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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 30

We’re trying to find the positive side of things at the following link.

I’ve told this story before, but my favorite press conference at E3 this year was Sony’s. Although it had nothing to do with what they presented. All of my enjoyment of that press conference comes down to the person I sat next to while in attendance.

I’d seen HipHopGamer at previous E3’s and other events. I mean, the guy’s hard to miss. He’s outspoken. He’s loud. He’s very loud. And that wrestling title belt sticks out like a sore thumb at something like E3. However, I’d never met him or really spent ANY kind of time around the guy. That is until this year’s Sony E3 press conference. My experience of which I won’t soon forget.

HipHopGamer joins us in this episode to tell us what (or who) got him into gaming and shares with us a little of why, not only is he so excited at these press conferences, but also why he’s always so positive.

His attitude towards things, gaming in particular, is one I hope rubs off on me, personally. He seems in a much happier place because of that, and I’d really like to be in that place myself.

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Episodes

Season 8, Episode 29

We’re kickstarting our patreon for paypal donations at the following link.

First things first, if you aren’t reading or haven’t yet read Console Wars about the Nintendo Vs. Sega battle in the 90s, you really should check it out. We won’t have the author on for another week or so, but it worth bringing up now because I’m enjoying the hell out of it.

I don’t know the statistic of successful Kickstarters versus those that failed, but in the 20 or so that I’ve backed, 2 of them didn’t meet their goal, and there’s a few left that are still in development (one of those gets a trailer at Comic Con this week). My personal experience hasn’t been a bad one and there’s probably a lot of people who’ve experienced the same. One bad Kickstarter doesn’t make them all bad. Just…be careful where you put your money and, just as important, understand the rules of Kickstarter….and “early access” for that matter.

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Episodes

Season 8, Episode 28

We’re saving Marvel at the following link.

Actually, we’re not doing anything of the sort, but most of us watched EVO all weekend and would have during the show had we not had to do…a show. I can imagine ArJay shares the sentiment, but for me, personally, EVO is fascinating to watch and no matter the game being played, I am transfixed with the competition and skill being displayed during the fights. It really has everything you could want in almost any kind of competition. I’m not really a sports guy. I can watch a game and get the point and empathize with fans of a team, but there’s still a disconnect of some sort. That isn’t something I have while watching EVO – in fact, I know from how it feels watching these matches what sports fans feel and can easily understand their passion to something I was so dismissive of before.

Oh yeah, I’m also building a virtual pinball machine – and don’t worry, we DO NOT talk about Wolf Among Us in this episode.

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Episodes

Season 8, Episode 27

We’re patiently sniping but valiant in our efforts at the following link.

We’re still in the middle of what feels like a wasteland of game releases and gaming things to talk about, but, for some reason, I don’t actually feel that to be true. I’ve got two playthroughs of Valiant Hearts out of the way in one week’s time and have made good progress in Sniper Elite 3, but something still feels lacking. Maybe it’s just this time of year that has set in for me (or all of us) to experience a slowing down of releases and news. Regardless, this episode only seems to enforce that kind of thinking. We do hit on the two games I’ve spent time with this week, but we also distract ourselves in going over our history of gaming – where it started for us and the different turns it took along the way. It was fun, interesting, and something I really wish James, Nathan, and Matt could have also shared with us by being on the show.

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Episodes

Season 8, Episode 26

We’re stopping to smell the backlog at the following link.

The quiet interval between E3 and the holiday market rush really ought to be a sacred time for us who play games, even if it’s a bit dreary for those in the mood for new releases.  The doldrums don’t quite last as long as they seem, if we’re honest, and they aren’t really all that bare, either.  But the spectacle of news and marketing that immediately precedes the summer lull is matched only by the crush of new games that follows in the fall, and we spend the months in between disoriented, with our ears ringing and our nerves jangling.

As hosts, we’re forced to do what we’d have preferred to do all along, which is to talk to one another, and to you, about what we’ve played or wished we had, and how we felt about whatever we can remember.  Being starved for public relations messages, marketing hype, press releases, developer controversy, and endless other tabloid gossip is a strongly positive thing.  None of us first developed an interest in games for the drama, unless that drama was in the cartridge or on the disc.  Sadly, it takes a near total lack of triple-A news to remind us of this.  Maybe one day the lesson will stick.