Game Scoop! 821: Are Video Games Still Recession Proof?

Summary

Below is a detailed, structured summary of “Game Scoop! 821: Are Video Games Still Recession Proof?” hosted by Damon Hatfield and guests from IGN’s Gamescoop, released on August 15, 2025. The episode combines industry analysis, retro gaming nostalgia, game reviews, and a lively trivia session—all wrapped up in the IGN tone and style.

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1. OVERVIEW
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   • The main theme of the episode is the question: “Are video games still recession proof?”
   • The discussion compares the industry’s past recession resilience (like in 2008) to today’s economic uncertainty and evolving business models.
   • In addition to debating the “recession proof” myth, the hosts review game news (from Atari 50 updates to Mafia and retro titles), share personal gaming anecdotes, and conclude with a fun “Video Game 20 Questions” segment.

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2. INTRODUCTION & SETTING THE STAGE
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• [00:00–01:38] Damon kicks off with the provocative question about video games’ recession-proof status and introduces sponsors (Babbel, Mint Mobile, Pretty Litter) before welcoming his studio guests: Per Schneider, Sam Claiborne, and Mark Medina.
• The conversation flows instantly into banter—reminiscing about the “good old days” of sales data spreadsheets, retro consoles, and early online experiences—setting a playful, informal atmosphere.

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3. ARE GAMES STILL RECESSION PROOF?
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• A central conversation arises from a GamesIndustry.biz article featuring former Sony exec Shawn Layton and analysts like Matt Piscatella and Piers Harding.
– Notable Quote at [05:49]: Matt Piscatella states, “I don't know if games are recession proof. I think play is recession proof,” emphasizing that while people will always look for entertainment, the underlying business models may not fare as well during economic downturns.
• Key discussion points include:
▪ How the industry of 2008 — when most titles were sold at full price and hardware was the key expense — differs from today’s era of free-to-play, DLC, and subscriptions.
▪ The tremendous growth of mobile and free-to-play offerings (referencing Roblox, Genshin Impact, and Fortnite) that have expanded gaming’s audience even as premium games face shrinking margins.
▪ Rising development budgets and production costs versus a largely stagnant number of console players. Sean Layton’s observation ([21:41]) that “there are more sports cars in the PS1 era than there are in the PS4 era” underlines how multiplier expenses now force studios to nickel-and-dime consumers through DLC and microtransactions.

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4. DISCUSSING THE SHIFT: FROM PREMIUM TITLES TO FREE-TO-PLAY
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• The hosts compare past recession behavior (where gaming was seen as a luxury people wouldn’t cut) with today’s shifting spending habits amid economic uncertainty.
• They argue that while people may still “play” regardless of the economy, traditional premium sales could suffer as the market pivots toward free or subscription-based models.
• The conversation touches on:
▪ How free-to-play models have multiplied the total market size—now a nearly US$200-billion industry, if premium sales were compared to a fraction of that.
▪ The economic pressures on big franchises, where even established properties now risk being undercut by cheaper or subscription-based alternatives.

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5. RETRO GAMING & ARCHAEOLOGY OF GAME COLLECTIONS
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• At [27:00] Damon breaks the news about upcoming Atari 50 updates: the Namco Legendary Pack will include releases of Pac-Man on Atari 2600, 5200, and the Atari 8-bit consoles, complemented by interactive documentaries and archival interviews courtesy of Digital Eclipse.
• The segment evokes nostalgia as the hosts reminisce about their first gaming experiences, discussing titles like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and classic home console releases.
• Personal anecdotes surface (a dad’s repeated tries on Dig Dug, for instance), illustrating how the evolution of gaming hardware has influenced play.

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6. GAME REVIEWS & PERSONAL PICKS
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• The conversation drifts into game reviews:
▪ Sam, who is discovering or revisiting Mafia games, praises the “old country” Mafia title for its picturesque Sicily setting, intricate detail, and immersive period ambiance.
▪ The discussion compares open-world explorations with linear narrative styles (similar to Uncharted vs. traditional Mafia entries) and touches on gameplay elements like racing, stealth mechanics, and fist-fighting.
• The hosts also banter about other beloved franchises like Donkey Kong, Marvel Rivals, and even a playful nostalgia for annualized franchises (e.g., Assassin’s Creed) from a bygone era.

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7. CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS & INDUSTRY OBSERVATIONS
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• The panel debates the sustainability of high-cost game productions:
▪ With budgets soaring past US$160 million, many studios rely on additional monetization (special editions, DLC, battle passes) to recoup costs.
▪ Concerns are raised that such practices could ultimately wedge premium gamers from a rapidly expanding free-to-play audience, potentially stifling the traditional console market.
• The discussion later reflects on how nostalgic elements (such as the once “innovative” cameo of balance board games) contribute both charm and challenges in the modern era.

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8. VIDEO GAME 20 QUESTIONS TRIVIA SEGMENT
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• In a lighthearted trivia game starting around [57:00], the hosts engage in “Video Game 20 Questions,” wherein a listener (Michael from Germany) suggests a game, and the panel questions clues to narrow down possibilities.
• Through a series of yes/no questions about the game’s country of origin, platform history, gameplay style (hand-to-hand combat, driving, and narrative-focused elements), they tease clues such as:
▪ “Playable on a Nintendo system” ([64:00])
▪ “Not an indie game” and “not published by the big three”
▪ The presence of open-world driving without swords, paralleling Rock Star games.
• In the final round, after rapid-fire questioning and playful banter—including humorous remarks about mascots and regional origins—the answer is revealed at [71:24]: L A Noire.
– Notable moment: Damon proudly announces, “It is L A Noire,” and the team celebrates having “saved the day.”

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9. CLOSING REMARKS & TEASERS
─────────────────────────────
• In the closing minutes ([74:10]–[75:46]), Damon recaps the mix of industry insights, retro throwbacks, and fun trivia that characterized the episode.
• The panel teases upcoming content, notably hinting at discussions for Death Stranding 3 and potential reports from Germany.
• Final banter and shout-outs reinforce the camaraderie among the hosts, all while encouraging listeners to engage further via emails and social media for future “Video Game 20 Questions” suggestions.

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10. NOTABLE QUOTES & TIMESTAMPS
─────────────────────────────
• [05:49] – Matt Piscatella: “I don't know if games are recession proof. I think play is recession proof.”
• [21:41] – Sean Layton’s observation on production costs: “The cost of making games keeps going up, but the number of console game players does not go up.”
• [27:09] – Announcement of the new Namco Legendary Pack in Atari 50, highlighting the re-release of classic titles.
• [71:24] – The trivia climax where the panel correctly guesses “L A Noire.”

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11. FINAL THOUGHTS
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• The episode artfully blends industry analysis with casual gaming chat, illuminating how shifts in monetization and audience behavior have reshaped the landscape.
• With reflections on both modern challenges (rising development costs, reliance on free-to-play models) and nostalgic memories (retro console hits and vintage game collections), “Game Scoop! 821” offers a multifaceted look at gaming culture today.
• The playful “20 Questions” segment not only entertains but also stimulates thinking about how classic titles continue to influence contemporary game design and storytelling.

This rich discussion, spiced with humor and memorable quotes, makes it a must-listen for fans interested in the evolving nature of gaming economics alongside passionate game reviews and informal, yet incisive, industry commentary.

Transcript

[A]

Are video games still recession proof? We used to take it for granted that they were, but the industry is very different today than it was during the last recession. We'll dig into that as well as what we're playing and watching coming up on gamescoop right after these messages. Putting off that dream trip because you're nervous about not speaking the language well, don't sweat it. Babbel's got your back. Start speaking a new language with confidence thanks to Babbel's conversation based technique that quickly teaches you useful words and phrases about the things you actually talk about in the real world. There's over a dozen languages available to learn at your own pace so you can achieve your goals with material tailored to your individual proficiency level, interests and time availability. Handcrafted by over 200 language experts, Babbel's lessons are voiced by real native speakers and built with science backed cognitive tools like Spaced Repetition and interactive features to fit any learning style. Babbel's tips and tools for learning a new language are approachable and accessible. It's like having a private tutor in your pocket. It's that time of year again and Gamescom is coming up so I should probably use Babbel to brush up on my German. I love that it uses voice recognition to listen to my pronunciation and give feedback. I use Babbel and if you're looking to learn a new language, I think you'll dig it too. I want you to learn another language so I'm teaming up with Babbel to gift you 55% off subscriptions, but only for our listeners. @Babbel.com GameScoop get up to 55% [e-mail] GameScheop Spelled B A B B E L.com GameScoop Babbel.com GameScheop rules and restrictions may apply. What's up Everybody? Welcome to IG GamesCube. I'm your host Damon Hatfield and this week I'm joined in studio by none other than Per Schneider.

[B]

Damon, I'm right here.

[A]

I know I'm right here. We can reach through Sam and Mark to touch you. Pear recently moved down Please don't reach through me. Pear recently moved down here to LA from the San Francisco Bay area. So maybe we'll be seeing much more of him here on this very show in the future. We're also joined by Sam Claiborne.

[C]

Hey, it's good to be here on the very long couch between you and Spaz. And there's mid in Northern California.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

And there's Several thin pinball machines that are just right. Only behind Sam, behind no one else. And then in the third seat is Mark Medina. He's also here.

[D]

Yeah, I'm here, Damon. This is. This is just. I'm there. This is just the TV screen they gave me.

[C]

Also, Mark's going to be in Los Angeles for a little while coming up, so maybe.

[D]

Yeah, but then they'll be gone.

[A]

So Tara and I won't be here.

[C]

That's right. That's right.

[B]

Game's calm.

[A]

Okay, we're leaving for.

[D]

It'll just be me and Joburt on the couch.

[A]

Well, it's funny. We're leaving for Germany this weekend, but then you're coming into the office to cover something from Germany for us, Mark.

[D]

Correct.

[A]

Which is Opening Night Live, another Geoff Keighley joint that kicks out gamescom.

[D]

So Key three.

[A]

Key three is what they call it. Anyway, got a great show for you this week. I know Sam's been playing a lot of Mafia, the Old country, and he's feeling very positive about that. I've been playing a game that's very similar. Similar to that Salamander 3, which I'm also feeling very positive about.

[C]

Basically the same game.

[A]

So I think I can break some news for Sam. There's some news about Atari 50 coming up that I.

[C]

What is it?

[A]

No, no, wait. Just wait. Save it for the show.

[D]

No spoilers.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

But first, our big question this week. Are video games still recession proof? And this was sort of inspired by an interview done by our sister site over at gamesindustry Biz. They were talking to former Sony Worldwide Studios head Shawn Layton, and then two analysts, Matt Piscatella and Piers Harding. Roll. Oh, you know, that very question. Whether or not games are still recession proof. We used to take it for granted that they were, which is. You know, there's. It's an activity. It's an entertainment activity that is recession proof. Even during the last Great Recession in 2008, people would cut back spending on going out to eat or going to the movies or going to concerts. But they seemed still willing to spend money on video games, probably because they offered great value for your money. $60 for a new video game that you could play for dozens, maybe hundreds of hours, as opposed to $60 on a meal. That's over pretty quickly. But I don't know. Is that still the case? Because the video game industry is very, very different today than it was in 2008. We don't know if we're headed into a session, but there are certainly many Warning signs and a lot of economic uncertainty that is causing people to think harder about how they spend their money. So Matt Biscatella, he's an analyst for Circana, which is what NPD used to be. They transformed into Circana, used to be called Trist.

[B]

T, R, A, C, T. Remember that? Trist Data. Do you remember npd?

[A]

Yeah, I remember the old days when I first started here. Every month we'd get an email that had a spreadsheet with the sales data for just every single game that was sold. It was like 45,000 lines long.

[B]

We weren't allowed to tell anybody.

[A]

No, we had it.

[C]

It had like, clacks at the bottom and it would be like three copies.

[A]

Like, not. No, not. It'd be like one copy was sold, bmx, nine copies.

[C]

Because it has, like, old GBA games and stuff.

[A]

Yes, it was, Sam. It was the 2000s and there was no longer time for clacks.

[C]

There was no time for clacks anyway. Wait, wait. Before we move on, I wasn't listening to that whole intro. Are they adding Indiana and the Temple of doom to Atari 50?

[A]

Save it for the show. Anyway.

[C]

What, are we starting the show?

[A]

Yep, we are starting the show. Matt Piscantela, who is a good follow on social media, by the way, he says, essentially we have about a quarter of video game players who are saying they're planning on spending less. And that's driven by a number of factors. Games industry says that this has led Circana to predict a decline of around 4.7% for the US games market this year. So almost 5% decline this year. Piscatella says, I don't know if games are recession proof. I think play is recession proof. But the business models, I don't know if they'll be recession proof, especially this time around. We're going to find out. So what he's meaning is this time around, the last recession, 2008, there was no Fortnite or Apex Legends or Valorant or Rocket League or Warframe or Destiny. Even Candy Crush was four years away at that point. So people were still, by and large, people were paying full price for video games.

[B]

The App store launched in 2008. Right.

[C]

Wait, wait, wait. We had Second Life in World of Warcra. Warcraft, though.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Okay. But I think you had to buy World of Warcraft. That's right.

[D]

Yeah. World of Warcraft was. And then. And then a subscription.

[A]

And then they're paying a subscription fee on top of that.

[C]

Yeah, and a subscription fee.

[B]

Yeah. And then Second Life.

[C]

I Wonder how those were affected by the recession. Think about Live service.

[B]

Second Life players were special too. That was different. That's a different market.

[C]

Still out there somewhere.

[A]

That's still.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Damon. Like everyone who played it is in the game now.

[D]

They're still in there.

[B]

Yeah, they still.

[D]

They've not been rescued.

[C]

Is it EverQuest 2 that was also running for like a quarter century.

[B]

Little earlier than that, right?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I think everybody's.

[C]

I think it's still running.

[A]

I mean, Final Fantasy 11 is still running.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Cool.

[D]

Well, I mean, World of Warcraft came out in 2004 and it's still got one.

[B]

What you're bringing up the conversation around recession proof games. I've heard this so many times in my career. You know, I've been with IG in almost three decades. Don't tell anybody. It's kind of scary, but I remember like there was a huge. The market almost crashed, the Internet economy almost crashed in 2001.

[D]

Right.

[B]

There was this sort of Internet recession where advertisers were pulling their dollars. And so my boss back then, Mark Zhang, who was running Snowball, which was our parent company of ign, he was saying Pearl necklace, he was saying, he was telling investors, hey, gaming is recession proof, so IGN will be fine. Now the reality is, you know, people were still buying games and not dialing back, but advertisers were dialing back on the Internet and spending their dollars on television. But like 2008 was a little different. That was literally, I think for the first time, I think the world realized that gaming weren't just a fad and wasn't a niche thing. This was. Gaming was destined to be bigger than television. And when people were planning on where to cut back, they'd rather skip food and drink than video games.

[D]

Right.

[B]

That was the argument back then.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, there was also a budget class of games by then, especially from Nintendo. There was the DS and the Wii and there was lots of shovelware out there. But there was also just like cheap experiences that were established. People had bought consoles in 2006, 2007. So by 2008, it wasn't too much of a stretch to keep on playing the video games in your consoles. Like launching a console during a recession is like a pretty scary prospect. Right. And then also raising prices. Those are, those are the two things you're not going to be able to do very easily. But for established players, maybe. But like, man, games are really expensive right now.

[D]

But.

[B]

But if. I think that was Matt's comment who Said that play is recession proof and not right. And I think that's the key point here.

[A]

That's why I think free to play.

[B]

Games and they didn't. I read the article, it's a really good piece. It's a two parter on GI Biz. Check it out. Part part of the IGN Entertainment family. But they didn't even mention Roblox. And you know I was just gonna bring that up.

[C]

Yeah. What have we been covering for the past three weeks on our team?

[A]

And it's weird times.

[C]

Biggest game in the world.

[A]

We use this service called Chartbeat to see what's performing well on IGN.com and for as long as I can remember. Not as long as I can remember. For a while now it's just been like how to grow a. How to cook lemonade, how to cook lemonade, how to cook pizza.

[B]

Hey, don't give away our secrets. But no, look, grow garden. I mean surprise, grow a garden had over 20 million. Congrats what that means. Like if we four. If you play at 1pm, I play at 3pm, you play at 6pm we're still just one concurrent player. Right? Concurrent players mean this sort of 10 second time period, whatever the measurement is and it depends on the platform. We are all online together playing this game. We're all connected to the Internet and measurable and like while you can make the argument that lots of people are playing Mario Kart 8 offline and all of that, we're talking about a game experience in Roblox that is bigger than Mario Kart. Right. Like that's how big this stuff is. And it's a free to play experience. It's obviously monetized in all sorts of ways and low tech.

[C]

You can play it on your school laptop.

[B]

And so that's your phone. That's the big difference here. So a Sony or Nintendo or Microsoft probably cannot say it today. Well, games are recession proof. So if people spend less, it'll be fine. We, we'll be fine. No, gaming will be fine. People are going to play video games, they're going to play mobile games, they're going to play lots of free to play stuff. But you know, these sort of the old bastions of gameplay, whether it be consoles or Steam or the Epic Games Store, they might suffer.

[C]

Right?

[B]

That's true.

[D]

I was playing Grow Garden this past weekend. The game's actually kind of fun. But I was thinking about, I started browsing. I never opened up Roblox before and so I was kind of browsing around and I was looking I was thinking about when I was a kid, like didn't have a ton of money growing up and so I would get a demo disc and we would play the heck out of it, right? Because like that was six different games we could play for free, right? You know, other than the games we already owned. And I'm thinking about now, like most of the games I play, I have 300 hours in Marvel Rivals you, you never have to spend a penny on that game to play that. People playing Fortnite and then it's like you just go to Roblox and there are thousands of games. If Roblox existed when I was a kid, man, I would be more brain rotted than I am. And this is, I would just play, I would be playing every Roblox game ever.

[B]

I mean we had Macromedia, we had Flash games back then, right? So, so a lot of kids were playing these games probably, you know, some, some listeners have fond memories.

[C]

Remember Minesweeper in Solitaire?

[B]

That's right. Built in games into Windows as well. But like I, I think what, what you're saying is really important because you're looking at Roblox in its pre AI state and we know the market is going to be tumbled around a bit by systems that will allow users to create prompts to create the game experiences they want. Right. And so this is definitely the sort of the next level for the universes that Fortnite built or Roblox is that there'll be even more experiences and they will be highly tailored to you and in some cases created by you. Now you can all say, I don't want that. I want curated awesome stories made by Hideo Kojima. But like that reality will exist on the side. And I think that's the big unknown. We don't know what will happen to games monetization and whether some of the moves, you know, like an $80 Mario Kart, whether that's going to push more users into using those free services, whatever they might become.

[D]

But I'm just thinking like if you have just even a half decent computer, you don't have to spend a penny. Again, Rivals Fortnite, Roblox, Genshin Impact. You can play that game for 80 hours before spending a dime, you know, Infinity Nikki. Like it makes me wonder if people are going to go, you know what? I'm going to just have to settle with putting more time into my Genshin save than buying the next mafia game because that's $50 and Genshin is free. And you know, there's just there's so much choice for free nowadays that it's a. I can absolutely see people being like, I can't afford Borderlands 4 but Borderlands 3 is on game pass so I'm just gonna play it there or PS plus or something.

[C]

I also would compare this to like YouTube exists, but people still go to the movies and, and buy. Buy things. So.

[B]

Right, but, but Sam, YouTube killed off almost every Internet site's video viewing.

[C]

It had an effect, right, for sure. But it didn't destroy all art, which is like, you know, kind of the, the discussion. And yeah, it's one thing that I worry about is that video games are kind of already in a recession for working on video games. There's never been a time when there's not just constant boom and bust and layoffs in game creation because they're so expensive and they take so much resources. And then you have one failure or success and you fire everybody and you start over again and it's like that's what that industry's been. So it's just like what is it going to be like when people are limited in their capacity to buy things even more? Whether that's by just a bad economy, not necessarily a recession. It could just be like crazy ass inflation. Right. It doesn't need to be a recession. Like it's things getting more expensive and it's not going to be good for artists making games.

[D]

Yeah, I mean just recently we lost what contraband Perfect Dark and like BioShock 4 is probably like nowhere to be seen anytime soon.

[B]

I didn't know this was going to be Dark Scoop, like somebody bringing down the lights.

[A]

There's some silly funny stuff coming later.

[B]

If dear listeners, if you're still here. No, no, look, I mean obviously if you're not depressed, this sort of stuff is sometimes cyclical and sometimes they are these sort of cat. Seismic changes, let's say. I'm like, I can't say cataclysmic right now. There are these big changes that really change the industry and obviously the arrival of mobile gaming was one of those changes that would argue like the arrival of Fortnite and Roblox are big changes like that. You know, don't call them the Metaverse anymore because that was a BS term and we're still not.

[A]

That lasted for five minutes.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Isn't it funny to hear that prediction that the industry will be off by like 6% this year when you know full well what that prediction's like when there's Grand Theft Auto coming out that year?

[B]

No, that but that's, that's it, right?

[A]

This year nobody, that next year nobody.

[B]

Predicted, nobody could predict a black myth, Wukong. Nobody predicted an animal crossing or a Pokemon Go. And so these predictions are always based on what we know right now. And I think, you know, Piscatello would say, you know, I think he even said like if you said it was up 10%, I'd still believe it. Right. Like that's the reality is like there will be this sort of thing that we couldn't even dream of, like a pal world. Everybody is obsessing over that stuff.

[A]

Well, looking back at 2008, the year of the last recession, if anyone was curious what the highest grossing games were then they were Rock Band Wii Fit, Guitar Hero World Tour and then Grand Theft Auto 4, which I think is interesting. But those other three all were, they required like hardware. Yeah, hardware.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that, I mean that's why I was surprised that they beat out Grand Theft Auto. But it's because they're just more expensive. No.

[B]

And that market, I mean that hardware market crashed hard. Right. Like we are. I, I recently got rid of a half broken Rock Band guitar that I mistakenly moved with us to la. And it's like. But, but that sort of like we were cool with that expense and gradually spent more on these, these little add ons and then every company wanted to make it until it led to the ill fated skateboard attachment to Tony Hawk. For Tony Hawk. Remember that? It's full of, it's full of technology. Right. And it's, it's all computer. And then, and then that market went away.

[A]

And that market went away.

[B]

It was just gone. Right. And it stayed away. And like any attempts to bring that back, right. Even Nintendo with like playful stuff like Labo, it just didn't happen.

[A]

Or Ring Fit Adventure. I think Ring Fit Adventure was actually successful because you could, they couldn't find it. Yeah, right.

[B]

It was. But that's sort of a fluke thing, right?

[C]

Like that's not like Wii Fit. Right?

[B]

Yeah, that's actually a really good game.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, measuring.

[C]

Everybody got that Wii Fit balance board that was right in the middle of that.

[B]

Yeah. And we thought playing Snowball Kids with it would be a good idea.

[D]

I remember like what was it called?

[B]

Snowball Kids. Remember that?

[A]

I don't remember.

[C]

Is that a game that you played with the balance board?

[B]

Yeah, you could, there was a version of it.

[A]

I don't remember that. Yeah, I remember jogging with snowboard kids like in my house and you know your me's like Going through the woods and I'm just like jogging in place in my house. It was awesome.

[D]

On the top floor. Yeah. Neighbors behind.

[A]

So maybe I don't. Maybe we would discover that today free to play games are recession proof.

[B]

But then, but maybe, but maybe people won't spend as much on them anymore and they're like, you know, gotta eat.

[A]

They just need the whales. They just need the whales.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

That's right.

[D]

Yeah. My wife is a Infinity. Nikki Whale.

[B]

Oh, God.

[C]

Oh, no. Unplug it.

[A]

Do we know in the year since 2008, we know the industry has grown substantially because of, you know, free to play content. There's zero barriers to entry. Right. So people can come in. Pierce Harding Rolls has some good quotes about this. Said if everything had stayed pay to play at a premium rate, you just wouldn't have the size of audience and the scale of the market in game monetization is worth 77% of the total market. If we didn't have any free content, what would the market look like? It would look like probably a quarter of the size it is now, realistically. I mean, it might have grown a bit, but nothing like an almost $200 billion industry.

[B]

Yeah. And China arrived on the scene as well, Right? Like a big chunk of the. What is it like the $400 billion, depending on what you measure, if you measure hardware or not. But you know, we're Talking about a $400 billion industry in China is a big chunk of that. And China probably wouldn't have happened as a gaming country without mobile and free to play. Right. Like the sort of the black myths are, you know, there might be sort of a future for PC games to get bigger in that market, but it was just dominated by mobile and Japan moved towards mobile too.

[C]

Well, I'm gonna put on my industry analyst hat and present this version of the future in which the free to play games didn't exist. And so then Anthem wasn't made and Suicide Squad. And instead a really good Batman and Mass Effect came out and they were so good that Everybody bought a PlayStation 5 on Earth.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

And it happened.

[B]

And we were playing Wii Music 7. Now Wii Music 7 just came out. We're very excited with the maracas. Yes. It has Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star 2.

[D]

The song they finally put together a sequel to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the.

[B]

Greatest unlicensed soundtrack of all time. Public domain.

[D]

Happy Birthday's not on there.

[C]

That's hard's best.

[A]

You can, like, you know, you could look at the industry, look at look how much it's grown over the past two decades. Isn't that great? There's so many more gamers in here now. But if you're primarily concerned about premium games, which I think Nintendo and PlayStation and Square Enix and Capcom and many others are, and I am. I am a premium game player, what good is growing the audience if all these new players aren't going to spend money on the premium games? It's almost like. It's almost like you should look at them as two different markets.

[C]

I was just gonna say that it seems like two different models and industries entirely.

[B]

Yeah. The elephant in the room is that the cost of production of these games. Right. Like, our expectations are much higher now for the production value that we want in a sequel to a Zelda game or, you know, a new Kojima game or what have you, or Call of Duty. They're so expensive to make that they have to sell a really high number of units. And if they don't, it could spend. It could. Like, it could be the end of not just a video game series and it might never come back. Look at Perfect Dark. Will we ever get it back?

[A]

No.

[B]

Or it could be the end of a developer and then you don't get that sort of creative collection, you know?

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Like the bungee that made Halo. Will we ever get that back? Right.

[D]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

The retro that made Metroid.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

No. This is the whole problem. The industry is growing overall, but the console market is not growing. But the cost of making those games has grown. So what do you do? Sean Layden, former PlayStation exec, has a great quote here. He says there are more sports cars in the parking lot in the PS1 era than there were in the PS4 era. Because you're selling 20 million units at $60 for something that costs you 10 million to make. That's different than selling 20 million units at $60 for something that cost you 160 million to make.

[B]

Well, they were startups, Right. Remember, they're like a development team of 20 people made a game that became a huge hit. And so then they were all driving Porsches and Dodge Vipers and Ferraris afterwards. Now it's like it's a job. Right. There are thousands of people sometimes working on a game, and I think the wealth is distributed more and probably the publisher's pocket more.

[C]

Right, Right. Right.

[D]

Now I think about Final Fantasy all the time. PS1 had three final fantasies, and now it's like you get one final fantasy per generation. Yeah, but that's because they want every Final Fantasy to look like Final Fantasy 16. And it's like it's so much budget and so if it doesn't sell, but then it's like they could lower the budget, but then we're gonna get things like Octopath Traveler and people aren't gonna get them because they think, well, it's, it's gotta be the best graphics ever. It's. It's a rock and a hard place. I think for a lot of these series.

[C]

That was a rough example because we got two giant final fantasies that year.

[D]

Which one?

[C]

Seven.

[A]

Rebirth.

[C]

Rebirth 16 and 16. They were like two months apart. But I completely agree with you.

[D]

But 16 famously didn't sell as well as they wanted it to.

[C]

Yeah. To add on to your good point, I think that we're really lucky to have triple Bs and indie games right now that like kick butt and you know, we have these like incredible great games that are not exploiting people with, you know, add ons and loot boxes and purchases, but they're also just like really like inexpensive games sometimes made by one person. And I think that's like really, really impressive.

[B]

Yeah, I mean like, I don't, I don't mean this as a negative, but I'm like, I'm happy to see, you know, companies like THQ Nordic reborn from the ashes of thq.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And some of these because, yeah, they made a lot of, as you said, triple B games and some games that were okay, but they also occasionally had like a battle tanks or like a wwe, you know.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Like a Nitro or something like that that we really, really loved. So it's good to have him back.

[A]

Sean Layton continues. The cost of construction is just way too high. If you're going to spend over 200 million to build a game, your margins are super tight. Unless you can expect to sell 25 million units, unless you're Rockstar, you should not expect to sell 25 million units. And yeah, for comparison, Monster Hunter World is Capcom's best selling game of all time. All time. It sold almost 22 million units in seven years. Like that's like Capcom has never sold a game, sold 25 million copies of a game.

[B]

So yeah, it's pretty nuts. Can we take a short break to switch the battery on this?

[A]

Yep. They die.

[B]

This device, they die all the time. Is gamescoop the show where everything always goes wrong? Yes, yes. I can see it in your faces sometimes. By the time you record like nine.

[D]

Days, we're all just regular to like. Yeah.

[A]

Okay, one more quote. I Want to share here before we move on? Of course. You know, the cost of game keeps going up, but the number of console game players does not go up over the past few decades. So Sean Layton says what they do instead. They say, what if we maintain the price and then we nickel and dime you with dlc. Oh, my God.

[D]

What goes on? What kind of battery are you?

[B]

Barely.

[C]

You gotta hold the little thumb thing, see if it fills up.

[D]

Dude, dude. Speaking of. Speaking of a reset, we're running low on battery.

[C]

We need those ones.

[B]

Find these.

[C]

Remember we used to be able to hold the ends of them and see the chart of the. How much battery was left.

[B]

I bet you gave me my old ones back. Okay, it's farting.

[D]

I'm gonna quit, but I would like to donate my entire salary to the battery department because I think we need it. Wow. It's a. I'll step on this grenade for us.

[A]

Okay. Okay. One more quote I wanted to share.

[B]

What's a quote, baby?

[D]

All right.

[A]

Cost of making games keeps going up, but the amount of people that could possibly buy your console game does not go up. So Sean Layden says the cost of construction is just way too high if you're going to spend. Wait, did I already do that one? No, I already read that one. This one is okay. They said, okay, what if we maintain the price of games and then we nickel and dime you with the dlc, Microtransactions, battle pass, season pass, whatever you want to call it, and try to make up the excess there. And I just thought it's a former executive using the term nickel and dime. You being so honest there, which I appreciate.

[B]

And the special editions, right? And like, yeah, I mean, that boondoggle is going away a little bit because, you know, people are buying digital more and more, and the digital special editions rarely have anything like, really. I mean, I'm so excited to get a soundtrack that I can also get through my subscription later on.

[C]

Doesn't it make you nostalgic for the era of adding a bad multiplayer mode? So you didn't return your game to GameStop and that was how you increased.

[A]

We're nostalgic for everything we used to complain about. I'm nostalgic for annualized franchises when we would get an Assassin's Creed game every year. I miss that.

[C]

Totally.

[B]

Totally.

[C]

I don't know how good we had it.

[A]

I know. Well, hopefully we don't have to find out if video games are still recession proof.

[C]

We'll be nice.

[A]

We'll see. Moving on. Okay, Sam, there's new Atari 50 news. I missed this.

[C]

Finally.

[A]

I know there's a new.

[C]

Is it Roadrunner? Are they bringing Roadrunner new pack?

[A]

A new pack is coming out later this year. It's the Namco Legendary Pack. It features.

[C]

Okay, Namco, not Atari.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Three Pac man games, 2600, 5200 and the Atari eight bit. And this is the first time.

[C]

All terrible.

[B]

No, the Atari 8bit's not bad. Take that back.

[C]

Yeah, I think it's terrible.

[A]

These are the first time. This is the first time any of these games have ever been re released outside the original consoles. And of course, sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. If anyone doesn't remember. Atari 50 is a wonderful collection of old Atari games. And it's done by Digital Eclipse, who's just the best in the industry at collecting old games and then contextualizing them and providing them alongside these playable documentaries and interactive museum. It's.

[C]

I gave it a 10 out of 10.

[A]

It's an awesome package.

[B]

I love it too. Yeah.

[A]

So now they're adding these new games and they're adding more documentaries and interviews and all this stuff too. So awesome. Those three Pac man games. Interactive interactive timeline exploring the history of Namco. Titles on Atari, featuring video interviews with developers, archival materials and documents. Blah, blah, blah. The US Arcade versions of Dig Dug and Xevious, which were developed by Namco but then distributed by Atari in the US and then the home console versions of Galaga, Xevious, Galaxian and Dig Dug.

[B]

Yep. And actually the home console version of Dig dug, the Atari 8 bit, which is again, it's not the original Atari VCS versions of everything really sucked. But that version was actually really good. I had it on my Atari computer, which used cartridges that could also go in the 5200. And dig dug was that. My dad had never played video games in his life. That was the game that he played. And he. He had a sauna in our house. And he'd go into the sauna, he'd come out in this big white bathrobe, walk into my room, click, turn on the computer and then play Dig Dug. And he would literally always like. And he would dig down and run into the first enemy and be dead. Then he'd turn it off and go back into the sauna.

[D]

Cool.

[B]

That is my family history with video games. Thank you very much.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

I played this version, a very similar version of Dig Dug. That was the Commodore 64 version.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it was really well done. Like Dig Dug ported a lot better than some of these Games like there was never a good home Donkey Kong, but Dig Dug is pretty good.

[A]

Well, the NES one is good.

[B]

Again, the. The.

[C]

No, it doesn't. Because it doesn't ask how high you can get and then it doesn't play the levels. That's the right order.

[B]

How high can you try Is missing. But no, the eight bit one has all the. All the levels, sir.

[A]

Two reasons why you're wrong, Sam.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

First of all, it has the. It has the lullaby from that you hear now in Donkey Kong Bonanza when you.

[C]

Yeah, that's in the. That's in the. For one game.

[A]

That's only in the NES game.

[C]

And then you also have a two pack.

[B]

Okay, that's what.

[C]

That's.

[A]

Well, I know I had. I had it just by itself. Anyway, there's a level skip in the very first level of Donkey on the nes. Mario runs to the right. That first ladder you can crawl down and come up the top of the screen.

[C]

You can.

[B]

I didn't know that.

[A]

So that's a little pro tip for you.

[B]

Like. Welcome to today's edition of old people. Remember playing games with their parents?

[A]

That's Game Scoop.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

That's what this whole show is.

[D]

Visiting a retirement home.

[A]

On today's Show, Pac Man 2600 version is notoriously terrible. So hopefully that we get a good interview.

[B]

All the ports.

[A]

Who's the developer on that?

[C]

The thing is that you don't need to care. Well, it was Gary Kitchen.

[A]

Him. I don't remember who it was.

[C]

Yeah, but it's nice because you get all the. You come, you. You don't get this for the games. You get it for all the stories and stuff about them. And it's so good.

[A]

Yeah, it's awesome. I look forward to it. You know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues and three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. That's where Mint Mobile comes in. With Mint, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money. And for a limited time, Mint mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends are sweating over data overages and surprise charges, you'll be chilling, literally and financially. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan and bring your phone number along with all your existing contacts. If I were in the market for a new wireless plan, I'd be looking into Mint Mobile this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com gamescoop that's mintmobile.com Gamescoop upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. By now, you've probably heard of bilt, where you can earn points on your monthly rent payment. But did you know they make it possible for you to get more outside of your home, too? By paying rent through Bilt, you earn flexible points that can be redeemed toward hundreds of hotels and airlines, a future rent payment, your next Lyft ride, and more. But it doesn't stop there. BILT is about making your entire neighborhood more rewarding. You can dine out at your favorite local restaurants and earn additional points, get VIP treatment at certain fitness studios, and enjoy exclusive experiences just for BILT members. Every month. BILT is turning a monthly expense into an opportunity to earn rewards and discover the best that your neighborhood has to offer. Your rent is finally working for you. Earn points on rent and around your neighborhood, wherever you call home, by going to joinbilt.com gamescoop that's J O I N B I L T.com gamescoop make sure to use our URL so they know Scoop sent you. Okay. While we're playing, Sam, I was surprised a little bit to hear you were playing Mafia, the old country. I've never played a Mafia game.

[C]

I've never played a Mafia game either.

[A]

Do you recommend this one?

[B]

I've played them.

[C]

I do. So I. Okay, so this. I've never played it, but I want to play because it's set in Sicily and it's like moderately open world. It's a more open world than I thought it was actually. But it looked really pretty and it looked like, you know, kind of interesting and just like a kind of a weirdo. Like, you know, I don't know, a Mafia game set in Sicily and 1900 is like, really? That just appealed to me. It just seemed like a cool period game, like, how did this get made type stuff? You know? And it's so good. It's like the Sicily that you play in is unbelievably detailed. It is so pretty and like this is coming off of Indiana Jones's like incredible Egypt level, right. And then Assassin's Creed Shadows. Incredible Japanese. Japanese levels. Especially the forests and mountains and like looking at the vistas like this game like is as good looking as those games. Like it is. They put so much into like you walk around this, you know, like the villa that you're in and like the garden has like unique like plants everywhere and the bricks are like. Well, it's like unbelievable. And then you look into the distance and it's like, you know, the vog of the volcano rolling down to the hills. And the day is like changing night cycles like it's unbelievable. And so that's how. That's all there. And then just the general game. A lot of it's racing, shooting people and horses. Kind of like Red Dead style missions. Like there's like. Did you just say that? Why did that.

[B]

But yeah, but linear, right?

[C]

Well, that's what I thought it was a lot more linear than it was. It is like a little Sicily map and you can go around it and do stuff.

[D]

I mean there's things like explore mode, right?

[C]

Yeah. It's not as much to do in a red.

[B]

I mean to people who haven't played it, it's more like uncharted, right. Where you are generally following a story. But then he has these sort of zones that you can explore.

[C]

But it is, as far as I can tell, it is just one zone. It's the island of Sicily. So it does. And that's all like. It's all like, no invisible walls going around. Like I was just in this area, which is a Roman ruin, which is awesome. And you have to like horse ride over there. But you do that on like apps, you know. Yeah. Jesus. Yeah. And then just like, you know, like it has good characters and like, you know, whatever. The stuff that you're following is interesting enough to keep going, but really it's just like just the environment and like being in Italy and just. It's just beautiful and fun and it's just great. I love everything about it. This is the type of game where I'm like, how are we affording this if like, I'm worried?

[B]

I know. Look, I'm. I'm actually looking forward to playing this. I'm like, I'm in between TVs right now. I just moved into a new house. The TV I want is not yet available to buy any. Any moment now. Yeah, it's. The LG M5s are coming out. It's this really cool, cool TV set. I'm waiting for that but anyway, so I'm holding off on buying and playing some of the pretty games and this one is on my list. But if you like the Sam. I mean I thought Definitive Edition was really, really good.

[C]

But I gotta say, like, I just love Italy and I love like the setting of this and I love ruins. And you know, one of the first things you do in this game is you like go to like a horse race that like the local village is happening in the castle town and you like race all through it. It's amazing. Like it's just really cool, like a sense of place and the whole game is setting that up. And this game, which I wanted to ask you about pair like the main gameplay in it is stealth, right? Because you're like sneaking around places.

[B]

That's, that's.

[C]

But when you're not racing or like shooting people and like some kind of shootout, you're mainly sneaking, sneaking around. Is that what you do in the other games?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, it's similar. I mean there's definitely more shootouts than stealth. I hear this one leans more heavily into stealth, but it's that mixture. Then it has like, you know, has a sequence where you're racing a car, you're driving a car or something like that. But it, but it's fairly, you know, it's fairly linear except for the third Mafia. So I was inspired then after Definitive Edition to play the re release of Mafia 2, which did not get a full redo. Right. It's just upscaled, looks nicer and that's a great game to play through. That started three and fell off hard because three is actually an open world game and the mission design is very repetitive and like you kind of. There's actually. There's a mod on PC that takes out the bloat and makes it a good game. I've not tried that, but I've heard many people talk about that because it's just kind of that formula got away from them. And I was really, really happy to hear that. This one is a return to the original game setup. So it's really cool.

[C]

Yeah, what a delight. I also played Mina the Hollower.

[A]

No, there's a demo for that out. Right. So is it as great as it looks?

[C]

Yeah, it is absolutely as great as it looks. That game is gonna rule. It's really. It's a lot harder than I expected. It has a lot more like hollowing mechanics which is like basically a really fast dash underground. And so you have to kind of work that in. It's like a top down zelda like, layout, but I chose the whip for my weapon. I think. Mark, you played and chose the sword and the weapon you played.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. You get to choose a weapon at the beginning, which I didn't know was in the game, which is super cool.

[C]

Yeah, me neither. And so, like, the vibes are, like, totally a hybrid of Castlevania and Zelda, but the gameplay is a lot more like a modern souls. Like. Like, you need to get to the next save point. If you don't, if you die, you have to retrieve all your stuff. The bosses are pretty hard. You got to learn their patterns. Like, it takes a lot from modern soulslikes. And then it, you know, looks like what it looks like, which is basically a Game Boy color.

[D]

Link's awakening.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Awesome.

[C]

It's awesome. And it's hard. It's hard as hell.

[B]

Definitely gonna play. It looks great.

[A]

You know, about the pair, about the Halloween Sophie's Choice we have this year, because both this and Terminator 2D come out on Halloween.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, I'm all over that. I heard you guys talk about that on a previous episode. Hopefully it'll be good.

[A]

So you're playing Switch 2.

[B]

I'm playing Switch 2. I finished Donkey Kong Bonanza, but do you want to.

[A]

Do want to briefly weigh in on that?

[B]

We've talked about all my talk about it with no.

[D]

Do you want to stop on that.

[B]

Mind with no Donkey Kong hater Samuel Claiborne on the show here?

[C]

Donkey Kong? No, look, it wasn't good as Odyssey. Is it as good as Odyssey?

[B]

No, it isn't. What's funny is I listened to the rant. I'm like, oh, man, Sam. It was really funny. And, like, I could tell, like, Damon was always, like, was not engaging with Sam because Damon really liked it. It was great. A very funny episode. And listeners don't.

[C]

I think it's great. It's a really great game. I'm really happy for everybody.

[B]

Don't get mad when Sam hates on a game. It's all part of the entertainment. I love it. So there are actually a couple of points I agreed with Sam on, which is this sort of like, it's a really pretty game, but then you spend a lot of time digging and you get the ugliest view of every level where they didn't apply some effect to blur out the distance or add some sort of, like, depth blurring. It's just all walls fall away, and you see this empty box with, like, a thing floating in the distance. And it reminds me of games like.

[C]

Kind of a good cheat though.

[B]

Yeah, it is. But they know it's not like you're pulling one over on the developers. They deliberately did it like that. They're not hiding elements away when you do that. But it reminds me of games like Bat Arkham Asylum where it's gorgeous and then you just use detective vision like 90% of the time and the game is in black and white and you're losing all that gorgeous like, you know, Tim Burton esque color scheme and all of that. And like, although he's kind of black and white too. Anyway, so I, I agree with you on those things. I think also the art style, like the color choices are very splatoon in some levels. And like to me the worlds did not distinguish themselves until you get to like the beach outside. And then, and then it really comes alive. And I will also say that the gameplay comes more alive and then it just. There's so many collectibles, which is very on brand for Donkey Kong. And it is a celebration of rare Donkey Kong, I feel. And so I never felt this sort of sense where I'm like, I see something, I'm like, I want to go there. I'm like just eating bananas the whole time. I'm constantly picking up things and I'm just like getting to the next thing. But then it culminates in this. No spoilers. Awesome run in the end game. Some really clever puzzles with light and dark and all that. And I started to like it more and more and more and I went from like a seven to an eight. Then I did the final boss and I'm like, it went to a nine. And now when I go back in, that's when I'm finding the puzzle gameplay that reminds me of Mario where you have a challenge level with three bananas. I'm like, I have no freaking clue where the second banana is. Right? And that's when you realize the sort of genius and you realize the sort of Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild setup that you can beat levels in different ways. It isn't as balanced as those games though. It isn't as balanced as Zelda and Mario. Like you can, I mean you become an ostrich and beat any sort of challenge in a lot of ways, right? And like, I feel like maybe that game needed just a little bit more time to refine that the camera system and the sort of the digging viewpoint, like the visuals. But I love that this game exists. It's like a Wario game where you just beat the crap out of the world. And like, I was.

[C]

I love that comparison. The Wario comparison.

[B]

Yeah. And it's like, you don't die that often in the beginning. It's just more about just having fun. And like, the game feel is exactly right. When you punch something and sometimes you punch snow and it goes poof. It just feels so good. Or like crystal shattering windows that you destroy. It never gets old to me. So I love it. It's very different from the Donkey Kong country games that I also really, really like. It is much, much better than Donkey Kong 64. All those people who remember that game being a good game, you just forgot.

[A]

Or they're just kids.

[B]

No, and it's like, now everybody's going to be mad again. No, I think.

[C]

Well, you did say all the points that I said, but then you said something nice about Donkey Kong country, so you might get away with it, honestly.

[B]

I mean, the last two Donkey Kong country games are fantastic. They're under underrated gems. You should play more.

[C]

Yeah. I just get sick of them. But I know you played the crap out of them recently.

[B]

The soundtracks in those games, which, by the way, the soundtrack isn't that great.

[A]

Oh, I love the soundtrack in Bonanza, actually.

[B]

It's so, like, it's so not there. And like, anytime it gives you a classic melody when you're like going to sleep, I'm like, oh, yeah. And then it's like not in any of the levels.

[A]

By the way, they recorded so many little dialogue things for when you rest.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

Yeah, hundreds. I'm in the post game.

[C]

It's Kojima esque.

[A]

Maybe they.

[B]

Yeah, maybe Kojima esque.

[C]

Maybe.

[A]

I've heard them all now because I don't think Pauline has been saying anything recently, but.

[B]

No, there are lots of. There's lots.

[D]

Nothing left to say.

[B]

There's just lots of dialogue options where you feel special for having discovered them. Right. Like, where you. She'll comment on something because you're actually like.

[C]

She comments on the crystal smashing.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. No, it's a. It's a really lovely game. And, like, just a few games dazzle you with the feel. And this feels. I can't really think of many games that feel like this, you know, and just the mechanics of getting the bananas, like, never gets old.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Well, it's nice to have another contrarian that doesn't like any video games.

[B]

I knew you guys. I knew you guys were heading for trouble when Sam went like, hmm. Yeah.

[C]

I came out of a week of like two weeks of gushing about death Stranding on every show. I thought people would get sick of that. No, it just went straight into. Sam doesn't like any games. Don't listen to him. Like what were the past two weeks of.

[D]

I need the comments to know that you guys. We were having our pre episode slack discussion. You guys brought up DK and I was like I cannot talk about this game anymore.

[B]

Well, you've only made like nine minutes.

[D]

Of it as an industry. We need to move on.

[C]

No, that's fine. But did Mark. You stopped playing it, that's all. I just asked you one question, right? Do you not going to play anymore?

[D]

I don't know.

[C]

Okay. I'm going to try to finish it.

[B]

Do you like Rare? Do you like the old rare games like N64 era?

[D]

You like like Banjo Kazooie? Yeah, like I love to Banjo Kazooie.

[C]

All right.

[D]

Right.

[B]

By the way, replay Banjo Kazooie and Tui. Actually I like Tui better now than I liked it back when I Hell yeah Rules. It's so good. It actually runs much nicer on Switch when you play it. Those games are like you boss.

[C]

It runs so nice.

[B]

Those games are amazing and they have like mission based puzzles that are really meaningful and like I'm missing those. But this game is such a love letter to Rare. I mean like you got you just finish it, Mark. It's you let your speedrunner. Yeah.

[D]

Against it. I it for people who have watched the past few episodes, like I was, I was stuck on Death Stranding for a long time. That, that got done and then. Yeah. I don't know. I, I.

[C]

There's other stuff to play. Right.

[D]

There's just other things and so I don't dislike it. I just, I got to the freezer layer. I, I'm considering just starting over because like you had mentioned, like the levels seem kind of samey. Yeah. And so like I can't really even tell you the difference between like the canyon layer and whatever the first one is. And so I kind. Because I kept just moving on like the moment the game let me and I kind of want to just start over and just be like I'll move on when I'm ready to move on.

[B]

That's okay. So the differentiation is that different mechanics in the different worlds and they're pretty notable. And again like I maybe watch the NVC spoiler cast. I'm sure the team went into some of that but like there's just some later worlds that feel like they're ripped out of Banjo Kazooie. Not, not deliberately. It's not a reference to those games, but like, there's a, there's a park level that really reminded me of, of the BK games.

[A]

And Mark, I wouldn't have brought up Donkey Kong if Pear weren't on this week.

[B]

Yeah, I'm so sorry I dragged. I dragged.

[D]

Speaking for the audience.

[A]

Yeah, but I get it. I get why you're not playing it, Mark. Because there's so many other new games coming out right now.

[D]

So that's why you're playing Cyberpunk 2077. A great game. I. Yeah. So they unlock, they unlocked the frame rate on PS5. And I was like, you know what? I wonder if this game feels better. And it feels amazing. Okay, so I started a whole new character and I did not do the Phantom Liberty Time jump either. I. Jackie just died. Spoilers for a five year old game. And I. I am having a blast. I am liking it quite a bit.

[B]

Do not play it for the platinum trophy.

[D]

I. I'm currently playing for the platinum trophy. We'll see if I get it. The. The other issue you guys are talking about. OLEDs. I just got my first OLED TV. So it's kind of making me want to go back and like play these games that like, look, you know, look really, really good. I got the LG B4. It was a thousand bucks. Nice. It's.

[C]

It's.

[D]

It's a, it's a. It's a purdy tv. I like it quite a bit.

[C]

That always reminds me of going over to a friend's house to play like Super Mario Brothers on their giant tv like, like, you know, as a kid. And then after five, like. Well, I've. It's the same game.

[B]

Over the years I've replayed games because now I had like a 16 by 9 TV and this game had a 16 by 9 480p setting or like new surround sound set up. And so you got to replay games for that. Yeah, it's always fun.

[D]

I'm liking it quite a bit. But. But for current games, I've recently learned that I'm the worst Battlefield 6 player ever invented. I was, I was born to die in that game. That is my purpose in life. I am quite terrible to the point where I don't really like it. But I'm gonna play again tonight because I. I have to figure out why everybody else loves this game. And so I. I'm gonna give it more of a go. But.

[B]

Hey, Sam.

[D]

I suck.

[B]

Mark's not working on the game guide, is he?

[C]

No.

[D]

Oh God. I would never okay, Nobody wants my tapes.

[C]

We got some. We got some battlefield experts, someone who.

[D]

Knows what they're doing. Yes. And then speaking of demos, with the mean of the Hollower, I played the Hell is Us demo, because I'm really excited for that game. And the demo just came out a couple days ago, and it is quite fun. It is very. There's no map markers. There's no. It's kind of like stalker, where you have to, like, talk to them. And the beginnings are a little rudimentary. They'll be like, you have to go north, follow the wind chimes. And so you're like, okay, this isn't that bad. Or the guy will be like, hey, my camp's over here. But we marked the trees. And so, so far, not too difficult. But then it sends you into this, like, crypt where there's all these, like, puzzles to solve. And again, they haven't been too difficult yet. But the. The gameplay, I like solving somewhat easy puzzles, so I've had fun with it. And then it's also, like an action game where you have a drone, and so I think that's really, really fun. Yeah. I don't know where people are getting that comparison, but sure. This is what people are calling the desk training. Like, after playing the demo, I was like, I don't get it.

[B]

It's not a strand, like, though. It's not part of the strand, like, genre. The giant.

[D]

No, no. It's not a Kojima, like.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

But I. I liked it quite a bit. If. If. If you try the demo. Let's see. See if you like it. But it comes out in a few weeks, and it's the following.

[C]

The wind chimes kind of stresses me out. Were you able to do that? Could you. Did you have to listen to them?

[D]

Yeah. You do listen for them.

[C]

There's no detective vision.

[D]

No detective vision? Not this one. Yeah, you gotta just.

[C]

It reminds me of the worst mission in Indiana Jones where three monkeys stole Nazi stuff, and you have to find the Nazi stuff the monkeys stole, but you have to look at tracks in the mud. And I'm like, what the fuck is a monkey track?

[B]

I wish you made that up, because it's. It's too good to be true, but it is.

[C]

And then you hit the ground and there's just boot tracks everywhere. Like, well, are the monkeys wearing boots?

[B]

I also hate the mission with a kid who looks like Justin Davis that you have to help.

[D]

Yep.

[C]

So then. So then the monkeys do have an awesome monkey, fortunately, that you find. But I. I even backtracked And I was like, there's no monkey tracks leading here. I just had to find it. Yeah, but it was a badass monkey for it.

[D]

But the fort is filled with Nazi paraphernalia.

[C]

Yeah, they saw all the Nazi stuff.

[D]

Interesting.

[C]

I can't wait. Most important plot point in the game.

[D]

I can't wait.

[C]

Sorry to spoil that for everybody. Yeah, well, it's all monkeys and Nazis.

[D]

I don't even want to play this game.

[A]

Okay. I wanted to cover off on what we're watching with extracurricular activities. We're running short on time, though, so I don't know. Is there something you got to get off your chest, Sam, or a pair?

[B]

No.

[C]

Okay. Aliens. Pretty good. Wednesday is pretty good.

[B]

Alien Earth is pretty good. So far, I've only watched two episodes.

[A]

I've only watched one, but I like a lot of.

[C]

Oh, Oh, I didn't like the Predator movie. I'm sorry.

[A]

Which one? Killer of killers.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, well, we have to talk about this, because I. I've been seeing. It's Prison.

[B]

I liked it.

[C]

I know.

[B]

I liked it.

[A]

Great.

[C]

I know.

[A]

Okay, here we go.

[B]

Being weird.

[A]

Here we go.

[C]

I just know I'm not. I just thought it was, like, a little bit. It was, like, a little bit simplistic, and it has that problem where it's just like the predators lose to everybody.

[B]

I agree with you. Predators are the biggest wusses in the universe. Like, they cost them.

[C]

They bring that. They bring people home with them, and.

[D]

They still get rolled over.

[B]

Sam. They're gonna try. They'll eventually go to. To Earth before they're humans, and they're finally like, yay, we did it.

[C]

Well, they have a good record against bears.

[B]

Oh, maybe. Yeah, they did. They did kill a good record.

[C]

No, I know. I thought that. I thought that there was some ingenuity behind the World War II pilot one. That one was cool, but I didn't think they handled the samurai and the val. Especially the spiking one.

[B]

It's good action. It was really good action.

[C]

Great action. Who's gold? Good gore. It was good gore.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I just thought it was corny. And then. And then the. The Predator is losing. I did like how they introduced, like, a Mortal Kombat selection screen of predators. It's like, this one has, like, a mouth breather, and this one has, like, a harpoon.

[A]

There's the tank. Predator. Yeah. Yeah, it's great.

[D]

Yeah, I'm watching it. I love it. Yeah. That's my contribution.

[A]

This is one of the best movies I've seen. This.

[B]

Oh, Mark, this is a movie. Yeah, it's something that I can't play.

[D]

Oh, wait, this is what movies are, Mark.

[A]

It was made with Unreal Engine 5.

[B]

Yep.

[D]

So I hate on. But then they don't get started on Unreal Engine 5.

[B]

They introduced fake animation chop though, which, you know, I'm not the biggest fan of the choppiness. But it's.

[C]

It's like I've been on planes like maybe 20 times. Oh, God.

[D]

Good.

[A]

Like noir Spider man and.

[B]

Yeah, it's like 20. 20 frames per second or something. Whatever. They're going here. Yeah.

[C]

I've been on like 20 flights recently and so I watched the Mission Impossible movie series and the last three movies are pretty good.

[A]

I mean.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, they're very good.

[D]

I've only seen Fallout and I thought Fallout was good.

[A]

It was good.

[C]

Fall is good, but the two parter is kind of awesome. It's about like this like AI and the submarine.

[A]

I haven't seen the last one either.

[C]

And then the last one has like a big plane action scene which is like totally unhinged. You know, classic stuff. It's great. I love those. I thought they were good. I mean.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, that series is known for expensive for going on much longer and being much better than it has any right to be anymore. But yeah, they're all just really fun action movies.

[C]

And I need to watch probably 3 and 4 now because I've never seen this. I'll check those out.

[A]

Fallouts. The one with. Who's. Who's plays the witcher. What's his name? Yeah, Cavill Falls. The one with Cavill, right.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

I think that's the Witcher. I was confused for a second.

[C]

Okay, wait, I don't. I just watched Fall. I don't think it's.

[A]

Which one. Which one is Gavin? Then it's got.

[D]

It's got Henry. Yeah, that's.

[A]

I just think he's great. He's a great. He's a great.

[D]

When he reloads his arm.

[A]

Yeah, when he reloads his arm. Great.

[D]

It's great. I love the scene in the tunnels where it's just so much. It was kind of one of my first exposures to Mission Impossible. And it's like we double double crossed you. And they're like, okay, well actually we double crossed you. And then they leave and they're like, actually, we knew you double crossed us. So we double. And I was like, oh, this is Mission Impossible.

[A]

That is Mission Yes.

[C]

That they know every angle every time.

[B]

Mask off.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

This is such a good fight scene.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

I love this.

[C]

I love this, right? Yeah. This he is goodness. This movie is really fun. I like this one a lot.

[A]

I love it.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

Okay. I could watch this. So take it down, Jobert. Take it away. I'm going to be just now. I track my steps, my sleep, even my screen time. Why wouldn't I track my cat's health too? That's why I use Pretty Litter. It's like smart tech free litter box. This color changing litter actually monitors your cat's health by detecting potential issues in their urine. Things like PhD changes or blood. So I can catch problems early. Pretty Litter ships free right to my door. So there are no heavy bags to carry and no last minute pet store runs. It's formulated with silica gel crystals that are safe for cats and people alike. Advanced odor control means your home smells like home, not a litter box. The ultra absorbent formula uses less material than clay litter, reducing waste and saving money. I like Pretty Litter a lot and I think you will too. It's really the best at eliminating litter box odors right now. Save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy at prettylitter.com Gamescoop that's prettylitter.com GamescooP to save 20% on your first order AND get a free cat toy. Prettylitter.com Gamescoop Pretty Litter cannot detect every feline health issue or prevent or diagnose diseases. A diagnosis can only come from a licensed veterinarian. Terms and conditions apply. See site for details.

[C]

You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice.

[B]

Progressive loves to help people make smart choices.

[C]

That's why they offer a tool called Auto Quote Explorer that allows you to compare your progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies. So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

[A]

Okay, that brings us to video game 20 questions and our suggestion this week comes from Michael in Germany.

[B]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[A]

Hello. Okay, Michael will be it will be in your neighborhood next week.

[B]

Next week.

[A]

So with that and with a live participant here in the studio with me, let the questioning begin.

[B]

You guys are the experts. So Sam, I'm gonna look towards you but whenever I'm on like Damon picks something really obscure like Axel a or.

[C]

Some a German guy picks something up scare this time.

[B]

Oh, it's a German guy. Paradroid Is it paradoid? Just kidding.

[C]

Did. Is it asterisks? So did you win last week, Mark?

[A]

No.

[D]

Yeah, I think so. I don't remember what the game was, though. I think we. I think we won. No. No, we didn't. We. It was the racing game and we got it wrong. And then a bunch of comments were like, guys, he said it wasn't a conventional racing game. All you guys did. Wow, that's a tough one. He's like, all you guys did was just keep naming conventional racing games. I'm like, we didn't know the answer.

[B]

Midway Revival.

[D]

We tried our best, guys.

[C]

I love the Damon shame when that comes in.

[D]

You guys don't know what it's like when we.

[C]

When we start off with.

[B]

With sort of country of origin. Because now, you know, hearing. Hearing a German, maybe. Can we start with saying, was this game made in Europe?

[A]

No.

[B]

Oh, man. Come on.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Did this come out for a console originally?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay, okay.

[D]

By a Japanese developer?

[A]

No.

[D]

American game. It's Skyrim.

[B]

Well, depends on the age, right?

[C]

Skyrim came out for PC originally.

[D]

It's true.

[B]

Did you want to just come out.

[C]

Before the year 2000?

[A]

No.

[B]

Okay. A more modern game then. But I wouldn't. Let's not get. Let's not get stuck in the American game thing because there have been some big hits from Korea and China in recent times too. So, you know, Canada. Let's be careful.

[C]

That punch out was made in Canada. I remember.

[D]

That was Canada is America.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

We're good.

[B]

Yeah. That's amazing.

[D]

North America.

[C]

Was this published by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo?

[A]

No. That's five.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

We are. We are burning. Okay, let's see. Does hat in this game.

[B]

Does this game involve hand to hand combat?

[A]

It has that.

[B]

Yeah. Okay.

[D]

It's Metal Gear and probably has some swords.

[B]

Probably has some swords in it then.

[C]

Yeah. Little chops.

[B]

Because he didn't say if. If it's hand to hand combat, then it's all like, you know, final fight. You can pick up pipes and stuff. So this was after 2000?

[D]

Yep.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

When the best final fights came out.

[D]

Was this made by like, Is this an indie game?

[A]

No.

[D]

Oh, have.

[B]

How many questions do we have asked?

[A]

Seven questions.

[B]

Can I blow one on? Have we mentioned this game, this episode so far?

[D]

Oh, that's a cheat, dude. It's too early for that. It's too early.

[C]

That's weird.

[A]

Do you want to ask that now?

[B]

Yeah, I want to ask that question.

[A]

No, you've not mentioned.

[B]

We have not mentioned it. Okay. Because I was thinking Black Myth, Wukong.

[C]

And you know, Banjo Tooie.

[B]

No, that's not Banjo too.

[C]

Was this game published by. Let me. Let me think of 3. Activision, EA or Ubisoft?

[A]

No.

[B]

Damn. So it has combat. Not an indie game. So it's a bigger one. But it's not from the big three. Came after 2000. Originally released on a console and is not.

[D]

I'm confused by the console question because like we didn't disclude PC, did we?

[C]

Not a word. And I think that.

[B]

We were all thinking it.

[D]

We're all thinking it.

[C]

I think that. I think what we established is that it didn't come out like as a mobile game or a PC game or an arcade game.

[D]

Guys, we need to wrap this up. I need to get back to my battlefield tips.

[B]

Okay?

[D]

Okay. The Internet needs me.

[B]

Well, sorry.

[D]

And they need my tips.

[B]

You said Ubisoft, EA and Activision is what you asked. What were the three that you asked?

[D]

I mean Ubisoft, Activision, ea, we ruled.

[B]

Out most of the prolifics. So there's just like Konami, Sega, Capcom.

[C]

Not made, but. But it could still be published by a Japanese developer. It would just be so weird. So it must be like published by.

[D]

You know, I mean there's a trillion other. Like Bethesda.

[C]

Bethesda.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But like it sounds like there's some. Some beating up in that game. It's an action game where you can hit things with. Or maybe it's an RPG where you can hit things with your fist.

[C]

Maybe it's a fighting game.

[B]

And you know, Poland is in Europe. Right. Okay, just checking. Okay, good, good. So it's not. It's not from over there. Does the game is the main gameplay loop? Does it involve beating things up and sword play?

[A]

How can I answer this? Yes or no? I guess no.

[B]

No. Okay. It's not. It's not just exclusively hand to head. It's not a. There is not brawler type.

[A]

It is not. Got it.

[C]

Is the main gameplay of this game multiplayer?

[A]

No.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[D]

We should hone in on like are.

[C]

There boss fights in this game?

[A]

No, not. No, let's say no. Nothing. Like you would.

[C]

Yeah, that's helpful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This could still be a game like Starfield, you know, like you can punch stuff.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Isn't the boss fights in that game like flying through that orb over and over again?

[B]

Yeah, I think that's a very nice interpretation of boss fight.

[A]

Thanks for reminding me.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

I had just forgotten about that.

[B]

Can we ask if it's. Can we hone should we hone in on that RPG genre question or what do you guys think?

[D]

Gee, I feel like when you hone in on like feeling generation as well because like we still have 25 years to get through honing in on, but we don't have that many questions. Yeah, I would say. Did this game come out during the PS4 Xbox One?

[A]

Let me, let me, I'm going to help you. You guys should, you should try to determine what generation this was and then you should try to determine whether or not it's like a big franchise or if it's a one off. That's. These are things that would be helpful to you.

[D]

Oh yeah, I agree. Okay. So did it come out during the previous generation PS4 Xbox One?

[A]

No, not.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

Originally.

[D]

Oh, okay. So probably the generation before. So PS3 360. Is this series still continuing today?

[A]

No.

[B]

Well, that was the. Is it a franchise or a standalone?

[C]

Well, the difference between a GameCube and PS2 era game and an Xbox 360 era game is pretty enormous.

[D]

Yep. Yeah. There's still two generations to comb through there.

[C]

Oh yeah. Was this game playable on a Nintendo system?

[A]

This game is playable on a Nintendo system 15.

[B]

This is like. This is a re release then. Okay, so you're so screwed. Yeah, it's like one of those games that we didn't think would get re released, like KO the Kangaroo or something like that. You know.

[D]

It could be that.

[B]

It could be a game like KO the Kangaroo. Like remember they recently brought back all of these sort of.

[A]

Bubsy.

[B]

Yeah, we don't talk about.

[A]

Sorry, I shouldn't.

[D]

Yeah, I mean it could be Codor, an old Bioware game.

[B]

That's older though, isn't it?

[C]

You're you all are really lean in RPG. You can ask about RPGs if you want.

[B]

I, I, is it an RPG?

[A]

It's not an RPG.

[B]

God, Sam, look what you made me do now.

[D]

Pear looks silly.

[B]

Yeah, I thought so. Sure.

[A]

Three questions and a guess is where we're at here.

[D]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

Okay. So I think we should have asked the franchise question just to help us.

[C]

Whether it was no sequels, right?

[D]

He said no, no, it was. It's just not a series that's still continuing.

[C]

Oh, did he say this?

[D]

He asked, I asked.

[A]

Is serious.

[D]

Is this theory still going? So like Kodor would be an example. Like it had two of them.

[B]

Well, we'll see if that.

[C]

Which, which way? What's the answer to the code or one.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[D]

The answer is no.

[B]

Same with Prince of Persia.

[C]

There's one in production right now.

[D]

There's absolutely not one in production.

[B]

Same with Splinter Cell. We'll see. Right?

[D]

Six years ago.

[B]

Maybe. Maybe. It's perfect. Dark.

[D]

It could be perfect.

[B]

It got re. Released recently. Last. Last gen.

[D]

It's true.

[C]

You mentioned that already. This. This episode.

[B]

I mentioned it. Yeah, we did mention this episode. That's good.

[D]

It can't be that.

[B]

Yeah, Damon's not getting red ears right now, so he. He knows what we mentioned the tell. I'm. I'm still thinking it's some stupid mascot game.

[C]

Okay. Do you play as a human?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's not a mascot game.

[D]

Mario's a mascot.

[B]

Oh, I see.

[C]

Is Mario a human? Well, whenever Nintendo gets asked that, they're like, mario's a cartoon.

[D]

I thought he was until Odyssey came out and it had humans and he looks nothing like them.

[C]

Yeah, but he had nipples in that game.

[D]

He. Yeah, well, lots of things have nipples. So what are human.

[B]

Sorry, what. What era did we. What era?

[D]

So we think the original came out. Yeah. We don't know. So it's either going to be PS2 GameCube or PS3 Xbox One.

[B]

There's some late 1664, 32 bit games to like, think your shadow mans and like to rocks and all of that stuff too, that got re releases recently in remakes. But then he wouldn't be able to answer whether those series continue or not.

[C]

Yeah, we're boned.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

I can see Sam's face that he has given up.

[D]

We. We are. We are.

[C]

We just don't have any information about.

[D]

I'm not. I'm not asking a question. But, Damon, are we like, even on how we need.

[C]

Well, how can we be? We know nothing about the game. Every answer has been no.

[A]

But that's. That's information that does tell you, kind of.

[B]

That's true.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

You need some.

[C]

Yes. To narrow it.

[B]

We're getting the hint.

[A]

One hint is that you have not mentioned this game's country of origin.

[B]

We said, okay, so it's not from America. C. Yeah.

[A]

Or.

[D]

But we also mentioned Korea and China and he says no.

[B]

No. He didn't say no for Korea. Did you say no for Korea?

[A]

I'm saying you have not mentioned the country.

[B]

But we said Europe.

[C]

We said Canada.

[B]

Cheating, right now.

[C]

That's not a country.

[B]

Huh? We said Europe, but. So we implicitly didn't mention Poland. No, I didn't mention Poland. Is it.

[D]

So it's a CD project.

[B]

Maybe it's a German game.

[D]

It might be Witcher 2.

[C]

No, that's not your. We mentioned Poland.

[B]

It's not Europe. Okay. You said that. That's right. Which means that they're not. I feel like they're not many other countries now. No, they're. Nobody is making.

[C]

Is this all a trick? Because it's actually a United States developed game. Did we exclude that?

[B]

No. Remember KO the Kangaroo from Australia?

[C]

No, but did we exclude the Alien Wars?

[D]

No, we didn't, but now I'm confused.

[B]

He said we didn't mention that country.

[D]

Countries. And he says we have not mentioned the country.

[C]

Yeah. So it could just be a regular ass United States game.

[D]

But we've mentioned the United States.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I don't remember mentioning it.

[D]

We didn't ask it.

[A]

Okay, two questions and I guess.

[C]

Okay, if a game came from Australia or like South America, how would we even.

[B]

Well, ask. Is this game from Australia?

[A]

Yes. One question to guess. What's the most famous game from Australia?

[B]

What is the most famous game?

[D]

Let me think.

[B]

There's HSV adventure racing. There is KO the Kangaroo.

[C]

Famous game from Australia.

[B]

There is Battalion wars is from down there. Right. Isn't Battalion Wars Australian?

[C]

None of these are famous.

[B]

There's Wonky the Koala. There's Ukulele is from the.

[D]

None of these are real. None of these are real games.

[C]

Isn't there like a. Isn't there like a.

[D]

Say it. Animals.

[B]

Well, no, there's L A Noire. I would say L A Noir is the most famous Australian.

[D]

Australian game.

[C]

Why was that made in Australia?

[B]

Because it was Rockstar Australia. I forget what the name was.

[C]

Well, that sounds right because.

[B]

Right.

[C]

That checks all the boxes.

[B]

La Noire as we also know it is.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Should we ask that one?

[D]

Well, hold on, I have one more question.

[C]

I mean, I could. Oh, we do.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

One question, I guess.

[B]

Oh, we have one question.

[D]

We should. We should ask if it's like an open world driving game.

[C]

Okay. Or just a rockstar game.

[B]

Go for it. Ask it.

[D]

All right. Do you. Do you drive in an open world in this game?

[A]

Yep.

[D]

It's not KO the Kangaroo.

[B]

It's not Battalion West.

[C]

All right. And there's no swords. There's no swords.

[B]

There's no swords.

[D]

Kangaroo game or la. No.

[C]

When I said just ask the question, I meant ask if it's a goddamn Rock Star game.

[D]

Do you.

[B]

You're right.

[D]

Do you look people in the eye.

[B]

And see if they twist?

[D]

We don't have any more questions. We have to guess it. All right, Damon. Is it L A Noir?

[A]

It is L A Noir.

[D]

I got it. I saved the day.

[A]

I mean, let's be honest. I saved the day. Okay.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You don't remember getting any hints, Damon.

[C]

Was the 21st question.

[D]

I'm pretty sure. Sure. We got there on our own. That's how history.

[C]

There was a rock star in Australia.

[B]

Team Bondi.

[A]

Team Bondi. Team Bondi developed this game.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And then it, it, it. This is the only game they made. It was shut down shortly after release because there was like controversy about the developer not being run.

[B]

Well, yeah, but. But I think that there were other issues.

[C]

Can't make games about America in America.

[B]

I really like this game.

[D]

I was sort of like, this is why there's tariffs.

[B]

It was very stiff.

[C]

But this is why you're a contrarian that hates games. Pair.

[B]

No, a lot of people like this game, man. See, Damon's with me.

[A]

Was amazing.

[B]

I mean, it had like. Basically you had to. Sam, you never played this?

[C]

No, I love this game. I wrote the guide for it. I think there should be sequels. I think it's awesome.

[B]

All right, good.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

The interrogation was really cool. Like looking at the character and trying to figure out if they lie in it was not like super video gamey obvious either. They, they.

[C]

I only know my way around Los Angeles from this game.

[B]

And it had the dude from Mad Men in it, right? Like one of the actors.

[A]

Yeah, well, he was the main guy. Several actors from Madman.

[B]

Yeah, that guy.

[C]

He was a bit role in Mad Men.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. He had to lead in this.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

He almost got us there. German friends.

[C]

So were there swords?

[A]

No swords in this.

[D]

No, no swords.

[A]

You can get into fist fights.

[B]

You can get into fist fights even.

[C]

When you catch the Black Dahlia Killer. He doesn't have a sword.

[A]

No, I don't think so.

[B]

I want another game like this.

[A]

I know. It's a very cool game.

[B]

The open world was weak, though. It wasn't really an open world. This is more like mafia where you're driving around to get somewhere.

[A]

But I think it's pretty accurate. Our producer Joe said he was recently playing this and he found his apartment today in the game.

[B]

It's a really cool recreation of LA of the time. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Nicely Job La Noire. Thank you for the suggestion, Michael In Germany. Viewers and listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions, email them to me at the email address game scoop.com. and that's all the scoops that we have for you this week. Let me, let me share some important information with Scoop Nation. Now is your chance to Play like a legend with the WB Play the Legends Bundle live now through August 20th on Humble Bundle. Pick up Gotham Knights back 4 Blood, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition, the Arkham Games, and Shadow of Mordor. I know Sam's a big fan of many of these games.

[C]

Good game.

[A]

Whether you're reliving fan favorites or discovering them for the first time, you'll also be supporting the Raiden Science foundation in their fight against rare childhood diseases. Thank you, Paris, for joining me.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

Thank you to both Sam and Mark. Thank you to Gilbert. Working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. Pear and I will be in Germany next week. I don't know if we're gonna be able to squeeze any game scoop or not. We'll see.

[C]

Yeah, up in the air, we'll see.

[A]

What we can do. Cause Justin's gonna be. But I think the shooting schedule just line that lines up. So like the only time we could do it is like after people are gone anyway. We'll see we can do. If we can't do it, then we'll just see you in two weeks and everybody play some fun games and we'll reconvene then. I'm actually playing something right now that I like a lot that I wanted to talk about today, but then I realized it's under embargo. And then I know some other people are also playing some other stuff that's under embargo.

[B]

It's Death Stranding 3.

[A]

It's Death Stranding 3.

[D]

He's already.

[A]

So please be excited really fast. It's pretty good for the next episode, be it next week or the week after. My name is Damon. This is IGN GamesCube. And we're out.

[D]

You're busted.

[C]

No, no, no, no, no.

[D]

You're busted. You're busted.

[A]

This episode of Game Soup was produced by myself, Damon Hadfield and Gilbert Adienza. Technical direction is handled by Gilbert Atienza. Technical production is by Marianne Franzen and Amir Akib. Audio engineering is by Amir Aqib and post production editing is by yours truly, Damon Hatfield. Graphic design is by Nicole Kagempen. Gamescoop is an IGN production and part of the Geek Media Network.

[D]

So after the comments on your Donkey Kong rant, I'm only.

[C]

I wasn't even a rant. I just said the game is fine. It's not as good as Mario Odyssey.

[D]

I was just a beacon of positivity from now on.

[B]

I saw some.

[D]

I love everything.

[B]

The Facebook group comments were hilarious.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm like, why does it bother them.

[D]

Oh, dude, I would not even dare to wait.

[C]

I like the Facebook group.

[A]

Facebook group.

[D]

I do YouTube.

[B]

I.

[C]

It's just when that happens, people say, like, really? Really. They're, like, really upset, right? They're like, yeah, I just. I just. I'm a big fan. I can listen. Like, I just can't believe. Yeah, I can't listen anymore. And then it's like a bunch of people like, are you okay, man?

[B]

I won't be back.

[C]

They're all very nice to each other.

[A]

Junior. Yes, sir.

[D]

CineFix Top 100 is back. It's time to pick up our quest.

[B]

To watch 100 of the greatest movies of all time.

[D]

If that sounds good to you.

[B]

No.

[A]

Good.

[B]

Fine. Good.

[D]

And season four is taking some time to appreciate family. This season we're diving into movies about all the crazy things we do for family, about reconnecting, about fighting, and about finding family in unexpected places. I am your father. And what better place to start than with a movie that does a little bit of all of that? Starring our favorite archaeologists who named himself after the family dog. You are named after the dog.

[C]

And stay in touch with your Cinefix.

[D]

Family every Sunday for more of our biggest list yet.

[C]

See you, little brother. Not a worry in the world.

[B]

Tune in to The CineFix Top 100.

[D]

Part of the Geek Media Network on YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. It's an incredibly exciting year for Nintendo fans. The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, and there's so much to dive into. That's why we record Nintendo Voice Chat on Thursdays to catch all the big news from Nintendo's regular announcements, then release new episodes every Friday morning. For the latest Switch 2 updates, first impressions and lively discussion, tune in to NVC, IGN's weekly Nintendo show, hosted by me, Logan Plant. I'm thrilled to lead the show into the next generation alongside an amazing panel of Nintendo experts, Rebecca Valentine, Jada Griffin, and Seth Macy. NBC is part of the Geek Media Podcast Network with new episodes every Friday morning on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your shows with full video versions on IGN.com and YouTube. Join us and get the thing this Friday on Nintendo Voice Chat. Hey, listen.