The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion talk to Compete's Eric Van Allen about Nintendo's surprising new esports  acumen with 'Splatoon 2,' 'Arms,' and 'Pokkén Tournament' (2:07), esports  franchising and the future of competitive 'Overwatch' and 'League of Legends' (4:33), the difficulty of producing a comprehensible esports  broadcast (9:09), the high ceiling of 'Rocket League' (13:27), esports  on college campuses (16:50), and esports  in VR (20:00). Then they bring on Richard Knol, the lone developer of planet-size sailing simulator 'Sailaway' (24:30), to explain how he accurately modeled Earth's oceans with real-time (26:19), real-world weather (28:10), how he's trying to satisfy sailing experts without making his sim inaccessible (36:05), and why water is such a challenge for game-makers (33:34).
      
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Esports Roundup and a World-Size Sim (Ep. 38)

Every week, The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion delve into the virtual world, discussing the latest video game releases and trends, interviewing industry experts, and exploring fascinating subcultures.

Video Games

Games & Hobbies

Leisure

In an extra-long, year-ending episode, The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss Ben's VR Christmas gift (0:15), before welcoming Ringer colleagues Justin Charity and Matt James for a roundtable debate about the best games of 2017, which they share via four personal top 10 lists and an overall combined ranking (5:05). Then they bring on indie designer Jason Roberts to explain how he conceived of and created the new hand-drawn narrative puzzle game 'Gorogoa' (61:35). And finally they wrap up with an in-depth exploration of the highs and the lows of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' and the future of the Lucasfilm franchise (88:45).
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Games of the Year, 'Gorogoa,' and 'The Last Jedi' (Ep. 67)

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss their opinions about porgs and cute creatures in 'Star Wars' and imagine an alternate history in which BioWare adapts 'Game of Thrones' instead of 'Star Wars' (0:15). Then they bring on three writers to discuss four games whose content keeps changing, talking to Polygon's Charlie Hall about 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' coming to consoles and 'Star Citizen' going to court (8:45), Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen about the new Doomsday Heist in 'GTA Online' (41:50), and Geek.com's Jordan Minor about 'Breath of the Wild' DLC (59:00).

      
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Ever-Evolving Games: 'PUBG,' 'Star Citizen,' 'GTA Online,' and 'Zelda' (Ep. 66)

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss the scare-reducing "safe mode" in the new Xbox port of sci-fi horror game 'Soma' (0:15) then welcome colleagues Justin Charity and Victor Luckerson to talk about Nintendo's dramatic 2017 turnaround, 'Xenoblade Chronicles 2,' and the future of the Switch (8:05). Lastly Ben and Jason bring on Representative Chris Lee of the Hawaii House of Representatives to explain his plans to win the political battle against exploitative loot boxes (42:20).

      
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Triumphant Nintendo, 'Xenoblade,' and Loot Boxes vs. the Law (Ep. 65)

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss the microtransaction controversy sweeping the industry and talk to the influential Reddit poster who helped start the backlash against 'Battlefront II' (8:40).They then bring on ESPN esports reporter Jacob Wolf to preview the advent of the innovative Overwatch League and address the questions that Blizzard still has to answer about 'Overwatch' as an esport and the big-buy-in league's long-term viability (39:40).

      
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EA's Reddit-Driven Downfall and Overwatch League Unknowns (Ep. 64)

The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion soundtrack your holiday travel with their first-ever mailbag episode, answering listener questions about the best and worst trends and games of 2017, the games they most regret missing, open-world design vs. linear levels and single-player vs. multiplayer, how Triple-A games can cut costs, the balance between new IP and sequels, the latest esports and streaming developments, how to introduce kids to video games, the greatest gaming eras, fallen franchises and genres that are due for revivals, trophy hunting, Switch ports, and much more.

      
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Esports Roundup and a World-Size Sim (Ep. 38)

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