The Game Awards nominees have come and my former co-host Alex and I sat down to talk about the various nominees, categories, and the games’ industry response to both. You know I like lengthy descriptions but not much else to add to this one, what you see is what you get as they say. I hope you enjoy the show and thank you for helping with the channel growing steadily over time. As always thank you for your time and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Well, I had quite a surprising guest this week. Nick Calandra has had an insane 48 hours. As you have no doubt heard by now, Nick Calandra was the Editor in Chief at The Escapist and was fired on 11/6 by the parent company of The Escapist, Gamurs. Almost instantly after this firing, nearly the entire team at The Escapist either was fired or resigned shortly after. Upon that, Nick immediately put his “misfortune” into high gear and launched Second Wind, a continuation of the video team at The Escapist, now free from the corporate shackles that Gamur had on them. In that short 48 hours, they have already launched their own Patreon, a YouTube channel, and Twitch, ready to go for content that may be ready as you are reading this. Nick and I talk about how he found himself at The Escapist and what may have led to his firing. We also go into the realities of Second Wind, some of his plans going forward, and how it seems the industry is ignoring this whole situation altogether. This was an incredible conversation, and I thank Nick for donating his time to the show and answering my questions. Make sure to check out the relevant channels below this description. Thank you for joining me this week, and I hope you enjoy the conversation.

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Spider-Man 2 has been released, and I did something incredibly rare for me: I completed the game in about three days. This made creating a spoilercast a no-brainer, and I was joined by the former co-host of the Easy Achievers podcast, Alex. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did recording it, and I'm still thinking about the game nearly three days after finishing it. Thank you so much for your support, and until next time!

We have finally seen what the PS5 Slim is, and, at least for me, it is a disappointment. Let's talk about what they are adding to one of the best-selling systems ever made and what they are taking away. The rumor roundup was interesting this week, as I got to gush about one of my favorite games of the year, 'Lies of P,' as there may be DLC coming to the game. 'Lords of the Fallen' reviews are out, as well as 'Assassin’s Creed Mirage,' so I'll talk a little bit about both games. Disney may enter the gaming market more aggressively soon. And of course, the usual segments to end the show. As always, thank you for supporting the show, whether it is just watching, supporting financially, or interacting with the shows via likes, comments, etc. See you next week.

TimeStamps

00:02:19 - Not So Rapid Fire/Lords of the Fallen Reviews are out

00:04:19 - PS5 Cloud streaming is close

00:06:12 - Assassin’s Creed Mirage is out

00:08:14 - Spiderman 2 spoilers are out! Beware!

00:10:16 - New Series S bundle coming

00:11:38 - What have you been playing?

00:17:06 - Rumor Roundup/Lies of P DLC coming

00:19:04 - Best Buy to end physical media sales at stores and online

00:20:19 - PS5 Slim reveal and talk

00:29:40 - Disney may enter the gaming space even more

00:32:00 - Unity CEO retiring

00:33:00 - Remedy talks about developing for the Series S

00:41:23 - Date Update

00:45:08 - What’s Queued up?

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"Lies of P" has taken me and my co-host (Alex) by quite a surprise, as it's one of the rare games that has captured all of my attention and made me fall in love with it quite quickly. This title, developed by Round8 Studios, has gone above and beyond in showing me that an unknown studio can come out of nowhere and deliver an incredible game in a year filled with hit titles. We gathered today to discuss the intricate story filled with lies and deceit, and of course, talk about THAT scene at the end.

Well, on a random Tuesday, we witnessed the most significant leak in Xbox history, courtesy of none other than Xbox themselves, revealed through their filing in the current FTC case regarding the Activision Blizzard King purchase. I don't intend to exaggerate, but this leak dwarfs any previous ones experienced by the American company. It divulges roadmaps outlining their vision for the Xbox ecosystem, strategies to achieve industry dominance by 2030, and an audacious plan to quadruple their Game Pass subscriber base within the same timeframe. Additionally, there's a treasure trove of information about upcoming systems, controllers, and hardware plans, and even with over 150 documents at hand, there's still more to uncover. I aimed to produce this video promptly to facilitate our discussion and help connect the dots between what we now know and what we can infer.

Thank you for joining me today, and remember whatever you do to support the channel means the world to me. Don't forget to like, share with a friend, and subscribe. Until next time, go achieve!

TimeStamps

00:02:56 - Game Pass Numbers Leak

00:03:39 - Microsoft still wants to buy Nintendo/interest in WB

00:18:45 - Oblivion and Fallout 3 Remastered leaked/ Elder Scrolls 6 won't be coming to PS5

00:29:15 - New Hardware/Consoles and controllers

00:48:55 - Microsoft wants to be a “Gaming Leader” by 2023

01:09:38 - Top 20 Most Engaged Franchises on Xbox

01:17:31 - Cost Estimates for games coming to Xbox

01:19:30 - Phil Spencer said Xbox had a superior product to Sony

01:29:11- Why Xbox closes studios

01:35:30 - More Estimates on game pass games.

01:42:20 - Closing Thoughts

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Well, we have a week dedicated to a giant conversation surrounding Unity’s baffling pricing decision to charge per install... or was it? Many were quick to point out the flaws in the scheme, of which there were many, but few discussed the core reason outside of the obvious revenue generation. So let's discuss it here. Remember, this is always a discussion, a variable roundtable if you will, so if you agree or disagree with anything said, let me know in the comments or tweet at me.

Moving on to less contentious news, we have both a Nintendo Direct and a PlayStation State of Play to talk about and digest as we are barreling out of this year at what feels like a lightning pace. Thank you so much for tuning in this week, and remember, however you support the show, it means the world to me. See you next week!

TimeStamps

00:01:06 -Not So Rapid Fire/Wild Hearts Support Ended

00:05:49 -Immortals of Aveum Dev has layoffs

00:10:02 -Hades 2 early access Q2 2024

00:10:47 -What have you been playing?

00:13:26 -Start of the Show/Unity pricing change and drama

00:34:50 -Gearbox maybe looking to leave Embracer

00:36:52 -Nintendo Direct

00:41:30 -State of Play

00:55:38 -Date Updates

00:57:41 -Queued Up?

Support us financially and enjoy a number of perks like messaging us questions and early access to our show at: https://www.patreon.com/easyachievers

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My Honest Starfield Impressions, Thoughts and Feelings by Alex and Elijah

It's been a light news week, as everyone has avoided Starfield announcements like the plague. However, we do have some things to discuss. The Suikoden remaster has been delayed, an Xbox Head of Japan has been appointed, and Indiana Jones is set to have an actual reveal next year. The Rumor Roundup is light, but we have some sources in the gaming rumor space saying Hogwarts Legacy 2 is in development – not surprising, of course. SAG-AFTRA strikes might be coming to the gaming industry. An interesting quote came from Shawn Layden, former chairman of SIE Worldwide, talking about the various competitors that could disrupt the industry. As always, thank you for supporting the show in whatever way you do. See you next week.

TimeStamps

00:03:35- Not So Rapid Fire/Writer leaves Rockstar

00:06:10- Xbox Head of Japan

00:10:14- Suikoden remaster delayed

00:13:57- Indiana Jones set to reveal next year

00:15:05- Rumor Roundup/Hogwarts Legacy 2 in development

00:18:30- What have you been playing?

00:22:59- Sag-Aftra Strike coming?

00:29:40- Shawn Layden says there are “barbarians at the gate”

00:40:12- Gearbox layoffs/Volition closes

00:43:45- Date Updates

The gaming industry, particularly the Xbox side, has found itself in somewhat of a frenzy when discussing the viability of the Series S. The question at hand is whether it should continue to receive updates with the same games as the Series X. In case you're not aware, it's a requirement to release your game on both the Series S and Series X when launching on the Xbox platform. Over the years, some developers have expressed concerns and issues with this policy, especially as we move further away from the initial launch of these devices.

With the launch of Baldur's Gate 3, it was initially excluded from the Xbox platform until the Phil Spencer meeting at Gamescom. This situation has raised many questions about whether it's worthwhile to maintain this policy, as it could potentially deter significant publishers and developers from releasing their games on the platform.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Of course, we still have the rest of the show to cover, as several noteworthy events have occurred, including Nvidia's staggering revenue, the closure of the Xbox 360 Store, Bioware's layoffs affecting 50 employees, and more. We appreciate you joining us this week, and regardless of how you choose to show your support, thank you so much.

TimeStamps

00:00:50- CFX.RE has been acquired by RockStar

00:02:30- New Xbox Strike System

00:04:06- Nvidia has insane revenue

00:06:25- Destiny 2 TLDR Showcase

00:08:50- What have you been playing?

00:12:20- Rumor Roundup/Snitch leaks GoW Ragnorak DLC

00:13:30- Start of the Show/Series S and Series X problems

00:27:38- Bioware lays off 50 people/Bioware may be a shadow of its former self

00:36:03- Microsoft signs a deal with Ubisoft to sell off cloud streaming rights for Act/Bliz

00:38:10- Embracer groups mystery backer is revealed

00:42:33- Xbox 360 Store closes

00:44:28- PlayStation Portal revealed

00:50:28- Date Updates

00:51:35- Whats Queued?