Videogame Roundtable

Jonah considers Elden Ring too grind-y, and talks about the name of an infamous handheld console. News items include:
PlayStation 5 owners report online issues following system update
Mass Effect Trilogy co-creator returning to science fiction
Bungie says last week's Destiny 2 video takedowns were 'fraudulent'
Nintendo takes down scans of 1996 Super Mario 64 Strategy Guide
Let us know what you think.

The previous two podcasts got corrupted on upload, and now I have to reedit them completely. Be patient.
This week's there's a bunch of minor news items, covering things like Sony's lawsuit, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 and the Ukraine invasion, Minecraft frogs, various remasters, and the gang talk briefly about the newly released Tunic. The main news items include:
The Gold Box D&D games are coming to Steam
Elden Ring described as start of a "new franchise"
Let us know what you think.

This week has a lot of followup to the entire situation with Activision/Blizzard, and also a lot of news items that weren't a part of the official news feed. In addition, this week's Gaming Flashback is recognized as the first computer game, Spacewar! The news feed includes:
Microsoft is watching Activision/Blizzard to ensure 'the right people' are in charge when it takes over
Witcher 3 director and Cyberpunk 2077 veterans announce new studio and 'AAA dark fantasy' RPG
Nintendo Switch Sports online play test registration now open
3DS and Wii U eShop purchases end in March 2023
Focus Home Interactive to acquire Metal Slug Tactics dev Leikir Studio
Let us know what you think, now that the Comments section works again!

The crew gets excited about the announcement of The Wolf Among Us 2, although it won't be out for a while, and bemoan the infestation of live service games everywhere these days in videogames. The news includes:
PlatinumGames pivoting to live service games
Rockstar announces Grand Theft Auto 6 in a tweet
Tim Schafer doesn't want Psychonauts or any other Double Fine game turned into a movie
Let us know what you think on Gaming Podcast's Facebook page here.

This week, Sony responds to Microsoft's nearly $69B purchase of Activision/Blizzard by buying Bungie for $4B. The guys cover Sony's State of Play 2022, which turned out to be entirely about Gran Turismo 6. The other news this week includes:
Sony wants to help Bungie turn its franchises into movies
Sony's State of Play 2022
MLB: The Show 22 is coming to Switch
EA's boss went from calling NFTs "the future" to running away from them
Let us know what you think.

This week, the crew discusses all of the news surrounding Activision/Blizzard after its purchase by Microsoft, and the consensus is that Bobby Kotick is still a slime. Other news includes:
Kotick meeting leaves staffers worried
Blizzard is making a survival game
EA making 3 new Star Wars games
Crysis 4 announced
Let us know what you think on the TD Gaming Podcast Facebook page here.

The title about says it all. Microsoft has straight up purchased Activision/Blizzard -- in cash, no less -- and while it'll take til September 2023 to get everything sorted, probably, it's one of the biggest shakeups in the history of videogames. Meanwhile, T.J. is still salty over Vicarious Visions developing Diablo II: Resurrected, while the trio discusses the plans for Sony's Game Pass. This week's news includes:
Microsoft spends almost $70B in buying Activision/Blizzard
City-building RTS The Settlers launches in March, closed beta next week
Split Pad Pro getting the Attachment Set
PS3 games reportedly appear on PS5 Store
Let us know what you think!

Technical issue in that the episode was uploaded but for some reason was not downloading on podcast apps, so re-uploading and hopefully this time you guys can download it. This week's episode deals with the unbelievable bullcrap going on in the industry, from NFTs to sexual harrassment to the ESA's incompetence. The news items:
Lego suspends release of Overwatch 2 set amid ongoing Activision Blizzard controversy
Sega stalls NFT plans
E3 2022 cancels in-person event
Elden Ring character creation leaks
Hitman 3 year 2 reveal coming later this week (from PC Gamer)
Let us know what you think!