Kojima isn’t Making Death Stranding 3 - Kinda Funny Games Daily 05.08.25

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily: Video Games News Podcast Episode: Kojima Isn’t Making Death Stranding 3
Release Date: May 8, 2025
Hosts: Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller, Tim Gettys, Blessing Adeoye Jr.

---

1. PlayStation Studios Launches New Studio: Team LFG

The episode kicks off with exciting news from PlayStation Studios. Greg shares an official announcement about the formation of a new studio named Team LFG (Looking for Group). This studio is an ambitious incubation project originating from Bungie, now fully integrated into PlayStation Studios.

Greg [13:05]: "Hello world, it's a delight to meet you and we're very grateful to be joining PlayStation Studios."

Key Highlights:

• Team Composition: Team LFG is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, comprising industry veterans from titles like Destiny, Halo, League of Legends, and newcomers with fresh creative perspectives.
• Mission: Focused on creating action-based gameplay, rich social virtual worlds, and fostering a strong community where players can find friendship and belonging.
• First Project: A team-based action game inspired by fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, and more, set in a comedic science-fantasy universe.

Team LFG Representative [13:05]: "We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online."

---

2. Bungie’s Gummy Bears Live Game Under Sony’s Wing

Blessing delves into an article from Forbes by Paul Tassi discussing Bungie’s project “Gummy Bears,” which has been relocated under Sony following Bungie’s layoffs.

Blessing [13:58]: "During the last round of Bungie layoffs, Sony carved out a portion of the studio to continue work on Gummy Bears, now under Sony directly."

Insights:

• Gameplay Mechanics: Incorporates a Smash Bros-like percentage damage system, potentially raising legal questions regarding Nintendo’s patents.
• Game Genre: Described as a team-based MOBA with support, attack, and defense classes, featuring dynamic towers and a lo-fi aesthetic targeting a younger demographic.
• Industry Reception: Internally viewed as the most enjoyable project at Bungie’s incubation, suggesting strong developer passion despite organizational changes.

Blessing [18:23]: "I think this is a spin-off studio project or a studio LFG looking for group."

---

3. Destiny 2 Announces Star Wars-Themed Expansion: Renegades

Andy and Blessing discuss Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion, "Renegades," which brings a Star Wars-inspired theme to the game.

Andy [28:32]: "Desi is getting an entire Star Wars themed expansion called Renegades later this year."

Details:

• Content: Features lightsabers, environments reminiscent of Tatooine, and skins for iconic Star Wars characters like Darth Vader.
• Integration: While inspired by Star Wars, Bungie clarifies that it’s an homage rather than a direct collaboration.
• Community Reaction: Despite previous layoffs, the Destiny fanbase remains enthusiastic about continued support and new content.

Blessing [29:51]: "That Lucasfilm games in the credits there. Don't."

---

4. EA Reveals Battlefield and Skate Release Windows

The hosts cover Electronic Arts’ latest announcements regarding the release schedules for their flagship titles, Battlefield and Skate.

Andy [34:32]: "Electronic Arts has confirmed it will release the next Battlefield game by March 2026, with a full public reveal due to take place this summer."

Key Points:

• Battlefield: Set for a March 2026 release with a major reveal planned for the summer. EA CEO Andrew Wilson emphasizes the game’s role in their next-generation blockbuster lineup.
• Skate: Scheduled for release in the next financial year, ending April 2026, with early access slated for later this year.
• Pricing Strategy: EA announces no immediate plans to raise game prices, despite industry trends, focusing instead on delivering quality and value across a spectrum from free-to-play to deluxe editions.

Andy [44:38]: "Our business is strong, resilient and continues to grow."

---

5. Rumors Surround an Elden Ring Movie Directed by Alex Garland

A contentious topic arises with rumors suggesting that acclaimed director Alex Garland is attached to helm an Elden Ring film, as reported by Nexus Point News.

Andy [54:12]: "There's been a lot of sort of conflicting stuff, so we'll kind of get into it."

Discussion Highlights:

• Source Credibility: The initial report from Nexus Point News lacked reliability, leading to skepticism. Subsequent confirmation from gaming journalist Jeff Snyder adds ambiguity.
• Creative Fit: Hosts debate the suitability of Alex Garland for translating Elden Ring’s intricate and discovery-based storytelling into a cinematic narrative.
• Potential Impact: Blessing expresses uncertainty about the movie’s feasibility, likening it to adapting complex games like Dead Space into film.

Blessing [58:03]: "I don't know if I want an Alex Garland's Elden Ring film. It sounds weird to me."

---

6. Microsoft and Asus’s Xbox Handheld Leaked

Dominic Preston from The Verge reports on leaked photos of the ASUS ROG Ally 2, the latest Xbox-branded handheld developed in collaboration with Microsoft.

Andy [65:04]: "This is gross, bro."

Specifications Revealed:

• Design Variants: Two versions spotted—one with a dedicated Xbox button and another without.
• Hardware Specs: Features a 7-inch 120Hz LCD display and an eight-core processor, maintaining similarity to the first-generation model.
• Release Timeline: Anticipated for a mid-2025 release, subject to chip pricing and manufacturing considerations.

Blessing [66:33]: "I'm about it."

---

7. GTA 6 Pricing and Its Implications on the Gaming Industry

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the anticipated pricing of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) and its potential effects on the broader gaming ecosystem.

Key Arguments:

• Price Inflation: Analysts speculate GTA 6 could launch at $100, prompting concerns about annually released games like FIFA or EAFC possibly following suit.
• Market Impact: While higher prices could deter some consumers, others argue it reinforces the value of premium games, potentially offsetting revenue through enhanced perception.
• Community Response: Blessing expresses worry that increased prices might alienate traditional buyers, drawing parallels to microtransaction-heavy models seen in existing EA sports titles.

Andy [73:22]: "People are paying premium dollar for a premium product and will hopefully be reminded you gotta pay money for awesome games."

---

8. Other Gaming News and Insights

• Hollow Knight Sales Update: Andy notes that Hollow Knight has surpassed 3 million sales, with significant Steam reviews highlighting its enduring popularity.

  Andy [67:02]: "Hollow Knight is the 19th most reviewed game on Steam."

• Former Probably Monsters Devs Launching Zun Zoom Studios: Announcement of a new studio by former developers, indicating continued growth and diversification in the gaming industry.

• Steam Deck 3 Speculations: Hosts discuss potential announcements for the next iteration of the Steam Deck, considering current market challenges like chip pricing.

---

9. Community Interaction and Super Chats

Throughout the episode, hosts engage with their audience through Super Chats, addressing questions and comments about game genres, industry trends, and personal anecdotes.

Super Chat from Jake Collado [70:18]: "Birthday tax. Thanks for presenting the news and making the average workday go a bit faster. You guys are all awesome."

Notable Exchanges:

• GTA 6’s Influence: Discussion on whether GTA 6 will harm or help the gaming industry, with perspectives on its potential to attract mainstream audiences while possibly overshadowing other titles.

  Blessing [73:11]: "I think it'll harm in the way that it's gonna be another Roblox, it's gonna be another Fortnite, it's gonna be probably a bigger one of those."

• Frog Type Games Clarification: Clarifying what constitutes a "frog type game," highlighting audience misconceptions and playful banter among hosts.

  Andy [25:16]: "Being like, 'hey, what is a frog game?' It says a frog type game generally refers to any video game where frogs are a significant, often central element."

---

Conclusion

In this episode, Kinda Funny Games Daily navigates a diverse array of topics, from the exciting rise of PlayStation’s Team LFG to the speculative buzz around an Elden Ring movie. The hosts provide insightful commentary on industry trends, including EA’s strategic releases and the impending launch of GTA 6. Engaging with their audience through Super Chats, Greg, Andy, and Blessing foster a lively and informative discussion, ensuring listeners stay abreast of the latest in the gaming world.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Greg [13:05]: "We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online."
• Blessing [13:58]: "During the last round of Bungie layoffs, Sony carved out a portion of the studio to continue work on Gummy Bears, now under Sony directly."
• Andy [34:32]: "Electronic Arts has confirmed it will release the next Battlefield game by March 2026..."
• Blessing [73:11]: "I think it'll harm in the way that it's gonna be another Roblox, it's gonna be another Fortnite..."
• Andy [73:22]: "People are paying premium dollar for a premium product and will hopefully be reminded you gotta pay money for awesome games."

---

This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the episode “Kojima Isn’t Making Death Stranding 3” from Kinda Funny Games Daily, encapsulating the main discussions, insights, and community interactions while omitting advertisements and non-content sections.

Transcript

[Andy]

Today's stories include PlayStation launches, a new studio, Destiny 2 is getting a Star wars expansion, and EA sets release windows for Battlefield and Skate. We'll have all this and more because this is Kind of Funny Games Daily. I nailed it today. Welcome to Kind of Funny Games daily for Wednesday, May 7, 2025. I am Andy, and I'm joined by Bless.

[Blessing]

Good morning, Andy.

[Andy]

Good morning. Bless. How did volleyball go last night?

[Blessing]

Actually went really well. It was our last game of the season, and we ended with a W. Who? Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. Thank you.

[Andy]

How do you. How do you track your own personal achievements in volleyball?

[Blessing]

You don't. Like you. You just had to track them mentally. I. I had somebody ask me, what, like, how many points did I score?

[Andy]

Yeah, that's what I was looking for.

[Blessing]

And I couldn't even tell you that, like, people scored points in volleyball, like, individually, you know, for me, it's all a team effort ever. That's not me bullshitting, like, legitimately. I was like, what if I hit the ball to the other side? For me, it's more about the other team failing.

[Andy]

Got you. Gotcha.

[Blessing]

Okay. I guess if I got a spike or something, then, like, I'd be like, oh, man. Okay, I got that point. But that's not happening.

[Andy]

Has anybody on the squad ever done that thing where it looks like they're going to do a big spike and they kind of hesitate and just let a. They just kind of like, fart one over and they. The other team's, like, not expecting it?

[Blessing]

I love. I try. Honestly, I try that every single time because I'm not tall enough to. Where I can reliably get a spike. Like, I've had maybe one. One or two this season where I was like, oh, dude, I was in it. It was spicy. Like, hit, you know, hit right down on their side of the field. Usually my tactic is to, yeah, go like I'm about to go for a spike and then do like a. Like a side hit. Like, I'll hit, like, I'll tap it lightly and, like, kind of angle it.

[Andy]

Directional.

[Blessing]

Yeah, like a directional tap. Yeah. Like a finesse shot in. In soccer. So that's what I try to do sometimes. But, like, I'll be honest. This is a. Our league, our team level. Right. We're playing in the recreational league. They have intermediate leagues. They have, like, advanced leagues and stuff. We're at the very bottom. And the reason being is that we don't have, I think, the teamwork down yet. We've gotten better and better every season. This current Season, we brought on my. My friend Meg, and Meg has been, like, commander as far as whipping people into shape.

[Andy]

Okay.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Meg played a lot of high school volleyball, and so she knows how to position. She knows how. She's, like, been training us up a little bit to, like, you know, get better at jumping, get better at, like, positioning. All right? When you see me going. Going for the set, I need to step back that way that you can. You can, like, step up when the ball's in the air and jump up and do the thing. Right? Like, she's been training us in that way. The problem is that people get too excited. The ball gets to our side of the field and. Or side of the court, and they automatically want. Just want to hit it back. And I'm like, nah, man. Y. We got to do the three hits. We got to trust each other. We got to pass.

[Andy]

There's three hits there for a reason.

[Blessing]

Exactly. You got a bump set, Spike. Granted, we won. Like, we. We had a good time last night. We won, but also, our score is, like, it's six games in a season. Our overall score is, like, two and four. Like, we got only two wins this season. We. We started with a win, we ended with a win. We had some really close matches during the season, but I think we could have done way better overall if we slowed down and, like, you know, had a bit more teamwork. But we're getting there. We're getting better every season.

[Andy]

To continue the volleyball talk. We know that's why everyone's here. Does. Have you ever taken photos of the volleyball matches on your Google phone? And does Google photos ever remind you about the day that you took those volleyball photos and name it Bump, Set, Spike. You know, they'll remind you.

[Blessing]

Is there that. So, I mean, I don't have, like, a Google phone. I have, like, an Android, because I have Android too.

[Andy]

But, I mean, it's good. It's just weird to me that my phone, like, obviously our phones are very smart, and they know that shit, but I went to go watch my nieces play volleyball, and I took photos of them. And every once in a while, my. My phone will be like, hey, remember this day when you took these photos? Bump, set, Spike. How do you know they're playing volleyball? You see them playing Volume. You know that that's volleyball. It's freaky. It's really, really.

[Blessing]

I don't get those from my phone. I still get my Facebook memories.

[Andy]

I don't like it.

[Blessing]

I hate the Facebook memories.

[Andy]

Me too.

[Blessing]

Be like, here's this fucked up thing you said in 2010. Yeah, I was a different man. I was 16 years old. I didn't know what I was saying.

[Andy]

You were really angry at a Best Buy customer. This is kind of funny. Games Daily. Each and every weekday we run you through the nerdy nerdy news you need to know about live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with a kind of funny membership on Patreon, YouTube and now Spotify and Apple podcasts to get all of our shows ad free, watch us record them live and get a daily exclusive show for a chance to be part of the show. Submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats as we go. Housekeeping number one on the list. Happy birthday Snow. Mike. Mike.

[Blessing]

Wow.

[Andy]

The most important one on the list.

[Blessing]

Happy birthday. So Mike. It always kills me with the one smoke machine.

[Andy]

Yeah, unfortunate. Unfortunate. Also remember Greg is rocking Pax East Thursday and you need to be a part of it. At 11:00am Eastern Time, 8 8:00am Pacific, Greg's the keynote speaker kicking off Pax east and we'll be doing a fireside chat with final fantasy and Expedition 33's Ben Starr and his brother Joshua. At 2pm Eastern Time, 11am Pacific Time, Greg's hosting the Mafia, the old country panel with the devs and if you're in Boston and need to be there if, but if you aren't, boast. I'm sorry just I up. I up the whole time. I was doing so good.

[Blessing]

You're doing so good. It's also one of those housekeepings that's.

[Andy]

Very wordy now I've been all the time changes. If you're in Boston, you'll know what time it is.

[Blessing]

If you're in Boston, you. You need.

[Andy]

You need to be there come the on Greg, show up or stay home. It'll be streamed to the live channel. Don't let me tell you my channel on Twitch.

[Greg]

And then with that just so people are in the know.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Greg]

Games Daily on Twitch and YouTube tomorrow. Then we will be off of YouTube at 11 to stream the Mafia panel on Twitch and then we will be back on both YouTube and Twitch at noon to do a games cast.

[Blessing]

My desk training to preview.

[Andy]

Tomorrow.

[Blessing]

Tomorrow.

[Andy]

Oh wow.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Yeah, we can say that.

[Andy]

We'll finally hear about it.

[Blessing]

I can't.

[Andy]

I haven't talked to Blessing about like a damn thing about this. Well, I overheard some stuff. I guess I did ask some stuff. Yeah, you told me a decent amount. But I'm excited to like get the Full. The full. Look, he's actually told you everything.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I told you. Yeah, I told you the ending.

[Andy]

You're about to witness history. Snowbike Mike, the birthday boy, the most athletic man west of the Mississippi, is embarking on his most daring quest yet. Going step for step with Sam Porter Bridges in a literal marathon stream on a treadmill. Come join Roger and Mike this Friday as they attempt to do a full playthrough of Death Stranding 1 through the weekend. But they can only do it with your support. Will Mike and Roger break this treadmill and have to drive to andy's home at 1am to borrow his find out Friday Twitch TV slash kind of funny games.

[Blessing]

Who do you think is the most athletic man west of the Mississippi? Because I'm going, I'm going with LeBron James.

[Andy]

You know, if we're talk. I'm sure there's a lot of like track stars and, and long distance runners, but if you're going totality skills. Yeah, LeBron's not a bad one to pick.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I can't.

[Andy]

Steph Curry, however, runs about like 12 miles every game or something crazy like that. He's just always on the run.

[Blessing]

Sure.

[Andy]

You know, you gotta have that crazy stamina for them.

[Blessing]

Yeah, but put LeBron James in the ring with Steph Curry. He's folding him up.

[Andy]

Oh, of course he's holding him up. If we're talking, it's like totality. If it's like a strength jumping. Yeah.

[Blessing]

People in chatter saying Ohtani. Oh yeah, Ohtani from baseball. It's not bad.

[Andy]

I feel like Ohtani doesn't.

[Blessing]

What team does he play for?

[Andy]

The Dodgers. I feel like he just doesn't even work out. Ohtani just kind of built.

[Blessing]

He just shows up.

[Andy]

Yeah. That's why baseball is great.

[Greg]

You know, you have to do just show up.

[Andy]

Deion Sanders is a good one. Yeah. What about Bo Jackson?

[Blessing]

Where does Bo Jackson live? Is he, is he west of Mississippi?

[Andy]

I don't know actually.

[Blessing]

What about Rampage Jackson?

[Andy]

He's west of the, like he's on the west side of the hemisphere, you know?

[Blessing]

Yeah, I guess. When, like at what point do we stop being west of the Mississippi? Like everything's kind of like if we all believe that the earth is a sphere, wink, wink. Like aren't we all west of the Mississippi? Think about that.

[Andy]

It's always a belated think about day. You always have an early birthday, you know, at some point.

[Blessing]

Exactly.

[Andy]

Yeah, exactly.

[Blessing]

Think about that.

[Andy]

Great points, great points. Remember, we're an 11 person business, all about Live talk shows today after kind of funny Games Daily. You'll get the games cast, which is The Claire obscure Expedition 33 spoiler cast. Super pumped about that.

[Blessing]

Simone Biles west of the Mississippi because she's athletic as.

[Andy]

Oh, yeah, Simone Biles could probably jump up and like, touch the Empire State Building.

[Blessing]

I'm gonna say, like touch the top of the video wall, but that's not tall enough.

[Andy]

After Gamescast is more of the Nick Nuzlocke. And if you're kind of funny member today's Greg Way, it's coming from Snowback Mike, the birthday boy. Thank you to our Patreon producers, Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney Twining. Today we're brought to you by Imperial Aura Frames and Better Help. But we'll tell you about that later. For now, let's begin with what is and forever will be the Roper Report. Time for some news. We have seven stories today.

[Blessing]

I got beef.

[Andy]

Let me hear Benny B.

[Blessing]

Good in chat says y' all just listed B ball players. 100%, any hockey player.

[Snowbike Mike]

What.

[Blessing]

What do you think is the more athletic sport between basketball?

[Andy]

They're the toughest players.

[Blessing]

You think if we. If we rallied up every hockey player and rallied up every basketball player.

[Andy]

NFL's up there too, man. I think you're talking about in a.

[Greg]

Fight because half of being in hockey is beating the out of each other.

[Andy]

Bless.

[Blessing]

Yeah. On ice, that's like an advantage. You know what I mean? Put them on land. Put them on regular land. Put them on reg. If anything, it's harder to throw a.

[Greg]

Punch on ice because you don't have solid footing.

[Blessing]

Yeah, but now they're not used to the solid ground.

[Greg]

I don't know if that's how that works.

[Blessing]

They keep accounting for the slipperiness of the floor. Yeah. I mean, you put football players in the group and like, football players are taking out everybody.

[Andy]

Derek Henry. I would. I would put up there. Derek Henry.

[Blessing]

Derek Henry.

[Andy]

Like 6, 3, 2, 80. Running back. It's one of those things Blessing. Where in the NFL when. When a running back hits the age of 27, you're like, all right, and we're. We're gonna sunset you.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

You know, like, if they're 28, 29, way past their prime. If they're 30, it's like, God damn, how are you still here? Derrick Henry's kind of around there, but is still like, this dude is just unbelievable. Bring up a picture of Derek Henry if you can. This man is a machine.

[Blessing]

Barrett, bring him up. Also bring up Derek Jeter. Let's let's, let's look at all the sports.

[Andy]

Derek Jeter.

[Blessing]

Yeah, let's talk about all the.

[Andy]

Nah, baseball athletes you cannot put in the list. No, no.

[Blessing]

Like they, because they don't stack up.

[Andy]

I mean they, they, they just don't work out that way. Derrick Henry is a fucking monster.

[Blessing]

Oh my God. Yeah. I'm looking at that picture with his, with his arms out.

[Andy]

He will just like run down anybody. He's insane. It's. He's the guy that, he's the running back. If he's coming at you, you don't want to be in the way.

[Blessing]

A lot of people saying Jeter isn't west of the Mississippi. Like I mentioned earlier, if we all believe that the Earth is sphere, win. Technically we're all west of the Mississippi.

[Andy]

Exactly. I don't know why the wink wink keeps happening. The wink wink keeps on happening.

[Blessing]

Open your third eye plus is revealing.

[Greg]

A lot of us.

[Andy]

Story number one jokes. A brand new studio has opened for PlayStation Studios. They are Team LFG and this story comes from Herman Holtz himself at the PS Block. Today I'm officially thrilled. I am thrilled to officially announce a new studio in the PlayStation Studios family. Team LFG originated at Bungie, but has also rallied developers from across the industry to bring to life an ambitious incubation project that I'm very excited about. The studio is now fully formed and ready to be introduced to the world. I'll let Team LFG and introduce themselves properly and give a tiny glimpse of what they've been working on. Quote hello world, it's a delight to meet you and we're very grateful to be joining PlayStation Studios. Our studio is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington with team members working both on site and remotely through the US and Canada. We are a team composed not just of industry veterans who have shipped titles like Destiny, Halo, League of Legends, Fortnite, Roblox and Rec Room, but also industry newcomers with fresh creative perspectives and skills. We're passionate about exceptional action based gameplay, moment to moment game feel and richly social virtual worlds. The LFG in Team LFG stands for Looking for Group. I'm sure it does. We are driven by if you west of the Mississippi means We are driven by a mission to create games where players can find friendship, community and belonging. We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online. We want our players to recognize familiar names and to make myths and memes out of each other. We want our players to love remembering the one time they pulled off that play and change the whole story of the match. As we say on the team, that's the good stuff. That's the good stuff.

[Blessing]

They say it all with Ds too.

[Andy]

Yeah, they were all spelled with these we will make immersive multiplayer worlds propelled by action games that players can learn, play and master for countless hours. We want to build our games with our communities inviting players to be part of our developmental our development process through early access playtests. It's critical that we stay nimble enough to react to player feedback not just in our lead up to launch, but throughout live service as we continue to grow the game and community for years to come. Our first game is a team based action game that draws inspiration from fighting games platformers, mobas Life, Sims and Frog type games. Players will inhabit a lighthearted comedic world set in a brand new mythic science fantasy universe. We can't wait to reveal more. Till then we'll do our best. Thanks for reading Team lfg. Lot to break down here.

[Blessing]

Bless a lot to break down here. I want to shift to an article from Forbes written by Paul Tassi from January of 2025. The article is titled More Details Leak About Bungie's Gummy Bears Live Game for Sony it reads like this. During the last round of Bungie layoffs, Sony carved out a portion of the studio to continue work on Gummy Bears, now under Sony directly. And I suppose that makes this group technically not Bungie anymore, but without a name in and previously developed under Bungie. Here we are. And now we have some new details about Gummy Bears thanks to an exclusive report from the Game Post and I can corroborate at least some of this myself based on what I've heard. The highlights the biggest point of news is that it will feature a Smash Bros type percentage damage system which yes does involve being knocked back further at a higher percent and the potential to fall off the map. I'd heard there were some similarities to Smash Bros, but I didn't realize they were going all the way like this. Hopefully it's not violating any Nintendo patents according to Nintendo at least next bullet point, but at its core the game is a team based moba, not a fighting game which will have support attack and defense classes. It also may have souped up towers that aren't as static with the ability to move or get different abilities. The vibe of the game is described as lo fi and appealing to a much younger demographic than Bungie's past games like Halo and Destiny or future game Marathon, but also younger than something like League of Legends or Dota. It seems this aligns with the concept art we've already seen for the project previously. The report also reinforces what I've heard that even within a beleaguered Bungee, the game is viewed as very fun internally, the most enjoyable project in incubation. Not that I've heard Marathon is bad or anything, but Gummy Gummy Bears is the one that keeps being brought up as going great.

[Andy]

Look, games can be fun with friends at all times.

[Blessing]

At all times.

[Andy]

You bringing up that article also makes me think of looking up what game rant had to write about this article and then them referencing an article that they wrote back in 2023 when Bungie tweeted in 2023. Incubation at Bungie is focused on developing inclusive worlds, which takes time and team members with diverse backgrounds, so we're actively hiring in fully remote roles. They follow that up with another tweet on August 18, 2023 saying, One of our favorite incubation projects is a team based action game inspired by several genres in a brand new science fiction science fantasy universe. It draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, Mobas Life, Sims and frog type games wrapped in a lighthearted comedic world.

[Blessing]

Wait, is that what they wrote today?

[Andy]

Or is that they wrote this in 2023? No. Yes.

[Blessing]

Wait, really?

[Andy]

Bungie tweeted this in 2023? So shout out to Gamerant for writing this article in 2023. This was Ashkay Patel. Wow. So back then we they were already talking about frog type games, Frog type games. I don't know what that means.

[Blessing]

Is that a It's the new strategy.

[Andy]

Stand for fighting, role playing, online gaming.

[Blessing]

I'm typing in frog game genre because.

[Andy]

When, when you're when you describe everything.

[Blessing]

Frogger came up when.

[Andy]

Of course, of course when you described everything you described Les it sounds to me like they're doing their version of Gang Beasts in a way with Moba. Stuff I don't like. Obviously we need to see what this game looks like. We need to understand in order to understand what they're going for because we had another game sort of pop up today from devolver and devolver has a new demo out for a brand new multiplayer game that they wanted to show off and they were gonna. I think they tweeted yesterday. Thank God we didn't decide to do this yesterday or today. Which was the GTA 6 reveal. Yeah, they were. They announced a new game and demo and it looks similar to what you would get with gang beasts or party animals or one of these sort of social multiplayer games. That's silly and goofy. But it also seems like Bungie is trying to be more serious about it in terms of classes and skills and MOBA types. Like where do you think that this lands in. In their portfolio? It's.

[Blessing]

I mean it's. I think there are so many fascinating things about this one that this isn't Bungie, Right. This is a spin off studio project or a studio LFG looking for group. You know, this is. I, I think.

[Andy]

But again, the fact that Bungie tweeted this out in 2023.

[Blessing]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andy]

And then broke when this was a bunch of things.

[Blessing]

And the fact that they're forming a studio around this project and around future projects coming off of this, like, I think there is an investment and a belief here from Sony that there's something, there's a nugget here that could have potential to be something big, be something good, or at least align with the vision of what they want. Hey, we, we've had this live service plan. We are, you know, we tried Concord, we have Marathon coming up, we have Fair Games coming up. Like this is a thing that we want to do. How do we continue this and do it in the most fitting way possible? You know, I look at this and like there are things that I look at here and I kind of roll my eyes when I see when I read the genre being a fighting platformer, moba, right? It being seemingly a mix between a Smash Brothers game and a MOBA title. Man, does that sound so whack to me? That sounds like nothing I ever want to touch. Mainly because I'm just, I'm and me. And I think a lot of people who aren't mobile people just have no desire to like become mobile people. Right? Like it's one of those genres where if you're not in it, you are out of it. You know what I mean? It's not like an action game where it's like all right, cool. I like these, these kind of games over here, but I'm down to try an action game. I feel like MOBAs are just kind of an off putting genre for people that aren't all in on playing a League of Legends or playing a Dota 2 or playing the MOBAs that are out there. And then on the flip side, right? And that's me talking to somebody who loves Smash Brothers of. Oh, you said the platformer fighting thing. I'm in moba. On the flip side, if you are a League person. If you are a mobile person or if you're more open to this. I love that Barrett here's brought up the Crash Mobile game that came out a couple of years ago. Right. Like my thing then is, do you read the part of it having Smash Brothers type mechanics and go, oh, that's not what I want in a mobile and for studio LFG here, are they looking for that audience or are they just looking at the audience of, I guess younger gamers that might just want a multiplayer game and going, well, you want to craft something brand new and different and weird because I, I out of all those things, right, Like I read this, I'm like, that's whack. That doesn't sound like it's for me, yada yada. At the end of the day, like if they're just going for creating something fresh and new, I can't really hate on that. To your point earlier, like, I think we just have to see what it is. We just see what the final product is. I want to know what a frog game is.

[Andy]

And it seems like they're down to experiment, which I think is nice. Like this feels like a kind of weird project that they seem wildly passionate about. That enough to say we're going to give you all a studio name. Like, I think that's kind of a really big deal to say you are now a first party studio that's like kind of wild, I think. Bless. I think you just haven't found your right moba.

[Blessing]

Really?

[Andy]

Because look, Mo, when I think of when I thought of the word MOBA prior to a game like Deadlock, to me it was clicking on the ground and making your little guy move forward and doing that.

[Blessing]

You have your little minions, I just think, and you're jungling and you have.

[Andy]

Lanes and I would look at that and go, how the are 900 million people watching this right now?

[Blessing]

Like, how's this, how's this on the NASDAQ as its own job? I don't get it.

[Andy]

Like, I don't understand this. And then I, and then I played Deadlock and it was all right, we're going to give you so, you know, the MOBA sort of vibe. But in a third person shooter and it's like, oh, that's a way for me to kind of. That's easily digest, digestible for me. Yeah, you're going to give me this genre that I've generally not been super into. But it's a third person shooter now and my aiming matters and my accuracy matters.

[Blessing]

Cool.

[Andy]

I Can. That's something I can understand. And I think that there's something kind of neat about that about this sort of genre with Smash Bros. Percentage damage stuff that could make you, you know, damage your character more. And if you're, if it's more skillful like a fighting game, I could, I could totally see this being cool. But in the current climate, if it's not free to play. Yeah, if it, you know, it's gotta.

[Blessing]

Be like, you know, you can't make a Smash Brothers mobile game as PlayStation and not make it free to play.

[Andy]

It has to be the most perfect storm in order for something like this to. To catch fire. It seems like they have all the belief in it, but a lot of other people have had a lot of belief in their really fun multiplayer games before. And this is never an indictment on the game's quality itself. This is never. This game can come out and be the best fucking game ever, but will it ever pull people away from the other big giants?

[Blessing]

My question, because I as, as Bear brought up footage of Pokemon Unite and Crash. I forget the name of the Crash game. Crash. Not Crash Rumble. Crash.

[Greg]

Crash Team Rumble.

[Blessing]

Crash Team Rumble. Thank you. Crash Bash was from back in the day, the day that was like the Mario party game I used to love. I had the demo disc from Pizza. No big deal. But you know, Bear brings those up. And honestly, it does make me think about how much of a market there is for a mobile crowd specifically. I think like a growing younger mobile crowd that might not be able to get into league or be able to get into dota.

[Andy]

Right?

[Blessing]

Like, I think you want to create more pun intended lanes for people to get into this genre in a way that's appropriate and that's going to speak for them. And my hope with this, because with there being a studio being launched with this game being like the foundation of it, I hope that PlayStation has their projection set right for what this is going to do or how this is going to do in terms of player base and sales or what. Like whatever those numbers look like. And I hope it's low and I hope it's scoped. I don't hope this isn't like scoped, like, like crazy, right? Because I read this and as I read this, I think the thing that comes to mind is Team of Sobe. And what I hope out of this studio is that they are the multiplayer team of Sobey as far as what they're bringing to the table. Hey, work fast, work nimble, put out cool, weird projects that might be able to get a player base in the way that you look at a fall guys. And a fall guys is so fucking successful. Because it was a weird different thing that at the core of it was super fun. That's what this studio needs to be and should be. And I hope that, like Project Gummy Bears, if this is the Project Gummy Bear studio, of course it is. Like, I hope that is able to bring in that type of audience and then lead into the next thing of. All right now we're doing this other weird, like, I'm trying to think of a random ass genre, right? Fighting, I don't know, climbing game or whatever type game. A bear type game? Yeah, like them even saying, hey, we're making a. We're taking inspiration from frog type games. I'm like, all right, what's the bit here? Because y' all are with me. Yeah, like y' all are making jokes here. And I can't wait to see like, what that trailer is. Hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed, we see that trailer at a PlayStation showcase or state of play that happens in the next month.

[Andy]

God, I. I love how bad Google's AI overview is because I topped in. I typed in what is a frog game? It says a frog type game generally refers to any video game where frogs are a significant, often central element. This can involve playing as a frog, interacting with frogs in the game world, or having the game's core mechanics tied to frog related actions like jumping or collecting.

[Blessing]

I mean, that bust the door open. Jumping, collected. So you told me that Mario is a frog type.

[Andy]

Don't you ever call him Mario.

[Blessing]

That's a new thing we're doing 2025.

[Andy]

No, we're not.

[Blessing]

We're all calling him Mario.

[Andy]

This is Mississippi.

[Blessing]

We're all calling it Mario west is Mississippi. And guess what? If you believe in the world being.

[Andy]

A sphere, he always has the preface over that.

[Blessing]

I'm just saying. No, I'm just saying if you believe in that, you know, we're all west of the Mississippi. Where have you been on YouTube in the last weekend? Because I've been some places.

[Andy]

My algorithm's taking me on a journey. Remember foam stars, man? Oh, yeah.

[Blessing]

Holy. I forgot about foam stars.

[Andy]

Had fun with that.

[Blessing]

Is that game still alive?

[Andy]

I don't know. That's a good question. I don't.

[Greg]

Wasn't that one where they announced that they were like closing it before it even went public and then they just let it live for like three months or some shit?

[Andy]

They're saying foam stars isn't. This is five months ago. Foam Star ends in January as Square Enix drops. Yeah, this is December 5th, 2024.

[Blessing]

Okay.

[Andy]

There's just a lot, man. It's just, it's such a. It's such a tough thing to do.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

To try to get into the space, to try to pull anybody away from what they've been doing and from their comfort zones, you know, and that comfort zone is the war zone or Fortnite Roblox. We still, as a society don't really take Roblox as serious as we need to as like an existential threat. Like, in the way that, you know, whenever, you know, we're talking about like, world powers and we're like, we're not taking them serious enough. We're not like taking Roblox serious enough. And I know that a lot of people that listen to gaming podcasts certainly know that and understand there's a lot of people that just assume that it's always only Fortnite or whatever. Nah, man. Roblox is like, we're. We got to watch out for Ro.

[Blessing]

You sound like an old man.

[Andy]

We have to watch out for Roblox. I am an old man.

[Blessing]

You gotta watch out for the Roblox and the Tik Tok.

[Andy]

We gotta watch out for the Roblox.

[Blessing]

But like, genuinely, if you're talking about the fall of the video games, I just. We do got to watch out for the Tik Tok and the Roblox. You know what I mean? Like, it's sucking up all of people's free time. Yeah.

[Andy]

We got. Sola says my. My daughters play Roblox daily. Mellow Fellow says my cousins are constantly, constantly on it. My nephews and niece or my nephew and nieces are always on it constantly. It's, it's. It's something that we're not really taking serious yet because we're like, ah, free to play goofy game. It doesn't look good, but who gives a. Nah, man. Be careful.

[Blessing]

Be careful.

[Andy]

Don't let your. Where do you know where your kids are? Because it's 10:30am they're playing dress room press. Where are your children? Story number two. I'm on the wrong Doc.

[Blessing]

What do you mean you're on the wrong. Those are the games cast. Doc, why are you in the game?

[Andy]

I scrolled down and I was like, where are the info?

[Blessing]

Jesus christ. Story number two. Destiny 2 is getting. No, I have it here.

[Andy]

Desi is getting an entire Star wars themed expansion called Renegades later this year. This is from Ethan Gatch at Kotaku. The next year of Destiny 2 includes a road. Includes a massive homage to Star Wars. Okay, is it an homage or is it actually Star Wars?

[Blessing]

I think it's actually Star Wars.

[Andy]

We'll find out. Just an homage. Yeah. I don't know. I just.

[Blessing]

I don't.

[Andy]

I thought that they were colliding troopers. Dude, I thought we were getting colliding universes.

[Blessing]

Those are rain soldiers. Stormtroopers.

[Andy]

Destiny 2 Renegades, an expansion coming in December, complete with lightsabers and a destination that looks very reminiscent of Tatooine.

[Blessing]

Lightsaber is a laser sword.

[Andy]

What exactly will Renegades entail besides Star wars fonts and iconic weaponry from a galaxy far, far away? Bungie is insane just yet. The announcement came as a one more thing tease at the end of the Year of Prophecy showcase focused on what the future is of its sci fi MMO shooter looks like. And there's no information on just how closely it will bleed into the actual Star wars universe, Though the team isn't being shy about the inspiration. Bungie said the expansion, which launches before the end of 2025, pending any delays, will take players to a lawless frontier within the Destiny solar system that channels the sci fi western style of the Star wars universe. The Destiny 2 Year Prophecy ultimate edition even comes with skins for Darth Vader and other Star wars villains.

[Blessing]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[Greg]

No, not just inspirations and stuff.

[Blessing]

That's not Darth Vader.

[Greg]

Definitely not a collaboration.

[Blessing]

That's. It's Dark Invader.

[Andy]

And that's Babaween.

[Greg]

That Lucasfilm games in the.

[Andy]

The.

[Greg]

In the credits there.

[Andy]

Don't.

[Greg]

Don't pay attention.

[Blessing]

Man, that's so like.

[Andy]

Man, they're still making Destiny, huh?

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

What's. What happened?

[Blessing]

Yeah, what happened? Well, I. Good for them.

[Andy]

I did everything I could to take on the. The Witness in the final shape. And I thought my story was over. Now it seems like it's just begun.

[Blessing]

Did final have an asterisk on it?

[Andy]

I didn't see one.

[Blessing]

I didn't take off the shape.

[Greg]

Now, just because you finished the story doesn't mean that, you know, other stories don't unfold, you know?

[Blessing]

Yeah, it was the end of the saga. It was like the end game, but like the Avengers didn't end or the MCU didn't end at end game.

[Greg]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Weren't there just tons of reports?

[Blessing]

Wish it did.

[Greg]

It just slimmed on after.

[Andy]

Weren't there tons of reports that, hey, whatever was. Whatever Destiny 3 was going to be is done. Shelved. When they laid off, like all of the main People at Bungie, the people that were running Destiny, like, weren't there reports that Destiny 3 was never gonna happen? Like, technically, this isn't Destiny 3 happening. But I thought when that happened, I was like, we'll never get more. Yeah, they'll just cut this off. But I guess not.

[Blessing]

I mean, what's more cost. Yeah, like, is it more cost efficient to go, hey, let's not have a new gigantic game launch. Let's continue to just cater to our audience that we know that we have in this product and like, you know, do this while we're launching Marathon and while we're, you know, going through layoffs and like having trouble, but then also like spinning off another studio. I. I wonder if it's a thing of, hey, this is. We need the money that we know we have right now. Like, we can't just make. Take the risk of trying to launch a brand new thing when we're out here taking risks on the side. Like, we need a guaranteed. We know how. We know how Destiny 2 Renegades is going to do.

[Andy]

Yeah, that's a good point. I'm just. I guess I'm just surprised that we. It feels like the Bungee Cycle is announced that 80 people got laid off.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

And also this new thing that we're making, like, it kind of. They always have been kind of fairly back to back. And I don't know, I'm just always. I'm impressed that Destiny still is kicking and that people are really pumped for these updates. Like, the, the people that are the die hard Destiny fans seem to be super stoked about this. I.

[Blessing]

Are you not?

[Andy]

I mean, I, I pop in when like the major expansions happen. I don't know if this would be categorized as a major sort of thing. It. It's a weird kind of area where, when you're selling, I guess it's got to be a major expansion because there's an Ultimate Edition. Like, you know what I mean?

[Blessing]

That's.

[Andy]

That's crazy to me. I don't know if it comes with a little collectible or not. Crush Lemon says, let's admit a Destiny was better when it was under Activision. That's a hot take. Crushed Lemons. I have no idea.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I can't. I can't respond.

[Andy]

I'm such a Destiny casual that I never know what good Destiny is because I just like shooting the. And seeing cool visuals and people be like, that's the worst expansion of my lifetime. It's like, oh, damn. I. I thought I had.

[Blessing]

See to this day in My own perspective. I beat Destiny too, because I played I, I the callous rate at launch and I just didn't touch any expansions in 2017.

[Andy]

What was that? 2018.

[Blessing]

2017.

[Andy]

Wow.

[Blessing]

Yeah, that was magical.

[Greg]

Remember when, Andy, you got really upset at me that we did the Raid without you?

[Blessing]

Oh, I'd be so pissed off.

[Andy]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Because like, you need a squad.

[Andy]

Yeah.

[Greg]

I mean, like, he left. He went home for like a week.

[Andy]

I had to. I, I was in front of a CVS with just like a little sign up, like looking for Destiny.

[Blessing]

Right.

[Greg]

He gave me grief about that for months.

[Andy]

I was LFG and out there.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Kebabs in Chat says, wait, Star wars is a straight up Western?

[Greg]

Yeah, it's space Western.

[Blessing]

Yeah. It's like, have you watched Star Wars?

[Greg]

Let me tell you, let me introduce you to a character named Ham Solo.

[Andy]

Yeah, he's kind of gunslinger. Isn't a cowboy. Yeah. I don't know. Story number three. EA sets Battlefield release window with a full reveal coming this summer. This is from Andy Robinson at vgc. Electronic Arts has confirmed it will release the next battlefield game by March 2026, with a full public reveal due to take place this summer. Speaking as part of its latest financial results, EA CEO Andrew Wilson called the next Battlefield a pivotal step in delivering on our next generation of blockbuster entertainment. Wilson also confirmed that Skate will be released during the next financial year and ending April 2026. Previously, EA has said Skate will enter early access sometime this calendar year. Andrew Wilson also said, I got load of money, man.

[Blessing]

I'm, I got stats, I got, I.

[Andy]

Got 40, 40 million in the bank right now I'm five, eight.

[Blessing]

But on my money I'm six. Six. I, I giggle a little bit because earlier in chat, BLP Entertainment says said more like Hung Solo.

[Andy]

Wow.

[Blessing]

I'm laughing at dumb chats, but I'm also laughing at the fact that yeah, they, I feel like they buried the lead because yeah, cool. Battlefield before 2026, May, whatever, or April, but like skate. You know what I mean? We're skate. Drop the drop skate. I want to hear more about skate.

[Andy]

I mean around during the next financial year, April 2026 and early access sometime this calendar year.

[Blessing]

I need that. Which one are you more excited for between Battlefield and Skate? Dude, I'm excited for Skate Easily Skate.

[Andy]

And I'm not even that excited for skateboarding. I I, dude, I'll say this right now, unless they ever decided sponsors like, I hate Battlefield. I'll hop in there just to shoot. I like, I, I'm just again, I always told Stoneback Mike when he was like, so what do you think about Marathon and Arc Raiders? What are your. I was like, dude, legitimately, you could just put a black screen on the screen with like just little icons to shoot and I'll do that. Like, that's entertaining to me because I have, you know, I just have fun kind of exercising that part of my brain.

[Blessing]

Do the nitro rifle.

[Andy]

Exactly. But Battlefield, I've never vibed with. I. It always feels like you are in the pre game lobby of a battle royale in a Battlefield game.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Where like the match hasn't started yet. You're just out there doing, whatever, dude.

[Blessing]

It's like, what's the objective?

[Andy]

Dude? There's too many things to, like, look at and care about. And then I. The whole time I feel like I'm dominating his own. And then the match ends and I lost 100 to 22. I'm like, yeah, I thought I was popping off, you know. And you never feel like you have a lot of agency in Battlefield games. That's the thing. Like when you're playing a 4v4 shooter or a whatever you. You feel like you can clutch up as an individual and go, man, I can really make a big hero play. I can 2v5 the squad right now with Battlefield, so much of it is dependent on the other 900 people in the lobby. And then even at that point, you'll get sniped from, you know, a fucking state away. It just, you know, I've never vibe with Battlefield.

[Blessing]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm.

[Andy]

Now if somebody was like, hey, Andy, we're playing Battlefield. Hop in. I'll be like, yeah, okay, I'll go around. Whatever.

[Blessing]

You know, I'm kind of the same way. But I think I've always just been fascinated by EA's commitment to battlefield because that means it's. It's certainly speaking to like that audience in a way where EA is like, oh, we want to support this over anything else. Over, like, over a Titanfall or over, like, you know, the other shooters that we could bring back or do whatever with. Right. Like Battlefield. I wonder if you can ever get back to the glory days of it. Like, I wonder if we can ever. I don't think we can ever get back to a conversation where it's Call of Duty versus Battlefield. Because Call of Duty is just a different beast now. And like, it's just. It's such a different machine. You want to talk about something that could be its own thing on the nasdaq Right. Like Call of Duty is elsewhere now. Right. Battlefield. I wonder what EA wants it to be because, like, I feel like when you had like a Battlefield one come out, it felt like such a cool moment for it. Right. Like, different setting, different vibe. Like a lot of people like the campaign with the series of vignettes thing that it had going on. Like, that felt like a vision for Battlefield. But since then, from the. From an outside looking in perspective, I see the last two. Two Battlefield games come out and I'm like, I don't know what's going on over there. I don't know if those are getting the numbers that they want. Like, I don't. I don't. I feel like I don't see people, like, as engaged with Battlefield in the last couple of iterations. And I don't know if that's a sign for, hey, it's over, or if ea, like, they look at it and they're like, oh, we're almost there. We're knocking on the door. We just need. We just need XYZ thing to line up so we can turn this into a major hit.

[Andy]

I think you make a great point that it's one of their knowns. It's something that they know will do well. It's something that they know will that it's consistent. And just looking at reports from several years ago how 2042 had the second best week one sales in battlefield history. Now that was during the pandemic. I think that's also. Those numbers get skewed a little bit. But when they look at how Titanfall 2 did not hit the way they wanted to, despite whatever the public outcry is. What. Despite what social media is saying wanting Titanfall to be back, they can always just look at what the data says. And the data says that people will still play Battlefield. So we got to green light another one. What you got, Barrett?

[Greg]

I think a really, like, blessing you're just kind of taught making me think of, like, what is battlefield in 2025? How do we get people back to it? I was just thinking of, like, what if you got like a group of dudes together, you call them a company? Right?

[Andy]

And they were not good.

[Greg]

They weren't good. You know, some would say bad.

[Blessing]

Nefarious. Oh, bad. I like bad. Yeah, I like bad.

[Greg]

I'm just.

[Andy]

Just, you know, spitball, you know, A naughty organization.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Greg]

Yep.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Battlefield Naughty Organization 3.

[Andy]

We're on to something. You know, I think we're also on to other things. Bless.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Like how amazing our sponsors are. Oh for help keeping the lights and the mics on. And if you're a Patreon producer, you can watch. Or if you're a Patreon member, you can watch this show ad free right now after the fact. But if you're watching right now, you're gonna get a word from our Sponsors.

[Blessing]

This episode is brought to you by Imperial. We've told you all how important it is to developers to wishlist games that you're interested in, so if this sounds cool to you, make sure you wish list it. Imperial is a complex, feature rich action RPG where you'll be sent to a planet in a far off corner of the game galaxy to explore an imposing monolith. As an elite mercenary, you'll join the expedition tasked with unearthing the secrets of the monolith and face off against the deadly automatons within. In Imperial, you'll explore four vastly different quadrants of the monolith, accessible only by using mysterious artifacts known as cardigrams. Each cardigram affects which enemies, boss fights and loot will appear when you enter the monolith, so no two excursions will be the same. Find even more more cartograms to explore by looting defeated enemies or buy them from other players online at the Trading Post. Imperial features three weapon the fast paced Acrobatic Glaive, the defense focused Mace and Shield, or the devastating Cannon with a range of customizable skills and abilities that can make short work of the awaiting automatons. Your weapons and abilities can be changed before any excursion into a cartogram, so if a loadout isn't working working for you, you can mix things up to create the perfect play style, help the members of the expedition in deep branching quests, and aid other players in asynchronous multiplayer. Get ready mercenaries. The Monolith awaits. Imperial was available May 8 on PC, Xbox Series X and S and PS5. Wishlist now it helps so much. Wishlist Imperial this episode is brought to.

[Snowbike Mike]

You by Aura Frames. If you haven't called your mom in a while, here is your reminder to do it. But then you want to go above and beyond. Mother's Day is coming up and I have the perfect gift idea. Aura Frames are incredibly smart and easy to use, allowing you to upload unlimited photos and videos directly from your phone to the frame. Plus, you can order the frame online and preload it with photos and videos using the Aura app so it's ready to go right out of the box. It's a gift so special they'll use it every day. Greg, Kevin and a ton of people here at Kinda Funny are obsessed with their Aura frames. It takes about two minutes to set up a frame using the Aura app, so the next time you need to call your mom, you could also send her a new pic of you from that trip you're telling her all about. Aura has a great deal for Mother's Day. For a limited time, listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting aura frames.com to get $35 off plus free shipping on their best selling Carver Matte frame. That's a URA frames.com promo code. Kinda Funny Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. It's super great that mental health awareness is growing, but there's still progress to be made. 26% of Americans who participated in a recent survey say they have avoided seeking mental health support due to fear of judgment. We can do better. No reason for fear. BetterHelp has over 10 years of experience matching people with the right therapist from the diverse network of more than 30,000 licensed therapists with a wide range of specialties. Some of my best friends use BetterHelp and love how helpful it can be for learning positive coping skills and how to set boundaries. It empowers you to be the best version of yourself. It isn't just for those who've experienced major trauma. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely, entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to your schedule. We're all better with help. Visit betterhelp.com kind of funny to get 10 off your first month. That's betterhelp. H-E-L-P.com kindafunny betterhelp.com kinda funny story number.

[Andy]

Four EA suggests it has no plans to raise game prices yet, despite others doing so. This comes from Chris Cullen at vgc. Electronic Arts has suggested it has no plans to raise the price of its of games in the wake of other companies doing the same. During a Q and A In its Q4 and fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call, one caller asked EA's execs how the company considered the pricing power of its IP and whether it was considering a quote taking a similar approach to other companies announcing games that I've met. I would love to. Man, I would have loved to have heard this call. Just a call. Be like, so was y' all doing something similar?

[Blessing]

Yeah, you see what they're doing.

[Andy]

It'd be really cool if Y' all.

[Blessing]

Did take a similar approach.

[Andy]

It'd be super. I would love my fourth yacht. EA CEO Andrew Wilson replied that the company's main goals are to ensure players enjoy the games they play, but also feel like they're getting value for their money. Quote Our business is very different today than it was even just 10 years ago, Wilson explained. In a world where everything we did 10 years ago was about selling shiny discs in plastic boxes in retail shelves, while that's still part of our business, it's a sick. Because it's a. I'm sorry. While that's still part of our business, it's a significantly smaller part of our business. And we now have pricing representing everything from free to play all the way to deluxe editions and beyond. Quote at the end of the day, whether we're doing something that costs a dollar or we're doing something that just costs $10, we're doing something that costs $100, our objective is always develop are always delivering incredible quality and exponential value to our player base. And what we've discovered over the course of time is whether we can marry quality and value together. Our business is strong, resilient and continues to grow. To clarify, EA CFO then added Quote From a games perspective, we have reflected no changes in our current strategy at this point.

[Blessing]

I will say for as far as PR marketing statements go, that was very big like PR speak, but pretty good PR speak as far as like their reasoning behind it. Even though I don't believe believe him for a second, I'm like, you know what? Yeah, being like, oh, we want to maintain the value the like you know, of what we're delivering. And so if we want to give you something that's 100, we want to make sure it's valued at a hundred dollars. I think that's technically the right answer to this question. The that said, that said, I think the key word in the title of this article is yet it'll happen. It'll happen when everybody else does it. Right? But I think I wouldn't be surprised if there's a conversation at EA regarding prices. That is how beneficial would it be for us to do this right? Like we're getting people to buy FIFA or EAFC every year with the $80 thing. Would that that up? Would that be the straw that breaks the camel's back as far as like being able to get people to buy the same game every single year? Like I wonder there are conversations regarding that for the kind of games that EA makes and then also like how much they feel like people will buy EA games for like, I think I wouldn't be surprised if they're like, oh, can we get away with this? And like, would this fuck up the bag? The bag that we already have. We are all. We already. FIFA is already the best sell one of the best selling games every year. Like the number two or three behind Call of Duty every year. Do we that up for ourselves if we, if we raise the prices and make people give people a reason to not want to buy this every year.

[Andy]

And lose the goodwill from people that may not already have a whole lot of goodwill for you as it is. And we're talking, can you imagine the prices going up on a Madden or EAF or game, NCAA football talking games that, you know, don't get remade every year. These are games that are often reusing 80% of the assets from the, from the prior year because they have to pump out a new game every year. Right. And that's a lot of work and that's a quick turnaround. And you are. It's such an interesting business and it reminds me a lot of how Call of Duty can put out a new game and people will buy the fuck out of it, but no other studio can do that ever. Like no other studio will buy your annual or biannual sort of release thing. If any other company, if any other sort of genre was trying to sell you these sports games every year for the quality that you're getting, where it's like, you know, very incremental things. And now we have a new mode where you get to look at Twitter on your phone as the athlete or whatever. Like it's so, it's so bizarre that those games will still sell. It's such an anomaly nowadays. Like those things just don't really work out anymore. I am kind of shocked though that in this call where you are trying to make more money for your company, you wouldn't put out any sort of like more leaning towards raising prices. Like the fact that, that he is like, I'm not saying he didn't say no, I'm not saying that he isn't leaving it off the table, but the fact that it was more skewed to, well, we believe in, you know, you know, quality versus what you're paying for, blah, blah, blah. I was expecting on an earnings call I'd be like, hey, nothing's off the table, man.

[Blessing]

Yeah, we're talking about it. We're assessing the situation. Yeah, you know, we can see it.

[Andy]

Tariffs, whatever you just want to throw out there. Like I I'm shocked that they didn't lean further in that way because that. That, you know, you could tell the public wanting in a press release or whatever. But then the earnings calls are a bit different. There are these. You kind of, like, get more into the dirty.

[Blessing]

You do the rich people laugh.

[Andy]

Yeah, exactly. You, you know, you twist your mustache or whatever. I don't know. I'm kind of surprised that that didn't happen there.

[Blessing]

I want to bring Barrett into this conversation because Barrett's brought up the shirt Jane Gif four times.

[Greg]

I just.

[Andy]

Sure, dude.

[Greg]

Definitely believe. You definitely believe that y' all haven't been thinking about this.

[Blessing]

Sure. I mean, I think everybody's thinking about it. That's the thing is, like, you're talking about a business this, you know, looking at market. Market conditions and going with their primary objective. How do we get our shareholders the most money as possible as possible? Right. And I think, like, again, coming back to the idea of what do we. How does the. How do the market conditions change how we treat our sports games or change how we treat our games? Like, I wouldn't be surprised if they're also having a conversation regarding, does this finally go free to play? Like, if it is a thing of.

[Andy]

If.

[Blessing]

If it's a thing of, hey, everybody's going up in price and we're in this weird places, FIFA, where people, or eafc, whatever it is, where people are buying our game every single year, and we're making so much money off of ultimate team and like, our number, which is a higher priority for us between seeing the diminishing player numbers because we decided to raise the price, therefore making less money off of ultimate team versus what if we can keep the $70 and like, maybe maintain that number of people? Even though I think in the last year you've seen FIFA actually or you've seen EAFC actually dip in terms of numbers. Or could we maybe make this free to play thing work and, like, you know, just go all in on Ultimate Team and Nikola Diming and doing all that stuff. Right. Like, no matter what, they're having a conversation about what to do with eafc, especially after this last year where you've seen those numbers go down. But I. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer isn't go up to $80, man.

[Andy]

I could be, but I. I don't foresee things changing for a while. My question about going free to play or the thing that I'm kind of doubting that the free to play model will even happen is because the numbers are still there for games like Madden and, you know, NCAA had a successful year. I don't know if the, if the EAFC thing was an anomaly for what happened with it seeing a lot of revenue loss, but like they're still doing microtransactions within the game. People are still paying for ultimate teams and things like that. Like, I. It. You just kind of wish that they would be okay with what they had.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

And that's like the most idealist thing to ever say, but, you know, we'll, we'll see what the future is for these sports games.

[Blessing]

One more thing I'll say too is I, when I think of the people that are buying a FIFA every year efc, I'm going to fuck that up forever. I think back to when I was the person buying FIFA every year, right? And for me it was always the thing of, all right, the game is $60. It comes out in like September. September, October, ish. Every year, like clockwork. I would wait for Black Friday because Best Buy would always have it like 20, 25% off. And I had my Best Buy Gamers Club ultimate thing, right? And so I'm like, if I can get this thing at a square $40, that's going to hopefully make it worth it for me. I think there's so much of the audience that is like, treating it like, like ritual or tradition of. All right, it's time. It's. No, it's, it's September through November. I know I'm going to pick up the new EAFC because I just do it every single year, right? And like, I'm going to see if I can get it on deal. I can, I'm going to see if I can get the thing. But I know I'm going to buy it because I'm just initiated in this process of getting it every year. I think the $80 is going to break a lot of people out of that process. I think when you raise the price to that, I think that's going to make people go, well, fuck, why don't I just play the FIFA? That's the same one from last year. Like, I could see that happening. I'm not saying that's the truth for everybody or even most people, but I could see that fear of EA being like, oh, I don't know if we can do that with FIFA.

[Greg]

That's a, that's a good point. Especially because the big moneymakers, less so. Like the $60 now or $70, whatever it is right now, is just the gateway entryway into getting people it's ultimate team. Yeah. To get to the real money maker. And yeah, if you raise that, if you raise that, kind of like just like Dorothy, right? Like how many people are going to go in.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Story number five Be careful what you read on an eldering about an elder Ring movie. This comes from Jay Peters at the Verge. There's been a lot of like sort of conflicting stuff, so we'll kind of get into it.

[Blessing]

Yeah, we can break some of it down.

[Andy]

This comes from Jay Peters at the Verge. On Tuesday, a publication called Nexus Point News published a headline for what looked to be a major piece of entertainment news Exclusive Alex Garland set to direct Elden ring film for a 24 what a sentence. The article claimed that Elden Ring is expected to be Garland's next film and that shooting is expected to start in 2026. But don't get your hopes up. Soon after the article was published, Nexus Point News pulled it and the publication won't say why. How this news article made the rounds Interesting is an interesting case study in the way news travels on the Internet. We first saw the Nexus Point News article from a Wario 64 post on X. Generally, Wario 64 is a great account to follow to see breaking news in video games almost as soon as it happens. And and the account is quite popular with more than1.1 million followers on X. But none of us at the Verge had ever heard of Nexus Point News, let alone recognize it as a place that reliably breaks entertainment news. So something didn't seem right. Parentheses Another recent Nexus Point News exclusive includes a potential cast member being eyed for one of the male leads in a Star Wars Starfighter, but the in the Star Wars Starfighter film. But the article includes an update that says, quote, a Lucasfilm spokesperson has denied this reporting, So I messaged Wario 64, asked him why he reposted it. He said that the person who posted a thread on the gaming forum Reset Era claimed the site was reliable and that quote, I guess I'm sharing because I too think it's absurd. The thread appears to be this one where the poster says in reply to somebody asking bro, what the fuck is this source? LMAO that Nexus Point News is pretty reliable. They are breaking more and more news before traditional trades. Soon after I refreshed the Nexus Point News story and saw that it had been taken down, I told Warrior 64 that we are looking into it on our end about its removal. Soon after, Wario64 posted about the removal and deleted the original tweet. Then I emailed Nexus Point News Press line to see if somebody could say what was going on. Demet Koch, the Publish Publications editor in chief, replied two minutes later but declined to comment. A24 Sophia Shin has also declined to comment on record.

[Blessing]

So I posted this in the KSD Slack, right. And then Roger replied with another link from a Reddit subreddit called Gaming Leaks and rumors in there. It was a post about Jeff Snyder backing up the rumors about the Alex Garland directed Elden Ring film. Film journalist Jeff Snyder is now backing up what Nexus Point News broke yesterday regarding an Elden Ring film directed by Alex Garland. Then the post goes on to talk about how he had previously confirmed rumors that included the cast for M. Night Shyamalan's next film, Bill Skarsgard joining the next Michael Cernoski film, and Mikey Madison being in talks for a role in Shawn Levy's Star wars film. So we're firmly in rumor mill speculation station territory with this one. It seems like it's not 100% but also not 0% right there.

[Andy]

There's the chance of this happening is not zero. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Yeah, exactly. I don't know what more to say about that. I'm like, all right, it's not impossible, but also not 100 confirmed. Like we don't know for sure. What I will say is that I don't know if I want an Alex Garland's Elden Ring film. It sounds weird to me and I don't know, I don't think weird is a good enough reason to be a hater for me. Right. But like I, I need to see the trailer. I need to see an image, a set image, something I need to know the. Because I don't see Alex. When I look at Alex Garland's work. Right. I guess none of it really screams a, oh, this guy has done an Elden Ring style thing like a big fantasy tale that feels a bit more grand than what we've gotten out of, I guess, his work before. Not saying he couldn't do it.

[Andy]

I just need, I guess for me, the one part of me that wants this to happen. And I'm not, I'm not like necessarily disagreeing with you because I think that Alex, an Alex Garland, a 24 film for Eldon Ring. Like those things just don't really seem to go together.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

But then I think of how this new side took it down. I won't say why. And I wonder if like, oh, maybe they're. Maybe they had a cease and desist or maybe they're, you know, maybe like, the. The powers that be at a 24 were like, hey, take this down. It's. It's not supposed to go live yet or whatever. Like, there's part of me. It's like, maybe it was taken down because it is real. And that's just like, the small part of me. It's like, it's not 0% chance that it might happen.

[Blessing]

As one of the biggest eldering fans I know, do you want it to be real? You want Alex Garland to make your dream game movie a reality? Is this your dream game movie? Do you even want this game to be a movie?

[Andy]

No, but I'm curious enough. I'm curious enough that with talented enough people, something of note could be made. Something cool could be made here. I don't. Because of the storytelling. It's such an odd game to even try to visualize as a. As a movie. You. It would have to be. I don't know how you could make this movie and make it, you know, and make it make sense narratively. Yeah, it would be a lot of weird, moving parts. It would be. It would. It reminds me of what people were telling me about the until dawn movie, how so much of until dawn is the decision making. And when you put that into a movie and remove all of the decision making, it just kind of becomes a horror movie. And at one point, will the Elden Ring adventure just be a medieval type deal with names that I recognize?

[Blessing]

Yeah, I. I think it's interesting, right? Like somebody. Somebody earlier in Chat mentioned that Death Stranding also has a 24 movie involvement. And that makes way more sense to me just as far as, like, the kind of story that Death Training is versus the kind of story that Elden Ring is, where Elden Ring is almost more of a world than it is just a straightforward story. Because the nature of how they tell the story of Elden Ring, it is way more through discovery. It's way more through, like, you are arriving kind of at the end of the story and kind of getting like the history of the world you're in and, like, getting through reveals and like, stuff of, oh, this is what I'm here to do. Like, like, it's. It's just a very weird format to then try and tell through a linear Act 1, Act 2, Act 3.

[Andy]

Right.

[Blessing]

Kind of thing. Through a movie that said, like, 824 has had. I look at the Green Knight, the Dev patel movie from a 24 that came out a few years ago, and I'm not the biggest fan of Green Knight, but if you're gonna make an Elden Ring movie. I could see it maybe being a Green Knight thing where the whole thing is weird and mysterious and, like, artsy as hell. Artsy as hell. And I think that would be an appropriate way to do an Elden Ring movie.

[Andy]

I think that's what it has to be. Yeah, I think it has to be a very unconventional. Unconventional way of. Of storytelling.

[Blessing]

Yes.

[Andy]

It has to be told through the weirdest means possible.

[Blessing]

Like, as the audience member, the audience would have to almost be kept in the dark of the movie. Like, what the fuck is happening?

[Andy]

Yeah, I mean, you know, you had to be.

[Blessing]

You're watching a dude just get fucking mauled by groups of undead and like, you get had to fight a dragon out of nowhere and you don't really understand why. And then like the last 20% of the movie, you're like, oh, shit. Yeah, that's this guy.

[Andy]

You had to stay for the credits. And in the DVD menu, there would be more descriptions of, you know, that character was. I mean, it's something that I would be excited about, but I'm not in any way being like, no, you had the perfect recipe with this director and this story. Like, yeah, Elden Ring just has never been that game for me where I need to see it visualized on the big screen. The only one I really feel that way about is Mass Effect. And with Amazon kind of working on a TV show or whatever that's going to be, that gets me excited because that. That Mass Effect is such a universe that is asking for any other sort of medium to sort of take it on and be visualized on a big screen. But eldering is not that game for me. And that's why I want it to be real, because I can only be disappointed by it. Like, it's not something that I've been looking forward to forever. Like, I was the Halo movie back in the day when the. The team from District 9 was rumored to be working on it. I was like, oh, my God, a Halo movie never ever happened. And then 15 years later, they made a TV show that nobody liked.

[Blessing]

Yeah, here's the thing. I. I don't know about the Alex Garland a 24 thing. I think there's a good chance that that's real, but who knows? I think 100% you're going to get an Elder Ring movie. And whoever is able to get that is going to, like, that's like having the fucking, like getting a fucking gold in the Olympics. As far as like, what the race is right now for Video games. Like there's a video game movie race happening currently. Sydney Sweeney is starring in Split Fiction. Like Sifu is getting a movie from the John Wick people. Like video game movies are having the biggest boom possible. The biggest boom probably of all time as far as I think how video game movies are gonna go. Right. Like that is happening and Elden Ring is at the top of. Everybody's gonna want to do that.

[Greg]

Who do they get to star in it?

[Blessing]

To star in it? Timothy.

[Andy]

That's where I was going to.

[Blessing]

You know. You know who's gonna star in it.

[Andy]

I knew.

[Blessing]

You know who's gonna start. No, but he's gonna make such a great tarnish.

[Andy]

Can he do an English accent? Probably you need like the best.

[Greg]

Or you just get Tom Holland to dub over him.

[Blessing]

You could have told me that he's British. I would have believed you. Like I know he's not British. I heard him talking to Kendall Kumar. But yeah.

[Andy]

Story number six. Microsoft and Asus's Xbox handheld appears in leaked photos. This comes from Dominic Preston at the Verge. The first photos of the asus Rog Rog Ally 2 have service online thanks to regulatory listings, but with a twist. There are two versions of the gaming handheld and one features a dedicated Xbox button. We reported two months ago that the that Microsoft was working with Asus to develop an Xbox branded handheld codenamed Project Canon. This project and this appears to be it. It's a black version of the otherwise almost identical white Rog ally 2 with a small button in the top left corner bearing an engraved Xbox logo. That button is blacked out on the regular Rog, though it will likely be replaced or removed in its production version. 91mobiles found listings for the ROG Ally 2 at the Indonesian certificate and video cards linked those to an FCC listing for the WI FI module included in the two devices which includes photos of the hardware. That listing also reveals some limited specs which include a 7 inch 120Hz LCD display about the same as the first generation with an eight core processor.

[Blessing]

I'm fucking dying by how I'm dying by a few things in this photo.

[Andy]

This is gross, bro.

[Blessing]

Like the fact you can see the reflection of the person holding their cell phone to take a picture of the rocket of the Rog Ally one is killing me. But then two. Yeah. How dirty these things are. Like they just got freshly built. They hadn't wiped it down yet.

[Andy]

This dude. Whoever built this looks like they just got off their ship at Pizza Hut. Like a bunch of oil on Their.

[Blessing]

Hands just got done.

[Andy]

They let their dog like carry it.

[Greg]

Around in their mouth for a bit.

[Andy]

This is one of those, like this handheld is a video that you would see on the TikToks where they clean hardware and like restore it. You know, like this is the before version of Power Wash it. Yeah, my dad had this old handheld about 40 years ago and you know, I'm going to hire you to kind of sand it down. So a lot more legitimate. Seems a lot more real now. Obviously it's been kind of real for a long time and we've just heard lots of rumors all over the place. I. I don't know when The Steam Deck 3 is happening or not. Steam Deck 2, I guess because the OLED I was. I was kind of used to the Steam Deck 2. Whenever that happens, I got to announce. I got to assume it'll be announced at the end of the year.

[Blessing]

Oh, you think we're getting to that soon?

[Andy]

It came out in 2022. I think it gets announced at the end of the year sometime and maybe comes out in 2026. Now a lot of the prices of chips and stuff like that is really gonna fuck up this whole issue. So we'll see how all this shakes out. But yeah, I mean, looking at that handheld, that screen was massive blessing. Yeah, that screen is huge.

[Blessing]

I'm about it.

[Andy]

But I'm tired of all those huge things. I want. I want small news.

[Blessing]

Small things.

[Andy]

The tiniest news I need to know about. Where would I go find it?

[Blessing]

You go to our last story, the WE News Channel, where we cover all the small news items you need to know about.

[Andy]

Last story in Wii News, Split fiction has sold 4 million copies. Well, I don't know why I'm expecting this game to have sold like a billion by now. I think it's because of it takes two.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I think got to like 20 million.

[Andy]

And this hasn't even been out for that long.

[Blessing]

I was gonna say it's only been out for a couple like this. 4 million for this kind of game is great.

[Andy]

Oh, also, by the way, I looked further and deeper, deeper into Hollow Knight sales.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

And they are. They're way. They're way past 3 million.

[Blessing]

Where they at now?

[Andy]

There's no definitive thing, but they were at 3 million.

[Blessing]

Like 2020, I believe is.

[Andy]

Yeah, they were at 3 million about six years ago or something like that.

[Blessing]

No, it's been that long. Time flies.

[Andy]

Holy God. So with all the sales that happen, and also fun fact I. I looked up last night, Hollow Knight is the 19th most reviewed game on Steam. Of all the video games on steam.

[Blessing]

Really?

[Andy]

The 19th most reviewed.

[Blessing]

You sound like. When video game companies try to like make up stats to make their games sound like the most popular thing, I.

[Andy]

Just want you to take it seriously.

[Blessing]

Like the first five days taking the.

[Andy]

Hollow Knight series, the first five day.

[Blessing]

Sales of this game, it makes it the highest fastest selling action RPG Frog game of the last 22 months.

[Andy]

It is the best selling RPG in the Courtney Cortez household. It's got like 480000 reviews which is kind of crazy. So put some respect on all night blessing. I don't like the talking you've been doing. Former Probably Monsters devs have established a new studio called Zun Zoom Studios.

[Blessing]

Wow.

[Andy]

I had another little news article that I submitted. This comes from Famitsu and it's all in Japanese so I'm translating it to English. But there was like a FromSoftware event from software Fest. I don't know what the fuck it was, but they showed off the tarnished edition of Elden Ring coming to Switch and the other consoles.

[Blessing]

We talked about this yesterday.

[Andy]

Oh, with the new classes.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

Oh shit. I don't know that. God damn. My bad.

[Blessing]

You talk about it again if you want.

[Andy]

I'm in two classes. It's exciting.

[Blessing]

I mean super exciting.

[Andy]

Yeah, yeah. New armors, new things like that. It's very exciting. I'm pumped. I didn't watch the show yesterday. I'm sorry.

[Blessing]

It's okay.

[Andy]

Like to apologize. That's it for Wii News.

[Blessing]

Wow. We reacted to GTA 6 and you didn't watch that?

[Andy]

I was looking at photos. I was looking at the photos that y' all that Kevin was scrolling through.

[Blessing]

Oh, okay.

[Andy]

Yeah, yeah. I was driving in.

[Blessing]

Good photos.

[Andy]

I was driving in when that was happening. That game looks kind of crazy, huh?

[Blessing]

That game looks insane. Most insane game the side of the Mississippi.

[Andy]

Let's get to some super chats from all you fine folk as well as the your wrongs. Alex Fraser with a five dollar super chat says just link the audience savati video videos in the subtitles. That's not a bad idea. CJ splits on with a $2 super chat says do you think GTA 6 will harm the gamer industry?

[Blessing]

The gamer industry? No, because that's different from the games industry. Yeah, because we're in the gamer industry.

[Andy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. GTA 6 will only help because it will remind people that you got to pay big money for a big cool game and that will Further reinforce and granted a lot of normies out there paying 80 bucks or 70 for Madden or 60 for EAFC or whatever the sports games. Right. But the normies will remember, oh, that's right, the GTA 6 is coming out. And it's also. Did we kind of manifest us as a. I feel like the media manifested these price increases for gta.

[Blessing]

I feel like that's what I'm saying.

[Andy]

It was never a thing until people were like, I bet you this game gets more expensive.

[Blessing]

No, there was an article from analysts saying that games companies are hoping that GTA 6 is going to end up being like $90.

[Andy]

I feel like we spoke it into existence.

[Blessing]

Like we perpetuated.

[Andy]

You keep talking about it and, and the more like the devs read about this use or they're like, publishers are like, oh man, people are expecting this. This is great. Like, yeah, keep on talking about these. Yeah.

[Blessing]

To be fair, this did start from analysts. Like this wasn't like a media.

[Greg]

I think we kind of joked about it anal like one like once or twice in the last few years. But then once Mario kart went to 80. I think that's when people were like, well, if a Mario kart's gonna be $80, how much is a GTA gonna be?

[Andy]

No, but the. But, but the Mario Kart price raise price rise happened way after any sort of GTA price rise. Like, you know, I'm looking at an.

[Blessing]

Article from GameSpot from March 6th. GTA 6 costing a hundred dollars could rewards players too. Analysts argue it's always the analysts. And we just read that could we reward the players?

[Andy]

But dude, I'm seeing like, I feel like at the.

[Blessing]

Don't worry about the first part of the articles. The analysts. Let's all blame the analysts for starting these conversations.

[Greg]

No, they're at. The analysts are like, it being more expensive is going to reward the players.

[Blessing]

You want me to read the full article?

[Andy]

No, I feel like in the year 2024 we were already talking about, will this game be more expensive? Will. Oh, if they charge, they may charge more for this. This game's gonna be. It's been in production forever, you know.

[Blessing]

See, this is my thing is I feel like this is very much the Spider man meme of everybody pointing at each other. Because like I. We were talking about this yesterday. We had like a whole segment talking about the price of GTA 6 on our case yesterday. And like that conversation came from a super chat that asked us about the 100. Like could GTA 6 be. Could the $100 price point be justified. Right? And so really it's y' all.

[Andy]

Yeah, it is.

[Blessing]

It's the audience. Y' all started that conversation and then I saw people in chat being mad that we're speaking it into existence and we're just like, yo, we're responding to y' all's super chat. That stemmed from the conversations from the analysts, remember? It all comes back to the analysts. What side of Mississippi are you on? We're all on the west side. Because the earth is.

[Andy]

The earth is round. The earth is right.

[Greg]

Questions?

[Blessing]

Finally open your third eye.

[Andy]

Ten dollar super chat from Jake Collado says birthday tax. Thanks for presenting the news and making the average workday go a bit faster. You guys are all awesome. Cheers, lads. Happy birthday, Jake. I don't know why someone like Mike has not birthday super chatted.

[Blessing]

Yeah, where's his birthday?

[Andy]

So Mike, Mike, if you want to send in a super chat for your birthday tax, we'll greatly appreciate that.

[Blessing]

Oh, I didn't want to answer the. We got on a tangent, but to the GTA 6, will it harm the games industry? I have. I think it'll be both. I think it's, in some ways it's gonna harm, but in some ways it's gonna help. I think it'll harm in the way that it's gonna be another Roblox, it's gonna be another Fortnite, it's gonna be probably a bigger one of those, but.

[Andy]

People are paying for it. That's my thing that I'm like, people are paying premium dollar for a premium product and will hopefully be reminded you gotta pay money for awesome games.

[Blessing]

Well then that's where I come right on the other thing, because I still do think that like it's gonna be a black hole game in the sense of all right, less people are, there's gonna be less bandwidth of people playing other games in the midst of GTA 6. And I think that's going to be ongoing for a decade somewhat. But on the flip side, I think, yeah, like you're going to have more people on gaming platforms because GTA 6 attracts not only the gamers, but it attracts the mainstream audience. And I think the more that you can have the mainstream audience on gaming platforms than like maybe peruse the places PlayStation Store, maybe peruse through the Steam Store when it comes to PC and all that shit, right? Like, I think having more active players that aren't like actively on the platforms is a good thing because you're at the end of the day, video games are competing with other video games, but they're also competing with Tik Tok and they're also competing with YouTube and streaming and all these other things. A lot of the people that are gonna. That would have spent that free time just on Tik Tok. Now they will be playing GTA 6. And hopefully that like, is that is gonna, you know, reconfirm the thing of, oh, I can sp. I can spend money on video games, but I think even more so just have them on the platform and see those advertisements to be like, oh man, the Split Fiction game looks cool. Maybe I should check this out. Maybe I should play Death Straining two or whatever. Like, the games are out by then.

[Andy]

It's a very, very pertinent super chat from Lucid Dream, who says blessed started with the 1200 tears of the Kingdom.

[Blessing]

And listen, y' all want me to speak for a hard enough.

[Andy]

All right, I'm trying to be honest with you.

[Blessing]

If Metal Gear Solid six came out tomorrow for fifteen hundred dollars. I'm paying the money. Listen, how much would I spend on a vacation across the world?

[Greg]

Metal Gear Solid six without Kojima?

[Andy]

That's crazy.

[Blessing]

Well, no, in this hypothetical, it would be Kojima.

[Andy]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

He's finishing chapter three of Metal Gear Solid 5 and connecting the Dots and remaking Metal Gear in like the new engine.

[Andy]

The Frog Knight super chat at $2 and says I only play frog type games. Flying penguins with $2 super chat says, what's a frog Frog type banana game wanted me to say the word banana.

[Blessing]

I like hearing you say the word banana, Norman.

[Andy]

Or gave a $5 super chat says, could not care less about yet another multiplayer studio. Had they not just been paying attention the last few years.

[Blessing]

Would you rather this or Sucker Punch turn into a multiplayer studio and Insomniac turn into a multiplayer studio and Naughty Dog turn into a multiplayer. I think this is the better.

[Greg]

They almost all did that.

[Blessing]

And they almost all did that.

[Andy]

Yeah. I mean, yeah, you're. You're definitely right on about that. I don't. I do have people that are super passionate about this. You go do that over there. Yeah, we'll give you a new thing. We'll fund it.

[Blessing]

We'll fund your studio. We'll do that. And this is also a spin off of Bungie. You know what I mean? Like Bungie wasn't about to make Ghost of Sushima 3 or something.

[Andy]

Yeah. $5 super chat from Snug says, finally watching live while vacationing in Ireland and had to take a break from castles to watch y' all and hear the News, man, you're doing so much cooler. Keep looking at cool ass castles. I want. I want to look at castles in real life.

[Blessing]

Let's go. We can do that.

[Andy]

You could.

[Blessing]

Like everybody went to Helsinki last week. We could have been with them. I don't know if there's castles in Helsinki, but it sounds like a place that has castles. Yeah.

[Andy]

You're going to tell me the word that Helsinki doesn't have a castle. Crazy.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Andy]

You can also rent out these castles as hotels, you know that? Oh, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of like cool hotels you could sort of sleep in. But I want like room service. Probably sucks when you think about it in a castle.

[Blessing]

No, man, they treat you like royalty in there.

[Andy]

Yeah, but they don't got like a. They don't have a bar with wings, you know.

[Blessing]

Oh, they got you.

[Andy]

I'm trying to. I'm trying to get a Coke Zero.

[Blessing]

They just gave you full glasses. Of course. Rum. It's like. All right, guess I'm drinking this.

[Andy]

Everybody, thank you so much for sending your super chats and helping keep the lights and mics on. Thank you for supporting us monetarily and visually and audio ly auditorily. Yeah, you're listening with your ears and that helps us out a lot. You're wrong. We have a you're wrong from Mr. Krub who says Star wars was heavily influenced by Akira Kurasara's the Hidden Fortress, which was a western style samurai film. And Bander says, using nothing more than a Wikipedia article, I think Simone Biles is east of the Mississippi. He's married to Jonathan Owen who plays for the Chicago Bears. So they probably live near Chicago, which is east of the Mississippi.

[Blessing]

Bander is a flat Earther. Confirmed.

[Andy]

Wow.

[Blessing]

Wow.

[Andy]

It all goes wow.

[Blessing]

It's crazy. We're all west of the Mississippi. The earth is round. Go get educated, Bander.

[Andy]

This has been kind of funny. Games Daily. Each and every weekday we run you through the nerdy news you need to to know about live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with a kind of funny membership on Patreon or YouTube to get all of our shows ad free, watch us record them live and get a daily exclusive show. I'm checking to see if these super chats came in for from so Mike Mike for his birthday tax he did soon. So Mike Mike, five dollar super chat. He didn't leave a message. Maybe he didn't know how to leave a message.

[Blessing]

Happy birthday.

[Andy]

Thank you for the five dollar super chat from Stoneback Mike Happy Birthday, Snowbank. Mike, you're the best of us. If you love what we do, support us with a membership and enjoy the games. Cast Next. Well, we're going to be spoilering and breaking down Claire Obscure Expedition 33 and after that, a cool stream. Return to Pokemon Nuzlocke. Until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.