GamesBeat Decides

Nintendo released its Switch Online app on iOS and Android last week, and it is awful. On this week's episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast, we ask if Nintendo will ever really fix it because it seems like it just doesn't care. 

In addition to Nintendo's dumpster fire, hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti welcome Intel indie developer program boss Bob Gardner to talk about the news and some games. We cover the NPD report and talk about strong sales for fighting games, Crash Bandicoot, and the Switch. 

Games discussed this week include: 

Splatoon 2

Kingsway

SMT: Strange Journey

Factorio

Dead Cells

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Overwatch

All Their Strength

D&D

Super Mario Maker came out in 2015 and proved that designing games is a ton of fun. Now, in 2017, gamers are still waiting for a followup to that game from Nintendo or something similar from any other publisher or developer. Instead, fans have started filling in the gaps with their own games that enable you to make your own Mega Man levels and Super Mario 64 courses. So why the hell are we relying on fans, and where are the official Mario Maker clones? We tackle that subject on this week's episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast.

Hosts Stephanie Chan, Jeffrey Grubb, and Mike Minotti also get together to talk about the news and games they are playing. The team talks about what it means to have Toy Story in Kingdom Hearts III as well as how first-person-only servers will affect PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. 

Games discussed this week include: 

- Splatoon 2

- Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter

- Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

- Edith Finch

- Kingsway

Take-Two Interactive is bringing games to the Nintendo Switch, so the GamesBeat Decides podcast wants to talk about third-party support for the Switch. Are more publishers going to consider the hybrid console? We decide that and more.

Hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti also talk about the news and some of the games we've been playing.

Games discussed include:

- Final Fantasy XII

- Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment

- PUBG

It's July 4 weekend in the United States still, and we're feeling pride in our country and sloth everywhere else. This week's episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast is a quick one. Hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti talk about games and the news, and then they return to their red, white, and blue holes to eat tubed meats and blow shit up.

Games on this week's show:

- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

- Final Fantasy XIV

- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild DLC

- Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy

Summer is upon us, and that means we have some time to catch up on games, look to the future, and -- oh, my god! Nintendo just announced the Super NES Classic Edition! I'm freakin' out!

On this week's episode of the GamesBeat Decides, that sweet boy Bob Gardner joins the podcast along with hosts Mike Minotti and Jeffrey Grubb. We talk about Wolfenstein: The New Order, Nier, and more before getting into the news. In the second half, Mike and Jeff discuss their excitement for the Super NES Classic, which is a throwback miniconsole from Nintendo that features 21 of that retro systems games built right into the box. Then we spend some time talking about parity and the Xbox One X. 

Also, be sure to stick around to the end for an interview with sci-fi author Austin Grossman and Intel VR director Kim Pallister about how today's clunky VR can turn into the holodeck of tomorrow. 

Games discussed this week:

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Nier: Automata

Super Mario 64

Factorio

Salt & Sanctuary

Star Wars: The Old Republic

The GamesBeat team is back home after a long week in Los Angeles for the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles. E3 2017 had plenty to get fans excited, and now it's time to look back assess the show, the games, and everything else on this week's episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast.

Hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti look back and talk about if companies like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and the rest met expectations. They also talk about how E3 itself has changed. Finally, Mike and Jeff share their favorite games from the show.

Join us, won't you?

The GamesBeat crew has lost its mind. We have gone repeatedly into the belly of the Electronic Entertainment Expo beast, and the trade show has revealed the beast in us. Now, we need to talk about video games at E3.

On today's episode of GamesBeat Decides, the entire team gets together to discuss the best game they saw today. Hosts include Jeffrey Grubb, Mike Minotti, Stephanie Chan, Dean Takahashi, and Jason Wilson, and they each pick one game that they played on the penultimate day of E3. Highlights include Super Mario Odyssey and A Way Out. 

We also spend some time yelling at Dean, making Jeff weep, and discussing how this show was a bummer for the public that paid to attend.

Nintendo brought the pre-E3 media presentations to an end yesterday with its half-hour of power. The publisher didn't reveal Super Smash Bros. for Switch. Instead, it revealed Rocket League, Metroid Prime 4, and Pokemon are all going to hit its hybrid home/handheld console. The company also revealed new Yoshi and Kirby games. On today's episode of GamesBeat Decides, the crew of Jeffrey Grubb, Mike Minotti, Jason Wilson, and Stephanie Chan come together to discuss everything Nintendo as well as our first day of adventures on the show floor itself.

We're back ... barely. E3 marches on, and now we've survived through Sony, Ubisoft, and more. Join us to hear our thoughts so far.

For our first GamesBeat Decides podcast of E3 2017, hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti welcome on new hire Stephaine Chan to talk about what we've seen so far. Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Bethesda have finished their media events. They were exhausting, nonstop experiences clearly designed to overwhelm the senses. And I think you can consider our senses overwhelmed.