Dense Pixels - Video Game News and Reviews

We saw the price increase of PlayStation 5s all around the world last week - everywhere that is except the US of A. Is console price stability a thing of the past? Plus the weirdest non-story ever last week, why GameStop Store Leaders aren't actually getting a bonus, and games purchases that gave us instantaneous buyer's remorse. Dense Pixels is a weekly video game podcast covering gaming news, ga...

Opening Night Live from Gamescom definitely wasn't a show for us; we talk about the few things that did capture our attention. Brad gives his initial impressions on Cursed to Golf, Micah tells you why you should pass on Saints Row, and Carrie has come around on The Outer Wilds. The Embracer Group was all over the news this week with acquisitions and embarrassments galore. There were a couple of su...

How is Brad feeling about Cult of the Lamb? And more importantly, is Micah going to be convinced to purchase it? Reports of harassment continue coming in from around the industry, this time at Nintendo of America. What is it going to take to curb the problem? We are forced - begrudgingly - to tip our hat to the folks at Cards Against Humanity. EA tells us that we got it all wrong about loot boxes....

THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER! We are discussing the seemingly doomed development path for the Knights of the Old Republic remake, Micah's venture - again - into Dragon Age Inquisition, why The Outer Wilds just doesn't click with us, EVO 2022, how ludicrous the thought is of Rockstar and Grand Theft Auto "going woke", the crap developers at Bungie have had to endure, Square waxing the car to get bough...

Minecraft developer Mojang takes a sensible stance against NFTs and Blockchain...which was unfortunately undercut by Square pissing all over the message of their most notable video game, and then GameStop doing one of the most crass things we've ever seen? We also discuss whether players should be nervous about EA helming a single-player Black Panther game, CD Projekt RED losing their shirts over...

It seems like Ubisoft is - or was - dead set on pushing their players to pirate their games since they were considering decommissioning several games from Steam. We also have several game announcement stories, like the new Skate being a live service game (eh...) and a release date for Bayonetta 3 (woo!). The post office veers heavily into fighting game talk, and Hideo Kojima was falsely identified...

Brad is joined by a special guest this week, and our main point of discussion is why gamers need to settle the hell down and let game makers make their games in the wake of Monkey Island and God of War dev harassment. Brad gives his very early impressions of the Live A Live demo, and we talk the games coming soon and recently released we're most interested in. Nintendo brought forth a pretty good...

It's been an oppressively bad week of real-world events, but Sony's stable of developers put a smile on our face sticking it to Jim Ryan. Activision-Blizzard is being pushed by their shareholders to show their work, Ted Cruz is as odious a gamer as he is a human, and we definitely mention the Nintendo third-party Direct.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We have a Discord server! -...

Good news! Activision-Blizzard has declared they did nothing wrong, courtesy of an investigation paid for by...Activision-Blizzard. In Diablo Immortal news, we discover the exact wrong way to protest Blizzard's gross monetization practices. We also talk surprising Final Fantasy VII and Dragon's Dogma drops, whether Saudi investment in video games will - or should - affect our buying practices, and...

Another Keigh3 aka Summer Games Fest has come and gone, and with no E3 this year, this is our summer gaming vortex! We discuss our thoughts on the show generally as well as the games that left the biggest impression on us.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We have a Discord server! - www.densepixels.com/fans You can now follow us on Twitch! Brad -  DensePixelsBrad Terrence -  App4R...

Diablo Immortal is a really fun Diablo game! Too bad it also happens to be a really predatory mobile experience more interested in making all the money instead of just putting out a great product! Sony had themselves a real good State of Play and we are positively buzzing about Final Fantasy XVI and Street Fighter 6. Epic Games isn't interested in NFTs except when they are, and why bad leaders cre...

It's a pretty somber week in world events, and that holds true for the games industry with the Saudi government buying a share of your favorite video game company and former cops taking para-social relationships with their favorite streamers way too far. Fortunately we have some good news with Raven Software giving the US games industry their first union. Then in the Post Office, Carrie and Micah...

Sony Worldwide Studios VP Jim Ryan's cats were in the news this week, and if you missed the original story you'll never guess why! We discuss the delays of Starfield and Redfall and if it negatively impacts the value of Game Pass. We also review Sony's initial offerings of their enhanced PlayStation Plus plans, discuss Activision-Blizzard's corporate plans for diversity in their games, the WATA la...

A slow week breeds tangents! We do talk about FIFA making a hilarious blunder, the FTC taking a sharp look at the Sony-Bungie deal, and Monster Hunter Rise's new expansion. But then Micah gives his initial Drive to Survive impressions and pontificates which driver and team he should support. And finally, the great baked goods debate returns as we argue about cake vs. pie and the dessert that binds...

SquareEnix has unloaded all of their western developers for a song...and it's so they can go full steam into Blockchain?! We certainly have our thoughts on that as well as Reggie Fils-Aime getting decidedly less cool. Sony is catching some heat for doing something Steam has been doing for years. Twitch is pissing off their creators for silly reasons. Finally, Micah talks about his very first viewi...

It's a surprising political gaming news show as the Governor of California may have flexed his political muscle improperly in the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit and Nintendo is the latest company accused of union-busting practices. We found what is likely to replace NFT's as the latest money-grab in gaming, and it's the return of an old foe. Brad has been playing not one, but two rogue-like deck buil...

Yes, there sure is another Kingdom Hearts game in development, but why (for the love of god!)? We also dance on the grave of NFT's in video games, hopefully not prematurely (for the love of god!). Activision-Blizzard employees have shown us how organizing works, and you are treated to an extended Post Office segment thanks to a light news week.   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  Dense Pixels We...

I don't know if it's possible to do a true post-mortem on Elden Ring after a month, but Micah has earn a platinum trophy so we talk about why it's so special and why it's unlikely to be replicated. Geoff Keighley (and COVID) may have killed E3 forever. Another Microsoft studio is experiencing some turmoil. The game industry needs to figure out accreditation. Brad started - and finished - Hyper Lig...

On this week's show we talk the new PlayStation Plus tiers and why a lot of folks are approaching the news (or lack thereof) from the wrong standpoint. Brad is also relatively pleased with the olive branch extended by Polyphony for Gran Turismo 7. Grand Theft Auto Online is finding ways to get even more money from players, we aren't feeling WrestleMania this year, and yes, more Elden Ring talk. We...

We really hope you enjoyed last week's video game love-fest because we're back to the miserable news around the game industry. Sony gets a two-fer thanks to Polyphony making Gran Turismo 7 intentionally grindy and the exposure of sexual harassment within PlayStation. The Initiative has been dealing with a ton of turnover and we talk about what should be expected from the new Perfect Dark. We can s...

We're almost entirely ignoring the news this week because we just want to talk about Elden Ring. Micah is hooked, and he and Brad rave about what makes Elden Ring just so damn transfixing. Brad would have played much more, but he's also been sidetracked by Gran Turismo 7 - perhaps the most earnest game he's ever played. Brad discusses Puzzle Quest 3, we talk video game companies pulling out of Rus...

Brad is transfixed by Elden Ring in the first dozen hours he's spent with the game. The real question is - can Micah resist buying it during the show in the face of such praise? We got the surprise announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet which is coming out this year! The rumored features of PlayStation Spartacus is as underwhelming as we expected. And Gabe Newell is out here spitting hot truth...

This week, Carrie talks about her continued thoughts on Pokemon Legends Arceus now that she's completed it, and how they truly make you a Pokemon big game hunter. Of course we have thoughts on the Street Fighter 6 reveal and the new character designs they are rolling with. The SEC filings that Activision had to turn over for the merger have seen the light of day and we get some interesting tidbits...

We have a Cyberpunk 2077 next-gen update sighting...and it's here to download! We can't fathom why it's coming out just ahead of Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring, but at least it's here. We had a hell of a Nintendo Direct including exciting Splatoon 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Strikers Battle League news! There's also NFT's backfiring on Team 17, possible Sony censorship, and is Street...

We impressions of new games this week! Carrie tells us if Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the beginning of new and exciting future for the Pokemon franchise. Micah discusses why Sifu will be a game truly in the eye of the beholder. We also discuss Grand Theft Auto V's astronomical success, Activision-Blizzard bleeding players, and why surely no developer would leave Ubisoft now! There’s a Nintendo Dire...