The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

As the old saying goes, “It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday.” That, of course, can mean only one thing: the GamesIndustry.biz Podcast is here.  This week Rebekah takes up hosting duties and is joined by Matt, Brendan, Haydn and, if you listen very closely, a selection of our assorted pets.  We kick things off with the crumbling world of brick and mortar game stores, and what they can do to slow their seemingly inevitable decline. Following the example of UK retailer Game, struggling US giant GameStop revealed this week to revamp its stores with a newfound focus on esports. Whether either can establish the success of yesteryear is still in doubt though.  Ubisoft recently announced it was once again partnering with Jason Gordon-Levitt’s creative crowdsourcing platform HitRecord for the upcoming Watch Dogs: Legion. Just like last year’s partnership for Beyond Good and Evil 2, the whole thing attracted a lot of criticism, but poses some interesting questions regarding where the lines get blurred with user-created content around games like Super Mario Maker and Dreams. Finally, the news that Detective Pikachu is the highest grossing video game movie tie-in of all time came as no surprise, but why did it succeed where movies like Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter failed? (Except for all of the really obvious reasons like a) being terrible, or b) not being very good).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt, James and Haydn discuss the biggest stories of the past week, including the ongoing dispute between indie developers and divisive marketplace G2A. Recorded hot off the heels of G2A's proposal for a key-blocking tool, we discuss the various roots of the debate and why indie developers -- and the industry in general -- has such a rocky relationship with the company. The core principle of G2A -- that players can sell on games they own -- is not all that controversial, but years of allegations regarding scams, fraud and stolen keys, plus the marketplace's occasionally inept attempts at defending itself make this an industry problem that may be impossible to solve. Finally, we share our thoughts on the long-rumoured and in-no-way-surprising Nintendo Switch Lite. For both Matt and James, it suits their use of the device down to a tee, but would a Switch Pro capable of handling more powerful games be more appealing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Load up your ears with the GamesIndustry.biz podcast, this week featuring James, Matt, and myself chatting about the big industry news.  Matt is in trouble this week for not using headphones while recording, so apologies in advance for the slightly wonky audio in places. But don't let that deter you from downloading this white knuckle thrill ride of all the hottest industry “haps.” EA doesn't see itself as the "bad guys" but it's an image the publisher just can't seem to shake. We discuss EA's long legacy of missteps, whether that's the ancient sin of releasing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II before it was ready, or it's attempted re-brand of loot boxes as "surprise mechanics", we’re spoiled for choice.  We also get embroiled once again in the storefront wars following comments made by Paradox Interactive's Fredrik Wester, who praised the more generous revenue split of the Epic Games Store, and described the 70/30 industry standard as “outrageous.”  The Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport inquiry into immersive and addictive technologies rolls on, this week with appearances from the Information Commissioner's Office, and culture minister Margot James MP.  We round things out with a little chat about our favourite mobile games, where James once again recommends Florence and I get misty-eyed about Runescape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Friday, so what better way to end your week than with the GamesIndustry.biz Podcast? This week Rebekah takes up the mantle of host once more, joined by Haydn, Brendan, and occasionally his dog.  We kick with a discussion on the state of streaming after Razer cut ties with one of its female content partners over some Twitter remarks she made about men; the return of Dr Disrespect to the Twitch despite being banned for filming inside the bathrooms at E3; and how subscriber only Twitch streams could make creators less accountable.  Then we close out the episode with a chat about everyone’s favourite topic: horrifying and avoidable crunch at a AAA studio, revealed by a recent report into how Treyarch created an underclass of QA testers while developing Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII.  You can listen to our latest episode below, subscribe to our RSS feed, or download the file directly here. It is also available via Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast, Player FM, TuneIn and other widely-used podcast platforms. 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

Rebekah, Matt, Brendan and Haydn discuss two of the biggest issues the industry faces in this week's podcast. First up, following comments from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick and even US senator Bernie Sanders, we discuss the ongoing debate around unions. Zelnick's discussion with GamesIndustry.biz kicked off a debate this week about whether games professionals who are comfortably compensated would even be motivated to unionise. We weigh up the many other reasons why the call for unions is getting louder. Then, after EA and Epic appeared in Parliament earlier this week, we discuss how the way they represented both their own companies and the industry in general could have been improved. As the UK government's inquiry into immersive and addictive technologies continues, the games industry could find itself facing more scrutiny from other governments around the world. 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

It's a bumper podcast as we reflect on everything we saw (and didn't see) at E3 2019. First up, Chris and Brendan record a segment in Los Angeles reporting on the mood on the show floor and how the lack of Sony, EA and other have made for a somewhat quieter, almost underwhelming show. They discuss the impact of E3 swag, the art of the 'one more thing' at a major press conference, and why more industry professionals are talking about subscriptions and streaming that next-generation consoles. Finally, they discuss their ideas for improving E3 as the show continues to push for a larger consumer presence. They also very subtly plug the GamesIndustry.biz magazine, which you can download at our website. Then it's over to Matt, Rebekah and James, who have been reporting from home. The trio discuss the lack of gameplay demos and why this might contribute to the difficulty of identifying the standout games heading to shelves in the next six months. Plus, more thoughts on Sony's notable absence and why it may well be Nintendo's time to shine this Christmas. 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 entire GamesIndustry.biz team assembles as we prepare for the biggest week in the gaming calendar. Rather than plucking arbitrary predictions out of the air, we instead focus on the core areas that are likely to be hottest topics of the upcoming week.  First off, we debate whether the next generation of consoles will have any sort of presence at E3 2019 -- or whether it even needs to. With Sony absence, the show is open for Xbox to dominate but that means the platform holder can share as much or as little as it needs. From there we discuss the other platform holder's plans. With Nintendo confirming there will be no new Switch hardware, what games -- or perhaps game, singular -- will be the Mario maker's big focus this year? The company already has a solid line-up, but what new IP or surprises might be in store? We also discuss E3 as a whole. With major industry players like Sony and Electronic Arts no longer present, is the event losing its relevance or perhaps struggling to define who the many announcements are even targeted at? And finally, we each discuss our dream E3 announcement -- the one game that will delight us enough to justify the long, long hours we face in covering this year's show. As always, you can find your news, analysis and insight -- including, of course, our E3 2019 coverage -- at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost the entire team is assembled for this week's episode of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, with Matt, James, Chris, Haydn and Rebekah (on holiday in the UK) gathering around the mic to discuss the latest gaming headlines. The big topic of the week is World Health Organisation's decision to classify 'gaming disorder' as a recognised illness. We debate whether the industry trade bodies could have done more to defend against this, or whether it even needs defending against.  This conversation also veered towards loot boxes and the recent news that a proposed bill in the US has received support from both major political parties. As we once again discuss the intricacies of this divisive and potentially exploitative mechanic, we dip down the rabbit hole of what even counts as a loot box. On a lighter note, we discuss this week's Pokémon announcements, including a cloud storage service and sleep tracking app, and why The Pokémon Company remains the master of brand management. And finally, in anticipation of today's expected Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reveal, we try to get to the bottom of why games publishers struggle to name their games sensibly. Will the new game be confused for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or the more recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered? What on Earth do you call the inevitable fifth (or is it second?) Modern Warfare? And how can Infinity Ward bring something fresh and special to such a long-running series? As usual, you can get all your 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, James, Haydn and Chris discuss the biggest stories of the week, starting with the surprising partnership between rival platform holders. As announced yesterday, Sony has partnered with Microsoft to share technologies and improve each other's cloud-based offerings -- a deal that has promising implications for the future of game streaming (even if it isn't the console wars ceasefire some might have thought). Elsewhere, the European Court of Justice has proposed a ruling that may help to eliminate crunch: tracking work hours to ensure overtime is always paid. We discuss how this might benefit developers, as well as the challenges of implementing and enforcing it. And finally, with Ubisoft using its recent record financial results to tease three unannounced AAA titles before the end of the fiscal year, we speculate as to which big brands will headline the publisher's 2019 line-up. (Okay, we admit it, this was a chance to yearn for a new Splinter Cell) Get all the latest 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, Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest industry headlines, which inevitably means continuing to talk about crunch. Picking up from our earlier episode, we discuss the latest stories of crunch and punishing work practices at NetherRealm Studios (as Brendan revealed in his article here: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-05-03-netherrealms-self-sustaining-culture-of-crunch). We also touch on how developers themselves may be inadvertently perpetuating the cycle of crunch (as Brendan also discussed in his editorial here: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-05-08-united-devs-stand-divided-they-crunch-opinion). We then discuss the latest from Riot Games where rumours of a employee walkout became a 150-person show of strength, with solidarity from fellow developers across the industry. We talk about the forced arbitration clause at the core of the issue, as well as Riot's unsatisfactory response to the upset this has caused. And finally, we debate Senator Josh Hawley's proposal to ban loot boxes and other aggressive forms of monetisation in games targeted at, or even accessible to, children. Just as managers have failed their employees who face crunch, so the industry has failed itself as we face potentially overreaching legislation. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis from the world behind video games at www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices