Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat

THIS IS FURUKAWA. Nintendo has officially confirmed what we've all been waiting to hear. The successor to the Switch will play your existing library of games (and hopefully run them better!). The news broke in a tweet after a CORPORATE MANAGEMENT POLICY BRIEFING, which is perfect timing since there's nothing else in the world or the news worth talking about. Meanwhile, The New York Times' tech wor...

Nintendo fans, rejoice! For the first time ever, you can listen to your favorite songs from Mario, Zelda, and... Pikmin(?) on the Internet, thanks to Nintendo Music, a new streaming app that nobody asked for. With video game music is hotter than ever, why would Nintendo skip the streaming services and build a standalone platform? And what will happen to all the music fans already get from YouTube?...

Some lucky Nintendo fans took part in a TOP SECRET online test for a new game, and were SWORN to SECRECY about it! Which means gameplay was leaked within 1.5 seconds. Data miners excavated something codenamed "Rockstock," and as the playtest rolled out, images and videos of the blocky new build-em-up spreading across the Internet - much to the dismay of Nintendo. So, what is this brand new MMO? An...

Happy Steam Next Fest to all who celebrate! Miniaturist and friend of the show Sky Burkson returns to share the banger demos he's been dabbling with this week, and what it's like to make a Bloodborne sculpture for Jacksepticeye! These are the demos we've been LOVING: Rogue Flight Heartworm Empire of the Ants The Spirit of the Samurai Beastieball Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime...

No one: Nintendo: How 'bout waking up to coin sounds every time you move? Nintendo's latest hardware is here, and it's a $100 alarm clock that turns your mornings into a psychotic fever dream. We discuss why it's weird, bad, and already sold out. Plus: A fascinating (and seriously biased) deep dive into Roblox's horrible reputation. Colette caved and started "Silent Hill 2," and boy is it GREAT. J...

Ubisoft can't catch a break. Their development costs are through the roof, their games are flopping, and the next entry in their marquee franchise "Assassins' Creed" has been delayed, sending share prices (and confidence) plummeting.  Plus, more notes on "Echoes of Wisdom," Matt's continued adventures in the Forgotten Realms of "Baldur's Gate 3," and a point-and-click mystery game on Colette's tel...

"The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom" came out for the Nintendo Switch this week, and it is charming, adorable, fun, and extremely innovative. There's just one problem: The frame rates whip around faster and harder than Tingle cashing in his rupees. Due to the (now passed) hurricane in the Southern U.S., Colette takes a break this week (all is well) and Matt shares his early impressions of a won...

A big announcement shook the Game-O-Verse to its core earlier this week. "Flappy Bird," the massively viral mobile game from 2014, would be making a triumphant return: New game modes, updated levels, and...crypto? An entity called "The Flappy Bird Foundation" plans to resurrect the beloved game this year. But as the media poked at this announcement, the plot thickens. The game had been abandoned t...

Busy lives, work schedules, children, and sleep did not permit a co-operative recording this week, so Matt shares how starting "Baldur's Gate 3" last week with Colette's husband Patrick and friend-of-the show Sky Burkson has been a transformative experience. We shall return with more BG3 shenanigans (and the week's news) next Friday!   Join our Discord community:  https://discord.gg/5xz84B9RR...

After 8 years in development and two weeks of beta testing, Sony has pulled the plug on "Concord" after a shockingly low player count. The hero shooter failed to  pull its target audience away from the 47 other live service games they're already playing, and Sony has de-listed it for sale and refunded those who have pre-purchased. What does this say about the state of the games industry, and Sony'...

The past week+ has seen an avalanche of announcements, teasers, demos, updates, DLCs, collab-os, and shadow drops. Why?? Gamescom 2024 and a surprise Direct from Miyamoto & Co. We pluck out the most interesting and hype-filled tidbits, including some games you should download RIGHT MEOW. Plus: What's up with the puppet museum in Atlanta? Join our Discord community:  https://discord.gg/5xz84B9...

Another day, another news story about studios laying off hundreds of video game developers. Why did this industry become so volatile? And what makes game devs so vulnerable to job insecurity, especially when the industry's profits have never been higher? This week we're joined by Dr. Johanna Weststar, a professor of labor studies (and Stardew enthusiast!) at Western University in Ontario, Canada....

Larian Studios has shared player data on the 1-year anniversary of their smash hit "Baldur's Gate 3." Among the fascinating tidbits is that only 34 players have reached a VERY rare ending to the story that can only be unlocked through a specific sequence of events. What's more, there's an even SECRET-er ending that cannot be reached by normal means. But one YouTuber found a hack that unlocks the f...

After a 33 year run, the print magazine and website "Game Informer" has been abruptly shuttered by its parent company, GameStop. Fans and preservationists have been scrambling this week to preserve its decades of articles, but the fate of the digital content remains unknown. We discuss the importance of media preservation, and why it's so hard for companies to commit. Plus: A Stardew-like with som...

Screen actors reached a deal with movie, TV, and streaming studios earlier this year after striking over pay, benefits, and AI. But what about voice acting in video games? Specifically when it comes to AI, they feel more vulnerable in the short term: Audiences have accepted stiff, robotic video game characters for decades. In response to the looming threat, SAG-AFTRA has gone on strike against 10...

"Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition" has arrived, bringing bite-sized speed run challenges from our favorite 8-bit '80s games. But more than just a nostalgia hit, this asynchronous online battle has some innovative delights, if you approach it with the right mindset. Matt shares impressions of his first week with the game. Colette is finally out of her gaming funk and has gone hard on "Stil...

We're back in action to answer the question on everyone's mind LAST week: Who is Emio? A mysterious trailer for a Nintendo-developed horror title set the game-o-verse abuzz. Turns out, the cryptic teaser is actually a sequel to a classic Japan-only Famicom game. Colette breaks down the details. Also, a MASSIVE update to "No Man's Sky" just dropped, and Matt has returned to the galaxy to photograph...

miHoYo released their 3rd(!) gatcha game in the West within four years, called "Zenless Zone Zero," which blends "Genshin" style combat with a "Persona" vibe. It got 50 million downloads within days of release, cementing the Chinese developer as an absolute unit. So, is ZZZ actually good? Colette shares her early impressions  of the PS5 version. Plus: The Steam Summer sale hit our wish lists hard...

This week is cut short by work and travel plans, but we have a BRIEF update on the games we're playing, including "Moonstone Island," a title that recently came to Switch. It blends cozy farm life and town romances with a Pokémon-style creature taming system, Wind Waker-esq exploration, and deck building battles. So, is this indie life sim more than the sum of its heavily-inspired parts? Join our...

We really tried to play some hot new demos this week, but alas, Nintendo has graced us with a banger of a Direct. We tackle each announcement and calibrate hype levels, along with your most anticipated games coming to the Switch (2?). Among them, the reveal of a new Mario & Luigi game, a top-down Legend of Zelda where you — get this — play as Zelda, and the first footage of Metroid Prime 4 ever. P...

E3 may be gone, but video games INSIST on coming out! We are WHELMED with announcements, trailers, updates, teasers, and demos popping off from the Xbox Showcase, Wholesome Games Direct, Summer Game Fest, and more. We can't cover them all, but we can each pick the 5 games that we're most excited about, and reveal them to you (and each other) one by one. Also, baby's first D&D campaign! And weird s...

For the foreseeable future, we will only be playing video games that are: A) Sequels B) Start with the letter "H" We don't make the rules. That's just how it is. For some reason, we talk about exercise for a while. Then, Colette shares her "Hades 2" update as she approaches the "final boss" (which is probably not the end of the game), and the latest patch notes which may smooth out the difficulty...

Hey! Something good just happened in the American justice system! We take a moment to high five democracy, even when it feels hard to do so. More importantly, Sony dropped a State of Play which we didn't even watch because LIFE. So we peep in real time at the list of announcements and trailers. There are definitely some goodies in there for PS5 and PC players. Sony also shared their revenue and pr...

Colette's Internet pooped the bed right as we sat down to record this week, so Matt flies solo to wish a happy "Paper Mario" day to all who celebrate. Will you be binging the "Thousand Year Door" this week? In the news, IGN Entertainment (owned by Ziff Davis) has acquired all your favorite video game publishers, including Rock Paper Shotgun, GamesIndustry.biz, and Eurogamer.  Details are still eme...

Video games are BACK, with three bangers released over the last week. "Hades II" officially entered Early Access after a brief tech test, and Colette has been screaming in her hotel room trying to get back home to play it. But is it more than just "more Hades?" She shares her first impressions. "Little Kitty, Big City" puts its paws on Game Pass, PC, and Switch, and despite a few annoying bugs, th...