On this week’s episode, Nathan and Chris are joined by a second Chris, this one of the Plante variety, to discuss the latter’s Earliest Game Of The Year awards. Why now? Because games that release near the beginning of the year often get ignored or forgotten by the time GOTY season rolls around. Also, as of now, nearly 11,000 games have already come out this year. We ask Chris why, despite a glut of same-y industry award shows, he believes we need more—not less—and what the value of those shows could be if they focused more on specific types of games or just generally dared to be weirder. Then we move on to the latest grim tidings out of Microsoft, where multiple studios including Double Fine, Compulsion, and Ninja Theory are now on the chopping block. What’s the plan here? Is there one? Was there ever—at least in terms of building a coherent identity around Xbox? Lastly, Nathan gets to talk about the UFC’s White House card, to the surprise and delight of no one.

Credits

- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person & special guest Chris Plante

- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude

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About The Show

Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.

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