Dropped Frames

The announcement of the PS5 Pro sparked skepticism, with questions about its value amidst rising consumer frustration. Layoffs at Microsoft and a collective resignation at Annapurna Interactive highlight ongoing turbulence in the gaming industry. Meanwhile, Ubisoft faces investor pressure as stock prices plummet. The return of Flappy Bird in the crypto space raises eyebrows, and modders delve into Baldur's Gate 3’s level editor. Exciting updates on Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 create buzz, while nostalgia for classic games keeps the conversation lively.

Zeke has returned to celebrate episode 400!* We also bring back Maximilian to celebrate the occasion too and to chat about the return of Marvel vs. Capcom, his huge modding project and his incredible year as a content creator. All before bringing it down with the recent news that Sony's new hero shooter, Concord is shutting down after a very short 2 week launch. Is the AAA gaming space okay? We get the low-down on ad revenue across streaming services, gush over Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, and glaze up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (no spoilers!) and much more! 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - The real episode 400 2:00 - A good year for Maximilian 4:20 - Why Marvel vs Capcom is a big deal 8:20 - Maximilian's modding project 38:40 - 2XKO reception after alpha 55:00 - Concord shuts down after 2 weeks 1:05:00 - Astrobot is a graveyard 1:13:40 - Phil Spencer says he has made mistakes 1:25:00 - Budgets are too high 1:35:00 - Actor for Yakuza told not to play the games 1:42:00 - Balatro coming to Switch and mobile 1:44:00 - Fishing in No Man's Sky 1:50:40 - The ad wars on Twitch 2:05:00 - Youtube vs Twitch streaming 2:23:00 - Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2:51:00 - Black Myth: Wukong needs a map 2:58:00 - Glazing up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 3:01:00 - Wisdom 3:05:50 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're joined by Jericho and DansGaming this week to chat about YouTube contracts expiring, trying to figure out why Twitch and Youtube are alienating their core audience and the weirdness of Ad revenue. We then get the lowdown on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and how it's not really reinventing the wheel before ending on our in-depth review of Star Wars Outlaws! 0:00 - Intro 1:30 - FOOTBALL 3:00 - Everyone returning to Twitch 12:00 - Short-form content on a long-form platform 18:00 - ADVERTISEMENTS 23:00 - PAX West 24:50 - Remedy & Annapurna team up 30:50 - Should games cost more? 39:25 - Concord reportedly sold 25,000 units 46:50 - Deadlock over 100k players on Steam 1:03:30 - Stalker 2 have passionate devs 1:16:00 - Borderlands 4 1:17:20 - Itsuno leaves Capcom after 30 years 1:22:00 - Visions of Mana 1:32:00 - Nintendo Direct 1:34:20 - Blue Protocol ends services and cancels global release 1:34:40 - Foamstars goes F2P 1:35:10 - Call of Duty Black Ops 6 1:55:00 - Core Keeper 2:00:00 - Black Myth: Wukong 2:07:10 - Star Wars Outlaws review 2:53:00 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zeke is out burning it up for a couple of weeks so DansGaming is taking over to help catch us up on all the news coming out of GamesCom this week! Civilization VII, deep dives into Monster Hunter Wilds & Dragon Age Vanguard. Then we have our thoughts on Valve's Deadlock, Black Myth: Wukong, World of Warcraft: The War Within and much more! 0:00 - Intro 1:30 - Definitely not episode 400 4:30 - Twitch news: SUBtember 5:45 - Subscription prices rise on mobile 9:00 - Twitch knocks 16:40 - 3rd party Twitch clips 18:30 - Concord launched 27:00 - Deadlock 48:00 - Dragon Age Vanguard combat 58:20 - Avowed 1:09:00 - Civilization VII 1:20:40 - Monster Hunter Wilds 1:38:30 - Black Myth: Wukong 2:15:00 - Thank Goodness You're Here 2:17:00 - World of Warcraft: The War Within 2:38:00 - Starfield DLC 2:43:00 - Feed the Deep 2:44:40 - Gothic 1 Remake 2:46:00 - Path of Exile 2 2:48:00 - Peter Molyneux 2:54:30 - Shoutouts See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cohh has returned fresh and well-rested to question, with the rest of the world: Is Australia alright? We then do a fairly in-depth review of the Twitch mobile app's mind boggling new design. The Borderland movie absolutely bombs at the box office, Suicide Squad has lost Warner Bros Games a lot of money, early reports of Bungie's Marathon not looking good. Then we get into the games! We played: Knock on the Coffin Lid, Delta Force: Hawk Ops, Mecha BREAK and is 2XKO too complicated for casual players? 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Timezones 1:40 - Cohh's vacation 3:50 - Disney, Marvel, Fortnite 5:50 - Fall gaming 8:00 - Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 10:20 - Suicide Squad loses WBD a lot of money 15:10 - Early Marathon impressions not good 18:00 - Borderlands the Movie bombs 24:40 - SEGA registers 'Yakuza Wars' trademark 31:10 - Twitch adds the "DJ" category 39:15 - Twitch mobile app review 53:30 - Australian Breakdancer 1:04:30 - Knock on the Coffin Lid 1:15:40 - Delta Force: Hawk Ops 1:30:55 - Mecha BREAK 1:41:00 - Zeke beat Blaster Master! 1:46:00 - Dragon Warrior 1:48:00 - Atlas Fallen 1:54:10 - Path of Exile 2:00:00 - 2XKO Alpha test 2:25:00 - Eternal Darkness 2:34:35 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cohh is on vacation this week! So joining JP and Zeke, this week are unofficial 4th seat Rami Ismail and returning special guest PirateSoftware! We get into the major news of Bungie firing 17% of their staff as well as relocating another 13%. What does this mean for the AAA industry? GameStop also surprises everyone by shutting down Game Informer including their own employees. Everything seems to be in freefall, but we look to a brighter future with Capcom and From Software working to become much more sustainable in the long term! 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - Flying airplanes 4:30 - Growing beards 6:00 - Improv 9:15 - Bungie lays off 17% of employees 30:00 - Dev tricks 40:00 - Game feature nitpicks 51:20 - Where From Software is going 1:02:40 - Game Informer ends after 30+ years 1:20:30 - Marketing games is hard 1:43:20 - Avowed gets delayed to 2025 1:58:20 - CapGod 2:14:00 - Animal Well 2:19:40 - EDF 6 2:30:00 - Custom Mech Wars 2:38:00 - Path of Exile 2:42:40 - Warframe 2:46:00 - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth 2:50:00 - Meet Your Maker 2:54:00 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We return this week to chat about Celine Dion, watching the Olympics in 2024, the hype of EVO 2024, sweeping unionization across the industry, Ubisoft's series of blunders and much more before we get deep in the weeds with very old video games! 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - My Heart Will Go On 9:00 - The Olympics 19:15 - EVO 2024 31:50 - Fallout London 37:10 - Stardew Valley ConcernedApe will never charge for DLC 40:30 - World of Warcraft devs unionize 43:20 - SAG-AFTRA voice actor go on strike 47:40 - Humble Games lays off entire publishing wing 49:40 - Concord's second beta drops off 56:00 - Versus Marvel Rivals 1:02:20 - Ubisoft's unecessary response to trolls 1:11:40 - Robert Downey Jr. is Victor Von Doom 1:18:35 - Zeke's NES arc 1:45:00 - Video game violence 1:52:00 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s guest is PirateSoftware, a full-time streamer known for his journey in the streaming world. He discusses how he transitioned from a passion into a profession. The conversation takes a turn to the recent Crowdstrike security setback, exploring its impact on industries. They also touch on Bethesda's unionization efforts and highlight the generational gap in gaming knowledge. From playful ferret stories to insights on Twitch dynamics and mobile game monetization, it’s a lively chat packed with humor and deep dives into gaming culture!

We've returned to lots of games and lots of news this week! Twitch breaking streaming records over the week as subscription prices increase as well as resolutions increase with new tools for above 1080p streaming! XBOX Game Pass also changes. Palword expands with help from Sony. Ubisoft receives the ire of Japan and One Piece?! Then we get into a spoiler-filled discussion of Elden Ring, then our impressions of Concord and Once Human! 0:00 - intro 1:05 - Throat goat 11:00 - Terraria sells a lot 12:55 - Siphoning internet 23:00 - Twitch breaking streaming records 26:30 - Twitch subscription prices increase 36:00 - Enhanced Broadcasting 39:00 - What's Pog? 44:50 - Game Pass changes and price increase 56:00 - Gothic/Elex devs Pirahna Bytes closes 1:00:00 - Palworld expands 1:07:00 - The First Descendent's Destiny icons 1:13:40 - Ubisoft gets clapped by Japan and One Piece? 1:21:00 - The Lands Betwixt (spoilers) 2:01:30 - Concord the beta 2:21:30 - Once Human 2:48:00 - Privacy Policy 2:52:05 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our boys are out sick this week so JP brings in regulars: DansGaming and Jesse Cox to chat about all the new stuff announced at TwitchCon EU over the weekend as well as the consequences of a dude who got Twitch banned 4 years ago. Then we get into Elden Ring and our first impressions of the new FFXIV expansion - Dawntrail! 0:00 - And More 6:10 - The month of June 9:00 - Video Game News 13:00 - Behind the scene tricks 15:30 - The power of British voices 18:20 - Doctor Disrespect terminated from Midnight Society 23:50 - Shadow of the Erdtree sells 5 mil copies 28:40 - Kadakawa held ransom 33:40 - Steam users spend billions on games they never play 40:00 - Nintendo HD pricing 45:00 - Is Beyond Good & Evil 2 real? 51:50 - Stellar Blade sells over 1 mil copies 55:20 - Star Wars Bounty Hunter 59:00 - Nikke x Dave the Diver 1:02:30 - Mihoyo funding Fusion reactor research 1:10:40 - The Tiktokification of Twitch - TwitchCon 2:02:10 - Elden Ring DLC 2:32:30 - Chained Together 2:38:40 - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail 3:09:20 - ShoutoutsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.