The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion report the results of a survey designed to reveal their gaming motivations, then bring on their colleague Justin Charity to discuss his spoiler-free impressions of newly released Atlus RPG 'Persona 5' and Square Enix action RPG 'Nier: Automata' (1:00). Lastly, Ben, Jason, and Justin talk to Kotaku features editor Chris Kohler about the hallmarks of Japanese games, the end of auteur developers, the convergence of Japanese and North American game-design philosophies, and his book, 'Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life' (21:45). 
      
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'Persona 5,' 'Nier: Automata,' and the Evolution of Japanese Games (Ep. 26)

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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'Persona 5,' 'Nier: Automata,' and the Evolution of Japanese Games (Ep. 26)

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