...do video games make you smart? We have some union news. We'll talk about censorship of NSFW games along with follow up on a story we talked about last time and we have a list.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Researchers have linked spending more time playing video games with a boost in intelligence in children, which goes some way to contradicting the narrative that gaming is bad for young minds.https://www.sciencealert.com/playing-video-games-has-an-unexpected-effect-on-kids-iq-study-discovers Quality assurance workers at Raven Software, one of the developers of Call of Duty, have officially ratified their first union contract with Microsoft three years after they first unionized.https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-qa-workers-win-first-union-contract-with-microsoft-after-3-years?_gl=1*1ud8te6*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjgwNjE0MzAxLjE3NTQzNDk1NTc.*_ga_736S6FVMCL*czE3NTQzNDk1NTckbzEkZzAkdDE3NTQzNDk1NTckajYwJGwwJGgw Game developers association decries 'financial censorship' amidst payment processor crackdown on NSFW games, calls for 'greater transparency and fairness in how adult games are moderated'https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-developers-association-decries-financial-censorship-amidst-payment-processor-crackdown-on-nsfw-games-calls-for-greater-transparency-and-fairness-in-how-adult-games-are-moderated/https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq#is-adult-content-allowedhttps://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/australian-anti-porn-group-claims-responsibility-for-steams-new-censorship-rules-in-victory-against-porn-sick-brain-rotted-pedo-gamer-fetishists-and-things-only-get-weirder-from-there/One of the Vice Presidents of the European Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță, publicly voiced his support for Stop Killing Games in a major win for the newly-minted EU Citizens' Initiative. On July 12, Ștefănuță posted a video on his Instagram story announcing that he had signed the Stop Killing Games petition and plans to continue helping the movement.https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-game-once-sold-belongs-to-the-customer-prominent-eu-politician-stands-up-for-stop-killing-games/ We have a list ... sort of. Let's take a look at the upcoming games for the rest of 2025 and see what we are looking forward to.https://www.imdb.com/list/ls565219437/ Game Review Donkey Kong - Bananza

Microsoft employees have a really bad day. Are digital games a good thing? We look at what some users are saying about the Nintendo Store and some more news about Microsoft and their desire to take over the world.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Microsoft laid off more than 9000 employees this past week. Along with the devastating effect on the lives of those people the ripple effect across the tech landscape did not miss the video game world. So let's take a look at what was impacted by this latest labor cut and what the industry thought of it.https://www.trueachievements.com/news/xbox-canceled-games-and-studios-layoffs-2025https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/07/its-heartbreaking-the-pokemon-company-tech-vp-joins-industry-in-criticising-microsoft-layoffs You buy a game on steam and it goes ito your library. You own that game, right? Well it doesn't seem possible but what if Steam went out of business? Can't happen, think Google Stadia. You would loose access to those games that you paid money for. Well a new online initiative called stop killing games aims to close that loophole.https://wccftech.com/publishers-argue-stop-killing-games-proposals-would-make-online-games-prohibitively-expensive/https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000007_en In another instance of some people have way too much time on their hands, users of Nintendo Online believe they have figured out a future release for the Switch 2. How you say? By crossing their eyes and turning their head slightly to the side and staring at blurry pixels in the background of the site.https://www.ign.com/articles/fans-analysing-blurry-pixels-believe-nintendo-switch-online-is-getting-super-smash-bros-for-its-n64-catalogue-and-now-the-hunt-is-on-for-more?_gl=1*e7vdzw*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTg4MTU3Mjc3LjE3NTE5MzE4MTE.*_ga_736S6FVMCL*czE3NTE5MzE4MTAkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MzE4MTAkajYwJGwwJGgw Game pass is a good deal and almost everyone I know has it. But is it a good thing? Raphael Colantonio--one of the co-founders of Arcane Studios doesn't think so. Let's look at what He has to say.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/arkane-co-founder-unloads-on-game-pass-calls-it-unsustainable/1100-6532991/

Today we’re diving deep into a game-changing force that’s reshaping the digital worlds we explore: artificial intelligence in video games. From smarter enemies and lifelike NPCs to procedurally generated landscapes and adaptive storytelling, AI is no longer just behind the scenes — it’s at the heart of how we play, what we experience, and where the industry is headed.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com SHOW NOTES: Mention the t-shirts and Patreon - shop.joystickandmouse.comAre any of the game developers actually using AI for game development. You bet they are. According to a survey of over 300 respondents carried out by market research firm CIST, on behalf of game engine maker Unity. “62% of the studios we surveyed said they used AI in their workflows, mainly to prototype quickly and for concepting, asset creation, and worldbuilding,” Unity said in its latest annual market report https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/almost-two-thirds-of-game-development-studios-are-using-ai-survey-finds/ AI or Artifiсiаl intelligenсe is trаnsforming numerous inԁustries, аnԁ the gаming inԁustry is no exсeрtion. So what can it do and how is it revolutionising gаme ԁesign аnԁ рlаyer exрerienсes аt а rарiԁ расe.https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/how-ai-revolutionising-game-design-and-player-experiences/ https://www.coursera.org/articles/ai-for-game-developmentIs the future of artificial intelligence in video games playing out in a cyberpunk ramen bar? Tech companies would like you to think so, but game writers aren't so sure. In a recent demo from the tech company Nvidia, a human player talked to two video game characters using a microphone — and the characters responded in real time using generative AI.https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238111971/video-games-ai-artificial-intelligence-nvidia You see the bad guy on the screen. Your brain processes that it is a bad guy and then tells your fingers to move to the X button to fire your weapon. The console or PC interprets that  button press and then tells the game that you fired your weapon. If you are like me that time it takes to respond and push the button is measured in slug years. Well what if the round trip to fingers and controllers was eliminated? That's exactly what a study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin is trying to do.https://www.psypost.org/brain-computer-interface-utilizes-ai-to-adapt-to-users-allowing-them-to-control-video-games-with-their-thoughts/

Show Notes: Wizards of the Coast announced an exclusive publishing agreement with Giant Skull development studios out of Los Angeles to begin work on the next video game in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. No explicit details were released about the upcoming game, save that it is currently in development for PC and console, with more information to come at a later date.https://www.cbr.com/dnd-moves-on-from-baldurs-gate-for-new-video-game/ More than 300 quality assurance (QA) workers at Microsoft’s video game subsidiary ZeniMax Media have reached a tentative agreement with the company, marking a first-of-its-kind contract for the U.S. video game industry.https://uniglobalunion.org/news/microsoft-cwa/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/business/microsoft-video-game-union.html The upgraded version of Nintendo Switch, the third biggest-selling video game console of all time, will be released on Thursday, June 5. The Japanese company hopes to match its earlier runaway success with Switch 2. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo... here's a roundup of the consoles that have marked video gaming history. https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250602-%F0%9F%8C%9Fthe-bright-side-ahead-of-switch-2-release-the-five-best-selling-gaming-consoles-of-all-time Video game movies are numerous, and rarely any good. In the TV realm, The Last of Us and Twisted Metal have shown that with the right creative team and storytelling, you can have successful live-action video game adaptations, but it's not always the case. Nonetheless, even the most poorly reviewed video game movies and flops can still outshine the worst video game from the series they're based on.https://www.thegamer.com/video-game-movies-at-least-better-worst-game-in-series/

We are talking about the economic state of video games and what it all means for us the gamers.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Mention the t-shirts and Patreon - shop.joystickandmouse.comIn another sign of the hard times in the video game industry EA Lays off hundreds of employees and cancels a game in development.https://www.reuters.com/technology/electronic-arts-lays-off-hundreds-cancels-titanfall-game-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-04-29/ It has been over six years since Epic started undercutting Steam's 30 percent revenue share for developers, asking for just 12 percent of sales on its then-new Epic Games Store. Now, Epic is going even further by reducing those fees to zero for a game's first $1 million in annual sales.https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/05/epic-games-store-completely-eliminates-revenue-fees-for-smaller-developers/ Yay, we have a release date for Grand Theft Auto IV but it is later than expected. https://www.ign.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-6s-delay-just-affected-the-entire-video-game-industry?_gl=1*phkmq0*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTgwMzY2NzUyMi4xNzQ2NDg1NjIw*_ga_736S6FVMCL*MTc0NjQ4NTYxOS4xLjAuMTc0NjQ4NTYxOS4wLjAuMA.. Following Sony's lead from earlier this year, Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week.https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/xbox-price-increase-bing-vs-google-windows-11https://apnews.com/article/xbox-raises-prices-tariffs-microsoft-cd746a5aed59f3f5403ab262d6e149f0 So what do the tarrifs mean to video game prices?https://www.theouterhaven.net/the-rising-cost-of-gaming-and-why-tariffs-are-just-the-beginning/

The cost of the PS5 is going up. The cops get digital and all about the Switch 2.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: If you still haven't purchased a PS5, you may want to do so in the very near future. No, it's not because of tariffs, well not directly anyways. Prices for the console are rising in several regions and it's probably only a matter of time before it hits the US. So let's talk about how much, where and when.https://www.theverge.com/news/647869/sony-ps5-price-rise-uk-europe-australia-new-zealandhttps://www.polygon.com/news/558161/ps5-price-increase-new-europe-uk https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-online-police-patrol-internet-denmark.html#google_vignette Nintendo held another direct this past week. this time dealing exclusively with the Switch 2. Well here's all the things that were announced and how to order ... or not.https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-direct-everything-announced

more bad news on the video game developer front. We take a nostalgic look at some game systems that didn't make the grade. We discuss if genres have any meeting and discuss the latest news out of Nintendos camp.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com   Show Notes: We try to keep you up with the state of game development and unfortunately the trend of the last couple of years continued this past week. Eidos Montreal and Myst developer Cyan had layoffs this past month.https://www.gamesindustry.biz/eidos-montreal-lays-off-75-staffhttps://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/myst-developer-cyan-worlds-has-laid-off-half-of-its-workforce We've all been there. you run out and buy that shiny new game console and it just falls flat and never goes anywhere. As the proud owner of an Adam computer system back in the day I can relate to this feeling. Well here are a few others that just didn't live up to the hype.https://www.xda-developers.com/video-game-consoles-never-stood-chance/ What's in a genre anyways. Well kataku thinks they are all mixed up and it's our fault.https://kotaku.com/genres-fps-hero-shooter-adventure-rts-action-opinion-1851772168 The Switch 2 looms on the horizon, and in less than a week's time, we'll learn more information about Nintendo's next console. Last week, though, Nintendo hosted a Switch 1-focused Direct, and it felt like a flurry of last-minute announcements for the record-shattering handheld hybrid console ahead of its successor. So here's all the things announced that will be irrelevant later this week.https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-direct-march-2025-everything-announced

One of the most successful mobile game developers finds a new overlord. Why do we even play games. A fake museum inducts some new members and Sony had it's big day since the last time we were together.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Niantic, the company that brought us Ingress and Pokemon Go hasn't faired so well with their follow up offerings. Harry Potter was an absolute flop and the few other games trying to recapture that wanderer magic have fallen flat. As such, Niantic is being sold and here are all the details.https://www.nextpit.com/pokemon-go-sale-niantic#:~:text=Niantic%20Games%20go%20to%20Saudi,the%20development%20of%20mobile%20games. Why do we play games? It's a fairly inocuous question that the answer is probably filled with a lot of nuance. Well a research company posed exactly that question and while simplistic, their answer opens up the discussion of why we do this at all.https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/why-do-gamers-play-games-half-say-mainly-to-relax-but-things-are-different-for-the-other-half The Strong National Museum of Play has announced their annual candidates for induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. I agree, who is that but it does bring up the concept of a hall of fame for video games and what games should be in it. Let's see if our list matches theirs.https://www.pcgamer.com/games/should-age-of-empires-and-quake-be-in-the-world-video-game-hall-of-fame-you-can-vote-for-them-to-be-inducted-this-year/https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/finalists/ Sony's first big PlayStation State of Play for the year kicked off last night, bringing with it a host of announcements, both big and small, from first-party developers and third-party publishers. The stream lasted for a little over 40 minutes, and revealed new titles, remasters, and release dates for previously announced games. So let's take a look at all that was put on display for us.https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/video-games/everything-announced-february-playstation-state-play-2030528https://blog.playstation.com/2025/02/27/a-great-new-price-for-playstation-vr2/

Some new gaming hardware was "officially" announced. XBox showed off some new games and there was this big electronics show that happened and they talked about video game stuff while they were at it.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Well the wait is over ... sort of. We got some information about the new Nintendo console in the works but not a lot of details. Let's take a look at what we did get.https://kotaku.com/switch-2-reveal-trailer-date-nintendo-mario-kart-9-1851739487https://www.polygon.com/nintendo/23899504/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-power-name-games Microsoft held a XBox developer direct that showcased new titles from 4 different studios. Here's everything that was announced in this direct.https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/everything-announced-at-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-live-2025/ This is where we are going to go off the beaten path a bit. CES happened since our last episode and while it is geared towards the latest in Television technology. (Well it sems that way anyways) There is quite a bit of new that is geared towards us gamers. So we'll take a look at those announcements. https://www.ign.com/articles/ces-2025-everything-announced

What prompted Sony to purchase Naughty Dog. We take a look at the year ahead for triple A titles. It's good to be bad and what is the best video game of all time? http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes One of Sony's first developer studio aquisitions was Naughty Dog. At the time, we assumed this was because of money and the financial backing that Sony could provide. Well an article this week confirmed that but what really struck me was the numers of what it cost to develop a video game in the 80 as compared to today.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/naughty-dog-founder-reveals-budgets-of-original-games-and-why-they-sold-to-sony/1100-6528634/ 2025 is looking like it will be a big year for video games and for triple A titles in particular. But what if those titles don't so well? This is shaping up to be a make or break year for the big name titles.https://www.eurogamer.net/2025-will-be-a-make-or-break-year-for-triple-a-video-games-as-we-know-them let's face it. Some times in a video game it's fun to be bad. Well here are the 10 video games that react best to that play style.https://whatculture.com/gaming/10-video-games-that-react-to-you-being-a-scumbag This is one of those lists that is VERY subjective. What is the best video game of all time? We have our favorites but let's look at what Rolling Stone had to say about it.https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/rs-gaming-lists/best-video-games-of-all-time-1235215978/hades-2020-1235215983/

... It's the end of he year and that means a whole bunch of end of year retrospectives. Well you know we love a list and we have several this week dealing with those. http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: The end of the year is upon us and as always that means a series of end-of-year awards and community events. The PC marketplace Steam has announced its own slate of nominees for The Steam Awardshttps://www.gamespot.com/gallery/steam-awards-2024-nominees-winners/2900-6093/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D12059029;date%3D121724;lctg%3D20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065#1 Microsoft’s newest sales pitch to prospective gamers is that everything—your TV, computer, or phone—can be an Xbox. It’s part of a new strategy aimed at reaching more people, and potentially making a lot more money. It’s also a major shift for the millions of people who have been Xbox fans for decades now, and the company says it’s embracing that and yes, we told you so.https://kotaku.com/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-ps5-exclusives-streaming-1851722886 The game award winners were announced, we'll get to that later, and during that show were a lot of announcements and trailers. So let's take a look at every thing that was announced.https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-game-awards-2024-all-the-biggest-announcements/2900-6077/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D12022122;date%3D121324;lctg%3D20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065#1 All the winners.https://www.google.com/search?q=game+awards+winners&sca_esv=1016bfdc9707f9f9&biw=1592&bih=1017&sxsrf=ADLYWIJt4EFkLGhSSC7AkvegM1BICkV2Qg%3A1734987903209&ei=f9BpZ-6vDNSo5NoP7tnG6Qs&ved=0ahUKEwiu66PN5b6KAxVUFFkFHe6sMb04ChDh1QMIEA&uact=5&oq=game+awards+winners&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2dhbWUgYXdhcmRzIHdpbm5lcnMyCBAAGIAEGLEDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESM4iUIAJWOIdcAF4AZABAJgBNaABgQOqAQE4uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIJoAKeA8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgoQABiABBgUGIcCwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYFBiHApgDAIgGAZAGCpIHATmgB6Ur&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

No Blurb this week. Diddi was lazy. :) http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: NZXT is coming under fire for its recently expanded gaming PC rental service. A recent video from Gamers Nexus accused NZXT of running a bait-and-switch, sending people less powerful systems while claiming they offer higher performance. The video expose was posted over the weekend, but the company has only now released a statement that boils down to "we'll look into it," and gamers aren't having it.https://www.pcworld.com/article/2543936/nzxt-accused-of-predatory-scam-gaming-pc-rental-program.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/tech/nzxt-accused-predatory-pc-rental-182756635.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL1VKNUxjWSTejTIRRjURbFafWhjv8R2B3W77BClzuC5RLVznanLo-yly7iABhuBZ9UdSYdPU-Dy1nyXGXoLe83gIb5X3r2IvQ6vt-KqjDw8dQVI6BZwNi3vlIACm0bq5LTaTPlaqGra5VJGfHX5stY3VHQMhlHjXWmgSePR_41E Hundreds of thousands of Fortnite players are getting a refund after federal regulators found that the game's developer, Epic Games, "tricked" gamers into unknowingly spending money on in-game purchases. The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that it will send a total of $72 million in refunds to Epic Games customers who were duped into making unwanted purchaseshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2024/12/10/fortnite-epic-games-refund-ftc/76881868007/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epic-games-fortnite-ftc-refund/ https://www.polygon.com/opinion/493536/luigi-mangione-among-us-newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ironic-suspect-unitedhealthcare-slaying-played-video-game-killer-rcna183550 The pandemic hit hard and we are stilll feeling the effects of that in the video gme industry in the form of all the lay offs and the delay of games. Gamespot compiled a list of all the delayed games and you know how we like a list.https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/every-game-delayed-right-now/2900-3741/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D11965166;date%3D120924;lctg%3Db3a7b738bd17d2fa16eb5ab92783891fb0c35bd6f93fb6c92ad5b2d8754d0c30#1

... we have a sale. A familiar person is bucking to take over everything mouse. Somebody has a birthday and the nominations are in. http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Santa has come a little earlier this year, bringing a price cut for the PlayStation 5 Slim. This model usually retails for $449, but Sony just announced a price cut. The price is dropping down to just $380 until Dec. 24, just in time for the holidays.https://www.cnet.com/deals/calling-all-gamers-ps5-gets-a-price-cut-this-holiday-season/ Disney is reportedly considering Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson as a successor to Disney CEO Bob Iger, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.https://venturebeat.com/games/disney/ Warcraft turns 30 this year and Blizzard held a direct this year instead of Blizzcon. Here's everything that was announced during the event.https://www.ign.com/articles/warcraft-30th-anniversary-direct-everything-announced It's that time of year again. Whiskey advent you say? Well yes but not what I'm talking about here. It's award time and the video game award nominations were announced this week so let's go through them and see who the nominees are.https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-game-awards-2024-nominees-announced-see-them-all-now/2900-5956/

We talk some news from Sony. What netflix is up to. Microsoft financials and the little decision we are making today. http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.comRemember that game that Sony put out recently called Concord. No? Well neither do we but it's failure was colosal. Let's talk about the numbers and how bad they were. https://kotaku.com/concord-sony-biggest-flop-failure-box-office-1851676475 The PS5 pro comes out next week and the specs were released along with the updated games. Well here's the numbers and a few of the games that will get an update.https://www.reddit.com/r/gamernews/comments/1gjjyf3/sony_confirms_ps5_pro_specs_and_all_50_upgraded/ We've talked about Netflix getting into the gaming industry but one of those endeavors is being dumped already. Here's what's leaving and what direction Netflix is looking to head in the future.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/almost-every-interactive-title-is-leaving-netflix/1100-6527588/ Not a good look for Microsoft this week when it released it's annual report and there were some very interesting numbers in there.https://www.eurogamer.net/microsoft-ceos-pay-rises-63-to-73m-despite-devastating-year-for-layoffs As you may have heard there is a small important event happening today. If you are listening to this after release it already happened and you may know the outcome. But how will the election affect video games? Not at all? Well maybe not so let's look at how that could be.https://www.ign.com/articles/how-the-2024-us-presidential-election-will-impact-video-games

Epic 1, app stores 0. leadership changes at XBox. A new game announced from a new studio and our list of the week. http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: We been following the story of Epic vs Apple as it pertains to allowing the Epic Game Store on Apple devices. Well that story took a turn this week when a judge ruled that Google's play store is an illegal monopoli and must allow third party app stores on it's devices. let's look at that ruling and discuss what it might mean for apple.https://www.theverge.com/policy/2024/10/7/24243316/epic-google-permanent-injunction-ruling-third-party-stores According to a leaked internal email, Xbox Game Studios will soon be led by Rare studio head Craig Duncan as current boss Alan Hartman is retiring in November. What if anything does this mean for XBox.https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-game-studios-leadership-change-sees-rare-boss-take-over Mike Morhaime and his new studio Dreamhaven announced the name and some details of their new game this week. Here's all the info so far.https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/sunderfolk-video-game-blizzard-1236173545/ our list this week comes from Gameluster and is their ranking of the top 100 indie games of all time. We won't subject you to all 100 game but here are their top 10.https://gameluster.com/our-100-best-indie-games-of-all-time/ Extra: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/blizzard-video-games-history-harassment-book-b2627402.html

A beloved streamer decides to call it quits. Nintendo does Nintendo things. Ubisoft does Ubisoft things. And we have a list ... of course we do. http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes A beloved figure of Skyrim's content creation scene says she's retiring from making gaming videos. Shirley Curry, better known as 'Skyrim Grandma,' posted a video this past week entitled 'No More Gaming Videos.' In that video, Curry, who is 88, said the decision "doesn't make me too happy" but shes retireing from playing Skyrim basically because she's bored.https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/after-hundreds-of-videos-over-9-years-88-year-old-skyrim-grandma-is-retiring-because-it-isnt-fun-anymore-im-tired-of-it-im-bored-to-death-with-it/ Oh Nintendo. In a show of complete lack of understanding of it's community the game giant decided to sue the makers of palworld for copyright infringement. Was this really necessary?https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/09/palworlds-japan-release-on-ps5-delayed-as-nintendos-lawsuit-loomshttps://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/nintendo-s-lawsuit-against-palworld-isn-t-just-bad-for-the-industry-it-s-bad-for-nintendo/ Do we really own our games. What rights do we have when we buy a game digitally? A new California law aims to define that a little more but does it go far enough?https://www.ign.com/articles/physical-copies-games-the-answer-when-nobody-owns-anything It has not been the best of times lately for Ubisoft with layoffs and delayed Game releases and this past week they got a little more bad news. They cancelled their appearance at the Tokyo Game Show and postponed all press previews of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows.The reason is so typical of the gaming community and frankly is infuriating. Ubisoft is facing back lash because of their DEI position and featuring a female as the lead character of their latest release. (Star Wars Outlaws)https://www.fastcompany.com/91198344/ubisoft-anti-dei-backlash-video-game-maker-assassins-creed Our list this episode is everything announced on the Sony State of Play this past month so lets dig into what was announced and what we are looking forward to.https://blog.playstation.com/2024/09/24/everything-revealed-in-state-of-play-september-2024/https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-state-of-play-september-2024-announcements

http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes RIP James Earl Jones A founding member of British synth-pop band Heaven 17 has alleged Rockstar offered the three writers of hit song Temptation $7,500 each for its use in Grand Theft Auto 6 — a figure he has flat out rejected.https://www.ign.com/articles/rock-star-tells-rockstar-to-go-f-yourself-after-extremely-low-offer-to-use-hit-song-in-gta-6 At gamescon (we'll get to that later) Blizzard unveiled a 4d ride called "Escape from Dalaran" and it was freaking awesome.https://www.wowhead.com/news/inside-blizzards-exhilarating-4d-ride-escape-from-dalaran-at-gamescom-2024-345989 While we were away Gamescon happened. This has sort of become the new E3 announcement venue and this year did not disappoint. So let's take a look at all the things that were announced.https://mashable.com/article/gamescom-2024-everything-announced-line-up-so-far

A video game industry icon is going away. We have several stories about actors in the video game industry and there is more guns and loot on the horizon. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Back before the internet, I remember going to the corner store and buying the very latest gaming magazine. It was our only source of information about upcoming games and how to beat that last boss in doom. Well one of the very first ones is closing its pages for the final time after a 33 year run. Gamestop is closing down its game-informer magazine. https://kotaku.com/game-informer-gamestop-meme-stock-gme-last-issue-1851611973 We all know that sex sells and video games are no different. A little jiggle and intimate interactions are no stranger to the video game world but what about the actors behind those scenes. Someone had to voice that line or motion capture that intimate moment. This week multiple actors complained that those scenes were done with little or no notice and called for changes within the industry.https://www.eurogamer.net/video-game-actors-call-for-better-transparency-around-disgusting-mocap-work-not-disclosed-in-advancehttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23l4ml51jmo last year one of our big stories was the SAG-AFTA strike which impacted video games. Well technacally that strike never ended but the parties agreed to go back to work and negotiate in good faith. Well a couple of weeks ago those negoatiations fell apart over AI. So what does that mean for the near future of games.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sag-aftra-calls-strike-against-major-video-game-studios-1235957116/ Even with the under-performance of the Borderlands movie, Gearbox announced this week that they are definitely working on Borderlands 4.https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/08/gearbox-teases-borderlands-4-again-following-movies-box-office-flop

Microsoft was thinking along the same lines as us when it comes to future consoles but that takes money to do. Ubisoft tries to piss off their Division fan base. Lets hope Salvatore's latest foray into video games fares better than his previous one and we have another list ... of course we do.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/ Show Notes We would never say we told you so buuuuut we told you so. A leak of a supposedly cancelled video game console that Microsoft filed a patent for was a slim line cloud gaming console.https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/26/24186639/microsoft-xbox-cloud-console-keystone-patent-images Xbox Game Pass Is Getting A Price Increase And Introducing A New Tier. So what's up with that?https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-pass-is-getting-a-price-increase-and-introducing-a-new-tier/1100-6524819/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D10417931;date%3D071124;lctg%3Db3a7b738bd17d2fa16eb5ab92783891fb0c35bd6f93fb6c92ad5b2d8754d0c30 A month ago, Ubisoft announced that future seasons of The Division 2 would switch to a seasonal character model, meaning you start fresh, level up, gear up, participate in season-specific activities. In the history of The Division 1 and 2 there has never been anything like this, and it did not sound great. Now, it’s being walked back.https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/07/15/the-division-2-deletes-diablo-4-seasonal-character-idea-after-player-revolt/ Renowned fantasy author R.A. Salvatore has joined forces with the newly established 3D development studio Tupelo Labs to bring his popular DemonWars Saga series into the world of video gaminghttps://gamefragger.com/multiplatform/ra-salvatore-partners-with-new-development-studio-for-demonwars-saga-video-game-a26538#gs.boo28p. A lot of the video games we play take place in cities. These setting can leave an impression on us as players as we traverse our way through the game. Gamerrant put out a list of the most iconic cities in video games and of course we had to take a look and give our take.https://gamerant.com/most-iconic-video-game-cities/

The demise of the XBox console as we know it. Another studio forms a union and we take issue with a poll.http://www.joystickandmouse.comhttp://shop.joystickandmouse.com/ Show Notes Here is the press release from Microsoft - At Xbox, we’re committed to bringing the joy and community of gaming to everyone.  Today, we’re announcing a collaboration with Amazon where Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in over 25 countries can play games directly from the Xbox app on select Fire TV devices via cloud gaming, giving people even more choice in how they play their favorite games.https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/27/xbox-cloud-gaming-amazon-fire-tv/ We follow up that story with another that heralds the end of the XBox console as we know it. A leak from NVidea shows that users will be able to play games from GeForce Now on XBox consoles. https://www.videogamer.com/news/nvidia-geforce-now-app-allegedly-coming-to-xbox-consoles-according-to-leaks/https://www.videogamer.com/tech/nvidia-geforce-now-games-list-in-2024/ Bethesda Game Studios Montreal has filed to unionise with the Communications Workers of America. The BGS Montreal union announced yesterday in a thread on social media that they filed for certification with the Quebec Labour Board.https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bethesda-montreal-files-for-unionisation The worst thing to ever hapen to our wallets is the Steam <insert season here> Sale. We've all done it. That game we've had our eye on goes on sale and it's too good of a deal to pass up. Thennnn it just sits there in our library. Staring at us every time we log in. Well we are not alone. According to a report this week users have spent $19 Billion on games that they have never played.https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam/pile-of-shame Of course we have a list and man do I have issues with this one. BAFTA released a poll they did of the most iconic characters of all time in video games. let's go through it.https://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/bafta-most-iconic-character-poll-results