The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

Matt, Rebekah, Brendan and USGamer's Mike Williams discuss the biggest news of the past week. We start with the PS5 launch plans and confusion over pre-orders, and move on to our wider thoughts about the next console generation. With both platform holders offering digital-only consoles, what does this mean for the concept of ownership during the upcoming generation? And how does the rise of subscriptions factor into this? Finally, we go round the table and share which next-gen machine most appeals to us. 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

This week, James, Brendan, Rebekah and Chris discuss the biggest news of the past week, which is, unsurprisingly, Xbox. The platform holder announced its long-rumoured Xbox Series S model at $299, priced the Xbox Series X at $499, detailed the Xbox All Access payment plan for both models, gave a November 10 launch date, and revealed that the EA Play library will be added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate later this year. With all the pieces in place for the launch of Microsoft's fourth console generation, we discuss how the platform holder is trying to reshape the business, who the audience for the Series S might be, and whether Sony might respond to the EA Play deal, among other things. And then we somehow masterfully manage to steer the last third of the episode to talking about Nintendo. As always, you can get the latest 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 returns with a look at RPG Maker. In this new monthly show, developers join us to discuss the games that influenced their careers. This episode features Davionne Gooden, the indie developer behind the upcoming She Dreams Elsewhere, talking about how tinkering with RPG Maker motivated him to make a living making 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. You can find these articles here. Title music by Julian Villareal. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt, Brendan, James and USGamer's Mike Williams gather around their mics to discuss the biggest industry news of the past week. Our first big discussion this week is Unity's long-awaited IPO. Having delved deeply into the filing, Brendan discovered some little known and surprising facts about the company behind the widely-used engine. We discuss these revelations and ponder the future of Unity as it targets a potential growth area of £29 billion - but has its biggest competitor got there first? Then we discuss the recent statement of support from 2K Games following the NBA's protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.  Major publishers already made similar statements and accompanying charity donations in the wake of George Floyd's murder earlier this year, but what more can the industry do to make an impact and drive positive change? 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

This is the first episode in a new spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, charting the evolution of the industry through the games and careers of prominent professionals. In this monthly show, we'll be joined by developers, composers, writers, publishers and other members of the games industry to discuss five games they have worked on: their first, their last, and three of their choice. Around each title, we'll be exploring how the business of video games has changed, the lessons that have been learned and areas that still need improvement. To kick off this series, we're joined by indie developer Mike Bithell, best known for Thomas Was Alone and his most recent hit John Wick Hex. Don't forget to download our weekly news discussion show every Monday, as well as our other spin-off The Games Developers' Playlist, in which game creators discuss the titles that had the biggest impact on them. 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

Brendan, Marie, Chris and James discuss the biggest stories of the past week, starting with the allegations of inaction against abuse at Rocksteady. The Batman: Arkham Knight studio has been accused of doing little to nothing to address the issues with toxicity and harassment raised by female employees back in 2018. It's worth noting the studio has since released an updated statement that was not available at the time of recording. After this, we discuss the first PlayStation 5 ad and the challenges of promoting a physical next-generation experience when the pandemic has cut off all the usual event marketing opportunities. And with Bossa adopting a hybrid remote-office model, we debate whether a mix of the two can really work for games teams going forward. 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

Matt, Rebekah, Chris and James gather round their microphones to discuss the biggest news of the past week -- starting, of course, with Epic versus Apple and Google. In case you missed the news, the Fortnite firm skillfully goaded Apple into removing the world's biggest game from its App Store then followed up with a pre-prepared lawsuit and a conveniently-ready-to-go parody video.  Google later removed the game as well and found itself facing a similar lawsuit. Rebekah has already discussed the messaging around this video in her opinion piece on why it was an irresponsible piece of corporate propaganda, but we delve deeper on the podcast into the many nuances around what Epic is attempting to do. We discuss the way it is mobilising its audience -- and whether the audience has any place in this fight -- as well as the ongoing and related investigations into big tech firms both in Congress and the European Commission, and whether Epic is right in its motivations. We also discuss the delay to Halo Infinite, and the impact this will have on the launch of Xbox Series X, the all-but-confirmed Xbox Series S, and Xbox Game Pass. As always, you can get the latest news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Presenting the debut episode of a new spin-off from The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: The Game Developer's Playlist In this new monthly show, developers join us to discuss the games that influenced their careers. Kicking off this series is Aaron Linde, lead narrative designer at Halo developer 343 Industries, who shares his love of SNES RPG Earthbound. This podcast is an extension of a series we run on the site called Why I Love, in which developers explore their favourite games. You can find these articles here. Title music by Julian Villareal. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James, Marie, Chris and USGamer's Mike Williams weigh in on the big debate of the week: does the games industry need E3? Studies from both Fancensus and SuperData show that this summer's big game reveals didn't suffer from the absence of the annual showcase -- certainly not when it comes to the platform holders and big publishers. But there are many other aspects of E3 that aren't as easily recreated online and benefits that might be overlooked when focused purely on data -- something Chris discussed in detail last week. We weigh up all these points and more, before turning our attention to the ongoing scrutiny around Apple's 30% share of all App Store revenues. With big tech firms facing antitrust enquiries on both sides of the Atlantic, we debate whether 30% is too high a payment and, building on Rob Fahey's latest column, what the alternative might be. 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

James, Matt, Brendan, Rebekah and USGamer's Mike Williams reflect on the titles shown at this week's Xbox Games Showcase. There was a diverse line-up of internally-developed titles, with the first look at Halo Infinite's gameplay and the long-awaited reveal of the Playground-developed Fable revival. But the presentation did leave us with questions. After multiple instances of Xbox assuring that all title for Xbox Series X will run on Xbox One, the showcase announced several games that appear to be exclusive to the next-generation console (and PC, of course). We delve into the possible reasons for the confusion in Xbox's communications, such as the practicalities of supporting a seven-year-old console while trying to sell the next one. We also discuss the prominence of Game Pass throughout the presentation, and share our highlights from the line-up. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis into the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices