Mike and Manda chat with Jean Leggett of One More Story Games about ethically tackling challenging topics in games. Jean also shares how she blends her background in coaching with game development. Discussion also includes 2K’s rapid-fire hype cycle for XCOM: Chimera Squad and the curious case of the Cooking Mama kerfuffle.

Mike and Manda chat with Tak Fujii and Szabó Marcell about DMM Games and STATIONflow. Discussion also includes how working under quarantine is impacting Japanese game development. This episode also features a Term Sheet segment and conversation about Microsoft’s  Smart Delivery and Sony’s silence so far on its plan for cross-gen games. This episode’s indie spotlight features Critical Charm’s A Giant Problem.

Follow us on Twitter at @VirtualEconCast, @AmandaFarough, and @Futterish.

Mike and Manda circle back to the E3 2020 news they broke on Friday, April 3. They also discuss what constitutes false advertising in light of Resident Evil 3’s skirt/skort nontroversy (special thanks to Odin Law founder Brandon Huffman for legal commentary). Guest Josh Fairhurst, co-founder of Limited Run Games joins the show to tell us everything you ever wanted to know about how physical games and collector’s editions get made and delivered (but were afraid to ask).

Mike and Manda discuss The ESA’s decision to not hold an online E3 event. We also chat about Sony’s recent decision to indefinitely delay marquee releases The Last of Us Part II and Iron Man VR and what this communicates to third-party publishers. 

Clarification: The Last of Us Part II has been delayed twice, including the recent “indefinite” delay. Uncharted 4 was delayed a whopping four times.

Mike and Manda sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, Dave Oshry. In an age of social distancing and home confinement, Oshry, who is CEO of New Blood Interactive (Dusk, Amid Evil), has advocated for radical generosity from the game industry. This episode also includes conversation about Steam’s new update policy, development and shipping delays, and what 2008’s Great Recession can tell us about how the game industry will be impacted by COVID-19.

Mike and Manda chat with Evva Karr (@EvvaKarr), founder of indie publishing label GLITCH (HyperDot and Optica).

Discussion on GameStop’s fiscal year earnings, Sony’s latest update on PSN in the US and EU, and Epic Games’ publishing deals with PlayDead, Remedy, and gen DESIGN.

Mike and Manda chat with Walt Williams (@WaltDWilliams), writer and narrative designer on Star Wars Battlefront II and Spec Ops: The Line.

Indie Spotlight: Broken Arms Games (@BrokenArmsGames) and co-founder Elisa Faranetti discussing wine-making simulator 100 Days.

Follow us on Twitter at @VirtualEconCast, @AmandaFarough, and @Futterish.

Mike and Manda chat with Scott Hartsman (@Hartsman), veteran producer of more than 30 online games, including Rift and Everquest II.

Follow us on Twitter at @VirtualEconCast, @AmandaFarough, and @Futterish.

Mike and Manda chat with Victoria Tran (@TheVTran), Communications Director at Kitfox Games.

Follow us on Twitter at @VirtualEconCast, @AmandaFarough, and @Futterish.

Mike and Manda chat with Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella), Video Game Analyst at the NPD Group (@NPDGroup).

Listener Question: How much do developers really make from a sale of a $60 game?

Indie Spotlight: Kevin Hovdestad of Red Team Games talking about the sequel to Cards & Castles