look forward to some great announcements.