Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast

EA has thrown its stake in the ground, and determined that it does not need or care to support Nintendo on the Wii U. No Frosbite engine, no current development on Wii U, and a senior developer who openly tweeted that Nintendo's console platform was "crap". So much for that "unprecedented partnership"!

Vinnk and Sean make the obvious comparisons to Dreamcast (which was the last console EA totally shut out), speculate on the future of proprietary, company-branded game console hardware, and try to determine if Nintendo even needs EA in this generation... or any other.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

The Wii U might seem like it's in trouble, but even if the least bad of the "always on" rumors for the next Xbox prove true, will Microsoft be the worse one off this generation? Is this company that only entered console gaming this side of the millennium trying as hard as it can to apply the digial download methodology of gaming to physical media, or is it just a bunch of baseless fanboy fears and rampant speculation?

Sean and Vinnk run down three possible scenarios for what to expect when the new Xbox is finally announced later this month, each one making Microsoft look worse than the last. We started this podcast worrying about the effect that digital DRM games would have on the medium at large, but we never thought the event horizon would occur so soon. Or maybe it won't. We'll find out soon enough!

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Even in the 8-bit days, the theme of time travel in video games was all around us. For some, it was a story excuse to visit

historical landmarks and offer. Other explored idea of what it meant to manipulate time Usually, they were some poorly-designed

movie tie-in. But each one offered an unmentioned promise that someday, somewhen, the ultimate time travel game would arise. Now, if only someone would invent actual time travel and send that game back to us in time for this episode!

Vinnk and Sean discuss their favorite (and sometimes not-so-favorite) time travel games, what they did right, what they could have

done better, and spend probably too much time gushing about Presto Studio's The Journeyman Project and bolstering the merits of the 1996 Doctor Who movie on Fox starring Paul McGann. But, mostly, it's about games. And we somehow forgot to mention Shadow of Destiny... (Don't worry; we'll try to cover that in the show notes.)

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

One of the many interesting things about the PS4 is the name itself, since one of the Japanese words for "Four" is also the word for "death". Prophetic, given the state of Sony and the PS3, or just a harmless pun? They'll need a lot of killer apps to overcome that name, amiright? (Thanks to @Cheesemeister3k for that joke.)

Sean and Vinnk discuss the PS4 reveal, the DualShock 4 controller redesign, and whether or not either of them will be getting one. Sony, y u no show console? Ah, no matter. What matters is the games, right? We try to find something to hold on to since we only have a list of titles and no price... or box... or...

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Rayman Legends is ready to ship for Wii U, but now won't be released until multi-platform versions are ready. Wii U sales are down, but if games aren't coming out that people want to buy, who's to blame? Nintendo is offering a Wii U bundle with Ubisoft's ZombiU (and Nintendo Land, AND a Pro Controller), but is it too little too late?

Vinnk and Sean try and suss out Ubisoft's strategy, and discuss what Nintendo can do today to get people to buy Wii U without dropping the price. (*COUGH*Wii U Virtual Console!*COUGH*)

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

There's a White House petition going around to make region locking a thing of the past -- at least in the United States of America. Does such a law have any chance of passing, and can it even be effective if it did? And what would the side-effects be?

Vinnk and Sean discuss the perils and pitfalls of region locking, if it even makes sense any more in an increasingly digital-only medium, and the kinds of odd behaviors it causes in those who actually want to buy games or consoles across regions. We also discuss the (successful) GCW-Zero Kickstarter, and its inevitable ROM piracy implications.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Be careful about bringing your beer to a Destructoid room party! They might claim

they don't know you, and then keep your beer!

Sean tells Vinnk about his time at MAGFest, the fun panels he attended, the cool people he met (and re-met), the awesome videos he watched -- like JewWario's trailer for his new FamiKamen Rider series, and how Sean would go to a Destructoid room party again (even if he has to bring more beer to get in). Discussion about the MSX also re-ignites the debate of what can or can't be considered a game console.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Rarely do games place you in the role of the villain. Either it's too difficult, tongue-in-cheek and therefore not serious, or being a villain is ultimately too unpalatable to pull off except for the briefest moments.

Vinnk and Sean take a look at the games that try to bridge this gap, whether or not they were successful, and just which ones are worth playing -- even if it's juts for laughs. Also, we DIDN'T forget the most obvious example, we just saved the best for last!

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

For as long as the Wii has been around, fans and critics alike maligned it for not supporting the HD or hardcore gaming crowd. There's no way it can be a success! Now that the Wii U is out, supporting even HDMI out of the box (a first for consoles), and now it has a hard time supporting older televisions and standard definition. Nintendo is turning its back on classic gaming!

Vinnk and Sean explore why the launch of the Wii U wasn't quite the same as that of its predecessor (also the only console launch of any kind since the Wii), wonder how it will stack up against the eventual and unannounced competition as it ages,and discuss the importance of getting a cake from the Japanese police department. Oh, and the wisdom of releasing Mass Effect 3 for full price when all three games are available on other consoles for the same amount.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net

This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.