WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:15.199
Be bad. It's the Internet.
You're busy. Let's do this for March

2
00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.760
twenty eighth, twenty twenty four.
For the next hour or so, let

3
00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:21.719
me help you sort through the world
of gaming on Game Mess Mornings Live with

4
00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:26.120
me Jeff Grubb. Today, more
studios are getting jettistoned out of bigger companies

5
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.760
as industry volatility continues, and a
classic PlayStation franchise may return on Xbox.

6
00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:35.439
But first, please join me and
welcoming today's co host to Game Mess Mornings.

7
00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:39.520
It's Marcus Stewart. Everybody, Marcus, how are you doing? I

8
00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:42.679
am doing great. Thank you for
having me here. Hello. Everyone,

9
00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:47.759
I'm glad we can have you here. Yeah, I'm especially glad because you

10
00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.280
guys, know, you guys have
some game and former news to talk about

11
00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:52.520
and all that stuff. We're gonna
get into that in a second, but

12
00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:54.719
you know, before that, like, how things been going for you?

13
00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:57.719
How how has this year been going
for covering games? It's been kind of

14
00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.479
NonStop still since you know, since
last year, right, Yeah, especially

15
00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.760
because everyone decided to put all their
big like ninety hour RPGs within the first

16
00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.239
like two and a half months.
The only way to celebrate the end of

17
00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:12.040
fiscal Is with a ninety hour RPG. That's how we talk about it here.

18
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:17.760
That is the goal. So yeah, I'm personally woefully behind all a

19
00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.799
lot of stuff. I've not beaten
any of those games, and I'm trying

20
00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:23.640
to figure out how to play them
all at the same time, and then

21
00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:27.560
realizing that's a mistake. It's probably
just focus on maybe two of these at

22
00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.920
most, and then that's also a
mistake, and maybe she's just focused on

23
00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.840
them one at a time. Uh
huh, Yeah I did. I did

24
00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:36.719
commit to beating like a Dragon Infinite
Wealth, and then I was like,

25
00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.079
Okay, well, maybe I'll get
to another one of these, and it

26
00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:42.079
turned out it's like nope, used
all my game and juice up on that.

27
00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:45.640
So I've been playing stuff, Like
yesterday, I did play some Dragons

28
00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.799
Dogma two. Yesterday, I'm like
kind of getting my footing in that game,

29
00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:52.560
really enjoying what I've been playing.
But then yesterday evening, when I

30
00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.519
was like I should play more Dragons
Dogma two, I fruited around on my

31
00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.159
Steam deck and was like, I'm
going to set up or fix my emulation

32
00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.159
and get things going. I like, there's an update to Mudeck and I'm

33
00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:07.080
gonna get that going and use a
new front end to load on my emulators

34
00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.879
and stuff like that. So I
didn't have like an hour and a half

35
00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:13.639
instead of playing video games and think
that's where my brain is at right now,

36
00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:15.879
where I'm just like, uh,
I want to mess around and not

37
00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:19.280
do too much else. So so
yeah, I get it. But yeah,

38
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.400
new news. You guys have some
news over a Game Informer. What's

39
00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:25.319
going on? Yes, So,
if you've been following Game and Former channels

40
00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:30.280
over the last couple of days,
we announced a basically like a relaunch,

41
00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:35.479
a revamp of our subscription program.
For those that don't know, gaven Former

42
00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.319
is a magazine still a physical print
magazine. For the longest time, you

43
00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:46.360
had to subscribe to the magazine by
going to game Stop and signing up for

44
00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:51.360
the Power Up Awards program to you
know, get access to the magazine both

45
00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:57.360
digital and print, and over the
last several months, that process kind of,

46
00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:02.919
for lack of a better term,
broke where the print subscription you weren't

47
00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:08.520
able to get a print subscription with
GameStop. Why that happened, I don't

48
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:15.520
know. It's literally like it's above
Game Informer what happened there, and I

49
00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:19.800
know it's caused a lot of confusion
and frustration where some people believe that we

50
00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.680
were that we stopped making a print
magazine altogether and were digital only, which

51
00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:28.840
was not the case. So basically, over the series of months, we've

52
00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.919
been working very hard trying to write
the ship with that and get back on

53
00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:38.879
track, and it's finally here.
So the big change now is that,

54
00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:43.400
yes, you can subscribe to the
print magazine again, but for the first

55
00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:47.400
time, I think maybe ever in
a very long time, you can subscribe

56
00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:53.960
to the magazine directly through Game Informer
without having to go to game Stop right.

57
00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:59.360
So, and if I were it's
so inclined, where would I go?

58
00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:04.400
So the url is subscription dot gaminformer
dot com. If you want to

59
00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:09.879
go to the subscription page directly,
you can sign up for a year,

60
00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:15.560
which gets you ten issues for just
nineteen ninety nine, which sounds like a

61
00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.240
weird price, but it's actually a
fun reference to the year that Game Informer

62
00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.639
was founded. Yeah, it's really
great. Yeah, I liked it too

63
00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:24.800
when I heard it. So,
you know, we've been around over thirty

64
00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:28.600
years now, So for nineteen ninety
nine you get ten issues delivered to you

65
00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:30.439
to your door, which is,
if you do the math, less than

66
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:36.360
two dollars an issue, and even
each issues eighty four pages of exclusive cover

67
00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:46.519
stories, reveals, previews, profiles, interviews from our staff as well as

68
00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:51.959
God. We have over I think
sixty five freelance contributors that we've had contributed

69
00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.360
some really awesome features to the magazine
over the last year, year and a

70
00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:00.279
half or so from across nine countries
together. You know, we are.

71
00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:05.279
Cover art is really fantastic too,
always a big highlight for each issue.

72
00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:10.399
But yeah, less than two dollars
a month for eighty four pages of just

73
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:15.000
video game goodness information, all that
good stuff the game magazine and the mail

74
00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:18.560
again the way God intended exactly.
You get to hold it. And yeah,

75
00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:21.120
some people like to frame them on
their wall because of how cool the

76
00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:26.399
art is. Yeah, and you
know, in an age where like especially

77
00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:30.519
in the US, like physical like
media in general, it's kind of a

78
00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.759
yes especially yes, Yes, it's
the country's too damn big. It's too

79
00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:38.959
damn big to sell magazines unless you're
Game Informer. And that's why I'm glad

80
00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.079
you guys are still doing it.
So Yeah, like the when it's like

81
00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.120
so difficult for anyone to pull this
off, the fact that we still have

82
00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:48.160
at least one I subscribed right away, Marcus Aging, I was right there.

83
00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.720
I did a year. I'm gonna
do another year as soon as that's

84
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:54.399
up. I can't I can't wait. Yeah, I've seen people really like

85
00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.879
just doing two year subscriptions immediately,
which is awesome, you know, and

86
00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.399
thanks to you and thanks to everyone
else, you know, our readership,

87
00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:04.959
uh, you know, our our
friends and peers for the support, because

88
00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:08.920
it does you know, it's been
a rough year, rough like year and

89
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.040
a half for like obviously the game
industry, from like the developer side,

90
00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.879
for also for for media to you
know, which sucks, and we have

91
00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:20.279
not been immune to that. We've
gone through god like several rounds of layoffs,

92
00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:24.399
you know, most recently we lost
Blake Kester, one of our writers.

93
00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:27.720
And we're for those that don't know, we're a very small team for

94
00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:32.399
how much we produced. There's a
if you know, we have six writers

95
00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:38.439
and five of them are full time, including myself that put the magazine together,

96
00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.439
and you know, a small but
awesome production team on top of that.

97
00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:46.120
So you know, like we have
not been despite us, you know,

98
00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.879
being under a corporate umbrella. We
have the felt now that's nothing.

99
00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:56.040
Yeah, the bad effects of this
industry, well just speak to that.

100
00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:00.639
Like so the subscription, when I
subscribe, that money is gonna like go

101
00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:03.079
right to Game Informer, right,
it is that money is meant to prop

102
00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:06.439
up Game Informer and not like you
know, sneak into game stops pocket.

103
00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:10.680
Right. Yeah, I want to
say, like it definitely like I think

104
00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:15.680
gamesp still gets a but they right
yeah, yeah, like at the end

105
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:17.519
of the day, they you know, they're a parent company. But it

106
00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:24.879
is a great way to show that
a Game Informer is like it valuable to

107
00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:29.519
the GameStop and help keep us around. It's a great way to support us.

108
00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:34.360
And yeah, I know some people
would rather you know that for whatever

109
00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:38.680
reason, don't want to go through
Game Stop if you feel more comfortable or

110
00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:44.560
incurr enthusiastic about just subscribing through us
directly, because again we haven't had that

111
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:46.439
in a very long time. Uh, you know, this is the way

112
00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.360
to do that. So yeah,
it's it's just so like you know,

113
00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:53.199
it's just from like a pure numbers
game just to show that like, hey,

114
00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.720
you know, we really love game
informer. We really respect the legacy,

115
00:07:56.839 --> 00:08:00.480
We really enjoy the work that you
know, we put out like this

116
00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:05.120
is the best way to support that. And I then mentioned that the subscription

117
00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.959
not only gets you the print magazine, but it also gives you the digital

118
00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:11.160
issue too, so you get both. Fantastic the subscription. So if you

119
00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:13.800
want to read on your tablet or
your phone, right, you read on

120
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:16.560
the tablet, you frame the magazine, put it up in your wall for

121
00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.040
the art. There you go.
Yeah, so you get both versions of

122
00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.319
it for again, nineteen ninety nine, ten inches a year. Sounds great,

123
00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:28.439
That sounds fantastic. That's awesome.
I'm glad to hear you guys are

124
00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.080
doing this. I hope it goes
very well. And yeah, everyone,

125
00:08:31.080 --> 00:08:35.759
sh get out there. Subscribe one
more time. It's subscription dot gaminformer dot

126
00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.919
com. Yes, all right,
subscription dot gaminformer dot com. Check that

127
00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.720
out, everybody. All right,
let's explain what we do here most weekdays,

128
00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.279
I, Jeff Grub, will help
piece your gaming life back together.

129
00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.399
That includes breaking news and maybe even
some of our own original reporting. For

130
00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.480
all these topics, I'll get the
input of a bona fide expert who will

131
00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.919
make me look smart. If you
were watching live on Twitch welcome. You

132
00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:00.720
can always listen to the show later
on podcast feeds by searching for Games Mornings,

133
00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.879
or find the RSS on giant bomb
dot com. You can also catch

134
00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:09.559
the show later with chapters and timestamps
on YouTube. Hello YouTube. All right,

135
00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:11.679
we have a lot to get into, so let's start the morning mess

136
00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:18.519
with Take two buys Gearbox Entertainment from
Embracer for four hundred and sixty million dollars.

137
00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:24.440
This is from Hayley Williams at GameSpot. After months of rumors that Embracer

138
00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.279
Group was looking for buyers or Borderlands
developer Gearbox Entertainment, the studio is now

139
00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.399
officially being sold to two K parent
company Take two Interactive and a deal worth

140
00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:37.120
four hundred and sixty million dollars.
Gearbox was one of Embraser Group's biggest acquisitions

141
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.200
when it bought the company in twenty
twenty one, and a deal worth up

142
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:43.279
to one point three billion dollars.
As the deal was based on Gearbox reaching

143
00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:48.240
certain milestones, it's unclear how much
of that one point three billion Embracer ended

144
00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.000
up paying out beyond the three hundred
and sixty three million in guaranteed upfront payments

145
00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.159
now. As reported by Brian Corescente
on Twitter, Take two Interactive as purchase

146
00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:01.240
Gearbox for four hundred and sixty million, which will be paid out in Take

147
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.200
two shares. The purchase includes Gearbox
Software in Texas, Gearbox Montreal, and

148
00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:11.679
Gearbox Studio Quebec, and will cover
Gearbox ip including Borderlands and Tiny Team as

149
00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:15.399
Wonderlands, Risk of Rain, Brothers
in Arms, and Duke Nukembe. The

150
00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:20.519
sale doesn't include Gearbox's publishing arm in
San Francisco, which published Remnant Too and

151
00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.679
has publishing rights to the upcoming hyper
Light Breaker and other upcoming titles. The

152
00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:30.039
sale also excludes a number of studios
purchased by Embracer through Gearbox Software, including

153
00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.559
Cryptic Studios, Lost Boys, Interactive
and Captured Dimensions. Take two has said

154
00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.039
that Gearbox will operate as a studio
within two K, which has a long

155
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:41.639
history of partnering partnering with Gearbox on
the Borderlands series. Gearbox will continue to

156
00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:48.720
be led by its founder and CEO, Randy Pitchford and his management team.

157
00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:54.039
Not too shocking here, right,
We knew that Embracer was looking to get

158
00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:56.559
rid of a lot of these studios
that it did acquire, which you know,

159
00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:01.159
Embracer was all gas, all gas, all games as acquiring and now

160
00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.879
it's all break all, break all, break on trying to like get rid

161
00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:07.679
of these things whatever Embrace. There's
a mess when it comes to Gearbox.

162
00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:11.240
When it comes to Borderlands, there
was no chance that two K in Take

163
00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:15.080
two. We're gonna let that like
that, that team crumble or fall apart

164
00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:16.960
because it's too valuable, valuable to
them. They've had so much success with

165
00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:20.600
Borderlands, so the safest way to
deal with that is to make the acquisition

166
00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.919
themselves. Here we are, Take
two now has Borderlands and Gearbox, and

167
00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.919
then they don't have all of the
other cruft that can't that comes with Gearbox,

168
00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:30.879
like the publishing arm. They're like, no, we just want the

169
00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:33.600
team that makes the game that makes
us money. That's all we care about.

170
00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:35.600
And that's how this deal seems to
shake out. Any thoughts on this,

171
00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:43.360
Marcus, I'm excited to see Tiny
TEENA and GTA six. It definitely

172
00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.559
feels like that's more of a possibility
now, right, And why not cross

173
00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.240
promote those games? Yeah? But
Matt Moxy and W two k uh huh,

174
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:56.799
Yeah, that's where it really needs
to happen. Yeah, this industry

175
00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.000
is very volatile right now, and
this seems to be a kind of like

176
00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:03.360
a pretty common occurrence where the studios
either like has just been acquired, is

177
00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:07.080
now getting acquired again, or is
spinning off to be independent. We'll have

178
00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:13.480
a story about that here in a
little bit. And I guess the good

179
00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:18.200
news here is these teams aren't like
being shut down, I suppose, but

180
00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:22.360
this also just feels like, man, they are playing musical chairs because people

181
00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:26.039
are not like they were making all
these acquisitions because that like looked like growth

182
00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:30.200
on a spreadsheet, and now that
now that that no longer looks like growth,

183
00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:33.720
they've been you know, caught holding
the bill on all these things.

184
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.480
They're like, actually, we can't
afford to pay for these studios. What

185
00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:39.759
were we thinking? And the you
know, the answer was they weren't thinking.

186
00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:43.639
And so now like sort of the
natural evolution of a studio like Gearbox

187
00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.480
ending up at take two, it's
like, okay, that makes some sense,

188
00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:48.200
and they're just they're probably just gonna
make a lot of border Lands games

189
00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:52.879
going forward for take two and two. K I know that Gearbox wanted to

190
00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:58.000
like spread out and start making some
other stuff. That stuff was recently canceled

191
00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.360
or put on the shelf, although
I know that the reporting is is that

192
00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:03.960
in addition to another Borderlands games,
which we'll talk about here in a second,

193
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:09.279
they have other games in the works, But I would expect two k's

194
00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.320
like, no, just make the
next Borderlands, maybe even make the next

195
00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:16.399
Tiny Tina and then we'll talk.
I mean, is that your expectation.

196
00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.960
Yeah, I mean this was a
good time for them to pick them up

197
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.200
with the movie coming out this year, so they get to benefit from whatever,

198
00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:26.919
you know, whatever good sort of
like trickle down that movie brings.

199
00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.600
You know, whether it's good or
bad, we'll see, but like you

200
00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:35.759
know, like Borderlands, hype will
be a thing again around the time that

201
00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:37.320
movie comes out, and if it
does well, just the idea of like,

202
00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:41.200
oh yeah, we got a bunch
of upcoming projects based on this like

203
00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.200
potentially really successful movie, and that's
that's ours now. This is great,

204
00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.200
So, you know, good timing
for them. And like you said,

205
00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:52.840
I didn't really worry that Gearbox was
any like shutdown danger of like they're just

206
00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:56.320
too big and valuable for like you
know, like they're gonna get sold off.

207
00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.120
So that was never really my concern. So I don't know if I

208
00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.399
thought. I guess I never really
thought who would buy them, would take

209
00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.320
two something about I was like,
huh, I don't know if I thought

210
00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.440
they would be the ones to do
it, But that makes sense. I

211
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:09.000
guess, yeah, I got when
you like sit down and think about it,

212
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.559
it's like, yeah, they're too
valuable to take two. So this

213
00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:16.000
is like four hundred and fifty million
dollar four hundred and sixty million dollars is

214
00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:18.960
sort of like an insurance payment where
it's like, Okay, now we know

215
00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.000
that this team and this IP are
protected and we have it. And really,

216
00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:26.120
I mean, then like take two
spending four hundred and sixty million dollars

217
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:30.679
to own the Borderland's IP that you
know that a loans probably kind of makes

218
00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.000
this deal worth it for them.
Then the fact that they get the team

219
00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.159
making it that that's only going to
help. And I suppose that means they

220
00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.840
get you know, if the movie
does well, which who knows. I

221
00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.720
honestly have no expectations for that movie, but if it does well, I

222
00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:45.279
guess they get that money as well, so they get the you know,

223
00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:50.399
built in synergy that you were talking
about when it comes to Embracer though that

224
00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:54.799
you know, large wing offers whatever. A CEO of Embracer had a statement

225
00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.039
saying, this is like us on
our way to becoming leaner is how is

226
00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:01.559
basically what he said, a leaner
more profitable. And it's just like,

227
00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:09.639
man, you were the fattest duckling
of a company during acquisition season when everyone's

228
00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:11.559
making acquisitions and the money was cheap
out there, and you were buying everything

229
00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.000
out there, and everyone's looking around
like, man, you guys seem unwieldy.

230
00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:20.720
You have hundreds of studios and and
you know, maybe almost a thousand

231
00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:22.279
games in the works. How are
you going to make this make sense?

232
00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:26.159
And they never had an answer when
people ask that question, and here we

233
00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:28.039
are that they because there was no
answer. And as soon as they got

234
00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:33.320
on the like steps to profit as
the question mark, yes, that was

235
00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:37.320
Embracers, Like that was where they
lived in that question mark on the chart.

236
00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.879
So listen. I don't think this
makes them all that much leaner,

237
00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:46.879
but it does save them some money. I'm sure that paying the salaries and

238
00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.679
the benefit packages of the people working
in Gearbox is expensive, and so you

239
00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.120
don't have to do that anymore.
And then you get some money on the

240
00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:58.399
side here. Yeah, I don't
think this changes much for Embracer all I

241
00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:02.120
thought. I think this maybe extends
their period of being able to make some

242
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.080
more sales down the line. But
Gearbox was the big one for them for

243
00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:10.000
sure. That was like the biggest
studio, the most expensive studio. So

244
00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.039
it probably doesn't help to some extent. But I don't think we wake up

245
00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:15.320
tomorrow and like now Embracer is,
you know, headlong into making games and

246
00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:19.159
making profit. I don't I think
this doesn't necessarily like fix their problems.

247
00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:22.480
What do you think? Uh No, I feel like this is still gonna

248
00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:26.000
be a thing for at least the
next year, if I had to guess,

249
00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:32.159
Yeah, yeah, I almost don't
know what that looks like when they

250
00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:36.279
when they've shaved up enough of themselves
to say like, okay, we're we're

251
00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.279
level again, We're good, and
then like how did they grow after that?

252
00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.720
Because it's like there's no way they
can go on like another big acquisition

253
00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.919
spree god for the foreseeable future,
and I think they'd be maybe a little

254
00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.799
bit gunshy to do so after this. I just I'm more curious about like

255
00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:57.080
what is like post trimming the fat
Embracer look like like what do they have

256
00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:02.240
left? Right then? Yeah,
like and then just sort of their strategies

257
00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.119
for growth beyond that or that they
just like, Hey, let's just let's

258
00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:10.960
just make money what we have and
maybe not get too like, let's just

259
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.000
put our Infinity gauntlet down for a
while and in internal pen weird thanos part

260
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.160
of ourselves that we've been we've been
running on for the last couple of years.

261
00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.160
Uh, yeah, I don't know, but yeah, I'd say like

262
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:23.440
the next year or so it is
still going to be like a yeah,

263
00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:29.079
offload phase. It's yeah, it's
clear the acquisition season is fully over and

264
00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:34.359
now they're in just try to survive
season. It feels like all right.

265
00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:37.839
The next Borderlands game, however,
is in active development. This is from

266
00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:41.799
Eddie McCoo at game Spot as part
of the wider announcement that Take two has

267
00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:47.359
acquired Gearbox from Embracer. Take two
announced that Gearbox is now in active active

268
00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:51.319
development on the next Borderlands title.
In February this year, Gearbox founder and

269
00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:55.839
CEO Randy Pitchford tease the company's next
game, saying it is the greatest thing

270
00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.440
we've ever done. Oh, Randy
many believe it's the rumored Borderland for The

271
00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.359
latest entry in the main series was
twenty nineteen's Borderlands three. In twenty twenty

272
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.519
two, the spin spinoff Tiny Eighteena's
Wonderland was released, and a sequel is

273
00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:12.440
reportedly also in the works for that. Yeah, I mean almost certain,

274
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:17.119
Like would you expect them to do
take any other risk in any other direction

275
00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.799
other than a Borderlands four. To
me, that makes all the sense in

276
00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:22.359
the world. What do you think, Marcus, No, that makes sense.

277
00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:23.480
I mean again, with the movie
coming out, is like, yeah,

278
00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:27.119
this is the time to like double
or maybe even triple down on border

279
00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.720
Lands, like just assuming like,
hey, this is gonna be. It's

280
00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.440
gonna people are gonna really want to
play Borderlands once Kate Blanchette is on screen.

281
00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:37.960
So yeah, I didn't. Tiny
Tina did pretty well for them,

282
00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:44.200
right, So yes, Tiny Tina
did I think exceeded expectations, is my

283
00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:45.880
understanding? Yes, okay, yeah, and you know that had been the

284
00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:51.079
first one in a while, so
yes, yeah, like I fully expect

285
00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:55.599
like yeah, just of course more
border lamp. Sure, yes, I

286
00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:59.200
right, that's seems to be the
safe bet. That seems to be the

287
00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.880
thing where like if you are at
Gearbox and you have to make yourself as

288
00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:07.799
valuable to these companies as possible,
that own you. Uh yeah, Borderlands

289
00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.559
is probably the direction you're going to
go in Borderlands. And then and then

290
00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:12.880
when you're like, oh, okay, we're gonna make a Borderlands game Borderlands

291
00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:15.559
four, I don't think you try
to mix it up. I don't think

292
00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:18.839
you tried to make like, oh, Borderlands World and it's going to be

293
00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:22.880
the big live service, ever,
ever lasting version of Borderlands. I don't

294
00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.680
think you've been messed with that.
Just keep making Borderlands as is until maybe

295
00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:30.599
the formula doesn't work. And because
Borderlands three I think also exceeded expectations,

296
00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.160
it did very well for everyone involved. So yeah, I think you just

297
00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.119
kind of stick with what works,
yeah, which is less exciting for me

298
00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.400
as someone that's kind of like tapped
out of Borderlands after the lasts, like

299
00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:44.119
i'd say, after two really right
of like man, I kind of would

300
00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:45.960
like to see a bigger swing with
it, not in a live service way,

301
00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.119
but like, oh just something like
I don't know, I guess Tiny

302
00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:52.720
Tino is like the closest to that, but like, yeah, like again,

303
00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:55.359
this is me personally, it's like
I would like to see something bigger

304
00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.200
and a little bolder with that series. But like I said, it does

305
00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.000
make sense, just like, yeah, just it ain't broke, you know,

306
00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:04.519
just keep doing it. Yep,
yeah, exactly. And I think

307
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:10.640
that for these games. It's like
I'm someone who mostly I think I agree

308
00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.759
with you, where I'm like,
I'm not necessarily thinking, oh, I

309
00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.119
need to get back into a new
border Lands. But if they keep making

310
00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:18.440
them and they and then people still
have this positive buzz around them, I

311
00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:22.319
could see myself being like, you
know what, why wouldn't I check back

312
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.640
in on Borderlands four? It has
been long enough? Yeah, I always

313
00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.200
check in. Yeah, I play
all of them. Yeah, it's it's

314
00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:32.079
Borderlands. It's cool. Yeah,
I know. I didn't play Tiny Teens,

315
00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.079
Wonderland or Borderlands three, so I'm
like, if a Borderlands four were

316
00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.680
to come out, I probably would
check on on that one. So yeah,

317
00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:41.839
like, you recharge the exactly recharge
my interest. And I think that

318
00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:44.359
so it makes sense. And then
that's a little bit easier for me to

319
00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.519
hop back into than something like a
Destiny too, where it's like, you

320
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:49.000
know, it just keeps building on
top of this Foundation, and there's more

321
00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:52.720
and more and more, and now
it's intimidating, and I'm like, I'll

322
00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:55.440
just wait until you put out something
called Destiny three. I'll check in at

323
00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:00.400
that point, all right. Sega
sells Relic and we'll cut two one hundred

324
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.480
and forty jobs across UK studios.
This is from Chris Dring at Games Industry

325
00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:07.960
dop Biz. Sega has sold Relic
Entertainment and will cut two hundred and forty

326
00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:12.559
rolls across Sega Europe, Creative Assembly
and Sega Hardlight. Relic is best known

327
00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:15.759
for the Company of Heroes and Dawn
of War games, and recently developed the

328
00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:21.400
New Age of Empires for Microsoft.
Relic will transition to an independent, independent

329
00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:25.640
studio and will no longer be part
of the Sega group of studios. Meanwhile,

330
00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.400
the majority of the two hundred and
forty job cuts are across Creative Assembly

331
00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:32.680
and Sega Europe. Well, there
will be a small number of cuts from

332
00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.799
Sega hard Light. There was no
mention of other Sega UK studios, including

333
00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:41.240
two Point Studios and Sports Interactive.
Creative Assembly has already suffered a range of

334
00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:45.279
redundancies following the cancelation of its Hyenas
project last year, and then there's quote

335
00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:49.240
here Sega is working closely with Relic
on this shift and we wish them the

336
00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:53.160
best for the future, wrote Jurgen
Post, who is the newly appointed head

337
00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:57.640
of Sega of Europe. I want
to sincerely apologize for the worry and understandable

338
00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:03.559
distress this news will cause, particularly
for those directly affected. These decisions have

339
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.680
been incredibly tough to make and they
follow meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams

340
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.359
across the business. This is not
another so we just talked about, like

341
00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:18.240
hey, musical Chairs over there with
with Gearbox and border Lands, you know,

342
00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:22.799
going from it being independent to being
bought by Embracer and then being bought

343
00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:26.079
by two K while they try to
make sense like where that fits and who

344
00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.599
has the money to actually afford that
team? And I meanwhile, for a

345
00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:33.160
lot of other studios it's like,
hey, either we might just close you

346
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.240
down, or do you want to
figure something out? And repeatedly now we

347
00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.160
are at the very least And I
suppose this is good news, Marcus,

348
00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:44.440
that these teams are finding ways to
spin off to be independent. I don't

349
00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.079
think there's like a ton of money
out there for them to get investment.

350
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.920
But it seems like there's enough where
if you're an established team, you can

351
00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:53.359
make something makes sense where you're either
borrowing money or you're getting in a direct

352
00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:57.559
investment so you can buy yourself out
from a company like Seka to keep going.

353
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:03.240
And you know, like does have
a proven track record they you know,

354
00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:06.039
Copy of Heroes well, I know
Company of Heroes three was a disappointment

355
00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:10.240
for many. I think there's an
expectation that it's like they can maybe get

356
00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.200
it there over time, or they
put out a new one that people do

357
00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:15.440
come around to. Like there's there's
a lot of people who really like Company

358
00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.440
of Heroes and so there's something there. Why would we let this team just

359
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:22.400
fall apart when instead they can just
go out and be on their own and

360
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.200
keep things going this, I mean, it's it's bad news wrapped in something

361
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:30.000
maybe of a silver lining here.
What do you think, Marcus, Yeah,

362
00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:32.319
it's kind of like the things have
to get worse before they can get

363
00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:34.880
better kind of a thing. Yes, Like yeah, it's cool to like

364
00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:37.319
you're independent, and you know,
we saw this with a was a Toys

365
00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:41.680
for Bob too, not that long
exactly. Toys for Bob yet talk about

366
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.720
them in a little bit. Yes, yeah, so yeah, I guess

367
00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:47.839
like in the long term, it's
like cool, you know, I'm glad,

368
00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:51.160
you know, like more studios.
You know, being able to be

369
00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:55.920
self sufficient is great, and you
know, more power to them. It

370
00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:00.920
sucks at it hath come with the
cost of over two hundred jobs, but

371
00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:06.079
I mean, I guess that's just
the It's like it's I hate using the

372
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:08.680
term necessary evil because I feel like
that's like kind of like corporate talk a

373
00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:12.319
bit like well, there's no other
way. But you know, it's like

374
00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.680
I guess that this is like the
last like big cut that gets us there.

375
00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:19.240
It's like, so be it.
I guess, you know, hearts

376
00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:23.240
goes out to everyone that was affected
in that. But yeah, I hope

377
00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:26.319
that, you know, I hope
that they can find like you said,

378
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.880
I know, funding is like weird
right now, and you know, but

379
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:33.279
I hope that they can kind of
weather this storm and again sort of like

380
00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:37.200
restabilize and and you know, continue
making cool stuff like you say, Company

381
00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:41.480
of Heroes three maybe like didn't quite
hit the mark, but you know,

382
00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:45.400
like I I hope that that's like, I mean, it doesn't seem like

383
00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:47.559
it was, but like not some
like weird death. No, and that

384
00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.720
they'll get make a Company of Heroes
for or whatever it is that they decide

385
00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:52.640
to pursue because you know, at
the end of the day, we need

386
00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.680
more studios and not less of them, right, And you know this is

387
00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:00.200
also a team that has proven it
can do strong work for higher games,

388
00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:04.000
that new age of empires that got
pointed out there. So they have relationships

389
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:10.000
with Microsoft, who you know they
talked about yesterday on this show to Boys

390
00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:11.720
for Bob has that deal like they
got spun off by Microsoft, but then

391
00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:15.920
they immediately made a deal to make
a game for Microsoft. I imagine that

392
00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:19.200
company, the Company of Heroes team
at Relic the age of Mbuyer's team at

393
00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:23.480
Relic could probably make a similar deal
if Microsoft is so willing. And Microsoft

394
00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:29.000
does still need games despite whateverone's talking
about, like there's a you know,

395
00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.720
fewer people playing games, or at
least they're spending fewer hours playing games.

396
00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:36.559
That's gonna rebound at some point,
Like yeah, it's dipping back down,

397
00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:38.599
but that's going to bounce back up. There are more people playing games overtime

398
00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.599
in the long run, that's going
to keep going in that direction, You're

399
00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.960
going to need to have something there
for them, so you can't completely be

400
00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.359
like, well, we just stopped
making games. We're washing our hands of

401
00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.559
it. So I think that if
you are a team like Relic that has

402
00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:53.319
those relationships, you should be able
to capitalize on those to a certain extent.

403
00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:56.160
And you know, there's also the
chance of you know, spending some

404
00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:00.119
years working as a support studio things
like that, which I think would be

405
00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:03.400
a shame for a team that has
done such I mean, people consider Company

406
00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:07.240
of Heroes and Company of Heroes too
to be Game of the Year material.

407
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:10.559
It's a team that's done some stuff
that people truly love. So if they

408
00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:14.119
have to go do work as a
sports studio, you know, a little

409
00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:15.680
bit, that would be a shame. Although no shame to the studio having

410
00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:19.799
to like make ends meet, but
they could have that opportunity as well and

411
00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:23.279
take some time rebuild and then once
the industry is in a better place,

412
00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:26.400
be able to get some of these
bigger projects green lighted and go from there.

413
00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.839
Yeah. I wonder if this as
a universal Microsoft just outright acquires them

414
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:33.920
because of those existing relationships, right, And I'm like that, I do

415
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.000
wonder like, what is the state
of acquisitions right now? Because you know,

416
00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.160
I keep saying acquisition season is over, and it's like, because you

417
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:44.160
look at this stuff, it's like
there was a time when these companies like

418
00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.079
Gearbox would have gone for one point
three billion dollars and now it's like,

419
00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:49.480
eh, four hundred and sixty million
at most, We're not going to pay

420
00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:55.319
anything more than that. So it's
like a lot of these clearly the prices

421
00:26:55.359 --> 00:27:00.200
are coming down and the fervor is
quieting for getting these studios and bringing men

422
00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.680
and growing that way. But that
yeah, like a company like Microsoft still

423
00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:07.559
has to feed the game pass beast
or are they like, hey, no,

424
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.119
we have enough and we need to
make do with what we have,

425
00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:11.759
and actually they aren't going to make
any more acquisitions. And it's like,

426
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:15.119
you know, we talk a lot
about consolidation Marcus and the problems there,

427
00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:19.559
but there are also problems when the
big companies stop making acquisitions, where it's

428
00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:22.960
now a lot of these studios looking
like what is the end goal here?

429
00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:26.400
We're trying to grow so that we
can be an appealing target for an acquisition

430
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:29.720
because we as the owners want to
like cash out someday and it's like,

431
00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:32.480
if there is no one out there
buying, what are we doing all this

432
00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:34.359
for. It's actually we're just kind
of like running on a treadmill and we

433
00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:37.079
have to try to make the next
big game and that's really tough to pull

434
00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:41.279
off these days. So yeah,
it's it's rough out there. All right,

435
00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:45.480
We're gonna take a quick break.
When we get back. We have

436
00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:48.279
a lot more headlines to get to, including a new Xbox. We'll talk

437
00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:59.559
about that right after this. All
right, we are back, and that

438
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:02.839
new x X is. It's the
same Xbox, but with a new code

439
00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:07.039
of paint and maybe no disk drift. Images of a white all Digital Xbox

440
00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:10.839
Series X console have reportedly leaked.
This is from Tom Ivan at VGC.

441
00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:15.000
Images showing a white all Digital Xbox
Series X console have seemingly leaked. The

442
00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:19.960
low quality images appear to show a
white version of Microsoft's existing console that similar

443
00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:25.480
inform apart from the removal of its
disk drive. Exputer reported last month that

444
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.599
Microsoft was planning to launch a white
all digital Xbox Series X console this summer.

445
00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:33.559
It claimed that the console will include
a few upgraded components, such as

446
00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:37.799
an improved heat sinc, but that
elsewhere there will be no major enhancements,

447
00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:40.480
and really that's just them saving money, right. You improve the heat sink

448
00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.920
so you can use fewer materials,
and that saves them a little bit of

449
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:45.680
money, which is mostly what these
things are all about. It's reportedly expected

450
00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:49.559
to retail for less than the current
Xbox Series X console, which launched in

451
00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:55.920
November twenty twenty and has an estimated
retail price of five hundred dollars basically,

452
00:28:56.119 --> 00:29:00.319
although it's often available for significally less. And that's the launch Xbox Series X,

453
00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:03.319
so this is going to be less
than that, Marcus. So let's

454
00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:07.000
start there. Do you have any
Is this appealing to you at all?

455
00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:11.079
A white, all all digital Xbox
Series X with no discribe? And if

456
00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:12.759
it is, how much would you
pay for it? Uh? No,

457
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:18.559
I mean I'd say that as someone
who already owns a regular Xbox Series X,

458
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.920
so like I don't need one,
and also like I'm an old man

459
00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:29.000
and I still like like a dis
drive, which I contradict myself constantly because

460
00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.720
I don't think I own maybe three
physical games of this generation. I am

461
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:38.160
a digital I'm part of the problem. I just buy digital games. But

462
00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:42.119
I still just like having the option
because you never know, you know.

463
00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:47.960
So yeah, I still have a
hard time reconciling with the idea of having

464
00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:49.880
an all digital box, even though
if I probably ripped that band it off,

465
00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:52.799
I'd be fine. So I mean, like I don't need it,

466
00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:57.640
Like I have a working Xbox.
It's cool that it's cheaper. It's always

467
00:29:57.720 --> 00:30:03.359
nice to get cheaper version of things, you know, especially these days,

468
00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:07.279
especially if if it's like a little
bit better. It sounds like just like

469
00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:08.640
you know, some of the stuff
it's there, it's a little bit better.

470
00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:15.279
Yeah, it'll probably have like a
smaller chip. It'll probably have a

471
00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.680
smaller system on a chip so that
they do need less heat, sinc.

472
00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:22.200
So that's probably what this is.
They're like, they're getting better performance,

473
00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:25.640
but what they're going to instead of
using that to get better performance of games,

474
00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:29.319
they'll just like lower the clocks,
have it run at a lower heat

475
00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:32.720
and so a lower frequency, which
produces less heat, which means they need

476
00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:36.160
a smaller heat sinc. And all
those things combined enable them to make something

477
00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:37.680
that saves them a lot of money. And that's what this will be about,

478
00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:41.519
is saving them money. Yeah,
I wonder if they would like if

479
00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:45.960
this will replace the current Series X, Like, will they just sell through

480
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:51.119
what's left and stop manufacturing it or
if they're going to continue to produce those

481
00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:53.119
all alongside this other one. Probably
not. And the reason I say that

482
00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:57.119
is because it's less money, right
if they are charging this for charging less

483
00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:00.400
money for this, I think part
of them is like, we don't want

484
00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:04.000
to backtrack on the games we made
in increasing prices. So this goes in

485
00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:07.680
at four hundred and fifty dollars probably
that's where I would expect it to launch

486
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:11.519
at, and then the other one
stays at five hundred, and then you

487
00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:15.200
just have both on the market.
For one, you don't want to have

488
00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:18.759
a lot of people being like they
are definitely trying to move us to all

489
00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:21.480
digital. Even though they are,
they don't want to make it obvious.

490
00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:23.240
So that's what is happening. They
want to say the options, then we

491
00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:26.359
give you options, and then you
can decide, and they're going to they

492
00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:29.400
want to keep doing that. I
don't think they want to like pull that

493
00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:33.039
away and make it clear what they're
trying to do. And then you know,

494
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:34.240
if you begin if you have a
five hundred dollars system and now the

495
00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.799
five hundred dollars system goes away and
you only have a four hundred and fifty

496
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.799
dollars system when you go back to
launch a new new hardware for next generation.

497
00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:44.559
Now it's like, oh, we're
jumping from four to fifty to whatever

498
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:47.839
that price is for that next thing
instead of five hundred, five hundred to

499
00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:49.880
whatever the price is for the next
thing. And people's heads that's just like

500
00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:55.480
more a difficult challenge for Microsoft to
overcome. So I think keeping both in

501
00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:59.599
stores will be the answer for them. It provides a lot of like solutions

502
00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:01.960
to their arguments they make with gamers
all the time. I think the only

503
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:06.960
downside is that messaging, which has
always been the big problem with the Xbox

504
00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:08.720
series brand is the confusion of like, well, which one is which?

505
00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:12.880
What's the difference between an X and
a S? And now you have another

506
00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:15.920
X out there, so ven there's
two x's, and then you have to

507
00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:17.400
be like, well, which one
one has a disc and one does it?

508
00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:21.319
So like what do you call the
X without the day? Is just

509
00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:27.400
the Xbox Series X Digital Edition?
And then like how is that immediately clear

510
00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:30.640
to someone that just add a glance, It looks at a bunch of Xboxes

511
00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:32.440
and goes like, Okay, what's
the one we call the SAD again?

512
00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:36.720
Right? I mean I know that
was for the Xbox one s all digital

513
00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:39.759
the SAD, but that's now what
I associate with these digital ones. The

514
00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:46.160
Xbox SAD is back. Everybody here
we go, Xbox D, x hyphen

515
00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:51.200
D and it's like minus disk drive
is what it means. And they'll think

516
00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:54.279
that it's really clever, but it's
actually extremely confusing. Oh yeah, that's

517
00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:58.359
almost certainly what's going to happen is
they'll have something they think is clever and

518
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:00.839
we'll all be like, what does
this mean? Or it'll be something stupid

519
00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:04.440
when we look at it like that
that's a joke, right, and it's

520
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:08.440
like now they mean it all right. A big shake up at Nintendo testing

521
00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:12.839
center ahead of switch to Nintendo,
and I think this comes from Kataku.

522
00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:16.960
Shout out to Kataku. Nintendo of
America is restructuring the small army of contractors

523
00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:22.599
that help test its games and hardware
in its Washington State headquarters, the company

524
00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:27.400
confirmed to Kataku. According to our
current and former contract according to four current

525
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:30.920
and former contractors, the result is
a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs or

526
00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:35.359
layoffs across the rest of the video
game industry, and after the Mario maker

527
00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:38.759
reportedly delayed the launch of a switch
to successor until twenty twenty five. These

528
00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:43.359
changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a

529
00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:47.440
significant number of new full time employee
positions, a spokeswork person for Nintendo told

530
00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:52.559
Kataku in an email. Contractors at
Nintendo of America who feel undervalued and underpaid

531
00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:57.279
have long called in the company to
make them full time red badge employees instead

532
00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:00.880
of exploiting loopholes in seasonal work requirements. While some of them are now finally

533
00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:05.839
getting converted to direct hires, others, including testers with over ten years of

534
00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:09.280
experience, are getting the boot,
though Nintendo says everyone impacted will receive severance

535
00:34:09.320 --> 00:34:15.320
packages. When contacted for comment,
a spokesperson for Nintendo provided the following statement.

536
00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:21.079
Nintendo of America has reorganized its product
development efforts or its product testing functions

537
00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:24.800
to drive greater global integration in game
development efforts. The changes will also better

538
00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:31.199
align INA with interregional testing procedures and
operations. These changes will involve some contractor

539
00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:35.440
assignments ending, as well as the
creation of a significant number of new full

540
00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:39.880
time employee positions. For all assignments
that are ending, the contractor contractors' agencies

541
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:45.079
with INOA Support will offer severance packages
and provide assistance during their transition. For

542
00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:50.119
those contractor associates who will be leaving
us, we are tremendously grateful for their

543
00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:54.280
important contributions they've made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for

544
00:34:54.320 --> 00:35:00.920
their work and the service to Nintendo. Marcus So, I think really the

545
00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:05.559
underlying store here is that Nintendo probably
just doesn't have a lot going on for

546
00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:07.840
this next year, and they're looking
at, hey, we have all these

547
00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.760
contractors that are here to test games, and they've kind of gone through and

548
00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:14.199
tested all the games that we have
ready to go. And Nintendo is a

549
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:19.199
company that does testing and and and
think sort of and development like way ahead

550
00:35:19.239 --> 00:35:21.719
of time, and then they keep
these games on the shelves, and it

551
00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:23.400
feels like the games that we're gonna
get this year from Nintendo, you know,

552
00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:27.079
we're about to get through here in
a couple of months the games that

553
00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:30.559
they've already announced, including Mario Paper, Mario the Thousand Year Door, and

554
00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:35.280
Luigi's Mansion two HD. And then
after that there's not a lot left for

555
00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:37.599
them to talk about because the've alread
announced that those two games and nothing else

556
00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:42.800
after that. But if they have
games to release after that, it's likely

557
00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:45.159
going to be stuff like the fire
Emblem remake that has been rumored and been

558
00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:50.679
finished for quite some time, or
a Metroid Prime two and three HD remasters,

559
00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:54.039
which have also likely been done for
a long time. And then there's

560
00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:57.840
a handful of other games that are
probably in a similar position. So it's

561
00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:01.079
like they don't have a lot of
big, first party Triple A games for

562
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:05.239
these people to work on, and
it sounds like instead of keeping them around,

563
00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:08.039
they're just going to end those contracts
and reorganize and move on from there.

564
00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:12.119
But it's like, man, even
Nintendo, I get there. They've

565
00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:14.920
delayed the switch too, But even
Nintendo doesn't have a lot of games coming

566
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:16.760
up for these for these people to
work on. It just feels that we

567
00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:22.000
went from this high tide of a
million games coming out because the pandemic ended,

568
00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:24.119
and now we've fallen off a cliff. It feels kind of rough out

569
00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:27.360
there, Marcus, what do you
think? Yeah, I mean no,

570
00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:29.719
that's that's been the story of like
just all these layoffs, right, like

571
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:32.719
everyone rode the wave of the pandemic
and then it fell abruptly into everyone's like

572
00:36:32.760 --> 00:36:37.679
oh crap, okay, what do
we do? So it is it's not

573
00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:39.480
surprising, but it is weird to
hear Nintendo being part of this because they've

574
00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:44.719
been largely absent from like all this
talk about like mass layoffs and stuff like

575
00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:46.599
that. So it's like, oh, there it is, there's theirs.

576
00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:52.880
It finally caught up to them,
you know. So yeah, I guess

577
00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:58.280
it sucks. You would think that
once the switch to does come out,

578
00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:00.559
which you know, whatever next year, whatever that's supposed to be, right,

579
00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:05.719
could pay to keep them on board
for like whatever you got going on

580
00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:07.199
over there. But again, if
they have nothing of like what they just

581
00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:09.280
be. I mean, it feels
like there's always something you give them to

582
00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:12.480
do. But if they think like
you're just gonna be sitting on your hands

583
00:37:12.519 --> 00:37:17.159
basically until we have switched to launch
titles ready to Go or or whatever,

584
00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:21.159
that looks like I guess, you
know, I can only assume they looked

585
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:23.400
at their pipeline it was like,
well, the gap between then and now

586
00:37:23.400 --> 00:37:27.719
it's too large. It would be
it would make more sense to just you

587
00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:31.800
know, say goodbye to somebody's people, So you know it sucks. Yeah,

588
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:35.400
yeah, I mean this does feel
the kind of thing where it's like

589
00:37:36.159 --> 00:37:39.039
these people probably were in a position
to like, Okay, we're here.

590
00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:42.760
We know there's gonna be a lot
of work because you are going to probably

591
00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:46.159
have us test switch to and to
switch to UI and you know, switch

592
00:37:46.199 --> 00:37:50.599
to like the new store and then
and then just like the actual using of

593
00:37:50.639 --> 00:37:52.679
the new device in addition to any
and all of the games that would have

594
00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:57.119
launched alongside the switch too, and
that stuff probably would have been kicking off

595
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:00.519
like right now, and then for
them to be like work to laying all

596
00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:02.840
that stuff, and we don't necessarily
know exactly when it's going to be coming

597
00:38:02.880 --> 00:38:07.079
out now, although no time before
March of next year, like at the

598
00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:10.320
earliest. That's the internal reporting or
that store reports out of those internal communications.

599
00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:14.760
So it say, okay, if
you are Nintendo of America and you

600
00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:17.679
are like looking around and be like, we are just gonna probably in because

601
00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:21.800
the way the contract works, and
I'm no expert on labor law, but

602
00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:23.159
the way I understand it is like
you have to keep these contractors around for

603
00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:25.599
a certain amount of time. But
if you keep them around for any time

604
00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:29.039
longer than that, then you do
have to take them on as full time

605
00:38:29.079 --> 00:38:31.639
employees or they have to be not
employed as you, but by you as

606
00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:34.920
a contractor for a certain amount of
time, and then you could bring them

607
00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:37.079
back. So it sounds like they're
trying to time that up a little bit

608
00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:40.400
here. And in the meantime,
what that what that actually looks like is

609
00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:45.079
Nintendo is paying less money to employ
people for their labor, and so it's

610
00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:49.679
basically the effectively the same thing as
layoffs because they just are not spending as

611
00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:52.559
much money on labor right now.
And it's a shame. I guess good

612
00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:55.960
news for the people that did get
those full time positions, and I hope

613
00:38:55.960 --> 00:39:00.400
that these contractors are able to come
back and do all this work and when

614
00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:02.039
Nintendo is paying for it. But
in the meantime, it's like this just

615
00:39:02.039 --> 00:39:07.119
feels callous, Like all these decisions
in this business right now, what do

616
00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:09.480
you when do you expect to switch
to to launch? And do you do

617
00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:12.760
you think it could come out by
March or next year, because right now,

618
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:15.360
I'm like, even that seems like
they're not even planning for that.

619
00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:17.400
That that feels like if that,
if that was happening, it's like,

620
00:39:17.400 --> 00:39:21.039
why not kind of just get started
right now? That gives you about a

621
00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:22.639
year to get there with all this
testing. And if they're like, no,

622
00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:24.920
we don't even have any games to
test for that right now, it's

623
00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:28.000
like, man, really, I
don't know. It seems strange to me.

624
00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:30.480
What do you think? Yeah,
I don't even know anymore? Right

625
00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:35.079
say, that's where I'm at.
I don't know. It's like you could

626
00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:37.159
throw any date, like I I
mean, I probably my ceiling is like

627
00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:40.920
I have a hard time believing holiday
next year. Like I don't know,

628
00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:45.559
I don't think they could get through
a whole another year of like, you

629
00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:49.440
know, nothing basically. So it's
almost like they kind of have to hit

630
00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:53.320
that March day just to make this
sort of like weird drought of brand new

631
00:39:53.360 --> 00:39:58.719
stuff shorter. But like I just
went out the the context of like how

632
00:39:58.760 --> 00:40:00.239
far along it is and what they're
trying to do and just anything. It

633
00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:06.719
feels like it's so nebulous now.
But it's like you tell me a window,

634
00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:10.199
I'm like, sure, I guess
I have no choice but to believe

635
00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:15.639
you. Yep, sir, that's
exactly where I'm at, where it's like,

636
00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:19.280
this is a company that is you
know, you start you getting a

637
00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:21.719
pattern with them. You're like,
Okay, they're going to launch that thing

638
00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:22.760
at the end of this year.
They're coming up to the end of the

639
00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:27.280
games they have announced, and then
we'll just go into these holidays there will

640
00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:30.000
be a switch to It makes all
the sense in the world, and they're

641
00:40:30.039 --> 00:40:30.679
like, no, we want to
take a little bit more time on the

642
00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:34.119
games. It's like, oh,
yeah, Nintendo is in a position where

643
00:40:34.119 --> 00:40:36.320
they feel like they can do that, so they're going to do that.

644
00:40:36.360 --> 00:40:37.880
But then it's like, okay,
well, then what does it look like.

645
00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:39.639
Are they going to launch the game
or launched the system in the first

646
00:40:39.679 --> 00:40:43.480
half of the year like they did
with the Switch because they did that because

647
00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:45.559
the WEU was floundering, so it
kind of didn't matter when they launched the

648
00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:49.400
switch. It's like they just need
to get something new out there to restart

649
00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:52.199
the generation for them. And it's
like okay, yeah, so I guess

650
00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:54.599
they could do that again, but
why would they do that in a world

651
00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:59.159
where the Switch is doing so well
and they can kind of like ride that

652
00:40:59.239 --> 00:41:01.480
for some time even if they aren't
selling a ton of new Ton of new

653
00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:06.400
hardware, which they actually kind of
are still like, it's dipping in North

654
00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:08.199
America, it's dipping in Europe.
It's continue to sell very well in Japan,

655
00:41:08.320 --> 00:41:10.840
though, It's like, why wouldn't
they just keep riding that? It

656
00:41:10.840 --> 00:41:15.039
seems like they might, so,
Yeah, very unpredictable company. It's going

657
00:41:15.079 --> 00:41:16.480
to be hard to know exactly when
they're going to pull the trigger on that

658
00:41:16.559 --> 00:41:20.920
device. Maybe Switch too is done, but they're just waiting for metro Prime

659
00:41:20.960 --> 00:41:22.599
four because I really want to really
got to launch you with this, so

660
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:27.639
they're like, we're waiting on you
retro. I still am in the camp

661
00:41:27.639 --> 00:41:30.599
where I believe it's possible we get
metrod Prime four on the original switch,

662
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:32.440
but I'm ready to have egg on
my face for that. Yeah, you

663
00:41:32.480 --> 00:41:35.320
don't have to say it like that. You don't have to say it like

664
00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:37.840
I'm a terminal patient, like oh
really, Oh you think that I don't

665
00:41:37.840 --> 00:41:39.760
want to. It's like, yeah, and when somebody tells you that they

666
00:41:39.760 --> 00:41:43.400
still believe, really that's what you
believe, o'maying? I mean, you

667
00:41:43.440 --> 00:41:47.800
know that's that's cool. You know, Judge, You're probably right, though

668
00:41:47.840 --> 00:41:51.480
I'm trying to I'm trying to accept
it, but I want to want to

669
00:41:51.559 --> 00:41:55.119
keep believing. I thank you,
I appreciate that. All right, Moving

670
00:41:55.159 --> 00:42:00.280
on here, SIG of America workers
ratify union contract protecting one hundred fifty employees.

671
00:42:00.480 --> 00:42:05.760
This is for Michael mcwherder and Nicole
Carpenter at Polygon. Workers at Sega

672
00:42:05.760 --> 00:42:09.760
of America voted Tuesday to ratify their
first collectively bargained contract with the US arm

673
00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:14.760
of the video game company, granting
new protections and raises for about one hundred

674
00:42:14.760 --> 00:42:19.960
and fifty full time and temporary employees. Workers in the union known as Allied

675
00:42:20.119 --> 00:42:25.079
Employees. Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega
or aegis one important concessions from Saega of

676
00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:30.119
America as part of the contract,
building base building raises for all employees,

677
00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:32.800
layoff protections, and a commitment to
crediting people on games they've worked on,

678
00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:37.840
including early QA testers. It also
affords employees in the union other protections,

679
00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:43.039
including letting workers pursue creative work in
addition to their work at Sega and a

680
00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:49.079
guaranteed continuation of hybrid work. Workers
will also receive just cause protections, joining

681
00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:52.599
tender clause workers and being the only
ones in North America video game industry to

682
00:42:52.639 --> 00:42:55.760
have them, organizers said. In
the state of California, where SEGA of

683
00:42:55.760 --> 00:43:00.760
America's offices are located, workers are
employed at will well meaning employees. Employees

684
00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:06.119
can employers can terminate employees for almost
any reason, provided that reason is not

685
00:43:06.199 --> 00:43:10.480
unlawful. These protections meaning employers must
follow a series of strict guidelines before getting

686
00:43:10.559 --> 00:43:16.239
rid of a worker, whether through
firing or other means some good news.

687
00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:21.000
It feels like this is like the
the one hand that goes with the other.

688
00:43:21.079 --> 00:43:23.519
We are in a volatile time for
this business, which is like traditionally

689
00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:28.519
very volatile. So people are experiencing
in a way where it's like when we

690
00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:32.199
were in the high times of every
game was making a ton of money and

691
00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:37.559
people were spending more time on games
through the pandemic, it was very easy

692
00:43:37.559 --> 00:43:39.480
to look around and be like,
you know, hey, we'll talk about

693
00:43:39.880 --> 00:43:44.199
unions because protections are needed. And
I've lost Marcus, so we'll see if

694
00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:45.440
he hops back in. Oh there
he is, But Marcus is already back.

695
00:43:46.000 --> 00:43:51.119
Can you hear me, Marcus?
Maybe not, we'll see. Oh

696
00:43:51.159 --> 00:43:53.239
he's getting connected right there. So
when we were in those high times,

697
00:43:53.239 --> 00:43:55.920
it was very easy for I think
people to talk about unions for the protections

698
00:43:55.920 --> 00:44:00.079
they could have provided for a number
of reasons. And I'm make sure I

699
00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:04.679
still have not losing an obs.
We're good there. But it was also

700
00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:06.920
very easy to be like, ah, that's a lot of work, why

701
00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:09.199
would we do that. We're kind
of getting everything we need from these companies.

702
00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:14.639
We feel secure in our positions,
and now that that that volatility has

703
00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:17.440
really come home, I think that
these companies are like not are like looking

704
00:44:17.480 --> 00:44:22.400
at employees as human resources that can
be cut as needed, and we've seen

705
00:44:22.440 --> 00:44:25.960
that repeatedly now, and so unions
are this weapon. I think after so

706
00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:29.440
many years of talking about it,
now people are like, we can actually

707
00:44:29.480 --> 00:44:32.360
wield this as a powerful tool to
get what we need. And it's awesome

708
00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:37.199
to see that Sega is making that
happen. Marcus I says, you're muted.

709
00:44:37.239 --> 00:44:39.320
I don't know if you can hear
me. It seems like you are

710
00:44:39.360 --> 00:44:44.559
still trying to get connected. Feel
free to restart discord if you need to,

711
00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:49.800
and we'll get you back in here. In the meantime. Let's,

712
00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:52.320
uh, you know, let's move
on to this next story. Rumored Toys

713
00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:57.119
for Bob is making a new Spyro
game. This is from Jonas Mackie at

714
00:44:57.159 --> 00:45:00.400
Game Reactor. There have been a
lot of news pieces written about Toys for

715
00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:04.519
Bob this year. First they were
negatively affected by Activision Blizzard's layoffs, then

716
00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:07.159
they were thought to be shut down. After that, it was revealed that

717
00:45:07.199 --> 00:45:12.519
they are leaving Activision Blizzard to become
an independent studio, and most recently that

718
00:45:12.559 --> 00:45:15.599
Microsoft will publish their next project.
So it's been quite a rollercoaster for them.

719
00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:20.119
So what is that next game?
When the split from Activision Blizzard was

720
00:45:20.119 --> 00:45:23.079
announced, the studio wrote that our
team is excited to develop new stories,

721
00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:28.519
new characters, and new gameplay experiences, which sounds like something spanky new.

722
00:45:28.960 --> 00:45:31.400
On the other hand, during a
recent meeting with its staff, a corporate

723
00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:36.480
vice president of Microsoft Studios, Matt
Booty, reportedly said that the studio's upcoming

724
00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:39.000
title will be similar to games Toys
for Bob has made in the past,

725
00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:44.719
and now the very known Crash for
Crash Bandicoot, and Spiro. Content creator

726
00:45:44.760 --> 00:45:49.320
Canadian guy A says in a new
video that he knows is that it is

727
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:53.679
named Spyro for He says he heard
this from several developers during Games Developer Conference

728
00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:59.000
and also rumors before that, and
it has been an active development since January

729
00:45:59.079 --> 00:46:01.960
twenty twenty four, which like two
months ago, so pretty wild. We've

730
00:46:02.159 --> 00:46:06.760
completely lost Marcus now, so I
think he's restarting Discord. But this is

731
00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:09.960
something that I'm not too surprising.
I think on a BombCast we were talking

732
00:46:09.960 --> 00:46:13.519
about this where we were saying,
hey, you know, what would we

733
00:46:13.559 --> 00:46:15.000
want them to do? And I
think all of us kind of sailed on,

734
00:46:15.119 --> 00:46:19.840
Hey, a new Spiro makes a
lot of sense. They did just

735
00:46:19.920 --> 00:46:22.400
do Crash four, so it's probably
some time before they'll get back to Crash.

736
00:46:22.440 --> 00:46:28.760
Bandicoot Banjo Kazuoi is another possibility,
but they've likely already have. If

737
00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:31.960
Microsoft is making a Bansho Kazoo,
they probably have already gotten someone making Banjo

738
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.639
kazuoi, So that doesn't make a
lot of sense. A Spiro game makes

739
00:46:36.679 --> 00:46:38.400
a ton of sense, and Spiro
Ford like kind of being like, Hey,

740
00:46:38.559 --> 00:46:42.840
let's forget all those other Spiral games
that came out, Let's instead just

741
00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:45.880
make the next real Spiro game.
That's something I think worked for Crash and

742
00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:51.159
they want to replicate that with with
Spiro as well. I'm excited about this

743
00:46:51.199 --> 00:46:53.360
to a certain extent, And at
the same time, I'm like, I

744
00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:57.800
liked Spiro when I originally played it. I played it a lot more with

745
00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:01.679
that Spiro remake trilogy, and I'm
like, these are well made games,

746
00:47:01.719 --> 00:47:05.519
They're decent. I just they didn't
never blew my socks off, so I

747
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:07.920
was kind of it was mostly like, eh, I think Spiro's okay.

748
00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:13.760
I'm really that makes it sound more
negative than I even Intend. I don't

749
00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:16.000
think Spiro's bad in any way.
I just think I would like to if

750
00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:19.599
the studio was doing something a little
bit more exciting to me personally. But

751
00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:22.280
I know a lot of people really
like Spiro. Any JAMIEH. Christmas U

752
00:47:22.280 --> 00:47:27.000
is a spiral greater than Crash I
agree with that, that's true. That's

753
00:47:27.039 --> 00:47:30.920
definitely the case for me personally,
at least, although Crash four, I

754
00:47:30.920 --> 00:47:35.599
think maybe Crash for It is actually
a little bit above Spiro. Certainly all

755
00:47:35.760 --> 00:47:39.800
right, game developers are being sued
for making their games to addicting. This

756
00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:45.199
is from Alex Hopley at Game Reactor. A new lot of lawsuits have been

757
00:47:45.199 --> 00:47:49.760
filed against the likes of Rockstar,
mo Yang and Hey Janet Show. Everybody

758
00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:52.880
look at that oh, never mind. I see Marcus. I heard addiction

759
00:47:52.199 --> 00:47:57.840
and I came running. We got
the addicted boy himself here. Let's see

760
00:47:57.840 --> 00:48:01.039
if we can get Marcus in here. Marcus are you there? Says you're

761
00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:04.239
muted. I'm not sure if you're
gonna be able to get connected. It

762
00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:08.480
seems like you're like some problems with
discord. We'll see give them a second.

763
00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:13.320
In the meantime, Alex Hopplia gamer
actor writes, a new lot of

764
00:48:13.400 --> 00:48:16.440
lawsuits have been filed against the likes
of Rockstar, mo Yang and Moyang,

765
00:48:16.519 --> 00:48:21.480
Mojang, Activision, Blizzard, Epic
Games, Roeblocks, and more for making

766
00:48:21.519 --> 00:48:25.079
games addicting. Multiple complaints have come
from all across the United States, targeting

767
00:48:25.119 --> 00:48:30.880
game developers for suppose supposedly exploiting players. One lawsuit from Arkansas alleges that a

768
00:48:30.920 --> 00:48:36.000
woman has seen a strong decline in
her son's behavior since he started playing addictive

769
00:48:36.079 --> 00:48:39.400
video games. She first noted these
behaviors when he was twelve. Other things

770
00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:43.000
might happen when you are twelve years
old, but whatever Now twenty one,

771
00:48:43.039 --> 00:48:45.400
the Sun is reported to spend spend
three hundred and fifty dollars a month on

772
00:48:45.480 --> 00:48:50.199
games has dropped out of school,
been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and

773
00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:53.840
experiences withdrawal symptoms that result in rage, anger, and physical outbursts. The

774
00:48:53.880 --> 00:48:58.440
suit alleges that it is the creators
that are reliable for the damages caused by

775
00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:01.480
their neglectful design, but the game
developers aren't going to take this line down.

776
00:49:01.800 --> 00:49:07.280
Their argument is that finding their expression
through their games to be too entertaining

777
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:09.760
is not a reason to have them
shut down. A lot of games nowadays

778
00:49:09.760 --> 00:49:14.480
reward you for time spent in them
as well as your overall skill. Fortnite's

779
00:49:14.480 --> 00:49:16.360
battle Pass, for example, requires
you to keep playing at risk of losing

780
00:49:16.440 --> 00:49:22.760
precious skins at the end of your
reward track. So yeah, this is

781
00:49:22.599 --> 00:49:27.320
a lot of the games I think
mentioned to this, like Minecraft at the

782
00:49:27.360 --> 00:49:30.239
games, Fortnite and Rowblocks obviously,
but this lawsuit like it's just like,

783
00:49:30.360 --> 00:49:36.000
hey, Grand Theft Auto is too
fun, too addicting, and I guess

784
00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:37.639
Grand Theft Ato line probably does have
like a lot of battle pass stuff,

785
00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:42.559
and there's clearly like dark patterns in
all of these things. There are clearly

786
00:49:44.760 --> 00:49:49.079
psychological tricks that these developers are wielding
against the player to get them playing for

787
00:49:49.079 --> 00:49:52.360
a longer amount of time because that
increases the likelihood that they'll spend more money

788
00:49:52.440 --> 00:49:57.079
later. But at the same time, it's like, hey, I appreciate

789
00:49:57.079 --> 00:50:00.840
the developer's position here that they are
making the game more in retaining and making

790
00:50:00.840 --> 00:50:02.760
people want to play for longer,
and that's what a lot of people want

791
00:50:02.760 --> 00:50:07.480
from these games. So where's the
balance. I think that it won't hurt

792
00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:15.719
to have regulators look into this stuff, to have experts like actually try to

793
00:50:15.719 --> 00:50:19.320
figure out how these games are explaining
us. I don't necessarily know if I

794
00:50:19.360 --> 00:50:22.800
trust the government to be able to
figure out what the answer to those problems

795
00:50:22.840 --> 00:50:27.599
would be. More information about how
these games know how our brains work,

796
00:50:27.840 --> 00:50:30.760
and then using that information against us
in a mass way to get us to

797
00:50:30.760 --> 00:50:34.000
spend more money. Yeah, let's
let's look into that. That can't hurt.

798
00:50:34.159 --> 00:50:36.880
And at the same time, I
don't want the games to be made

799
00:50:36.920 --> 00:50:39.239
worse so that I'm less addicted to
them. That doesn't seem like the answer

800
00:50:39.320 --> 00:50:44.599
either. All right, We'll give
a Marcus one last chance to get in

801
00:50:44.679 --> 00:50:47.480
here while we hit the quick hits, quick hits, and then and then

802
00:50:47.519 --> 00:50:53.119
one RESTful Trails. PlayStation Store spring
sale is on with thousands of games available

803
00:50:53.119 --> 00:50:55.719
at discount, so you can go
ahead and check that out now. I

804
00:50:55.760 --> 00:50:59.760
think that's running it at least through
the end of the month. Then PlayStation

805
00:51:00.079 --> 00:51:04.360
US as given away immortals of Avim, Minecraft, Legends and Skull in April,

806
00:51:04.400 --> 00:51:06.400
and that's a Skull with one L. I don't know what that is.

807
00:51:07.400 --> 00:51:10.639
Thunderful is selling developer heads Up or
head Up for five hundred thousand euro.

808
00:51:10.960 --> 00:51:15.280
I think it's after Thunderful like originally
required it for much more than that.

809
00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:19.039
So it's another example of one of
these studios spinning off and finding a

810
00:51:19.079 --> 00:51:23.039
way to survive. I think that
head Up is going to a new company

811
00:51:23.039 --> 00:51:27.000
that is owned by someone that still
works at Thunderfold and I think originally started

812
00:51:27.039 --> 00:51:29.800
head Up. So it's like one
of these situations where it's like, eh,

813
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:30.920
well, we don't want to pay
for it ourselves, but if you

814
00:51:30.960 --> 00:51:34.440
want to find a way to make
that go, keep going on your own.

815
00:51:34.519 --> 00:51:37.599
Feel free. And then finally,
Sony won a patent infringement lawsuit that

816
00:51:37.679 --> 00:51:43.840
said it's controllers used previously existing and
protected technology. That was something like a

817
00:51:44.079 --> 00:51:46.960
massive number, but Sony won that. It was like five hundred million dollars

818
00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:51.239
or something. Like that Sony won
that they can keep using that, so

819
00:51:51.280 --> 00:51:55.480
they won that patent infringement lawsuit.
And then finally RESTful trails to Joseph Lieberman,

820
00:51:57.719 --> 00:52:02.559
video game villain from the nineties.
He was one of the main politicians

821
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:07.840
that was bringing video games as a
violent medium that was going to corrupt children

822
00:52:07.320 --> 00:52:12.440
to the eyes of the Senate.
The games he would bring were like Mortal

823
00:52:12.480 --> 00:52:16.239
Kombat, I think, like Time
Crisis and Night Trap of course, so

824
00:52:16.679 --> 00:52:21.760
that's cue the Night Trap music right
there. Joseph Lieberman quote of course lost

825
00:52:21.800 --> 00:52:23.360
that fight. It was something he
kept trying to go, keep going,

826
00:52:23.400 --> 00:52:27.559
even after the ESRB came around.
They're like, we'll put ratings on games.

827
00:52:27.639 --> 00:52:30.960
Is that cool? And most politicians
were like yeah, Joseph Lieberman kept

828
00:52:30.960 --> 00:52:32.679
fighting that and was kind of kept
trying to make a big deal of violent,

829
00:52:32.760 --> 00:52:37.119
violent video games. And then he
of course was the vice presidential candidate

830
00:52:37.119 --> 00:52:43.280
for Al Gore. So yeah,
rest in peace, I guess by Joseph

831
00:52:43.320 --> 00:52:45.840
Lieberman. All right, let's get
to the poll question. Let's do that.

832
00:52:46.679 --> 00:52:50.880
And while I'm getting that set up, you know, since Marcus is

833
00:52:50.880 --> 00:52:55.320
having trouble getting conected, let's do
one more reminder subscription at subscription dot Gaminformer

834
00:52:55.360 --> 00:53:00.679
dot com. Go to gaminformer dot
com, subscribe to them. That happen.

835
00:53:00.360 --> 00:53:02.599
They are doing some excellent work over
there, and they have been for

836
00:53:02.639 --> 00:53:07.239
a while hung up, hung out
with a lot of people from Game Informer

837
00:53:07.280 --> 00:53:10.199
while we were at PAX. They're
part of the Nasty Boys clan that we've

838
00:53:10.199 --> 00:53:15.719
decided is the crew that we're gonna
call the Nasty Boys. Uh. They

839
00:53:15.039 --> 00:53:17.360
were a lot of fun and of
course they're doing a lot of great work.

840
00:53:17.400 --> 00:53:21.039
So then we check them out.
All right, we get this going

841
00:53:21.199 --> 00:53:27.960
slash community. All right, there
we go, and here is the poll

842
00:53:28.079 --> 00:53:31.320
question. Are you okay that Larry
and Studio's next game isn't going to be

843
00:53:31.360 --> 00:53:37.840
Balder's Gate? I'm bringing that up
for everybody. News assets fade ninety six.

844
00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:40.239
This is this the old pole question? Did we not do the new

845
00:53:40.239 --> 00:53:45.840
pole question yet? Again? Getting
pretty bad at that? All right,

846
00:53:45.960 --> 00:53:49.719
yeah, wrong, poll, let
me refresh. I don't think we maybe

847
00:53:49.719 --> 00:53:52.599
we never put it up. All
right, so we'll do We'll do two

848
00:53:52.639 --> 00:53:59.840
pole questions? Oh yeah, why
do I You just don't okay? Actually

849
00:53:59.840 --> 00:54:01.840
it's there? Which one are you
more excited for? This doesn't work anymore.

850
00:54:01.840 --> 00:54:05.239
It usually it shows Okay, there
we go, which one are you

851
00:54:05.280 --> 00:54:08.760
more excited for? Judas from kin
Levin, BioShock or neither? Judas from

852
00:54:08.800 --> 00:54:14.880
kin Levin it was thirty five percent
BioShock, four fifteen percent, and forty

853
00:54:14.920 --> 00:54:19.440
nine percent said neither, So almost
a half are not interested in either game.

854
00:54:19.719 --> 00:54:22.480
But when it comes to Judas from
kin Levin, a little bit more

855
00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:24.679
like twice as many people are interested
in that. I'm sorry these poll questions

856
00:54:24.679 --> 00:54:27.800
have broke now, so you have
to actually click on them to see the

857
00:54:27.840 --> 00:54:30.719
results. That's annoying. All right, A new poll question, how are

858
00:54:30.760 --> 00:54:35.320
you feeling about the future of video
games? Great, I'm not worried.

859
00:54:35.480 --> 00:54:38.639
Good, I'm somewhat worried, and
bad, I'm really worried. I kind

860
00:54:38.639 --> 00:54:40.760
of want to just take your guys
to pull on this a pulse on this,

861
00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:46.960
see how everyone's feeling about video games
overall. I'm like, I'm somewhere

862
00:54:47.000 --> 00:54:51.760
in between. I think personally,
Mike, I'm a little worried. You

863
00:54:51.760 --> 00:54:54.119
know what it feels like. Ten
years ago we were talking about, hey,

864
00:54:54.239 --> 00:54:58.119
the end of consoles, and that
felt so absurd. As soon as

865
00:54:58.159 --> 00:55:00.760
the consoles came out, the PS
four and the Xbox One, and they

866
00:55:00.800 --> 00:55:02.920
both did very well. And now
it feels like all of the concerns we

867
00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:07.800
had back then are happening now where
it's like, hey, live service games

868
00:55:07.800 --> 00:55:10.519
and mobile games, they're distracting players
and they're gonna take up all the oxygen

869
00:55:10.519 --> 00:55:13.119
out of the room. And back
then it's like, well, no,

870
00:55:13.320 --> 00:55:15.840
that's absurd. We're gonna keep getting
a million different games. And that was

871
00:55:15.840 --> 00:55:20.239
true for a while, and now
here we are there are like five games

872
00:55:20.239 --> 00:55:22.000
that play, people are playing and
that's it. And so yeah, I'm

873
00:55:22.039 --> 00:55:23.920
a little bit worried, but I
want to see what howe everyone else is

874
00:55:23.960 --> 00:55:28.880
feeling. Maybe games are gonna bounce
back in a big way and that's how

875
00:55:28.920 --> 00:55:30.800
you feel, or maybe you're way
more more worried than I am. Let's

876
00:55:30.880 --> 00:55:35.639
let's see how everyone's feeling when we
answer this poll question and then talk about

877
00:55:35.679 --> 00:55:40.519
it on Games Mornings on Giant Bomb
tomorrow for Dregs Day with Tam looking forward

878
00:55:40.519 --> 00:55:44.679
to that, we'll get the result
then speaking a Giant Bomb, what do

879
00:55:44.719 --> 00:55:47.880
we have happening? We'll have voicemail
dump truck later today and then on Friday,

880
00:55:47.880 --> 00:55:52.320
lookout for upf We're gonna probably play
a handful of games I want to

881
00:55:52.320 --> 00:55:57.519
play. Let's see what do I
have happening? I want to play that

882
00:55:57.639 --> 00:55:59.960
South Park game. I want to
get that going. Hey, we got

883
00:56:00.119 --> 00:56:04.519
ar kiss back? All right?
Can you hear me? What the hell

884
00:56:04.559 --> 00:56:07.760
happens? I don't know you went
to the Phantom Zone? I guess so

885
00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:12.840
I'm back, Zod says Hi,
all right, well, hey, you

886
00:56:12.880 --> 00:56:15.719
want to do that one last pitch
for a game and Former subscription? Sure,

887
00:56:16.320 --> 00:56:22.199
yes, so yes, I like
you mentioned up top. Print subscriptions

888
00:56:22.199 --> 00:56:27.559
are back Game Informer, but you
can subscribe to us directly without going through

889
00:56:27.559 --> 00:56:30.880
GameStop. To do that, you
can go to the RL subscription dot Gaminformer

890
00:56:30.920 --> 00:56:36.639
dot com. You can get ten
issues of the magazine, both physical and

891
00:56:36.719 --> 00:56:39.639
digital. Subscription includes both, but
you get ten issues a year nineteen ninety

892
00:56:39.679 --> 00:56:44.039
one. For the year, it's
less than two dollars an issue, and

893
00:56:44.079 --> 00:56:47.760
you get an eighty four page magazine
filled with reviews, cover stories, interviews,

894
00:56:47.800 --> 00:56:53.280
features profiles from our staff as well
as our awesome fleet of freelance contributors.

895
00:56:53.719 --> 00:56:58.760
And yeah, it's a great way
to support GI directly, and you

896
00:56:58.760 --> 00:57:00.000
know, we really appreciate it,
So you can do it right now.

897
00:57:00.079 --> 00:57:04.920
Subscription dot Gameformer dot com and tell
people where they can find you if you

898
00:57:04.920 --> 00:57:07.840
want to tell them that your Twitter
hand or something like that, and where

899
00:57:07.880 --> 00:57:13.320
they can find your work. You
can find me on Twitter at Marcus Stewart

900
00:57:13.440 --> 00:57:15.119
seven. That's the number seven.
You can also find me on Blue Sky

901
00:57:15.480 --> 00:57:21.079
at the same account, though admittedly
I'm much less active there so but it

902
00:57:21.159 --> 00:57:23.800
does exist. And of course you
can follow my work on Gameformer dot com.

903
00:57:24.519 --> 00:57:29.599
You can catch us or me on
our Twitch channels well, twitsch dot

904
00:57:29.599 --> 00:57:31.880
tv, Slash gaming Former. I
easily stream a couple times a week,

905
00:57:31.960 --> 00:57:37.199
especially every Friday. Ongoing super replay
series currently playing through the entirety of the

906
00:57:37.400 --> 00:57:40.159
Legend of Zelda the Major's Mask for
the first time. Awesome. Yeah,

907
00:57:40.239 --> 00:57:45.079
so that's been a lot of fun. So that'll be happening tomorrow. And

908
00:57:45.159 --> 00:57:46.599
yeah, I think that's all the
plugs that I got in my bag here.

909
00:57:47.000 --> 00:57:50.840
Awesome. And then I want to
ask this pole question, how are

910
00:57:50.840 --> 00:57:52.360
you feel about the future video games? Great, I'm not worried. Good,

911
00:57:52.440 --> 00:57:55.079
I'm somewhat worried. And bad,
I'm really worried. How are you

912
00:57:55.119 --> 00:58:01.159
feeling about the future video games?
That's an iss true, the future video

913
00:58:01.159 --> 00:58:05.679
games in terms of like just the
products themselves. Perfect question, however,

914
00:58:05.679 --> 00:58:07.039
you need like just seeah, Like, how are you feeling about the you

915
00:58:07.039 --> 00:58:10.719
know, the variety, the quality, the getting the kinds of games that

916
00:58:10.760 --> 00:58:15.920
you like, that sort of thing. I'm feeling good. I guess I

917
00:58:15.039 --> 00:58:19.199
know what's Yeah, whatever's like a
good the skill, I'm feeling good about

918
00:58:19.239 --> 00:58:21.880
that. I think a lot of
cool games are coming out, whether it's

919
00:58:21.880 --> 00:58:24.039
electricle a or indie stuff. Like, you know, variety has been great

920
00:58:24.440 --> 00:58:28.880
in terms of like on an industry
level. I think obviously it's it's not

921
00:58:29.599 --> 00:58:31.599
great, but I try to be
positive. I like to think this,

922
00:58:32.079 --> 00:58:37.719
you know, we'll get on the
other side of this eventually, so like

923
00:58:37.840 --> 00:58:43.000
in the like longest term, I
like to believe that it will work out

924
00:58:43.119 --> 00:58:46.760
or will work itself out in some
way or another. So yeah, I'll

925
00:58:46.880 --> 00:58:51.119
leave it at that, like,
you know, not great now, optimistic

926
00:58:51.159 --> 00:58:52.880
for the future. As naive as
that might be, we'll see, but

927
00:58:53.360 --> 00:58:57.159
I like to, you know,
like I want to think that we're going

928
00:58:57.199 --> 00:59:00.559
to get better, you know.
I like that answer. And you know,

929
00:59:00.599 --> 00:59:04.000
I think when you're right on the
long term, when you look at

930
00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:06.199
the grand scale of time, I
think we're going to be on the other

931
00:59:06.239 --> 00:59:08.079
side of this and like thinking back, like remember when things were really bleak

932
00:59:08.360 --> 00:59:12.599
in twenty twenty four, and look
how far we've come. We will get

933
00:59:12.639 --> 00:59:16.199
to that point again. I agree
with that, all right. Any other

934
00:59:16.239 --> 00:59:20.159
things to clear up? I think
we talked about what's happening on Giant Bomb.

935
00:59:20.320 --> 00:59:22.719
Oh yeah, fun stuff, LL
app it on UPF and then we'll

936
00:59:22.719 --> 00:59:24.280
have a BCR. We'll figure out
what that's going to look like. Tune

937
00:59:24.320 --> 00:59:27.920
in for that as well. Thank
you for watching, everybody, Marcus,

938
00:59:27.920 --> 00:59:30.239
thank you so much for hanging out
with me today and talking about video games.

939
00:59:30.280 --> 00:59:34.079
I really appreciate it. Yes,
thanks for having me absolutely, and

940
00:59:34.119 --> 00:59:37.159
thank you all for watching. You're
the best audience in gaming. Until next

941
00:59:37.159 --> 00:59:40.039
time, have a good one,
take care of yourself, and goodbye.