The Training Stage

EVO 2022 returned to Las Vegas with one of the best fighting game tournaments in years. John, our resident FGC expert, breaks down all of the biggest announcements from the event. In addition, we discuss Nintendo's latest announcements for Bayonetta 3, Splatoon 3, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and discuss why the Nintendo Switch still has a vibrant future ahead of it. All of this and much, much more on this packed episode of the Training Stage Podcast!

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

TIMESTAMPS

04:00 - Thank you for the warm welcome back, guesses for the *SECRET PROJECT*

09:23 - Tyler watched a documentary on Woodstock '99. You are, in fact, listening to a video game podcast, not Decibel Boost.

13:53 - Whatcha Been Playing, Tyler? (Dark Souls Remastered, Xenoblade Chronicles 3)

42:35 - Watcha Been Playing, John? (Chess, Pokemon SoulSilver Version, Slime Rancher)

59:57 - News Lightning Round - Gamescom Opening Night Live, Marvel's Midnight Suns delay, Tactics Ogre: Reborn, and more.

1:09:20 - The big EVO 2022 recap and news roundup from DashFight.

2:01:20 - Bayonetta 3 launches on October 28th for Nintendo Switch. PlatinumGames has huge ambitions for its future, boasting several unannounced projects.

2:14:21 - New information on Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. The Paldea region, rideable legendaries, new creatures and characters, and more were revealed during the latest Pokemon Presents broadcast.

2:24:33 - Recap of the recent Splatoon 3 Direct.

2:33:19 - Aspyr Media’s remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is allegedly in deep trouble according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

2:36:31 - Ubisoft has delayed Massive Entertainment’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora into their 2023-2024 fiscal year, which runs from April 2023 to the end of March 2024.

After a year hiatus, The Training Stage returns with a packed two and a half hour episode. Your hosts, Tyler and John, discuss the games they've been playing recently, this year's Summer Game Fest events, Square Enix's stacked lineup of titles, and the game release calendar for the rest of 2022 and early 2023. We even tease something new coming in the future.

We are sincerely excited to be back to produce a fun, bi-weekly show for your enjoyment.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

TIMESTAMPS

00:50 - State of the Stage, New Project Tease

12:26 - Whatcha Been Playing, John? (Online Chess, Minecraft, The Messenger, Disco Elysium)

57:19 - Whatcha Been Playing, Tyler? (Xenoblade Chronicles, Omori, Dragon Quest Builders)

1:13:15 - Our thoughts on Summer Game Fest 2022

1:37:45 - The game release calendar for the rest of 2022

1:53:58 - Publisher Spotlight: Square Enix

2:09:30 - What games are coming in 2023? Could it be a better year than 2022?

The madness that is Blue Box's Abandoned continues, though could there be another marketing stunt happening at the same time? We investigate. We also offer updated information on the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit and other legal news in the video game industry. On the news front, Nintendo has set record-breaking numbers for Nintendo Switch hardware and software, and recently streamed an eventful Indie World showcase. It's also being reported that Rockstar Games is remastering the PlayStation 2 titles in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

TIMESTAMPS

01:47 - What happened with that last episode? Describing a "nightmare edit."

03:50 - John played DOOM on Hard Drive (yes, the satire website). Why??

08:58 - [John] Final Fantasy XIV, Dicey Dungeons, and coffee?!

32:38 - [Tyler] Grand Theft Auto V, Axiom Verge 2, and more.

49:38 - The latest from the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit; several major departures from the company in recent weeks.

56:19 - Quantic Dream was sending death threats to whistleblowers, according to the French union suing the company.

58:34 - U.S. Democrats are advising game publishers to avoid predatory loot box designs in their games.

1:01:02 - The latest regarding the Blue Box Game Studios and Abandoned situation. Is there a second ARG tied to this madness?

1:16:40 - Pokemon Presents will air on August 18th with new footage of both Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

1:19:26 - Microsoft is hosting an Xbox showcase for Gamescom 2021 on August 24th at 1pm EST.

1:21:21 - Rockstar Dundee is reportedly porting the PS2 Grand Theft Auto trilogy to modern platforms later this year.

1:23:34 - The official schedule for QuakeCon 2021 has accidentally alluded to a new Quake project from Machine Games and id Software.

1:25:37 - Nintendo Switch hardware sales have surpassed 89 million units worldwide; software sale updates.

1:37:50 - A brief recap of the Indie World broadcast for August 2021.

1:42:48 - Dotemu (Streets of Rage 4, Metal Slug Tactics) has been acquired by Focus Home Interactive.

1:44:00 - Life is Strange Remastered Collection delayed into early 2022; True Colors still on track for launch on September 30th.

1:44:56 - A new "3D" South Park game is currently being developed within a new internal group at South Park Studios.

As the end of summer draws near, we took some much needed time to discuss the biggest games of the summer, including Final Fantasy XIV. We also discuss our thoughts on Valve's Steam Deck console, the recent Annapurna Interactive Showcase, and the latest in Ubisoft's Tom Clancy franchise.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

TIMESTAMPS

04:33 - [John] Final Fantasy XIV

29:10 - [Tyler] Skyward Sword HD, Chicory: A Colorful Tale

1:07:10 - Congrats to Kojima Productions on shipping over 5 million copies of Death Stranding.

1:08:03 - Ghost of Tsushima's Iki Island expansion detailed.

1:10:33 - Our thoughts on Valve's Steam Deck, a new handheld gaming PC capable of running high fidelity games.

1:21:20 - Annapurna Interactive Showcase recap (Stray, Solar Ash, Neon White, The Outer Wilds, and more).

1:32:47 - Ubisoft announces Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, a free-to-play 6v6 arena shooter.

1:35:58 - Sumo Digital purchased by Tencent in a $1.27bn deal.

1:38:06 - Kena: Bridge of Spirits delayed to September 21st, 2021.

1:39:22 - Horizon: Forbidden West allegedly delayed into 2022 according to multiple sources.

1:41:00 - PlayStation 5 sold 10 million units since launch, despite shortages across the entire tech industry.

The State of California has filed a lawsuit against publisher Activision-Blizzard over widespread sexual harassment and discrimination towards female employees of the company. We discuss this issue in great detail, including how we as a game-playing community can support those being abused within the game development community. And it's only fitting that we invited Angie, a moderator of the Competitive Overwatch Discord server, to add her thoughts on the matter.

If this situation is too upsetting for you to hear more about, we completely understand. We have timestamps below so that you can skip that conversation entirely. The same applies for those who only want to hear about the serious matter and avoid the more trivial topics of conversation.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

Thumbnail photograph: David McNew/AFP

TIMESTAMPS

01:24 - Opening and discussing Tyler's trip to the Zoo.

13:27 - #ActiBlizzWalkout

1:26:47 - EA Play recap (Dead Space from EA Motive, GRID, Battlefield Portal, and more).

The monkey's paw curls as Nintendo announces the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) for release later this year. It has a new OLED screen and some nifty new features for an extra $50, though lacks any new internal components or performance enhancements. What do we think? And what happened with all those insider scoops about a 4K Switch? We also discuss the recent PlayStation State of Play broadcast, the delay of Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Atlus' plans for celebrating the 25th anniversary of Persona.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

TIMESTAMPS

02:38 - Favorite school lunches?

14:20 - [John] Dicey Dungeons, reading manga, and more.

32:19 - [Tyler] Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Luigi's Mansion (3DS).

40:15 - Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) announced; no new chipset upgrade from the current models.

51:41 - PlayStation State of Play - July 2021 (Moss Book II, Sifu, Jett: The Far Shore, Death Stranding, Deathloop, and more).

1:14:50 - Ghostwire: Tokyo delayed into early 2022.

1:15:54 - Ubisoft announces the future of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, codenamed “Infinity.”

1:22:03 - Lost Judgement may be the last game in the series, due to a dispute between Sega and Takuya Kimura’s talent agency.

1:23:40 - Xbox heads Phil Spencer and Matt Booty reassure players that narrative-driven, non-live-service titles are still being developed within Xbox Game Studios.

1:24:49 - Atlus teases seven new Persona announcements to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary, starting this Fall.

1:28:06 - Warner Bros. Games denies rumors that they are selling NetherRealm Studios and TT Games.

1:28:38 - DICE LA officially rebranded as Ripple Effect.

1:29:21 - Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl announced, a new "platform fighting game" featuring Nicktoons characters.

Well, we finally did it: one hundred numbered episodes of The Training Stage have been released! Between two iterations of the show running over the last 5 years, we have achieved triple digits. To help celebrate the occasion, we invited Angie (@angdacat) to join us for an extended games talk segment and to discuss the latest news, including new PlayStation acquisitions and the future of the Silent Hill franchise.

Thanks for sticking with us for all this time. We hope you stick around for many more years to come!

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission

TIMESTAMPS

11:27 - Show announcements!

16:24 - Tyler has finished playing Octopath Traveler.

26:36 - What John has been playing: Pokemon Platinum, Overwatch, and more.

44:38 - What Angie has been playing: Final Fantasy XIV, DOOM Eternal, and more.

1:09:29 - Sony has acquired two new studios: Housemarque and Nixxes.

1:33:06 - Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut arrives on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on August 20th, which will include the brand new “Iki Island” expansion.

1:35:35 - Remedy and 505 Games partner to develop a new multiplayer game set in the Control universe.

1:41:59 - Konami and Bloober Team announce a “strategic cooperation agreement” to develop new games.

1:58:19 - Lightning Round (EA Play news, new studios, AI: The Somnium Files sequel, JP Games, The Elder Scrolls VI)

1:15:43 - NetherRealm Studios officially ends development on Mortal Kombat 11 and now focusning on a new project.

This time of the summer is usually fairly quiet, so we spend some time catching up on what games we've been playing. John has been playing his usual vices of Overwatch and Trials Fusion, while Tyler has become determined to finish Octopath Traveler. On the news front, rumors have suggested that EA Motive is currently developing a Dead Space reboot. Are they up to the job, or are they simply an imposter amogus?

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

E3 2021 has concluded and we discuss our favorite announcements and biggest disappointments. We also review our predictions and cover the latest regarding Blue Box Game Studios and their supposed relationship to Hideo Kojima and the Silent Hill franchise.

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

E3 2021 is officially over, but there's still one last event for us to discuss: the Nintendo Direct broadcast. Safe to say, Nintendo stole the show with exciting new projects like Metroid Dread and WarioWare: Get it Together, and a brand new look at the highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Joining us to discuss the Nintendo Direct and the future of the Nintendo Switch, we invited Sketch from the Toonami Faithful Podcast and Nick from the DAM Podcast! It's a another packed show, so grab a snack and enjoy the discussion!

Follow us on Twitter: @TTStage
Music by Rukunetsu and used with permission.

Follow Sketch on Twitter: @Sketch1984
Check out the Toonami Faithful Podcast on Soundcloud!
https://soundcloud.com/toonamifaithfulpodcast

Check out the Dallas Anime Meetup channel on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG3HtpJF36M0hYezPI8KEgw