The Easy Allies Podcast

This week is mostly about new stuff. Blizzard’s trying the survival genre, Crysis is ready for a sequel, Respawn is working on 2 more Star Wars games than we knew, Nagoshi launched his new studio, and Meta has something scary in VR called Horizon. 00:00:56 - Corrections 00:03:05 - Who-Gamed-It? 00:04:22 - Blizzard’s Survival Game 00:15:40 - A New Crysis 00:25:43 - Respawn’s 3 Star Wars Games 00:36:38 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:41:03 - Nagoshi Studio 00:47:46 - Meta’s Horizon Worlds 01:00:59 - December 2021 NPDs 01:10:16 - Also This Week 01:15:06 - Game: Canadian or NO-WAYdian 01:18:00 - L&R - Microsoft acquisition fates 01:21:56 - L&R - Sony or Microsoft handheld? 01:24:56 - L&R - Favorite snow levels? 01:27:00 - Time for Bets 01:31:36 - Closing 01:32:26 - January 2022 Producer Thanks Go to http://upstart.com/easyallies to find out how Upstart can lower your monthly rate. Go to http://babbel.com and use code ALLIES to get 3 months of Babbel free with a 3-month subscription. Go to http://expressvpn.com/allies to get 3 months free on a 1-year package. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phil Spencer owns this podcast after dropping the biggest gaming news of the year, and it’s still the first month of 2022. After we discuss 6 different factors of Activision/Blizzard's big payday, the panel laments Star Wars causing crunch and that’s it. It’s mostly Xbox this week. 00:00:57 - Corrections 00:04:50 - Who-Gamed-It? 00:06:38 - Microsoft bought Activision/Blizzard 00:16:55 - Microsoft owns Activision/Blizzard 00:30:13 - Good Old Bobby 00:33:58 - Activision/Blizzard Lawsuits 00:42:03 - Fixing Activision/Blizzard 00:59:24 - Xbox Exclusivity 01:06:43 - The Metaverse in 2022 01:21:04 - Skywalker Saga and crunch 01:26:41 - Also This Week 01:34:39 - Game: Dissecting a Frogger 01:40:16 - L&R - What about Battle-dot-net? 01:43:24 - L&R - Sony first-party on PC day 1? 01:47:40 - L&R - Xbox Exclusivity Trivia 01:49:58 - Time for Bets 01:57:10 - Or Wars 02:02:53 - Closing Check out this survey to help Easy Allies and Rooster Teeth make better stuff! https://roosterteeth.surveysparrow.com/s/Roost-Partner-Survey---Easy-Allies/tt-b5e8a4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a shocking nearly $70 BILLION dollar ack-wha, Microsoft is in the process of buying Activision-Blizzard! Brandon, Brad, Blood, and Isla are here to discuss the news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week was filled with uncertainty. Is Mario Kart 9 happening soon? Will Babylon’s fall and a new leader hurt Platinum Games? Can FF XIV’s director make people nicer? Should LEGO ever trust Blizzard again? Am I playing the right Wordle? Where’s my PS5 and Xbox Series X?! 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:19 - Corrections 00:06:53 - Who-Gamed-It? 00:10:58 - Mario Kart 9 rumors 00:25:17 - Platinum Games in 2022 00:32:47 - FFXIV and toxicity 00:41:11 - LEGO and Blizzard 00:44:58 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:49:17 - Wordle copycats 00:55:31 - Console scarcity in 2022 01:02:17 - Also This Week 01:06:54 - Game: Cool Subtitles 01:11:49 - L&R - 70 PS2 games on a shelf 01:14:07 - L&R - Best Online Non-PVP Co-Op? 01:15:10 - L&R - I can’t see 30/60 FPS 01:20:46 - Or Wars 01:26:14 - Closing Go to http://hellofresh.com/allies16 and use code allies16 for up to 16 free meals and 3 free gifts. Go to http://expressvpn.com/allies to get 3 months free on a 1-year package. Go to http://mintmobile.com/allies to cut your wireless bill to $15 a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s episode 300! Raise a glass! Our wonderful patrons give us lots of memories and conversation starters to mark the milestone. All while feeling the intensity of Q1’s release schedule, the cheap-high-tech possibilities of PSVR2, and the long and lonely road of Days Gone. 00:01:05 - Corrections 00:03:07 - Madden Facts 00:05:49 - Q1 2022 Preview January 00:21:25 - Q1 2022 Preview February 00:50:38 - Q1 2022 Preview March 01:07:00 - A Word From Our Sponsors 01:10:55 - PlayStation VR2 01:26:29 - Days Gone sales 01:36:04 - Podcast #300 Memories 01:40:18 - Upside That Frown 01:42:58 - Also This Week 01:45:34 - Game: Above or Below 300! 01:49:34 - L&R - Favourite celebration editions? 01:51:59 - L&R - Reviewing super long games 01:53:58 - L&R - What lived up to expectations? 01:55:13 - Or Wars 02:01:44 - Closing Go to http://upstart.com/easyallies to find out how Upstart can lower your monthly rate! Go to http://chime.com/allies to sign up today! Go to http://betterhelp.com/allies to get 10% off your first month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we honor and educate ourselves on the legacy of the great John Madden, then wonder what’s going on with Ubisoft’s attrition rate and G.R.R.M.'s blog. Also, Nintendo and Valve list some of their highest-performing games, and the CEO of Roblox has some hilariously sneaky taxes. 00:01:26 - Corrections 00:03:18 - John Madden’s legacy 00:16:02 - Ubisoft’s “Great Exodus” 00:29:20 - G.R.R.M.’s Elden Ring blog post 00:39:21 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:43:26 - Switch’s top indie games of 2021 00:55:52 - Steam’s top games of 2021 01:00:38 - Roblox CEO’s sneaky taxes 01:03:48 - Also This Week 01:09:32 - Game: Stark Raving Madden 01:13:16 - L&R - More pseudo-sequels? 01:16:36 - L&R - FF VII Remake vs FF XIII 01:19:27 - L&R - Digital vs physical problems? 01:24:14 - Or Wars 01:29:28 - Closing 01:31:30 - December Producer Credits Go to http://babbel.com and use promo code ALLIES to get 3 extra months! Visit http://joinhoney.com/allies to get Honey for free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tis the season to share a little love and respect. We celebrate the NPDs, award our Starring Roles, and take an episode’s worth of community questions. 00:01:34 - The Starring Role Awards 00:11:24 - November 2021 NPDs 00:20:54 - L&R - Personal convention traditions 00:24:28 - L&R - Taking game appreciation further 00:28:37 - L&R - Let’s celebrate the LOTR trilogy 00:34:17 - L&R - Excellent minor details 00:36:20 - L&R - Regrettable gaming purchases 00:39:06 - L&R - What about open-linear games? 00:41:59 - L&R - If you're going to play only one 00:44:51 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:50:39 - L&R - What’s with Game Pass and Japan? 00:54:07 - L&R - Too down to enjoy a good game? 00:56:11 - L&R - Schedule-pivoting announcements 00:58:36 - L&R - Character-based PvP morality? 01:02:23 - L&R - Stuck with EZA games? 01:10:47 - Or Wars 01:14:09 - Closing Go to http://hellofresh.com/allies14 and use code allies14 for up to 14 free meals AND 3 free gifts. Go to http://betterhelp.com/allies to get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp. Go to http://getquip.com/allies to get your first refill free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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In a special late-night extended episode with special guest Kyle Bosman, we get loopy talking about the ups and downs of The Game Awards. Also, it’s never too late for GTA Online story DLC, PlayStation’s going to try and copy Game Pass, and Raven Software gets the Activision axe. 00:02:10 - Corrections 00:04:00 - Starring Role 00:11:09 - Alan Wake II 00:16:36 - Star Wars Eclipse 00:23:35 - Hellblade II 00:25:46 - Wonder Woman 00:31:24 - Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 00:37:00 - The Death Stranding PS4 is not gross 00:39:37 - Warhammer 40K Space Marine II 00:42:57 - Other Game Awards announcements 01:14:07 - Game Awards winners and losers 01:25:00 - A Word From Our Sponsors 01:31:15 - GTA Online The Contract 01:38:24 - PlayStation’s Game Pass 01:48:38 - Raven Software layoffs 01:54:34 - Also This Week 02:07:58 - L&R - We get gaming gifts! 02:10:55 - L&R - Perfect pronunciations 02:15:05 - L&R - I play video games wrong  02:19:33 - Time For Bets 02:26:42 - Closing Go to http://hellotushy.com/easyallies to get 10% off and free shipping. Visit http://joinhoney.com/allies to get Honey for free. Go to http://imperfectfoods.com and use code ALLIES to get 20% off your first 4 orders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FFXIV Endwalker, a new Marvel MMO, and a re-connected Battlefield 2042 universe take online gaming to the forefront of this week’s headlines. Also, we say congrats to Cyberpunk 2077 after a sale and thousands of positive user reviews, and farewell to the original Titanfall. 00:01:00 - Corrections 00:04:02 - Starring Role 00:08:09 - Battlefield’s big changes 00:24:36 - Marvel MMO 00:34:38 - FFXIV Endwalker launch 00:49:05 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:53:44 - Cyberpunk’s redemption 01:06:48 - Titanfall delisted 01:16:08 - Also This Week 01:26:51 - Game: What got the most GOTYs? 01:34:20 - L&R - Our gaming “cilantros” 01:43:29 - L&R - Game Awards expectations? 01:46:20 - L&R - Rudeness, aka Teabagging 01:51:31 - Time For Bets 01:57:45 - Closing 02:00:08 - November Producer Credits Go to http://betterhelp.com/allies to get 10% off your first month of BetterHelp. Go to http://expressvpn.com/allies to get an extra 3 months FREE! Go to http://truebill.com/ALLIES to start cancelling today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices