The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Chandana 'Eka' Ekanayake, co-founder of Falcon Age studio Outerloop Games, here to discuss how 1995 biker adventure game Full Throttle inspired him to join the games industry.. Ekanayake discusses how the film-like elements of the game spurred his interest in joining in the industry, and the ways in which the game's pacing and visual techniques are still examples of how games embrace and iterate on storytelling techniques used in movies. Game Developer's Playlist is an extension of a series we run on the site called Why I Love, in which developers explore their favorite games. You can find these articles here. Title music by Julian Villareal. The weekly news show will be back on Monday, and you can get more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, Rebekah and Marie are joined by USGamer's Mike Williams, as well as three special guests: freelance writer Aaron Lee, I Need Diverse Games founder Tanya DePass, and Melanin Gamers founder Annabel Ashalley-Anthony. Mike, Aaron, Tanya, and Annabel discuss being Black in the games industry, from issues of representation in games themselves to representation in the workplace, and the barriers facing Black professionals who wish to both enter and thrive in games. As a springboard for the discussion, the group referenced two recent articles: one on lifting the barriers faced by Black professionals in the games industry by Marie, and another specifically focused on representation in the UK games business by Aaron, both including interviews and insight from a number of Black professionals around the industry. You can find Marie's article here: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-27-lifting-the-barriers-for-black-professionals-in-the-games-industry And Aaron's here: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-22-we-need-a-real-shift-in-the-tide-black-professionals-talk-representation-in-the-uk-games-business As always, you can find more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, three members of the team -- Matt, Marie, and Rebekah -- chat with Digital Foundry's John Linneman about the impending next generation of consoles, especially the Xbox Series X. With just a few weeks remaining before the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, we reflect on the marketing and announcement cycles of both over the last year, as well as do a bit of deep-diving into what the hardware improvements of the Xbox Series X and S will mean for average users. We also dip into pricing, both hardware and software, as well as the recent addition and subsequent removal of unskippable ads in NBA 2K21 and UFC 4. One note: this episode was recorded on Friday, October 23, and in the episode we mention that Destruction All-Stars is a PlayStation 5 launch title. Shortly before we published the episode, Sony announced the game was being delayed to February, and thus is no longer a launch title. As always, you can find more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Five Games Of is a special spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that charts the evolution of the industry through the careers and games of prominent developers and more. This month's guest is Guha Bala, co-founder and president of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit developer Velan Studios, perhaps best known for the work he and his team accomplished at Vicarious Visions -- another studio he co-founded. Bala's career stretches back as far as 1996 point-and-click adventure Synnergist and cover a variety of often experimental play patterns, such as instrument-based rhythm action games and toys-to-life. Join us as well look at the rise of fall of dedicated gaming handhelds, plastic guitars, toys-to-life, augmented reality and more. The weekly news show will be back on Monday, and you can get more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Title music by Juilan Villareal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather behind their mics to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. Our main discussion for this episode is the partnership between Microsoft and GameStop, which offers the retailer a share of all digital revenues generated by users of Xbox Series consoles the retail chain has sold. We debate whether this is a way for the platform holder to sustain a valuable retail partner or an attempt to seem charitable as it pushes its digital ecosystem. Continuing the Xbox theme, we discuss the day one launch line-up for Series X and S, which features 31 titles but no next-gen exclusives. As always, you can find more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt, Brendan, Rebekah and James are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the week -- or, in this instance, story. We delve deeper into Brendan's extensive exposé on the toxic culture at Twitch, which extends across both the office and the site itself.  The team explores a story that ranges from allegations of sexual assault and racism to defaction on the walls and a relaxed attitude to the Klu Klux Klan, as we debate how other companies can learn from Twitch's mistakes. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Game Developers' Playlist is a special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast in which we talk with developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Megan Fox -- founder of Skatebird developer Glass Bottom Games -- discussing the impact of Ultima 7, the 1992 systems-driven RPG. Fox reflects on how the use of the game's systems opened up player freedom, and the evolution of similar mechanics in genres such as survival games. The Game Developer's Playlist is an extension of a series we run on the site called Why I Love, in which developers explore their favourite games.  Title music by Julian Villareal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah, Marie and James are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. We start with the disappointing but perhaps inevitable news that -- despite promises of 'non-obligatory crunch' and multiple delays to the game - CD Projekt Red is forcing the Cyberpunk 2077 developers to work six-day weeks in the run-up to its November 19 launch. Then we're joined by Eurogamer's Lottie Lynn to discuss the impact of changes Niantic made to Pokémon Go to account for the pandemic -- and how it will likely affect the game now many of these are becoming permanent. Finally, we take a look at the early success of Chinese-developed free-to-play epic Genshim Impact, as well as sharing our initial impressions of the game widely described as a Breath of the Wild clone.  As always, you can get more news, analysis and insight into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah, Brendan and Marie are on hand to discuss the biggest stories of the week -- which, of course, means Microsoft's acquistion of Bethesda parent ZeniMax Media. The platform holder splashed $7.5 billion on the Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher, but what wider implications does this deal have? We discuss the impact on Game Pass, on the Bethesda IP that struggled at retail but may now have renewed hope, how this affects Microsoft's ability to compete with Sony, and the consequences of industry consolidation. Then we turn our attention to the surprise announcement (despite long-running rumours) of Amazon's Luna cloud gaming service. We weigh up whether Amazon can compete with Xbox, PlayStation and Google in the games streaming space, and question the lack of hype in the run-up to its unveiling. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Five Games Of is a special spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that charts the evolution of the industry through the careers and games of prominent developers and more. This month's guest is Debbie Bestwick, CEO and owner of UK-based indie label Team17, whose first game was released in 1991. On the show we discuss this and other formative titles, the changing opportunities for indie developers over the years, shifting attitudes at publishers, and how the very first Worms game was developed on a calculator. The weekly news show will be back on Monday, and you can get more news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices