But Why Tho? The Podcast

This week, Alex, Kate, and Matt discuss the interview with Xbox's Matt Booty that explained how long video games take to make. The trio discusses what kinds of expectations fans put on studios, what pressures studios put on developers, and where developers are in all of this. How long should games take to make? How soon should studios announce them? We dive in.

Kate and Matt got the chance to be on-site in LA for Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, and the Ubisoft Forward. In this episode, they talk about the highs of the fest, their favorite hands-on previews for games and what they're looking forward to. From Alan Wake 2 to MK1 and Prince of Persia: Lost Crown, 33 Immortals, and Disney Illusion Island, they got you covered with their impressions from the fests.

At the pre-launch party for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, we got the chance to sit down with  GUN's Creative Director Ronnie Hobbs, actor Damian Maffei, the voice of Johnny, and horror legend Kane Hodder, about the game, and what its like to bring what has become a vital part of horror and Texas mythos to life. 

At Summer Game Fest 2023, we got the chance to play a demo that introduced us to about 45 minutes of gameplay in Dogtown. On a mission to find a relic, we work through the demo, fighting enemies and exploring the new zone. We also got the chance to speak with the “Phantom Liberty” Game Director, Gabe Amatangelo, who expanded on elements that players can look forward to when the expansion releases.

I’m your host, Alex, joined this week by Charles and Adrian. This week, we’re talking about hobby intimidation. What creates it? How do you deal with it? All that good stuff. But first, we dive into some of the new games announced at the showcases this week. 

When it comes to esports, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is one of the leaders. In fact, Counter-Strike has been one of the mainstay first-person-shooter drivers since the birth of esports. This is what makes the Intel Extreme Masters Dallas tournaments all the more interesting and fulfilling at Dreamhack Dallas 2023. At the convention, we spoke with Sean Clark,  Senior Director of the Counter-Strike ecosystem at ESL Faceit Group (EFG), about the longevity of Counter-Strike, the importance esports has in Dallas, IEM's history, and how a player can have a career in esports beyond the competition.

When it comes to esports, it's important to make the experience inclusive. Gaming, at its core, is for everyone no matter who they are. Because of this, it's fantastic to see ESL Faceit Group (EFG) invest time and commitment to their GGForAll initiative, which aims to fulfill one of the organization's pillars: Universal participation. At Dreamhack Dallas 2023, we got the chance to talk with Claudia Beaton, the Vice President of People and Culture at EFG. Beaton's role is leading diversity, equity and inclusion and the EFG's CSR initiative GGForAll. In this interview, we got see how ESL is making tangible strides with programs, panels, initiatives and outreach to ensure everyone can play, watch, and find a future in esports.

This week, Alex, Kate, and Katherine dive into the world of reviews. Are they necessary? Do you read them? And what's better, a binary Rotten and Fresh or a grading scale of any kind? In this episode, the crew breaks down how the depreciating of reviews in our more connected world may be connected to falling media literacy and of course, bite-sized TikTok videos and more. 

Disney isn't stopping it's live actions any time soon, and the latest may just set a new standard! In this episode, But Why Tho? reviews The Little Mermaid (2023) and discuss what works about this live-action, what could be better, and whether or not you should head to the theater to see it. Kate's score? A 5/10, but Swara gives it an 8/10 - find out their differences and what they agree on. Follow Kate: https://twitter.com/ohmymithrandir Follow Swara: https://twitter.com/spiderswarz Want to read a full review? Head here: https://butwhytho.net/2023/05/the-little-mermaid-review/

This week, Alex, Adrian, and Jason are inspired by the increasingly crazy stunts of the Fast & Furious franchise, so they're talking all about jumping the shark after some quick news.   

This week we dig into the Microsoft x Activision acquisition, Disney vs the fascist, and top it all off by talking about concept fatigue — is it real? Alex, Kate, and Swara discuss what concepts get beaten into the ground and how we can fix it.

This week, Alex, Matt, and Katherine tackle the Mario box-office, the MAX news, and dive into video games prices for their main topic. Game prices have been slowly moving to a $70 USD as a the standard after what felt like decades of a $60 rule — how does it impact critics, fans, and everyone in between? Give us your feedback! Fill out our form and help make But Why Tho? better! https://forms.gle/m7KBxFYpVBqxPdaY8    

This week Alex, Adrian, and Charles are talking all about filler episodes. Are they good? Are they necessary? Has the word lost all meaning?   

The long-awaited sequel to Respawn Entertainment and EA's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order expands the world of the first game through expanded combat, customization, and traversal mechanics. We got the chance to sit down with Respawn's Jeff Magers and Blair Brown who serve as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Design Director and Senior Producer respectively. In this Jedi Survivor interview, we get into the game's expanded world and features, how it feels to create a Star Wars memory, and how Respawn has designed Jedi Survivor with every player in mind.

This week we talk about the new Little Mermaid trailer, the upcoming Creed-verse, and have a conversation about Villains. Why do people want villains to be sympathetic? Can it be done well? Why were you mad that Kang is a bad guy? Kate, Alex, and Neysha get into it in this episode. 

This week we are talking about the some news that caught our eyes, including Pokemon day announcements and the new stop-motion animated film by GDT to come from Netflix. And, of course, or topic of the week is a doozy: fans versus critics - the good, the bad, and the twitter of it all  

This week, we're diving into: The new Little Mermaid Trailer, Twitch Con location announcements, and password sharing — should we do it? Does it hurt creators? Does Netflix's new restrictions hurt consumers?  

This week we are talking about THE news that caught our eyes this week which was: DC’s film/series announcement from James Gunn. Plus, our topic this week is Reboots vs Remakes vs Revivals.  

This week we are talking about the some news that caught our eyes including: The Mandalorian trailer and director line-up, The Legend of Vox Machina Musical Recap, and our main topic this week is trailers - the lying, the trailers for the trailers, and trailer culture. 

This week, Aaron, Kate, and Neysha talk about Renfield, the news that Michael Giacchino directing a reboot of the monster movie ‘Them!,’ and The Last of Us Press Tour. More specifically, they unwrap the comments made by the creators of The Last of Us video game suggesting that live-action storytelling is the pinnacle medium for audience engagement.