The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast

James, Matt and Rebekah discuss the biggest games industry stories of the week -- much of which centres around confusion. First, there's the contradicting stories as to whether or not Borderlands 3 has microtransactions. While Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said quite clearly on stage that it doesn't -- our own Rebekah Valentine was in the room when he said this -- his own developers, and 19 hours of Pitchford's own tweets suggest otherwise. Then Epic's announcement that it had acquired Rocket League developer Psyonix raised the question of whether or not the game would continue to be made available through Steam. At first the firm suggested (unsurprisingly) that it will become exclusive to the Epic Games Store, before retracting this and assuring it will remain available on Valve's marketplace -- although perhaps not in the long term. And finally, Valve announced its high-end VR offering, the Index, with its finger-tracking and hefty price tags. Rebekah was able to try the device out for herself, but with the firm promising that these will be compatible with all previous VR games and that it's not planning on making exclusive titles that use the Index's impressive technology, it's not overly clear what Valve's strategy for the device might be. 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, James and Haydn discuss the biggest topic of the week - and, unfortunately, one of the longest running conversations in the games industry. With reports emerging of intensive working conditions at Fortnite creator Epic Games, across the Chinese games and tech industry, and (in recent days) from Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios, we are yet again reminded of how hard some managers are working their staff. Attitudes towards crunch -- at least from the perspective of those going through it, rather than enforcing it -- are changing and the practice is becoming less and less acceptable. Yet still it persists. We discuss how this growing resistance may be the beginning of the end for crunch and how the industry might change the attitudes of those profiting from it. 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

Matt, Brendan and James discuss the latest industry headlines, this week focusing on major announcements from the console space. After Sony unveiled the first details of PlayStation 5, we debate whether 8K support and PS4 backwards compatibility are enough to excite players and encourage them to upgrade. While Sony will inevitably make a larger, more detailed announcement at (or before) E3, this seems to be a surprisingly low-key way of kicking off the next generation. This is no doubt partly due to Sony's decision to conveniently time the news around the announcement of Microsoft's digital-only Xbox One. While the PS5 will still feature a disc drive, the new model of Xbox One S drops it in favour of downloads and Game Pass. With digital increasingly becoming the dominant force in games retail, it's easy to see why this would appeal but is it the future of home consoles? Or could the future be unwieldy retro-focused two-player arcade sticks, shaped like a publisher's logo and seemingly impractical for two players? We share our thoughts on the Capcom Home Arcade. 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

Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest industry headlines from the past week. We kick off by addressing the ease with which mobile developers are able to apply kids age ratings to inappropriate games on Google Play via the International Age Rating Coalition's system. Then we weigh in on the debate surrounding Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the question of accessibility. Yes, this is well-trodden ground but Brendan reflects on the accessibility once found in the classic arcades and how this diminished in favour of more complex titles. And finally, we discuss the recent revelation that Activision Blizzard has been paying staff to voluntarily allow access to health data -- including monitoring their pregnancy. 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, Chris, James and Haydn take time out of EGX Rezzed 2019 to discuss the latest gaming headlines. The biggest topic this week is the ongoing decline of pre-owned games, as indicated by both GameStop's latest financials and the UK games market valuation. We talk about why this aspect of games retail is shrinking and how stores are adapting to cope with it. Then, following a recent exposé on BioWare's troubles with Anthem and its development, we discuss the reception to the game among both consumers and the press, as well as the mismatch between the studio's strengths and the title's premise. We finish off with a quick note on what we're looking forward to seeing at EGX Rezzed 2019, which is running in London this week. As always, you can find 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, Rebekah and Haydn reflect on the biggest news of this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Inevitably, Google's Stadia streaming service dominates much of the conversation. We recap the most interesting aspects of the announcement, debate the appeal and potential of Stadia, and highlight the many, many unanswered questions. We also discuss the Nindies showcase and its most promising titles, the promise of online technology like Improbable's SpatialOS, and consider Oculus' new two-pronged strategy with Quest and Rift S. As always, you can get your daily dose of news, analysis and insight from www.gamesindustry.biz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James, Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest gaming headlines, including whether publishers need to be more careful in screening the influencers they work with. We kick off with an update on the various lawsuits between Epic and the creators of popular dances, as well as news that former EA Motive founder Jade Raymond and battle royale pioneer Brendan Greene have taken on new roles. Then, following EA's apology for its delay in dealing with a Game Changer that was sexually harassing The Sims fans, we talk about the responsibility publishers have when using influencers to engage with their community. As Brendan covered in his piece earlier this week, endorsing YouTubers, Twitch streamers et al lends them some of a brand's power but what happens when an individual abuses that power? As always, you can find 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 Haydn once again discuss the latest industry headlines, many of which centre around rather toothless apologies. We follow up on last week's main topic as THQ Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors addresses his subsidiary's decisions to run a Q&A on controversial image board 8chan. But, of course, the bulk of the episode is taken up by Valve's handling of Rape Day, a controversial visual novel that gives players control of a serial rapist during a zombie apocalypse. While Valve has confirmed the game will not be released on Steam, does this show any improvements on its widely-criticised policy of allowing any games that are not 'illegal or trolling'? On a lighter note, we discuss The Glory Society, a new co-working initiative by some of the developers behind the acclaimed Night In The Woods, and Nintendo's return to the virtual reality space (yes, return. Remember the Virtual Boy?) with the next Labo expansion. 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

Rebekah, Brendan and Haydn discuss some of the biggest games industry headlines from the past week. The biggest topic of the week is THQ Nordic's ill-advised decision to conduct an AMA on controversial forum 8chan, known for harbouring hate speech and previously blacklisted for hosting child pornography. We discuss the implications for THQ Nordic, debate how well the company responded to criticism over this session, and take a wider look at the industry's relationship with the darker aspects of the internet community. This is followed by our thoughts on the reveal of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the next core instalments in the hugely popular RPG series. Once we've chosen our starters, we discuss whether the initial reveal has lived up to expectations and how well it might perform on Switch when it arrives in late 2019. 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

Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather to discuss the biggest industry headlines of the past week. Chief among them is the arrival of Crackdown 3 and the difficulty it presents in judging its success. Media reviews are mixed, its retail performance (in the UK, at least) has been poor, yet engagement on Xbox seems to be high, thanks to Game Pass. Is this the first in a new type of release, where the metrics the industry has relied on in the pass are ultimately meaningless? We also discuss Google's tease of a big GDC reveal -- almost certainly a streaming service of some form -- and what the internet giant needs to bring to the table if it wants to stand out among a growing number of services. Finally, we touch on the ongoing troubles of Starbreeze, with the poor performance of Overkill's The Walking Dead continuing to highlight the struggles the Swedish publisher faces. With the company now in a reconstruction period to avoid insolvency, what does the future look like for Starbreeze? 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