Dropped Frames

Are we witnessing the end of XBOX as hardware? All signs are point to yes as retailers continue to stop stocking the console. EA officially goes private, what does that mean for the studios under their umbrella? Megabonk sells over 1 mil, World of Warcraft Midnight set to change how raids work moving forward and living in the AI hell dimension. We then glaze Hades 2 and Ghost of Yotei and brace for another stacked month of video games!

0:00 - Intro
2:30 - Race cars
12:55 - XBOX raises prices
42:50 - EA goes private
55:50 - Megabonk sells 1 million copies
59:00 - World of Warcraft removes combat mods
1:27:20 - The Age of Lies
1:33:50 - Hades 2
1:40:00 - Ghost of Yotei
2:29:00 - October games
2:35:10 - Baby Steps
2:51:20 - Housekeeping/Shoutouts

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Cohh teaches us about the wonderful history of childhood memes and slang this week so lock-in before we dive into all the Tokyo Game Show news that dropped over the week! Including the PC GAMER showcase, the Playstation State of Play where Yakuza Kiwami 3 and a reveal of Wolverine were shown respectively. Twitch unveils live rewinding of streams that is paywalled, Kai Cenat reaches 1 million Twitch subs. We bonk in Megabonk, Silent Hill f and Hades 2 and so much more!

0:00 - Intro 3
1:00 - Kermit
5:20 - 6 7
15:30 - Sumo Wrestling
17:00 - PC GAMER Tokyo Direct
26:10 - State of Play
38:40 - New Borderlands 4 character
47:40 - Deus Ex Remastered
1:00:50 - Yakuza Kiwami 3
1:05:30 - The Kojima Gold Card
1:08:20 - Overdose Knock
1:11:30 - Doug Bowser leaves Nintendo
1:13:00 - EA being bought by Saudi Arabia
1:21:00 - Subnautica 2
1:22:50 - Live Twitch Rewind
1:24:40 - Kai Cenat hits 1 million subs
1:39:10 - Megabonk
1:51:21 - Cloverpit
1:57:00 - Hades 2
2:12:50 - Silent Hill f
2:44:40 - Arkheron
2:48:00 - Baby Steps
2:57:00 - Shoutouts

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Do you remember the 21st night of September? Because we do on this very packed episode! Unfortunately the state of the world is encroaching on everything and everyone and that includes video games as payment processors have changed their guidelines to vaguely singling out adult content on Steam and other storefronts. Counter-Strike 2 found a way to get passed gambling laws, and Valve apologizes to an indie dev studio. We love Borderlands 4 despite itself. Our thoughts on Dying Light 2, Megabonk, No, I am Not Human, and a spoiler review of Cronos!

 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - 21st of September
9:00 - Convergence
19:00 - Let's Build a Dungeon
26:00 - Payment processors attack on video games
37:00 - Counter-Strike 2 circumvents gambling laws
43:00 - Steam apologizes to a dev studio
50:00 - Borderlands 4
1:15:00 - Easy mode?
1:22:20 - XBOX raises prices again
1:30:40 - Krafton vs Subnautica update
1:32:40 - Paradox changes Bloodlines 2 DLC
1:35:20 - Dying Light 2: The Beast
1:54:20 - Megabonk
2:08:20 - Jump Space
2:10:10 - Valve update
2:16:30 - No, I Am Not Human
2:26:10 - Eclipsium
2:33:50 - Cronos (+spoilers)
2:48:40 - Dead Reset
2:54:50 - Shoutouts

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Cohh is out this week so we bring on Bruce Greene and Anthony Kongphan to talk about the horrors of Ditto. JP's unnatural love of karaoke, our disdain for Nintendo gameplay patents, the difficulty of Silksong. Then we get into our time with Borderlands 4. Is it too much of the same thing? 

 

0:00 - Intro
1:20 - Mr. Brightside
3:10 - Karaoke
8:30 - Beards
13:00 - Physical media
17:25 - Nintendo Direct
30:00 - Ditto
40:20 - Nintendo US patent.
48:50 - Is Silksong hard?
1:00:20 - Hades 2 1.0
1:09:40 - Silent Hill f
1:17:00 - Battlefield 6
1:27:00 - Borderlands 4
2:14:40 - 2XKO closed beta
2:35:20 - Waterpark Simulator
2:39:00 - Cronos
2:43:40 - The Lightkeeper
2:50:40 - Casebook 1899
2:52:50 - Gloomy eyes
3:00:00 - Shoutouts

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We're joined by recent Vtuber convert Dodger this week to get into the nitty gritty of vtubing debuts and the tech and work that goes into setting it all up. Then we get into the megaton game of 2025: Hollow Knight: Silksong and Cohh's speedrun! We explore the darkness of Hell is Us, why Deadlock might be okay for beginners. How to start Path of Exile 2, our thoughts on Cronos and more! 

 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Controversy
8:00 - Homework
13:10 - Vtuber debut
17:00 - The tech
30:00 - Dodger's vtuber model inspiration
54:00 - Hollow Knight: Silksong
1:27:10 - Hell is Us
1:45:40 - Deadlock
1:59:20 - Path of Exile 2
2:19:50 - Cronos: The New Dawn
2:38:50 - Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion
2:47:15 - Shoutouts

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We're joined by FGC legend Justin Wong this week to chat about competing at EVO, upcoming fighting games, and becoming Him. We check our Silksong hype, Path of Exile 2 returns in a huge way, Shinobi is a home for fighting game players and the surprisingly hype Geoguesser World Championship.

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Football season
6:00 - Smack talk
11:30 - Sub sandwiches & fast food
16:30 - Oh yeah, Justin Wong is here
31:00 - Marvel Tokon/2XKO/Invincible VS
58:30 - Are hiding inputs useful?
1:05:10 - Sony sells EVO
1:09:20 - EVO prestige 
1:20:30 - Is it better to be good at a game or good at reading players?
1:24:30 - EVO Moment 37
1:32:00 - Street Fighter 6
1:36:30 - Lucy in Guilty Gear Strive
1:38:00 - Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
1:42:30 - Silksong hype check
1:49:10 - Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict
2:21:40 - Geoguesser World Championship
2:40:30 - VOID/BREAKER
2:42:40 - TheHunter - Call of the Wild
3:00:00 - Shoutouts

 

 

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We remove the clown shoes after 7 years of waiting: Silksong has a release date! Just in time for 20% of Twitch's viewership poofs out of existence as Twitch has finally started combating viewbotting! How will this affect streams and sponsors in the future on the streaming platform? Tariffs hit Playstation 5 in the US. Vampire the Masquerade: The Ship of Theseus. Pete Parsons leaves Bungie in his very cool car after firing numerous employees.Path of Exile 2 returns in a big way, ERPers turn on Final Fantasy XIV and much more!

 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Condensed
3:00 - Viewbotters
16:45 - Silksong finally has a release date
28:30 - The PlayStation 5 price increases
31:15 - Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2
47:00 - Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST
48:10 - Pete Parsons leaves Bungie
50:00 - Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict
1:10:20 - Final Fantasy XIV bans mods
1:18:00 - World of Warcraft Midnight
1:23:40 - Deadlock gets a big update
1:30:00 - Hosting
1:38:30 - Whispers From The Star
1:52:00 - Loving an AI
2:06:30 - VOID/BREAKER
2:14:30 - Morrowind
2:24:55 - Gods, Death & Reapers
2:41:40 - Herdling
2:48:15 - Dead Wire
2:50:30 - We finish games here
2:57:00 - Supraworld
3:03:00 - Shoutouts

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We're all in on Battlefield 6 this week as the first beta weekend launched. Is Battlefield back? Titan Quest 2 gaining traction, Diablo 4 lead Rod Fergusson leaves Blizzard, Bungie losing independence, Square Enix MMOs on the downtrend. Zeke suffers through Mind's Eye, watching the EVO finals and we learn new zoomer slang and baseball! 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Up all night
3:25 - Start diggin' in yo butt twin
6:00 - Baseball
16:00 - Titan Quest 2 sold 300k in 72 hours
16:50 - Rod Fergusson leaves Blizzard/Microsoft
24:10 - Bungie dissolving into Sony
30:00 - Battlefield 6
1:20:10 - Square Enix MMO division
1:34:10 - EVO 2025
1:45:40 - Mind's Eye
2:01:10 - Mafia: The Old Country
2:23:10 - Abiotic Factor
2:38:00 - THE RPG
2:43:50 - Shoutouts

 

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We're joined by Washington Post's game journalist Gene Park this week to chat about the state of games journalism in 2025 and how Mind's Eye is the experience of the year.  We also go over the surprise THQ showcase that revealed Darksiders 4 and shadowdropped the early access of Titan Quest 2. Then we get into our time with Grounded 2, Abiotic Factor 1.0, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and... Shenmue?

 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Hair Bleach
7:00 - Gene Park is here
18:00 - Journalism in 2025
37:20 - Gene's favorite interview
1:05:00 - What is clickbait?
1:07:00 - Going to gaming events
1:11:00 - Maintaining integrity
1:20:50 - Gene has platinumed Mind's Eye
1:53:50 - Visa/Mastercard/Porn
2:05:00 - Music
2:08:50 - Nintendo sales
2:10:20 - Bioshock 4 dead?
2:12:30 - Top people working at WB
2:17:40 - THQ showcase - Titan Quest 2/Darksider 4
2:29:50 - Grounded 2
2:35:00 - Abiotic Factor
2:40:00 - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
2:42:30 - Shinobi Demo
2:44:50 - Shenmue
2:49:45 - The Drifter
2:52:45 - Lucy joins Guilty Gear Strive/EVO 2025
2:58:30 - Shoutouts/Tokon breaking news

 

 

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This week we talk about finishing games as a streamer, why it's better for the streamer and the viewer to not force themselves to complete games. The numerous faux pas we dislike in games. Our thoughts on Donkey Kong Banaza, FFXIV Dawntrail, the Mafia series, Neon Abyss 2 (and more) before getting into the news with Krafton v Subnautica heating up, Roblox dating, being replaced by AI and more!

 

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - The worst show
7:25 - Cohh quits Kojima
28:00 - Finishing games
47:00 - Gaming faux pas
54:50 - Claptrap will have a volume slider in Borderlands 4
58:30 - Grounded is the best survival game
1:10:00 - Mafia 3
1:27:00 - Donkey Kong Bananza
1:56:50 - Ghost of Yotei Showcase
2:02:50 - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
2:12:50 - Zeke's Games
2:16:40 - Neon Abyss 2
2:18:50 - Krafton vs Subnautica
2:21:50 - Valve removes sex games
2:33:00 - Microtransactions create fun!
2:35:15 - Roblox dating
2:45:00 - Lay-offs at King (Microsoft) replaced by AI
2:46:40 - Destiny 2 Edge of Fate CCV way down
2:51:00 - Shoutouts

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.