Yo Videogames

In this week's episode we wanted to keep it fun and light again. So, we talk about the true enemy of a good time: realism. Okay not always. Some realistic elements can really add to a game. Certain mechanics being realistic adds authenticity, or keeps a loop challenging and fresh. But when does realism go too far? Also in this episode: reasons Miami sucks. Reasons LA sucks. Matt finally played GTA5. Reasons so many people died on the Oregon trail. And The Hatchet.

There are already PS6 rumors gaining momentum. Does this further prove that PS5 has been sort of a dud? I don't know. And we aren't going into how true or possible this rumor is: just talking about what it would take to be a success. Plus, I share more YoVG deep lore. correction I misspeak about Marathon: I have only seen the official gameplay trailer and I say "when you watch the influencer/content creator gameplay it is much faster/more interesting." BUT I meant their videos TALKING about their gameplay. As far as I have seen, no content creator has released footage of themselves actually playing. Just thoughts on their playtest experience which gives me hope that it will be good.

The Switch 2 was revealed a week ago and for a short time, a very short time, spirits were high. Since then, Nintendo has had to push back the pre-order date, take back the announced price, and do damage control on their planned variable pricing for games. The biggest culprit? Trade uncertainty as big ol' tariffs start hitting everywhere. But it turns out: the increased price was planned BEFORE tariffs came into the picture... So, where does that leave gamers?

I think the technical term for this is: a pickle. In a vacuum, Nintendo had an excellent direct. This is shaping up to be a wonderful launch. Especially if you consider players who will only own a Switch 2 - there is a host of excellent games coming to the Switch 2 within the first few months, to say nothing of excellent games in the first year! But this isn't a vacuum, so we have to address the elephant in the room: tariffs. And that means higher prices. The Switch 2 will be $450 at launch ($500 bundled with Mario Kart and this is the much better deal here). Games will range from $80 to $90 dollars and there are no free upgrades. This is a return to 90's pricing it feels like. Well, technically still cheaper, but not by much and it has to be pointed out: the market was smaller, and sales volume MUCH smaller than today. Only time will tell how this plays out, but I have a feeling if the tariffs last, next years sales numbers will not be as insane as we expected. Thoughts?

Nintendo's Switch 2 Direct is coming and all the rumors say it is going to be one hell of a show! We have special guest Stealth40k on to discuss what we know, rumors and hopes. Also, apologies for my audio quality on this one: Windows switched my mic to my webcam, and because we were recording when it happened - no pop up to let me know. So cool. Very good feature.

We've gotten plenty of things wrong over the years. It's rare to say it as content creators, but for another evergreen episode this week, we thought: lets talk about being hilariously wrong. We cover everything from anime we were wrong about to being wrong about one of the biggest games of all time. So, lube up your ears and let us guide you on a journey of a few of our favorite missed calls!

Comin' in with another breezy fun evergreen episode! Industry news is still sort of rough - although there is some cool rumors/leaks - and we wanted another fun episode. So, let's talk about game genres. We are going decade by decade from 1900 - 2000 and picking a genre, and making up a game that would best encapsulate that decade in our minds. We are mostly referencing the USA, because we are of course USians, but this could be done with any country's history. It's a good excuse for me to learn more of another country's history, so hit me with a favorite decade and the genre/game!

Industry news is mostly sad atm and we decided we need a fun episode. A positive episode. We need to bring back the solid game. The 7 outta 10 - you're gonna have a good time, it's worth the money game. Maybe a hidden gem, maybe a game that we just need to admit got too much hate. Was I braver than Matt with my choices? Yes. Does that mean I am correct? Also, yes. I keep winning! Let us know your solid 7s!

The hits keep coming to development teams everywhere. At least this time it can't be said to be a surprise... Well, at least not totally. WB "old yeller'd" 3 studios this week, including Monolith Productions. Which is surprising given that team's pedigree and the fact that it was working on a big budget Wonder Woman game. When we look closer at the Wonder Woman game, though, it seems it was still years from completion and perhaps WB saw short terms gains to cutting the cost.

Look, if you have a game that fails spectacularly you can expect to be laid off. If your game explodes, and hits the top of the charts? Well, you can expect to be laid off then, too. It's only business. An increasingly volatile, confusing business. Marvel Rivals has been a massive success for Chinese publisher NetEase, and just as season two is about to release: they did the natural thing. They laid off, or fired, the entire American development team. This could be politics. This could be "just business". Either way, it's rotten.

Maybe my expectations were super low, but I thought this was a pretty good State of Play. Was it incredible? Face Melting? No. But there was something in there for everyone. And a couple things looked right up our alley. So, successful in my mind. What did you grade this State of Play?

Capcom had a pretty awesome spotlight. Granted - lots of stuff from last year, but announcing demos for a lot of them was very cool. Personally, I got the main thing I wanted which was more info about Onimusha. Plus we got more eyes on with Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (which I couldn't remember the name of because ya boy started running again and I made the mistake of doing it too close to recording time. Find me here: a little breathless, thirsty and apparently woozy - BUT I'LL GET GUD I SWEAR). Beyond those two games, of course we should all be excited for Okami 2 and most of us are very excited by the new Monster Hunter. Other whoozy brain farts (new band name): The Don Lee movies I was talking about Binging was the Round Up franchise. Very Fun, just solid cop movie shit and Don Lee is a tank as always. This franchise has the added benefit that many of the great Korean character actors are featured through out and you'll recognize them all over Korean cinema and TV after you watch this.

The recent Xbox Developer Direct was... Pretty dang good. Refreshing after several years of lackluster showings. Shortly after, Phil Spencer gave an interview that added fuel to this new fire. Xbox is committing to a new philosophy. Will Sony change things up too? Nintendo? Ok, probably not Nintendo; things are going well for them.

Nintendo has finally made an official announcement about the Switch 2. No real information was included/confirmed but there were hints to where they are going. Additionally EA revealed a shortfall in sales with Veilguard. We discuss whether or not this puts Bioware in danger, but also whether their expectations would have caused a shortfall no matter what.

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, decided to address the rumors that Ubisoft is for sale. The buyout by Tencent failed, because the Guillemot family wanted to sell the company, but somehow retain control. Which, as you may already know, is insane. So Tencent apparently passed. But Yves says Ubisoft is not actually for sale. in his words, they are exploring: "various transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders." So, to reiterate, Yves says NO, Ubisoft is not for sale. It's just "for sale". Now what does that mean? Which franchises could they sell off to save the body? Which franchises would anyone want? And most importantly, who would be a good fit for bringing the best out of those franchises? Side note: We gave up on the no cursing thing. Well, I haven't as a resolution, just not gonna worry about making the show radio-clean. Matt explains in detail toward the middle of the episode.

Happy New Year! I hope you're spending this time with family, and friends - but if you have to work, I hope our sweet salty voices keep your ear holes good company. 2024 was a year full of lessons. Some good, some bad, but lessons nonetheless. And with those lessons we are going to try and pick out some trends for 2025 and beyond. Which is always fun because if we are right, cool, if we are wrong, fun. It's a win-win!

Matt's calling this one the Blue Sky episode. Which is not a reference to the new social media platform - no it's a concept that Walt Disney loved to use when brainstorming ideas for his park: aim for the blue sky and we will worry about reality later. So we're doing that now, but with gaming hopes and dreams.

Suffice to say I was dead wrong about this years show. I was so confident it would be a nothing burger that I didn't even watch this year. I figured: if anything interesting is shown, I'll check it out later. Well, several interesting somethings were shown. Plus some surprises and oddities with the awards.

There's a lot of winking and speculating that there will be a couple show stopper announcements at TGA 2024 - we aren't so sure. Rather than speculate on that and get our hopes up: we talk about Indiana Jones, the on-going shifting power centers of the industry and general topics. I have what is affectionately being called "Flu-vid" and maybe don't sound my best. Matt said I sound normal so if I sound like a corpse it is his fault and you tell him.

It's the 30th anniversary of PlayStation! So, here's a walk through the 90's with one of the best consoles ever. I was 5 when it officially released, and we did actually GET one until '97 - so all my memories of this system are jumbled until probably 97/98. Matt has clearer memories of the early years, but like most: didn't play it a ton until later, either. PlayStation had a slow start, but a grand finish.