Nobody was expecting that fire transition. So we're all a little off put here.
We're gonna figure it out though. Uh we're in Los Angeles. It's
giant bomb. We're in California to talk about video games. The industry is
searched around under the couch. Found some change. They're gonna make some new
video games. We're gonna talk about them. We're also gonna talk about just
hanging out and having fun. I got the whole crew with me, including
the Internet's Mike Manati. Hello, I'm just reading this interesting article about the
future of video games that involves a series called Ridge Racer. I don't know
if you've ever heard have it? What's that? I don't know, but
I think I think you should look into if a new one's coming, I'll
see what I could do for you. Buddy. Thank you appreciate it.
Yep, Lucy James, not much. Glad you're here. Thanks, I'm
glad. Yeah. Tomor is saying, how about you. I'm so cold,
so I'm getting my blanky. I'm happy about how cold it is,
but like, I'm also glad you got a blanking on that stuff because I've
been wearing shorts. Yeah, thake. How do you feel about wearing shorts
at these events? Because I've been scolded before for wearing shorts. Why who
game moves? I think it was Bye, probably by Lucy James MEA,
yeah, I feel like because I'm a sweaty boy, which I'm sure Oh
yeah, you know so, and I move very quickly. Yep, I
feel like I get sweaty pretty quick exactly. Yeah so, and I need
like to cool down. But in this studio, I did not realize how
cold it is. I'm basically sitting right in the path of the air conditioner,
which is industrial grade because this is the studio and we're keeping it in
that way, absolutely blasted by ice cold winds, So I don't Actually I'm
from Ohio, but the cold doesn't bother me anyway. No one save us.
This guy the fuck out of here. Hey, how do you like
to say? It's great right thinking? Some of these TVs are broken though?
Yeah, yeah, I'm stealing it when we get out of here.
Yeah. Dan Reichert also from Giant Bomb. Everybody, Hello, I remember
I was feeling bad earlier because I had too many skittles. Yeah, how
are you feeling now? I just ate a bunch of cookies with huge frosting
things on it, and I'm feeling worse your taco I had two tacos and
then I had like six cookies and you got to make hay with the sunshines.
Yeah, I'm feeling it, but uh yeah, I'm here. I'm
fine. You know, I think you should be feeling pretty good because you
did get this man to watch mcgroober last night, which was one of the
missions we had when we came to Los Angeles. It didn't take much like
with the face off thing last time. That took some real convince. You
did that at the end of the trip, right end of the trip.
I had an early flight the next day. You like started at two am
while you were protesting and saying you weren't going to watch the whole thing,
and I just brute forced it. Yeah. Sure, you you were just
like, yeah, let's watch it. Why do you explain what happened when
you watched macgrooba. Well, okay, we're in a robot hotel. Yes,
that's important to understand. Our hotel is dystopian. It has no humans
working at it. Walls have ears, and the walls have ears. Apparently
that's not a joke, you know. Yeah, everyone left last night,
so it's probably like what two two thirty three something. Everyone's leaving my room
where we watched it, which even getting it on the TV was a whole
process. But everyone leaves and I looked down at my phone to like set
my alarm, and I have four texts from the Robot Hotel saying like,
we have detected unusual noise activity in your room. Please keep this in mind
with you know, fellow patrons or whatever. We were laughing too hard at
mcgruber that I got four texts from a hotel and it was all of us,
but it was mostly Mike. It's me, I get a little loud.
I don't know if anybody knows that about. Yeah, it's a win
though, that you were laughing that hard. That's a funny movie. I
enjoyed it myself. Yeah. I was never like, I guess, like,
I think this is going to be stupid. I figured i'd like it.
Yeah, it is stupid. It's very aggressively stupid to be stupid.
That's fine. You hays to join in la So far everyone having a good
time. Yeah, I was gonna say, how are you enjoying? Is
it better now that we're here is and just like now you gotta go to
parts with la you normally wouldn't have toys. Yeah, well no, it's
super sick that like y'all came to me. Yes, yeah, that's pretty
good to go to Boston, which is crazy, right, you had to
justify I go into Providence and all this stuff. Yeah, but like this
time I got yesterday, I saw y'all by getting on the train. Yeah,
sick as hell. They have that here, they do it. They
show it in volcano. Okay, right, I should have remembered my volcano.
Yeah something who melts? Yeah, Mike, you know, like Mikey's
against people melting. It turns out I don't want to see anybody melt unless
they're like, well, yeah it's good melting, melting parentheses positive Lord of
the Rings. Even then, I don't like seeing Gollum melts. It's kind
of upsetting. I think he has it coming. Your favorite melting, my
favorite melting. I mean the guy in Raiders of the Last Arc that's a
pretty good that's about away, and then the other guy's head just explodes,
like yeah, that's more of a the centigrade that's turning into dust right,
Yeah, coming to and that's fine, but that's alsotually pretty creepy. What's
creepy with that one is the hair really wet that it looks like it hurts
to have your hair grilled that fast. That's what it's like for me,
look at the mirror and gross. That sounds like non hit people propaganda.
It's like the grow hair. I also tried to not say the wood Bold,
so I said, non hippy people. We appreciated that, we know
her. Did you canceled for anything? Actually, it'll be like I'm canceled
because I said the wood Bold on the You should be allowed to I think
it's yeah, it's mean. It was who used the basic b on Bold.
It was Midler, Mike and Dan talking to the bar last night and
they're remembering that Sean had made that Doug Trio Bald version. That's just the
three of you next to each other. It's like it happened in real life.
That was pretty magical. Yeah, it's it's been great to seeing people.
That's been one of the highlights so far. We did touch an Emmy.
We watched the River with an Emmy. I was like holding cradling an
Emmy. For much of the night. That was very good. You have
to see Tam already got to hang out a couple of weeks ago. And
the other which was fun. We went to a wax museum. I mean
a terribly good wax museum. There was some of those figures that we were
looking at and I was going, I don't know who that is. You
know, some of them were like surprisingly good, like almost upsettingly so like
Morgan was like, oh my god, was there like a through line like
you were like, okay, this person's famous enough that they cared, or
it was like some very famous people are also beat like random. It was
themed rooms. Sometimes the worst one was Jack Black as Nacho Leebray and they
clearly just got some other old wax figure and put like the Lucha mask No
No, something that looks like a you know when you see on Reddit,
like a creepy pasta story about someone being buried alive, and like it looked
like a real person been encased in wax because those eyes followed you around the
room. I love it for long enough and I was like, if I
had to guess, it feels like they founded Chris Fawley like wax figure like
and you know that it is how Hollywood treats like their fat actors. They
just like replaced them one after another, like there's a series of fat actors.
Which of us would make the best wax figure? How much you think
and how much do you think get costs? I don't mean to throw too
many questions out of what do you mean? What do you mean make is
in physically we crafted or would be the best as a subject. I had
know the answer to this, and it's Lucy because one Crystal, the smooth,
like the beard really messaged with us. It's Nikki. Yeah. And
then like then I already saw what they did the bigger people. It's not
wearing work out now. And then it goes in beard water let show you
know all them two, Like the stature must just get worse because like Torso
up, a lot of them look good. Then there's something really weird going
on with the hips where they're kind of just slowly leaning forward. Well,
because when they were they were size appropriate to right, they were all Yes
it was who was it? Who was really tall? The base model?
Some of them Arian Grande couldn't get gage horrifying. Yes, is it a
block of wax? That they start, do they chid yeah, or like
is it chipping away or is it building up? No? I think it's
building up. Okay, yeah, I feel like it's building up. I
mean, is it really? It can't be completely waxed. There has to
be some kind of metal framework scallon. Here's here's the question. Are wax
kind of replicas of people and wax museums days numbered because of three D printing
now, because I feel like you can create a very very high quality model
in like on a computer like Unreal Engine or something, and then use that
to three D print it. But if it's three D printed, it's exactly
it's gonna be like gnobly and you're gonna have to send it down. But
that stuff is like so I've seen the leaps and technology in three D printing
and it's like that's minimal now, Like you don't even have to the matel
factory of you know what. I looked at you because I was like,
of all the people here who has been three D printed, it's sure the
laser thing, like the way you see it, it's a mold and then
just a lasers and it makes it down to like the little crevices like seeing
them make I think they were making Logan Paul action figure. When I went
for I go up where it was a guy basically saying why three D printers
are a very good investment, And by the time he was done, I
was like, I think I needed three D printer because he was like,
instead of buying a stool, I just found a blueprint for a stool,
made it and just made it. And it took maybe like six or prey
but it was fine. I am at the point where my kids are into
something new every four days. It's like now it's inside out two in a
week, it's gonna be something else. I'm like, what if I just
three D printed their toys? Because the thing that was like the material the
spool that you buy to make a whole stool is half the price of the
stool, right, So it's like he had a very compelling pitch. So,
Tim, are we just let's be honest, Are we just trying to
ignore the fact that we're not playing Shadow of the Tree. Yes, it's
like we have to wait and it hurts, it's painful. What are you
talking about the trailers or oh, I know I'm preparing for Shadow of the
Tree. Yeah, yeah, yah, prepare for Shadow Tree. I have
been working with multiple characters. I have now four characters that I'm ready for
when I get the game. What's that strategy? What do you mean so
I I I wanted multiple builds so that I could try and experience the game
in as many different because you know there's that whole thing about oh if you
kill if you leave Millennial live, is it different You've got about her brother?
I'm ready for when we get that game sounds like, Hey, it's
it's being thorough. So when we're when we get it, I'm going to
be all over it, and I'd be like, I've got seven different builds.
I'm finding every little secret. Twenty first is when it's out. Twenty
first is when it's out. What about me? I could be playing Megan
Man five for the game I was gonna get. Yeah, to thank you
for your sacrifice. You have actually not touched it since got announced. I
to watch with groover last night. Very clear, I'd rather be playing Megan
Man five than you. Yeah, I agree, let's roll back memorial.
Those game Boy games are good. Most of them are like good or interesting,
but five is actually really good. It has like unique bosses and levels.
It's all kind of plant theme. You have a robot cat instead of
a dog. Huh good, what is that? I don't remember. It's
not it's not rush. Okay, I'm sorry, I don't remember. It
sounds great. Yeah, a big fan. Yeah, you love you can't
get enough of it. The cat never came back, all right, he's
only in this one game. I'm sorry. Aren't they all Wiley Wars?
Though? Why is just the one called Wiley Wars? Well, Wiley Wars
is the Genesis game that is a remake collection of one, two, and
three with US content based around game Boy. Why the one about like Wyley's
No, you're making things up, so No, the first one does have
like a subtitle. You're right, it's not Wiley Wars or something. So
the return of Doctor Wiley. Yeah, they're fine. I just yeah,
we get a clock there, that'd be helpful. I gotta watch. I'll
tell you watch you know what, you know what? I think it might
be game time, Summer game Fest, kipping the games here. Yeah,
we did watch Subber game Fest. We did do that. I want to
learn more about we the same? Yeah, we the sims? Is that
the name of the go ahead or are they just that's what it sounds like.
Yeah, we the sims. Yeah, Hey, there were some okay
games in that showcase. I thought that the bean thing looked fun. It's
my number one from the show. Are you mean snobbish? But am I
the only one who rolled my eyes at killer Beasy boys? There were no
jokes that it was just at their beads and everything else is played straight.
But also that's I think that's what's great about it. I think it looks
like a fun so bad in a fun way. Yeah, thank you,
Jan all right? John is Amy crying? See I want to say something.
Tam and Nikki we were in the we were in the car coming over
here, and wrap came up and I asked Mike Manatti who his favorite rapper
is? Can can I take guesses from both of you of Mike Manatti's favorite
rapp his favorite rapper? What is there? Uh? You're you're on the
right track. But is it Rachel? One of the I know there's like
a family of goofy type characters. One of them is like a rapper or
something like that. It was well, I was gonna say a human or
it is a human? A Shoot, it's a shot human being, human
being, not a Disney rapper. Okay, shoot, human being, not
a Disney Vanilla. I I was gonna say that would have been good,
Mike. He didn't want to say eminem because that was too basic. I
was that was not gonna be my second guy Disney. A Disney rapper's gonna
make perfect sense when you hear it. Is it Nikky's leaving? Okay?
Can I just say we've been together, This is the second day we've all
been together, and I just feel like lin Manuel Miranda has come up to
is it always Mike? Yeah, yes, I didn't know. They were
talking about what would happen if lin Manuel Miranda wrapped the Bible. He brought
it up. Yeah, Nicky brought it up because of the Christmas Bible thing
they do it. Yeah, kid, honestly, I can go on.
I can explain every natural phenom on the tide, the grass of the ground.
No, no, mama, do you have a Do you have a
favorite rapper outside of lin Manuel Miranda, Who's who's in the group, who's
in the Wu Toong group? He has haven't listened to a Book of od
B group, Yes, he said, he said wutong. Seriously, what
was that song at the end of Universal Soldier Somebody was Mad? The wrap
from the A Spentura is probably his favorite, the one local one, the
end of a Rogue Soldier whatever, this road troop of the Mickey Rourke,
Yeah, rap. Do you think that the song at the beginning of the
Pest is a rap? I do? Yeah, of course. Yeah.
I was walking around San Francisco. I find a big sign that said wu
Jan Clan. Yeah, and I was like, oh, that's alsome.
I did I say to you? I think I said it to you.
Okay? The song rappers Delight. Did those people ever do any other Yeah?
They do any other one, don't do any other songs? Yeah,
I am one. To Mike and I were doing, say work for hire,
like we need someone to do this rap song I wrote, So scat
man, he's not a rappers scat but it's kind of close. Let's see
we can unravel this year. Yeah, yeah, but I'm the scat man
ski close. That's pretty close. Matter of fact, don't nothing to hold
you back, and the scatman can do it, so can you? He
added, like six, Yeah, it's pretty class. It's fine, it's
good maybe I'll isn't that kind of a bop? Though? This Scatman song
I think about is great because he has two songs. The one of them
is a remix of the about how he's the scatman Like that's it. He's
the guy that's saying he's too sexy for his shirt? Is that a rap?
Uh? No? Okay? What is? What is when will ship?
When William Shatner talks rap? Right, that's just different. Tell me
how to do my job, and I think it's going to be a long
long time there it is. Yeah, you nailed it. So he didn't
like Killer Bean. Oh right, that's a favorite. I think we need
to start referring to him as Killer Bean. That's his rap name. Either
Kiban. I think he's about to talk about beans eating can be a it's
gonna encapsulate everything. There's a Naruto character who's a rapper based on a character
from uh I believe No, Actually there's a Wu Tang Wu Tang reference in
there, and the rapper his name is Killer b So pretty close, yep,
pretty close. They rap in Naruto. Yeah, there's one character that
is a rape. There's one Naruto rapper. Like hip hop culture, think
Ninja go. No, No, that's not what they're saying. You should
don't say that you don't like the pokey rap. Yeah, poky rap was
fine. It's not that much. You know, you're rapping at the rapper
of the gamer rap by the way, Yeah, don't look that up.
It's called the gamer Rap. No. The thing about the Poker rap is
that the Pokey Poka by weird Al Yankovic is way better that he did for
the first Pokemon soundtrack. That's true. Yeah, better juicy where he talks
about Second Genesis and Super Nintendo. Have you heard that song? Wait?
Who U b A? I know that one notorious b A G. And
it's okay. I just didn't have It's good, it's good important. I
know about him in Tupac. It's okay. And they were they got shot,
that's correct. Yeah, it was me. They should have done that,
yeah famously, that's right. Yeah, it makes me sad about the
shooting. What's your favorite beans then? I don't know, just black red
beans. I don't know about pintos yet, garbondo and what about black eyed
peas? That's just tread carefully. Is that is that a pier of beans
is this a trick question. It's a real bean. It's a bean.
It's a shoot bean. Aren't they usually like dried and salty? Moy?
Are those those are peas? Have you ever had baked beans? You know?
It's too much for me? They're too sweet. I don't it's too
goofy. What about the tomato we sauce? Though you like barbecue, you
don't have like baked beans and barbecue. No, I'm more of a I'm
more of a potato or max sides guy with my party. What kind of
means go on toast beans? Well, we know his way? Basil?
Oh, that's right. Did you guys know that people besides Italian's cooked with
basil because he discovered it last night. Yea, we are a great playing
You also discovered that you can fry basil. It's very good idea. It's
very tasty when you do that. So he gave Asians a haul pass to
use basil as an Italian Well, at least at least Taiwan, I don't
know about the others. Looks very mad. Good thing. It was hours
to begin with, he said. Sue Marco Polo took it over there.
Yeah, big yeah. Video games that Big Age sucks. You guys are
crazy. What about Power Rangers that doesn't. How did you feel about the
empty green seat? That means as a possibility, Oh gonna be there.
That's gonna be fun. And then had like super Scaler looking levels. Yes,
yeah, really good. I'm very It didn't seem like it was exactly
the same to poper as Shredders were fans, but it looked very similar.
I mean, honestly, if there's other developers that could take that stuff and
run with it, that's awesome. Yeah. I I think that's setting up
to be like a Games as a Service title, you know, because they
constantly is rewind, which means she could potentially keep rewinding into different eras like
Light Speed Rangers, Ranger, Rangers, Rangers, Dino Thunder, just keeping
Turbo my Morphine, Turbo RPMs, really RPM is really rescue or something?
There's watch you good? What's the one of the trucks? Is that?
Like, what's the one with the trucks? Turbo had a movie? There
was a Turbo movie. I'm glad that no one said SPD the Cops season
became Cop season. Yeah, well, okay, they always arrange a PAB
you're saying, right, a praphiranger cop season is crazy because their boss is
a dog is by averse reverse kind of like reverse. It is weird that
the kid is in charge of the patrol. I think that's yeah, the
boss child, and it's like his dog is the German shepherd cop like number
one cop. When the dog cops go home, do they have like families
and houses and stuff? Also like their puppies pound puppies. You remember that.
I remember, I remember the toys puppy Sorry, yeah, yeah,
hey, there was some Okay. How do we feel about Jeff Keeley Summer
game Fest after this many years? I think he's good, right, I
think that there. I do wonder have a legitimate question about whether or not
he will feel the need to tamper expectations going into it next. It was
the right call to table, definitely a correct call. Does it to every
show sets expectations? This one? I think it was the most bird ye
right. I feel like he, he of all people, knows that whether
he likes it or not, it's fun to theory craft about what we're he
there. The issue we have now is people forget that craft disease and they
start taking it very obviously before, like I think that people like maybe like
maybe this could be there overnight will become this is there. And I feel
like he's in a situation that where he has to do it as a like
preemptive defense mechanism. And I think he's got really good at like giving himself
his own shows a score yep, which like do you have to come back
to reviewing games. He's gone from a letter went to the Yeah, I
show you know lagged there. Other ads really do kind of grade on me,
but very add that last quarter I Go Chicken ad was nuts? How
long? So it was it really six minutes? And said so that it
felt like seventy five years. Yes, I think that's crazy about that ad
for that game that I've immediately forgotten the name of. Is that up Runs
a movie? Yeah, I was joking. The best jokes are run was
a game a drink? It's also a game, yes, thank you,
But that ad. I have seen it in smaller chunks on t for the
half like over the course of the NHL playoffs, So this is okay over
there. I watched a lot of Food Network and h I'm watching commercials constantly,
so I've seen a lot of that ad, but I'd never seen them
put together. So there I will. How many have Hemsworth? All of
them? It has to be expensive? So like if they if if someone
was like, we can get Chris Hemsworth, whichever is that? Chris was
Chris? That's that's what is the other one? No? No, no,
And there's another one, the one in West Wild. Don't threaten me
with a third hymn. The other him to keep out of is Liam who
was married to Miley Cyrus. Chris who was? So is it one of
them? That's Liam? What's the name of the third Hemsworth? Ringo?
No, lukem gimmick? Like, what's his thing? He's a witcher now
the other guy left and his main his main gimmick is he was married to
Miley Cyrus. I see, okay, so he doesn't have like a big
Thor type role or it's now nothing like a Thor type role. I see
garyl is his big role? Now? Got it? Why did that game
go last? Like? I think even play the most money placement, I
didn't really that I keep paying for the place. I see you can pay
more money to get I don't know super Bowl price. So Here's here's how
I would I would think it was that super last one, last Game,
Phantom, Yeah, Phantom, thank you. Yes, Yeah, I think
that one probably also paid. It's hard to like judge because some of these
things can get in because he thinks they look cool, just like, yeah,
come in here, I think you're gonna make the show better. You're
And that one is like does have some like like a momentum behind it.
I know Baclar has been asking about it whenever one of these shows happen,
so some people have been following it. Maybe people are are into it,
but I definitely also think being the last thing and paying for it, that
probably does have a price, and they probably did pay for it. But
if like the Chicken Game paid a minus, he wouldn't put that last.
Probably some reasonable Yeah, is there a line? What is the money they
would have to pay for the Chicken Game to go on last? Right?
Yeah? I mean just the and be like good night everyone. If the
Bean Game went last. Apparently the Bean Game could have carried the opening.
Yes, that was my favorite thing other than of course Lego Horizon. This
feels like his thing where he's like, oh the Petho dog Dog. Then
yeah, yeah, it's that. Yeah, he's he's too cool for school
cool. Yeah, that's what he's, Mike Naughty, too cool. Honestly,
I don't think you watch the tail. He was out back smoking cigarette
nickel. Yeah, leaning against you all enjoy your bean games? Where he
had among us how many bean games? We? Oh, we had the
trailer for this shows are beans? No, no, no, it's fall
guys are really there's too many beans out there. But yeah, that they
had like the commercial for that show, and all they've been doing is talking
about the voice cast in it. And then we had a completely silent trailer
for that thing. Yeah, you're right, that's right. It was silent.
Names that odd. They've already announced those names, but I didn't realize
like Elijah Wood and Eventnical, Yes, good good cast absolutely some of them,
CPS soever, CBS, right, I mean it's gonna be like Paramounts.
Yeah, does anyone here have paramount Plus? Yes? We used to.
Was anyone here paid for Paramount Plus? He kicked us all out like
about a month ago. I think I pay for it to start watching Yellowstone
and then that show is really bad, so I stopped. Yeah, I
pay for it for soccer. Okay, drag Race. There's a bunch of
drag Race on there, the Star Trek on there that I stopped watching because
it was depressing and said, yeah, I mean we were still part of
CBS when they launched that Picard and everything, and that's when we all got
I was very excited for pecard and I was like, I'm watching a guy
get his eyeball ripped out of his socket and like snipped the little eyeball tubes,
and I was like, oh, for these things, what a beautiful
future. Damn, let's do we ever get another thing with Bloodborne ever again?
No? For real, are you accepting that? Or is that like
co why? I will never fully accept it. I will accept that.
It's not worth my time to convince myself otherwise. I a PS or PC
version so I never have to use the deal sense ever again. Sure,
because it is the worst controller ever created, mainly because it has legitimately given
me severe hand problems. It's bad. It's bad, But I guess I
could also play on another controller, which is usually what I do. But
I feel like that game is I think it's the do not break glass unless
emergency game, right, like when Sony stocks are like plumbing PlayStation wise,
they're like break Out the Bloodborne right, because it's like what situation at the
end, like because from software can command pretty much any fee they want,
so they'd have to pay a huge amount to get from time. I also
feel like from this is like now a good man, right yeah, other
things they pay even more. Could I just give it to like Bluepoint Point
right, So that's probably the one way that maybe, but I would.
I would happily give it to you. But do you are you satisfied with
a remaster or do you want blood Borne too? If it's going to be
I'm fine without Bloodborne too. If it's PC, I would just like it
to be like better frame rate, yeah, doing all the ports, yeah
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just yeah, just make it
playable. It's one of those games where it's like it runs on PS five,
but it's noticeable that it's like as four. It's not optimized. It's
more so than any other PS four game you play on PS five. It's
noticeable as a PS four McDonald's yeah, Lance, Lance has figured it out.
He's playing it in a way that no one else kind of is.
Right now, But I would I would love to see more Bloodborne, but
if from software like now we're good, I'll happily just be like, yeah,
it's fine because they're probably working on something else that there. It feels
like that's where we're at. Yeah, once they produced like a shy game,
that's when I'll be like Bloodborne time, sure better retreat. It's like,
yeah, Disney making Inside Out too, and and other sequels after like
light Year and Yeah, as the other Street Fighter six fan, were you
excited about the season one? Did? Like very little for me? All
for the season two characters I think are fun. I like, I like
because I like Street Fighter three. We got the Fatal Fury characters. This
is the first time that street like a numbered street Fighter game is getting guest
characters from outside of even or outside of like the street Fighter world like you
had like Rival Schools and Final Fight and that's like technically the same universe that
was just people from Fatal Fury are here and the most popular ones. Do
you feel like that opens up the door to more fortnighty like like not not
not all the way, but like Spider Man's not gonna come to me.
There will be other guest characters and like you might get weird ones like when
Tech and seven had that guy from the Walking Dead, right, Yeah,
I think it will generally be more fitting stuff like other fighting game characters.
And you know, there's also a new fatal theory coming out. It's unbelievable
and knows that I also have a small dog with me this whole segment and
then just gets up in that cross But I bet Fatal Fury is gonna kind
of they're going to return the favor and that's eventually in and get street Fighter.
Yeah, yeah, that's gonna be fun. I was excited to see
that new trailer too too. I was happy to see that. That's very
exciting. Yeah, I feel like the Capcom will unlike Fortnite, Capcom has
like some uh boundaries on maintaining the integrity of its I P, where like
Fatal Fury kind of works because they've done Capcom versus S and K crossovers,
so Terry has fault were you many times and that kind of stuff. But
I feel like once they're like, oh, how about we put the terminator
in here, it will be like, now that would be sick a terminator
from Terminator three terminator. Yeah, it's the Terminator is really importantly, Terminator
is in Fortunite asked that was Terminator three rise the Machine. Yeah, yeah,
thank you for giving it its full name. Yes, yeah, she
was called Terminatrix among the fans because people dominated exactly. I don't say that
t X. Which one was Lena Heaty. I never watched The Terminator Sarah
Sarah? Which one is genis? Emilia Clark was and Jason Jason Clark or
whatever his name was. One of the worst movies was The Arnold One back
was a d n F. And then I felt betray because what Dark Tomorrow?
After that, I remember like everyone was like, this one's good.
Actually, then I saw that. I'm like, I guess it's Christian Bale
was Salvation, Yes, Salvation was christ The Salvation is the one that used
to have a roller coaster at six Flags. Salvation is the one where he
got caught yelling, Yes him yelling highline, mate, you're a nice guy.
But that's one of the end they have Arnold the likeness where it's just
like it's I got a wax thing of him, just like turning around like
blurry more ground. Yeah, you think the governor of California then governor.
I think he might have been done by that point, but he hadn't gone
back into movies. He was what have an eight years term in California.
He didn't do Escape Plan yet or we gave him all of it. Do
you think maybe he was governor at the time. Yeah. Do you think
they overdo a Terminator two remake? They should not, I hope not.
They should not do no, no, leave it alone. Do you think
they would ever do a reboot with Terminator one some point, at some point
the well run dry. It would be like the point blank or paint point
break reated where we about it. Yeah, yeah, I just break last
week with the friend whould never seen it? Oh he didn't they do like
remixing. Literally that's not even doesn't occupy any space in my brain. Never
once thought about it, never saw it. It'll be like the robot Coop
reboot where I said I was fine, but like not going to make more
than one and ultimately five years later, when you say RoboCop, people still
think about the original rail Now. If you think about it, Terminated two
is the dock Souls of the dock Souls of thee. If you think about
it Terminated one, think about that and then demons the attempt to make it
make you know, establish the framework, and also like visually as well,
it's a little grungey. It doesn't look as terminated too, is like where
they figured it out perfected. It almost has bits of it that are on
a bit weird, same as Dark Soul. Wait what what from weird?
I din't like you visually kind of stuff. The it still looks great,
the the T one thousand going into the stuff. Yeah, but it's still
it looks great, but it has bits of continent, but mostly it's perfect,
so people don't touch it. Which one is Genesis Amelia Clark and Jason
which yeah, kings there. All right, we've been putting it off.
Clearly. The most exciting thing was the horizon and the first Is this the
first PlayStation game going to be published on a Nintendo console? Yes, that
is weird. I meant you see why it happens, but it's still kind
of weird. Huh, Yeah, it's weird. Yeah, I can't wait.
Yeah, when it got announced, did you all feel like you couldn't
hear anything your flash bang? Yeah no no no, So in here we
were doing our pre show, you guys rolling there and I didn't realize that
John Luke had said clear, but Zach Haddon said clear, and I just
went I got a piss. So if you were watching the games puts three
when that one came through and I saw there was like and I was like,
I'm just gonna peek o. Woh, well you you missed out.
You gotta go back and oh yeah. I watched the end of the trailer.
I watched the Oh come on, you look more cheery and joy pretty
exciting. Yeah, franchise merging with one of the biggest toy brands in the
world. Uh huh. A lot of exciting possibility space there. You feel
lucky to have Horizon. I think I'm just concerned for the exposure of that
franchise. What do you mean as and like they they showed up and they
were like, we're making eight games in this universe, and I'm just like,
are you sure? Maybe you shouldn't make that many games at once?
How do you think that happens? I had the former head of Gorilla but
always head of the studios for a long time now. But I mean,
like, I feel like there's a lot of buzz around. There was a
lot of buzz around the first horizon and the second horizon for many people,
rightly so. And I think that's when they were like, we got a
banger on our hands. Let all systems go. It isn't this what happened
with kill Zone? Though, yes, well no I should do that.
But this exact like, this exact thing happened with kill Zone and Resistance.
Yeah, but those franchises weren't very good. Yeah, and Horizons fucking great?
Did you? Did you see my reaction? Yeah? Where's your am?
Like it? Even if you're so big, you're gonna sit up there
high and mighty and judge Horizon. What's wrong? Are you a Horizon defender?
Yeah? Well we all are. Yeah, and what not? Don't
you like it a lot? Yeah? We all do. I mean yeah,
I forgot that. We loved that. Yeah, very Oh boy,
we were talking about that was gonna be our tire year. Was pretending we
were gonna like Horizon from a lego, not last ten minutes. Let him
get your whole wrestling beds or whatever. I don't really know how this works.
Sorry, you didn't say for shoot. He was excited to shoot,
but he had a prop He was excited at the leaf flower back. So
you remember what he dropt to throw sugar cubes at beat. You're not allowed
to try to catch one. No, absolutely not cut to I'm like on
a sugar if you've been you I don't know why, but I've been holding
it. But all right, we're gonna try this. I him away,
Can I go? I can go like you can. Gow got the one
shot one shot. I'm gonna lie mom spaghetti. That was pick it up?
I love you, blew it throw? Yeah, so this is again
here there we go rights weat you got leave that's ever happened? Which thanks
for the zoom a couple out here. All right? How about that slit
ahead? Though I'm a big slitterhead guy, everyone says that about me,
and no one in the room was happy. I'll help how many times I
said, said, it's the name of the game, that's dragon Age,
the slitterhead that's way better. All the game is just picking that from?
Well other games? Could you pull off the dragon Age to make a title
with? Then the veil God dragon Age? We the sims dragon Age.
All right, I've been giving the wrap up signal. We're gonna get out
of here, everybody. We got a lot more happening tonight here for GB
at Night stick around. We got at least four or five more segments,
a lot of friends coming by. It's gonna get rowdy, I'm sure.
Uh. For the first that was Giant Bomb. That was the crew.
Everybody way, bye, I love you, I love you, Bye,
catch you next time. Hi Mom. Fifteen minutes. I've not heard enough
about video games, so we're gonna fix that right now. I'm Jeff Grubb,
Giant Bomb. We're back for GB at Night Live in Los Angeles.
It's night one. We're just getting started, so we got a whole new
round on the couch starting here with my friend Tom Caswell. Tom, how's
it going? It's going great. I am very excited. My first SGF
in person. Oh really so uh just great to be here on the ground.
Got Jacob Decker. How's it on from Game Spot? Do you feel
naked without the mic? I feel it feels weird? Okay, now I
got all the mic. Can't be good that yeah, Lex Lutty, how's
it going? You can't say it's night one. I've been in l A
for a fucking week. It's not my fault. Are you one of these
people? That like ten Cent flew in, Yeah, let's go, and
we've seen it. We've seen a game. We didn't see much of a
game, but like we've just sort of been left to our own devices.
So I've just been going around l a money. Well, they just showed
you a case. They just like shows you, like, here's a game.
They shows you a hard drive. Yeah, there you go, which
I can say, okay, the of the hard drive. But yeah,
Super Nintendo World was great and was worth fine all the way out here for
so that sounds great. I'm from play magazine and I also don sat men.
You check it out. It's cool, awesome, Kurt and Dovina.
What if we didn't talk about games, I think it's very unlikely we're actually
gonna spend most of this time you want. I mean, as you started
this off being like, oh I haven't got enough of talk about games.
Well, the other night I was favorite about the cold opens, these segments,
and they all just left my brain. How do you like your eggs
over over easy? And then when I'm gonna have them on a sandwich sober
medium, never scrambled, I don't like a little so you get a bit
of that gooey leak. Jill groats here, Why didn't you have to introduce
me after gooey leak? You're right, that was inappropriate, and I apologize
about eggs. You can. This is more about you than Yeah, okay,
Hi, I'm Jill Grote, the Indie Informer. I write about indie
games, and there were a lot of them today. Yeah, it was
a pretty good day for indie games. I was actually that was some of
the stuff I was most excited for. For sure. Heely has remind you
every moment, this is an indie game. This is one maybe one may
one mom in his basement and he's only allowed aush outlaws. Yeah, you
make an indie game with more than one person, you're not allowed. You
mane all seriousness. I've had this argument with people. There are people who
believe that you cannot be an indie game if you're not like one or two
people in a basement. Let's just lunacy. I have so little patience for
that. Yeah right, I would just I would give those people a wedgie.
That's I think that's the best way to handle them. Eggs. We
were talking about eggs, and every time I think about eggs, I think
about Dan Reichert and I don't love that I have. That's unfortunate. Yeah,
so I should. My parents are probably watching and it's like two am
in Ireland. And I told them the egg White story when I was trying
to explain them, like the people I go on like stream with sometimes,
so that like they understood what I did for a job. And I told
them the egg White story and they were like, are you hanging out with
like the people background? Yeah? Are they aware of the tea story that
I just did today? What the fuck is wrong with you? It's literally
the first time in my life I've ever made tea like that. I made
sure for mo Day like which I has like loosely. If you put in
the gourd and all that stuff, I can handle a gourd all right.
When it comes to like the tea bass, I can handle a gord.
But I thought Bailey's like I got the throat coat, which is the name
of the tea, and uh, and I'm like, yeah, I need
that. I'd be talking all night to night. That's gonna be very handy.
And I read the instructions and it says I saw the perferated edge.
That's the first thing I saw, and I realized I probably supposed to open
it, but then I read the instructions and it's like, no, dog,
just throw that shit in there. It assumed that I would just know
because I'm a living, breathing human that I've experienced tea bags before, and
instead I just threw the packaging in there. That way experience, and I
was like, why is the water not changing? Yeah? My biggest question
with that is how long it took you to realize? Well, yeah,
so the on the thing it says like let it step for a long time,
like ten to fifteen minutes. So I walked away, so and I
was doing other stuff and I just hear Janelle and Lucy come around the corner
and it's Lucy very British. See, I thought you were just trying to
roast them from being British, you know, like, here's your tea you
would throw right. Yeah. Jeff came up to me right after. He
was like, I'm doing so good. I got my throat was steeping right
in the rock, and I was like, Jeff, let's fucking go.
And then I find out like fifteen minutes later, it's like he's been he's
been steeping a plastic fucking bag. That's how you get the plastics in the
balls. Apparently where the microplass went from. Yeah, yeah, screw microplastic,
give me the macro plastic. Yeah, that's what I need for my
gorg. Yeah. I don't know. How's everyone going. I'm actually really
offended right now? Yeah? Was that because I'm the sort of person and
I'm about to out myself. Sorry everybody that travels with tea. Oh okay,
I can't not have tea in the appropriate form. I just went to
Ireland for my tenth year anniversary, and you can order tea everywhere everywhere.
It's the best country. Gas. We literally don't drink anything else. Do
you get Can you get it at the bank? Yes? That's actually I
mean there's someone someone the bank would be like, oh, do you want
a couple? Can you get it? Uh? Uh in the d m
V. Yeah, I don't know. There's a Yeah, we have a
different thing. Must be great. I went to the first bar I went
to. I asked, kind of sheepishly, like do you just do you
happen to have any tea that I could drink? And this person looked at
me like I had had grown a second head. It's like, of course
we have tea. So the other side of that is I was at a
bar the other night and I like asked for some coffee and they're like all
coffee machines turned off. And the person came up to me and was like,
do you want to tea? And reactively I went yeah, sure what
I was and then their lives were like a nice tea and I was like,
oh no, this is fucking terrible. They have sugar in it.
Yeah, yeah, I don't like the sugar. Yeah, I gotta go
on sweetened. Yeah, but that's what that is what I drink now,
fast food, you know, can't pop anymore. I'm sorry. I'm from
the Midwest. You're from the Midwest Ohio. Yeah yeah, my family's from
that way. So I was immediately just rusty. Yeah. I do try
to say soda pop now because I'm not going to just say soda. Yes,
I say soda, well, okay, I'm not saying soda pop,
And like, I think you should build up that per sona. I'm coming
back to pop. Isn't there a secret third option? Yeah? In Georgia
they just say coke for I'm gonna give me a coke sprite. I think
that's how they say, yeah sprites, it's all coke, Give me a
bubble, bubble bubble. But so, yeah, you want to talk about
games now, curt Is that why I have no interest? Yeah, you
guys, he talks about games little today. I talked about three out of
the fifty. So slither Head, whither Slitterhead, Yes, slither Blitherhead in
his reality he lives in a different demo. Honestly, they should have named
it Slitherhead because I could say that like easier than instead of this dirty,
weird, horrible that they can copy it. Just have you played Let It
Die? Yes? Yeah, it gives off let It Die vibes And I
mean that. I know it looks really so excessive for how like terrible and
siff It's going to be Thank you, Thank you, Jake. Here many
copies of balin Wonder World. I'm a big fan of games that are Yeah,
speaking of I have presents for you, and I didn't bring them with
you tonight. Why did Why did balin Wonder World remind you of that?
Because I like to hand those out to my other friends and I'm a shitty
person. I have several copies of that game already unfortunately. Yeah, Jake,
when we set off the leaf blower earlier, did you did I hear
you did that? Bother you? Well, I was actually at the phantom
office, but it was an issue. Yeah, there's one person in this
room who hasn't shut up about He could also actually hear it from the fandom
office. Yeah, I love it. I was like, I was like,
bad that it's gonna beat about. And then immediately how loud was it
fucking loud? We're sitting here and it's just like I'm concentrating and being like,
Lucy James, would you like to talk about your favorite game? Dragon
A? And it sounded like a space ship going off. Imagine hadn't been
blown right, screw. I heard today that we the police came in or
the the the fandom police, US US, the co worker police came into
your stream and was like shut up. They turned it off, and then
by an act of God fell an Dan. Yeah, we were in there
messing around with it and then someone comes in. You gotta knock it off
with the leaf blower. Those are the exact words. And then so Dan
does put it off to the side, and it was it's just sitting there,
and then he starts talking about the bit, like, here's what we're
gonna do with the leaf blower. And this is when you guys were going
to be off, Like you would have been done by this point. It
would have been perfectly fine. But he's talking about it while you were still
on. And as he's talking about it, it begins to fall and I
see him like Dan, Dan, Dan, and then it just hits the
ground and explodes on So that is appropriate. What's in appropriate about that?
I think your hair is a little no, no, no, you're talking
about question. How to explain this one to my parents? No, they're
watching right, you know, explanatory. I got the context. So you're
all excited for Lego Horizons too. Yeah, Honestly, that game, uh
looked really cool and we were we were talking about it and and I'm still
not clear on whether it is a retelling, but I talk man, of
course it is. It's coming out on switch as well, which is wild.
It's that station game coming out on switch. There's no there's no bounds
anymore. There's no God, yeah, there's no there. We could tell
because the hot Dog Man just like the Horizon. Yeah, Lego Horizon Vengan.
Yeah, I thought I I thought it would look more in line with
previous like Lego games, maybe what they had done with skywalk O Saga,
making it this third person thing. But they made it more like the diorama.
It looked like the diorama, and it was way more creative, I
felt, than just the simple idea of it being a Lego version of Horizon.
So honestly, I think that that was such a strong showing. I
mean, like Traveler Stales has been like doing this for so long. At
a certain point, if they're gonna do it, they're just like gonna put
it all in there, right, They're gonna make it feel like a real
big effort that came across for sure. It's still it still makes zero sense
to me. I don't. I guess, like, how does it happen
people like well, because Herman Holst is in charge now, but it's like
you have to go like to a whole other company and ask them to make
this game. I just don't. I still don't fully understand how it happens.
I wonder if PlayStation is just I mean, what you know. Astrobot
is one of the big games coming out everyone's excited for that. I wonder
if one of their strategies is just more family friendly games than known Forgot of
War, Last of Us. She needs it desperately, like there their whole
identity's just been like gruff guy and then a loy and like I don't know,
like there's there's it's a weird thing to see, like this transition of
gaming and I'm sure it's God damn it, we're talking about games. This
is not what I was playing. All I'm trying to say is like if
there's a gap in which like games for younger audiences you have kids, Like
I'm sure you want your children to be able to play like decent games games
and not like grow up and like return to a game they play. Be
like this ship because most in cases, like the kids games or licensed games
are bad. What they're bad. I mean the games we played in childhood
were bad, some of them. Some of them because She's Island will always
be the best. But I'm glad I played it was the best actually,
she said the best. Bet Yes, it's terrible. Anyways, I'm glad
to see PlayStation for a little. I give them a lot of ship,
but I'm glad to see them at least like trying to be like, oh,
we should be good games for like brought her out, Yes, and
that's definitely what it went for. Reckons. Also, when you said that,
I was like, I think Dan's gonna think she said bad. I
checked on you and it looked over and you were upset. Yeah, you
were like this, should I tell people games that I played as a kid
to like upset them? Oh yeah, okay, you're a very young person.
You have the floor. Yeah, like Fallout three and New Vegas I
played when I was like eleven twelve. I'm fine with that, yes,
Sky when I was thirty. Oh yeah, yeah, we got to be
young together. That's good. It's great being on content with these old fuckers.
Yeah, that's fair. No, that's not. It's not fair though,
because because we're at the point where we're getting a new generation old age.
Yeah old. So I've had people who will remain nameless you know who
you are, who have been honest, Like you see that really old movie
The Matrix and I'm like, oh, okay, I mean it is twenty
five years old. I was gonna say, yeah, like nineteen ninety nine.
Oh, we don't believe that that movie did come out before I was
born. Yeah, yeah, that's deeply upsetting. Yeah, yeah, that
was a little upsetting. That was well, you guys went to the Poland
right, Yes, I didn't need your Poland, but well yeah, and
we were both in Poland for that eleven Bit Studios thing. Interesting event.
It was like, so eleven Bit flew us out to see the Altars and
Frostpunk too. I like have never fucking played a strategy city builder sort of
thing. Neither one of the demo people walked by and was like are you
still on the tutorial and I was like I don't know, and they were
like, I can help you get through it, and I was like no,
I'm going to figure it out. And then it spent the entire time
in the toy, so you could skip the two toil and just get onto
the city thing and like it's it puts you a little bit into the future
and you're a bit like you have like a city running. And the whole
demo was me basically being like, oh, this city is falling apart and
then like it's time. I was like good because my people were about start
eating each other. But yeah, that that game is fucking intense. It
seems like a lash. Yeah. The first one, I had a religious
police order that would go to people's houses and just make them work if I
needed them to work. Convenient. Yeah, exactly, it was very convenient.
Yeah, okay, how about the review? Last night we watched mcgruber.
Oh I don't, I mean, I don't fully know. Let me
let me set the stage. So, yeah, we we had we'd gone
out to hang out. Jake and I actually got a car back earlier,
so it was just the two of us. And then I ran into you
in the hallway. We were on the same floor, our rooms. You
will hold it. You were just stand in the hall way with an emmy,
and and I said where did you get that? And then you a
little intoxicateable, like you don't think I can win an Emmy. I was
like, that's not what I said. I'm just curious where you got it.
And then you went up to Dan. You're like, Dan, Tom
doesn't think I can win an Emmy. I was like, Jeff, I
think a very winning an emmy. Just curious where I go. I have
my doubts. But anyway, so the emmy was Mary is Mary Kish from
from twitch. She was there and I was invited to. We all jumped
in dance bed and watch Magrooba's right, And why did Mary bring the emmy
though? Like does she just bring that with her? Now? I understand,
Yeah, she's trying to big people. Yeah, that's what she's doing.
I'm sorry, I can't talk think in an office that might not be
in office for very long. And she wanted to like rescue it because it
twitches, but it's hers on fire escape anytime. Have you ever had a
you know, she's talked about it before you talked about her. I mean,
right, so a bunch bigger than I thought. I didn't hold it.
I honestly thought it was fake for most of the time until I realized
this is a real Emmy. But it's big. It's big, Okay.
So Magruba aged like milk and I don't know if it's not. But I'll
tell you what. There was one bit in it that had us all rolling
on the floor, and that was when he says to someone, you'll loco
man, and they translated to you. I think that was probably you know,
Dan talked about extream how the room is listening, and like sent him
alerts that like the decibel was too high, and I'm pretty sure that that
was one. Yeah, there was some really funny jokes on there. Vull
Kilma crushing it. Oh yeah, yeah, there's some good bits. But
I also think it is a movie that gets funnier the more times you watch
it. That's that's one of those. It's called starckhom syndrome. Yeah,
I don't know if I'm going to be doing that. What's the difference My
little time in La like Magooble kind of just seems like America. Yeah,
yeah, that's fair. Okay, for real, how do you find America?
So I've been here like twice before, or yeah, twice before Boston
and New York, and it's my first time in La, New York in
La Okay, yeah, tearless here in a second, but go ahead,
it's New York, Boston, Lay, let's be real. But it's been
weird being here for like a week and just being like, well, I'm
gonna try to like find out, like I don't drive, how do I
get to anything? So like gotten to the cinema because that's near me.
I've gone to Nintendo World because that was the day out, and then I
just fucking fucked around. I went to a little Tokyo that was cool.
A lot of this trip has made me be like, oh, I should
go to TGS. I should fucking go to TGS and go to Nintendo World
in Tokyo, go to GDC. I pty should It's It's better. I
was going to say. I was going to say another place, and then
I was like, actually, I'm not gonna bend that bitch. GDC is
fantastic though, and I'm not going to say that. I'm in San Francisco.
Sure, Joe, how how are things over? Indian Former doing very
well? Both John Carson, who is my news editor, and I are
here. Apparently today was just a day for indies. So I usually roll
up to the Summer Game Fest showcase, uh and just like kind of laugh
at everybody. So I'm like, you guys have to work, and I'm
gonna have like one India that shows up and it's gonna be fine. And
then the indies that I were expecting showed up, and then the indies are
definitely wasn't expecting to show it up, Like, oh, I need to
be working, So I'm like busily on my phone texting and the woman behind
me with her like young impressionable son was like, this is how you don't
want to act, son, Like you don't go to these things and then
be on your phone at the event. So you were in the event like
I was in the audience. Yes, I'm working, I'm yeah, Okay.
You wanted to turn around and be like, I'm sorry, I'm working.
I'm trying to bring indies to the masses. It's like, you know,
they're just commercials. Like what's the guy afraid his kid's gonna miss?
Like that's that's pretty wild. Uh, what were the highlights for you?
Though? I knew that never was gonna be there, So I know everyone
I think who was excited about never knew that never was going to be there.
So that was really fun to see gameplay for anybody who doesn't know.
That's the namadest studios they did. I say Greed, but I guess it's
cannon now to say Greece because it's it's Spanish and not French, but I
right, thank you. Wow, Okay, there were just so many that
I wasn't expecting. It was cuff Breaker. Cuffbuster was the one that was
always the little freaks like Child's guy. Yeah, that was a big fan
of that. Ready to run around and be a little freaking Yeah, me
too. Also good you weren't watching it, but UFO fifty looks sweetly fun.
Yeah, I'm excited. I'll check that trailer outd tonight. Yes it's
you know Derek used game. It's like a fifty and one, and yeah,
I'm very excited about that. The funny thing is I had seen the
day of the devs already, so I was set. I was ready to
go in my Kuberris And then the way things work out for these kinds of
shows, a lot of the time, you don't get to like actually sit
down and like digest a lot. So I'm in and out of Devolver,
I really know. I saw Anger Foot there. I'm like, good for
you, guys. I saw the the much rumored expansion for a Cult to
the Lamb, which I'm very excited about. And I can make my partner
play with me, I think overall, instead of just one particular game that
I'm really excited about, I am very excited that a large show like that
focused on indies, and in the very beginning was like, hey, indies
are big, Indies are happening I think, yeah, I do. I
get the sense that he's like, how do I present this show with the
best foot forward? How do I make this feel important? I'm like,
well, I'll just tell people it's important. So I just wanted to do
that. Then they're doing good games. I wanted to be optimistic, and
you were just like, let me just stomp all But okay, you know,
he is governed by what he needs to do, and so what at
the end of the day, we're STI getting great Indian. I honestly was
very you know, because I think the argument so much has been the showcases
are about you know, or at least meant to be presenting, like,
you know, the developers and the positivity of the industry, and yet they've
in the past glossed over the dark times that we've been going through. And
I was very impressed with how his initial kind of opening and then obviously the
showcase itself, but like it felt very within like not only speaking and addressing
that, but also within the confine as much as he can do in the
position that he's in, which is he has advertisers and sponsors and all of
this, Like I wish he could not that he necessarily would, but I
wish he could kind of rip the cord and just like lay into people,
but obviously he can't do that. Yeah, I think a lot of the
bigger devs went to Xbox this year. There's definitely bigger devs in Xbox.
Yeah, I was probably so many Capcom games were in the show though,
so there was a couple of right, two games. I think the other
one is is that Activision is now a part of Xbox. I think about
it in the past. I'm like, he usually has a call of duty
every year, and like that's that I feel like happens in the middle.
It's the kind of like ten pole inchpin in the middle that kind of keeps
the energy going. But he can't have that, and so Yeah, it
was an interesting show to watch. Yeah, but it was also the least
celebrity field, which was nice. It was the most like he didn't do
that with the words, right, But even for like this when it felt
a bit more like, no, we're going to get some people that,
like, you actually know, make the video games come up here, like
Victoria Tran was on that. Although it was like, I know, there's
still those weird moments where you're just like, ah, man, this really
is six minutes of a fucking chicken played by the guy from Community on screen
and I want to die. What would Which is an ad I've seen on
like Twitter, you know, like it's it was, it was a part.
It was a part of the apart It's only gonna get worse has come
for us all. Yeah, but yeah, the the and I thought that,
like Blumhouse coming out, I did not expect them to be like,
hey, we're not showing one big game based on a property that we It's
not Megan the game. It is a bunch of things. It's Sambalalo and
Cronenberg making something weird. And you know when we had that sentiment also from
a in a sloth without and it's like and just like, you know,
I think that so much of the shift going forward with you know, Triple
A and everything is that you're just gonna have we you have to find the
weird stuff because this well is kind of running dry with with what has been
happening in the industry, and so it seems like a lot of those companies
are doing the Blumhouse style thing of making a load of small bets for you
know, Blumhouse do ten million per movie or whatever, but a load of
these indie devs that made a big game are now using that funding that they
or all that money that they got to make a bunch more small bets.
This is also like this is the Blumhouse formula. This is a horror movie
made production where it's like, horror movies make stupid amount stupid amount of money
for how cheaply they're made, and it's like it's it's only like about time
that Blumhouse took the same model because let's face it, like they've made a
lot of movies. Yep. Games can definitely replicate that. And there's there's
there's this whole there's this whole fucking corner of of of horror game horror indie
games that are made in a very similar way in which horror films are made,
where it's just like it's low budget. It's like it's one guy,
one guy, one guy. This guy people get the fuck out of him,
and no, I think it's like really really smart for a Blumhouse to
be like, yo, this has been working for horror films for as long
as horror films have existing. Yeah, it's also just nice to see a
show with be like, hey, here's new people coming into the space,
or here's people taking their money with the adder sloth and be like, we're
gonna spread it around and invest in gaming again after we're hearing so many people
saying they're afraid to invest in gaming. In the moment that put the billboard
up, that's Dave Ashri. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the digital
one that mentioned all the teams that had closed recently. Yeah, that was
Dave. Something that I had an interesting discussion with yesterday about the like investing
in these small teams is also something you don't necessarily think about. It is
like you're not necessarily just investing in the game they are immediately making. You're
investing in that team for the third or fourth game. You are making sure
that when they do you know, maybe that first game isn't the hit.
That's okay, you put a little money in there. There's a bunch of
other games that you're see maybe they'll be the hit. But that team might
go on to make a hit eventually. And when they do, they're gonna
come to you because you're the person that showed them that that kindness and showed
allowed them to flourish. And so that's something I think also is like this
industry can be so short term and so immediately focused, and I just think
that that shift is going to have to happen of like the long game is
going to have to be played for a lot of these new developers. Yeah,
I mean we see Private Division not being able to make sense of it,
and uh, of course not because that's a big corporation trying to like,
Okay, how can we replicate what we do with you know, Grand
Theft Auto down on these smaller teams Sin It's like what are you? What
are you talking about? Man? That's just not going to happen. Ever,
and Bluemhouse is very much the opposite, Like they know how to work
with tiny budgets and no expectations and I think if they roll and they get
the big hit and then yeah, they can make that happen. But it's
not not something that a lot of these other corporations that are going to come
from the top down are going to be able to make work. Yeah,
Kurt, you were you guys did the pre show and the post show.
How are you feeling before and then as what's happening? How are you feeling,
and hey, I have such complicated feelings about posts about pre shows.
Yeah, because it's like you basically have to like go on like yeah,
yeah, sure around, Yes, you basically have to like go on some
sort of uh, it's always some sort of like assumption. It's it's always
a guest, and I find that so it can be so meandering to be
like what do you want to see? What do you think you're gonna see?
What do you think what it's like? And like sometimes like I'll either
like, oh, here's what's gonna happen, like you have the jewelso know
things that are going to be at the show. And it's like just saying
that though isn't fun either. So I so I always I never get very
excited about shows because I see them as they are, like I have to
see it and witness it and then feel it, and you know what when
I'm being shown, So the pre show is like, Okay, that's GM,
it's the new E three baby, let's go. And I really had
no expectations other than maybe you know, seeing Ellen wake DLC and of course
there was slither Head. But post show, I I I had three games.
I enjoyed that I was very excited to see I saw things, which
is better than yeo, because I was stayed to play for me. But
I ultimately I was happy to see that Jeff gave the show floor to somebody
else for once, he took a step back, had some women on there.
You know, he heard these criticism. Yeah, I mean it was
like very again. It's like even you can be like, oh, well,
he's just doing it. You can be simple about it in a way,
but it's also still like, well fuck it, he's he's showing games,
he's representing them. This year has also been like fucking off the chain
on into games. On a week of terrible news with Microsoft closing down studios,
we had like five incredible games that came out like within the span of
a few days, and then not even a span of a like May night,
Yes, a day of death for all I know, fantastic, great
death, a wonderful death. So I I mean, for what it's worth,
it's like it was I didn't walk out of this being like fucking exhausted
and just be like okay, here we go. That's another thing. So
it felt good also like it was all right brought up like seeing Brandon Cronenberg's
name on a game, Sam Barlow, dude, maybe tingling all over?
So what do you hope from that, like from that game? Or you
just like to show me what you're gonna show me? That is? That
is it? I don't give a ship. Just like I see two names,
I see something. I see artists that I respect and appreciate. The
work that they do is like together, married as one maybe as a body
horror creature smashing way more than one person. I don't know about this and
put it in my lap and I will consume it. Whether or not I'll
like it. We'll find out. Do any of you, like, did
you need any of you go to the show? That's right, you did
anyone else go? Like I was meant to go, but I was interviewing
someone you're interviewing tomorrow. Yeah there you go. Yeah, okay. So
other than that, the rude gentleman behind you like using you as as an
excuse to like parentis kids, Like do you enjoy going to the show?
Do you think it's a good use of your time? Because I'm like,
I'm like in between them, like, I don't really know if I ever
want to do that again. I mean, it's it's funny because in a
weird position to everybody else, I don't usually have things to cover, Like
I'm usually pretty like I don't often get to sit back and be the person
who's like, I don't know what's going to happen, and I'm so excited
to see what it is. So this is really one of those occasions where
I do get to do that and kind of gauge where everyone is. So
there are things that you sort of really feel like. The audience had a
very visceral reaction to Batman being out. I mean visceral is usually negative,
like a visceraate. Yes, because it started off absolutely thrilled everyone. The
crowd was going wild. The peak was hidden and everyone heard it only in
meta and metaquesty, and then they not only dipped but audible like like a
chance to return to the Arkham universe this year, And it's like, no,
we already we did that like earlier in the year. Just we've all
arased it. Yeah, I think that was so such an interesting choice to
just show another cug trailer for that game. Uh. And we had it
a couple of times this show, this showcase where it was like, hey,
we're gonna tease that we're going to be at games Com or we're gonna
be at TGS or whatever it may be. And so there was a lot
of that this year, and that was again I think from someone who produces
stuff. I was watching it and I was like, I think there was
meant to be some things that were meant to be here, and that just
not they're not ready. And hopefully that means, you know, because you
were bringing it up how long it takes to make these vertical slices sometimes,
like it eats into the development time of the game, and we're so trying
to push for a healthier industry. Hopefully it's just like, hey, like
we were going to show something and it didn't happen, and like we're gonna
have to get used to that kind of thing going forward. Yeah, all
right, forget about summer game fast, hop about the rest of the year.
Finally, Yeah, I don't know. Okay, Well, Kurt,
what do you want to talk about Breakfast? Yeah? Well, we like
that got that gots curved real quickly when we started to get to the Google
work. You're right, I don't I mean like, I mean, no,
you know, I want to hear what Jake was looking forward to this
year? Jake this year, Well, okay, I got a bunch of
Mike. One thing I did want to bring up because no one's talked about
it yet, but uh my boy, Tim Robinson showed up and that was
that. He just did his bit and it was still fantastic. He's Scasia
himself, so it makes sense like he would actually like this thing. Do
you think he's going to be in the game. Yeah, I hope so.
I mean at this point, like he's a skater himself, he's doing
all this work or paying him, why not put him in the game.
But I wish they would have just said it. If that was going to
be the case, they could. They could have these live action bits in
the game rather than like cut scenes or something that would be it would be
a Robinson is yelling if the story was just him like yelling at people person
and I think you should leave right exactly. That sounds fantastic. I mean
that skate game does look really really promising. But yeah, I don't know,
Yeah, I mean I don't know what you don't No, no,
no, I mean I'm excited for it. It just the game itself,
It was just it was it felt even more pre pre alpha to pre pre
alpha trailia I've already seen. I think they were trying to hone in on
exactly like how to express the fund because the idea is a bunch of people
in an area skating and then someone could be messed around building a track while
they're just like, you know, hanging in Robertson's yellow Robertson's yelling that's well,
yeah, it has me a little concern like seeing that, just because
at least for me, the original skate games felt like meditative. Yeah,
like you you play, you play for twenty minutes, you find a line
in the environment, you skate it, you find fun ways to skate it,
and like seeing a bunch of people skating around you and someone's like building
a track in front of you, I'm like, that's not what I want
it for. But still pre pre alpha looks super early, right. I
assume assume like you could probably play by yourself, and then I think they're
trying to replicate the feeling of people hanging out just doing weird stuff with skating.
I think it's also maybe even just like the marketing is like they all
building it right, like that, that's what they keep saying. So I
think I don't even know like how much that is an actual representation of what
the game experience is going going to necessarily be. And it it feels like
one of these ones that like, if they can take the time, they
should just keep taking as much time as they can get from EA just figure
it out from there. Yeah, I don't know, all right, then
let's do it, Kurt. What do you get for breakfast today? Like
in general, like what's your go to break I've been having eggs over medium
and a half avocado fairly consistently for several years. Really, yeah, yeah,
yeah, probably, I mean dating back probably six seven years. I
know. This is so fucking thrilling. The original fire enblow, All right,
come on, that's more. That's way more fascinating than that. No,
I honestly, I mean we can always talk about breakfast. I got
a great breakfast burrito this morning. It ruled where's you go? We got
it from? It was bad ass breakfast burritos. Okay, brilliant, We're
in LA. We're gonna make it happen. Yes, And I've already was
a worst burrito A bunch of sausage in it was. That was the place
called Worst Brito. It was one of the options. It is literally called
Badass Breakfast Burritos, but the brito itself was called the worst. Oh so
I thought, you like your first brido from like the best Badass plan and
then you went down the street. Well, look, I had tacos yesterday
and then I had a burrito at night and then I was like, I
really can't do tacos because my my my body was exploding, and uh,
you won't. Let's key used to it. Anyways, and then today while
we were doing the show and they're like, lunch is being catered and I
was like, let's go fucking tacos, and I don't know if I could
do that. So I just had a big old plato rice. Yeah,
it came buy and like, hey, what do you want for talking ibout?
Like, I don't know, just throw everything in there, and they
really did. They gave me the biggest taco I've ever seen. They were
mushrooms. Mushrooms, I said, I said the worst and there was mushrooms.
Is that a West Coast thing? No? No, you know it's
not. No. It tasted good, but yeah, I know complaints great
vegetarian substitution. Yeah you can. You can. You can see it up
pretty closely. To be on the meat I have like I have like,
uh, what do you call the Rubens Ruben sandwiches? But mushroom replacement.
That makes sense. That sounds tasty. It's very good. How about you,
Lexi, what's the breakfast order? I like, never eat breakfast.
I'm terrible. I wind up eating lunch and dinner. Though, if you
liked your worst burrito, you should come to Games Calm. Last summer,
I was like Games Calm. I got taken for dinner with some people and
four out of the nine people there were all like vegan and vegetarian. And
because it's Germany, the only place that we could get into was a meathouse.
Yeah. I'm going to Games Calm as a pescatarian and I'm still extremely
Yeah, and we I've had the place and they're like, so our specialty
out him on the menu today is the slaughter Place. Perfect? Awesome,
Right. I do like German food a lot. I would like to get
out of the game. This is another reason you should come to Games car.
It's terrible and you'd but it's great that sounds wonderful. Yeah, and
I'll tell you all the people who I technically like live like ten minutes away
from fantastic. Yeah. All right, So what's it for the rest of
the year, you guys looking forward to anything? Any big game standing out
to you? Is everyone just like waiting for Shadow the ar Tree? What's
up metaphoric school metaphors that you Yeah, you're excited about metaphor? Is it
like your persona fan, You're like Fantasy Persona that's all I need to hear?
Or is there something specific? I think it's because like SMT has never
really clicked for me. It's always been whether it's because it's too brutal or
because it's just a bit too heavy metal for me or whatever. But like
this seems like I'm curious to see what Atlas does with a traditional ORPG that's
kind of in a persona vein but also kind of not like that there's not
as much time management and social stim management, so I'm curious see what they
do with it. Cool, how about you? I'm looking forward to Stalker
two, which is like September fifth. I think have we seen that this
weekend? Was it like a Gorilla or anything? Like that I didn't.
Yeah, yeah, but no, I mean that game looks promising. Are
you a Stalker one fan? I've I've read the books, You've seen the
movie, of course, you know, so I like, I'm interested in
everything around that, sure, but like, yeah, I'm excited to see
how that pans out. Yeah, me too, about you, Tom,
I'm honestly most excited, I think for Ubersoft's two big RPG games. I
think Star Wars Outlaws has the opportunity to bring a kind of fun space RPG
and the way that like Stoffield, I think kind of missed the mark,
and so I'm really excited for that. And I think ac Shadows is going
to be a really great Assassin's Creed and everything that they've talked about with like
the weather system and a return to As much as I enjoyed Valhalla for its
vikingness, it was kind of ridiculous that stealth was even an option in that
game, and obviously this one has a lot more room for that. And
as someone who spent I was just running around hidden blaming people, and like
the original Assassin's Creed, I actually think we have an opportunity here for some
really great Uber soft games. So yeah, I'm actually I'm gonna be a
bit boring and picked two of the big I'm excited about games. Yeah,
there's there's like a visceral, like a knee jerk reaction that people have for
you be soft and I just don't feel that because I don't. I never
had that much of an affinity for them, so I never think about it.
I'm like, they put out games, I'll play them or I won't.
Whatever. How about you, Kurt Riven remake? Really okay? Are
you sickos that like knows all the lore? Uh? So, I'm not
a big lower person. I take it as is. Okay, I want
I just want to live it in those moments. But uh, I love
Missed so much. I've played and I've played many of the mists, but
I was Riven. I've never actually been able to so this will be my
first time playing it. You know, it's a sequel to miss I'm aware.
Yeah, yeah that that that that's the law. I know. And
I hope to get trapped in a book someday and sent to another world.
But I mean Laura and the ruined me for the next six months, so
we'll see how I mean I can't even like I can't. I can look
at a game and be interested, but then I'm like, you have to
play this game Lorelind Laser Eyes, and it's gonna just it's just ruined games
for me. So probably riven, so riven by you, Joe. Okay,
So I'm not convinced that time exists outside of the next hour because everything
I have to do, that's all I can focus on right now. The
only thing that I can really think of right now is that I need to
my shame to still finish nine Souls. Yeah, I haven't even touched that
yet, but I heard nothing but good thing. It's that the cat Metroid
Vanua. Yes, spread Candle, Okay it, Yeah, that's sure.
We could say. Like I said, I haven't played it, so I
don't know. It is so fantastic. It is very lovely. It is
a sort of securo in the way that it handles combat. Okay, I've
only gotten through the first Soul and I'm so upset because I want to finish
this game, but I just do not have time and I didn't get it
like in enough time before I had to come out through here. So I
need to finish nine souls and everybody out there should start playing it right now.
All right, I'm gonna go do that right now. We're gonna wrap
up this segment. Thank you all for hanging out with me. Go,
Thank you, fun, enjoy the rest of your summer game fest weekend.
We got a lot more happening here on Giant Bomb at Night. Several segments
yet to come. We'll be back in about fifteen minutes. I just I'm
just gonna play video games instead. We talked about them too much. I'll
just start playing them, all right. This is my sp I've been pulling
it out everywhere. I did put my own aftermarket Nintendo sticker on here and
get them on eBay for like a dollar. It's a good deal. All
right, Let's do another segment here for Giant Bomb at Night Live from Los
Angeles. It's been a good time so far. Got plenty more happening all
night. I'm Jeff Grubb, joined by Emma Fife. Hi, it's great
to be back. We're with you. Several hours later. Absolutely, we
did the talk over. Now we're gonna hang out. Yeah, I get
to me on this set now, which is nice, honestly, But yes,
I'm like I was looking forward to. I'm very happy to be here
and also want to shout out New Belgium, specifically the Voodo Arranger brand,
who are kind enough to provide us with a bunch of beer. Really,
I had no idea. That's awesome. Yeah, they gave us. They
gave us a whole bunch of beer for us to enjoy here during the time.
I'm just ask I could just ask for beer and they'll just give it
to me. I mean that's what I did. I did. I just
asked them. I was like, hey, could we have some beer?
And I had a meeting with them and They're like, oh, yeah,
of course often yeah, no, truly truly they there was no back and
forth about it. Basically, when I met with the rep, he was
like, no, we're totally sold on this. This is the exact kind
of stuff that we like. They just you know, they want to be
in nerd spaces and and here we are. They're welcome. Yeah, exactly,
we will. We will take it. So huge, huge thank you
to them. Wild van Helderan, Yeah, as me. I'm about I'm
the pr manager play Sech, recently most known for Palatro and Abiotic Factors.
We still got a couple of cool secrets this weekend, So don't ask me
any trick questions that I want my shit again, and that's what I do.
I can't. I gotta do my job. Man, got the leaker
master. Yeah, so excited to be here. Man. Awesome, cool.
Yeah, Tom Ollie, how's it going doing well? Yeah? Thanks
for having me. Yeah, thanks for coming on. Yeah. Yeah,
never never been on this couch, I know. Yeah, And I've talked
to you for so many years. I don't I don't know if we actually
ever met in person. If we have, I don't remember. I think
probably at a demo booth. Probably. So we do what we do,
pr for all sorts of all sorts of Yah. Yeah, we've been around
for a while. Awesome, Del Walker, how's it going. Hello?
Yeah, So I'm Del wilcome as as you said, I'm a principal characterized
a new studio, Cooled, wild Light. It's a lot of the X
titlefull team awesome and so yeah, we're gonna make cool stuff. If you
had a lot of a lot of folks from that Titan Fall team have gone
out and started some stuff up, that's got to be exciting. Yeah,
exactly. Most most of the Apex Cool team and Titfoo team. There's a
few of us that came over from that Noisy Dog and stuff. But yeah,
awesome, run a call for back back once again. I'm glad you
could make it back man. Thank you for for having me. Yeah,
absolutely, I'll start with you. I was, you know, there was
some stuff going down earlier this year. I saw you on TikTok handling it
very well. But I just want to say thank you, thank you for
saying very well, No you did. I was very impressed. It's when
someone else says right, no, I appreciate it. But now it's like,
okay, now we get to like just get back to the business of
I guess games or whatever. You know. We don't have to get in
all that stuff too much. I don't really care about it, excep that
we could put off the side. But it's not real, right, That's
the thing about it. I think that's why things like summer game fests and
like live events help, because everyone was happy and clapped for every game and
they were just enjoying, right at least the people actually paying to be that
right exactly, that's what the real They're not getting paid to uh to bash
it or say something outlandish with a check mark necessarily, man, yeah,
absolutely, So did you actually go to the show itself? I did?
I did? I Did you have a good time? Yeah? Yeah,
I'd say yes because it's hard for me to not have a good time in
a nice, air conditioned theater talking about video games, right, so yes?
Yeah? Cool? Yeah? What's the what's the plan? Do you
like go there in person and you talk about it, like, is it
all about like TikTok right now? Or you just make a podcast? What
are you doing? Uh? It's definitely TikTok up a storm until they've ban
it at the end of the year. Then I gotta a pivot. I'm
pivoting right now into YouTube. I'm kind of creating a show. I wanted
to be like G four. We shot our first episode G four Black Cooler
shout out to G four, But you know, like cooler and legit.
I'm just a gamer. It's all funded by me, you know what I'm
saying. No corporate anything, yeah, corporate everything. Belgium, Yeah yeah,
yeah, get yourself some sponsor. Everyone's going price. I have a
price. I have my sheet right there, disclose it in email. Formulater.
How is TikTok right now, Let's let's assume TikTok keeps going. How
would you like approach continuing that space? TikTok for me is fun. I
can talk about random stuff. I think my last random video was just like
I wanted people to play this game called v Rising. This is not an
ad, just because I wanted more people in my clan. So I was
able to like go to the internet and talk about that and get people to
join you ianing to play with later on. That's a w for me.
I like talk. Listen, I'm gonna I have to keep leaking stuff,
all right. You just have to deal with that, all right. I
mean, listen there, you can't tell me not to do it that you
want my job. It makes me want to do it more though. That's
the thing I said this, yeah a little bit. I mean listen,
what about that? How about if I just like the Coming Out Physical?
I was broke into his car. He doesn't even know. Yeah, I
guess Coming Physical. It's sooner, Order Starry Soon. It's a special edition.
It comes with packed bush and packed joker cards and playing cards. Because
it's been doing all right, and I'm doing Okay, I get like five
hundred messages a week about like can I get this on Physical? What's it
like making a physical game these days for something that probably when it was first
to realize that wasn't necessarily the like thinking processed, right, So you kind
of have to chase the success on a game like this because you put it
out there and it goes very well, like oh what are the options now?
Okay, Physical? And I get like another thousand about it, like
when it's come to mobile all this kind of stuff, So it chases,
right, Yeah, yeah, we were working on it, but it's like
local Tungkue guy has to do everything themselves, thinks a while, it has
to be done when it's done. So everything you see now is not us.
It just rip offs and fakes them. So Physical was a find a
good partner for it. And then it's coming out to and it's Super Bowl,
Like I love just what it looks like and I can't wait to go
to like game stop and just see it. And then like, oh,
yeah I worked on this game. The guys is it switching like everything switch
PlayStation, Xbox, yeah, everything, yeah, And like what I guess,
what is the process do you like, go to a company that is
that prints these things. I know there's several out there, like these boutique
houses. We found a good partner in this sorry first time on the show.
Yeah, and then you decide, like the design has to be worriing,
what how can make it special? Okay special? Addition, what do
we put in the car box? So we decided to go with a booster
back because you know there's booster backs in the game. That's what people want
to see. People are still waiting for the decks. I know it's coming,
we're working on it. Do you have to go to each platform like
be like, oh hey, Sonny, you're ready. Just take most take
care of most of that, Okay. It's just that you have to make
sure that every box has to be things. You have to do the PG
thing on it, Like there's the whole list of rules, and then our
art people just put it together. Local Thong looks like, hey, I
love this and that's what we're gonna do. So for us, there's a
lot of management, but like, always go with the partner because you know
you want to don't want to do several partners exactly right, That's all they
do. Is yeah, but it's very exciting, like it's such an exciting
game for play, Sack and sweet work on it is when you say booster
pack, you it's like going to be like a physical little back and then
there's like ten car scenario. That's why is it gonna be like random cards
or like no, it's it's pre to so we don't want the rang and
people creating the kind of stuff and like calling us like so it's going to
be like physical, but like in the game, like on the inside of
the box, there will be a boost pack that comes with it. You
can open and then can you amoebo it into your game? I have to
call yeah, yeah, yeahbo like let's do it, doctor me the marke
manager. That's what you guys like pick the cards, like which one are
going to be in the pack? Was that like a process caller base like
Okay, what's going to be good? We wanted to have like one of
the gold cards like polychrome because that's cool. I want to pack it out
and it's like a shiny and that's what you kind of want to have to
do and the banana is probably gonna be there. Yeah, So does that
mean like the way you present this is it like, oh, this is
a edition that's special, Yeah, special edition, yes, okay, so
people going to get this order online? Uh, and then you can't put
it on yourself. I think Ellen Wake had a slightly better announcement about this
today when they went physical. Maybe I should have put a bit on,
but I didn't have an expansion to Ann's busy, right. Yeah. Do
you think that is sort of where physical gaming is going to end up here
in a couple of years, because like Alan Wake and Bilotro going through the
same process, right, it's the same, probably the same, very similar,
right, And I think it's just it's a nice to have, right,
It's not a thing that you make a million off. It's just like
we kind of know how many people want to have it. Do a run
and if it sells out, not a run, but it's it's a it's
a whole new skill because we never done a physical release death fast like usually
it comes like a little later, but blatro like that, and then you
have to be quick. Yeah. I I suspect that given that there is
the physical edition of actually getting a booster pack with the game, I've got
a you're gonna you're gonna sell this. You're gone pretty well? All right?
Yeah, I seen all in on a gambling man's like to gamble.
What was that headache? Like, I mean, it was a surprise first
of all right, and it's because it just like it was already like you
would already admitted it. It was already out the games audio for a week,
and like we talked about it a lot. We had a whole fish
statement on it. But the surprise is like, what what what actually happened?
So I'll recap okay, So it was a rated three plus and then
they did a reassessment of the game and then went to eighteen plus after it
was out. After it was out, if it happens old plus from holders
automatic people to stop it because they have something horrible in your game and the
rating goes off, they have to take it off. But I found out
about it on Twitter in the morning. I was like, hey, I
can't buy a game. I was like, how did that happen? So
I go to my producer like what's going on? And we check no,
and then you started getting emails all of a sudden. But we are a
publisher, we have a lot of people, we have a lawyer, and
all that kind of stuff. We can deal with it, but local thought,
because wee dude who makes his first game. If you do not have
like someone who knows how to deal with it, it's the first week.
It's the most important week of your launch because all your momentum is there,
and that's a headache. Yeah, yeah, I can imagine. Yeah,
I guess last thing, A blotrait really has kind of broken through, right,
I mean your estimation, like people that I've had people in my life
come up and talk to me about it. I was talking to the guys
they were saying the same thing. How do you sort of measure that?
It was that like, yeah, it was very weird to see how fast
it got it because it's a hard game. Like I'm the pr manager for
this game. It was very hard to get people to pay attention to this,
like because I would send you a screenshot like, hey, here's a
screenshot of a Queen of Hearts on the poker, Like is that gonna like
make things turn? So that was in the beginning. It was a little
slowan uptake, but then the demo came out and like one hundred thousand people
download demo, so that goes into pitch and at the end it was like,
dude, here's a code played for five minutes and come back to me
two hours, because that's how long you're actually gonna play. Yep. And
that's when it started taking off. And then the reviews came in nine out
of ten, ten out of ten, and then we were like, this
is going to be a big deal, Like two hours, that's some restraint.
Actually, yeah, I think can't play the demo for like fifteen average
game time is thirty two hours. Yeah's and that's over like over a million
copies. Thirty hours has way more than he's thrown off the numbers. Yea
by himself. Yeah, my my fiance game is driving that average up alone
and yeah, my brother too. Yeah. Tom, How has the PR
game changed for you since you've been in it? Oh not at all?
Twenty years is the same and that's when nothing's changed. Call people up.
Yeah yeah, they just call people facts. Yeah ship, Yeah, you
just put it, put a piece of paper in. It's in and out.
They get a piece of paper up. That's how he trained us when
I I used to work with us. Yeah. Yeah, So the first
first day is the facts. The whole thing has effects. Yeah, No,
it's changed a lot. I mean because I started like like two thousand
and one or something like that, and like at that time, print still
existed. It still exists, but you know what I mean, Yeah,
it was pretty much the main communication tool and like we would just basically and
I don't know if this is bad, but we'd like send news out expecting
that everyone wrote about it every time. Like basically it was like if you
went through the work of telling someone about something, they're like, holy shit,
a game. I'll tell somebody about this, right, no matter how
good that game it was, right, it was great. Yeah, no
matter how good the game was, people are like, well, you're making
it, so it must be yeah, time or something like that. But
now we're you know, now it's whatever it is ten thousand plus games released
every year on Steam, so we're dealing with three hundred games a year or
a day or whatever whatever that math works out to. I don't like doing
that right now. And it's just trying to break through the noise and you
know, between content creators, TikTok, media, decline, adjustments, all
this kind of stuff, trying to navigate like what a little bit what our
role is I mean, typically it's kind of trying to connect people with the
right games and go, Okay, you as a journalist or you, you
know, as a content creator, here's stuff I think you like. But
you have one hundred people doing the same thing every day and trying to be
like, you know, get somebody actually care about something. And then you
know, also, I think a big part of it is trying to not
just tell people what to like, but like have something of value that you're
trying to show to someone they care. And it's just it's it's gotten a
lot noisier. And yeah, it's it's changed a tremendous amount. Yeah,
I know, I'm the one that's like not answering these emails. Yeah,
it's like it's too much. I don't know what to do here, and
we have to I mean, we have to look at it holistically too,
like be like, can I expect you to look at all these things and
play them all. It's like, here's a two hundred hour RPG, I
need it reviewed by next week and you've never heard of it. So it's
like, okay, great, yeah, let me let me drop everything I'm
doing. Yeah. So it's you know, it's it's a challenge and yeah,
it's like you're like, why do we do this? I don't know.
Now, yeah, it has it become more of like, Okay,
we were managing games and now we're sort of managing people's relationship to these to
these games, like trying to then okay, so well, I mean I
think a little bit, but like we, I would say, used to
feel much more relationship based, where like or there was like a window where
it went from okay, you'll cover everything to okay, now relationships matter.
And now we're in like this kind of like post relationship sort of economy where
press and content creators are like I'm waiting for something to become popular because in
order to justify spending the time to talk about it, but at the same
time, I need to talk about it to make it popular. And so
and we're dealing like our our platform terminals. We have like thirty thousand content
creators and media in that system. So how do you build relationships? Like
yeah, something becomes like ultra ultra viral, right, it's like everyone's kind
of waiting for one to lead and then they will jump on it and they're
like, oh, it's actually really beneficial for me. To talk about.
And then there's this one hell divers situation where the game's good, but also
we benefit from all talking about every day. Now, yeah, I will
say that that I do think that. Yeah, as you say, it's
we get so so so so many pr emails every single day. But at
the same time, there is a level of oh, if I do have
something coming from somebody who I haven't existed relationship with, then I will always
at least reply and say thank you so much for setting me this code.
I don't know if I'm gonna have time, but I always feel guilty.
I mean, I think there's value in that and like relationships do help,
but like we we also can't. I mean, we're an agency and we
have like thirty five employees. We work on one hundred games a year or
something like that. If the game's not great, I can't be like,
no, seriously, check it out. As soon as I say, take
a look at it, I promise it'll be good. And it sucks,
You're like, I'm never going to listen to you again. Right, So
it's a weird thing too with gamers and like being advertised games like I don't
know, Like before obviously we didn't know every game that was coming out,
right, We would sometimes have to walk into a game stop and just browse
and whatever looked cool was cool for sure, right. Or we would see
like the big commercials from the Call of Duty, the Driving game, you
know, the one other you know platform or maybe now it's like you said,
the reverse kind of because it's like we have to wait for the big
thing to hit, but the big thing won't hit unless we make it hit,
you know. So it's game is don't know what they're being advertised to.
So they think the only games coming out are like the five ones with
the biggest budgets, and they hate them when they they think that's it,
right, they get the sense that like these are all the same games.
It's like just the ones you're paying three hundred games came out today, I
promise it, you're not seeing nothing but live service shooter games. Well,
and I was going to say too that I like, I feel like again
since we were talking about Blatro, like this is uh, this is one
of those things where it just I'm just advertising right now. It was one
of those things where it just like it popped off and it was and it
started word of mouth you know literally like I remember my my brother telling me
like, oh, you got to check out the Loatro Rocks and then it's
like constantly on in our household, so and you know what it is.
It's like I was going to ask you guys, if you have any tricks
to sort of get our attentions, and it's like, I think the one
thing that always works on me is make it feel like it was our idea.
You want to feel ownership, which is why when we did this bit
when he like dance like, are you okay with that? I'm like,
yeah, I do feel it was a bit. I feel some ownership over
Bloto because we talked about it early on the BombCast and a lot of people
have told us we discovered it by listening to you, and it's like so
it's like I feel attached to it, And how do you how do you
manufacture that? That's not easy, right, that's like also impossible. I
think that was important for us to find a win win because nobody's there to
do you a favor, Like there are so many games you do, like
what do you get out of covering my game? Especially for streamers? And
if I just send this to anyone like any only streets shooting games. You're
not getting a win out of covering my game. But if I send it
like a Northern lion who gets like one hundreds of hours of content out of
game, that's why I win. That's that's my guy. That's what we
have talked. And the second thing I learned is like everyone is an influencer.
Everyone is an ince like you, even like Jason Schreier. He's a
big fan of Case of gond Idol, and he became an influencer because when
he talked about it, other journalists started paying attention, and then they started
covering a game because they heard someone who they know unofficially without like a business
about the game. Oh I should check this game out. And then like
I don't want to like, oh, you're an influencer for me now,
but it's like you still have influenced, so I have to make sure that
you've collected exactly. But I need to know what you like genuinely because you
will talk about that because you're still enthusiastic about the industry. And again sure,
yeah, it's like targeting the people that like that particular style of game,
as you say, if you can, right, Yeah, you can
try your best. We have a whole tagging system where like, okay,
I hope, let's let's hope for the best and see if this person likes
it. But again, like for you guys on the media side, there's
traffic to consider, and if you post videos or post articles about games that
nobody's heard of, unless that's your shtick, like people are just like,
you're not getting clicks, you're not getting views, you're not getting ad revenue,
and then it doesn't work. So it has to like it has to
be this kind of weird circle. And you know, I mean, Jeff
showed off all those kind of games that got big this year, and we
worked like Enshrouded and Our World and Bilatro and all this kind of stuff.
Those are games that I mean, we take the same approach with most titles.
It's like, hey, all right, let's go show you this game
and hope for the best. But then some of them pop off and some
don't, and you're just kind of like, why don't I don't know,
right, And it's not even easy to diagnose after the fact, let alone
be able to plan for it. And it's the same thing like going not
even just like sell game. Getting your friends to just play a game,
right, you almost have to still make it seem like it's their idea,
especially if the game costs money. Yeah. You know how many people I
introduced the Hill Divers too and they said absolutely not. Yeah, he said
absolutely not. Months later they're posting about ittok. No one remember you told
them the first time on my own yea his own streamer, do it again.
They'll ever remember the press. The freide of the text message still circles
back to exactly what you were saying, Grub. It's like you have to
sort of like make people you want to ownership. The idea we always talk
about on the podcast is like people tell themselves a story to get yeah over
that hump of why I'm spending this money? Yeah, And that's a real
challenge for like Xbox right now, Like, what's the story you're telling yourself
to like buy the console. It's and it happens for every single game,
every single purchase we make. It's a narrative we have to tell ourselves,
and so it really helps if you feel like it's special and it means something
it is. It's very true though, that there is a level of if
you are somebody that has a relationship with other people and you are talking about
a specific game, and you are somebody whose opinion they trust that like they
will play the game. I had so many people messaging me well this year
saying that they had started playing the Final Fantasy seven remake series at all,
like they because like Rebirth came out, they hadn't played remake and they're like
oh, They're like, oh my god, I think I love Final Fantasy.
And I'm like, yeah, I've been like telling you that for a
little while, so I guess you're welcome period. But the other really,
the other, you know, big one for me was Haites. Oh yeah
that I you know, I that was my depression game. So you know,
I was playing for like eight hours at a time and I was like,
well, I think I might I might shower, now, I might
check, I might need to talk to a doctor. What's going on with
me? But I truly had so many friends being like, oh my god,
I started playing that game because you were posting about it, and and
and again it's like that is the ecosystem. Yeah, we exist with it.
It's like what was saving about? Like everyone's in influencing people their friends
yea, like they got yeah secret exactly. You have to sprinkle in a
little I hate this game in there, but you got to sprinkle a little
bit of like dislike, can't you can't be all good games, chill is
someone you can't trust. Yeah, even if it's genuine. Yeah, I
got to throw in a little mobile ads for the people playing the games bad.
It's like, if you like this game so much, why you're so
bad? I should go play it and show you how to do it.
Yeah, just similar idea, dell. Okay, so working at a new
studio you have worked at several other studies before. What's it like kind of
starting something from scratch or just what's the process been? Like? I mean,
I'm not the one starting this, Okay, You're you're you're topping on
the train and already moving a lot of cool people who are already pushing the
train before. I guess there's there's a lot of huge differences that maybe people
outside might not consider. Like, for example, I was fortunate enough to
work on the main characters of Suicide Squad, and that comes with inheriting what
expectations are there that so like, regardless of how the game turned down,
there's already a preconception of what we deserve and going into a new place that
doesn't have any of that, like there's an an uneasiness that's removed immediately.
I mean, I've also worked on Jedi Survival, where the first one was
quite successful and they were like, oh, people want more of this.
But there is definitely something where we're like a studio will be like it's happened
anoid dog like people we're working on We're working on the Last of Us online,
and people immediately have an expectation of what it needs to be, and
going to a new place where that's not there is like so nice. It's
like new uneasiness though of like well now I don't have that the crutches to
rely on, or I got to make something that is appealing all on its
own. It's easy. Yeah, like oh yes, so there is a
lot of I've been industry industry almost fifteen years now, so I've been broken
enough time where like I'm not going to come in with the element of like
yeah, no, everything to be fine, But there is a level of
like, I guess, under the realism of the situation, you've whether this
storm before, right and seeing what's in front of you is a bit more
like, okay, cool, I know where I'm at. I know the
situation. I've been on this radio before. There are a lot of advantage
here. There are disadvantages too, but I think I can navigate these disadvantages
as well. But it's also a different world because you know, it's really
interesting hearing your side of the spectrum as well talking about like just getting heard,
which is because one of the aspects is like funding has now become this
massive discussion you're going to talk about, and like, you know how money
there it takes to even just get a game started. But then there's this
thing about like, oh, I'm not going to spend what seventy dollars on
this new game blah blah blah, where it's like nine nighty five. If
you wanted to play the new Super Nintendo game, it cost fifty five dollars.
Back then, I was gonna say, in fifty five dollars in like
nineteen ninety eight, money much. Yeah, I really think about that a
lot, actually, because it's only been recently the games have even been sold
for seventy dollars, and in my experience from my childhood in the nineties,
games cost fifty dollars. That's what they cost. But again, fifty dollars
in nineteen ninety two was very is very different. Yeah, fifty dollars in
twenty twenty. Yeah, Like, I'm sure the inflation is probably like one
hundred and ten hundred and fifteen dollars, like you if you inflate adjustment.
But it's not just the price too. It's Donkey Kong Country fantastic game took
eighteen months to make. Yep. There's no game that you're gonna sell country
numbers now in an eighteen month game without some real luck like Super Mario sixty
four also about eighteen months, which is crazy, and that was a huge
week from what they had done. They were figuring all this stuff out and
basically did it in about a year and a half. Right, So now
you're making you're taking a game, you're using, you're making the game in
six like double the amount of time. Let's say they doubling the bit.
Yeah, like amount of time to make the to make a game, you're
pricing it at half when you adjust for inflation, and you have to compete.
They're competing with sure, like so it's ten gamers who don't buy games.
I like, I couldn't imagine, Like I used to be like,
oh, I'm going to start a game studio. Someday, it's gonna be
fucking great. I couldn't imagine anything more terrifying than starting a game studio nowaday
it was just because of all of this, and like, I think it's
also a little bit like there's there's no big events because there's no like,
there's nothing special that happens. Everything's just like contest. Yeah, you're like,
hey, we're the big game today. If I wasn't on the internet
today, I never heard of your thing. Ye, yeah today. I
know, maybe I'll see it tomorrow, but probably not. You know.
So at the same time too, though, just you know, Delle talking
about how you know there's being involved in a new game studio and not being
beholden to IP and existing expectations. I do think that there is God,
I think there's a market for people that want new stuff. Yeah, I
mean, you know, like right now, I think like a lot of
the concern is there's been a lot of stagnation, Yeah, playing a handful
of games. Yeah, and there was a long time where the one constant
and gaming was everything always changes. Yeah, it'd be very different than next
year. What people want is very different. The one shooter's gonna the next
shooter, and then that's gonna get it replaced five to ten years later.
And now here we are and that doesn't feel like it's happening, but that
that just means like we're gonna be blind to it when it comes, right,
it is gonna change again. I mean there'll be some change, right,
Like change is constant, yeah the industry, right, so is pain
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think that the big thing too, like
you said, it's not just the money, but the games now are lasting
forever. That was literally right. I mean that that's one of the bigger
change too. Is like I remember talking to one of the guys from Netflix
early on. I'm like, are you guys gonna rent games? He's like,
an old game isn't like an old movie. It feels way older.
And that right now, like Witcher doesn't feel old, even Skyrim doesn't feel
that old myself forever. So it's like just basically competition from every angle for
every game, and I think people gamers feel a little bit spoiled by this,
and this makes it the standards get set that much higher, and it's
that much more difficult to overcome. There's a cannibalization happening to you. So
I'm thinking I'm now an outside of looking over at different publishers, I'm like,
oh, it's great, this a Conco's coming out. I'm like,
that's cool, I'm gonna check it out. I expect many hell Divers players
might move over and play that. So then there's a level I'm assuming of
PlayStation just accepting some level of cannibalization where your market is the whole place for
as long as possible, but then you put something else in front of them
right when you can see how that might benefit them, because it's like you're
still with an ecosystem. We're keeping you like entertained, so little leverage.
You will go back and forth and then we got I get it. But
it's like that's still like we're not really talking about real growth. We're talking
about making sure we're getting the same money from the same people, were getting
more and more people. Yeah, I was talking with some other people about
this, the like market in the audience hasn't grown like exponentially, so we're
just all fighting for the same but it's get in some aspects exactly, it's
getting like if you're under the age of I think today, say, if
you're under the age of fifty eighteen, you might may have never used a
control path. Yeah, the consoles are because you're like an iPad kid.
You can say sport nights and there's an entire spectrum of like kids that are
like, yeah, I play video games. You're like, no, you
only play that game on your tablet because everyone in your class plays that,
right, And it's like that's just normal to them, of course it is.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to visit my cousins in the
Netherlands that I can nine to fifteen, we play games, and all they
did was is YouTube shorts and brawl stars on their phone. Yeah, like,
oh here with all these amazing and have you heard of business. Yeah,
I mean we even amazing. We even see that, you know,
within the ecosystem of because you know, fandom owns the a lot of the
wikis that are not Wikipedia or dot fandom dot comdomin so it's like Wikipedia,
the Star Wars Wiki and and a lot of our biggest wikis are experiences within
roadblocks. And again it's because you do you have this whole generation who that
is what they have grown up playing All of all of my friends who are
like middle school teachers, right, all the students play Robot and it is
like fundamentally different because Roadblocks is this massive thing that can get absolutely and they
can they could keep you in that, yeah, because that he goes much
longer than a lot of other much longer, because there's a bunch of different
experiences within it. It's you know, there there is the just like hanging
on Roadblocks and going to the Lil nase X concert in Roadblocks, which is
a real thing. But then also it's you know, you have all of
these different games like Blocks. Fruits is our number one game a lot of
the time in the trending gaming wikis, and that's like a one piece inspired
game. Right, I feel so older. I know That's how I feel
too. What Like I kept coming up on the trending wikis and I was
like, what on earth is it's trying to do research on like a slight
slight positive note though, I think a lot of the younger kids, like
the kids, they really do still understand and have a solid respect for like
the older games, like you would be surprised how much how many of them
like no sonic right, you know, like sonic right. And it's also
because maybe I don't know unfortunately, but like memes honestly yet creators reference them
and that right again, whatever you could play on a chromebook, so like
if they have a random emulator or a knockoff game that made his way over
to chromebook website that think I access on a school Internet, it's popp it
y. The barriers of t entry zero, right, Yeah, Like if
if I was in high school and I didn't have a Nintendo sixty four,
I had to ask others what that game was like to make friends with that
kid to have, yeah, and then hopefully he might like lend me his
sixty four. I'd go over his house. Now I can just type it
in YouTube and watch the whole game from beginning to end and like catch up.
Like, so the back of entry is really low. You mentioned an
investment, and it feels like people got a little bit misled. I think
over that couple of period, a couple of year period where borrowing money was
very cheap, it was very very inexpensive, so everyone was able to get
a ton of fundy and out of nowhere, and I think people thought that
was normal, and now we've kind of returned like, okay, there's some
there's an higher interest rates, and now we're hearing it's a hit driven business
and we're looking for hits and it's very hard to find the hits. It's
like that's actually how it always was for a very long time while these investors
were gun shy. Do you think that there is an equilibrium between these two
states or is it like actually back towards the natural state of like it's hard
to get this investment money and it's going to remain hard for a very long
time. I'm gonna do something really British here and say, I don't know,
it's an acceptable yeah, like, because I think much of the issues
that have happened here is people will shure what's going to happen, right of
course, and ravidence. And I think there are a lot of people who
are perpetuating this problem because they don't know. They're not willing to there.
Don't get me wrong. There's investors with money, oh yes, and they're
just like, I don't really know, let's wait until this fixes itself and
then buy them waiting it's that's a big exactly race. And there's like I
wrote a tweet the other day and I was just like, hey, here's
all the twenty twenty four studios that have had layoffs and it was like one
hundred and twenty five with it just from January of this year. Then a
load of them closes and yeah, I don't know if they were all supposed
to have funding. I don't I don't know, I don't know. Yeah,
yeah, it's uh, I think, well, you know a place
that like what does it look like for you guys? So when it like
your publisher, but like what does it look like for you when you approach
a game or try to find the hits? So you said like the hit
driven media. I think it's right, Like I think finding next hit is
one of those little problems that every everyone try to solve. And for us,
like our Discovery team is just unbeatable, like they have picked up winner
after winner, every winner, and they're just very good at that and that
helps us see our titles like rise through the ranks and go through the algorithm
of Steam and that's how you see your success pay off. And it led
us and we're still pretty new ish, like our first PC console game was
four years ago, and now we have a game for everyone. Like,
if you're like the cozy games, we have something. If you want a
more gritty game, we have something. And that's just like I know if
it's luck, but I know these guys are very very good at what they
do and they found this when it had like fifty followers on Steam. And
it's like just being the first in line, and but then you still have
to prove that you're worth the cut, right, like why pick playstack?
Well, we've done this, we've done this, and we understand. We
work very close with the people. But like for other people, if you're
a studio one hit miss and you don't have that benefit of like oh we
have four more titles comment here. But it's it's it's rough. What are
some of those like promises you can are able to make developers? It's like
solving problems. Is it like we already have existed relationships with all the things
you need to have. Yeah, I guess, I guess because we have
a whole so we don't want to get to like Silzy on this. But
like we have marked and we have PR, we have Q and A,
we have the whole thing, and we can allow people to just make games,
like if you like to make game and if you're a solo the developer
or like a small studio, we can take care of all that and you
can just focus on what you really want to do. And then there's still
the publishers of like maybe this marketing thing is maybe a little better, but
it helps. I think you've brought up a perfect example of you know,
when Blatro got delisted on steaming a bunch of places, you have a legal
department to take care of. Yeah, you know, it's not on the
developer to then try and handle that all on their own. That's how maybe
how a whole bunch of people found out about it too, truly. Yeah,
well someone people like, oh that was good crisis management. They're like,
no sweating all day, we did it right. But like I know,
if it helped INDI end because a lot of people were talking about it's
sure, But it was still shitty situation because it took about a week and
you're a week off the market in some areas, like and you're a week
no sills, like that is scarya of ships, even as a publisher.
But you know, you manage and now we know how that works. We
are still discovering. We have to learn from our mistakes, you know what
I mean, Like I don't know other people no, but it's you know,
I'm a I'm a firm believer in learn by doing so. So I
when you're you're an artist, you design things. It then takes years for
people to see that stuff. Does that? Is that something that bothered you?
Because I'm someone who like, I do this, it's live, it
goes right out. I see the reaction, I get the dopamine. I'm
good. Is that something that gets to you or you were like able to
deal with that. You've been doing it for fifteen years. I'm actually you
found some way to deal with it. Yeah. Sure, So you're not
gonna get good at any craft if you don't get okay with the idea that
there's not an instantaneous grassification. Like whether you're like a woodworker or you're a
makeup ARGs you wants to become professional, it is gonna take a long time.
And so just getting good at the craft is a lot of like I
suck, but one day I might not. Yeah, And so that extends
yourself to I'm working on something that might take a long time for someone to
see. But it's also caveatd by there's a fifty percent chance no one's gonna
see this, right, we don't know if this game is gonna get canceled,
or this character I'm working on is gonna get changed or pivoted. They're
gonna change this individual to a different Endivie you'r there's so many things that so
the promise of it coming out is usually enough to keep me going. But
then you also shouldn't be in it in the industry if your whole goal is
someone please care about what I write exactly. Just that's the poinson. Yeah,
you should be at least somewhat making games because you like a game,
like or you like working on games or wherever you do, even YouTube,
like if you're a content creator, you'd kind of like some aspects of you
can tell, right, you can tell when they're like doing it because they
really like it, right, people know, people know, like, so,
yeah, the only the only downside is it's taken longer and longer and
longer. Right, It's it's yeah, Like, so I joined rock Stadia
in twenty seventeen and then the game didn't come out until twenty twenty four.
Yeah, so that was a very long ride time, Like okay, So
the question I think they would be like, do you feel sort of a
resentment towards people that caused it to take longer? Or you fully understand like
how that happens. Is it like something you feel any control of? Or
you have to wash your hands because you can't control how long a game is
going to take even when you're working on it. Yeah, that's not good
for your mental health. You're like, it's best to focus on the things
you have control over, and that goes for like every aspect of life.
Right the moment you start getting residentful about like oh, this isn't how I
wanted it to be, or this wasn't my vision, Like screwed that guy.
He wants to work with that guy. Like so no, for me,
there's no reasm. If anything, I'm just grateful that people got to
see the r I created. That's like screw when it came out, Like,
I'm just really happy that, like the pieces I worked on I'm pretty
proud of. Like there are tons of things I worked on on games that
are now canceled. I would have loved the last of us online to have
come out, but it didn't turn out that way, and so there's like
tons of work in there that I would have done that didn't come to fruition.
But that's okay, Like that's more cool games gonna come. That's you're
just gonna go on to make cool games that'll use those resources on something else.
So yeah, you can't think I don't think it makes sense to think
that way. That's yeah, that's a very strange way to live your life.
I think that's a very strange. And then you know, between you
and Renel, like, how do you guys feel about the way gamers are
acting online right now? Like this past are the gamers though? I think
maybe they're not sense that they the game is the game that they always say
that they want to be playing, just came out and they're never playing it.
They're still online, right, Yeah. I think it's it's cool knowing
that they are my minority, right it really it really got hit home recently
with me that how small they really are. Yeah, Like it's most gamers
really don't care. Even from platform to platform. There will be some like
on TikTok or maybe of course a lot on Twitter. I would I can
post the same video across all three platforms, they get completely different. Really,
give us an example, latest one, latest crazy one. Let's see,
let's seelet's see. Well I did a full video about like what was
the latest thing that happened. It was like Asthmin Gold like always has I
like, don't want to say the internets can I'm gonna say a lot of
words. So there was, of course a lot of the d I stuff,
a lot of the the new characters that are coming out. They're trying
to do the revisionist history of like the Allyway two, God of War,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I can post a video saying,
people, that's the latest thing, Assassin's creed. So I posted a
real character based on realist right. So I posted that video Twitter, TikTok,
Instagram saying because the video is doing pretty good, like with pre order
numbers. You know what I'm saying, it's doing pre solid. So I
really just posted a facts. I just posted like the facts of the situation.
A lot of people clearly don't care. On Twitter, anim made profiles
going crazy, going insanems, going insane, unmentionables. They're happening over there.
I like how it's going. Yeah, it's it's insane. They're posting
all types of stuff TikTok solid medium only because I think my actual followers are
like, they're kind of fighting back a little bit. I think these videos
get posted on some discord or give up. You can talk. The twenty
five people appear in the same minute probably soccer count, right, so that
on TikTok right now, it was like half of that and then half,
Like I just feel like it's because they have to be a little bit more
logical because again they have some pushback Twitter no pushback really right, They're they're
running them up. So on TikTok they're coming up with these ideas of like,
well, I just feel like it's a little weird that they are adding
this at this moment. Is still on that platform, you know what I'm
saying, So they kind of are in the middle. On Instagram evergreen,
right, maybe one or two, you know. Other than that, they're
just like, oh yeah, that makes sense. Man, it sounds on
Instagram recently. All right, we gotta wrap up this segment. I gotta
wrap upegments. I'm not cutting you off. Get signal all right, that
was a great subject. I had a good time talking with these folks.
We're gonna be back about ten to fifteen minutes with a new crop on the
couch right after this. Welcome back to the only summer game Fest show that's
brought to you exclusively by the Microsoft Holow Lens for VR. Now enjoy yourselves.
I'm Jeff Grubb Giant Bomb Night one, hanging out with some friends once
again. Got another excellent couch segment for you, including my friend Ash Parrish.
Ash, how's it going? Okay, just say it. It's going
great. Is it cold or not? I'm beating your ass for this.
It's really cold. I understand, like the air is like I did earlier,
maybe say I wanted to be colder than Dave Letterman's theater who had it
like famously like refrigerated in his office. So it's my fault. You're right.
I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm beating your ass for this.
I'm a sweaty man. I need this. I need this real bad.
This is ridiculous. It's very cold. You're right. I'm sorry. Hey,
you're not made for this, Like I'm a tropical people. Tropical people,
right, You're gonna Where did I offered you a blanket? You said
that would be weird, And I don't see no, like you have to
be cute. I can't you know a blanket? I know, well,
listen, blanket. I don't think anyone can think you're not cute. If
you're in the blanket, it's gonna be fine. All right, Alex Jordan,
how you doing? I'm very well? Thank you? How you doing?
I'm doing good? Voice actor? Right? Yes, yeah, voicides?
You've been like cyberpunk things like that. Yeah, I played mister Hands
in cyberpunk, right. Yeah. This first one is Asher Forester in Telltales
Game of Thrones in twenty fourteen, and been doing it ever since then.
On TLL you when you said mister Hans, every single one on the couch
just kind of perked up a little bit. I don't remember mister Hans.
Joey Ferris, how are you doing doing? Great? Man, it's great
to be here. I'm a little chilly too, but not that chilly.
Yeah, big boys, all right, we're right there of us. Peter
Spittek, how's it going, dude, I'm doing good. How are you
doing? Man? I'm doing okay. Everyone's asked you that, but I
just wanted to make sure I'm actually you got you have to hear it between
segments. A million people ask me that. They're like, okay, I'm
like, do I look bad? I must just be falling apart over here,
but you're doing great. Thank you. Appreciate that. And Di,
you go on a guiz show, right, thank you. Yes, I
have an Argentinian friend who wanted to make sure I got that right, so
I did a little practice beforehand. It was it was fun. Last year
we had someone on from who was from Poland and they they wouldn't tell me
who it was going to be up until the segment was going to start,
and I was like, oh, that's the one I'm going to be able
to say. And I did not say it appropriate at all. So I'm
glad I was able to practice. How are you all hanging in there?
Is like we're out in LA, We're seeing gay Alex. Maybe you're out
here based in LA or no, I'm jet lagged as hell. You come
out here for this as well? Yeah? I literally I came out for
this. I landed yesterday. I had a nightmare flight where I had a
baby. I was in the middle. You had the baby? Why,
No, I didn't. Yeah, so while I was on the flight,
I had the baby. I delivered the baby on the flight. No,
So I ended up in the middle of what I realized about an hour into
the flight was a family unit. They had five rows. I was in
the third row, in the middle, on the window aisle, the window
set faintly putally, Yes, it was them, and they all knew each
other, and there it was just me in the middle of it. And
they had a baby that kept passing around. And then at one point the
lady next to me reached her arms behind to stretch, and she put her
hand over and just poked the baby in the eye. So then we had
a crying baby for an hour. Yeah, I'm I'm so jet lagged right
now. I lay down before coming here to get some sleep and just stared
at the ceiling. Hey, that's rest, and you need to fall asleep
on this couch. That's where Hey, yes, there we got blankets exactly.
We'll whisper absolutely. Joey, how are you doing you come out?
You're getting your money's worth out of Summer Games Fest. I'm getting my money
is worth totally. I thought the show itself was fine, but just being
there's something different about watching that show and being in the audience. Like even
if the show was okay, it's it feels better just being in the audience
surrounded by everyone just cheering at all the Fatal Fury stuff that was showing.
Right when you're watching, are you sitting there like I mean you come up
like YouTube video ideas. That's your job, right, So are you like
thinking I'm gonna do this when I get back home or kind of it's I
did. I did like a Sonic X Shadow Generations video for game Explain,
like just a little one, but it was a pain because like none of
my equipment was working. So I was just like I told Andre, Okay,
here's the video. If it's bad, don't use it. I gotta
be on Grab's show right now. Perfect, Yes, absolutely, diego.
Do you fly in from Argentina or yeah? I also kind of like a
weird experience you do my flight because like my entire flight got delayed for an
entire day. Like I was just like about to lead to airport and all
of a sudden it was just like a your flight was moved for like nine
for four or something like that. To APM. I was like, that
doesn't happen, Like flights don't get earlier than there's supposed to be. I
know when I saw it was like, no, it's not Monday's Tuesday now.
So I had like everything back everything. It was just about to lee
and I was like, well, I'm just gonna, like, you know,
chill. He went on to the next day, which is a shame
because I lost like an entire day in New York. I was gonna like
just chill for a bit with a few friends before coming here today. So
yeah, is that like you kind of have like make a meal of it
when you when you fly that far, like you gotta like, oh,
I'm going to see friends and then I'll do this stuff for video games and
all this other stuff. Yeah. Yeah, because like I only fly like
once or twice per year, so it's like, Okay, this is not
gonna be here. I'm gonna try and make the most of it until like
time. But yeah, my my weekd at cs CFF has been like a
bit rockie at best. How How long is that flight? Eleven hours?
So I basically spent like in total because like from the airport, I just
like went to the area, and it took a shower, and I was
like I had plans, like a schedule already. So I spent like into
like over forty hours without sleep, and I was like karaoke last night.
I was just like I was a song, but basically I saw my songs
and then when the fuck, I did what I had to do, and
then I just went to sleep. What did you say? Uh A Spaceman
by the Killers? Uh, it's now by recorders. And then we saw
the Edge Rother song, you know, like I really want to Stay at
your house? Love that song. Yeah, thankfully the karaoke machine had like
you know, if they didn't have your song, you could just like look
it up on YouTube, like it was, yeah, you didn't have the
lyrics like we did freaking Friday, and it's like we didn't have the lyrics
for it. So it was just like, Okay, we're just gonna like
wait for a chorus to like sing that, and it's just like dance.
It's good. Whenevere understands. We're just waiting for the churuse YEA. Yeah,
it was already at that point in the night, like folks were a
kind of wrong. So he said, like folks aware that paying that much
attention, you know. So, yeah, Peter, how about you?
You out here for are you normally out in LA or what? I'm from
Illinois. It's my first summer game festa. If those feel like this is
for a lot of people, is their first one? Like it actually is
worth it? Yeah? Well yeah, say, yeah, it's great.
I'm having a great time just soaking it all in. Yeah, it's been
Did you go to the show itself? Yeah, yeah, it's fun,
you know, watching stuff like this is like, here's what I get to
make videos about for the rest of the year, you know what I mean?
Yeah, totally, But no, it's great just soaking it all in
me and everyone's great. Yeah. Is it like like at the event itself,
was it easy to like go up and say hi to people? Are
you kind of rushing in rushing out? Yeah? I mean I think most
people that I've met are pretty open to just say hey, I'm Peter,
I know you on Twitter or whatever, you know. Yeah, I mean
I met the ash as we were walking out, like, hey, I'm
a big fan. But yeah, so so, I mean, I think
most people are pretty approachable and it's not so bad. Yeah, excellent.
I think it's very interesting because I will never get used to this. Also
because it really happens. I was walking with my pals like in the parking
lot and then this guy in the cars like Boebe Are you a joying from
Game Explain? Just like that never happens. You know who I am?
It's so straight. Yeah, where are you from? Like in your sacremento,
So it's it's I'm in the state, but it's still like a six
hour d right, but like back home and Sacramento. That's like people aren't
recognizably ever happened. It's actually happened before I was on Game Explain because I
was on other stuff before Game Explained. So yeah, it's happened less.
It's weird. Yeah, how many people walk up to you and recognize you
in Ohio? Jeff, I think it's happened like twice, and one time
it was at like a video game bar sixteen bit bar. So is this
sixteen bit in in the Valley by Akron in that sixteen bit Oh No,
isn't like Cleveland? Yes? Yeah. So this is the Ohio portion of
the show where Jeff and I talk about the fact that we live in Northeast
Ohio. Yeah very much, Yeah, pretty much. So. Yeah,
I've been to that sixteen Bit bar. It's actually took it was a good
time. It's like one of the first places I went when I move here.
I've been back a couple of times a lot. I'm still surprised it's
still open. Yeah, me too. I'm always surprised why I see an
arcade. It's like the you know, you pay you don't pay to get
him, right, No, no, yeah, you'd pay for the drinks.
There are a lot of other board game bars or barcades or whatever where
you have to pay for like the actual games, but sixteen Bit is one
of those places where you do not have to pay for that all you just
pay for your ug. I mean that means the X machine machine. It's
gonna have like a terrible CRT monitor in it. That's broke into hell.
But you know, the last time I was there, like all the games
worked really well. The thing that obsessed me the most is that we have
a board game bar close to where I live in Akron, and they have
a Burger time Machine and it was me and my husband's it was like our
favorite game, Like we love Burger time, and then the cabinet doesn't work
anymore. So it's like devastating now when we go out because we don't have,
like we don't have a good way to play Burger time anymore. It's
like they must just have like a guy that comes and fixes it. And
if they don't, then they don't, right. I don't think they don't
care about it. They just don't care. I'm sorry. Yeah, I
don't know. And that concludes the Ohio portion. Love Akron. I like
it a lot more than here, which is to say it because you know
it's La, but I don't know. I don't think a lot of people
are gonna be like, well, LA is great. Everyone everyone understands what
what Nikki literally walks fast when I said that, Yeah, the worst first
thing to walk fast. I like LA. I do. I'm from the
Midwest, so like when it takes me twenty minutes to get anywhere I'm going,
like thirty miles, but going you know, twenty minutes in LA,
it's like maybe too much, Yeah, too much, and it's terrible.
I'm not used to that at all. I guess that is the key,
like to enjoy in LA's like makee make sure you're not going very far.
Yeah, pretty much the old stuff in the same area as it's a pain.
Yes, it's a pain for sure. I don't know how Summer game
has been going for you. It just started so going. I've never been
to the actual like uh keyoe yet. No, no, no, I've
been to Play Days, but I'm not like the actual like presentation itself.
That was interesting. That was interesting, We'll say that. But I'm more
looking forward to Play Days and getting my hands on like the Day of the
Dev games and things like that, because that was like the most exciting part
of like the keynote today is like seeing all the indie games from Day of
the devs and I'm really excited to actually play them when we get to Play
Days tomorrow. So you write for the Verge Dual Shockers, right, do
you go your freelance freelancer? Yeah, and and game explained, Okay,
so we got to and then and then you and then I just say other
people's work. That sounds nice. City are you kidding me? How are
you'all feeling about covering games right now? We'll see It's been a while since
I've done this, Like like the last e three I went to was twenty
eighteen, so it's been quite a few years. So I don't know what
to expect, to be honest, And you know, the venue is a
lot different than the LA conventions, but even just like generally like across like
just covering games as a job in general. Okay, it's fine. I
don't have many strokes because game explained. We're just restricted mainly to like Nintendo,
which is just kind of like it's about to pick up because it's like
its own ecosystem, right, ecosystem. Also, so we're Nintendo and Sonic
is basically what our audience likes, the two food groups. Yeah, yes,
exactly. So it's been a lot of like coming up with original ideas,
like not really covering news, but like I just came out of a
few features talking about how like realistic graphics are killing gaming or whatnot. It's
a little bit of a generalization, but basically stuff like that essentially coming up
with is it like is that what works on YouTube? Like making sure that
you have a strong like thesis and then kind of get people in and then
having a conversation about it. It's been working for us lately, especially because
the news on the Nintendo side of things is really slow, right, so
we kind of make some I've been making a little bit of retrospective features on
especially that Iwata interview that was recently uncovered like from twenty years ago. So
yeah, yeah, how about you diego for freelance? What's it been like
You've been doing it for a while, right, Yeah, it's been like
almost a decase. You started like writing on together over seven years, started
like doing it for like international sites. Basically it's been an experienced you know,
like this is like a Rockie year. I would say, really,
like you know, likely and this comes from someone that has the experience and
like the quote unquote contacts to be like Okay, I know who to reach
out to, even if like budgets are like getting thinner and stuff like that,
or like you know, people are getting laid off and it's like,
oh yeah, I have like this. I've been working with this ad for
like a couple of years now, and all of a sudden it's like,
yeah, I lost my job today. It's like okay, yeah, we
gotta like figure it out, like for you and for everybody else. Yeah,
losing people, losing like diverse voices is something that I've been I keep
seeing like over and over again. But yeah, I mean it's just I
think it's the kind of thing of like I'm in touch with like a lot
of like new writers, and I always say, like, hey, if
you have like something to share, like a story to the like, there
are places to do that, thankfully. Still ah, but I wouldn't recommend
anybody to like drop the other day show at this time, you know,
at this morning in time, and like pursue of freelancing full time if you're
only starting out and I only like trying to like reach out to people for
the first time, what kind of like pictures work for you? You are
you, You're you're pitching like like English like u of sites and things like
that, and you're like from a perspective of I am from a different different
country or do they just want like generalized writing from you. I think like
that was like a worry I had. I've had a couple of experiences of
like at ors being like no one shall we be named uh eights and we're
like, hey, like we're only interestedly like pictures from you there about urgent
teens, right, And I'm like, yeah, okay, that's fine,
Like I like trying to like like find these stuff like for example, the
Menosa level in Human three. That was like something that I was trying to
talk to io. Uh. And I did like this ESI for Pollion that
I really enjoy and I look back to like after all these years. But
at the same time, it's like I went to like tell big stories or
like tell different stories for like other cultures, like other places are like uh,
industry things just like sharing a stuff. I think that reporting something that's
been hardly tulan lately. So it's been like mostly like just like guides and
reviews and like open stuff like that. Yeah, I think I really enjoyed
doing like long form reporting for example, but it's something that I can only
do like a couple of times a year now, especially because like it takes
time, like it takes time time three or four months. Uh. Yeah,
it's like more elabrary than here that I review for example. Yep,
totally. How about you, Peter, I'm pretty green to like writing,
like to working in games in general. This is like my first year of
having like a not being a freelancer as a freelancer for a long time.
You know. It is interesting you mentioned about like would you recommend it like
like writing about games to other people, and like it is challenging, right,
because it's it's tricky, you know, with with the industry being how
it is, and like not only just like the games industry being how it
is, but like the games media media industry specifically. It's challenging. But
I think that like what I have worked really hard at is like convincing our
parent company, like, Okay, we are going to have voices and we're
gonna make these videos that have like points to them. I'm not saying that
like there's no value in top ten lists and stuff like that, because that's
what we were doing before, but like it basically starting in January, I
said, like, I think here's the plan. Let's let's have voices for
this YouTube channel and for like the video section of this site. And getting
them on board with that took a minute, and then figuring out how to
get people on YouTube to watch that also takes a minute. But like it
is interesting and it's stressful because having to say, like here's the plan is
always kind of tricky, especially when there's like people like riding on it,
you know what I mean. And it's sort of like depending on it,
but it's going well. We're working on figuring all that sort of stuff out
though, so it's not so bad. How about you ash Just basically to
everyone's point about it being tricky, I will say, if you're thinking about
getting into this business and you look at everything and it looks a bit dire,
it is. But I will say that if you have a good voice,
if you're very in tune with your voice, if you know, if
you're about what you're writing, if you're very good at what you do at
writing, it doesn't matter, like if you haven't pitched the big places or
anything like that, it doesn't matter if nobody is like paying for your stories
or anything like that. As long as you can get your words on the
paper in a voice that you are satisfied and happy with that makes you feel
good as a person, as a content creator or whatever, that's all that
matters, because at the end of the day, that's what people look for.
They want those unique, diverse voices that shine out beyond like, oh,
here's your top ten or whatever, And those things are important too.
You have to be able to write that. But if you can do that
with a specific voice that is unique versus you know, the kind of stuff
that you see out there that means more than anything. So don't worry about
it if it's hard right there out there, because I know, like our
baby writers are struggling right now. But as long as you have that clear,
distinct voice, you'll be okay. Right. It's also like, who
knows how you get this job anymore? It's different from when I get It's
all luck. Yeah, it's all luck. Yeah, it really is.
That's all there is to it. It is eighty percent you know, being
able to do yeah yeah, right place, right time, and like ten
percent actual talent yeah yeah, and a lot of people have that talent.
So I always feel bad. It's like everyone works hard, everyone does the
work and yeah, and then it breaks down to like where you are at
the right time, Alex, how do you feel like about working voice acting?
What's that space right now? It feels like everyone wants to get into
that does feel competitive? I mean it's unbelievably competitive. It really really is
unbelievably competitive. It's it's become even more so since the pandemic because so many
people bought microphones. Yeah before Micah, genuinely, yeah, so many people
bought microphones. It's incredible what a small circle is like really like as I've
got more and more heavily into you know, the circuit, as it were,
just the same faces everywhere, and it's really it's really hard to crack.
But also it's a super interesting time because you know, everything you guys
are saying right now as as an outsource a job that is usually outsource.
Historically, as a voice actor, you've been stood from the outside looking in,
going god, I wish I had some job security. But right now
as a voice actor, it's a weird feeling to go, god, I'm
glad I'm outsource because the industry that the traditionally safe jobs you know, are
going through such a tough time that actually it's mad. It's kind of been
flipped on its head, right. You already have the skill sket stat required
to like out the job, right, and it's and it's just it's just
this this feeling of what you was once upon a time, yeah, looking
from the outside and just kind of going, yeah, I wish I could
do this every day. Now I'm going I'm kind of in a strong position
with how up in the air everything is in the industry. To be kind
of going from one job to the next and to the next, and I'm
kind of just very grateful for that right now, because it's a rare thing
right now in the industry to have that feeling of almost security being a freelancer,
which is mad. That's normally the opposite, and there are plenty of
jobs out there waiting for voice talent. Yeah, I mean, right now,
London is going through a really strong time. There's so many great games
that have been made right London. I mean, there's so many great studios,
outsource studios where we're recording. But it is, I mean, the
writer's strike is I feel like there's maybe going to be a slight knock on.
It had a knock on effect with you know, TV and film and
everything, and maybe there'll be something further down the pipeline that's going to come
in for the voice. But honestly, right I'm very lucky. I'm very
lucky right now. Since December, I've been working on a few different games
and I've basically been eight nine hours a day in a booth since December every
day of the week. Does that feel like it's brilliant and it's amazing As
a freelancer it's like, this is like, oh my god, I might
never have a moment like this in my career again. Yeah, yeah,
genuinely, Yeah, it is. I've had this conversation with the directors on
some of the games I've been on this thing. This is unheard of.
But also at the same time, I'm having moments where I've been saying I
kind of need to take a break because my voice is just going right.
And for each of them individually, they're like, well, no, because
for us, you're here for these amount of hours and doesn't matter what you're
doing with those guys over there, we need you to do these hours.
It's been amazing and it's been wonderful and I'm extremely lucky and I'm extremely grateful.
But also at the same time, there's only so many words you can
say a day, a week, a month before words stop losing their meaning.
Yes, I believe it. You were you mentioned like in London?
Is that? Like? Is that how this works? Like there's like scenes
like and you have the connection to London, so when a game's being made
there, you have the advantage to maybe get that job. Yeah, I
mean it really depends. We've got some We've just got some fantastic outsource studios.
We've got Side Molinaire PRL only K, like some really great studios and
studios you know, approach them, and games developer studios approach them basically say
you know, we've got these these characters in these roles. We audition through
this outsource company and then they outsource. It's multiple stages of sort of you
know, outsourcing. And yeah, right, honestly, right now, it
feels like London is going through a boom, like real boom, Like there's
a hub and there's a group of like I, as a as a voice
actor, have always felt like I'm constantly on the periphery of everyone else's work
environment. I'm sort of orbiting and I'm kind of dropping into people's orbit and
then I exit and you kind of move from one to the other. Right
now, there's like a there's a boom where we have at Bafto every first
Friday of every month, we have a video game social and anyone who worked
in video games in London is welcome and you kind of rock up and there's
a real community that's coming together. And it feels so crazy to say this
at a time when video games are going through so much uncertainty, but I've
never felt like it's almost like it's been made stronger by it because everyone is
seeking community, right, and everyone's seeking each other's company and each other's conversation,
and it's brilliant. I'm loving that side of it, absolutely loving it.
Yeah, And is it like, do you think a lot more studios
from outside of that space are like, hey, they're doing good work in
London and they're like noticing Yeah, one hundred percent, Like yeah, I
really do think. I mean, it's one of Britain's main exports is actors,
right, It's TV and film. It's not just you know, it's
entertainment in general. I mean goes as far back as Shakespeare. It's one
of our things that we kind of pride ourselves in going, Yeah, this
is part of the lifeblood of the country is arts and entertainment. So yeah,
I honestly, I just think right now there's some really great work and
I know so many great actors who are really getting their time. I'm dear
friends with Ben Star. My god, that man shit for him. Yeah
you said it, I wanted to say, of course. Yeah. I
mean, if I can say it, Ben's Star, you piece of shit.
Absolutely, dear friends of Ben Star, and I'm just like, you
know, this is a guy who I'm so happy for. I'm proud of
this dude loves video games to his core yep. And it couldn't happen to
a better person, right, who just adores this medium and adores specifically the
video game that he's really been spearheading later with fin of Fantasy. Yeah,
there's a really great group of people working right now in London, Isn't that
what it seems like? Though? It's like video games is a small enough
industry, small enough business that if someone does come up and genuinely loves it
and is the star of a game, they can turn something that can turn
into something there is like a community waiting to embrace them. Yeah, one
hundred percent. And also, what I think is really really important that it's
happening right now is a lot of studios are starting to understand the value of
their actors. Yeah. Historically, a lot of the time you'd work on
a video game, and there've been video games where I'm working on it at
the time and I'm not allowed to still know what it is, right,
and you kind of kind of kept it a bit of an arm's reach.
There's a bit of a fear of what might the actors say, right and
now studios are starting to see with Boulder's Gate and I'm fantasying things like that.
They're going, there's a value to bringing your actors in bringing them in
Altars, which is this game I'm doing at the moment where I play every
basically every character in the game that's right now, which is this track because
they made it for me and I was like, I'm going to wear this
track suit every day. They made me this good luck and they they right
from the off, they were like, Okay, here's all the information you
could possibly need to know about the game. Here's everything. And I basically
said, can I talk about this? And they've gone, yes, please
do and they just get it and they really really understand the power of bringing
your actors in and the way that historically traditional media has utilized actors and video
games have kind of not necessarily done so much. So right now, as
I say, in London, there's a group of actors who are done fun
in front of Sea and done Boulders game, and they've been allowed to go
forward and really spread the word of the game and show their love of the
game. And I think it only benefits the studios, it benefits the actors,
It benefits the industry as a whole when people who love the thing they're
working on are allowed to talk about how much they love the thing they're working
on. Right that doesn't make me think though, for the rest of us
covering games, how do you feel companies feel about us right now? Like,
yeah, you just kind of Yeah, it feels like it's maybe as
closed off as it's ever been. Is that what you think, Yes,
they're gonna miss this when we're gone. Yeah, I know that's for sure.
It does feel like that too. You saw everything that happened with Neil
Druckman and his last of US interview, how that went down, and you
know that was all through a pr arm and you've got this like big you
know, kerfuffle about it, and like, I wonder what that looks like
if Neil Druckman isn't Neil Druckman, because you know, these are the people
who pay him, they sign his checks, and he's like, I didn't
really say that, So you know, you imagine like someone who isn't of
that like big you know stature. Can you know, go to their employer
and say like, ah, you're kind of messing up what I said there,
So you had this big marketing beat exactly me for that, I am
going to completely derail that because I have the power to do that. How
many times has that happened before with someone that wasn't able to make that exactly
Yeah, And it's like that can't happen when we're making do with these interviews
because we have to represent what these people are saying accurately. Right, Yeah,
it's difficult, you know. I wish that, you know, the
bigger studios were more open about giving access to people to like, you know,
tell the kind of stories that they want to tell. You always have
to contend with the fact that you know, we can't be told what it
is that you know, you want to say, but you just kind of
hope it kind of gets out there. But for the most part, I
would say the relationship is still good. There there are people who are still
reaching out and you know, want to get those stories out there and granting
us access to those kinds of like big opportunities and things like that. So
it's not all bad. But you know, just remember that we're here and
that we serve a purpose and you know we're not. We're not at odds
with you. Yeah, we all serve the same goal. Yeah we're not
like you know, we're also not necessarily all like hand in hand doing your
job for you as marketing. But it's like we're not standing in your way
either. It's not exact adversarial as it could be, and it's like sometimes
there is, but like you, that's to the benefit of everyone in the
long run. I believe it's definitely not as adversarial as people like to think
it is. It's definitely not. No, again, it's small industry.
It's very much I know all those people that used to do my job and
now they're doing that job. So I know you, yeah, exactly exactly.
How about you guys, You guys feel on an island away from these
companies, disassociated what you know, it's kind of interesting, like I don't
have much you compare it to, but I don't do much like hard hitting
journalism, right, yeah, I make stupid videos, sure you know what
I mean. So I reached out to like, I mean a video by
the Underwear and Balder's Gate three. So I reached out to Larry in and
I was like, I was like, I've got some questions. They said,
sure, send them over and I said, here they are, and
they said we will not be answering this question, which like I can kind
of understand, of course, but it is like I'm not saying I was
surprised because I understand, like, you know, it's they're not you know,
studio is always gonna be an open book for everything. But it was
like, I don't know what this if I got a response from you about
was going to really change in the public eye for you guys, you know
what I mean, especially because they have talked openly about similar topics with their
games and stuff like that. But yeah, so like it's it's interesting like
hearing like that people say, you know, studios are so closed off for
the more like hard hitting stuff because then for me, I'm like, and
they don't even talk to me about like they are just closed off in general.
I mean, I mean, Joe you covering Ininendo, do we ever
get anything out of them? Really? Like we wait for them to republish
an older Wata interview, right, yes, and then republishing it. It's
like it was it was Kikiso dot net I believe dot com. I forgot
that website. But yeah, very closed book those that company, like they
barely even contact us nowadays. Right, it's ridiculous. Yeah, So it's
like you kind of have to operate on your own, right, Like just
like we're covering Nintendo, we still got to do our job exactly. Nintendo's
not gonna be helping. So like how does that like frame how you approach
your coverage. Well, that's coming up with a lot of original content.
Like I was saying, you know, talking about that old a WATA interview
talking about Nintendo's like basically how Nintendo predicted that, Hey, the stuff the
struggles that PlayStation and Xbox are facing, they saw that coming like yeah,
twenty years video. Yeah, it's it's it's basically just like coming up with
your own ideas when you're basically not getting anything from the companies themselves. Right
about you diego? Do you feel like you have a connection with any of
these companies that you're able to like get anything from them. I think it's
hard for like stuff as you folks were saying, stuff like reporting for example,
like I'm friends with like a lot like long time reporters that have been
doing this like for long than I have, and it's like, yeah,
this kind of story of like I know, there's like a lot of publishers
now like companies that are doing like okay, we have like our own blog
with our own teams, like that's all fair, fair game. But it's
also like yeah, if it's like a lot of opportunities are going like in
like all insider the type thing, and it's like yeah, it's handled like
internally, like you know, it has like a specific vision, specific voice.
I feel like there's like opportunities are really lost in terms of like doing
like I want to say, actual reporting, because like you know, those
folks are sitting down doing interviews, doing the work. But there's the difference
between like oh, yeah, yeah, we're presenting this amazing game that's gonna
come out in like November or something like that, and you see that lead
and you're like, Okay, I know how this piece is gonna like go
and like what kind of information I may get from this? So and I
feel like those apport things like kind of like twitching in and basically like for
big companies as a freelancer and just like I'm doing, it's always being like
hey, if you have like a comment for this before publication, like you
know, I'm available for that. But it's mostly like if I want to
like get some information, it's just like sources that work there like and left
for all shops like years ago. Maybe you know, like NDA has happened
by that time. It's like you can probably have like a candy conversation or
you know, just like anonymous stuff. Like some of the reports that I
have done didn't really come together until like I had like one like super lucky
like anonymous interview. I was like, Okay, this is like what I
was missing for like this specific story. But yeah, it's hard. It's
also hard, like I don't have like the cashier maybe of like being in
the US and like maybe being like closer to like people, I like developers,
a like being closer to the events to like you know, people might
recognize me like after a few years or something like yeah, these can be
like a reliable journalist or something like that to like bring us stories. Okay,
so it's like from a distance. So it's just like dmming a lot
of people in Lincoln in like redeeming the linked In premium trial and like trying
to make the most of it before it ends or in a can. I
also say, like I feel like it does a lot of studios kind of
a disservice as well being a little closed off like that maybe Ash mentioned like
the Neil Drugman stuff. But we just did a documentary about the making of
disney Ilusion Island, which, like the like alat of the studios kind of
went through a lot to get that game out. They had a deal with
Disney and then they got canceled and then they had to scramble and whatever else.
And like hearing them sort of talk kind of candidly about what it's like
to actually run a studio and like when you're not a triple A studio,
Like I think like they teach people a lot of stuff, you know what
I mean about like what goes into getting games made. And I think that
a lot of people take that for granted a little bit because there's always new
games, you know, but like how much time went into a game to
come out, like in all of the problems that they had to solve within
like not even within like the studio itself, but like with publishers and IP
and whatever else. Like I think when studios are able to actually talk about
that stuff. It makes everyone a little bit more knowledgeable about what's actually going
on. You know. It also feels like these companies are putting themselves in
a situation where you know, a lot of people are playing a lot of
the same games over and over. Yeah, and so they're becoming more insulated
into these communities. And then these companies are and now we're going to have
new games, and we want to control the message ourselves, and we want
to speak to these people. And it's like, well, actually you've created
a situation where they're not listening because they're just in their community for their game.
And there is maybe an argument for like we might be able to break
into these these circles and have those conversations with them a little bit more effectively
than these companies can. And because they associate you with these one games,
maybe, but they're not They know you're trying to sell them something, and
so they don't They just don't listen. And there is something about the discoverability
I think of maybe having a conversation with us and letty us maybe tell those
stories. I think they are going to like miss that in a couple of
years. Does that sound plausible. It does. Yeah, yeah, it's
kind of it's kind of hard to say, because you know, there's always
an influencer you can pay to do that kind of sea where you But I
still think that the relationships that journalists have with you know, the big publishing
houses is still healthy enough that you know, we can continue to do our
job and service the kinds of communities that we service the way that we do.
Yeah, for sure. It's it's really interesting what you said about influences
then, because I think in an age right now where people can sort of
creates an identity online and creates a source of income through specifically being an influence
of a one game, and then people who consume video games and enjoy video
games and play video games see that continually, and they see these influencers who
are defined by their connection to one game that trickles down to their enjoyment of
games as well. And I think that's something that hasn't like, you know,
it's a new thing. It's a really new thing. You know.
There's a game that I'm in that's just come out called Wathering Waves, and
I'm seeing people who are going like I am a Wathering Waves creator and the
game has just come out, so they define themselves online by that. People
consume their content by them defining themselves by that. So therefore they define the
way that they consume content online by who they are following and how they define
and that does trickle down. And it's so interesting, actually, I'd never
really kind of thought about that and the impact that has when you have gaming
outlets and you know, they cover multiple different games, like many different articles
a day, made different videos a day, but the way the landscape is
kind of shifting and these kind of you know, content creators who have to
in order to make a living, solely define themselves by one game and one
niche Yes, that will trickle down to the way people consume video games.
Yes, well yeah, it feels like it has. Yeah, And it's
it's like when I think about that, I think, maybe, like the
job that I have at least is like maybe like stir the pot a little
bit, just like throwing a little bit of different expectations, Like people are
playing this one game. It's like, well, maybe what if you thought
about these other games just a little bit here and there, And it doesn't
have much of an effect, But it's like I'm not going to ever be
one to someone who can just play one game and cover one game over and
over again. That's just not what I got into this to do. And
so it's like, is there still a space for that? Clearly there is,
but it is interesting to think about how it feels like it's shifted over
to this other side of most people just wanting to play the one game that
they're comfortable with. Right, Yeah, it's the algorithm as much. You
have to satisfy the algorithm. And if the algorith you're starting to put stuff
out that is outside of what your your own personal algorithm understands about your content,
and you start to see those numbers drop, how do you respond to
that? You go go back to the thing that keeps the algorithm happy.
Yeah, all right, if people are wanting to become a voice actor,
what do you tell them when you get that question? So? Okay,
yeah, interesting, because this is a really really weird and hot time.
Is it be British? It's like the number, yeah is be British,
live in London. Don't worry your skill points. You can't. Yeah,
it's fine, you can. It's do you know what? It's a really
really weird time to answer that question because AI is breathing down our next right
now. And I think a lot of voice actors are starting to understand right
now that if you're going to continue to have a career in this industry,
you've got to You've got to be offering something that AI can't, Okay,
And I think the one thing right now that AI cannot provide that voice actors
can is a connection to a community and is a love of the game and
a love of the job. Ay. I is never gonna love the job,
right, Ay, I doesn't give a crap about the job right doesn't
have the ability to Now again, just to represent then we find a fantasy.
People love to see the connection he had to the video game. I
would say, genuinely care about it. I've done video games with people where
I was in a taxi one time and I was saying to them in the
car, can't say what the game is hasn't come out yet, I can't
talk about it. But I was saying, I love this mechanic and this
mechanic, and isn't it really interesting the way that this mechanic interacts with that
mechanic. I haven't seen that before any game. I was in this taxi
and the two other people sat there and they turn around and once I next
to me went, I don't play video games. And she led over to
the guy in the front and went do you play video games? And he
went, I don't play video games? And it was almost worn like a
badger pride. And I don't get that, because like, would you ever
go and watch a film? And Timothy Shallon May is like, I don't
watch films? Ye, do you know what I mean? Like, oh
no, man, just love genuine, a genuine love and a passion for
it, because right now we're entering the most cutthroat time for voice actors,
and if you don't actually care about it and love it and love the medium
in which you're working, it's not gonna happen. There's not gonna happen.
Yeah, something very like racid. But like that's something that these companies can
trade on, like a person that loves the game is something they can sell
to people exactly one hundred percent. And also loving video games has done me
so well in my career because the number of times I will be in a
studio with a developer, if you're on the line or in person and we
can use shorthand in conversation because I understand the mechanics. I understand gaming mechanics,
and I'm like, oh, okay, cool, I get it.
What you're trying to say is this is this? And they go, yes,
okay, wonderful, amazing. We don't have to sit here for ten
to fifteen minutes and kind of go over the find details and the mechanics to
someone who so, yeah, play video games, love video games. Adverts
and everything like that are disappear into AI already. The thing that AI can't
do as well as actors right now is first of all, performance and acting
in terms of emotion and being able to change on a dime and deliver something
different and also just genuine passion for what you're doing. Sounds good to me.
All right, that's gonna wrap up this segment. Thanks everybody for watching
so far. We've got a couple more left to go, so don't go
anywhere. We'll be right back right after this. The Quiet Ralph Video Games
are calling. Sorry, Jeff Bove Day one. We're in LA for Summer
Game Fest. We're having a good time. We got another couch for you,
filled with all stars. Can't wait to talk all these folks about maybe
video games. Who knows, We'll see, uh. Starting with Lucy James,
Hi, how you doing too well? Who are you? Chael?
Jeffrey Michael Grab that's right, you know Mike Manati whose name is Michael.
Never remember that my first my middle name is Michael. Every time we asked
he never met a friend? Does he say it he has to go blind?
Does he think it's Mitch? What does he think it's Minch? Yeah?
Probably I think so. Tomorrow I was saying, how you doing?
I'm doing great, Jeffrey Michael grob How are you doing, Jeffrey Michael Grove,
I'm doing more? Every time you saying all right, Ralph skill up?
How you doing? Jet lags? Yeah, when you get in.
I got in on the Wednesday, but it's still like a fifteen hours sure,
right, it's a long adapt adaptation period. Yeah, it always kicks
Moss a little bit, but usually by day three, I'm okay. But
this is just a little like you're like gonna maybe wake up tomorrow be all
right. I'll be I'll be settled in. But yeah, doing really well.
Jake Baldino, I love you. I love you too. Man Wow,
I didn't get that. Ralph, Who are you talking about? Who
did you say that to say his name? His full name? Jeffrey Michael
g Yeah, AG JMG, that's right. Yeah, it's actually that's why
I signed my checks. So I was just gonna say that, and I
just did exactly. You sound like an investment firm. Yeah, MG,
lawyers. We've been around since eighteen seventy five, and you should definitely invest
that's not good, probably not good to be around it. Well done questionable
things. Yeah, I just mostly Yes, that's what we've invested in.
And we got Louis Salabi. Yeah. How you doing? I love Jeffrey
Michael gr Will. Yeah, what's your middle name? Enrique? In Rique
Luis Riae living here in the city of Angels enjoyed every minute of them.
I'm glad to hear that. And Keith Mitchell, how about you? How
you doing? I'm doing good, jeff grow We got one of the couch
fantastic. I'm feeling very good about it. How's everyone doing? Everyone?
Like we know, Ralph, you're jet lagged, you know, you just
keep drinking, You'll be all right. That'll help you. Yes, absolutely,
Jake, how about you? How you doing? I only had French
fries to eat today multiple times. I didn't just need a couple. It
was like wait, wait, it was like a breakfast then a so you've
had multiple meals, but each time they were just French fries. You ordered
just French fries. Now you know when you're busy, Yeah, people just
hand you, just hand you things. At these events. You're like,
oh I found this, You're like, thank you. That's what you can
do. Will bring you French fries with that how it worked? No,
what do I look like? Don't imply? And people bring me French?
People bring in my own friends, real French where I brought mother? He
snapped his fingers and French friend were a my fries. Yeah, yeah,
no, I'm good, thanks for asking. We got pizza, like we
have food, pizza, Yeah, New York pizza. He did. Pizza
came. The first thing he said was where's it from? And then we
said it and he went, hell, yeah, where do you want it
to be from? From? Where do you think pizza? Little Caesars?
I don't know, just like the general New York area. My whole identity.
I'm more than just waiting. Were waving to waving goodbye. He's got
good opinions about red Dedward and too about lots of things. Yeah, many
things. Yeah, yeah he does. Enjoying your time yeah yeah, yeah,
finding people? Yeah you were you at the show today? Yeah?
And was it like good time hanging out there? Sure? Oh yeah microphone?
Ye there you go. Panes on the first half or enjoyed the first
half and pans on the second half. Yeah, I mean it's slowed down.
I mean it is what it is. Yeah. If I weren't his
shoes, I bet, I bet I would not be able to put together
a better show than he did, for sure. Shout out in the indie
games, Love the India game, love the shout out there. Happy to
see people get get the small light pretty much for real. But you,
Keith, is it good time out of here seeing the games? Actually?
This was amazing for me. Always there, I'm watching it and now seeing
the games in front of me, it is like, this was great.
I loved it. Dude. Do you feel like you're like you actually are
like a part of it now that you're here in personal like making it happen.
Yes, definitely a lot more than sitting at home with my friends.
So I missed that we sit around when we talk about the games discord,
all right, which game you like? Which game is terrible? How the
show go get into arguments things like that. It's always a lot of fun.
Yeah, so when you when you go home, it's gonna be like,
oh I saw these games. You're gonna bring that back to like your
your shows and stuff like that, or how's it gonna go. Well,
it's gonna be a lot of me fan blay and go wow, I will
still here. I was placed. And then it's gonna be always gonna hit
me and go all right, well we saw these games. When the hell
these games will come out? When please game? Yeah? For real?
Anything stand out to you guys? All Rangers come on in? Actually yes
kicked in. I was like, am I really remember? This is because
where all X Men ninety sevens right now? And also Shredders are revenge fast?
Yeah? Yeah, it's definitely channeling a lot of that. I'm so
yeah. It looks about equivalent beat them upstid go away for a while there,
and it was like there's no good reason. They just like we can't
try any harder than they say we are sold bad. People just started playing
like where's my oh he's not here anymore, right, Yeah, you're right
went online that kind of like definitely like disconnected people and that that's not just
fun offline or online, and it totally he is like offline off line is
so much better because you're playing for friend and you can hit them or not
the control or love that. Yeah, I thought that would good. Anything
else? Was it? Wondering the t shop one game? Right? Ye?
Lucy game from makers of the Stanley Parable. So there's gonna be some
it's gonna be weird something going on. That was the most horrifying moment of
my day when you walked in the room with that tea. Okay, have
you seen this? She almost drafted them a hard mate. So the thing
is is that I didn't even notice, right, Yeah, I'm just I've
been in America too long. I didn't even know it. And then and
then Ben pointed it out, and I was like it wasn't better as someone
else who's working at the event, you know, like have you seen this?
You know what? You know what? Ralph doesn't have the context,
so Jeff made a cup of tea or we don't need the context unless we
do Jeffrey Michael grabb I will get a picture of what look at a zoom
in so a cup of throat coat, which is a special thing of I'm
sorry. Yeah, you know how normally the stream ratings whatever you needs to
be and for mature. You know, when you make a cup of tea
and it's in America at least it's in a in a bag before you get
to the tea bag. So Jeff just puts a bag, right, just
put the bag in and didn't take it out. He seeped it. He
seeped it for twenty minutes. And I know, does this work on camera?
We got a camera that can see notification right now. I go in
and we're like, mate, what the hell is it is? And then
he he gets it out of the bag, zipped it well like ripped the
top of the back of looking out behavior and the tea bag bone dry.
It was so dry, it was freaking out. Is your throat coated?
My throat is a little coated? Now? Yeah, it helped, glad
I did it worked, yes, but that was yeah. I felt like
a real Dan Reker. Absolutely. But the thing is is because I showed
it like you and Dan were standing then I showed it to Dan, and
Dan just went didn't. Dan went wide. I like, I know something,
and he just went like, I don't see anything, and I went,
I didn't put the back of the war. Danny went, yeah,
we have a We have another American that we used to work with that came
to England. You can name him here. This is the other one who
it is kind And he wanted to he wanted to make a cup of tea.
And he thought, I'll take this electric ketl and boil some water.
And he did it by putting the electric kettle on the stove and then Jesus
firing up and very quickly realized that he almost thought of various kinds of fires.
I was like, you enjoyed tea. Yeah, I'm more of a
copy of person. So there's like a coffee shop every corner of the place
here, But I know how to make tea. I know it's not twenty
minutes long. He's gonna say, simple, the drain walked away. It
wasn't like my plan is to let it step for twenty minutes. I was
like, I walked away to do other stuff and forgot about him. Ah,
you did a you did a walk through of the set and everything.
You were busy. I did come back to check on it and then walk
away again. Oh buddy, Yeah, nobody's right. Yeah, I don't
feel proud like I'm definitely definitely shouldn't. There's lots of ship. Yeah,
definitely shouldn't. Yeah, Well, to bring back around Jeffrey real quick,
now, to bring it back around Jeffrey, Michael grub there it is.
Excuse me? Are we gonna talk about what jeff Hilly did on stage?
Came out and he introduced the new Sonic with a Shadow whatever. Shadow didn't
have a gun. Yeah, he didn't have a gun. Like the whole
trailer, No shocked every frame nowhere at all. His days are over with
guns day. He's got a TV show, so he had though it's like,
that's a Sonic, but he's got a gun. If we can't get
Megatron as a gun anymore and no way, yeah that's the thing. Yeah,
that's a good point. He is a gun. That doesn't that great?
It's a gun? What the like? Maga Sure? It's like the
whole idea of Transformers was like, these are toys we're going to sell the
kid. So that apeared right. Yeah, Shadow is a badass. You
should have a gun. Yeah, yeah, anymore, I feel like the
more you think about it, the more Megatrone being a gun doesn't work because
he like just transforms on his like and it just lands on the floor to
use him if he has to fire himself. He's just randomly sucks to have
to fire yourself. Like he's got some people, he's got the dominergy,
but he has to like submit to star screens screen. He's like, fuck
you starscre my Transformers. Knowledge begins and ends at the Universal Ride. So
this conversation rip you get it? Ye? Ride makes me so sick.
I was laughing all the time. I did the first time in Singapore,
and I had a good time there, and then I did it here and
it did make me sick. You're right, well, it made me a
little queasy. Yeah. It's nothing close to the Simpsons ride though, Simpsons.
Right. I came back out and I was like, I want to
die never ride. Yeah, driving Homer Simpsons basically like room moving rooms.
Then yeah, you're like a car flying through Springfield, crashing through molds.
Run. Am I remembering this right? Where all the characters look like they're
from the Simpsons Hit and Run? Yes, kay awesome. Yeah. Yeah,
the problem is the frame rate on it is weird, so you feel
it immediate? Yeah, I think they're getting really optimized. Yeah. Hey
my ride is pro. It needs d L S S yeah, or f
SR or episode even something CSS one yeah, no one us all right?
So Keith, what else stuck out to you other than Power Rangers. I'm
a big gunder fan. I'm a big mech fan, so mech break.
Oh yeah, it was like fun. Apparently it's supposed to be like sixty
mechs on the field at once and be able to customize your mex as well.
So I'm sold. Yeah is that a totally new thing and that's not
connected to anything? No, look cool, it's amazing. I can't wait
to play it. I'm sorry, can I do? Can you guys do
me a favor? And like there's an argument between me and Mike about the
Killer Bean game man. Someone tweeted me that the Killer Bean had a movie
sixteen years ago to old YouTube. Yeah, I had no idea, Orange,
I had no idea. I had no idea. I had no idea
Killer Bean was a mean thing. Yeah, either, Finally someone made a
killer It's the the angry ords problematic that I don't know what exactly, Okay,
I think it's just annoying, just annoying. I don't know that that
has the same energy as like Charlie bit my finger has the game coming out,
Where's a Chocolate Ramp game? Where's Ta when you need him? He
just turned like he had a big miles six years old, and I was
like, whoa still breathing away from the microphone. Do you remember when he
briefly released a sequel to Chocolate Rain called Vanilla Snow and it was catastrophic?
He like deleted it the way Drake deleted his like the half part six.
Recently, it was sponsored by doctor Pepper. That's right. Oh my yeah,
was popping off the second largest like soda bar in the US. Right
now, How does that happen? Man? Because it's better it's Americans.
This tastes like medicine to me. Yeah, Americans, American American sea And
they go, oh, it's doctor free healthcare, right, makes sense,
gonna fix me? All right? Okay, So if you like to Killer
Bean, raise your hand, looks fun. Yeah, this is correct ship,
Come on, man, Well, my question is how does the game
handle all that slow motion breakdowance, shooting, driving, open world, large
emergent bosses combats like a new parody, right, like, this is the
man level, this is the how did bad Food simulate a handle that?
Huh? Well, okay, I want to believe? Yeah, wonderful.
Yeah he's on board. I'll tell you what was cool. I mean that
can game the climbing you believe where you climbing, you climb the mountain,
weell French right, survival climbing game and apparently just you just scream somebod who
lives in like in a com and building with relatively thin walls. Some days
you just wanted totally. I've like walked up some very steep hills in San
Francisco and got like halfway up from just being like ah, and then got
to the top and been like, ah, so I understand it, but
it looks nice. Did you see Jake? She does push ups at some
point in the middle of it to raise your stamina. Finally, someone I
was like, can I do that? Yeah? I'm happy someone may finally
made a game that will let me pretend like I like right climbing, yeah,
actually doing it right exact. Everyone in the city was I like,
the idea of it from a very great distance. Yeah. I love doing
it with controller and not mind exactly. And the video game makes that possible,
like using VR has instead. Oh god, I don't have to use
my hands for a VR headset. The what was the Bank or the prison
Escape multiplayer? Like little freak game? Someone told me the name of something
I love a little fella. Yeah, yeah, that one. That's good.
It looks like it looks absurd, and I'm like, all about it.
Do you guys think that looks good? I think it looks like it's
aim that my son and I can play together. Yeah right, I'm in
the mood for that sort of thing right now, where it's like it feels
like you could just instantly have fun with something. Big part of it is
like I got little kids and they're playing games right now. So anything that's
like got that low barrier of like sandbocks fun and you're just doing wild stuff,
it's like hitting the spot for me. Then you know your kids like,
yeah, you've played dumb games? Yeah oh yeah, yeah yeah,
the kids love it. Yeah. I like the Jeff Include stuff like that
in the show. Ye yeah for real of me, Like it's good you
know, because obviously there's always commentary about what's in the show, what's out
whatever else obviously in that commentary right now about how much you have to pay
to be in that show, whatever. But he also made clear that like
there's a bunch of stuff that just gets in there for free, indie stuff
that he just wants to help profile. But I like that, you know
what I mean. I was, I was a fan. There was obviously
a few you could tell that they didn't pay to be there because they don't
have the budget to pay that, and so he just put them in.
And I like that a lot. I think it's good. Right. You
get the sense it's sort of a one for me, one for you sort
of situation where it's like the ones that are paying enable the other ones to
be in there. That's like an a magazine like where every page has an
ad on the bad Yeah yeah, yeah, sorry, no, go ahead,
I'm gonna say, like you can definitely tell like, ho, Kai
Star Rail update, Okay, there's another one coming cool, that's an AD.
That's an AD, sure, right, But then you see these little
pokey indie games and you're like, all right, you clearly have no money
and you're making a cool game and now you're being shown to like millions of
people. So I always find it difficult to be cynical about these shows when
that stuff happens, because I think that stuff matters a lot. Yeah,
I think like a good example of that is the Outer Slough stuff, Like
he's getting some trailers out of there, but also is raising profile for this
initiative that will help other you know, developers, and like, whether you
like the show or not, or regardless of your opinions on Jeff himself,
like that is an objectively good thing to do, and like he could have
sold that slot or whatever to a bigger game, but chose he saw the
validity and the potential of that initiative and gave it a platform. I deserve
so respect for that. Shout out to Victoria Tran also for coming out just
calling Hello gamers. Yeah, it was very bad. We love a Hello
game or a moment. Yes, absolutely. It seems like the ones that
are paying are like the ones that can afford it, like minutes of vals.
Yes, what was that? What was what? Like? You know,
one hundred dollars to anyone who can name the chicken chicken, the chicken
game. What game was that? Does anyone squad something about game? Pretty
much? Pretty much? Yeah, like the Chris Hemsworth, Yes, right,
and that's Chicken Games. We don't remember the game, but we remember
the commercial. Yeah, I do remember the commercial fading away by the minute
right now? Yeah, you know what it is like that the whole the
thing is like you see it so many times. So then when they actually
do put the mobile ad in front of you on your phone, you're like,
oh, now I recognized it and maybe at the button. But I
would love to see the metric on translation to like downloads or from like,
because I have never seen an advert for anything in my life that's been a
celebrity and gone. I want that, even billboards like the Rock shampoo.
Do Wayne the Rock Johnson as a shampoo. I didn't even know he had
a shampoo, have a shampoo? That's the whole thing is like, brother,
like, hell yeah, it's ridiculous. You know that Nicole Nicole Kidman
brain training advert where she does the brain training, she goes, she gets
her brain age and she goes fifty two. That for me, I was
like sold the moment the cinema. It was a preemptively the AMC right big,
like the big screens us all of us right now to the movies.
Yeah, we come to this place place. Yeah, I think, I
think. I read like basically the only celebrity that actually works it was Tom
Brady for a couple of years and everyone else just like, I bet,
what what about Sha Man, He's out of every crypto was able to sell
crypto. I bet Tony Hulk worked in the Tony Holk prok the rolls.
Tony Hawk sold me so many pizza pizza bagels back in the day. Yeah,
it works, like you bring out Michael Madson for Crime Boss Rocket who's
watching it on going Hell yeah ironically? So I was like, oh,
I'm really interested in this game. Now turns out the game is it sucks.
It's very good. It's getting a bunch of recently, I got a
person we're fixing it. Yeah yeah, of course, yeah, I mean,
but part of that's like the people making the game just want to work
with celebrities, right, like, yeah, it sounds like a Vanny thing,
all right, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna say it. It was
the one of the highlights of the show for me. But why the hell
was Tim Robinson and skaping because he was very like he's really good. I
don't feel like that translated very well to skate. Do you guys think it'll
be in the game. I'm like, he has he is not. That
is such a missed opportunity At this point, I'm not worried about it.
I hopefully just do it as like these f m V like live action sequences,
and then he's a selectable skater that would be like a red aligned Yeah.
You know what. My favorite thing about that trailer was there was a
bunch of people when it cut the gameplay like on skates, and then there's
one guy just rolling yet and I was like, I want to be that.
He looked like he was getting brain damage every second. Like, go
back and watch it. There's one guy who's just like straight up rolling around.
Apparently in the skate it's like you can get off the skateboard and run
around, yeah, parkour and then just like roll And I'm like, I
kind of want to be that asshole sating. Yeah, just rolling into skaters
like learning, that's gonna be me. I'm gonna grief the ship out of
every skater. Yeah. Finally I will say the Blumhouse Initiative is really excited,
it seems because I thought they were just coming out with one and then
it was like fun multiples. Ye, there was something for different tastes of
different kinds of horror fans. I love that they're on here. Tomorrow we'll
be talking. He's coming in tomorrow. Cool is Louise Like I worked with
her Future Publishing for many, many years and she's always been a die hard
horror fan and has loved it, like always talking about die hard horror like
horror stuff, and she is the horror person like indie horror, mainstream horror.
So now she's got to this point where she's heading it up. I'm
like, so cool, that's yeah. Yeah. Did you guys like like
the Blue mout stuff that you saw was like, yeah, I thought those
horror games look really nice and special. Yeah. I think I think they
we fleshed it out and saying like there's different subcultures of horror, so it's
not just like here's a scary game you can play. There's like here's a
nostalgic horror game. Here's like a slash or here's the first shooter. And
to anybody that is I would say that has like a generic vision of what
horror is. This is more exciting. And then you see all these people
that find success in indie games to kind of promote other indie games in that
way. It's very exciting, right, Yeah, I started value with Murder.
It's actually a really good idea. Actually thought you thought that looked good.
I thought it was amazing. I love the fact that they're giving other
developers a chance to showcase their own different type of of horror and that don't
really need right now, other people showcasing what their strengths are and also catering
to different people's tastes instead of hey, there's just one generic horror game.
Fantastic, enjoy it. That is That is my read on this show.
Overall, it's like Keey didn't wait until like this year was a dud to
respond to where the industry's at. He's like very proactive about recognizing that he
can't rely on the biggest companies to provide the biggest games to fill out this
whole list of lineup, So who do we turned to a bunch of smaller
creators and on that, On that side of things, I think he really
succeeded. I think you like even have said the right things out front.
So he even said like wishless them, which is so such metrics for indies
especially. I'm I thought this show was, but I think what happened with
that though, is also something that signifies a shift that everybody who's in the
industry sees that indie games are great and they're up and coming. Yes,
And usually you see people are like I even like Capcom, I ain't like
Konami. I'm just saying Konami for I only like the big name people.
And it's like I won't give this no brand company a chance that I've never
heard of before. And it's like I've played so many different indie games.
I'm like, Wow, this kick the hell out of the trip away.
There's games going on. It's a lot of great stuff happening now. Is
the flip side of the one of the I guess like one of the detrimental
parts of being game development and publishment now where games take so long to make
this so expensive that it turns out like the fact that they're in development so
long it means that they eat up less oxygen around the year or the time.
So now these smaller games yeah, exactly. So it feels like,
you know, we're always talking about what happened to the Double A, like
this is the Double A. India has become the Double A, and like
there's it's much easier to create, like distinct distinguish yourself from other games as
well. Now, so it feels like a it feels like we got here
in an unfortunate way, but we're able to find the chair break break the
chair broke. So yeah, it's like we got here in the unfortunate way,
but backwards it seems like we made the best of a weird, bad
situation. On it, it feels like Achille was like actually hitching his wag
into Indian smaller games, and that's like I think as well, Like I
think was it was really like quite shrewd because yeah, his commentary at the
top was not like companies you should feel bad for sacking people, because companies
don't feel bad about anything, right, But what his pitch was basically like,
see all these small games, they make lots of money, So executives,
if you want to make money too, then you should make small games,
you know what I mean? Totally, So I thought that was very
clever to position it that way rather than just do like a moral pitch.
It was very much like, here are the dollars and cents why you should
actually invest in this side of the business. And I think it was good
solution focused. Yeah, it spoke their language. It spoke their language,
you know what I mean. And the fact that it's Blumbhouse too with their
stuff where it's like you hear about all these other companies right now playing it's
safe and they're just looking for IP it's already been a success. At least
Blumhouse is putting their money where their mouth is, using their model look to
invest in a bunch of cool different things and hopefully one of those games is
really awesome. Yeah, do we think that this pitch is going to win
anyone over after a private division is closing down? Like the whole idea of
like what we're talking about right now, is that right that this has to
be a smaller label. They could publish smaller games from a big company,
and they just couldn't figure it out, even though it's like pretty obvious what
went wrong. You just were expecting bigger things from games that are smaller.
Why would you do that? It might almost be better than Blumhouse is an
outsider. Yeah, Bluehouse is completely the antithesis of that, right, Yeah.
They come in with a specific mindset of trying to do things that uphold
their own kind of like image and ethos and the things they look for in
movies that are clearly they're applying it to games now, and that is for
now, outside of the trend kind of cycle where it's like we need the
games as a service, we need X, Y and Z. They're just
coming in and being like, we just want to create some horror things because
it reinforces what we're about, and it you know, looking forward to looking
ahead. It could be like, oh, Blumhouse makes these weird indie horror
games. Let me look at some of their movies and vice versa. So
it's a smart play on their part. Yeah, so I think it a
work. You guys travel out here. How does that like affect like coverage
not you're not like making videos or like what it's it like? I mean,
for me, it's it's not that exciting. But for me, the
big thing that we do on Game Ranks is the Friday News Show, and
the Friday New Show always always live well before what is now this because It
used to be on Thursday, right, the Jeff presentation sometimes yes, yeah,
yeah, So now it's on Friday, and it's Friday prime time,
so it needs to be a dedicated video the next day. So that's it's
all right, it's cool, but it's really it's more time to stop and
digest and break away one of the most compelling things to talk about instead of
just doing here's everything, right, we can and the audience shows up for
that anyhow, right, yeah, usually, But it's nice now that it's
like, oh the dust is cleared, what really stands out? You know?
I want to say congratulations to Jake and the Game Ranks team, shout
out to any of them if they're watching, like the team. I'm just
a cog in it, but really good A gear of war. Yeah,
no, it's it's crazy. That used to be like an old YouTube metric
that like we would all like as a YouTuber, be like yeah yeah yeah.
Now it's more about dollars and cents and and perview and all these analytics.
But yeah, a subscriber milestone is still something anyone should celebrate, whether
it's a hundred, which I freaked down about when I first got one,
hundred subscribers to now eight million, which is just scary. That's awesome.
But yeah, how about you Ralpherson traveling just to get the way of like
the schedule anything like that in a way, But like I also have lucky
because I have a team now, So I have like three people that work
with me. Shout out. Yeah. So Stewart is like working on the
video right now, Austin is going to be working on the weekends, and
Edmund is also getting up at like three am to do run sheets for because
the time difference. He has to watch the show live or whatever. Right,
so it's like a full operation. I'm very lucky to have their help,
and we try and put out as much as we can while also keeping
it thoughtful, like we just don't want to spam out garbage or whatever.
Yeah, it's a challenge, but I but this is like a big period.
And then there's a lot of nothing for a while, you know,
like obviously we've got urg tree and I gotta do final shape when I get
home, and then there's like a nice spell we can kind of chill,
so we're all thank goodness you're here. Apologize for the Yeah. Yeah,
yeah, so I make it out now. Yeah, that's exciting, isn't
it. Just say how much Sam like killed it out there, just like
rocks up. Oh yeah, just dances like announce his physical drop STLC that
day here go. It was good pacing, like for real. Yeah,
like he just's story telling right exactly. He did didn't waste time. Yeah,
it wasn't like just like get up there and doing his dance for too
long, just a little taste, so got in and got out. I
loved it. Yeah, it's a very good job. Yeah, I am
like in my head, I keep thinking, I'm like, all right,
soon as I get home, it'll be the June and twenty first, and
I'll be playing Shadow the Air Tree and it's now I'm reading my eld and
Ring playthrough PC save ready, Right, that's the bit of It's like we've
been doing that multiplayer stuff, so we'll just do another couple of rounds for
that and like kind of keep getting used to it. And yeah, that's
a good time. But it's I don't know. For me, it's Astrobot.
That's the thing I'm looking forward to. Dude. If people clowned on
you for that before being excited about that, because I got so much flak
for daring to be like excited. Imagine clowning on someone for so I'm like,
too, like much of an asshole about it. You're like the number
one astro inf Yeah, he's like toxic Pozzy you have joy and you were
like, but it's not a bit. It's genuinely awesome. And so when
I've heard that people have been getting ship that, I'm like, really,
and then I'm like looking around, like, oh, yeah, that is
happening. People suck. I'm glad that game. I wish it was seventy
dollars. You heard it here first grub won seventy dollars sevot. Yes,
I don't know. I'm very looking forward to that, but I guess yeah
that it is a lot of nothing for the rest of the year other than
a couple of things Space Brad too looks cool? Yep that can we talk
about Civilization seven? I mean I almost stood up. I was so excited.
Yeah, And it kind of been rumblings about it for a little bit
beforehand. Well, there was that rumor. It's like two days Gonn announced
a big franchise coming back. Everyone's excited about. And I looked at a
couple of like other coverage and no one mentioned Sims and then it was excellent
and I'm like, oh, it's sim definitely, So I was also excited
about that. Happy. I can't wait. What do you guys think of
the Lego Alloy Horizon Flower. That's how I feel about it. I'm I
still don't know how that got made. I'm so fascinated because there's not like
a lot of a fiction for the Horizon franchise, do you know what I
mean? Like it's well aware what you mean. Yeah, it's it's like
it's a it's a game that sol that we we ruined the bit. Okay,
it's over here, right, Have I already missed something? All right?
So we during the reveal, we kind of knew it was going to
happen. So Dan found a leaf blower, which we have since, like
I did, get taken away away incredible, and so he got announced,
he got it out and like blew it in my face and close. I
was losing my mind and they were like throwing napkins and stuff and we were
good. I was like, for the rest of the year, we're going
to be selling that. This is our most anticipated game, and Brothers in
our minds, but you don't actually care that. That's a bit right,
right, And then the astrobot is real, but the Horizon lego thing is
a bit correct. People are excited about it, fine, but I don't
get it. Has anyone seen any excitement for that reveal? People always say
to me, like, and it sold this many copies. Yeah, that's
right, it's so Fox. But I believe I've always likened Horizon to Avatar.
Yeah, right, because it is exactly the energy and it leaves the
same lack of footprint. And I actually like Horizon, by the way.
I like it's the same way I love Avatar Avatar. But you hang,
we're making a lego Avatar game. Would be like, I don't care.
I don't want to play that. Do you know what I mean? You're
my Avatar brother, right, brother? Gotcha? Yeah? We were signing
for presentation is some game fens last year. I have seen anyone more locked
in the person who was giving it. And when we all remember, of
course, how Jake soon led the Rebellyon and Lucy are like snickering, and
we looked to Jake and he's like, right, and the game is good.
Yes, it's a solid seven, Like I don't want to yuck anyone's
young at all, like like what you like, but that is when how
does it happen? Yes, The thing is like when they made the Lego
Horizon Tall Neck a Brethren of Mine, like the actual Lego set, I
was like, Okay, yeah, I can see that. Though there's nothing
wrong with that. It's like it's a toy for for sure. But like
like if you made yeah, like if you made a Lego God of War,
you'd like burn the house down. Everyone was sicked like so much with
that. It is so funny because there's so much you can do with that
because it's such a serious game. And then you contrast that with the Lego
ridiculousness. Like that's the thing is is like if you were going to write
if you were going to make a Lego set off any other sony property,
like all of the Rings, they've got Barrator, they've got riven Down,
they've got the Friends set, they've got like key locations from various TV shows,
movies, games, whatever, like Minecraft. What would you put from
any property horizons more like bionical honestly, Like I know exactly what you mean,
which is crazy unless I'm missing something and people can correct me on this.
The hot Dog shows a lot because the hot Dog that is I think
they play well. I'm not a huge fan of it. It is easily
one of the most humorless franchises in existence. The fact that the humor in
that trailer didn't come from something that came from Horizons instead of Hot Dog a
good point. Everything about that is a very good diagnosis the problem. I
say, it's interesting. It's almost like a reverse for the first time because
I saw this and I was like, oh, this looks a little cooler
than Horizon because it's almost like, you know, with Lego games. I
don't know about you guys, but like I feel like Lego games are usually
made on like legendary things. Yeah, Star Wars Jones position of having so
iconic with something so silly. Yeah, it almost feels like it's chasing an
astroball, which would be super cool if they didn't just announce astroball before,
right, right. It feels like they're trying to build on this the family
the Friendly Library. They do need that, everyone agrees, but for sure
does this fit into that? I don't know, what does they go Horizon
Adventures make sense to you guys. No, no, I love it.
I love it. Yeah, honestly do we have theories on how it happens.
People say criminals is too arge? Isn't just the No. The thing
is is that gamers are getting older. The people with money to spend are
getting older. It's like our generation, Like, how else are you going
to get younger gamers in? Will you make a game make the parents bring
Yeah, hey this is and this is made of lego, is something the
kids have. I'm going to put it on Switch, which is the consoles
that a lot of younger games on the fire real quick. So we got
a PlayStation game come out on PC same day. We're not going to do
this here we go? Yeah, like it coming to switch? Is the
thing? That Switch is the big thing? No, No, like,
honestly, like thing is that I want to believe and I love the fact
that a lot of games come from a place of joy and just wanted to
make something creative. And there is something very cynical about this and that that
other than Astrobot, what first party PlayStation property is directly for younger gamers like
it used to be, It used to be sack Boy anything. It hasn't
been. I feel like we're giving it like way too much, like for
and it's it's very very simple, Like Horizon makes money, Lego makes money.
I think an executive when correct, how do we pay them together?
Horizon is a game where you break dinosaur pieces off dinosaur characters. Lego is
a thing where and that's the thing. Let's not forget it. It's already
done. Gap in releases for the regular first party franchises that we would expect,
they are sorely lacking this year, right, and honestly, like Travelers
Tales is probably like one of those work Rier Studio. This is gobbo.
Yes, all the kids are talking about say it again. Yeah, to
be honest, in all likely to will sell crazy amounts, so I don't
sell and no one will know who's buying it, because that's the Horizon story.
It sells. No one knows who's buying. It's packaged in with consoles,
and it does big numbers because it sells in large part because like,
oh it's so pretty, you know, I think that's a whole and you
don't get that with this. And I don't think my parents will buy this
for their kids, because I think even parents will realize it doesn't have much
pulling power. And I don't think adult like kid like adults are gonna buy
themselves. I don't know. Maybe they make their money off the toys.
That's that's that's the play, you know what I mean. For the sake
of not becoming too cynical a couch. I'm sure everyone will reflect this,
but like, I'm still interested. I want to see what they're gonna do
with it. I hope it works out. I hope it works out.
Horizon is not a franchise I'm particularly interested in, but that's not me saying
no one else should be. I hope it works out and they hit the
demographic that they're going for and it's a massive success because that means more games
get. Good luck to you. The Lego formula is so good. If
I can be a Aloy and hold the button and she builds something, I'm
in fine. The Lego games are always like, there are you know,
dozens of characters to switch between. What are you gonna do? Switch between
Aloy and that guy? Hot Dog was nine movies. One game that was
crazy, That game that was actually fantastic, incredible, The best selling games
of that year for the reason deservedly, so absolutely she's not gonna match that.
I do think there's something weird about the success of the Lego games being
leveraged by a company that isn't involved in making that success, Like Travelers Tales
is not involved in this, and like they are the reason why Lego games
are a big deal, and now they're just like nowhere near it and it's
like another studio, Like I mentioned it earlier, but like a lot of
the Teachers team are now at ten ten making Funko, and I kind of
I kind of hate that they've gone from Lego to funk that's a bit of
a downgrade. Yeah, that game. Also, it kind of looks cool
though, that's true. It looks kind of fun, as much as I
hate those fucking things. So Comicon last year, Tim and I there's a
pop Pop Yourself where you can make games. The thing is is that there's
a limited number of presets in the thing. They had my exact every day
outfit, like my black skirt, my denim jacket, and I was like,
damn, I need to change. I do like funk. Yeah,
I'm in good style, A bottle of wine and a hello. Yeah,
okay, so that's what's your guy's favorite rat night activity. Lucy's the inventor
of the rat night. I will judge. Look from Jake, what do
you explaining to a rat night? Rat night? I feel like this.
I know she's talking. I have talked about it. Things you do.
Yeah, so whatever you are sitting like a shrimp is when you're at your
desk and you're just you know, like rat night is. It's typically a
Friday or a Saturday night. You have no plans. You are wearing your
worst, sweatpants, no makeup, greasy hair, you don't shower. You
get a bottle of wine and a frozen pizza Newman Zone if you can get
it my local target, stop selling it. Riot You play video games,
you watch the trashiest of trash TV. And that, my friends, is
a rat night. You don't talk to anyone, you don't answer your phone,
you don't go on Twitter. You just sink into a hole. And
that is your rat night. It's good. Sounds like I call it Goblin
night because Goblin Yeah, that's mine is the boys I get it starts at
about six six pm. That's when I start unwinding. I'll get food,
chicken wings, from a place called Halo Wings plus in Shadow and Francisco,
a big very few Hallo options there. And then I, predictably, I
will load up a bunch of doxels and videos I'll say on my couch and
I'll watch that while eating chicken wings. Again, i will not talk to
anyone, and then eventually, if I'm done early, I'll play a game,
usually Bloodborn. We do to start ripping episode, but I want to
hear everyone's answer, So give me like American psycho face peel, all right,
his mine is just watching the Sopranos again. Yeah, it's the good
TV show to be fair like either one, just like whack on a random
episode. You that's the difference between you and me, because my right night
TV is like Milf Manner some fake an equivalent. Oh boy. So for
me, it's well the fit is and one basketball shorts hell yeah, and
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood promo shirt with like holes in it. Yeah yeah. And
then it's like Tito's and Soda and Popeye's Chicken he and Tony Hawks purs getter
one and two. Ith always I'll pick the most recent one. So I
have friends in Tokyo who they're like sixteen hours ahead of us, I think.
So when it's like midnight my time here in La, it's four pm,
they're getting off work. I'll be like, hey, I'm gonna go
to the bed. They're like, I'm off for work, go get a
beer. So we're getting a beer in the sweet. The Venom Trade three
trailer came out, so we're like, hey, I've never seen Venom.
If you want to, like, we're watching Venom. So I'm like in
also and one shorts and like some work out. Sure I have not worked
out and yet and uh probably cracking and open the beer and watching Venom until
I pass out. Yeah, you're maken, be realized. My rat night
is watching a net with the voice. How about you? K I don't
know what is with these un one shirts or shorts? What? Yes?
Yes, and one short T shirt. And usually it'll consist of me playing
either Dark Souls three, which is why I have like hours and it's from
me, or I'm sitting down and watching Transformers animated movie with a million times.
Yeah you just do you cry every time? No? Buto the music
the music, yes, sprikes of the good soundtrack. All right, we
do got to wrap up this segment. Thanks for your rat night recommendations.
Everybody. We are going to be back with one more panel. We'll see,
We'll see how it's gonna go hang out with us one more time.
Thanks this couch, thanks you all see it a couple of minutes. We've
spent the last ten minutes teaching the guests how to use the microphone, so
we're gonna talk into them this time. I promise you canna talk about video
games? I guess almost certainly not, although I think there's someone hasn't touched
the controller before. We're gonna ask about that. I don't know. I'm
Jeff Gruff. This is Giant Bob Day one, Live in Los Angeles,
giv at night. Thanks for tuning in all night with us. I'm sure
you've been watching. This is the last segment. It may get routy,
but I got lot lots of responsible people with me, including Alyssamer Conte,
Alyssa, how are you doing? I'm not responsible? Shit? Is this
working? Can everyone hear me? Dad? Dad? Hello? Watching?
He's asleep. It's like one o'clock sure on the East coast. Yeah,
I'm here either, gotch How are you doing? I'm feeling great. Good.
I got no sleep in the last twenty four hours. Who needs it?
But I don't have any kids with me, so I'm great rock and
round you. Yeah, well we're pretty used to not having sleep and anybody
look without the kids, like, oh this is easy. It's like it's
like taking the boots off in Dragon ball Z exactly. You're speaking of my
now, yeah, absolutely, Jordan Midler, Hello, how you doing.
I'm ready to tell them, as you know, Yeah, here's okay,
you're you're taller than I thought. Yeah. Does everyone say that? Yeah?
Kind of. People keep keep up with my social presence so they already
know. But that's a fake friend. I'm not surprised to you. You
know what if Mike Manaughty also has the short man energy online and then he's
like six sorry also, yes, yes, that's what that whiles when I
thought you were taller? Yeah right, yeah, okay, you not happy
with how that's a start today. I'm just saying the proportions. When I
see the pictures, I'm like, yeah, five ft eight If I was
five for that's head would be like you know what it is when we when
you do gmm, I have to like make sure everyone's like kind of the
same size. So I resized everything from like I just I think a shrinky
down to like make and that's what it is, shrink me down personality.
Rebecca Valentie, How you doing? I drank too much so Jo last night.
So I'm just I'm just hanging in there, clinging. I'm clinging to
life right now. Glad you came the last segment tonight. I know.
Well, I'm a morning person too. I wake up every morning at like
five forty five and am ready to go, and I'm in bed. This
is my bedtime, ten o'clock bedtime. I'm done right now. Night night.
That's so much I care about you. What's the first thing you said?
Thank you? I appreciate that. What's the first thing you do in
the morning? At five forty five? I turn off my alarm and then
I check on all my Pokemon and Pokemon sleep. Yeah, because I'm the
last to go on the planet. Still playing night start. How you doing?
We're out here, we are out Yes, I'm glad you can make
it. Thank you for having me absolutely. Ben Hanson, Hello, thank
you for having me. We just realized we just met in person. Well,
I was puking my guts out at Dan Records house while you were downstairs.
Yeah, I put a glass against the door and I can hear you
in there. Hello. Hello, a bond wow? Yeah yeah, like
a lasting something. Yeah, you walked past the bathroom that I just destroyed.
Yeah. I just went to town on that two ships of the Night,
pooping the night away exactly. I still need to send down that side
autographed to put in that bathroom, but oh yeah sounds good it eventually.
Thank you for having me. It's the first time on the BombCast ever.
Yeah, yes, David, you know what. No, never, No,
it's an honor. It's NEI to be in the speed. He's really
pissed off, brat shoemaker. He's just loved. Don't get it started.
Yeah all right, So Charles hasn't touched what an N sixty four controller?
I've touched one, but what does that mean? Okay, so I've never
used one before. My we're cleaning out my girlfriend's mom's old house and got
a bob. Okay, well listen, yeah, hold hold like you the
story. So I assume it's this right than most. You gotta put your
thumb on the stick. Yeah, we found an intuitive controller. Yeah,
exactly. Girlfriend's dad old n sixty four, which I've claimed. Now I
haven't hooked it up yet. This is current, like this happens in sixty
It was that like a week ago. Okay, so I own it n
sixty four. Now I haven't used it. I picked up the controller and
I was like, wow, would anyone use this thing? C there's no
what you needed for Mario Curely, no important games came out on the Nintendo
sixty four, Charles. I may talk about your age in front of you
your face. That's great infestered because last year you had what Sarah p Zorski
and Jenoicracia Leovator on from min Max and they're talking about like the younger generation
and games pressed, like where are they? You know? Afterwards they're like,
we were the young people and we're thirty. That's not a good sign.
This couch is turning to dust right now? Is that? Yeah?
No problem? Whatever you need. I'm young. What is that bunch of
sugar cubes? So I'm not sure on the back of this pillow, like
a defunct one of those. I'm sorry, what are we talking about?
Yeah? I was trying to bring up you got handed the sugar and you
took it. It's your responsibility. Now. I don't know what you want
me to see. I eat some sugar. I don't think it's your sugar
just because you're responsible for it. That it's a really good point that someone
brought up your sandwich. You're like, hey, can you hold this?
You can't just eat the sandwich. You got to ask beIN. I heard
you were a mean and you need that permission for that. Can you delete
that footage for me? Yeah? Absolutely, no problem. You don't have
to send out the sugar or anything. But yeah, yeah, thank you.
I appreciate that. Yeah, Charles is a twenty four year old lad.
I haven't been called a lad. It feels smaller, okay, twenty
four dude. When you come to stuff like this and you see a bunch
of old bocks, you're like, man, well they're they're cool old Okay.
I appreciate that. That's nice. I recognize you guys. Oh that's
nice. Yeah. I don't know when you were like growing up, Like
what were you watching? What you're reading? That like made you want to
do this job? Nikki's my day one. Yeah, I was always talld.
Rebecca retweeted the post that made me apply for an internship at fan Bite,
which is the reason I'm here now. Charles thanked me for this,
like I think, like five six times. Like I just wouldn't. I
wouldn't have known. I wouldn't have known. Yeah. No, I I
read Gaming Former, I watched I gen. I don't know nothing. I
wasn't I wasn't like super involved. I think the game informers I was most
into. It's just lame because I work there now. But it's the cool
thing. Charlie, Yeah, well you used to work there too. Yeah.
Game Former is the coolest I know. Someone, someone that is unaffiliate
with Game Reformer would have to say it's cool. Here's what he will say.
Oh yeah, do you have a favorite game and form of cover?
Uh? Probably Breath of the Wild. I really liked the Breath of the
Wild. It's like holding the Masters. And that's like seven years ago you
would have been in high school. Kid. Oh my god, that's I
played that. I played. I'm gonna make everyone feel awful. I played
Breath of the Wild and Study Hall. Yeah it sucks. I played.
I played Bayonetta on the Switch and my study Hall teacher came over and was
like, this game sucks, man, Like I thought he was going to
get me in trouble for playing it in school, and he was like,
I played this and I don't like it a little bit. He's got a
classic traditional Zelda fan. Well I was talking about Baying that origins. Okay,
sure, yeah, he like zee Yeah, fair enough. The wild
thing about Game Reformer and I don't work there, so I can say whatever
the hell I want, but it's wild to be there for the first time.
You can subscribe directly and get game of print. You guess I'm not
being paid to say this, but I just want to put it out there.
If you want to get a physical game magazine, you can for a
year for nineteen dollars. And here's a secret. Let me keep killing this
magazine. Okay, wait, you're not. I'm not, but I'm trying
to get Charles hired full time tame format and it relies on people actually doing
this because the Game Former goes down. This is your last I'm killing me.
I subscribed, all right, but like get it for like kids in
your life, like give them the gift of a video game magazine Highlights magazine,
which my kids get. It's horseshit. Yeah, get him game in
frintr Rick Yeah, dick in here, man, God, I didn't know
he was going to be the wild one. Jesus. Do you do you
subscribe to Highlights magazine? Yes, Like that's a commitment you've made. Well,
I mean to be fair, my mom got it for my kids.
Okay, yeah, I like when it shows up. Highlights are still yeah
kind of I overstated how much it sucks. But yeah, I've just never
seen an outside of a dentist's office. Yeah, well I'm a dentist office.
I didn't I didn't mention that part. Yeah. And uh, you
so you've never on the couch before? You excited? I know you're giant
you like Giant Bomb. I mean I think we're equal fans of Giant Pomp,
which is very just like the game form. Like now you work there,
you get the extra thrill from the internet, and that's what it's like.
It is a cool thing. I think this is a cool thing.
I'm having a good time. Yeah, thank you for reviving this whole thing.
Yeah right, it's just fun to be in this podcast feed hollowed ground
for fans of video game podcasts. I suppose you know eh, a little
bit hollowed, a little hollowed. Sure, listen, how are you doing
pretty on a bent full year? Yeah? Oh yeah, no, no,
No, everything's super cool, nothing, nothing to write home about.
Absolutely have not had to scrub my information from the internet. Sure didn't have
to remind my father to reload his gun if anyone shows up at his house
one of those years. Yeah, just a totally completely normal year of being
a woman in gaming. I mean, Okay, is it better or worse
that you think that was like a few years ago? Obviously, like it
feels like we can put them in their place more than we have in the
past, right, Yes, and no, we're in a weird spot because,
like I think, I think Twitter, like a few years ago was
like a good space for organizing and like, I don't know, it just
like it felt like a space that you could have conversations in that were like
pretty well policed. And now you know, I've reported yeah, thousands of
tweets that are like, we didn't find anything wrong with this, and it's
like they're telling me they're going to kill me, Like yeah, no,
sorry, we're not banning this one. So that's a little frustrating. But
I do think, Yeah, I think. I think it's probably technically better,
although it doesn't feel It doesn't feel imagine. Yeah, no, it
doesn't feel better. But you know, if anyone's gonna deal with it,
I'd rather it be me. Yeah, guys want to say me too,
But what I mean is you're good at it. Yeah, I can handle
it clost of the time. Yeah, I can handle it. Ethan,
How you doing wonderful? I'd love to hear it. Yeah. How old
are the kids? They are five, three and five months? Oh wow?
Okay man? Yeah, having the third one, how's that? Because
if I had a third one, I die. You're gonna get me in
trouble here. What are you gonna ask? I'm gonna ask, how do
you like? How are you alive? Because I'm like, if I literally
had a third kid, I would be dead. The third kid is the
easiest. She's so sweet. What I was saying to Elyssa earlier is the
five and three year old just constantly fight. But then the little todd or
the little infant is always smiling. So you're like, oh, one of
my kids still loves me. It is not insane and this is oh,
this is why I'm doing this right so right now, it's actually pulling us
back from them. We're like, Okay, there's some sanity here, there's
some love. This is beautiful. You texted me and you were like,
I went to bed so late because I had to install four aces, like
you, you were not sleeping, my friend. The kids have not been
sleeping well without the air conditioners. Yeah. And I had to come to
Summer game Fest and it was going to be hot. So everyone's cool now,
good, nice work. Yeah, that's that's that's daddy right there,
right up, daddy. Yeah, lots of daddy energy. We appreciate that.
Jordan, how's your daddy energy? Oh? No, good. I
don't know, man. I've been here for like four weeks, so that's
ten secs. Ye, your friend and mine. They didn't give me any
money to like left one here, but you know, to see game game
yeah game, yeah, no problem. But yes, Ellie's an interesting place
because every story I heard was like, oh, it's saitible. It's like
there's people shetting in the so much worse. It's like a Disneyland version of
la but like the most horrible version of it. Everything's a million pounds and
that's my partner. But all you folks are here now, so yeah,
the fun begins. I'm glad we could really be the reprieve in a nightmare
scenario of America apparently. I mean, I've been here so much. I
was in La with one Alison Marcante earlier in the year. I'm sorry from
that too. I bought it. No, I don't tell that story.
I bought in big to Mercante stock and my returns of just being popping out.
He's the roaring kitty. I've often been called that. Yeah, it's
fine, it's nice to see friends because none of your folks are going to
come to Scotland. So yeah, well I used to live a Newcastle.
Come to you, did Jordan? You're more of a Jordan than Lucy James.
That the problem. The problem is you don't have a nice enough couch.
You get a real nice couch, set up, some wood paneling and
some sugar. You're trying to say, scottis people can't afford Sorry cube anybody,
it's your responsibility, Ben if you're touching it to hold it restless.
It's like it follows an American question, and what context would you possibly need
a Cuba sugar. Is it sugar and sugar? It's yeah, but it's
all laced with ls mice. Yeah, yeah, that's is sugar if you
just ate dust. Like, what's going on here? Okay? Is that
your American question? Yeah? What? What? What's this? What's the
situation here? Maybe maybe not a little tea spin of sugar. My understanding
is the people that I work with have been handing it to people to see
if they'll hold it. Okay, And that's all there is to it.
Because we're responsible, grown up adults at giant mom dot com. That show
has been going quite long for you. Did you? Did you see my
tea situation? Oh? Yeah? I mean that's that great bet, doubly
great bet because it was against Lucy so fully isn't a bit? I don't
know how to do tea? Are you taking the yes? I did?
I literally the first time I've ever had tea in my life other than serve
a mote with the fucking did you? It did the color to change and
it didn't change the eye on the pocket. That yeah, I mean,
okay, top tier dipship thing I've ever done. I'll min it. Yeah,
Like, what did you guys not have any dipship moments. I think
tea is though, like fundamentally functionally, what do you think it is?
Well, I know what I mean, I do have I do? I
said, I drink suvamonte at home every day, which is literally just loose
leaf, pour it into a gourd, so I know it's like leaves,
and but I I assumed that the packet was would get like saturated, and
it did not. In fact, when I opened it up, the tea
baggs side was bone dry, completely dry. Yeah. I laughed too while
crying and hating myself. So yeah, it was wasn't the best moment.
But yeah, you guys don't have dip ship moments. No, okay,
no, ask the internet. I'm sure I No. You make fun of
me enough so I'll keep them from own. I was going to say that
my story with you is when I bang when I met When I met you
in January, and I was not drinking. I was doing dry January,
so I was very stoned. And we were at a we were at a
thing for Respawn EVM and we were all having a couple of drinks. I
was not, and you were showing us your Halloween costume, which one with
you. We're talking about pictures, and were like showing pictures of Halloween coustumes,
showing how I do Lady Gaga every year. And then you showed me
who was it? No, it was the girl singer. Oh, the
Belly Eilish costume. Okay, can you understand why this might make me laugh?
Because this is a no offense. This is the funniest thing I've ever
heard. I'm stoned as fun and I think he's saying Belly Eilish over and
over again time Belly Eilish, and I'm like, every time, belly belly
Elish, it's funny. That's a funny like nickname and play on the name
Billy Eilish. But you were saying Billy. You were saying Billy Billie Eilish.
Yeah, every every time I come on this fucking website when I say
the latter sex, everyone in the chat sex sex sex, And honestly,
I met no no less funny population than the Americans. You got it.
You got to diagnose it, and you did. Your costume is great.
I used the stick Mike say that, say the stick Mike, a stick
mic a stock mic steck Mack is what I heard. Yeah, and I'm
like, I don't know what you're saying to me right now. It's been
a long night. But considering had walked those coaches, I really don't think
that my accent would be coming under such fires. Excuse me, I think
we need a free Stellar Blade. Can I got less of the accents that
I can make fun off, just to be sure you're not allowed to do
that. Yeah, YEA love it. I was gonna make this joke before,
and I can now because the sugar cups are back. But that's the
soul of every game that never got a World premiere. Ground to Dunk in
the jar. He doesn't do world premiere anymore. You guys noticed that he
doesn't do work. He doesn't like Yeah, I think he said he doesn't
want to do it. He lost track to He's like, yeah, I
don't know what it is. I think like the World premiere I did too
just catch phrase even though he doesn't say it himself, though, I think
he literally said that they're done saying because like everything's just an update to an
update and all that stuff and tempering expect it was always meaningless. We just
like the guy saying world was doing it though, I feel I thought it
was Xbox Memory Xbox. I think Xbox has done it. I guess we'll
find out whatever day. To me, World Premiere is like in line with
the Peggy eighteen. Yeah, it used to be the Guy World. It
might have been the Peggy eighteen guy. He liked those big but big like
fun to get. Do you know what the Midway uh extreme sports was called?
Oh you just the Midway Sports. That's where I'm gonna end up.
Lock me up, doctor John Banknocky. Yes, random Midwest sports society sense,
which makes a lot of sense to me. Yeah, sentence would be
careful. Yeah here, I've been threatened with him tonight. I'll explain that
tomorrow night. Babi. Yeah, but it's the whole thing. I got
a lot of text message. Just won this couch tonight. Ben Hanson.
Yeah, how's going over at mid Max. It's going great. Yeah,
we're really we're really lucky. You know, we've been growing since we started
in twenty nineteen and bringing in more folks and we feel fingers crossed like we're
in a pretty good spot. We feel like we found a little sustainable pocket.
If you have somebody full time in Minnesota and then contracted with a bunch
of other people and go slow and steady. It seems to be working out.
You did you took time off for parental leave? Sure, how'd you
feel about that before? And then like when it was done, did it
like go as well as it could have or what? Yeah? It was
fun. It's like it's fun to use that time for an opportunity to get
a little bit different of like, Okay, what would be the most fun
thing for the audience. It's like, okay, we should bring Kyle Bossman
out of podcast hosting retirement from Easy Allies, and so he was the temporary
host for two months there when I was gone and stuff. So it's like
a fun bonus for the community instead of, I don't know, just being
a little bit different. So it's nice to have a pocket of it being
a good show when Kyle Bosman's hosting it once. Yeah, but it really
it stressed me out more than I thought, Like the parenting thing is wonderful,
but like, yeah, I just had this weird feeling like I just
want to get back to work, which I guess is a good sign that
I'm enjoying this whole right, did I saw Patrick Kleppik wrote about how like
we all kind of gotten this business for one reason, and now we're all
running small businesses and it's how strange that is. And it's like that was
never the point of any of this. You must feel that a lot when
you were on print to leave, But now you come back, you're running
things like what's the plan, Like, how do you handle that going forward?
Numbers wise? Sure, yeah, let's get at the books right here
we go. I've got a Google doc with olim shows No, it is.
It is a really weird feeling, like when I'm running pay roll,
it's like this is up to me. I hope I'm carrying the one here.
It's just like, you know, we do like regular check in with
everybody, so I hope somebody would raise a hand at some point. It's
like this seems off for this month. But yeah, it's it's nice.
It feels you know, I'm the worst person to talk about it, but
it seems like people are content working for mid Max. You know, in
the community, we do like surveys and they seem happy too. So it's
just like lighting's gonna hit us at some point. But right now, it
just feels like we've got a good pocket roll in here, you know.
Yeah, and when you know, you guys do that like new new new
show plus. Is that what it's called. Yeah, yeah, I like
that a lot. That's such a good idea. Like how often do you
guys actually like take one of those shows that's a new idea and it like
turns to do a long term thing. Yeah, well that's the fun thing
is never So the way in noucial plus works, this is two pitches,
So anybody can hand me a sugarcoat cube or interruct me and anybody don't encourage
them. Oh sorry, I know. The idea is like we pitch four
shows every week and then we let people that our patron supporters vote for which
show we create or continue, and then if it wins, then we keep
that show rolling. So it's like this constant evolving thing for just weird ideas,
we'll have like a weird one off joke. And I'm not pointing fingers
at anybody in this room. I'm looking right at the ceiling. But listen
to a lot of video game podcasts and it's always like, you know,
what we should do, wouldn't it be funny if we did this show?
It's like, yeah, do it as the audience. I'm really try it.
He's pointing to me, Yeah, a little bit. And that's a
nice thing about new show Plus, Like, yeah, we can put in
the poll. If it wins, sure, we've got a couple hours to
turn it around and give it a whirl and if it works out well,
then we'll keep it rolling the next week until eventually enthusiasm will fade, it'll
lose the vote, and then the community can't be mad at us for like
bring the show back. It's like, you didn't vote for it, right,
it's sunseted forever? Do you guys grow attached to the shows everything.
We're like, wish you could bring them back? Yeah, for sure.
Like we had one where it was called house Hunter Rise where we're just looking
at weird Zillow listings as a whole idea. Remember this, and that went
for a long time and it was super fun. Then eventually it died.
Now we're all itching, like we should do that. But then you know,
Kenneth from thirty Rock is basically doing it on HBO. Now it's like,
okay, that was basically our show. That's fine. We can't claim
Zillow as ours. No, yeah, Charles, how things a Game Informer.
They're good, we're chilling. I was not. I was so ready
for you to ask me about mid Max that I want to share a GYP
ship moment I had other than the one just now, I love you so
much? And does them are there two ends in mid Max because of Minnesota?
Yeah? Yeah, I didn't know that. I just thought it was
fun. I didn't. I was like, yeah, they're just wacky over
there. Max. Well, certainly mind Max with one end was taken,
so we had that was after the fact by a consulting firm like Jeff Green
started mid Max with one end, so I actually got I went to a
meeting at GDC with a PR agency and they thought we were the consulting firm.
Oh really. It was very fun, like no, no, no,
we just talked about games. Thank you. But game Form is good.
Uh. Shout out to the troops at home covering the events from there.
I've got Brian and Alex from game Form where they're here somewhere. I
haven't seen him yet, but we'll be convening in such But uh, yeah,
I think. I mean, I feel like Ben. I felt kind
of weird because he was pitching the magazines subciptions really are and it has been
like really cool to do that. I think like a lot of times we'll
post something on social media and the top comment will be like game Informers still
around. That's not what I wanted you to get from our exclusive cover story.
A long hour meeting about how you can write the headline, different people
getting the wrong ideas, and it's like constant. So just the fact that
it was like it turned from Game and Former still around, So like Game
and Former still around and I'm gonna buy it now. And then like seeing
I don't know, pictures of people getting the physical magazine, I was like,
oh yeah, sick dude. And I like I write words on paper.
I'm like, I'm an author, author. And now there's like a
direct line for like game stop. We think this magazine matters, Please keep
them around. And so if that money is not going in there, it's
not a good sign for GameStop. Who. I don't know if you noticed
this is not doing well? Oh really I haven't heard it. Yeah,
sorry, sorry. So we could just show them the game formers important parts
of their library. I feel like it's a good for it seems like their
business now is just waiting for the stock to go up and then selling a
lot of that stock that could be waiting for that kitty fellow to Yeah,
just yeah, the kitty fellow. Yeah. How you doing, Rebecca?
What a year? You know? You know, I mean it's what you
know. We've got like a live show going on down the street or something
here that's pretty fun. Where is that going? It's I like that space
a lot we did did you be something? There's something there last year and
it was a good time. Yeah, it's it's really interesting. You know,
I have very little to do with it. Sure, I'm like floating
around somewhere doing newsy things. I'm going to be on the Nintendo panel tomorrow,
so I'll get a little taste of it. But you know, it's
it's like a little tiny packs, and I mean little tiny like it's we're
smaller scope right, Like we're not trying to be packs. But that's kind
of what it feels like. It's nice. It's our first year doing it.
Like we had a decent crowd today. People seem like they were having
fun. I walked in and saw my colleague Seth made it pouncing up and
down, on stage wearing a bright silver suit, and a bunch of people
dressed like little border Borderlands fellows were dancing around him. At one point,
I was I was working upstairs and I saw clap Trap just go by,
all right, So yeah, I think he canceled on us. Actually,
we were gonna get him here. I'm so sorry I stole you know,
media competition, yea, oh my gosh. But yeah, it's interesting.
I I, I don't really know anything about how anybody is getting that done,
but I know that I work with like some of the coolest fricking people.
I mean we're talking about like small media outlets and like you all are
freaking revolutionizing, you know, trying to figure out how anyone continues to exist
in this space. And then I'm over here at the big website. You
know, we're still chucking along and try it, trying to do our thing
as best we can't do honestly. That is like I noticed it, like
I like showed up and like like all this decoration was done, and I
was never in a meeting about that. This is great, this just happened.
It's a nice wh nic stuff can happen still, So yeah, yeah,
and I've had a really cool year of getting to know my coworkers like
a lot better than I ever would have otherwise, including people in departments I
don't don't normally work with because like we unionized and you can't do how But
yeah, but as a result, I'm now like talking I'm talking to people
who work in like the branded department. I'm talking to people who work over
in like I don't know, like like commerce and not in like not in
like a weird like church and state separation kind of way. But it's like,
hey, like, what what is your job? Like? What do
you do every day? Like? What what things suck about your job?
What things are amazing about your job? Like actually opening those channels and talking
to people about what work is like. And suddenly it turns out you find
out you have way more in common than you ever thought you did with people
who do wildly different things. I have a take. Yeah, I'm just
gonna throw it out there. Let's hear right, I'm just gonna test this
obviously huge admire of the church and state separation between the side of the business
and the business side of the business. Sure, who is it? Very
important? I also think on occasion the business side of the business likes to
keep secret the business side of the business, so that on the journalism side
of the business, you have no idea what's going on. And it's like,
oh, well, you know, things aren't going so well. We
got to cut some of the some of the staff, an editorial or you
know, it's it's just real tight that ad package fell through. And then
you realize, actually, we're all kind of on the same boat and could
be pulling in the same direction as opposed to everyone feeling like you're competing against
each other. Yeah, and like, oh, you know, fucking editorial.
They don't respect us, they're not you know, they think that we're
just over here, like you know, doing dumb stuff. And I find
that you don't need to know everything that's going on. But when people on
different levels of the company are talking to each other, you actually get a
much better sense of what's going on, and there's you build trust, and
there are certain forces within a company that don't always like to foster trust among
the workers. Yeah. Also, like the you know, the church state
separation thing, it's like I know what to do, like I know what,
Like I could talk to people and have a full understanding about like where
the line is and be able to like respect that that's it's not that much
of a concern at this point, like I just won't do the things I'm
not gonna do, Like that's gonna be the way it is. And then
having a conversations with people said, like you said, actually know what's going
on. It's very illuminating most of the time about like hey, what is
possible, like what these what kind of money actually is coming in? So
yeah, and then you're like, oh, well there's no money left.
You're like, well, you could have told me this sooner, maybe I
could have done something instead of just being at the end as well, you
don't need to know that, just go right, go write the blogs.
And when you're when you're in an organization, you know we we are we
are big. Igan is big, like the Union is roughly in the bigger
every day Yeah, I mean the Union is roughly in the vicinity of like
eighty eighties. But it's it's resounds that like when you have that many people,
everybody's getting sort of a different piece of the puzzle, like like business
wise, or or like like why things are even happening at the company,
And you find out sometimes things that you think suck ass are happening because of
like total just like human normal misunderstandings, like you just didn't communicate and you
can talk through things and solve problems together. And yeah, it turns out
when we all push the boulder in the same direction, it really does move.
But then sometimes yeah, like you come to this common ground of like,
oh, actually we all have the same problems and they're all coming from
the same place, and maybe there's something we can do about that together.
It's just it's cool. It's cool. I freaky love my coworkers. Right,
what's the best Taylor Swift album? Well, now here Gorge you actually
put me on the spot there, and nineteen eighty nine very good. I
would maybe say nineteen eighty nine or Folklore and the new one's met. But
do you think that new one's going to grow on you? I know she's
in Scotland right now, and I'm not so fuck her. She has people
in this building. I've said things publicly about people and then met them and
had to be like nice to them. Me, you don't really care.
So yeah, I'm considering I'm sitting next to someone who will probably like own
me in a couple of years. I've got to I've got to behave myself
well, not not read personally, but like as if Davis is Jordan Midler
next year. Now we're fine. I probably shouldn't have one, but fucking
Andy's these beds, so he's not going to watch this. He's an old
man. He's probably sitting in the j W right now going that fucking Jordan's
made. But yeah, he didn't ask. But vgc's going well eventually.
Yeah, it's it's really nice being here and so many people being like,
oh, VGC, I love your stuff, and I like, you're fucking
definitely not talking about me, although Scoops and Ship it's him. It's the
it's the Cockney guy. But yeah, all going well. And the only
issue I have is I wish that this lot the wo Karate were on the
same time zone as me so we could do sh together, because this all
was like, by the time you guys are awake, it's like four o'clock
in the afternoon, and that's drinking time seventeen hundred somewhere as a great mine
one said, And so yeah, that's the best tweets I pop off is
when I'm when I've had a couple. Yeah, well I'm not. I
get bound from tour quite frequently. Jellous of you guys all the time,
because I feel like the games industry out there is like in the media industry,
and the games industry out there is so tightly intertwined because it's smaller geogree
like ten miles away. Yeah, it gets drunk together and here, like
you know, have barely see each other. Half y'all are up in New
York. The rest of us are scattered around California, and then the rest
are scattered all over the middle of the everything. A bunch of you were
in Minnesota for some reason, slam everybody. Yeah to move to Kansas City
with me, and so like yeah, we just we never we see each
other like twice a year us this couch. Then get really excited, we
get really tired, we get really dropped, and then we leave. That
is why, like this is fun, Like yeah, yeah, we can
get like everybody together on the couch, hang out and talk about stuff.
Yeah. Yeah, is Ohio the place to be? Uh there? Like,
who do you got in Ohio these days? Do you got we had
the logan Paul and Jake Paul they left the starting point. Robert Cleveland I
think was there for a while. Uh, that's about it. Yeah,
the mez we did me, I don't know. Do we have them all
wrestlers living always have the men, We always have them as Yeah. They
go to states without income tax hell yeah brother, Yeah, I'm not paid
any No, that's the most well because not paid taxes. Yeah. Was
say, we did a poll to determine where the next MAX community meet up
was going to be. Uh, and we chowed we down to like seven
cities. The patrons supporters vote. Actor in Ohio came in second. Yeah,
I was surprised. Tell me what was one vocus I should have voted.
I'm a patron support. It was close. You could have made a
difference. Yeah, But they were talking about there's a a blimp hanger,
a functioning blimp. There's like a place. Yeah, like we don't have
a run down there, we don't have a lot, so it's like we
do have to like, oh that we put a blimp inside of building,
come and find that and like who do you want to see that? We
have the rock and Roll Hall of Fame because rock and roll was not invented
in Cleveland. It definitely was not. It was perfected there. Yeah,
but Drew Carrey show, right, Drew Carrey Show. Yeah, he invented
football, yes, American football. Oh my god, christ oh boy.
Okay, what's the plan for like the rest of the weekend. You guys
are excited about x Do you want to know the whole Expokes show. Yeah,
here's my schedule and all the embargoes. Yeah, look, not gonna
tell tales out school. But I think, oh, okay, that's just
I'm gonna my bets. We're hedging together, broten together because we're looking at
each other's eyes and we know, yeah, Sam sounds like weird, Sony,
like come on, damn. Like I think it's gonna be like a
lot of Xbox shows. Everyone's going to be coming off of it high and
then two weeks are gonna be like, wait a second, we met about
something else. Yes, it'll be I mean, okay, I guess that
is the question. I guess think like Xbox turns around the current like sort
of nose dive and any No, but it'll be a good show like Xboxes.
Oh god, all the Xbox green haircuts are in my fucking hotel.
I can't say this, but like unless a miracle happens, like it's it's
on the way down and out eventually, like there will be a time when
Phil leaves and then sat In Adela goes. Let's see it will be that
Sam. Let's let's fucking not bother with that, which would be a shame
because then Sony will become ship and then it or shitter, depends how you
feel about it. But I want a strong Xbox. I want a really
strong Xbox. I'm a Gears of War two stan as they say, and
another Xbox fans hate me and fair because I say bad things about your games
and you are insufferable on Twitter. However, we want a strong Xbox.
There's no Xbox tax. I don't believe in tax tax. We want Here's
War back strong, I bet you see on Sunday. We want Halo.
Bet you don't see that for a long time. You don't see that one.
And we want those Dorito's games back. And then enough of that.
Thanks. You know what I want, what you really really want. I
want people in the industry to be a little bit louder about people being mean
to other people and maybe say it's not a good thing. Maybe say we
don't want you around if you're going to be a cunt, yeah, and
hateful, And that the games industry is diverse naturally, not because anyone's making
them be diverse, because the world is diverse, stupid motherfucker. And if
you have a problem with that, come fight me physically. Didn't want to
take you up on that yet. No, that's just why I expected the
show to be from the start. We're gonna make it all about that,
because they're all sitting there with their fucking dicks at a half chub, ready
to fucking go. They're talking about me, talking about me. You're gonna
like, wait, we're all gonna wake up tomorrow and they're gonna be like,
honey, please come to bed. They're like not, No, it's
gonna be like some once tangentially mentioned me sort of kind of. It's gonna
be like twenty YouTube videos that are gonna have all of our faces on them.
He's a show for me. Did you know that? Sim for me?
He's simps for me? All right, Yeah, it really got I
mean I at this point, I'm like, when I deal with these people,
now, I do just ignore them and they go away so fast they
do. But then they don't. I mean it depends on like if they've
picked one person and it turns out it's usually it's usually a woman. That's
why exactly, that's what good Like they disappear and I'm like that that is
why. Because they I am they target that they don't make them money.
I am their kryptonite. Yes, I am smart, hot, slutty,
good at my job and I don't shut the fuck up. Yep. And
they're like, I want to fucking your gulf door, but I also want
to kill her. Like they literally don't know what I mean. It's it
is just hating women. It is just truly, and I think really briefly
and then you guys can do whatever you want. I just want to.
I have a very quick segue that is very important to me. We got
to raise some money. Yeah, I have gotten from a sympathetic party,
a former developer on a failed game called Firefall. He has sent me all
of the merch. Is this inside out? No, it's better it was
a StarCraft logo. Yes, all of the merch that you got if you
worked at Firefall ten years ago. I have Letterman's jackets, I have dev
button downs, I have stuffed animals all that stuff. That's crazy. I
have a beer fucking glass and we're going to be auctioning it off for trans
Lifeline and you can suck me from the back for free, but you got
to pay money for this. So I will model it. Maybe I'll wear
one of them when I work out, and you can pay extra for it.
But we're going to be auctioning off all of this shit for charity.
After I get back from SGF. I have all of this, and all
the Firefall fans out there are just going to be losing it for this.
I'm not the only one that had never heard those game and my life for
you do you know this deal with Firefall? Like six year old person tried
to make a game, didn't make a game, blew a bunch of money
on a sperm shaped bus from West Coast Customs, then it failed. But
the people who worked on that game were great people from what I understand and
from what I've heard, they are sympathetic to the cause and they also think
that he is a twat. So we are going to raise money for this
for trans charity because they're assholes and I want to do something good for this,
So yeah, that's beautiful. We're gonna post this once I get back
from my trip. But I have so much shit. I have so much
I want to see the Letterman jacket. That's fine. Well, the Letterman
jacket is kind of fire of fire real quick. Guys. Gotta say we've
said a lot of nice things about a lot of places. Giant Bomb,
Rocks, Game Spot, Rocks, Ign, BGC, min Max, Game
Informer, Katakuati, I love Private Equity and forever, but there have been
some rough times over the last few years, and I gotta say the single
best thing that has happened to Kotaku is alystamer Conte coming and get her presence
and making the site better and stronger in every way. With me right now,
man, I'm very weak and I'll cry. I agree. Yeah.
Yeah, I'm glad you said it. Yeah yeah. I mean when I
wake up a five forty five because my kids are absolutely crazy, the first
thing I do is check this woman's sweets. Yep. It's usually asked.
Well, I think it's I'm glad you're out there fighting it. I'm glad
you're doing this. Let's waste some money for trans Lifeline. Yeah, that's
fantastic stuff. I think what The best part about this is we come here,
we hang out, and it all does disappear while we're here at the
very least, and then you go back keep fighting. Yeah, absolutely,
keep sucking dick for my job, right, because that's what I do.
That's what I do, my job. Anything more on deck? Anyone?
Any deck? Anything else? Any deck? Wait? Why does dick sound
like deck? And six sound like sex and belly and Bellie Billy? I
just I just hate your accent. I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to say
that. Is over. Everybody get here. That's Giant Bomb Night one.
Thanks everybody for came onto the couch, including this fantastic couch. We'll be
back with another round of couches tomorrow night on Giant Bomb Night two, GB
at Night Live from Los Angeles, and then Sunday Night Live for the Bell
Weather. Get your tickets now, we're gonna hang out, have a good
time. Can't wait for it. Thanks everybody for watching slocome to the Gaze.