Happy New Year! In this week of basically no gaming news, we decided to look back at 2022 a little bit and answer questions from the audience on our Discord server.

I am hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online early on Monday and Thursday mornings, so come check it out if you're awake!

I talk about what might be my game of the year in 2022, except I wasn't able to play many of the games due to life getting in the way.

I then answer questions submitted via our Discord server, such as:

What is my anticipated sleeper hit of 2023?

What games would I want to compose the soundtrack?

Is there a game at GDQ I would like to host for?

Was there ever a game feature that came out that I said "of course, why didn't we think of that sooner?"

What would be my ultimate Arcade1up machine?

What is the craft beer scene like in Georgia?

I'm back from a two week hiatus! And I'm hosting two early morning shifts at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023, but at least the second one concludes the Awful Block, so it might be worth it for you to wake up early to experience it.

I got to play the Weird Al pinball table, Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity, and I was sold on it except for my ball continually getting stuck on a ramp - made worse by the lack of any kind of ball search functionality in the code.

I was on a cruise - the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas - and in the sports bar there were classic arcade games like Mario Bros and Galaga, except they were actually iCades and Beyond Arcades with multiple games in them...Are these unlicensed?

Gamers are suing Microsoft to stop the Activision Blizzard merger.

John Carmack has decided to leave Meta because he couldn't fight the fight anymore.

Then we talk to Rob about The Game Awards and what I missed, other than the security breach.

This is the last live show until December 25th, so we will be off the air for the next two weeks. Enjoy December!

I WILL be a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online in January, but I don't yet know what I'm hosting. I give some tips on how to get your donation read on air whether I'm hosting or not.

The Game Awards will be significantly shorter this year, with less game premieres than past years. This is due to audience feedback.

Callisto Protocol has a very interesting Rules of Conduct for a single player offline game, but I feel like it's just an oversight based on the main game that is published by that company.

Then we talk to Rob about Fuser being delisted and why the current corporate "metaverse" is not grabbing people's attention, and what Fortnite is actually doing right in that area.

Sorry this episode is a little late. There was a show recorded on December 4th that will be on the feed on December 7th. Then, we will be back with live shows on December 25th.

We start the show by discussing the criteria for Game Awards nomination, based on a caller we had the previous week.

The Federal Government is "likely" to block the Microsoft and Activision merger, but nothing is guaranteed.

Some amusing anecdotes have been revealed in statements to European regulators by Sony and Microsoft. First up, Sony is worried that Microsoft will behave like Sony and start raising prices of games and consoles.

Then, Microsoft claims that they suck compared to Sony and Nintendo.

Then we talk about Rhythm Quest, an indie game releasing in 2023 that has a demo out now on Steam.

We start off talking about social media - how the landscape will and won't change, as well as a quick primer on how Mastodon actually works, if you choose to go there.

I went to DreamHack Atlanta - an "esports convention" (really, a LAN party but very geared towards competitive gaming) and spoke on a panel about Safety and Security in Online Spaces.

I got the SEGA Genesis Mini 2 and played a bunch of the old and new games that are on the system.

We spent so much time on those topics, that I didn't actually cover any of the news, but we did take a call about eligibility criteria for The Game Awards.

I will not be on the air next weekend, but I am tentatively scheduled to moderate a panel at Dreamhack Atlanta on November 19th and I have been once again selected as a host for Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online in January!

The PlayStation VR 2 is releasing for $549.99 on February 22, 2023, and preorders will begin on November 15th.

Apple is preparing their AR/VR push by hiring two of the three cofounders of mixed reality development studio Playdeo.

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida has stated that the cast of the game will not be diverse because, apparently, there were no diverse people in medieval Europe.

Then we talk to Rob about pinball (yes, there's a reason) as well as his thoughts on Yoshi-P's statements.

We start off the show by remembering Rieko Kodama, one of the creative leads on the Phantasy Star series, as well as working on Skies of Arcadia.

There was a major Esports event in Atlanta - League of Legends Worlds 2022 Semifinals - but you wouldn't have known it looking around town. Atlanta showed up, though, so maybe more events can happen in the Southeastern US.

Physical copies of games are now just empty discs - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has just an installer that downloads the 150GB game over the internet. Another game developer wishes they had done the same.

Then we talk to Rob about physical games and also taking a break from everything for a weekend.

We finally delve into the Bayonetta 3 voice actor controversy, now that more information has been brought out from both sides. It's sad that there is a real conversation to be had regarding voice actors and their pay in the industry, but we wound up speaking about anything but that.

A new company wants to become the Netflix of games - Netflix.

Then we take calls about Bayonetta 3, because of course that's what people want to talk about this week.

We start off with some breaking news - G4 has closed up shop again. Mismanagement looks to be the root cause.

Nvidia is "unlaunching" the RTX 4080 12GB because it is actually a different card than the RTX 4080 16GB and not just a memory upgrade.

The Meta Quest Pro will be $1500 and is aimed at businesses and power users, not for everyday gamers.

Microsoft's version of the HoloLens failed tests and soldiers don't want to actually use it yet.

Then we take calls about G4's demise, Bayonetta 3 drama, and a little bit about Twitchcon.

We start with a little talk about TwitchCon as well as a dangerous situation that occurred there that we might be hearing about for a while.

The best trailer I saw this week was not a movie, and it's very unexpected.

Overwatch 2 requires a phone number to play - and it has to be a real one, not a pre-paid or VOIP number. This leaves many lower-income players out of the "free to play" game.

The PlayStation VR2 is in "full production" and Sony is expecting to have 2 million units out at launch.

No Man's Sky is launching on the Nintendo Switch and is adding fully customizable accessibility modes in it's 21st update after its launch six years ago.

Then we talk about the Mario movie and hear a report from TwitchCon from OLR's Rob Roberts.