The Easy Allies Podcast

What games got banned in Australia? What games have the best nightlife? What’s the best game we’ve never played? What the heck does “Best Direction” mean? The answers to these and many more burning questions are answered in this special Love & Respect episode. 00:01:31 - Silver Lining 00:03:12 - L&R - What came first in 2020? 00:07:02 - L&R - Favorite thing to do in games? 00:09:42 - L&R - Excited...

November’s NPDs give us a clearer picture of what everyone wanted and was able to buy when next-gen launched, before we also dig into reports of EA outbidding Take Two for Codemasters and evaluate the big 3’s big ideas on “Safer Gaming.” But the real breaking news is Cyberpunk’s continued launch woes, including a hot headline hitting while the podcast was rolling. 00:00:37 - Corrections 00:05:15 -...

The Game Awards changes its format but still delivers plenty of surprising announcements and winners. We rattle off our favorite moments from the annual ceremony and share the early bugs, memories, records, and scandals of Cyberpunk 2077’s launch. 00:00:49 - Corrections 00:02:11 - Silver Lining 00:03:24 - Game Awards Top Headlines 00:41:55 - Game Awards Other News 01:04:26 - A Word From our Sponso...

BioWare says goodbye to a pair of creative leads and faces an uncertain future, and 2020’s Black Friday weekend isn’t as lucrative as expected. Still, things are looking bright for Travis Scott’s bank account, Super Nintendo World’s impending launch, and Aardman Animations’ newest IP. 00:00:38 - Corrections 00:02:12 - Silver Lining 00:03:42 - Casey Hudson and Mark Darrah leave BioWare 00:24:27 - S...

Random glitches with our fancy new consoles continue including PS5 crashes and Xbox loading issues. While we wait for a fix, it’s therapeutic to celebrate a new sequel announcement, discuss the current state of gaming mental health, and share what we’re thankful for from this tumultuous year. 00:00:40 - Corrections 00:02:10 - Silver Lining 00:03:17 - Neo: The World Ends With You announced 00:15:19...

The Game Awards have been announced, so we have to discuss the inevitable shoe-ins and snubs. Also, IOI and 007 join forces, initial next-gen sales numbers come out of Japan, Twitch has a record October, and Embracer Group can’t stop buying companies. 00:00:35 - Corrections 00:04:38 - Silver Lining 00:05:30 - The Game Awards nominees announced 00:30:52 - Project 007 announced 00:38:47 - A Word Fro...

Whether you bought them and they actually shipped or not, the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S means the next-generation is now the current generation. We follow the updates and odd reports surrounding both consoles before guessing Q4’s total revenue and predicting Square Enix’s future based on their recent financial ups and downs. 00:00:51 - Corrections 00:02:00 - Silver Lining 00:...

Only one week remains until the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S are upon us, so it’s time to grade the marketing, hardware, and games of both consoles. What wins and losses led us to where we are, and what expectations should we have for launch week? 00:00:59 - Corrections 00:02:31 - Silver Lining 00:03:43 - Xbox Series X Next-Gen Report Card 00:51:43 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:55:11 - PlaySta...

We finally got to touch the PS5 and Xbox Series X with our bare hands, so how do we feel about next-gen now? We also cope with perhaps the nastiest Cyberpunk 2077 delay yet, contrast Sony’s latest quarter financials with its personal next-predictions, and say goodbye to the Nintendo Partner Showcase series of 2020. 00:00:38 - Corrections 00:02:22 - Silver Lining 00:03:29 - Next-gen consoles unboxe...

Gaming’s bottom line is looking good, with another NPD that brings record-breaking results for multiple games. But your average streamer’s bottom line is in jeopardy, with Twitch purging video collections that use licensed music. Also, Ubisoft Connect follows a trend of service updates, and Devolver Digital buys Serious Sam. 00:00:00 - Opening 00:00:53 - Corrections 00:03:29 - Silver Lining 00:04:...

To celebrate our Patron Party event, here's a bonus hour of questions from our $5 tier on Patreon. Moving past the week's headlines our panelists discuss the importance of back-of-the-box art, Sony fatigue versus saving Xbox's reputation, the future of the Ring Fit peripheral, and a few standout co-op releases from this year. 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:15 - Does the back of the box matter anymore? 0...

We recently learned of the 30 games officially launching on Xbox Series X, and also 10 PS4 games that won’t run on PS5, so we discuss what we will and won’t be playing. Also, the PS5 UI reveals itself, SEGA celebrates 60 years, and Amazon’s Crucible halts development. 00:00:00 - Opening 00:00:36 - Corrections 00:02:04 - Silver Lining 00:03:32 - Xbox Series X|S Launch Lineup 00:18:04 - 10 PS4 games...

Brandon's on the move so Bloodworth picks up moderating duties for a week as we look inside the PS5 and look ahead to all the big releases in the next three months. 00:01:21 - Corrections 00:03:07 - Silver Lining 00:03:54 - PlayStation 5 Teardown 00:15:51 - Fall Game Preview: October 00:51:37 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:54:15 - Fall Game Preview: November 01:43:34 - Fall Game Preview: December 0...

In 2019, CD Projekt RED promised they wouldn’t crunch their employees, and two years ago Insomniac introduced us to their new Spider-Man, but this week we learned that things change. Also, how did the latest Smash fighter reveal go, and what led to Genshin Impact’s incredible success? 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:18 - Corrections 00:03:59 - Silver Lining 00:05:24 - Cyberpunk 2077 Launch Crunch 00:28:1...

Xbox was busy buying up Bethesda this week while its community was trying to buy up the remainder of Series X|S pre-orders. Amazon also made a big move by announcing their own streaming platform, Rayman-creator Michel Ancel leaves game development entirely, and at the drop of a shadow Kirby is fighting himself again on the Switch. 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:24 - Corrections 00:03:58 - Silver Lining...

Microsoft just made a surprising deal, and we have to talk about what it means for the future of Xbox. News sources referenced: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/09/21/welcoming-bethesda-to-the-xbox-family/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-09-21-xbox-buys-bethesda-parent-zenimax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The PlayStation 5 Showcase had so many updates this week, we spend more time covering those than the actual games. Nintendo shares another round of new Partners on Switch and finally discontinues the 3DS, Facebook premieres the Oculus Quest 2, and August is another record-breaking month for the NPDs. 00:01:11 - Corrections 00:03:28 - Silver Lining 00:05:36 - PlayStation 5 Showcase 00:37:03 - Ninte...

Xbox had a week of price and launch date announcements they didn’t plan for, but somehow managed to still pull off with impressive results. In the midst of this historic week in the battle for next-gen supremacy, Ubisoft tries to steer the focus away from their internal mistakes and on to a few big end-of-year releases, and Nintendo drops some musou news worth celebrating. 00:00:58 - Corrections 0...

Nintendo wants you to buy more Mario games on the Switch (in the next 6 months, specifically), Sony hopes you’ll pick up more PS4 games on PC, and Nvidia has new graphics cards to put on your shopping list. To celebrate the prospect of these new purchases we revisit Press Release Me and the language we use to make a quick buck. 00:01:01 - Corrections 00:03:43 - Silver Lining 00:05:01 - Mario's 35t...

gamescom Opening Night Live kicks off a big week of gaming updates while also sun-setting the Summer Game Fest. We run through most of the 40+ games of the show while still reeling from finally seeing the 2 big Batman announcements, coping with Rocksteady’s ongoing allegations, and understanding Nintendo’s sneaky Directs. 00:00:48 - Corrections 00:02:11 - Silver Lining 00:03:28 - gamescom Opening...

Some of our favorite franchises are in danger as Bloodlines 2 lets go of its Lead Writer and Forza Horizon 3 gets de-listed. After learning we’ll someday have to turn our Oculus accounts in for Facebook profiles, we have to cheer ourselves up with some jolly Nintendo Indies and an extra helping of Love & Respect. 00:00:41 - Corrections 00:03:51 - Silver Lining 00:06:42 - Bloodlines 2 Lead Writer F...

This week we weigh the financial impact of some big plays in the industry. Epic Games goes to war with Apple, Halo Infinite sets a new course for 2021, EA Executives ask for way too much money in raises, and Control shows us how not to announce a next-gen version of a current-gen game. 00:00:43 - Corrections 00:03:25 - Gaming Gladiators 00:08:46 - Epic Games vs Apple 00:30:23 - Halo Infinite Delay...

Sony had a wild week, pulling our attention between Spider-man, PS4 controllers, and a fully-stacked August State of Play. Also GDC goes online, xCloud goes offline on iOS, and Nintendo reports more record hardware and software sales. 00:00:42 - Corrections 00:03:22 - Gaming Gladiators 00:05:08 - August State of Play 00:24:03 - Spider-man's Avengers Exclusivity 00:38:55 - PS4 controllers won't pla...

This week was full of success stories to celebrate: Eiyuden Chronicle’s breakthrough Kickstarter, Ghost of Tsushima’s record-breaking sales, the mesmerizing chaos of Fall Guys, and the entirely unpredictable return of G4. 00:01:11 - Corrections 00:03:52 - Gaming Gladiators 00:06:14 - Eiyuden Chronicle Kickstarter 00:21:38 - Ghost of Tsushima Sales 00:33:21 - G4 is back in 2021 00:57:56 - Grounded...

Halo Infinite gameplay has finally been revealed, leaving goofy memes and jumbled expectations in its wake. We parse through the last of the summer’s E3 events including the rest of the Xbox Games Showcase, the first Nintendo Partner Direct Mini, and a second Day of the Devs. 00:00:51 - Corrections 00:02:14 - Gaming Gladiators 00:04:40 - Xbox Games Showcase 00:45:27 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:4...