We didn’t see it coming.

Games we played this week include: 
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (12:10)
Boomerang Fu (49:05)
Warhammer 40k: Boltgun (52:20)

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News things talked about in this episode:
Activision-Blizzard pays a pittance for not disclosing loot boxes to PEGI (56:30)
https://www.thegamer.com/activision-blizzard-fined-diablo-immortal-loot-boxes-pegi/

Nintendo sued for loot boxes in Mario Kart Tour (1:03:15)
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-class-action-lawsuit-loot-box-mario-kart-tour-1850462828

Niantic gets backlash for rolling back Pokémon Go remote raids which aided disabled players (1:08:02)
https://www.ign.com/articles/pokemon-go-developers-respond-to-remote-raid-criticism-announce-shadow-raids

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon. You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at mercenarycreative.com.

Podquisition 439: Sudden Discord

Audio home of The Jimquisition, featuring its lovely little podcast, Podquisition - starring Jim Sterling, Laura Kate, and Conrad Zimmerman!

Leisure

Time to pivot.

Games we played this week include: 
Hades II (8:45)
Little Kitty Big City (20:00)
Crow Country (22:45)
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (28:20)
Athenian Rhapsody (34:20)
Vampire Survivors (43:55)
Final Fantasy VI (49:35)
Slayers X (50:15)

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News things talked about in this episode:
Microsoft tries (fails) to justify studio closures (56:05)
https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-president-responds-to-studio-closures-as-commitment-to-make-sure-that-the-business-is-healthy-for-the-long-term

Mike Ybarra thinks people are being too mean to Microsoft executives (59:55)
https://www.eurogamer.net/former-blizzard-boss-mike-ybarra-defends-xboxs-phil-spencer-following-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-closures

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter/Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

Photo Credit: ekstrazabawki.pl / CC BY 4.0 DEED

Podquisition 489: Keeping Up With The Kids

Podquisition 488: Bump on the Noggin

It’s harder than you’d think.

Games we played this week include: 
Hades II (3:45)
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (23:35)
Puppet Master (30:45)

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News things talked about in this episode:
Microsoft shuts down studios, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin (44:10)
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-closes-redfall-developer-arkane-austin-hifi-rush-developer-tango-gameworks-and-more-in-devastating-cuts-at-bethesda

A drunk Microsoft rep forgot to make their pitch to buy Media Molecule (52:45)
https://kotaku.com/xbox-little-big-planet-steal-away-buy-playstation-sony-1851462178

Sony gets slammed, then backpedals, over Helldivers 2 PSN requirement on Steam (57:25)
https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-overturns-helldivers-2-psn-requirement-following-backlash

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter/Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

Podquisition 488: Bump on the Noggin

Your robo-friend to the end.

Games we played this week include: 
Stellar Blade (11:00)
Hades II (18:25)
Harold Halibut (25:45)
Fallout (30:20)
Vampire Survivors (37:10)
Kaichu (40:25)

---
News things talked about in this episode:
Square Enix abandoning projects they’ve spent a lot of money on (43:30)
https://www.eurogamer.net/square-enix-abandons-112m-of-in-development-projects-in-an-effort-to-improve-quality

Escape from Tarkov devs surprised by response to locking PvE mode to exorbitant special edition (54:15)
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/escape-from-tarkov-boss-didnt-expect-players-to-get-mad-about-paid-pve-content/1100-6523084/

Embracer’s CEO admits he made mistakes (53:15)
https://www.eurogamer.net/embracer-boss-admits-long-list-of-things-hed-have-done-differently-as-embattled-company-splits-into-three

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter/Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

Podquisition 487: Genuine Brian

Wistful remembrances of days gone by.

Games we played this week include: 
Another Crab’s Treasure (5:50)
Slime 3K (28:55)
Stellar Blade (40:35)
Harold Halibut (51:40)
Fallout (57:55)
Balatro (1:04:30)

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News things talked about in this episode:
ReedPop consolidating UK events EGX and MCM (1:07:35)
https://www.eurogamer.net/egx-and-mcm-team-up-for-london-2024-dates

Nintendo reportedly would have let Samus be in Fortnite, but only for Switch players (54:15)
https://www.eurogamer.net/samus-skipped-fortnite-because-nintendo-got-really-hung-up-about-its-characters-on-other-platforms

Embracer reorganizing into three companies (1:15:30)
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/embracer-group-splits-into-three-everything-you-need-to-know

World of Warcraft adding arachnophobia mode ahead of introducing arachnid characters (1:21:05)
https://www.gameshub.com/news/news/world-of-warcraft-arachnophobia-mode-2639255/

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter/Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

Photo Credit: Ian Line / CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED

Podquisition 486: Merde Blanche

A saga continues.

Games we played this week include: 
Fallout TV series (8:55)
Horrified (29:10)
Princess Peach Showtime (36:00)
Rose and Camillia (37:50)
Balatro (43:15)

---
News things talked about in this episode:
Apex Legends tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia (48:15)
https://www.eurogamer.net/apex-legends-wont-censor-game-for-saudi-arabia-esports-tournament-respawn-says

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth menu rephrased after many gameplay hours lost (54:15)
https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-patch-retry-from-this-battle-menu

Alternate network for Wii U and 3DS online play up and running (56:55)
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/10/24126064/pretendo-resurrects-wii-u-nintendo-network-without-console-hacking

Hades 2 about to enter beta, sign-ups open
https://www.eurogamer.net/hades-2s-technical-test-set-to-begin-shortly-and-sign-ups-are-open-now

---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com

Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.

Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter/Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

Podquisition 439: Sudden Discord

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