The Arcade

Hey all, and thanks for joining us for our E3 2021 recap show! Before diving into the big news and notes from this year's event, we start with the rarest of all things... an E3-themed Ludicrous Leadoff! Yes, Microsoft took time during their event to announce they'd start releasing an Xbox branded mini-fridge, so you just know we have to have our say about that. From there, we dig into the Nintendo E3 Direct video with its reveals and announcements of a new 2D Metroid game, a new WarioWare game, and much more. After Nintendo, we'll recap what Microsoft had to present, which starts off with Bethesda showing off more of their next big game, Starfield. We'll also touch on other Microsoft showings, such as Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2, The Outer Worlds 2, and others. In our Blast From The Past segment, we mark the 30th anniversary of Sega releasing Sonic the Hedgehog, and the 45th anniversary of Mel Brooks releasing his comedy, Silent Movie. Continue reading →

Hey all, and welcome for more Arcade goodness after an unplanned week away. This episode is a bit of hodge-podge, but starts the same way as every other episode, with the Ludicrous Leadoffs! In the first Ludicrous Leadoff, we discuss the odd-shaped Chicken McNugget that sold for wayyyy too much on eBay, while in the second, we share details of the $200 million lawsuit that was recently presented to Roblox. After the Ludicrous Leadoffs, it's time for a bit of hardware talk as we have the release plans for the Atari VCS, as well as first details on when you'll finally be able to pre-order the unique, little handheld that is the Playdate. From there, we have a bit of E3 talk as we give our thoughts on Ubisoft announcing Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, as well as Rocksmith+. Our Blast From The Past is all over the place this week as we celebrate three different items, those being the Game Boy Advance, Duke Nukem Forever, and the classic Mel Brooks comedy, History of the World: Part 1. Continue reading →

Hey gang, thanks for joining us on this all-new episode! We start things off with not one, but two NFT-themed Ludicrous Leadoffs. In the first, we share news of Dan Harmon and Fox working together on a blockchain-centric animated series, while in the second, we have another example of NFT's jumping the shark. In the regular gaming news portion of the show, we discuss Valve reportedly building a Switch-like handheld device of their very own. After that, we talk about Nintendo's Switch with news coming out of when an announcement of the Switch Pro model could happen. Sticking with Nintendo, we pass along dates for two of Nintendo's big game releases this fall, those being the remakes of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl. From Nintendo, we move over to Microsoft who will reportedly keep a big upcoming Bethesda property as a platform exclusive. Elsewhere in the gaming world, we'll let you know when the next BlizzCon event will take place because it sure isn't happening this year. In our Blast From The Past segment, we mark milestone anniversaries for the movie Cobra, as well as the TV shows Star Trek: Voyager and The Muppet Show. Continue reading →

Howdy, y'all, and welcome back for more Arcade audio goodness. As a special treat, we've got a super-sized episode for you this week! We start off with two Ludicrous Leadoffs which has us discussing Flappy Bird being reincarnated as a MacOS notification, followed by having a chuckle over how the Apple vs. Epic Games trial got started. Speaking of that Apple vs. Epic Games trial, we discuss one of the bigger revelations to come from it so far, that being the reveal that Fortnite has made over $9 billion in revenue so far. Continuing on with gaming legal affairs, we discuss Sony possibly looking at a class-action lawsuit over its own digital game sale practices as well as the company announcing it has invested in Discord and will integrate the chat platform to the PlayStation Network in 2022. From there, we get around to some Nintendo news that revealed a new way to get people into programming and game development with their Game Builder Garage software coming in June, as well as their announcement of an American citizen being brought on board in a high-ranking position. We round out the news of the week with a discussion of the latest games being inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. In our Blast From the Past segment, we mark anniversaries for the movie Twister, and the kids cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Continue reading →

Hey everybody! It's a brand-new episode for a brand-new month here at The Arcade. This week, we start off two more Ludicrous Leadoffs focused on large sums of money. In the first, we have the details on yet another Pokémon card selling for a six-figure sum, while in the second, we let you in on how much a very limited edition is selling for on eBay. From there, we have more money-related gaming stories beginning with Sega recently announcing a deal to wade into the NFT waters later this summer, while Microsoft announced plans to reduce their cut of PC game sales. Elsewhere in the gaming news sphere, Capcom will soon let players pay $1 for infinite invincibility, and LEGO finally showed off a LEGO Luigi set. In our Blast From The Past this week, we pay homage to the movie that was Barb Wire. Continue reading →

Ahoy hoy world, and welcome back for more audio-based good times here on The Arcade! This week, we start the show off with two very different Ludicrous Leadoffs. In the first, we discuss what video game franchise is being turned into Mister Men and Little Miss books, while in the second, we share the incredible news of NASA being able to create oxygen on Mars. Turning to the video game news, we give our thoughts on the International Olympic Committee announcing their own eSports event ahead of this year's Tokyo summer games. After that, we update you on Sony reversing plans to discontinue some older storefronts, as well as launching a test of a streaming video service in Poland. And finally, from Sony, we move to Microsoft who earlier this week finally took down the paywall for free-to-play games. Our Blast From The Past segment this week is being used to honor three great Canadian contributions to the television landscape; Are You Afraid of the Dark, Undergrads, and Trailer Park Boys. Continue reading →

Well hi there world, and thanks for coming back. On this episode of The Arcade, we start things off with two Ludicrous Leadoffs centered around everybody's favorite new buzzworthy tech acronym, NFT's. First, we share news of an Edward Snowden portrait NFT going for over 2,200 Ether before moving on to discuss the shameless attempt at a cash grab NFT being done by the duo behind the song “Pac-Man Fever” from the 1980s. After the NFT talk, we move on to discussing real dollars and cents with word this week that Epic Games completed another round of funding and raised another $1 billion. After that, it's a bit of new product talk as we give our thoughts on Microsoft's new, premium wireless headphones, then we share news of the delay of the Analogue Pocket. In our Blast From The Past this week, we mark the 10th anniversaries of two entirely opposite, yet equally great titles in Game of Thrones and Portal 2. Continue reading →

Welcome one and welcome all to our first show for the month of April! We start this show with several stories in our Ludicrous Leadoffs. First up, we discuss the shell of Atari getting in on the NFT craze by selling a bunch of Centipede-themed pieces before moving on to share some crazy, just stupid, six-figure prices that were paid for a Pokémon card and a rare, early copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Following the talk of large sums of money, we share news of Sony shutting down the digital storefronts for the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita, as well as the announcement of a new Battle Royale game coming to Nintendo Switch Online. We also cover the first details of what the Pikmin mobile AR game from Niantic will be like, as well as a note on how the shell of Atari has reorganized itself as a company. In our Blast From The Past segment, we mark the 25th anniversary of the first, (and only), Kids in the Hall movie, Brain Candy. Continue reading →

Howdy, gang, and welcome back for yet more Arcade fun and excitement! On this episode, we start things off with two Ludicrous Leadoffs centered around unusual branding partnerships with video game characters. In the first, we tell you how Pokémon are being used to try and protect you from the sun, while in the second, we talk about Pringles inventing a new flavor of chip based on a bird from the Halo franchise. After the opening funny business, we discuss a huge release of prototypes and early versions from over 700 PS2 games making their way online as part of a game preservation effort. After that, we share the news of Pokémon GO developer Niantic working on a Pikmin mobile AR game, and Minecraft Dungeons being translated into an arcade game experience. Elsewhere in the gaming world, we talk about the opening of Super Nintendo World in Orlando being pushed back to 2025, Apple and Epic Games going to trial on May 3, and E3 2021 officially canceling its in-person component. In our Blast From The Past segment, we mark the 10th anniversaries of the Nintendo 3DS, as well as the little Canadian movie that could, Hobo with a Shotgun. Continue reading →

Hey gang, and welcome back for more audio adventures! We start this week's show with two Ludicrous Leadoffs pulled from the increasingly popular world of cryptocurrency. In the first, we discuss Atari's plans to launch a cryptocurrency casino and, in the second we give our thoughts on the digital art piece that sold at auction for a whopping $69 million. Speaking of big-money deals, that leads nicely into our first “regular” news item, which is Microsoft closing the deal to officially acquire ZeniMax Media. Not wanting to be left out of the acquisition dance, Sony recently made a move of their own by acquiring the Evo fighting game series. And speaking of high dollar amounts, we'll fill you in on what crazy milestone Star Citizen has now surpassed in crowdfunding. While we're on the topic of business news, we discuss Google's recent announcement of the reduction in fees they'll be taking come this summer. Business talk aside, we go back in time a bit with the news of an all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat-'em-up game being announced. In our Blast From The Past segment, we mark the 15th anniversary of Elder Scrolls IV: Morrowind, followed by the 30th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Continue reading →