Is the cost/benefit of cross over marketing worth it? Are these hit shows, movies, book series etc leading to more game sales? Are they expanding the brand value?

I would argue that that isn't their purpose, or at least not the main purpose. Let's talk about why!

Plenty of industry news this past week and little of it good. Each of the big three had there own storm to weather. With Nintendo holding off investors, Sony fighting an army it created, and just this morning Microsoft announcing further studio cuts - there are storms ahead for each.

Remember that time we said E3 is dead and it seemed we were nuts? Granted we called it a little early, but still... Well... Sure looks like exclusivity is heading that way too.

Matt doesn't love Bethesda gameplay in general but Bethesda Fallout games hold a special place in his heart as examples of mediocre at best gameplay.

But the Fallout Tv series just recently inspired a massive amount of people to play the games... So the Fallout story must be pretty good... But does that make up for poor gameplay? Are there other examples where this is the case?

This week's episode is all about the newest industry trend: extremely short marketing windows. Have you noticed that the window between announcement/first trailer and release has been getting shorter the last year or two? Turns out - it's an industry trend. We discuss the details and speculate on the pros and cons while also talking about diminishing returns of exclusivity.

I love multiplayer games. So, the last 15 years or so have been pretty great for me personally. But it is getting hard to deny that they have cornered themselves. In many ways, multiplayer as a concept is getting a little tired and the methods used to make them the hyper profitable juggernauts they are today - are drying up.

This week's episode we are talking about the possibility of multiplayer shirnking as a part of the gaming landscape. And what might inject a fresh take on multiplayer games in general.

It's all but certain that Nintendo is launching a Switch 2 in 2025. I'd like to hope maybe they do it Holiday 2024, but it's doubtful. An odd thing about Nintendo and the final year of each console generation? They're almost always pretty dry years... And if 2024 is any indication? Switch 2 is coming EARLY 2025 at the latest.

For most of us, the original Xbox was a bit of a blip. It had good games but compared to the other consoles it seemed bulky, inept, unrefined even. During its first few years most gamers would have argued it was a forgettable system - even if they loved Halo.

But what if it had never happened? If Microsoft looked at the game industry in the late 90s and decided it wasn't worth jumping into? Would the Gamecube have done better? Would the Dreamcast had a follow up? I'd argue Microsoft, and the Xbox, had a far deeper impact on gaming, and even the world at large, than we think.

Continuing our What If series with another Nintendo Alt History: we're exploring the timeline where GameCube was a success. Do we get the Wii? The Switch? Does Nintendo pursue their "Blue Ocean" strategy at all? Does Xbox have the same level of success?

All questions connected to Nintendo's less than stellar GameCube generation.

Is anyone doing alt-history for videogames? Is that a thing? 

This week we're talking about alternate history. There's no denying that Pokemon is a juggernaut and there is a real good reason Nintendo bought 33.3% of the company. But what if they had bought the company outright? Would Pokemon be what it is today? If not, what would be different? Better? Worse?