Game Scoop! 834: Primed and Ready

Summary

Game Scoop! 834: Primed and Ready

Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Damon Hatfield
Panel: Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, Logan Plant (from Nintendo Voice Chat)
Main Focus: Hands-on preview of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, U.S. gaming holiday shopping trends, and the current state of Ubisoft.

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Episode Overview

The 834th episode of Game Scoop! dives deep into three main topics:

• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Preview impressions from Logan Plant, including a detailed look at visuals, performance, new features, and concerns around a chatty new companion.
• Holiday Gaming Spending – Surprising new ESA data about what American gamers (adults and children) want and will spend on this holiday season.
• Ubisoft's Industry Blues – Analysis and debate over Ubisoft's claim that "players are turning away from traditional games," and what that means for the future.

Throughout, the IGN crew blends sharp analysis with nostalgia, lively banter, and their trademark trivia and listener Q&A.

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Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Preview Impressions

Starts at 04:11

First Hands-On:

• Platform & Visuals:

  • Logan Plant played the first 90 minutes on Switch 2 (“Nobody's seen this running on Switch 1 yet”).
  • He calls the visuals possibly the "best looking Nintendo game ever" in places.
    • “There are times I was playing it where I thought this might be the best looking Nintendo game ever in parts ... the art direction, the graphics, it just. This is amazing.” – Logan Plant, [04:33]

• Performance:

  • Permits either 4K60 or 1080/120 in handheld.
    • “I played in 120fps on the Switch 2 screen and wow. Super smooth.” – Logan Plant, [07:19]

Control Schemes:

• Three schemes: Mouse mode, twin Joy-Con motion controls (like Trilogy), and Pro Controller.
• Consensus: Most will use Pro Controller.
  • “Pro Controller ... my favorite controller now. There's no other way I'd rather play it.” – Logan Plant, [08:37]
  • Mouse mode works but is awkward given Metroid's reliance on multiple buttons.

The New Companion: Miles McKenzie

• First 15–20 minutes feature sidekick Miles, a Galactic Federation trooper, who provides hints and constant banter.

  • “This is the way they set this up ... you're walking through this very atmospheric, dark tunnel … then you see this galactic ship that's crash landed ... Miles delivers a monologue about how, well, at least I'm not sitting next to Phil in that cubicle anymore.” – Logan Plant, [09:54]
  • The humor is MCU-like (“the worst sides of the MCU”), and, for Logan at least, “kind of cringey.”

• Concern: Will the handholding and banter persist throughout? The companion splits off after the tutorial, but preview and trailers suggest more tag-along segments.

  • “If Prime 4 doesn’t know when to leave you alone, I think that’s going to be a big problem, especially if they're giving out hints like Atreus in God of War or Aloy in Horizon. That is the last thing I want from a Metroid game.” – Logan Plant, [11:32]

• Group weighs pros/cons, comparing to games like Halo (Cortana as positive), God of War or Horizon (negative: excessive hints).

  • “Execution matters, right? ... It opens up this fear of, does Retro still understand what makes a Metroid game Metroid? They're about isolation ... relying on your wits ... do the developers view what makes a Metroid game a Metroid game in the same way I do?” – Justin Davis, [13:33]

Metroid Formula Fatigue?

• Sam: Wonders if the “Metroid formula” is losing freshness (“How many more times can I lose all my equipment?”).

  • “This could be a remake of a remake of a remake. Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3, and 4 don’t seem that different from each other. That kind of freaks me out.” – Sam Claiborne, [15:52]

• Justin: Some defense—there’s an implicit “contract” between developer and player about Metroid’s structure, but references Batman Arkham’s approach as a possible evolution (keep old powers, add new ones).

• Logan: Prime 4 attempts a middle path—Samus doesn’t lose absolutely everything; keeps morph ball and double jump (novel for a series start), introduced new psychic powers tied to the story.

Excitement Level

• Sam: “No world in which even if this got the worst scores I wouldn’t play it. This is my favorite series and I love it.” [20:19]
• Justin: More cautious; dislikes the companion and motorcycle, but still “wants to play it.”
• Metroid/Alien parallels: Panel would love to see the series try new protagonists.

Notable Anecdotes

• Nintendo’s odd embargo: “That Metroid Prime art book … was there and they’re like, you can flip through it, but please don’t tell anyone you’ve seen it until the embargo lifts … It’s been out for three weeks!” – Logan Plant, [23:18]
• Logan plugs a Nintendo Voice Chat episode next week revisiting the Prime Trilogy. [23:40]

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2. U.S. Holiday Gaming Spending – ESA Data Breakdown

Starts at 25:00

Surprising Survey Results

• ESA study surveyed ~2,000 gamers (ages 5–65).
• Findings:
  • Video games are fourth in gift popularity among adults (after toys/games, gift cards, clothes).
  • 1 in 3 adults plan to buy a video game–related gift.
  • Adults favor buying digital games/DLC for themselves; “in-game currency” (e.g., Robux, V-Bucks) is now the top requested gift among kids aged 5–12.
• Average Gaming Gifts Spend:
  • Total average per gaming-purchasing household: $555
  • Among parents: $737
  • Panel marvels at the numbers. (“I’m not going to spend anywhere near $700 on [my son’s] Christmas presents.” – Damon, [30:19])

Other Data

• Kids' top gifts: In-game currency (#1) and gaming accessories (like VR) for older kids.
• 71% of parents check ESRB ratings; 66% use some parental controls (panel skeptical of those numbers).
• Reflection on how gifts have shifted over generations; toys/LEGO catalogs now competed with digital games and currencies.
• “What was even the point of Christmas before video games?” – Favorite tweet paraphrased by Damon. [34:29]

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3. Ubisoft Industry Self-Reflection

Starts at 40:14

Ubisoft’s Statement:

• Ubisoft claims new games struggle as “players turn away from traditional releases” towards subscriptions, live service, or free-to-play.
• The panel is critical, suggesting Ubisoft is evading accountability for their missteps:
  • “Is this them in the hot dog suit saying, ‘We’re all looking for the guy who did this?’” – Justin Davis, [41:01]

Context:

• Ubisoft’s reliable annual output dried up post-2020.
• Series like Assassin’s Creed, Star Wars, and Avatar have all underperformed recently:
  • “Avatar would have been the biggest game on the planet like eight years ago. ... The floor moved out from under Ubisoft sort of without them really figuring it out or keeping up.” – Justin, [41:22]

Debate:

• Some nuance: external cultural/political backlash hurt high-profile games (e.g., Star Wars, Assassin’s Creed), but the real issue is Ubisoft’s own stagnation.
• Ubisoft’s quote critiqued as tone-deaf given resurgence of successful single-player games (Hades 2, etc.), many of which Ubisoft could have published.

Key Quotes:

• “Ubisoft … ushered in the era [of live service] and is still … one of the best to ever have done it. ... It becomes kind of self-reinforcing after a while.” – Justin Davis, [47:01]
• Sam: “Would people have liked [an indie hit] as much if Ubisoft had published it, because people are down on Ubisoft as a brand?” [45:50]

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4. Listener Questions & Gaming Philosophy

Starts at 47:54

Is it Okay to Love Games You Aren’t Good At?

• Matt Jones admits he's “bad at games that require you to be smart,” but loves video games.
• Panel universally affirms: The joy of games transcends mastery.
  • “Games are a combination of so many disciplines … You could bump the difficulty down ... but you might be enjoying the art, story, music, performances, world building … It doesn’t always have to be ‘I want a challenge right now.’” – Damon, [49:32]

Arcade Difficulty History

• John from the UK asks: When did arcade games become “credit munchers”?
• Arcade design has always balanced challenge and profit (cf. pinball); quick average play sessions maximized revenue.
  • “It has to grip you and be challenging enough to think you can keep going.” – Sam Claiborne, [58:59]
• Notable shift with beat-‘em-ups and continue mechanics (e.g., Double Dragon, Simpsons Arcade).
• Modern arcades: less skill, more ticket/score-based games (“just Pong” at scale).

Retro Fighting Games

• The “Easter eggs” culture of the original Mortal Kombat discussed, including secret moves and the Toasty animation.
  • “Just the moves were a secret ... how do you even play Sub Zero without the freeze attack? ... They just let people figure it out.” – Sam Claiborne, [64:34]

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5. Game Scoop! 20 Questions

Starts at 68:05

• This week’s game: Jungle Strike (Mega Drive/SNES, EA, High Score Productions).
  • Panel uses logical deduction, eventually narrowing genre, gameplay, and developer to land on the correct answer.
  • “It’s like an isometric Choplifter.” – Damon, [76:35]

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Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

• "My band is playing a bunch of shows in Tokyo is probably one of the coolest sentences that’s ever been uttered on Scoop." – Justin Davis, [03:42]
• "If Prime 4 doesn’t know when to leave you alone, I think that’s going to be a big problem, especially if they're giving out hints ... that is the last thing I want from a Metroid game." – Logan Plant, [11:32]
• "What was even the point of Christmas before video games?" – Damon, [34:29]
• "Is this them in the hot dog suit saying, ‘We’re all looking for the guy who did this?’" – Justin Davis, [41:01]
• "This could be a remake of a remake of a remake. Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3, and 4 don't seem that different from each other. That kind of freaks me out." – Sam Claiborne, [15:52]
• "It's crazy, right? I'm just about as big a gamer as you can find and I have a six year old son who loves video games. I’m not going to spend anywhere near 700 bucks on his Christmas presents." – Damon, [30:19]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Metroid Prime 4 Preview: 04:11 – 23:47
• ESA Holiday Gaming Study: 25:00 – 36:30
• Ubisoft Segment: 40:14 – 47:48
• Listener Questions: 47:54 – 68:05
• Game Scoop! 20 Questions: 68:05 – 77:23

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Takeaway

This episode is a “must-listen” for Switch fans eager for Metroid Prime news, parents thinking about holiday gaming gifts, or anyone enjoying the ever-changing face of the industry and reminiscing about arcade classics. The IGN crew’s honest, informed, and humorous discussion ensures there’s value for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

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Next Week:
No regular Game Scoop! – instead, expect a special 100 Questions Gauntlet and a brand new show pilot.

Transcript

[Damon Hatfield]

Metroid Prime 4 is almost upon us and our own Logan Plant has played a bunch of it. He's here to share his impressions. Plus, we've got some interesting data on US consumer holiday shopping plans as it pertains to gaming and Ubisoft is either gaslighting us or just incapable of self reflection. All that and more on gamescoop coming up after these messages. Cold Mornings Holiday Plans this is when I just want my wardrobe to be simple. Stuff that looks sharp, feels good and things I'll actually wear. For me, that's Quint's and the bonus Quint's pieces make great gifts too. This season's lineup is simple but smart and Easy with Quint's $50 Mongolian cashmere sweaters that feel like an everyday luxury and wool coats that are equal parts stylish and durable. Their denim nails the fit and everyday comfort all at a fraction of what you'd expect to pay. By partnering directly with ethical factories and top artisans, Quint cuts out the middlemen to deliver premium quality at half the cost of other high end brands so you can give luxury quality pieces without the luxury price tag at home These days I've been living in my Quint's bamboo jersey lounge shorts. They're they're so soft and comfy. I also picked up a pair of joggers that look great and fit perfectly, give and get timeless holiday staples that last this season with quints. Go to quince.com gamescoop for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I-N C E.com gamescoop free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com gamescoop why do most of us want to learn a new language? It's probably not about memorizing grammar tables or topping a leaderboard. It's it's because we want to speak it out in the real world with real people. Babbel gets you there fast. 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 interaction 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. Here's a special limited time deal for our listeners right now. Get up to 55% off your Babel subscription at babbel.com Gamescoop get up to 55% off at babbel.com GamesCoop spelled B A B-B-E-L.com Gamescoop rules and restrictions may apply. What's up everybody? Welcome to IGN gamescoop. I'm your host Damon Hatfield and joining me this week are Sam Claiborne.

[Sam Claiborne]

Hey, it's great to be here.

[Damon Hatfield]

Justin Davis, Scoop, and from Nintendo Voice Chat, Logan Plant joins us. Welcome back Logan.

[Logan Plant]

Hey, thanks for having me.

[Damon Hatfield]

We got a great show for you this week. Logan has been playing Metroid Prime 4 which is out very soon, so he'll share some impressions of that with us. Got some really interesting data from the ESA on what consumers plan to be buying and how much they'll be spending on gaming related gifts this holiday season. I was surprised by some of this data, but first let's some housekeeping. Next week is going to be the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US A bunch of us are taking some time off, but we've got some special surprises planned in store for you. So first of all, we'll be doing our regular 100 Questions Gauntlet episode next week, although Sam will not be able to join us for that. I don't know if Sam wants to share where else in the world he might be.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I'll be in Tokyo. My band is playing a bunch of shows over in Japan. I'm very excited.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

But also I wish everybody the best on 100 questions. Hopefully.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, we'll see. So we'll do that.

[Justin Davis]

My My band is playing a bunch of shows in Tokyo is probably one of the coolest sentences that's ever been uttered on Scoop.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's really fun.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's absolutely true. So we'll have that. And then I've got a new a whole new like sort of show pilot thing launching next week that Sam is on with me as well as Pear, Schneider and Miranda Sanchez. So I'll share more of that next week, but. So no regular episode of GameStop next week. But you'll get the 100 Questions episode and then this brand new pilot episode. So two shows coming next week. Please be excited.

[Sam Claiborne]

Nice.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay, Logan, hit us. What are your impressions on Metroid Prime 4 on the eve of its launch?

[Logan Plant]

Yeah, so I flew out to New York City a couple weeks ago now and got to play the first 90 minutes or so of Metroid Prime 4 Beyond on Switch 2. Nobody's seen this running on Switch 1 yet. That is a mystery until launch. But on Switch 2.

[Sam Claiborne]

Wow.

[Logan Plant]

This game looks incredible. There are times I was playing it where I thought this might be the best looking Nintendo game ever in parts because I haven't been too hot on what like the open world desert area looks like visually. But when it is more self contained Metroid prime, the art direction, the graphics, it just. This is amazing. On Switch 2 there's that opening cut scene where Samus's gunship is flying in to land at this Galactic Federation base where the space pirates and Sylex are attacking. And just it's this rendered cut scene in engine and it looks incredible. Samus's ship is so detailed and the light reflecting on it is amazing. This is a visual treat in a lot of ways. So far it's not a definitive next gen game since it is cross gen. You can tell in some ways some of the models aren't as complicated or detailed as you might expect from a fully retro Studios developed Switch 2 exclusive that hopefully we'll get next from them. But visually it just, it just looks gorgeous.

[Sam Claiborne]

Before I move past visuals, in reading The Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3 art book that was out recently, I really came to view Retro's relationship with Nintendo as Retro had really impressive technology and could really push the GameCube to have this incredible graphic potential. They also had great concepts for Metroid prime, but a lot of the gameplay concepts were shared whereas the tech was like all Retro. Right. Nothing looked like this on GameCube at the time. Of course the teams for Rogue Squadron really got that game running great too. So there's just some interesting western companies really pushing the system. And then I'm playing Metroid Prime 2 right now on the Wii U, the Trilogy version. And the, the. The difference is incredibly contrasted. Like I mean yeah, I just, I played Prime Remaster and it looks like this a little bit. But boy, the old games like this, this is so far beyond what they look like. But this is that same thing that we sands in games all the time. This is what I remember them looking like in my mind.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

You know.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

So the style's right. It doesn't look better than any other next gen game out right now. But boy, it looks so much better than the last Metroid Prime.

[Damon Hatfield]

You say it's so. It looks so much so far beyond the graphics of Metroid prime and beyond is right there in the name.

[Logan Plant]

Yes, it is true.

[Sam Claiborne]

I keep forgetting that. That it even has a subtitle.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's funny that you say this might be the best looking Nintendo game ever because I think the original Metroid prime at the time was the best looking Nintendo game ever. So this series has.

[Sam Claiborne]

It has been ever since.

[Damon Hatfield]

Is that true?

[Logan Plant]

Yeah. And maybe that was the last time that it was. You could argue a Nintendo game was the best looking game ever. Metroid prime was in that conversation. They've never been there since and this game isn't in that conversation at all. But for a Nintendo game it does look really, really good.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. Did they set up how's the performance on handheld? You were saying it was really impressive. Right.

[Logan Plant]

I played in 120fps on the Switch 2 screen and wow. Super smooth. Really cool. You can't notice the resolution bump too much in handheld. I could on the giant 4K display when it goes down to 1080 when you bump it up to 120F. But in handheld 120 FPS looked just incredible. So smooth and made the shooting and the gunplay really awesome.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, I didn't realize that. So the trade off on docked is a resolution versus getting it at 120fps.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah. 4K60 or 1080120 are your two choices.

[Sam Claiborne]

Okay. 4K60 is still pretty good.

[Justin Davis]

Yep.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah. Great. Yeah. And that's what I did on TV and it looked awesome. There's three control schemes. There's the mouse mode and then there's the prime trilogy. Two split Joy cons. Aim with the right Joy Con motion controls. And then there's classic Pro controller which is like it was in Prime Remastered. Dual stick controls, not tank controls like the first two Metroid prime games.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I was going to ask about that. So that's the first time you could ever play a Metroid game that way until Remastered was you. You. You know the. The trilogy had. The only option for Metroid Prime 3 was to add the Wii mode which already had. The other games are stop and shoot.

[Per Schneider]

Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

They were lock on. So that's really interesting.

[Logan Plant]

Yes. I played with Pro controller. I think that's. That's going to be the way most people are going to play this. And it felt great.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

I was just gonna ask, like, when you get your final copy, what configuration do you think you'll be playing in?

[Logan Plant]

Definitely Pro Controller, which is kind of. When I first demoed this in New York back in April, I went on NBC and I was like, the mouse controls work surprisingly well. And that was like the day the mouse controls were announced. And we were all excited about it. But now that six months have passed, nah, I'm not gonna use the mouse. I'm gonna go for sure with the Pro controller. Cause the Switch 2 Pro Controller's also like my favorite controller now. There's no other way I'd rather play it.

[Sam Claiborne]

I love it too. I think if you had a desk setup and this right in your face on a computer monitor, you could use the mous. You don't want to use it in your living room. And as somebody who's again holding a Wiimote and playing a Metroid game right now, it is absolutely exhausting and lame.

[Justin Davis]

With the mouse controls, there's an element of like, they spent so long thinking about if they could. They didn't think about if they should. It's like they don't. You needn't have bothered.

[Logan Plant]

The thing with the mouse is that the aiming works fine. The Joy Con 2 as a mouse works fine. It's not super comfortable to hold, but the functionality is there. It's just Metroid Prime. There's so many things you have to do. It relies on those four face buttons that are on the side of the Joy Con you're using as a mouse. And you don't really want to do that. Like to morph ball, you have to reach your either pointer finger like a claw, or your thumb to hit Y to turn into a morph ball. And I don't think people are going to want to do that.

[Damon Hatfield]

We're watching footage of Logan's preview here. The chapter title we just saw was beyond chatty. What's the deal with this annoying. This annoying sidekick companion?

[Logan Plant]

Yep. So his name is Miles McKenzie. He's a galactic Federation Trooper. He's by far my biggest question mark surrounding Metroid Prime 4. I talk about it a fair amount in the preview, but this is the way they set this up was so interesting because you're walking through this very atmospheric, dark, cramped tunnel that's very Metroid prime, very gloomy. And then you come out into this clearing and you see this galactic ship that's crash landed in some vines. And then it goes To a cutscene where Miles delivers a monologue about how, well, at least I'm not sitting next to Phil in that cubicle anymore. So it's going for kind of that style of. A lot of the style feels very like MCU to me in its humor, but kind of the worst sides of the MCU humor that I'm personally not a fan of. And you save him. He gives you the missiles and like, okay, see you later, dude. And then he says, actually, I'm going to tag along. Where to? We should open the map to check our bearings. It's like, oh, not feeling great about this. And the next 15 minutes or so, Miles does tag along with Samus. He is constantly talking. He comments on everything he sees. Some of it is just bantery, and some of it is a little bit too handholdy. Like you. I walk past a save room, I'm not going to save. This is a preview event. I'm not going to waste a minute going to a save room to save. So I already tried it out earlier, so I keep moving on. And Miles goes, hey, that looked important. Do you think that we should go back and take a look at that thing? I'm just like, oh, man. And this is the first area. This is the tutorial. So maybe just this is the Retro's crash course to get you back on the Metroid prime track or introduce new players for the first time with this really overbearing companion. You do eventually split up with him. But the overview trailer did confirm Samus is going to run into several Galactic Federation troopers in different areas on this planet of Euros that are going to tag along for combat missions from time to time. So the biggest question mark is how often is that going to be? Because if it is too much of this runtime and Prime4 doesn't know when to leave you alone, I think that's going to be a big problem, Especially if they're giving out hints like Atreus and God of War or Aloy does in Horizon. That is the last thing I want from a Metroid game.

[Sam Claiborne]

What if it's a cute anime cartoon character that seems to work for people, for companions in games? I think people are very used to it in Genshin now. I think that there's a way that this could be fine, and that's that I do play games where I don't even think about that happening. It's the games where they, as you're saying, like, call out the puzzle solutions too much. Which, by the way, is God of War. Everybody's favorite game ever is very much guilty of that. So I'm not going to overly criticize this game for something that, like a lot of people's favorite game of all time does really poorly. Then there's. Then there's. Then there's a horizon, right, where, like, Aloy is just constantly muttering about what plants she's collecting. That's not a great use of it. And then I'll go back to another positive example, which, which is. Which is Halo. I think Cortana is great. And then there's levels of 3, 4, 3 guilty spark that are so funny. And he follows you the whole level and comments and stuff and sings and it's fine.

[Justin Davis]

That's exactly right. The execution matters, right? So I've been reflecting on this. I've been thinking about it because it really has people up in arms. I pulled some comments, some of the top comments on our YouTube video. These aren't cherry picked. These are the upvoted ones. It's. I can't believe they put McLovin in a Metroid game. No one should ever. No one should ever say booyah.

[Sam Claiborne]

I don't understand that reference. Just because he looks like him.

[Logan Plant]

He just looks like.

[Sam Claiborne]

He looks like.

[Justin Davis]

Well, and kind of acts like him. Like, you know, he's wearing glasses under his helmet. Like, it's just bizarre.

[Sam Claiborne]

That makes sense.

[Justin Davis]

No one should ever say booyah in a Metro game. What the hell were they thinking? It's like a middle school. Middle schooler sitting right next to you and you play and then one.

[Sam Claiborne]

But Craig says booyah in the first Metroid. People have no sense of history.

[Justin Davis]

And then the one I think sums it up is a comic relief character in a Metroid game is complete insanity. And so what I've been thinking about, I think it's two things here. And Sam, you touched on part of it, in my opinion, which is the execution matters, right? Like, Guilty Spark is funny and interesting and a little bit out of place for a Halo game. But, like, you know, it's cute, right? It goes over with the fans, right? But then the other half of it is Betray. It's like it opens up this fear of, like, does Retro still understand what makes a Metroid game Metroid? Right? Like, they're about isolation and like, you know, they kind of. They're about sort of you relying on your wits and, you know, Samus being very, you know, the stoicism in her character. And at least in like, Super Metroid, that game's borderline, like a horror game, right? Like a lot of environmental Storytelling and like, contemplative moments that like, you know, so. So I think part of the fear is like, oh, boy. Like, we've seen, you know, 15 minutes of this guy and we don't know about him. But then the other half is like, what does it represent for the rest of the game? And, you know, do the developers of this game sort of view what makes a Metroid game a Metroid game in the same way that I do as a fan?

[Logan Plant]

There's a good chance that's not necessarily the. It's not necessarily the humor either. I didn't personally like it. Maybe you'll like the humor more than I did. I found a lot of it kind of cringey. To me. I don't vibe with that style, but it was just that. It was just the hint dropping. Like we talked about God of War and Horizon. Those are like highly curated AAA action adventure games that want to keep you moving, want to keep you on this track. I want to get lost in Metroid. I want to not know what to do for a couple of minutes. And Metroid prime has always handled that by the map beeping at you when you're too slow to figure something out. And then it gets you back on the critical path. But if this game is always guiding you along, that's not going to be cool. I don't think it's going to be based on that overview trailer they dropped. But the segment I played sure was that right.

[Justin Davis]

And as you said, we did. And look, I mean, it's Nintendo's choice. They get to choose what they want people to play. And it was their choice to let you play the opening hour and 90 minutes of the game. So maybe a strange choice. That is the big asterisk of, like, look, maybe none of the rest of the game is going to feel this way. Right. Like, we just, you know, we don't know yet.

[Logan Plant]

We don't know.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I have a bigger, you know, worry about Metroid and Metroid prime, but Metroid in general, I don't know how many more times I can lose all of my equipment and get 255 missiles. Even though this is the series, is my favorite game of all time in it. Yeah, there's just certain evolutions that Zelda has gone through and Mario's gone through that have been conducive to me sticking with them and wanting to play them. This really could be a remake of a remake of a remake. Metroid Prime 1, 2, 3 and 4 don't seem that different from each other. That Kind of freaks me out a little bit. It's always going to be fun. But how many more times is this going to work?

[Damon Hatfield]

It has been a long time, at least.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, that's true. Absolutely. And I always minimize the story in this. And of course, adding the hunters part of it is very silly and all that stuff. I guess there's some other Metroid Primes too, by the way. There's the DS one, right. And the multiple federation. Yeah. But there's. There's like this, like, could just like if it was about story, like, this is all still prequel. Right. They're all still cramming this in before Metroid, the first game and all that stuff.

[Logan Plant]

It's between one and two is where they've always landed.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. And so it's just all like. It's not great. It's not great storytelling and it's not a great gameplay loop to revisit over and over again. It still could be the most fun game ever made, though. So those things, those two things can fall by the wayside really fast.

[Justin Davis]

I'm kind of of two minds. Like, you know, part of me is like, I don't. I don't need any gameplay excuse. You know, they always come up with some narrative reason for why Samus gets powered down. She's struck by lightning and something crazy happened. She's powered down. You got to go to your stuff again. And I'm like, look, we all. There's a contract between the developer and the player. We all understand we're playing a video game and we all understand that Metroid is about getting these powers and using them to unlock new areas and backtrack. So it's like, in my opinion, part of me is like, you can just skip all that. I don't even, like, I don't care. I don't need any reason for why I'm getting all this stuff again. It's because it's a video game and not a movie. But then I do think about games like, like the Batman, Arkham games that they don't power down Batman. He keeps all the same awesome stuff he had in the first game. And then they just give you double the amount of awesome smart on top of that.

[Logan Plant]

I think this game is trying to do that a little bit because you don't lose Quite everything in Prime 4. You lose most of it. You're down to your morph ball and your double jump. And then you get the missiles in like the first 10.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean, that's nice. Double jump is a big deal to start with like, that. They've never done that before, right?

[Logan Plant]

Yeah, yeah. And then the. The new thing they're layering on is the psychic powers, which is part of the whole story with this ancient race on this planet. Samus gets mysteriously warped to, like, just. And I saw a couple of them in here.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's clearly a conversation that Justin and I are just talking about. Like, they had that internally and tried to make this work out this way. So I respect that. Like, that. That. That's the type of stuff that I think that can work.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay, couple more questions. Logan, did you ride the motorcycle?

[Logan Plant]

No, I didn't. My demo ended the second that I beat this first area called Fury Green. Fought a boss, got a few psychic powers left, left miles behind at this. At this base camp in this area. So he's no longer with Samus at the point I left off. And Samus, like, is blinded by the sun in the desert. She puts her hand up to her visor. And then the controller was promptly ripped out of my hands by the PR rep. So, no, I did not get to try the motorcycle.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay, interesting. Well, but despite the possibly too chatty companion, you're excited for Metroid Prime 4 you. Oh, yeah, totally.

[Logan Plant]

I mean, it still plays like Metroid Prime. And the psychic powers, I do think have potential. There's one that really reminds me of Star Wars Jedi Survivor. There's those shrines in that game that are very Metroidy and very like Breath of the Wild Y, where you're moving around these orbs with the Force to basically move energy from one place to another. Metroid prime has that with these psychic energy motes that Samus uses the psychic glove to manipulate. And they're very basic. But again, this is the first area, so it's Nintendo. They're going to get more complicated as you go. But the one I saw was like, you need to find three orbs of energy in this room to open this gate. One's behind a thing you need to shoot with your missile to reveal a hidden room. One's hidden. Up high. One you need to scan something to reveal. So just really kind of 101 Metroid stuff. But it's promising from what I saw. And knowing this is the tutorial, I think that they have some cool mechanics they're laying down.

[Damon Hatfield]

Sam, are you excited?

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, there's no world in which even if this got the worst scores, I wouldn't play it. This is my favorite series, and I love it, and I can't wait to play. So I wonder Too. If there's, like, a. Interesting way that, you know, the series could involve where, like, you know, you were. Justin was saying earlier, like, it was kind of a horror game, right? Like on Super Nintendo. That's because Alien, right? Like, the. The inspiration for Metroid is only Alien. It's just from Alien. And Alien was a, you know, female protagonist show those that are.

[Damon Hatfield]

That are holding the items, right? Like the Traveler or whatever it is from Alien.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that is a cool concept. What does Alien do? Well, they went back to Ripley a couple times, but then they're just like, hey, here's the young crew doing this. And set in this universe, it's gonna have the same vibes. Like, that's what Metroid. It's like, if you want a lady bounty hunter, that's cool. Like, go for it.

[Justin Davis]

But, like, it just.

[Sam Claiborne]

Does it have to be Samus every time? Like, what are we doing here? Like, I just think it's getting silly. And I think, to be absolutely fair, I think Halo's feeling that way, too. Like, at least they did odst, but, like, man, like, it's still Master Chief in Cortana, like, running around. It's crazy.

[Damon Hatfield]

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think fans would riot if a new Metroid did not star Samus.

[Sam Claiborne]

I know, but then you can see.

[Logan Plant]

One did on 3Ds, and people absolutely hated it.

[Sam Claiborne]

That deviated from Metroid a lot more than not having Samus in it, for sure. So I think the idea is, can you capture the vibe of Alien and the vibe of Metroid in a game that doesn't start Samus? Like, that would be interesting. And you could still have Samus in the game, and it'd be really surprising and cool how she shows up, right?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah. Have Samus be captured, and, like, her daughter has to go off and rescue her.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's a plot of Donkey Kong junior.

[Justin Davis]

I might be the least excited of the group, unfortunately. I mean, look, I love Metroid prime, and Super Metroid is my favorite game. So, like, let me. Let me recalibrate. I'm definitely excited. Like, I want to play it. I feel like, you know, I'm worried about the chatty companion. I think the motorcycle looks super dorky. And so it's like, well, okay. Like, you know, they're choosing. Like, they're like, this is what they're choosing to put in front of you. Like, so, you know, I'm just hopeful that. That whoever is sort of picking these marketing beats doesn't have their thumb on like the pulse of, you know, what, what Metroid super fans like me are looking for. So, you know, I like if I take kind of a zoomed out perspective, like, you know, exploration heavy action games, explore an alien world, solve puzzles. Like that's my kind of game. And we just don't get that many of them oddly anymore. So, you know, I'm into it for that reason if nothing else.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, I'm excited to check it out. It would be play with Kingo, be Kingo's first exposure to the whole Metroid franchise. So fingers crossed it turns out.

[Logan Plant]

Okay, can I shout out two more things real quick?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Logan Plant]

About this.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yep.

[Logan Plant]

The first is just a funny anecdote from my preview event. That Metroid prime art book that Sam mentioned that's been out for like a month. It was there and they're like, you can flip through it, but please don't tell anyone you've seen it until the embargo lifts. I'm like, this has been out for three weeks. It's just the most Nintendo thing. That's just a little look into how strange some of their embargoes are sometime. And then the second is I just want to shout out that. But we're doing an episode next week on the Thanksgiving week over on Nintendo Voice chat where Per Schneider and I are talking about the entire Metroid prime trilogy before prime four. So go check that out.

[Damon Hatfield]

Cool. That'll be a really fun episode. A lot of holiday gifts end up in a drawer or the back of your closet or accidentally left at your cousin's house. Not this one. Mint Mobile is offering unlimited Premium Wireless for 15 bucks a month. That's their best deal of the year, aka the only holiday gift you'll actually use every single day. Get a 3, 6 or 12 month unlimited plan for $15 a month. All Mint plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network. You can bring your current phone and number over to Mint. There are no contracts and no nonsense. If I were looking for a new phone plan, I'd be looking at Mint Mobile this holiday. Don't get them socks, get them Premium Wireless for $15 a month. Shop Mint Unlimited [e-mail] GameScoop that's Mint mobile.com GameScoop Limited time offer upfront payment of $45 for three months, 90 for six months or 180 for 12 months. Plan required $15 a month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only above 30 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy, capable device required Availability, speed and coverage varies. CementMobile.com if your cat could write a letter to Santa, Pretty Litter would be at the top of their list. They've been good all year long and they deserve a fresher, cleaner litter box this season. Give your cat the gift of comfort and give yourself the g easy cleanup, odor control and peace of mind. Pretty Litter is soft on their paws, easy to maintain, and it even helps you keep an eye on their health. It's like wrapping up care, comfort and convenience in one box. 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 truly 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. Okay, the Entertainment Software association, or the ESA has shared with me their 2025 holiday purchase study. They surveyed nearly 2,000 gamers age 5 to 65, but mostly adults and parents. And so they wanted to figure out they wanted to determine the percentage of adults and children who are planning to purchase or ask for video games this holiday season and figure out who they're, who they're buying gifts for and what specific gaming purchases they plan on gifting, et cetera. So that's some of this was interesting. Let me flip forward to page nine here.

[Justin Davis]

I like that the ESA is finding five year olds. Hey kid, I want to ask you some questions about video games.

[Damon Hatfield]

Do you want a video game for Christmas? The video game category ranks fourth in popularity among adults, with more than one in three adults planning on buying a video game related gift during the holiday season. One in three sounds low to me. Just because video games are so ubiquitous with like Christmas and the holiday season and like what like what kid is like not wanting video games.

[Sam Claiborne]

They've definitely moved away from being giftables easily in a Lot of ways though, because people want content or they want digital stuff.

[Damon Hatfield]

Some of that is in here too. So.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I mean, that doesn't surprise me. Like, adults run the gamut. Like, you know, my parents are still around and they're not buying anybody. I'm not getting video games for Christmas anymore. Damon.

[Damon Hatfield]

I still do.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

So video games are like fourth among adults. Gifts. They're planning to get gaming gifts, that's fourth. But they're, they're behind physical toys or games, Money or a gift card and then clothes and accessories. Those are like the most most popular gifts that adults are planning.

[Logan Plant]

Does gift card include like Robux or is that video games?

[Damon Hatfield]

Well, it certainly has a fallen. It could. So physical and Digital Console/PC Games and accessories lead the list of video game related purchases this holiday season. In game. Currency and subscriptions are also top options among parents.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I mean, it's a little bit just from a gift giving standpoint. You know, it's like we've talked a lot. I mean, game pass is 30 bucks now, so maybe not, but like for many years, you know, the best value in gaming, yada yada, we love it so much. But it's like just opening, like another three months of game pass just doesn't, doesn't hit the same as like opening, you know, Metroid Prime 4. Right. Like, it's just, it's not quite as fun from a Christmas standpoint. Holiday gift giving standpoint.

[Damon Hatfield]

It says adults are most likely to buy digital games and DLC for themselves, whereas in game, currency is much more likely to be purchased as a gift for children.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I get that too.

[Sam Claiborne]

Sure.

[Justin Davis]

There's definitely an element of like, you know, these free to play games can be so predatory or buying Robux or buying Fortnite, you know, money or whatever it is. But it's like, you know, kind of as a reward for like, you know, you got straight A's, or it's your birthday or your holiday and like, you know, here's your money, now you can go forth and you know, it's like giving a kid money and letting him go wild in a candy shop, sort of.

[Damon Hatfield]

They asked adults this question. What are the main reasons you are planning to buy video game products for yourself? And the winning result was 75%. 75% said video games are fun.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. What, what a weird question.

[Logan Plant]

What are the other choices?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

Oh, the other choices are, wait, I moved away. I like playing games with other people. I always want video games related gifts. Or there is a specific product I'm interested In maybe that maybe there was just the only compelling choice.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah, those are all the same. Because they're fun.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, because they're fun. So this is where I think it gets really interesting. The average gaming purchaser will spend over $500 this holiday season on game related gifts.

[Justin Davis]

Wow.

[Damon Hatfield]

The average planned spin on video game related gifts is $555. That just seems really high to me. I mean, yes, if you're gonna buy.

[Justin Davis]

A console, but you know, so only one out of three, what was it? No, it was the fourth most popular category. If you're gonna spend on games at all, you're gonna spend over $500 on average.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, right.

[Justin Davis]

That's crazy.

[Damon Hatfield]

And like the average too.

[Logan Plant]

I think that's what that means.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

I mean the average amount parent purchasing gaming gifts this holiday season expects to spend on video game related products is more than $700. What the average plan spend among parents is $737.

[Justin Davis]

That's so much.

[Damon Hatfield]

I know, it's crazy. Like I'm just about as big a gamer as you can find and I have a six year old son who loves video games. I'm not going to spend anywhere near 700 bucks on his Christmas presents.

[Sam Claiborne]

Right.

[Justin Davis]

I feel like it would be hard. I mean granted I have every console in my house already, but like I don't even know what I would spend $700 on.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, yeah. Console, right?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I guess. And they did, they did raise the price of the console.

[Sam Claiborne]

Maybe. Or maybe games for multiple kids.

[Justin Davis]

PlayStation announced their black Friday deals today and it's like taking the PS5 back down to the price it was before. It's like, how bad does that feel?

[Per Schneider]

Great.

[Sam Claiborne]

Ads sold. Toys R Us ads.

[Damon Hatfield]

Toys R Us, Yeah. Among children, video games are the third most desirable gift behind clothes or a gift card. And I'm surprised. Like when I was a kid, the last thing I wanted was clothes.

[Logan Plant]

Clothes? Yeah, yeah. No way.

[Damon Hatfield]

I mean video games were absolutely number one what I wanted.

[Justin Davis]

Now that my kids are getting a little bit older, you realize how much the clothes as a Christmas gift are like such a scam. It's like, like, you know, my daughter's 11. It's like, ah, she needs some new pants. And then it's like, well, Christmas is a month away. Just let her unwrap them for Christmas. And it's like, oh, like little did she know. Maybe I should keep my voice down. She could be out there. Little does she know, she could have probably just gotten the pants. They wouldn't have even have had to Be a Christmas gift.

[Damon Hatfield]

Among children who are planning to ask for gaming related gifts, the number one thing they were asking for is in game currency.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, that's so sad. To be spent on loot boxes.

[Damon Hatfield]

Top gifts asked for. Among children interested in video game gifts, 5 to 9. Children 5 to 9 in game currency, children 10 to 12 in game currency. Children 13 to 17. Video game accessories. What would that be?

[Sam Claiborne]

They just want VR?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, 13 and 17 year olds want VR.

[Sam Claiborne]

I do know that that's a thing.

[Logan Plant]

Really.

[Sam Claiborne]

I don't know if they're gonna use it forever.

[Justin Davis]

But accessories. That's true. I mean, I guess my nephews really want an Oculus.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's a thing.

[Justin Davis]

And also, also Clash Royale is really popular again. It's having a moment. All the kids are playing it again.

[Damon Hatfield]

Clash Royale again. Wow.

[Justin Davis]

Yep.

[Damon Hatfield]

And then finally 71% of parents say they always check the ESRB ratings before allowing their kids to play. 71%. And then 67.

[Sam Claiborne]

My parents had no idea what those were.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I was gonna say that respectfully. That feels like ESA propaganda. I mean it's their survey. I'm well joke.

[Damon Hatfield]

Well, 20% said they never check. 20% of parents are saying no, they just play whatever. Play whatever they want.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean if you're getting going to like retail now, like I don't even think there's games that are. There's Ultraviolet games, but not even close to even 20 years ago what their options were. Like you're not gonna accidentally buy Postal. Those things just don't exist right now. It's weird.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's true.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. The kind of shock M rated games is like we were just talking about this in another meeting that like, you know, M M's run the game. I guess it's not any different than an R rated movie. But there's like soft M's, like there's Halo games that are rated M. And it's like how different is that than like gta? It's like there's some M rated games that I think, I mean everyone can make decisions for themselves about their kids. But like, you know, a 13 or 14 year old can play through a Call of Duty campaign or whatever. But like then there's like there's some M's that are very different.

[Damon Hatfield]

And finally 66% of parents said they have. They've used parental controls on video game consoles on all or some. But 34% said they don't use any sort of parental controls on their console.

[Justin Davis]

What are that what 60% do?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, 66% do. But man, 34% are just letting their kids accidentally purchase whatever.

[Justin Davis]

Well, yeah, I don't use. I don't. I don't. That's not what parental controls means to me. That means like to me that means the time limit or not letting like the switch has a mode of like don't.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, that's true.

[Justin Davis]

Launch M rated games. Like I don't have any.

[Damon Hatfield]

I read it to that like password protect the PlayStation Store.

[Justin Davis]

Oh yeah, I have the store purchases locked down but not the, not the content purchases. They're like not the content that they can access. I mean.

[Damon Hatfield]

Anyway, some interesting data there. I always, it always reminds me my favorite tweet of all time. I don't know who it was but I'll paraphrase it. What was even the point of Christmas before video games?

[Logan Plant]

Perfect.

[Sam Claiborne]

Although you do see those serious catalogs that they include video games. But the toy game was really strong starting in the 70s. I mean star wars included. Right. And LEGO became really big. I remember being. I think I was excited to get a great LEGO set as I was a video game that was just as good to me.

[Justin Davis]

We got the Amazon toy catalog now it's really cool. They started doing that a couple years back. It is pretty cool. And then my kids are like borderline too old for it but they still flip through it and circle what they want and then they end up circling like probably half the book.

[Damon Hatfield]

Exactly.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, there's a LEGO catalog too. That's great. That's like that now.

[Justin Davis]

Oh, that's cool.

[Sam Claiborne]

Paper LEGO catalog. I wish they had asked consumer just like this group because we can always ask this but pulled people on like what the game genres or game titles or series that were most interesting to people. I know we're going to hear about Roblox and stuff but I'm curious how that stuff shifts over time. Does it, does it shift away from Roblox and Minecraft? Because at one point it was like Angry Birds was a shoe in. Right. Like every kid had Angry Birds outfits and like not anymore. It's gone.

[Damon Hatfield]

Rovio. They kind of dropped the ball with Angry Birds as a franchise.

[Justin Davis]

We got bought by Sega.

[Sam Claiborne]

Anyway. So it's Sega's fault.

[Justin Davis]

I mean it's all, it's all like the timeline of like were they already falling off and needed to get bought out versus you know.

[Sam Claiborne]

Justin, I think you explained that on the show that the new Angry Birds games have a lot of. A lot less game and a lot more kind of daily.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, well Angry Birds two, they did the same thing. That, like plants for zombies 2 did where it was free to play. Right. And then it just kind of, you know, I mean, I don't even want to describe it as bad, but like it's just got all the free to play garbage that we don't want. Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

And it would be, I mean, like they basically scratched that like, kind of almost like a puzzle game itch. Right. So it's kind of sad that we don't have. Have. Yeah. Those still going.

[Damon Hatfield]

Kingo found some Angry Birds game on his tablet that's like. It's like puzzle bobble. Like Angry Birds.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. There's. There's an apple arcade one. Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean, it would be interesting is if they did a whole series of Angry Birds games where at the beginning of the game you lose all your powers from the previous game, but it's for a different reason each time.

[Justin Davis]

You got to recollect the red bird.

[Damon Hatfield]

What's up, everybody? We are rolling into the holiday season, which means eating and drinking all sorts of wonderful sweets, treats, and good things like that, all of which might throw a monkey wrench into whatever semblance of a normal diet you have the rest of the year. So if you'd like to offset the nutritional chaos you're subjecting your body to during all the fun festivities, let me tell you about AG1. AG1 Next Gen is a daily health drink clinically shown to support gut health and fill in common nutrient gaps. It's got five probiotic strains and over 75 vitamins and minerals, which means it replaces the need for a multivitamin, probiotics and more. In addition to all the fun holiday merriment, this is also the time of year when the weather gets worse and everything gets darker. AG1's superfoods and B vitamins support your steady energy levels at a time when you probably just want to hibernate. It's also the time of year when everyone starts coughing and sneezing at each other and doing all sorts of gross stuff like that. AG1's got you covered with antioxidants, probiotics, and functional mushrooms that support immune resilience. Isn't that right, Max? AG1 sent me some samples to try.

[Sam Claiborne]

Out, which I've been taking every day.

[Damon Hatfield]

In lieu of my usual fistful of multivitamins that smell like a pet store. And this is an infinitely preferable way of making sure I'm getting all the nutrients and gut stuff I need. AG1's got tropical berry and citrus flavors.

[Sam Claiborne]

Which taste great mixed with water, but.

[Damon Hatfield]

You can also mix them with juice or throw them in a smoothie if you're feeling frisky. As for the actual ingredients, AG1 is.

[Sam Claiborne]

Continually investing in rigorous gold standard peer reviewed clinical trials to create the healthiest product possible.

[Damon Hatfield]

Thanks max. Head to drinkag1.com Gamescoop to get a free welcome kit with an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3K2 when you first subscribe. That's drink ag1.com Gamescoop the holidays are.

[Per Schneider]

Approaching and everyone knows that this time of year, the sooner you can get things done, the better for both shoppers and businesses. The best time to score great deals during the holidays is during that Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend. And if you have your own business, whether you've been around the block a few times or this is your first year going through the holiday sale rush, the most important thing you can have is a platform that can handle everything that's about to be thrown at you. You this is a crucial time for your business and your customers, and with Shopify, you can be sure that your tools and platform are ready for anything that comes your way. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names to entrepreneurs who will be participating in their first Black Friday Cyber Monday this year. With everything else going on, you probably don't have time to spend hours poring over every little detail in your online store. That's why Shopify's thousands of templates and tools help you streamline website creation and make sure that your site isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but functional and easy to use. Shopify's expedited checkout shop pay saves customer information and reduces hassle. And the best part is that it's been proven to boost conversions, meaning you'll see less abandoned carts and more profits. You can also stress less knowing that Shopify's award winning customer support team is on standby 247 to help with any issues that arise, allowing you to get back to your business as fast as possible this Black Friday. Join the thousands of new entrepreneurs hearing for the first time with Shopify. Sign up for your free trial [e-mail] realm. That's shopify.com realm go to shopify.com realm and make this Black Friday one to remember.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay? Ubisoft says many new games are struggling as players turn away from traditional releases in favor of subscriptions, live service and free to play games. Now this is Ubisoft who is They've been struggling for several years now. I was trying to pinpoint when Ubisoft struggles began. I want to say it was like, right, like coming off of Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2020, because, like, for two decades, the 2000s to 2010s, they could reliably release, you know, two to three big games every year, and then it just sort of like dried up. And like, this, one of the biggest publishers in the world, they've got decades of experience, they have very valuable ip. They just seem to have forgotten how to do it. How do we.

[Justin Davis]

Damon, what's that? Are you saying that this quote from them of, like, gamers are struggling, they're not buying single player games? Is this them in the hot dog suit saying, we're all looking for the.

[Sam Claiborne]

Guy who did this?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, exactly. That's exactly right. Okay, I guess if nobody wants this car, I'll take it.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, I mean, you all know the reasons why the last Assassin's Creed in the last Star wars game didn't do great. But that doesn't really explain why Avatar didn't do great. I don't really know.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I was gonna say, like, you're kind of. I mean, you know, you're entitled. I disagree with the thesis of like, you know, Ubisoft sort of screwed this up for themselves. I think it's. I think it's both right. They released some. They had some development troubles and released some live service games when people are kind of a little bit less interested in that, release some mediocre games that, like, didn't resonate with the audience. But then I do think there's an element of, like, consumer taste. Like that Avatar Game would have been the biggest game on the planet like eight years ago. Right. But like, video games just kind of like the floor moved out from under Ubisoft sort of without them really figuring it out or keeping up.

[Sam Claiborne]

And the Star wars and Assassin's Creed backlashes were kind of extranet. They're outside of Ubisoft. They're like, they're like, you know, racist cultural backlashes and sexist cultural. But like, that. They got tied up. They got, you know, all banged up in that. But like, so. So did a lot of other people. The Star wars timing was really unfortunate.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's it. Yeah. It just. It came at a time when people were just like, there wasn't really mad at Star Wars. There wasn't a lot of enthusiasm for Star wars in general. Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, exactly.

[Damon Hatfield]

Although I like that game.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

And this is also.

[Sam Claiborne]

It's so good. I don't think they misstep there. I really don't like they made an incredible. They made the best Star wars game game. I mean come on. They made.

[Justin Davis]

Hold on, hold on.

[Damon Hatfield]

I don't know about Better World, the Jedi Games, Fallen Order Jedi Games.

[Sam Claiborne]

Those are good. I think Allies is probably better than Jedi though. I, I better.

[Damon Hatfield]

I don't know about that. This is also coming out time I.

[Sam Claiborne]

Finished it the last Jedi.

[Damon Hatfield]

Ubisoft postponed its financials last week like 15 minutes before they were going to go live and I think they still haven't released them. And so like there's talk about like 10 cent or the Saudis are going to be purchasing them so we don't really know what's going on with that. I just got octed everybody.

[Justin Davis]

Well, Tencent already owns a decent amount of Ubisoft right.

[Damon Hatfield]

So that's owns a company that is now developing their like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry and maybe Splinter Cell. Like its most valuable IPs are actually being managed by this 10 cent company.

[Justin Davis]

Weird.

[Damon Hatfield]

So explain that. The traditional full game model of selling a single $65 to $80 game to a consumer as a one time purchase was continuing to become less ubiquitous. Which is a hilarious quote considering the portmanteau of Ubisoft. Ubisoft said players were now opting to spend their time and money in other ways such as subscription services, long running games as a service titles, free to play games and cloud streaming. In a nutshell, Ubisoft continued consumers are playing fewer games and while some one off full price titles were continuing to be successful, these have become a few notable exceptions to the wider trend though. I mean like, like they, they provide.

[Sam Claiborne]

Those other types of games. There's some pretty huge successes.

[Justin Davis]

They've got Rainbow six and the Division.

[Sam Claiborne]

Division, the Sword one.

[Justin Davis]

You know I think, I don't know if it's still active but for Honor was. I was just gonna say that it was around for like a good decade.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah.

[Logan Plant]

But also released one of the best Metroidvanias of the last decade and like nobody bought it which is a shame. Like that's what I think of when I think of of a single player game that didn't sell. Yeah. Prince of Persia, the Last Crown is incredible.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

Very good game. But like when you think of the games this year, the single player games like silksong, Hades 2 Clara, obscure, donkey Kong, Bonanza, Ghost of Yotei, like I don't. It doesn't feel like these are a few notable options.

[Sam Claiborne]

Ubisoft could have published any One of those games. Yeah, those are not. I mean besides Donkey Kong, they don't really do like a 3D platforms like that. But like they've totally done a Silk Song in the past few years. Right. They've totally done those other games. Like it's. That's interesting.

[Justin Davis]

I don't know. I don't, I don't. I guess I don't disagree with that Ubisoft quote at all. It's like I do think, you know, sentiment and taste and spending habits and all that stuff are shifting.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Justin Davis]

And, and I do think like the days of like you can make like a pretty good. Like I don't know what we scored Avatar like, but I know we like it like whether it got a seven or. Yeah. So it's like that used to be like nothing's ever a sure thing, but like close ish to a sure thing and it just kind of isn't anymore.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah. So I think, yes, sentiment changes, but I think it's. I think there's still an appetite for single player experiences and it's actually the games as a service that are struggling to break through because there's only a handful of those that people have time and an appetite for.

[Sam Claiborne]

Like, unfortunately, if Ubisoft first of all could have easily published Claire.

[Justin Davis]

Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

Because like former. It's a French rpg. Like it's. It. No, that would have been unsurprising if you. In an alternate reality, if they publish that whatever. Right. Like they could have totally gone for that. But if they had done that, would people have liked it as much? Because people are down on Ubisoft as a brand.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah. And they like, it's a good story. It's an indie. It's an indie game.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. It becomes kind of self reinforcing after a while.

[Sam Claiborne]

But I don't want, I mean, I. Their takeaway. It would be just really bad if their takeaway was we can't make single player games anymore because like, come on, look at all the great single player games that came out this year. I think they still got some fight in them.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. I mean it's an interesting quote. You know, they're sort of like, woe is us. Because people aren't as interested in single player games. But it's like Ubisoft is one of the biggest and most successful purveyors of games as a service. Like, and help ushered in the era that we're in today and is still like, you know, I don't know how like I would imagine the division, like all these games have a Life cycle. Right. And so maybe the Division and Rainbow Six and some of these games are kind of past their peak. But. But even so, it's like they had such a. Such an unbelievably successful run at it and was so good at it for so long.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yep.

[Justin Davis]

They're arguably like what's. What's been a bigger live service game if you exclude like, you know, League of Legends. Like, you know what, maybe Destiny. And besides that, it's like they're some of the best to ever have done it.

[Damon Hatfield]

I don't know. Something has been wrong with Ubisoft for a long time now.

[Sam Claiborne]

I think they should still make that next Assassin's Creed game that's supposedly set in Europe, with which.

[Damon Hatfield]

Oh, not Hex. Not the.

[Sam Claiborne]

No, that's Hex. That's Hex. Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

That's in Salem though.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, that would be in.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, I know. I just know, like I associate old timey England with that. It's in Salem.

[Justin Davis]

I thought so.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's what I mean. Witch trials.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, okay, cool. That's good too. Yeah, I like, we've already, we've already jumped around that type of building.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay, let's check in with the listeners. Hey, listeners, listeners, remember, you can always reach us at the email address gamescoopgn.com just like Matt Jones, longtime overlord of the super super fans did. He says, hey, Scoop crew. I realized something over the weekend. I feel like I'm fairly intelligent, but I'm really bad at games that require you to be smart. I tried Balatro on Game Pass and I struggled to get past the first hand. I realized at that point the game was not for me. I want to try Final Fantasy Tactics now that has been re released, but I've been awful at nearly all strategy RPG's I've ever tried and I'm afraid I will suck at that too. I played the messenger to a point, but my brain was hurting trying to figure everything out, so I bailed. The thought of a deck building game gives me the shivers because I know I will be terrible at. So when I look at the games I'm good at, it's always rhythm games. Metroidvania style games that have puzzles, but they aren't brain benders or open world games like red Dead Redemption 2. I love playing other sorts of games, but I'm always putting it on easy mode because I'm more interested in the story than getting good at them. Although I did beat Silksong, so I feel like I can get good at some games. My other favorite Kind of games these days is visual novels, which really take little to no skill whatsoever. Maybe it's not that I'm. Maybe it's not that I'm. Maybe it's not that I'm not bad at games that require to be smart. Maybe I'm just bad at games in general. Is it crazy to enjoy something as your favorite hobby but not really be good at it? Love the show as always. Keep up the great work and happy holidays. Well, Matt, if you can beat Silksong, I don't think you're bad at games. Sans. You ever beat Silksong?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, no, I'm not gonna beat that game. I got to the last judge and I beat that, which was an incredibly frustrating three day boss battle. And I got. I get it. I get why people like Silksong.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, I don't think Matt's bad at games, but I also think also, like, you know, there. Games are a combination of so many different disciplines and there's so many reasons to play and different things you can get out of them. Like, you could bump a difficulty down to a game. And so maybe you're not getting much of a challenge, but you might be enjoying the art or the story or the music or the performances or the world building or any of that. There's like, like a lot that you can get out of a game. It doesn't always have to be like, okay, I want a challenge right now.

[Sam Claiborne]

Here's the thing. In different parts of your life, you might want a game to be the most engaging, most challenging part of your day. Right? And then there's other walks of life where you're like, the last thing I want is to be challenged by a damn video game at the end of the day. Yeah, right, because you're like, I want to unwind or I want to, you know, be mentally challenged in a puzzle way that distracts me from my life. And everybody's just gonna have different, different wants and needs from. From video games and how they spend their. Their leisure time and games offer, luckily all kinds of that stuff. Like, a lot of people don't want to watch a horror TV show because they're like, what I'm gonna like, have. I, you know, I'm wound up from work and I'm gonna come home and like be panicked by a stupid jump scare. Like, screw that. Like, I get that. Totally get it.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. That's what I done on the show last week. I told you guys I was all excited because I was gonna go play arc raiders and download it and try it and it took, I have really fast Internet but for whatever reason it took forever to download. It was just going really slow. And so anyway it took forever and I only had a chance to do two rounds before I had to go to bed. Then I got shot in the back and killed both times right when I was extracting. And then I'm just like, I don't like I'm more of a having a good time kind of guy. That's why I want to play video games. And so like you know, and then I went back to Vampire Survivors after that. I'm like I don't need this. Like I'm. I. It's a very stressful time at work right now. Like I'm like you both hit the nail on the head perfectly. I think where like games are a unique discipline in that you know, people are in them for extremely different motivations, you know. And so my motivation for playing games right now is to like chill out and relax and de stress. But that's different. You know, I'm in a different mindset when I'm playing different kinds of games.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I do like the idea of a dumb game and how, how much enjoyment you can get out of stupid games. But there's also like different like he mentioned, I think strategy or tactics is something that's like too, too like smart and like too you know, kind of like brain involving. But like I, I also like consider you know like maybe a kind of simplistic non strategic game like Animal Crossing uses a completely different set of strategies. Strategic thinking. It's like what am I going to do? 3 days ago what do I dream about when I'm not playing this game? What am I going to accomplish? What are my long term plans? And I just think that's really interesting. It's like it doesn't make you know.

[Justin Davis]

It'S just it also I'm sure it's working and maybe there's science behind this but like you know, we all intuit like it's working a different part of our brain. Right? Like you know, the creative like playing a Sudoku game versus a game where you get to be creative and decorate. And like I'm playing Disney Dreamlight Valley right now and I get to sort of customize my village and put things where I want. Still interactive, still a video game, but couldn't possibly be more different in kind of like the types of neurons that it's firing off.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, that's a good point. I think like, you know, the idea of like all video games are doing this one thing, they're accessing our reward centers which we have for, you know, eating and sex and hunting and stuff like that. That's why we evolutionarily add these things. Right. And it's hitting those and like it does it by, you know, does that gam impulse, like loot box type of like, you know, hit with like a little bit of adrenaline, serotonin or. Or it has like a. More of like a. Do you get that same sensation from solving a crossword puzzle? Then there's games that are more like that. Do you get that same sensation by like literally going hunting? You know, there's a lot of games like that. Do you get that from sports? There's a lot of games like that. You know, there's just like everybody has access to that kind of, you know, the reward centers and their brains from. From different things or me just different preferences.

[Damon Hatfield]

And speaking of balacho, Sam, you're gonna give it. You're gonna give it a shot.

[Sam Claiborne]

I am, yeah. So I have this 12 hour flight. I got three games for that and one will make it. So I completely avoid Bellotra. So I got Balatro and I was like, this is gonna be my game and I'm dead set on playing it. So I was just making a little joke there. I'll play. I also got ball pit, which I haven't tried yet. So I'm boned if I try that first. Right. Because it doesn't sound like I'll play anything else. And I got Dispatch, which I really, really want to play now.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, I'm aware of Dispatch. Kind of a telltale style.

[Sam Claiborne]

Here's why that might work for me on a plane really well though. I'm going to try these other games. Is that it? The flight that I'm taking doesn't have a rear seat entertainment experience, but it has like the streaming phone, but it's also a Japanese airline, so it's like, who knows what it's going to have. And my preferred flight thing now is absolutely passive watching of like terrible movies. Yep. That, that's what gets me through a 12 hour flight more than video. I play video games for a little bit, but like I can't do it for a long time. But I think the. A mixture of these three games, including dispatch, which is like watching something.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

You know, might. Might be the perfect mix. And it's all waking time for this flight. You know, it's like there's not a single minute where I'd be like sleeping normally. That that's a long time to entertain.

[Justin Davis]

Yourself with a. I think it's probably a perfect airplane game because it's like a television show, as you said. I think. Are all the episodes out now?

[Sam Claiborne]

I saw eight were loaded. I don't know if they all came out at once or what.

[Justin Davis]

Well, they came out very quickly, so.

[Logan Plant]

I think they're all out. I think eight's the last one.

[Justin Davis]

It was described as telltale like and it is in the sense that it's episodic. But they had came out weekly or bi weekly like a television show. So it's not like a month later like Telltale's games were.

[Sam Claiborne]

I played a little bit already too and like I was really impressed with just the look of the game. Man, it looks so good. And then yeah, I guess like the gameplay portion has a little bit of like strategy to it. Smart game stuff. We'll see.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I'm excited. I want to play it too.

[Damon Hatfield]

Cool.

[Per Schneider]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies just to see if you could save some cash? Well, Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Damon Hatfield]

Going online without ExpressVPN is like putting a sign in your front lawn that says, hey, I don't lock my front door. It's an open invitation to criminals to come steal all your stuff. Whenever you connect to an unencrypted network in CAFES, hotels, airports, etc. Your online data is not secure. Any hacker on the same network can gain access to and steal your personal data. This includes passwords, bank logins, credit card details and more. It doesn't take much technical knowledge to hack Someone. A smart 12 year old can do it. Hackers can make up to $1,000 per person selling personal info on the dark web. Now Express VPN is super secure. Express says it would take a hacker with a supercomputer over a billion years to get past ExpressVPN's encryption. And yet ExpressVPN is super easy to use. Just fire up the app and click one button to get protected. As a podcaster who spends hours online researching games and engaging with Scoop Nation, my personal security is non negotiable. That's why I recently started using ExpressVPN. It's about the peace of mind knowing that when I'm digging through archives of old gaming magazines or accessing a public convention wi fi, my entire connection is secured with military grade encryption. Secure your online data today by visiting expressvpn.com gamescoop that's E-X P-R-E-S-S V-COM gamescoop to find out how you can get up to four extra months. Expressvpn.com gamescoop this is John in Bristol, UK. Hi Omegacops. My first console was the master system. I'm 41 and I don't think I ever completed a game for it, partially because I was a young gamer. But I also, I think a lot of the titles were arcade ports and so they're generally quite difficult. The recent dialogue about the difficulty of silksong, 40 hours in and not sure I can take any more punishment, got me thinking about the history of difficulty, especially in retro games. Does Sam or anyone on the panel know if there was a moment or a year or even a particular arcade cabinet that signaled the advent of credit slash money guzzling game design and brutal difficulty spikes in arcades? Were earlier cabinets easier and could you finish them in a couple of quarters? Or have arcade cabinets always been artificially difficult?

[Sam Claiborne]

That's a good question. Who wants to say the joke about he played Master System first and you know, they don't have NES in England. It's just. So we can get that one commenter with that. Yeah. Okay. So from the very, very start, if you really go back to a game like Pong that has no end state.

[Justin Davis]

Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

And it's a co op game right after that. Space Invaders. Yeah. But it's not like it's not taking quarters from you because it's challenging. It's taking quarters for you because you're challenging.

[Damon Hatfield]

You want to beat your friend.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. The next big wave was Space Invaders, which is arguably one of the hardest games ever. And then Pac man, which is also really, really hard. Right. And those were, those were huge hits. And so immediately the calculation became pinball. Like, right. It was all based on pinball. How long should your ball last in pinball before you put in another quarter? They want, they want it to be about two and a half minutes for the, for the average person, which means little kids are a lot shorter than that and adults can go to seven or eight minutes. And that's really how good people got at Ms. Pac Man. Seven or eight minutes.

[Justin Davis]

And so that's. That's what's gonna say as I think. I mean Sam, you know more about this than me, but I remember seeing some old advertisements, advertisements for coin op machines where like they're trying to sell it to businesses. And one of the selling points would be like, you know, the average game lasts, you know, 80 seconds or whatever. Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

Like, but if it's BS then people aren't going to put another quarter anyway. So it has to be. Yeah, it has to grip you and be challenging enough to think that you can keep going. Right?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

And the tricks that got to that were really smart. And the way that difficulty wrapped up was really smart. Like Donkey Kong would lay out, you know, a new level every once in a while. People like, oh my gosh, it's completely different. I have to learn this whole level now like super smart.

[Justin Davis]

I mean arcades are so funny because like, look, all of us have this fondness for the arcade era and playing arcade games and we love them and we love beat em ups. But it's insane that like you die and have to put in more money to keep playing. Like that's such an absolutely insane concept. Like any game now that's like, you know, put in money to start. Like imagine a game that you just have in your house. Imagine a Steam game that you have to pay 25 cents when you die. What if Silksong did that?

[Sam Claiborne]

It'd be glorious. And what Justin's talking about is the next iteration of those, right? Where it's like, it's not a game trying to defeat the player. And by the way, a lot of the coverage of games back then were like player versus computer. That was people's conceptualization because of computer chess, right? They just didn't have another conceptualization. It was like, you know, human versus computer is like and all these old magazines and stuff. But then continues happened and that was an innovation, right? Because at that point you could really early games like that were Gauntlet for example, you play with Francis Co op and you keep on putting quarters in. And that led to the Brawler which is like, you know, you want to see the end of the game, you want to see this amazing graphics and like keep on going with it. And then of course the fighting game brought that all back to pause, which is that you just want to like, so the matches are quick. You want to put another quarter, challenge your friends again, you brought in the.

[Damon Hatfield]

Exact examples that I was going to bring up. Double Dragon. No, no, we're exactly on the same wavelength. Double Dragon. If you just, if you just Keep putting money in. You will eventually see the whole game, and you'll get the ending.

[Justin Davis]

Well, and like technically, like in Simpsons Arcade, like, technically, those bosses are a skill check. Like, they can be beaten, but they're not really meant to be. They're meant to just, you know, they interrupt you and, like, you know, get cheap hits in, and you're totally dollar gates.

[Sam Claiborne]

They're like, somebody's going to put in a quarter for each character, and that's one more dollar.

[Justin Davis]

Yep. And then I think Street Fighter 2 perfected. You know, that was if you're good, you stay and you play for free. And then the other player, the loser, you know, has to pay the quarter tax. Like, that was the perfect. The perfect mix.

[Sam Claiborne]

You know, what's crazy is that the recent Mario Kart arcade machines don't do that. And it's so. It would be. It just wish they had that mode in there where you could just like, come up and try to challenge the person playing Mario Kart, but they just don't have it.

[Justin Davis]

They.

[Sam Claiborne]

They found that the calculation is kids will play for two minutes, and the next kid will come in over and over again. Like, this is all back there. Like, everybody's figuring out the. The quarter economy. Right. But that's what made home games actually also appealing to people, is that they were like, I'm saving so much money by playing this game and not having to put in quarters and getting really good at. Like, that was actually an appeal to play Space Invaders at home. It was like, why don't we go somewhere I can play this at home, and it didn't cost a quarter each time. Like, people absolutely were making that calculation. I think that's really cute. And then games that lasted a long time, Super Mario Brothers, the Legend of Zelda, all computer games, those blew people's minds. There was just nothing like that that would work in the arcade. They tried. There were games like that.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

When I look at ghosts and goblins.

[Damon Hatfield]

When I look at the. Like, the. The arcades today are new. Like, new arcade machines that people can go and play today. Like, I think they're terrible. And like, a local arcade, this barbecue joint has this racing game. I forget the name, but Kingo loves to play it. To me, it looks. It's absolute garbage, but it's made by Roth rules, which is like Eugene Jarvis and.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

Guys from Midway who were doing it back then. All in the world, they know something today. Even though it doesn't appeal to me, my kid loves it, you know, so they're. They're onto something.

[Sam Claiborne]

A lot of those are absolutely quick, score based. Compete with your friend thing, which is just Pong, right?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yep.

[Justin Davis]

Doodle Jump.

[Logan Plant]

That's the one I thought of too. The Doodle Jump game. Or like the piano ones, like the mobile app where you hit as many keys in like 30 seconds. Yes, you can.

[Sam Claiborne]

World's largest Galaga and world's largest Pac Man. And there's now a bus to move on. Or kind of like like that too. I just saw this arcade and then.

[Damon Hatfield]

On the Fighting Games tip, I finished the Mortal Kombat Legacy collection documentary. And I was an admirer of Mortal Kombat in the arcades, but I never played much of it. So I didn't know about a lot of the Easter eggs. Like the Toasty. I didn't know about. I didn't know about that stuff. So like, that's like nice. You trigger that with what, every 25th uppercut or something like that.

[Sam Claiborne]

And they got more and more complicated.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, exactly. So like just. That's the one way they would get people to keep putting quarters in because people wanted to. To figure out all these puzzles.

[Sam Claiborne]

Can you believe just the moves were a secret? Like just the moves.

[Damon Hatfield]

I know just the moves.

[Sam Claiborne]

Like. Like how do you even play Sub Zero without the. The freeze attack ball.

[Justin Davis]

Yep.

[Sam Claiborne]

A lot of people did. They just sit there and leg sweep over and over again until they figured out the secret moves.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, well, and they knew just that because I don't think Toasty's in Mortal Kombat 2, I think, or maybe three, but like, it wasn't in the first one. And so anyway, the point is they knew it was a phenomenon. They knew every single kid on Earth. Like, we're gonna put this thing in the game that no one's gonna know what it is or what it means or who it is. It's all an inside joke. Like just the. Just the balls to like, just to put some crazy inside joke in your game and then just like, well, let them figure it out.

[Sam Claiborne]

And then they iterated by sending arcades a steady stream of ROM updates. Yeah. To kind of like change the rules and trick people or hint at other things. I love the thing about smoke, or I think it was smoke, where it has to do with the silhouette passing the moon at one point. But that only triggers something. It's so cool. It's so cool.

[Justin Davis]

I gotta watch this documentary because I remember all this stuff from being a kid and like, you know, but I haven't watched it yet.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's great. Just like All Digital Eclipses stuff is great. That original commercial for the home version of Mortal Kombat, with all the kids being like, mortal Kombat, that's one of the most genius advertisements I've ever seen.

[Sam Claiborne]

Scene.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's so good. Yeah. And then, Sam, I think you also mentioned this when we first talked about this, the actress who played Sony Blade, like, Forever Hero. Yeah, she's so good. She's great.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, man, she's wonderful.

[Damon Hatfield]

Is there outside of the documentary and, like, outside of playing games, is there other stuff to see and do in the Legacy Collection?

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean, only that.

[Damon Hatfield]

Is there just a Fatality reel? There should be a Fatality.

[Sam Claiborne]

No, that's really smart.

[Justin Davis]

That is a good idea.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean, or like a little, like, dummy mode where you can just press A to do any fatality and just.

[Justin Davis]

We did that on. I think Destin did this project. There's a video on YouTube of every single Mortal Kombat fatality ever.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's right.

[Justin Davis]

And I remember coming up with that feature idea, and then, like, halfway through the project, Dustin's like, I regret this so much.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's like, for Nintendo's hundredth anniversary. Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

Well, The Mortal Kombat 4, how. You remember how in the docket, they were recycling the animations for that? Oh, yeah. Well, and so they're. The endings are so good. They're just like, you know, somebody's hands just hanging there in space and they're like, why is that? Well, it's because in a different scene, they had to hold an ax. You know, it's like, so stupid.

[Damon Hatfield]

And then one more note on the quarter munching arcades. I always think of Dragon Slayer, where it's like, that's one expensive. That's one option. If you just create something, like, new that people have never seen before. You know, you start playing dragons there, you die immediately. But you want to see every. Every trap, every death. And so, yeah, you just keep pumping him 50 cents a play for that one.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. I mean, making failure as interesting as success is like, you know, an element of that. Right? Yeah. This every Mortal Kombat Fatality ever video is two hours long.

[Sam Claiborne]

Wow, that's quite a project file, especially for when that was cut. But this is really hard. You got a premiere.

[Damon Hatfield]

So the most recent one is Mortal Kombat. One does include.

[Justin Davis]

No, no. This video's from 2019.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay. All right, well, Justin, time to update.

[Justin Davis]

Oh, okay. Yep. Well, we'll see if we have the project file because we're not doing it all from scratch. This is. Sadly, this is 326,000 views too. Which is boy, not enough. But another zero after that and then maybe.

[Damon Hatfield]

Exactly. Okay, that brings us to video game 20 questions. Our suggestion this week comes from Sideshow Bob, who says My pick for 20 questions is redacted. One of my favorite games on the. Redacted as the guys like to know where people are from.

[Sam Claiborne]

You won't.

[Damon Hatfield]

You won't know my town pool, but it's on the south coast of the uk.

[Sam Claiborne]

Awesome. I have several editors in the south coast of the uk.

[Justin Davis]

Maybe near Brighton.

[Damon Hatfield]

Let the questioning begin.

[Logan Plant]

Did this come out on a cartridge?

[Damon Hatfield]

It sure did.

[Justin Davis]

Oh.

[Sam Claiborne]

Sounds like virtual Boy.

[Justin Davis]

Did it come out on a 16 bit cartridge?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Sam Claiborne]

Virtual voice 32. Though maybe Damon doesn't know that can still be virtual 32 bits. Can you imagine?

[Logan Plant]

Is it a Super Nintendo game?

[Damon Hatfield]

It was on the Super Nintendo. Yes.

[Sam Claiborne]

Was this an exclusive?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Justin Davis]

Was this game made in. In the United States?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes. That's five.

[Sam Claiborne]

Do you play as a human?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Sam Claiborne]

Whoa. That's unusual.

[Justin Davis]

I think it's. Zombies ate my neighbors, Ate my. Is that what it's called?

[Sam Claiborne]

What if it's Judge Dredd?

[Justin Davis]

Could be Judge Dread. Is this game licensed?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Justin Davis]

Based off a license?

[Sam Claiborne]

No. Back to zombies?

[Justin Davis]

Yep.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is this. Would you call this a sci fi game?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Sam Claiborne]

Interesting.

[Justin Davis]

Does this game have multiplayer?

[Damon Hatfield]

Huh?

[Logan Plant]

I was just gonna ask that.

[Damon Hatfield]

Let me check. I actually don't know.

[Justin Davis]

It's not Street Fighter.

[Damon Hatfield]

No. No multiplayer.

[Justin Davis]

I think it still could be zombies. That we weren't sure if it had co op or not. I actually don't know if it. If it had co op or not.

[Sam Claiborne]

Do you. Do you do any. What? What do you. Why do you kill stuff in zombies at universe?

[Justin Davis]

I've never played it. I don't know why it popped into my head. I can picture it. I've seen screenshots. I assume you're fighting zombies. I don't know. I think you're a group of teens or whatever running around an isometric town running away from zombies. Fighting them.

[Sam Claiborne]

100 sounds right.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Logan Plant]

So.

[Sam Claiborne]

And. And it wasn't just not Japan. It's us developed.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

Was this game made by a company that's still around?

[Sam Claiborne]

No.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's 10.

[Justin Davis]

I don't. I don't know who made zombies.

[Damon Hatfield]

Not made by them.

[Logan Plant]

Just gotta ask if it has zombies. We just gotta know.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's 10 by the way.

[Justin Davis]

Genre would be helpful.

[Sam Claiborne]

Maybe it's Boogerman.

[Justin Davis]

Could be Boogerman. Could be Earthworm Jim.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's good. That's good.

[Justin Davis]

Was that on the Genesis? Oh, no, no.

[Sam Claiborne]

But you play it. You play as a human.

[Justin Davis]

Oh, yeah. He's an earthworm.

[Sam Claiborne]

Boogerman's mainly boogers.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

But still a man.

[Justin Davis]

What's David trying to.

[Sam Claiborne]

We almost got a hint there.

[Logan Plant]

I feel like the hint is that it's zombies ate my neighbors and we're just not going for it.

[Justin Davis]

I mean, I don't even know. Like I said, I've never. I can't tell you what, John. Exact genre that game is. Also games in the 16 bit era. Sometimes you were just like, you know, a weird guy running around. And the game kind of doesn't have a genre like Fester's Quest.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. Lightly adventure games.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I guess.

[Sam Claiborne]

Are there. Are there horror elements to this game?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Justin Davis]

Ah. Rip.

[Logan Plant]

No.

[Justin Davis]

The dream is dead.

[Sam Claiborne]

So it's not licensed. You play as a human nor. No horror elements. Maybe it's a fantasy game. Maybe it's a sports game.

[Justin Davis]

Is this a. Well, but it's no multiplayer, so it'd have to be single player sports.

[Sam Claiborne]

The saddest kind of sport.

[Justin Davis]

Is this a.

[Damon Hatfield]

Nothing sad about Punch out.

[Justin Davis]

Is this a platformer or role playing game?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Logan Plant]

Is this a sports game?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Sam Claiborne]

I like the idea of playing as a human in a puzzle game too.

[Damon Hatfield]

You.

[Logan Plant]

Are you playing as Dr. Mario and Dr. Mario, are you him?

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, we've. No Logan. It's funny you bring that up because that's a debate from this exact show, probably literally a decade ago at this point. Who are you in Dr. Mario?

[Sam Claiborne]

Mario is pictured in Dr. Mario.

[Justin Davis]

Yep. That was the argument at the time.

[Logan Plant]

He's holding the next pill you will control.

[Justin Davis]

I think what triggered that argument was if it's first person or not, if I recall correctly.

[Logan Plant]

Well, anyways, it's not that. So.

[Justin Davis]

Nope.

[Logan Plant]

Who was making Genesis and Super Nintendo games in the US and that's.

[Justin Davis]

The developer is out of business, although Damon implied the publisher is still out.

[Sam Claiborne]

And it's not a platformer, which is surprising. And what was the other genre you eliminated?

[Justin Davis]

Sports and RPG.

[Sam Claiborne]

She's.

[Justin Davis]

Is this a. Is this like a 2D shooter?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

Great. But made in a. Made in the United States. So it's obvious, you know, it's not our type or, you know, it doesn't.

[Sam Claiborne]

Have any sci fi or horror elements. So it's gonna be.

[Justin Davis]

No. Yeah. Not one of the ones where you're actually shooting like, you know, an anus and stuff like that. Like what? Life force like.

[Sam Claiborne]

Or Contra even.

[Justin Davis]

Right.

[Sam Claiborne]

So Army.

[Justin Davis]

Army.

[Sam Claiborne]

Army.

[Justin Davis]

Bunch of weird alien Dicks.

[Sam Claiborne]

What about maybe more on the cartoony side of like running around shooting games. Although it is unusual, it doesn't have co op.

[Justin Davis]

Well, I guess. But are we picture. I was not picturing her. I was picturing like a spaceship.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean that's really weird for the United States.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Are you piloting a vehicle in this game?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes. That's.

[Justin Davis]

Okay. 2D 2D vehicle based scrolling shooter made in the United States. Oh, maybe it's. Oh, maybe it's a Desert Strike.

[Damon Hatfield]

I don't.

[Sam Claiborne]

What's that one?

[Justin Davis]

That's the helicopter one. There is Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and Urban Strike where you're. I mean that's kind of what they are. There you're in a helicopter. They were published by ea. I don't know who developed.

[Sam Claiborne]

Are we just like totally screwing this up? And this could be like, you know, Space Invaders or Defender or something. And it could just be on the Super Nintendo.

[Justin Davis]

It could be a Midway game. If it's Defender, that was Midway.

[Sam Claiborne]

I'm just saying like could this be something that we never asked about arcade or when it came out?

[Justin Davis]

Well, but we know it's 16 bit.

[Sam Claiborne]

Just that it was on Super Nintendo.

[Justin Davis]

And we know it was developed by the. We know it came to both and we know it was developed by both.

[Sam Claiborne]

But when we asked the 16 bit question, is it saying like, is this game a 16 bit game? Could you say that about Pac man when it came out on the Super Nintendo?

[Justin Davis]

I. I don't, I don't. I mean maybe. But I mean I. Look, it's possible. I, I think Midway. Midway and Williams is definitely like a blind spot of like they made Defender, right? Or am I wrong?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, they did, but it's like it.

[Justin Davis]

Could be something like that maybe, but I don't know. Do you, do you. Is this, is this game.

[Sam Claiborne]

Hold on. There's no Sci Fi elements.

[Justin Davis]

Are we sure wsa?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yes.

[Justin Davis]

Oh, oh yeah. Maybe it is one of the Strike games then. I don't know how to narrow it down. I mean. Okay.

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean we could just ask if you fly a jet. Yeah.

[Justin Davis]

Do you fly? Do you. Well, it's a helicopter. Do you pilot a helicopter in this game?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Justin Davis]

Okay. Okay. Okay. There's three of them that I'm aware of. There's Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and Urban Strike. I don't remember which one was first. I think Desert Strike was first. Does this game take place in. I'm going to guess through context clues that Desert Strike takes place mostly in a desert environment. Does this game take place In a desert environment?

[Damon Hatfield]

No.

[Justin Davis]

Does it take. How many questions we got left?

[Damon Hatfield]

Two questions and I guess.

[Logan Plant]

What if I. Oh, then if it's one of these. We got it then.

[Justin Davis]

Does it take place in a jungle environment?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Justin Davis]

Is it Jungle Strike?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yes.

[Sam Claiborne]

I wouldn't have got there. I'm really happy that you got there there.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. I. I remember these games because it is a scrolling shooter, but you control. It's like open maps that you move around in and choose what to shoot. So it's not like scrolling and forcing.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I never played this game.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's like an isometric Choplifter.

[Sam Claiborne]

Is Operation Wolf also a helicopter?

[Damon Hatfield]

Operation Wolf is a shooter.

[Justin Davis]

We had a light gun game.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Justin Davis]

What am I thinking of?

[Sam Claiborne]

I mean, I remember Choplifter. It's great.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah. These games are cool.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah.

[Damon Hatfield]

Published by ea, but developed by High Score Productions, which, you know. Yeah. It came to Genesis great. It came to Genesis in 93, but then it took two years to come to Super Nintendo in 95.

[Justin Davis]

Well, yeah, I always associate it with the Genesis.

[Sam Claiborne]

Did it really have these cut scenes?

[Damon Hatfield]

Yeah, it has these cut scenes. The. The, like cold open. The opening cut scene is pretty funny too. And the bad guy, the villain is the son of the guy you killed in the first game. Game. So that's great.

[Justin Davis]

Cool. Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's the plot for Metroid that we're pitching.

[Damon Hatfield]

Jungle Strike. Nicely job. Thank you for the suggestion, Sideshow Bob. Viewers, listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions, email them to me at the email address gamescoop.com and let's see what messages.

[Sam Claiborne]

What was. What did he say it was? Sorry, it was his favorite of the.

[Damon Hatfield]

Oh, sorry, what?

[Sam Claiborne]

Helicopter genre.

[Damon Hatfield]

Favorite games on the Mega Drive.

[Sam Claiborne]

Drive.

[Justin Davis]

Okay.

[Sam Claiborne]

Mega Drive. Okay.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Because he's in England.

[Damon Hatfield]

Okay. Looking for something new to play and a way to give back. Head over to Humble. Right now you can grab eight great games for just 14.99, including Total War, Warhammer 3, another Crabs, Treasure no More Heroes 3, Etrion Odyssey HD, Pharaoh, a new Age Synergy Spin Hero, and Paleo Pines. Every purchase supports no kid. Hungry Hungry. Helping provide meals to students in need across the country. And don't miss our special holiday offer. Get an annual subscription for $124.99, down from $154.99 when you use the code HOLIDAY25IGM. Available now through December 1st. Head to humblebundle.com and start playing today. Also, wanted to tell you about the latest edition in the IGN Artist series. Legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano, who crafted the iconic Final Fantasy series artwork, has joined the Ijin Storm and Sandfall Interactive to lend his talents to the acclaimed Clair obscure Expedition 33. With art direction from Lost in Cults, the arc captures a breathtaking scene, a battle that is a defining moment for Expedition 33. But it's not just a fight, it is a reckoning. Amano's brush brings the tension, sorrow and grace of the struggle to life. So head to store.ign.com and grab this limited art piece right now. There it is. And that is all the scoops that we have for you this week everybody have a good holiday week and weekend. Next week we will have two special kind of bonus episodes for you. So I'll be talking to you more about those next week week. So thank you to Sam, Justin and Logan. Thank you to Jo working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. My name is Damon, this is IGN gamescoop. And we're out. This episode of Game Soup was produced by myself, Damon Hatfield and Jobbert Adienza. Technical direction is handled by Jobbert Atienza. Technical production is by Marian Franzen and Amir Akib. Audio engineering is by Amir Akiv and post production editing is by yours truly, Damon Hatfield. Graphic design is by Nicole Kagempen. Gamescoop is a IGN Production and part of the Geek Media Network. And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Sam Claiborne]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Damon Hatfield]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings very underwritten by.

[Sam Claiborne]

Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[Damon Hatfield]

It's okay not to be perfect with finances. Experian is your big financial friend and here to help. Did you know you can get matched with credit cards on the app? Some cards are labeled no Ding decline which means if you're not approved, they won't hurt your credit scores. Download the Experian app for free today. Applying for no Ding decline cards won't hurt your credit scores if you aren't initially approved. Initial approval will result in a hard inquiry which may impact your credit scores.

[Logan Plant]

Experian Yeah, I think directly compared to prime one it's nowhere near as good. But if you like went and revisited it now, I think you would Love it. Prime 2 is awesome.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, well, I mean I wish there was an easy. Yeah, easy way to do so. But it's presumably still coming at some point.

[Logan Plant]

I hope so. And I hope they don't just drop it on the GameCube Switch Online because the tank controls are not fun anymore in those first two games.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah, I hear that.

[Damon Hatfield]

It'll be all.

[Sam Claiborne]

I'm leaving for Japan in one day.

[Damon Hatfield]

Wow, that's big. How long is that trip?

[Sam Claiborne]

We're there from Thursday through next Sunday, so 10 days.

[Damon Hatfield]

Damn, you're over.

[Logan Plant]

That's why you can't review Prime 4.

[Sam Claiborne]

That's why.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's exactly why you're there for Thanksgiving.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. Isn't that crazy?

[Damon Hatfield]

We've spent Thanksgiving there before. It was totally fun.

[Sam Claiborne]

Oh, you did?

[Logan Plant]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

Was there any acknowledgment of it anywhere? I don't think so.

[Logan Plant]

No.

[Damon Hatfield]

No, no. It's a very.

[Sam Claiborne]

Holidays I love.

[Justin Davis]

Yeah. Black Friday has gone worldwide.

[Sam Claiborne]

Has it?

[Justin Davis]

But not that. Not the Thanksgiving that it's attached to here in America.

[Sam Claiborne]

I'm excited. I've never been to Tokyo, so I've only been everywhere else.

[Logan Plant]

Wow.

[Damon Hatfield]

That's wild.

[Sam Claiborne]

I know.

[Logan Plant]

Cool.

[Sam Claiborne]

And we're mainly. We're playing four shows mainly in the Tokyo area and then one in Osaka. So I don't have a lot of. A lot of things to do during the day, which is great.

[Damon Hatfield]

Well, Tokyo does not lack.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah. I'm so excited. We'll get. It'll get like a full exploration in. And then have to be in a smoky club all night.

[Justin Davis]

Nice. That's rad, man. That's gonna be great.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I'm really excited and very, very, very. This is a long time coming. It was an invite from like, you know, like a year and a half ago that we've had to make work for many, many, many months now. So. But yeah, can't do prime. And I really wanted to. So it's just because I was hoping Nintendo would not release it, you know, anywhere near Thanksgiving. I wasn't expecting that. Actually. It's kind of surprising. December 4th is the most surprising thing about it.

[Logan Plant]

I don't think they were expecting it either. I think it got delayed, like two months at the last second.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I suspect so. Although this is plenty of time for them to make Metroid Prime 2 and 3 available to play.

[Justin Davis]

But nope, that didn't happen.

[Logan Plant]

Nope.

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, I'm almost done with Metro prime, too. I can talk about it on the show.

[Logan Plant]

Nice.

[Sam Claiborne]

I don't like it anymore. I used to love it.

[Logan Plant]

Oh, no. Really?

[Sam Claiborne]

Yeah, it's just too, too. It's too tight. It's too, too many little passages that are all like, yeah, that's fair.

[Logan Plant]

It's the most suffocating Metroid for sure.

[Sam Claiborne]

But I do like the vibe of it and I think it's a nice second half to Metroid Prime. Definitely didn't like three, so we'll see. I like three at the time, but I haven't played it since then and I don't remember a single thing about two. Like, I don't like. I'm playing and I'm like, I didn't do that. There was an underwater part to two. I'm like, like, boy, it's like 10 hours long and I want to get out of it. I don't remember that.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah, in the bog part. The Torvis Bog.

[Sam Claiborne]

Torvis Bog, yeah. The sky temples and stuff. Those are all cool. Like all the high tech stuff is cool.

[Logan Plant]

Yeah.

[Sam Claiborne]

And I like the desert. I mean, I like a lot of the game. Like, it just. It ain't Metroid Prime.

[Logan Plant]

Nothing really is.

[Justin Davis]

No.