YoVideogames!

A couple things inspired this week's episode. First: an incredible 66 post thread from a Capcom developer who worked on RE7. It's since been deleted, but in it he goes over all sorts of BTS that shows how the game came together. The three way tug of war between the producer, the writer, and the developers actually building the game exemplifies the best and worst aspects of all creative work. You can in depth discussions on Reddit that have screen shots or transcripts of his posts.

Second: Microsoft says next year their portable will launch, and then a year later (2028) Helix is due to release. Btw: Helix looks like it'll cost between $1200 and $1800.

Uh, wut?

Yep. We're staring down the barrel of game consoles hitting two grand next generation. This is due to hardware costs that will likely only increase over the next two years. Oh, and if you're hoping that Playstation will come in clutch with a cheaper console: Sony says the RAM alone will cost $600!

All this to say that the industry is maybe a little out of touch. Matt thinks talent will be key to solving the problem, and the industry is sorely lacking in the talent of yore. Personally I like to phrase this as craftsmanship. Because that can be developed rather than some innate talent. The problem is businesses haven't put resources into developing their teams in decades. They just lay them off instead.

Well, unless you're Nintendo...

No. It's still a mixed bag.

But it's nice to see the dirtbags in tech suddenly realize they've opened Pandora's box for themselves too. Decompiling is going to be basically impossible to prosecute with any consistency. Matt is still staunchly anti-AI, but he's come around to my thinking: AI is great for drudge-work. Do I think that is what tech is hoping to kill with it? No. Is it as powerful as they claim? No. Is it ever going to be as profitable as it needs to be, in order to justify the money they've spent to date? No.

But there is cool stuff that it does and decompiling is a perfect example.

So, let's talk about the internet hero of the hour, and new age piracy enabler: AI.

We cover a few things this episode. Asha soft confirming Xbox Portable. Gamestop price gouging their customers on PS5pro. The main topic, though, is the Paramount WB merger into SKYDANCE. Will anything good come of this? It's possible, but as we saw with Activision being acquired by Microsoft - it doesn't mean beloved IP making a return, and almost definitely means a lot of devs losing their jobs. It's hard not to be cynical and downer about it, but we do try to name possible good things.

Microsoft filed a patent for in-game advertising. Examples include: before or after a multiplayer match, after a major boss fight or story beat, or as a way to earn game time on cloud services.

Suffice to say Xbox will not be recovering its reputation any time soon. And if this idea makes them money? Sony will follow soon after. In this one instance though, we may have a hero... Nintendo.

Let's talk about why.

Technically the term is "sunsetting" but sundowning seems more appropriate given the confusion, anxiety, and madness of Xbox's behavior. In this week's episode we talk Capcom, PS5 cultural relevance and the biggest topic is Xbox's recent layoffs and consolidations. Consolidations that seem to point at Microsoft gearing up to sell or close Xbox game studios.

As an aside, in the episode we are talking about Onimusha and I mention that I am doing the issikai maneuver (spelling?). I played some more after recording - and that is definitely not what I am doing the most of. Mostly I dodge - but for whatever reason: I pull off that move more reliably than the parry. My confusing adventures into being sh*t at action games continues lmao

For the third week in a row, I have been caught unawares. As with every Blizzcon - I have to acknowledge most of this is not for me. WoW, Overwatch, even Diablo are all games I enjoy here and there, but I am by no means a major fan. So, maybe it's not a surprise that I didn't see a StarCraft FPS coming. The trailer was HYPE. And then it shows the release... 2030? And probably late 2030... So, 4 years from now?

Why do companies do this? Announcing something so early is a surefire way to wear out the audience's enthusiasm by release time. Is it job security? A way to keep the execs off their back and the finger off the layoff button?

We got a two-parter Nintendo Direct for the first time ever. One part dedicated entirely to Zelda 40 year anniversary and a second more traditional direct the very next day. Put together, we feel it's a solid direct. A couple surprises in Metroid Revenant and Kirby Forgotten World and a whole load of anticipated ports.

Playstation's State of Play Fall 2026 is in the books. Sony has been a bit mired in consumer hate lately and really needed a big win here. Did they get it? Matt says no. For him this is a D minus show that it's hard to even care about. Personally, I thought there were a couple fun, dare I say, even exciting updates. But I'd still probably give this show a C, C-. One thing that the show did solidify for me is that Japanese developers have something their western kindred sorely lack right now: whimsy. How do we get more whimsy in western games? I think gritty, realistic, apocalyptic and piss filter are all cool too, but we have too much of that right now.

What did you doods think? Anything in this show make you overlook Sony's recent screw ups?

We are rolling toward the holiday shopping season and that means Gamescom is here with one last pop of surprises (hopefully). Every year, Gamescom takes me by surprise. I have no idea why, but for some reason the end of summer sneaks up on me and the show catches me off guard. This year is no different. We had updates on exciting games I had forgotten about, and surprises for a beloved game of the past.

In this episode we talk about our personal highlights, confusions and disappointments. Also, I learn maybe the most shocking, downright disgusting, out right insane detail about Matt.

He pronounces a legendary French actor's name in such a way that I almost had to disown him.

Then... To make it worse... It turns out that's how most people in the US pronounce the name.

Also, there's plenty of tangents in this one. I left them in, but if you'd like me to cut more out - let me know.

Rockstar got hacked again, and GTA6 gameplay got leaked.

But this time? The hacker has an activist agenda. They want to punish Rockstar for not having a physical release. Will it work? Will this change the way the industry is moving?

No. Probably not. Will we see more hactivism like this? Is there any type of activism that will change industry behavior? Maybe.