Easy Achievers Gaming Podcast

Emmett joins us for another great episode filled with discussion. Of course, the big news item is some scuttlebutt going around about From Software possibly underpaying and forcing crunch. Now not much in the way of hard evidence comes with these claims but we should cover it nonetheless and give our thoughts. Expect a full "What have you been playing?" segment as I have been incredibly busy diving into a large swath of games and Emmett like always has played his fair share as well. Thank you so much for listening to the show and supporting it however you do.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:03:09- Not So Rapid Fire

00:07:20- What is Emmett playing the rest of the year?

00:17:49- What have you been playing?

00:44:50- Rumor Roundup/Tekken 8 coming to the Game Awards

00:51:35- Monster Hunter Rise coming to Game Pass

00:52:58- FromSoftware faces crunch allegations

01:07:30- Xbox says no next gen systems until 2028

01:11:11- Todd Howard interview on Lex Fredman

01:12:30- Nintendo smashes Smash World Tour

01:21:55- Date Update

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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at me on my social @EVM9000 on twitter.

I fell in love with Sony Santa Monica's God of War (2018) and luckily Ragnarok is no different. Alex and I sit down to fully discuss this masterpiece and break down everything in terms of direction, storytelling, characters, and more.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:45 - What did we think Overall?

00:12:55 - Cast

00:15:30 - Freya’s Character Progression

00:25:25 - Tyr’s Twist

00:34:50 - Thor Boss Fight

00:45:30 - Favorite Realm

00:56:50 - Brok and Sindri

01:05:00 - Playing as Atreus

01:16:00 - Times with Fey

01:23:00 - Ending

01:39:00 - Almost forgot, The Norns

01:56:10 - Settling Down

I am joined by my dear friend Emmett Watkins Jr. to talk about the PSVR 2 and which I tear apart the lackluster lineup and price of the virtual headset coming next year. We have a nuanced decision about the seemingly large blunder Sony has found themselves in with this announcement, but I am curious to hear your thoughts on this? Did this announcement affect you much, are you more or less interested? I am incredibly lukewarm on this system now given no BC and the lineup is not exciting for me whatsoever to justify the cost. We did have a shorter news week as I am sure people wanted to stay out of the way of the God of War review embargo and soon release so expect a quieter next week as well. We also have a strange occurrence with Embracer closing a studio down which seems like the first time they have actually taken action in closing a studio rather than continuously buying as much as possible. As always your support means so much and I am glad I could spend some time with you today! See you next week.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:05:40- Not so Rapid Fire/Call of duty will add ranked play/sales info

00:12:00- It wasn’t Parasite Eve

00:14:10- The Last of Us HBO premiere date

00:14:40- Plague tales passes a million copies

00:15:09- Complex games acquired by Frontier

00:15:35- God of War reviews are out

00:16:23- What have you been playing?

00:27:39- Rumor Roundup/ Hotel Barcelona trademark spotted

00:30:22- Naughty Dog working on a beloved franchise

00:34:26- Start of the show/ PSVR 2 price and date announced

00:51:35- Embracer closes Onoma, previously Square Enix Montreal

00:57:00- Nibellion leaves Twitter

01:06:50- Date Update

01:07:36- What does the rest of the year look like for us in gaming?

01:29:46- Late news/ Witcher 4 finds a director

01:33:30- God of War performance modes

01:35:05- Hideo Kojima finally comments on Abandoned

01:39:19- Overdose seems to be leaked again

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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at me on my social @EVM9000 on twitter.

Solo episode this week as we have some discussion around Sony London coming out a talking a little bit about their new upcoming coop game. The Rocksteady cofounders are leaving the studios at the end of the year and Phil Spencer gives an interview detailing some of Xbox's business and tells us straight that prices will be rising soon in the Xbox ecosystem. As always remember however you support though show it means a lot especially during such times of uncertainty. Thank you for spending some time with me!

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:14- Not So Rapid Fire

00:04:37- What have you been playing?

00:12:54- Rumor Roundup

00:23:56- Start of the show/ PS London making a new game

00:28:05- Rocksteady co-founders leaving the studio

00:32:42- Phil Spencer says Xbox prices will go up!

00:43:00- Marvel has a 3-game deal with EA

00:44:50- Date Updates

00:49:00- What do I have queued up this week?

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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

As I say in the beginning we only had O’Dell for a short while so I only did the main show with him and I covered Not so Rapid Fire solo this week.

O’Dell Harmon Jr. joins the chair this week to aid in my journey into the news every week. We discuss many personal news items that seem to have dominated the discourse over the week including the pay for Voice Actor Helena Taylor who was the original voice for Bayonetta. Kden’s accounting of her experience at Rooster Teeth and Mica Burton’s. Also covering the fall (again) of G4TV. O’Dell has a great perspective on the industry as you will no doubt find out on the show and someone I now consider as a wise beyond his years figure in the industry and if you find yourself agreeing check out his channel Toadstool Boardroom for more from him. As always thank you for supporting the show however you do and see you next week.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:03- Not So Rapid Fire

00:22:50- Microsoft to make a mobile storefront

00:30:47- Bayonetta pay problem

00:45:00- Kdin Jenzen’s account at Rooster Teeth

00:56:44- Koonami reveals multiple Silent Hill projects.

01:05:18- G4TV has found itself canceled again

01:20:00:What have you been playing?

01:22:45- What is 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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

A light news week although some substantial news to go over as Sony as an ambitious plan to sell over 30 million units of PS5 by the ending of the next fiscal year. More drama incoming from the UK board observing the Microsoft and Blizzard purchase with Sony giving their thoughts on the acquisition and what it could mean for the industry (so done talking about this topic lol). A couple quick stories like some Persona news and we talk about our experience with Overwatch 2. As always let us know your thoughts in the comments and thank you for your support of the show!

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:33 - Not So Rapid Fire

00:08:35 - What we’ve been playing

00:20:50 - Rumor Round Up

00:34:50 - Activision/Blizzard Deal Halt?

00:39:50 - Prototype for Project Keystone?!?

00:43:00 - Xcloud coming to MetaQuest 2

00:47:30 - Date Updates

00:51:30 - What’s Queued?

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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Mario Piacquadio from Spoonful joins me today as he aids in my endeavor to deliver the news every week with someone with an incredible eye and perspective in the games industry. We had quite a week to talk about mainly of course the recent interview with Herman Hulst via Axios gave us a look at the future multiplayer and games as a service PlayStation will look like. That is a large portion of the show as we dissect the multiple meanings some of his statements gave and we needed to discuss the heavily rumored Horizon Zero Dawn remake we could be getting soon that will feature a multiplayer component to the game. A Not So Rapid Fire definitely held to its name as we discussed Half Life Alyx potentially coming to the PSVR 2, the PS5 being jailbroken(heavy PS week in terms of news), and a few other things I will leave for you to find in the show… or timestamps I guess. Anyways thank you so much for joining me this week and remember to support the co hosts every week go check out Mario on Twitter and on his official channel. Thank you for supporting the show however you do regardless of how small! And until next week…

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:03:55- Not So Rapid Fire/Previews for Overwatch 2 and Gotham Knights

00:07:50- PS5 was jailbroken (slightly)

00:10:00- Half life Alyx coming to PSVR?

00:12:40- CD Projekt Red details the future

00:24:05- What have you been playing?

00:33:27- Rumor Roundup/Horizon Forbidden West DLC?

00:36:00- Call of Duty 2025 sequel to Advanced Warfare?

00:36:42- PSVR 2 in production

00:41:04- Halo Infinite moving to Unreal 5?

00:43:57- NFS Unbound leaked

00:46:26- Start of the show/ Herman Hulst interview

00:59:04- Horizon Zero Dawn remake in the works

01:13:13- Xbox makes a great history of revenue in the games industry

01:13:55- tri-ace may be going bankrupt

01:16:25- Tencent wants to own more companies

01:17:25- Frances Townsend stands down as CCO of Activision

01:20:25- Fandom acquires multiple sites from Red Ventures

01:24:20- Date Updates

01:27:30- What's 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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Emmett Watkins Jr graces us at the perfect timing as we are discussing the announced cancellation of Google’s game streaming platform, Stadia. Although it didn’t take an industry soothsayer to foretell this I do think most people thought it would make it past 5 years. That is not all as promised last week in the description, we missed a news story on Shawn Layden joining Tencent as a Strategic Advisor, incredibly sad to see a smart man sell out in such style. Then in incredibly disheartening news the Savvy Games Fund, Saudi Arabia’s investment group had tens of billions of dollars ready to encourage new Saudi studios and to acquire more studios around the world. Mohammed Bin Salmad is troubling and has a shady background to put it incredibly lightly. Make sure to check out that portion of the episode for sure. Multiple quick stories like the new GPUs from Nvidia and Intel, SEGA making a Blockchain game, and E3 announcing their dates and much more of course. Let us know your thoughts on anything we covered in the show, as always I thank you for supporting the show however you do whether it through likes, comments, and/or subscriptions.

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:01- Not So Rapid Fire

00:03:55- VGC Team Ninja Interview

00:07:40- Nintendo QA Tester says wrongfully fired

00:12:00- Girls Who Code books not banned?

00:17:50- Last of Us HBO trailer

00:23:20- What have you been playing?

00:31:28-Rumor Roundup/ Silent Hill rated in South Korea

00:34:25- Returnal PC Gameplay Leaked

00:38:15- Stadia will be shutting down January

00:52:20- Saudi Arabia aims to become a gaming hub by 2030/acquire more studios

01:06:22- Twitch had one bad week/bans gambling after scandal/removes 70/30 split from top 10% streamers

01:18:15- Shawn Layden joins Tencent as Strategic Advisor

01:25:02- People can Fly states TakeTwo partnership canceled and outlines its future

01:30:55- Project Amplify launches at Xbox

01:38:10- Blazblue creator leaves ArcSystem Works

01:40:45- Disney wants 2 games a year

01:47:02- Date Updates

01:53:00- What’s 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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.

We are @EasyAchievers everywhere!

Well you can now say you were around when one of the biggest leaks in gaming history happened. We have Emmett Watkins Jr. with us today to discuss multiple noteworthy news items, of course arguably the biggest news item this week was the Suikoden 1+2 remaster being announced (lol). Of course there is plenty to announce but we go over some first impressions coming out for Mario and rabbids as well as some Scorn gameplay look. Some confirmation on some rumored games like the Iron Man game coming soon and EA hinting at further Marvel titles. Some smaller news items like Ted Lasso going to FIFA 23 and VideoGameDunkey starting a game publishing company. Diablo 4 had some leaked footage come out around the time GTA6 had leaked so no one cared. Also, we discuss the relevance that G4 has in 2022 and if it may be sticking around or not. The brunt of the show is of course on the insane leak of GTA 6 and what it really reveals about the industry as well as some PSVR 2 news coming out that it will not be backwards compatible at launch.

Important to note, I have to ask for your apologies Achievers as I completely missed a news story in my own Google Doc, the story specifically was Shawn Layden joining the Tencent Board. It is a shame we missed this, but we will still be covering this next week so stay tuned please. Thank you for your understanding!

TimeStamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:50- Rockstar suffers a massive leak of GTA 6

00:29:35- Not so Rapid Rapid Fire

00:44:44- What have you been playing?

01:06:20- Dan Allen outs himself being TheRealInsider

01:14:56- New PS5 model to feature a detachable disc drive

01:18:45- Xplay Host has been let go

01:39:10-Sackboy coming to PC according to SteamDB

01:39:55- Destiny 2 Director details new expansion

01:46:58- ex-RockSteady devs details her harassment at the studio/Warner responds

01:54:10 PSVR 2 will NOT be backwards compatible/Rumors there will be lots of ports coming to PSVR 2

02:07:40- Xbox rolls back Xbox one era DRM checks

02:08:35- Blizzard sees multiple high profile employees leave

02:10:20- Date Updates/Logitech Cloud G

02:14:00- Suikoden 1+2 remasters coming

02:18:18- Game Pass titles coming soon/Leaving

02:26:35- free EGS game

02:26:42- Portal RTX

02:27:04- What’s Queued up?

We have an incredible game to talk about with an incredible cohost to talk with. The Last of Us originally launched in 2013 has had a remake of the game in the form of this years The Last of Us Part I. One of the most seminal games in the last two decades see an incredible remake as we are able to revisit this instant classic when it was launched back in 2013. We go over everything you would want to discuss outbreak day, the setting, the characters, the deeper look into the gray morality of humanity, and so much more that I can fully cover here. Let us know your thoughts as that is the best part of these spoilercasts.

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:24- Our History with TLOU

00:04:19- Favorite levels, chapters, collectibles

00:08:05- Weapons and Leveling

00:11:08- Start of the spoilercast/Going Chapter by Chapter

00:11:41- Let's talk about the watch

00:16:30- Should Oscars have a acting award for video games(random as fuck but fun conversation)

01:29:13- Joel’s Decision to save Ellie

01:34:05- Cure Discussion/Would it have worked, how would it be distributed?

01:39:20- Epilogue

01:41:00- Left Behind

01:45:45- Was this a wise remake?

01:51:20- How does this rank on our Top10/Is this better than TLOU Part 2?

01:53:40- Is this the best game ever made?

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

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B7KjGDmEhxJZPtlbQOikQ

Listen to us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19Yw1jiRxtIlaIP0AJpS2P

Scream at us on our socials @EVM9000 on twitter or instagram. @crazyflipskater for Alex on twitter.