Video Game Logic Podcast

Rage and I knew around the Holiday's this year we'd be busy and unavailable. So we Pre-Recorded some Franken Content that was story time themed. This week you get to hear about an issue in my weird Commune house, and we dunked on Starfield a little because that was still more fresh in our minds when we prepped this. We hope you enjoy it, and have a lovely Holiday Season!

This week we once again dunk on starfield a bit, talk about some recent games we've played, and talk about a few disasters in the industry. Games We Played Epic Games Defeats Google in Jury Trial Over App Store Monopoly Case Bethesda is an entitled little Brat Community CornerDoom’s 30th Anniversary Pics Collection The Day Before Falls apart only a few Days After Launch Games We Played Rage: Headbangers: Rhythm Royale https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761620/Headbangers_Rhythm_Royale/ F-ZERO™ 99 https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/f-zero-99-switch/ Jared: Tales of Vesperia https://store.steampowered.com/app/738540/Tales_of_Vesperia_Definitive_Edition/ The Last Remnant https://store.steampowered.com/app/23310/The_Last_Remnant/ News Items and sources: Epic Games Defeats Google in Jury Trial Over App Store Monopoly Case https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/epic-games-defeats-google-in-jury-trial-over-app-store-monopoly-case Bethesda tries its hand at paid mods in Skyrim Special Edition once again https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesda-tries-its-hand-at-paid-mods-in-skyrim-special-edition-once-again Skyrim Together Team Gives Up on Starfield https://www.gamesradar.com/dev-behind-massive-skyrim-multiplayer-mod-turns-their-hands-to-starfield-gives-up-because-this-game-is-fing-trash-uploads-everything-for-someone-else-to-finish/ Doom’s 30th Anniversary Pics Collection https://twitter.com/Lord_Arse/status/1733921349356146787?t=Z658HAwCoiZWaQAIFixXWQ&s=19 The Day Before Falls apart only a few Days After https://www.githyp.com/the-day-before-has-already-lost-80-of-its-players-in-the-first-3-days-on-steam/ https://twistedvoxel.com/the-day-before-sales-50-refunds/ The Day Before dev seems to be deleting evidence it was ever an MMO https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-day-before/mmo-steam-tags

This week Jared's kid had a school event so we couldn't record an episode. Enjoy some franken content that's relatively recent rather than from several months ago. We intend to record again next week, with the only upcoming planned week off being the week of Christmas.

This week Rage and Shrink go Vroom in the latest entry to a series that is nearly as old as they are. Its also nearly as cringy too. We also dunk on Starfield some more, and talk badly about currency exchange. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights and Timestamps: November Gameclub: Need For Speed Unbound 4:01 Next Gameclub: Wartales 30:11 Steam's USD currency change for Argentina and Turkey results in game price hikes.32:50 Bethesda is now tailoring replies to negative Starfield Steam reviews 45:52 Community CornerGamers enraged at Ubisoft for injecting ads into the middle of video games 57:55 News Items and sources: Steam's USD currency change for Argentina and Turkey results in game price hikes https://www.gamesindustry.biz/steams-usd-currency-change-for-argentina-and-turkey-results-in-game-price-hikes https://www.pcgamer.com/today-is-the-end-of-steam-argentina-and-turkey-floored-by-new-steam-price-hikes-as-high-as-2900/ Bethesda is now tailoring replies to negative Starfield Steam reviews https://www.pcgamesn.com/starfield/replies-negative-steam-reviews Gamers enraged at Ubisoft for injecting ads into the middle of video games https://www.techspot.com/news/100953-gamers-enraged-ubisoft-injecting-ads-middle-video-games.html https://www.tweaktown.com/news/94587/ubisoft-calls-full-screen-pop-up-ads-while-playing-assassins-creed-technical-error/index.html

We've got a mishmash of several (mostly) shorter Franken Segments in order to clean up some of the old Episodes hanging in the backlog folder. We hope you had a lovely thanksgiving if you celebrate, and a generally positive week either way. We'll be back next week for the November Gameclub Episode, and look forward to seeing you then!

This week I (Jared) had a planned internet service outage on the only night we could record. So you get a mish mash of an older episode's franken content mixed in with the one from last week since it was still sitting in my editing folder. Enjoy!

On today's show we finally get back to it for our October Gameclub. We discuss a couple of news topics and generally had a good time together. We hope you enjoy it too! Topics list: For Show Date: 11/07/2023 October Gameclub 2:39 Next Gameclub: Need for Speed Unbound 1:05:02 Escapist Mass Resignations 1:08:26 Nintendo Announces Live Action Legend of Zelda Movie 1:19:26 Escapist Mass Resignations https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2023/11/07/zero-punctuation-ends-as-the-escapist-faces-mass-resignations-after-eic-firing/?sh=23736410a349 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-escapist-staff-resign-following-termination-of-editor-in-chief-nick-calandra https://futurism.com/the-byte/gaming-sites-writers-ai-editor Nintendo Announces Live Action Legend of Zelda Movie https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/nintendo-announces-live-action-legend-of-zelda-movie-distributed-and-co-financed-by https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nintendo-announces-live-action-zelda-movie

Good day again internet friends! We truly were set to record this week and I (Jared) was delivered extremely bad news about someone close to me and it just put me out of it. To that end, here we are with another load of franken stuff. We hope you all had a lovely Halloween, and will see you again very soon. Surely lightning can't strike twice right?......

Greetings listeners! We know there have been many franken episodes lately, but we have all this backlogged content for this reason. We still haven't settled on a regular new schedule yet, but are working on it. Next week is the October Gameclub Episode for Starfield, and we have already committed to recording that come hell or high water, and Rage has informed me he is fairly used to his job now. So, fingers crossed we won't be using as many Franken Shows moving forward. Thank you all for sticking with us through the adjustment period, and enjoy some farther backlog!

Greetings folks! We had another week where we needed to run Franken as both our changing schedules and need to rest kept us from recording a fresh episode. So enjoy some content from the franken archives that reaches back to February and March of this year.

Difficult work schedules and illness left us unable to do a normal recording. So this week we run a Franken from our deep backlog. So much has happened in 2023, and yet we always find a way to complain about twitter.

On todays episode we approach a general topic. Our Mount Rushmore of important video game characters. We also do a discovery Queue for the first time in ages! We explain why in the episode we did it this way, and that there may be more of these coming in the days ahead. Topics list: For Show Date: 10/01/2023 Mount Rushmore: Importance 7:09 Discovery Queue 55:45

This week Shrink & Rage hold the monthly game club then talk about some news. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Gameclub: Beat Cop 3:59 Next Gameclub: Starfield 32:55 Fables creator places Wolf Among Us universe in public domain amid clash with DC over Telltale adaptation 35:14 SAG-AFTRA Members Approve Video Game Strike Authorization Vote With 98.32% Yes Vote 43:00 Community Corner Phil Spencer is right: AAA games are in big trouble 50:51 KSP 2 Registry Spam, Promises Fix “Soon” 1:00:15 News Fables Enters the Public Domain Rock Paper Shotgun: Fables creator places Wolf Among Us universe in public domain amid clash with DC over Telltale adaptation SAG AFTRA Video Game Strike Announcement: SAG-AFTRA Members Approve Video Game Strike Authorization Vote With 98.32% Yes Vote Community Corner Phil Spencer on AAA Games Polygon: Phil Spencer is right: AAA games are in big trouble KSP 2 Registry Spam PC Gamer: Kerbal Space Program 2 has been spamming your Windows registry with junk since launch, but a fix is being tested right now Forum Post

Jared was very sleepy and out of it this week, so we pulled something from the pages of the Franken Backlog for this week. Hope you all rest too and enjoy yourselves. Remember, Next week is the September Gameclub of "Beat Cop" so if you want to participate you've still got time to send something in.

This week Shrink & Rage talk about a little game called Starfield and Unity firmly shooting themselves in the foot. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:44 Unity reveals plans to charge per game install, drawing criticism from development community 44:11 Nintendo Has Switch 2 News 1:02:02 Community Corner 1:24:13 Judge issues legal permaban, $500K judgment against serial Destiny 2 cheater Games We Played Rage: Starfield Shrink: Starfield News Unity's Pricing Changes Eurogamer: Unity reveals plans to charge per game install, drawing criticism from development community Dot E-Sports: Unity’s controversial business decision comes mere days after CEO sells 2,000 shares Shacknews: Game developers react to Unity Engine's new pricing changes Guru Focus: Unity Software Inc's President and CEO John Riccitiello Sells 2,000 Shares Innersloth Announcement Aggro Crab Announcement Switch 2 News? Dextro: New Nintendo patent suggests Switch 2 may solve joycon drift Video Games Chronicle: Nintendo showed Switch 2 demos at Gamescom Community Corner Destiny 2 Cheater Banned, Fined by Judge Ars Technica: Judge issues legal permaban, $500K judgment against serial Destiny 2 cheater

This week Shrink & Rage lust for cup noodle, mourn a fallen dev, and talk about Valve. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 14:15 Japan Is Getting Gaming Cup Noodle Designed for Gamers; Contains Caffeine & More 58:57 Embracer Shuts Down Saints Row Developer Volition 1:09:47 Valve is coming for Dota 2's smurf accounts, and the main accounts behind them 1:23:50 New: Tell Steam If Your Game Supports DualShock or DualSense Controllers 1:34:39 Games We Played Rage: Ultimate NES Remix Shrink: Ixion Fortnite Jumbo Airport Story News Japan's Gamer Noodle TechRaptor: Japan Is Getting Gaming Cup Noodle Designed for Gamers; Contains Caffeine & More Goodbye, Volition TechRaptor: Embracer Shuts Down Saints Row Developer Volition Valve Cracking Down on the Smurfs Eurogamer: Valve is coming for Dota 2's smurf accounts, and the main accounts behind them Steam Shows Duelshock and DualSense Supporting Games Announcement: Tell Steam If Your Game Supports DualShock or DualSense Controllers

This week Shrink & Rage holds a very colorful game club before tackling a bit of news. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Gameclub: Chicory A Colorful Tale 2:38 Next Gameclub: Beat Cop 34:18 Starfield leaker arrested after allegedly stealing copies of the game 39:55 Community Corner 49:37 Epic’s new program lets developers keep their revenue in exchange for exclusivity News Starfield Leaker Arrested Starfield leaker arrested after allegedly stealing copies of the game Leaker who stole copies of Starfield facing up to a 12-year sentence Boasting on Blue Bird Community Corner Epic Game Store Exclusivity Deal Epic’s new program lets developers keep their revenue in exchange for exclusivity

This week Shrink & Rage talk about the dumpster fire of the week and clear out the community corner. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:07 Why a B.C. YouTube empire suddenly became mired in controversy 22:50 The wait between major video game sequels is getting longer 55:15 Community Corner 1:08:37 Pathfinder Dev Deletes 3rd Party Analytics Tool Rockstar Buys Makers of GTA Online FiveM Mod Games We Played Rage: Retro Game Challenge Shrink: Magic Research News Linus Dumpster Fire CBC: Why a B.C. YouTube empire suddenly became mired in controversy Dexerto: Linus Tech Tips responds to disturbing allegations from ex-employee Madison Reeve The wait between Video Game Sequels Axios: The wait between major video game sequels is getting longer Community Corner Pathfinder's Analytics Tool Removal PC Gamer: Fan outcry pushes Pathfinder dev to delete new data-sucking tool and all its info one day after introducing it: 'The scale of the outburst surpassed worst expectations' Rockstar Buys GTA Online Mod PC Gamer: Rockstar buys the makers of the GTA Online FiveM mod it banned 8 years ago

This week Shrink & Rage talk about riots, engineering, and a possible new entry in the game streaming market. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Gameclub Change Reminder 5:20 Games We Played 7:30 Netflix to Enter Streaming Game Market? 1:01:35 Community Corner 1:17:26 Twitch Streamer Giveaway Causes Riot in Union Square Games We Played Rage: Space Engineers Shrink: War Thunder Raft News Netflix Entering Game Streaming Market? Netflix launches game controller app on mobile Community Corner Twitch Streamer Causes Riot... Literally CNN: Twitch streamer charged with inciting a riot after giveaway draws huge crowds to Union Square in New York City Yahoo News: Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Breaks Silence After New York City Giveaway Mayhem ABC New York: 16 sought in Union Square riot for damaging car during Kai Cenat event

School days makes for a rough week and a quick change up to the game club.

Life threw us a bit of a curve ball and kept us from recording this week. Have some fresh scraps of random recordings as we put out a few fires.

This week Shrink & Rage puzzles over the monthly game club before tackling some news. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps July Gameclub: Professor Layton and The Curious Village 10:19 Next Gameclub: Death Stranding 38:43 ESRB proposes facial age estimation technology for parental consent 39:12 Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft 50:33 Microsoft Ends Xbox Gold 1:01:33 Community Corner 1:20:39 Bear Sex Scene Sends Baldur’s Gate 3 up Steam Charts Will Ubisoft Delete Inactive Accounts? News ESRB Face Scans Eurogamer: ESRB proposes facial age estimation technology for parental consent Sony Agrees to Call of Duty Deal The Verge: Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft The End of Xbox Gold Tweet (Scuk it Muskrat) Pure Xbox: Xbox 'Game Pass Core' Reportedly Replacing Xbox Live Gold This September Announcement Forbes: It’s Time For Microsoft To Put Online Multiplayer In All Levels Of Game Pass Community Corner Balder's Gate Bear Sex PC Games N: Baldur’s Gate 3 leaps up Steam charts after bear sex reveal Will Ubisoft Delete Inactive Accounts? PC Gamer: Your Ubisoft account can be permanently deleted for 'inactivity,' but Ubisoft says that won't happen if there are purchases attached to it (Updated) The Verge: No, Ubisoft won’t delete your game-filled accounts, it claims

The weather got in the way of recording this week. We'll be back next week for game club!

This week Shrink & Rage talk about the FTC... again while Shrink takes a video game vacation. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:17 Microsoft/Activision Deal Getting Closer? 50:57 Dutch government seeks to ban loot boxes 57:31 87% of classic video games are 'critically endangered', says game history organization 1:02:55 Community Corner 1:17:51 Denuvo wants to convince you its DRM isn’t “evil” Official Minecraft wiki editors furious at Fandom Video Games And TikTok Are To Blame For French Riots Games We Played Rage: Arcade Paradise Shrink: Pillars of Eternity News Microsoft and the FTC... Again Games Industry Biz: Canada regulator says Microsoft-Activision deal "likely" to harm competition The Verge: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard The Verge: Microsoft and UK regulators agree to pause their Activision battle to negotiate Dutch Government Banning Loot Boxes? Games Industry Biz: Dutch government seeks to ban loot boxes Are Classic Games Endangered? Games Industry Biz: 87% of classic video games are 'critically endangered', says game history organisation Community Corner Is Denuvo Evil? Ars Technica: Denuvo wants to convince you its DRM isn’t “evil” Minecraft Wiki Leaving Fandom? PC Gamer: Official Minecraft wiki editors so furious at Fandom's 'degraded' functionality and popups they're overwhelmingly voting to leave the site Video Games and Tik Tok Caused the French Riots? Kotaku: Video Games And TikTok Are To Blame For French Riots, Says Prez

Because our usual recording day took place on Independence Day, and we didn't want to deal with nutters shooting off fireworks in the background, we took a week off for some rest and totally not being sick.

This week Shrink & Rage hold the monthly game club and check out the news. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Gameclub: Cassette Beasts 8:55 Next Gameclub Game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village 55:22 A Splatoon 3 player took over a Nintendo shareholder meeting over male customisation options 1:00:17 DDoS attack on Blizzard leads to more calls for a Diablo 4 offline mode 1:14:03 Google reportedly testing feature to play games on YouTube 1:25:59 News Splatoon 3 Player Upset Over Male Customisation VG 24/7: A Splatoon 3 player took over a Nintendo shareholder meeting over male customisation options Gamer infiltrated Nintendo meeting to complain about Splatoon 3’s lack of male poses Diablo 4 DDoS Attack Techspot: DDoS attack on Blizzard leads to more calls for a Diablo 4 offline mode Google Trying Game Streaming... Again? Games Industry Biz: Google reportedly testing feature to play games on YouTube

This week Shrink & Rage talk about EA splitting, FTC slowing Microsoft/Blizz Activision coming together, and where gamers game. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 3:17 Study: 47% of gamers play on multiple platforms 29:58 FTC temporarily blocks Microsoft Activision Blizzard buyout 38:45 EA Sports and EA Games Splitting Apart in Internal Shakeup 45:08 Discovery Queue 50:30 Games We Played Rage: Pokemon Crystal Shrink: Per Aspera Starbound News Where Do Gamers Game? Video Games Biz: Study: 47% of gamers play on multiple platforms FTC Taps Brakes On Microsoft/Activision Blizzard Buyout FTC temporarily blocks Microsoft Activision Blizzard buyout EA Sports and EA Games Split IGN: EA Sports and EA Games Splitting Apart in Internal Shakeup Discovery Queue Rage: F1® 23 Roots of Pacha Fields of Mistria Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction Halls of Torment It's Only Money Park Beyond Cassette Beasts Voidigo Shrink: Starship Troopers: Extermination Street Fighter 6 Sons of the Forest Returnal RE4 Remake Amnesia the Bunker

This week Shrink & Rage roll the dice and try to deduce what really happened with Disco Elysium? Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 5:15 Real Trucking Company Is Buying Billboards In American Truck Simulator To Help Recruit Staff 42:11 Community Corner Investigation: Who’s Telling the Truth about Disco Elysium? 51:31 GameStop fires its CEO 1:09:42 Diablo 4 Unleashes Hell of Overpriced, Cosmetic Microtransactions 1:18:54 Twitch Announces, Repeals Branded Content Guidelines 1:24:00 Games We Played Rage: Railway Empire 2 Shrink: School Girl Zombie Hunter Farworld Pioneers News Trucking Company Ad in American Truck Sim Gamestop: Real Trucking Company Is Buying Billboards In American Truck Simulator To Help Recruit Staff Community Corner Entering the Disco Elysium Shitstorm People Make Games GameStop Fires CEO The Verge: GameStop fires its CEO / Matthew Furlong is out as GameStop CEO, while meme stock investor Ryan Cohen is taking on the role of executive chair. Diablo 4 Microtransactions IGN: Now Diablo 4 Is Out in the Wild, the True Horror of Its Costly Microtransactions Has Revealed Itself Twitch Content Guidelines Ars Technica: Twitch reverses overlaid stream sponsor ban after mass creator backlash [Updated] And... the repeal

A rough night, not in that way, left one of us too tired to perform... in that way.

This week Shrink & Rage go to the metaverse in Persona 5 then talk about Nintendo and non-Nintendo related news. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps May Gameclub: Persona 5 Royal 3:37 Next Gameclub: Cassette Beasts 57:45 After killing legal access to hundreds of 3DS games, now Nintendo's going even harder on illegal access 1:00:37 Nintendo, Steam, Dolphin and the DMCA 1:09:00 Knockout City Releases Server Software 1:17:15 The Lord of the Rings Gollum devs “deeply regret” its dismal reception 1:20:25 News Community Corner 3DS Patched to Stop Homebrew Games Radar: After killing legal access to hundreds of 3DS games, now Nintendo's going even harder on illegal access Nintendo, Steam, Dolphin, and the DMCA Offical Statement Reddit Comment 1 Reddit Comment 2 PC Gamer: Nintendo blocks Steam release of Wii emulator Dolphin VGC: Nintendo has blocked the Steam version of GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin Knockout City Releases Server Software Offical Statement Lord of the Rings Gollum's Mess PC Games N: The Lord of the Rings Gollum devs “deeply regret” its dismal reception

This week Shrink & Rage talks about games wasting our time and revolting fans in War Thunder and Overwatch! Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:22 Hawken Reborn is having a rough time on Steam 39:14 War Thunder reverses economy changes after Steam review bombing 46:33 Nintendo receives lawsuit over Mario Kart Tour microtransactions 54:01 Community Corner 1:02:27 Blizzard Scraps Most PvE Plans for Overwatch 2, Fans Pissed Report - Sony fails to appeal Austrian loot box verdict Games We Played Rage: Homestead Arcana Shrink: Space Engineers Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 News Hawken Stillborn? PCGamesN: Hawken Reborn is having a rough time on Steam War Thunder Review Bombs PCGamesN:War Thunder reverses economy changes after Steam review bombing Nintendo Mario Kart Tour Lawsuit Games Industry Biz: Nintendo receives lawsuit over Mario Kart Tour microtransactions Community Corner Overwatch 2 Fans Pissed Tech Raptor: Blizzard Scrapped PvE Plans for Overwatch 2 & Replaced them With Co-Op Missions Starting With Season 6 PC Gamer: 'Overwatch 2' is a failed idea Sony Loot Box Appeal Failed Games Industry Biz: Report - Sony fails to appeal Austrian loot box verdict

With one of us sick it is time to throw out more filler content! Getting a bit political as we wait for Shrink to recover from his latest plague.

This week Shrink & Rage discusses Nintendo, Nintendo, and influential video games. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:10 Nintendo Switch Sales Slow, Surpasses 125 Million 53:45 Nintendo On Warpath. Files DMCA on Emulation Tools 1:00:37 Last of US, Wii Sports, Computer Space, and Barbie Join World Video Game Hall of Fame 1:07:47 PC gamers are getting really, really fed up with one sh*tty port after another 1:30:00 Games We Played Rage: Shapez The Oregon Trail Shrink: Mods! Honkai: Star Rail News Nintendo Hardware Nintendo Life: Switch Hardware Sales Now Over 125 Million, PS2, Nintendo DS Target Still A Way Off Games Industry Biz: Nintendo profits dip to $6.6 billion after year of hardware struggles Nintendo PR Nintendo Life: Switch Android Emulator Skyline Halts Development Due To "Potential Legal Risks" PC Gamer: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's leak has turned into one giant mess for the emulation community Ars Technica: Nintendo, ticked by Zelda leaks, does a DMCA run on Switch emulation tools Video Game Hall of Fame Games Industry Biz: Barbie Fashion Designer, Computer Space, Last of Us, Wii Sports join Hall of Fame | News-in-brief Bad PC Game Ports PC Gamer: PC gamers are getting really, really fed up with one sh*tty port after another

This week Shrink & Rage return with a quicker game club and then catch up on a backlog of news Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast.Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps April Gameclub: Coffee Talk 7:20 Next Gameclub: Persona 5 38:05 Cloud Gaming Blocks Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Merger? 40:15 Live service keeps killing modestly successful multiplayer games, and it doesn't have to be this way 53:57 Atari Announces Acquisition of More than 100 PC and Console Titles from the 80s and 90s 1:03:20 80% of game workers interested in four-day week, Skillsearch survey finds 1:15:49 Community Corner 1:21:06 Apple’s iOS “walled garden” doesn’t break antitrust laws, appeals court affirms Fan unwittingly scores new Magic: The Gathering cards early before Wizards of the Coast gets 19th century on his ass: 'The Pinkertons took everything News Microsoft/Activision Blizzard Merger Blocked? The Gamer: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard Merger Could Get Blocked For Ten Years The Gamer: Why Did The CMA Block The Microsoft Activision Blizzard Merger FAQ Games Industry Biz: Microsoft and Activision Blizzard won't take no for an answer | This Week in Business Live Service Keeps Killing Games PC Gamer: Live service keeps killing modestly successful multiplayer games, and it doesn't have to be this way Atari Game Acquisition Globe Newswire: Atari Announces Acquisition of More than 100 PC and Console Titles from the 80s and 90s Game Workers Want a Shorter Workweek? Games Industry Biz: 80% of game workers interested in four-day week, Skillsearch survey finds Community Corner Apple Walled Garden Upheld Ars Technica: Apple’s iOS “walled garden” doesn’t break antitrust laws, appeals court affirms Pinkertons Take Magic the Gathering Cards PC Gamer: Fan unwittingly scores new Magic: The Gathering cards early before Wizards of the Coast gets 19th century on his ass: 'The Pinkertons took everything.'

Ever get the feeling that Tuesdays are just... cursed? Another week of life getting in the way, we should be back for Game Club next week!

With Shrink away we talk about some serious issues in a very special Fraken episode.

This week Shrink & Rage catch up with the mailbag with some community content. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 7:10 Resident Evil 4 remake has added microtransactions to upgrade weapons quicker 44:50 Community Corner Dark and Darker has been removed from Steam following a cease and desist demand 1:02:00 E3 is Dead… for Good? 1:08:46 Ark 2 is delayed, so they're turning off Survival Evolved's official servers and charging $50 for a remaster 1:15:55 Monster Energy targets indie game in latest trademark lawsuit 1:20:19 Games We Played Rage: Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure Shrink: Ace Combat 7 Multiplayer Nova Squadron Demo News RE4 Microtransactions VGC: Resident Evil 4 remake has added microtransactions to upgrade weapons quicker Community Corner Dark and Darker's Murky Case Eurogamer: Dark and Darker has been removed from Steam following a cease and desist demand Eurogamer: Dark and Darker legal dispute gets more and more confusing after a GoFundMe campaign is deleted Eurogamer: Dark and Darker developer uses ChatGPT AI tool in bid to prove it hasn't infringed copyright E3 Dead? PCGamesN: E3 is cancelled this year, and it might not ever come back Ark 2 Delay/ Ark 1 Servers Shutdown Rock Paper Shotgun: Ark 2 is delayed, so they're turning off Survival Evolved's official servers and charging $50 for a remaster Gamespot: Ark: Survival Evolved Reviews Trending Negative On Steam After Paid Upgrade Announcement Litigious Monster Energy? Eurogamer: Monster Energy targets indie game in latest trademark lawsuit Games Industry Biz: Ubisoft renamed Immortals: Fenyx Rising after trademark dispute Nintendo Soup: Random: Monster Energy Targets Pokemon Company, Capcom, And Others Over “Monster” Trademark

This week Shrink & Rage are... unimpressed with the game club then gets cut short. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:28 March Gameclub: Ori and the Blind Forest 29:42 Next Gameclub: Coffee Talk 1 Games We Played Rage: Sonic Frontiers Shrink: Project Wingman “Update” BTA: 3062 “Update”

A special Sunday recording that we hoped to not have to use just yet.

If you have one cult, does it really matter if you accidentally start a second one? Find out on this thrown-together Franken episode.

This week Shrink & Rage get some closure and hear about some settlements. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 1:16 Soulslike dev accused of reusing FromSoftware animations 26:50 Square Enix says Forspoken sales have been lackluster, and many small and mid-sized titles "did not perform as well as we had expected" 37:29 ZA/UM resolves legal dispute with Disco Elysium producer Kaur Kender 54:15 Community Corner FIFA Loot Boxes Violate Austrian Gambling Laws, Court Rules 58:15 Games We Played Rage: Merge & Blade Shrink: Forspoken News Soulslike Asset Theft? PC Gamer: Soulslike dev accused of reusing FromSoftware animations Square Enix's Lackluster Performance... Again RPG Site:Square Enix says Forspoken sales have been lackluster, and many small and mid-sized titles "did not perform as well as we had expected" ZA/UM Resolves Disco Elysium Dispute Games Industy Biz: ZA/UM resolves legal dispute with Disco Elysium producer Kaur Kender Euro Gamer: Disco Elysium developer says lawsuits from former members now resolved Community Corner FIFA Lootboxes Violate Austrian Gambling Law Kotaku: FIFA Loot Boxes Violate Austrian Gambling Laws, Court Rules Games Industry Biz: Austrian court rules that FIFA loot boxes violate gambling laws

This week Shrink & Rage looks ahead to a golden game coming out this year, talks about Paradox taking on another EA staple, and how Hogwarts Legacy shows need more single-player experiences. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 5:05 Paradox announces a number of games 25:08 Golden Girls Fan Game Takes Inspiration from Persona 39:10 Hogwarts Legacy is Europe’s fastest-selling game (that isn’t FIFA) for a generation | European Monthly Charts 42:22 Games We Played Rage: Shadows of Doubt Shrink: World of Warships Phantom Brigade News Paradox Games Tech Raptor: Paradox Teases New The Sims-Like Game; Announces DLC for Crusader Kings 3, Europa Universalis IV, & More PC Invasion: The Sims creator is heading its competitor, Life By You PC Gamer: Cities: Skylines 2 will have hailstorms, rat infestations, and 150 map tiles in a single city Golden Girls Persona? Game Rant: Golden Girls Fan Game Takes Inspiration from Persona Hogwarts Selling Like Hotcakes Games Industry Biz: Hogwarts Legacy is Europe’s fastest-selling game (that isn’t FIFA) for a generation | European Monthly Charts Dual Shockers: Hogwarts Legacy Banned From Games Done Quick, Along With Every Harry Potter Game

This week Shrink & Rage hit the road with Game Club then come back to Earth with the launch of KSP 2. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show-related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps February Gameclub: Road 96 - 2:21 Next Gameclub: Ori and the Blind Forest 1:30:33 KSP 2 General Discussion 1:31:25

This week Shrink & Rage talks about live service games, demos we played, and video cards blowing up! Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 0:00:49 MultiVersus’ daily peak Steam player count has dropped more than 99% since launch 1:05:12 As Marvel’s Avengers game shuts down, one dev offers an apology 1:20.:57 Games We Played Rage: I Am Future Driftwood Phantom Brigade Shrink: Mini Metro Plan B: Terraform Demo Survivalist: Invisible Strain News MultiVersus Dying? Video Game Chronicle: MultiVersus’ daily peak Steam player count has dropped more than 99% since launch Marvel's Advengers Apology PC Games N: As Marvel’s Avengers game shuts down, one dev offers an apology

Illness strikes again, so have yet another Fraken Episode!

This week Shrink & Rage hold our somewhat monthly gameclub. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Gameclub: Disco Elysium Next Gameclub Game: Road 96 Disco Elysium Studio Accused Of Ousting Creators, Dev Says It's 'Bad News' For Sequel Community Corner AMD is ‘undershipping’ chips to balance CPU, GPU supply News No Disco Elysium 2? Kotaku: Disco Elysium Studio Accused Of Ousting Creators, Dev Says It's 'Bad News' For Sequel Community Corner AMD Under-shipping Chips? PC World: AMD is ‘undershipping’ chips to balance CPU, GPU supply

Illness strikes again! Game club next week, hopefully, and then back to normal!

This week Shrink & Rage get back to somewhat normal for an episode. Do you have feedback for the show, have a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show related projects, you can do so by supporting our Patreon campaign. Show Highlights & Timestamps Games We Played 2:56 Ubisoft Delays Skull and Bones Again, Cancels 3 Games as Mario + Rabbids and Just Dance Disappoint 34:16 Wizards of the Coast Update on OGL 48:35 Stadia leaves players a PC controller gift before bowing out 1:03:37 European Parliament votes to take action against loot boxes, gaming addiction, gold farming and more 1:15:42 Microsoft's Changes to Xbox Console Leave Republicans Outrage 1:35:14 Community Corner 1:41:45 Hall Effect Stick Upgrade Kit Will Solve Joy-Con Drift Soldiers Use Metal Gear Solid Tactic To Defeat Military Robot Games We Played Rage: Shapez Shrink: Hammerhelm Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet News Ubisoft Delays Skull and Bones... Again Tech Raptor: Ubisoft Delays Skull and Bones Again, Cancels 3 Games as Mario + Rabbids and Just Dance Disappoint Insider Gaming: Ubisoft’s “Project Q” Has Been Canceled Wizards of the Coast Foolishness D&D Beyond: An Update on the Open Game License Legal Eagle Goes Over OGL 1.1 Stadia Controller Not E-Waste PCGamesN: Stadia leaves players a PC controller gift before bowing out European Parliament Votes to Take Action Against Loot Boxes, Gaming Addiction, and Gold Farming Games Industry Biz: European Parliament votes to take action against loot boxes, gaming addiction, gold farming and more Republicans Outraged Over Xbox Changes Newsweek: Microsoft's Changes to Xbox Console Leave Republicans Outraged Community Corner Hall Effect Kit Solves Joy Con Drift Gizmodo: This Hall Effect Stick Upgrade Kit Will Solve Joy-Con Drift Forever Soldiers Defeats Robot With a Box' Kotaku: Real Soldiers Use Metal Gear Solid Tactic To Defeat Military Robot

With our halftime performer back in its cage, it's time to conclude the VGL awards! Do you have feedback for the show, a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show-related projects, you can support our Patreon campaign.

We're handling things a bit differently this year for our award show. Due to us being old, cranky men we're putting the show out in two parts. Part B will be out before the next show, toward the middle of next week. Do you have feedback for the show, a response for something we said, or something we should know about? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] stop by our Discord, or tweet us @VGLPodcast. Finally, if you wish to throw us some cash to help improve the show, and for various show-related projects, you can support our Patreon campaign.