Phil Spencer Confirms Xbox Handheld - Kinda Funny Games Daily 11.13.24

Summary

Kinda Funny Games Daily: Video Games News Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Phil Spencer Confirms Xbox Handheld
Release Date: November 13, 2024
Hosts: Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller, Tim Gettys, and Blessing Adeoye Jr.
Guest: Isla Hink from Easy Allies

---

1. Microsoft Confirms Plans for an Xbox Handheld

Timestamp: [09:32]

In a groundbreaking announcement, Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief, confirmed the company's intent to develop an Xbox handheld device. Although the release remains several years away, Spencer emphasized Microsoft’s commitment to innovation in the handheld gaming sector.

Phil Spencer: “Longer term, I love us building devices and I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning on what's happening now.” ([09:32])

Discussion Highlights:

• Prototype Development: Microsoft is actively working on prototypes and assessing market trends to shape their handheld strategy.
• Local vs. Cloud Gaming: Spencer expressed a preference for local gaming capabilities, aligning with devices like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch but also integrating cloud gaming through Xbox app improvements.

Guest Insights: Isla Hink shared her excitement about the handheld, stating, “I just hope it's more like a Steam Deck,” reflecting the desire for a standalone, versatile gaming device.

---

2. Microsoft’s Ongoing Acquisition Strategy

Timestamp: [16:32]

Following the colossal acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, Phil Spencer revealed that Microsoft remains open to further acquisitions to bolster its gaming portfolio.

Phil Spencer: “We definitely want to be in the market and when we can find teams and technology and capability that adds to what we're trying to do in gaming at Microsoft.” ([16:32])

Discussion Highlights:

• Geographic Expansion: Microsoft is eyeing acquisitions that offer geographic diversity, particularly in Asian markets where they have been comparatively weaker.
• Current Focus: The integration of Activision Blizzard’s workforce is a priority, temporarily putting large-scale acquisitions on hold but keeping future possibilities alive.

Host Commentary: Tim Gettys highlighted the strategic advantage of diversifying into booming markets like China and Korea, suggesting that such moves could significantly enhance Microsoft's global footprint.

---

3. Xbox Exclusives May Cross to PlayStation

Timestamp: [21:27]

In a surprising pivot, Phil Spencer indicated that Microsoft is open to making Xbox exclusives, including flagship titles like Halo, available on other platforms such as PlayStation.

Phil Spencer: “Every Xbox game is up for grabs when it comes to making the multiplatform jump.” ([21:27])

Discussion Highlights:

• Multiplatform Strategy: While traditionally holding exclusives tightly, Microsoft’s new approach could redefine competitive dynamics among major consoles.
• Implications for Halo: The possibility of Halo becoming a multiplatform title has significant ramifications for fan loyalty and brand identity.

Guest Insights: Isla Hink speculated that if Microsoft successfully markets this move, it could bridge console divides and enhance accessibility for new gamers, especially families.

---

4. Sony Teases 30th Anniversary Celebrations

Timestamp: [32:41]

As PlayStation approaches its 30th anniversary, Sony teased upcoming announcements slated for December 3rd, a date significant in its history.

Alex Ko (Dual Shockers): “The latest PlayStation trailer...has the date of December 3rd, 2024, which should be for the time of arrival.” ([32:41])

Discussion Highlights:

• Potential Announcements: While it remains unclear, speculation includes new hardware, game releases, or special edition consoles commemorating the milestone.
• Community Expectations: Hosts expressed cautious optimism, noting that substantial announcements might be reserved for major events like the Game Awards.

Host Commentary: Tim Gettys emphasized the importance of managing expectations, suggesting that Sony may focus on celebrating existing achievements rather than unveiling major new products.

---

5. Monster Hunter Outlanders Announced for Mobile

Timestamp: [38:57]

Capcom, in collaboration with Timmy Studio Group, announced Monster Hunter Outlanders, a new mobile installment in the iconic series.

Kat Bailey (IGN): “Monster Hunter Outlanders is billed as a new fully featured game in the series, with multiplayer hunters and expansive exploration.” ([38:57])

Discussion Highlights:

• Gameplay Features: The game promises an open world with familiar monsters, multiple biomes, and glider mechanics akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Reception: Both hosts expressed enthusiasm, with Isla Hink sharing her personal excitement for the series and anticipation for the mobile adaptation.

Host Insights: Isla noted, “I loved Monster Hunter World really got me in,” underscoring the enduring appeal of the franchise and the potential success of its mobile adaptation.

---

6. EA CEO Andrew Wilson Considered for Disney’s Top Role

Timestamp: [45:00]

In an unexpected development, EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, is reportedly under consideration to succeed Bob Iger as CEO of Disney.

Tom Ivan (VGC): “Disney is reportedly considering EA CEO Andrew Wilson as a successor to current boss Bob Iger.” ([45:00])

Discussion Highlights:

• Candidate Pool: Wilson is among four external candidates, with internal candidates also in the running, including high-ranking Disney executives.
• Potential Impacts: The transition could signal a strategic shift for Disney, given Wilson’s background in the gaming industry and Disney’s expansive entertainment empire.

Host Commentary: Tim Gettys expressed surprise and skepticism about the fit, contemplating how Wilson’s experience at EA might translate to leading a diversified media giant like Disney.

---

7. WE News Segment Highlights

Timestamp: [47:43]

The hosts transitioned to a roundup of additional gaming news:

• Strikes at ZeniMax: Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and Doom developers are on a one-day strike against parent company Microsoft, citing issues over remote work negotiations and outsourcing practices.

  Tim Gettys: “Staff who are members of ZeniMax Workers United CWA are on a one-day strike...” ([47:43])

• GOG’s Preservation Program: GOG announced an initiative to maintain game compatibility with modern and future systems, covering over 100 titles.

  Tim Gettys: “GOG preservation program has been announced. It's a new initiative...” ([48:11])

• Nintendo’s Shareholder Activity: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund reduced its stake in Nintendo from 7.5% to 6.3%, although the reasons remain unclear.

  Tim Gettys: “Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund PIF reduced its stake in Nintendo...” ([48:33])

• Game Reviews: Highlights included positive reviews for Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D Remake and anticipation for upcoming titles like Berserk Bits and Locomotive.

  Isla Hink: “I know Huber was out of his mind about it.” ([49:20])

Host Insights: The hosts discussed the implications of these news items, particularly focusing on industry labor dynamics and the importance of game preservation efforts.

---

8. Closing Remarks and Community Engagement

Timestamp: [59:27]

The episode concluded with the hosts addressing community super chats, sharing personal updates, and encouraging listeners to engage through Easy Allies and social media platforms.

Tim Gettys: “If you have any questions for Isla here, please super chat them in and we'll get to them throughout the show.” ([00:13])

Guest Contributions: Isla Hink shared her social media handles for fans to follow and support her work with Easy Allies, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the gaming community.

---

Notable Quotes

• Phil Spencer on Handhelds: “Longer term, I love us building devices and I think our team could do some real innovative work...” ([09:32])

• Isla Hink on Xbox Exclusives: “These mockups are so funny, but I think that they wouldn't position it as, oh, this, you need this to be able to play this.” ([12:58])

• Tim Gettys on Microsoft Acquisitions: “I think that Xbox is clearly going down a path...” ([11:43])

---

Conclusion

This episode of Kinda Funny Games Daily delved deep into Microsoft’s strategic moves in the gaming industry, including the forthcoming Xbox handheld and their openness to making exclusives like Halo available on other platforms. Additionally, the podcast covered significant industry developments such as EA’s potential leadership transition at Disney, Sony’s 30th-anniversary teasers, and new game announcements like Monster Hunter Outlanders. The engaging discussion between hosts and guest Isla Hink provided valuable insights and sparked thoughtful conversations around the evolving landscape of video gaming.

For listeners eager to stay updated on the latest gaming news and in-depth discussions, Kinda Funny Games Daily continues to be a premier source, blending industry announcements with personal anecdotes and community interactions.

Transcript

[Isla Hink]

Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well, from roof repair to emergency plumbing and more done well. So the next time you have a home project, leave it to the pros.

[Tim Gettys]

Get [e-mail] Today's stories include Phil Spencer confirms the Xbox Handheld Xbox is still looking at even more acquisitions and no Xbox game is safe from going multi platform. Even Halo. We'll have all this and more because this is Kind of Funny Games Daily. What's up? And welcome back to Kind of Funny Games daily for Wednesday, November 13, 2024. Of course. I am your host, Tim Gettys, and I am very lucky to be joined here today by Isa Hink from Easy Allies.

[Isla Hink]

Hi, everybody. Happy to be here.

[Tim Gettys]

How are you?

[Isla Hink]

Um, good. Fine. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Doing our best out here.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, yeah, all good.

[Tim Gettys]

How's Easy Allies doing down there? I. It's been way too long since I've seen any of you.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

So thank you for coming through today.

[Isla Hink]

It's fun to be up here. I never get to come up to sf, so. It's really cool. Yeah. But LA is good. It's warmer.

[Tim Gettys]

How's my baby boy Huber doing?

[Isla Hink]

He's okay.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, he's.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, he's okay.

[Tim Gettys]

Everyone goes, that Huber some sweet, nasty love. All right. He deserves it.

[Isla Hink]

Asked me that two weeks ago. The answer is he's great.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

But, yeah, no, we're good. Yeah, we're good. It's fun. It's crazy, you know?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. What you've been playing recently?

[Isla Hink]

I've been playing. I just got an iPhone for the first time, like two days ago.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay.

[Isla Hink]

Which has been very emotional because I've been a. An Android person for like 100 years. So I was trying out like Warframe on that. I was playing Alien Isolation on that.

[Tim Gettys]

So why Pretty cool. Why now? Just need some change.

[Isla Hink]

I just. I just did it. I don't really know.

[Tim Gettys]

Are you enjoying the experience so far?

[Isla Hink]

It's insane. Yeah, it's good so far. I think it's kind of good.

[Tim Gettys]

How's the gaming on it for you?

[Isla Hink]

Actually pretty good. The screen is really good.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, I'm a convert. Okay. It's a Boomer phone in some ways because it doesn't let you do certain things, but I like it otherwise.

[Tim Gettys]

Here we are, though. Kidding. Older all the time, everybody. But this is Kind of Funny Games Daily. Each and every weekday, we run you through all of the video game news that you need to know about live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you you love what we do, support us with the 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. Wasted bandwidth in the chat says Feeling younger in my mind. Thank you for catching the not so subtle Superman from Tony Hawk Pro Skater reference that I just made for a chance to be part of the show. Submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats as we go and give us some good ones today. If you have any questions for Isla here, please super chat them in and we'll get to them throughout the show. A little housekeeping for you. The Visual Visual Triangle Merch drop is here. The year is 2024. Space travel is possible but the inflight beverage service is lacking. We no longer have to choose between frame rate, resolution and quality so it's all okay. You can go to kind of funny.com store for a limited time and get sweet hoodies like the one I am wearing right now. I wore it yesterday, I'm wearing it again today. It's good enough for a back to back everybody and I got so many compliments yesterday. Isla. Yesterday I went to go play a preview of Power Rangers Rita's Rewind, which I don't know when I'm going to talk about it, but soon, soon I'll talk about it. And I went to Digital Eclipses studio and I've never been there before. Really cool spot. Their lobby is a full on 80s arcade. Like they have the rug and the black lights. Tons of real arcades, arcade machines, full bar. Like they just went hard with this and we had maybe like an hour before the event started to just kind of hang out and they had a DDR Extreme machine and I was like, I looked at that and the temptress that is DDR. I can't say no. Yeah so I, I played and I, I don't got it like I used to, you know what I mean? My brain can see the arrows, my body understands it, but I just can't get there as fast as I need to. I got through one and a half songs and like you know DDR usually play the three songs I'm one and a half in and I'm like I don't know if I have one more in me.

[Isla Hink]

Do I have this?

[Tim Gettys]

I don't know if I have it in me. I did it, I pushed myself and I'm still feeling it, still feeling it today. But the lesson of that story everybody, no matter how old you get, no matter how beat up your body is, never say no to Dance Dance Revolution. Yeah, it makes you a better person.

[Isla Hink]

My buddy that I'm staying in town here with while we've been here before he had kids, we drove four hours to go to see a new DDR machine that they got at around one in the city of industry.

[Tim Gettys]

Love that.

[Isla Hink]

And he was like, yeah, it's okay. And I played the Silent Hill Arcade machine, which sucks.

[Tim Gettys]

Silent Hill Arcade? What's that even look like?

[Isla Hink]

Bad. Yeah, it was just like all fog and then like a little nurse would come out and you'd kind of shoot at it with a broken gun. And then it was, you know, that was it.

[Tim Gettys]

That's it. Arcades. What a lost, lost treasure to everybody. Today after Games Daily, you're gonna get kind of funny games cast. That is our LEGO Horizon Adventures review. Oh, thank you very much. There it is. Yeah, yeah, there's. It is exactly as you would explain, man. Recently I saw a video that. Barrett, if you could do me a favor, I think I posted it in random a couple like last Friday. I want to say I saw a video of this guy absolutely crushing it at time crisis too.

[Isla Hink]

Oh my God.

[Tim Gettys]

In an arcade. Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, it was like a choreographed, like full on performance and it's like the coolest video I've ever seen. And then blessing as I shared it to Slack with everybody and bless was like, I met that man. I saw him do it live.

[Isla Hink]

Whoa.

[Barrett Courtney]

Tim, I'm so sorry to say the post has been deleted. No.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, man, that's so upsetting. That's so upsetting forever. Ender says Don interviewed him.

[Isla Hink]

Yes, that guy. Yeah, Don interviewed him. It's a great video. If you know Don Casanova from Easy Allies, he does real weird, crazy stuff. He just went to a pinball expo and did like four videos based on that. But yes, he did interview that guy. I think he's like friends with that guy. That's pretty sure.

[Tim Gettys]

I love how small the world can be sometimes. Just a random fact. Just because anytime pinball comes up. I need to bring this up. Do you know Fran Mirabella?

[Isla Hink]

I don't think so.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, it's Fred Mirabella, formerly of ign. He's a kind of funny family.

[Isla Hink]

Okay. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Do people know that Fran Mirabella is like a professional pinball player?

[Isla Hink]

Oh, really?

[Tim Gettys]

Like, he takes pinball incredibly seriously. And like Barrett, when you see. When you see Fran Mirabella do this, he mounts a pinball machine. Like no one in the world.

[Barrett Courtney]

I'm glad I've never seen that. And I'm surprised I haven't just because, you know, the old IGN office down downtown, there are a lot of pinball machines and I never saw him play pinball, which is insane.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

When you really got it, sometimes you have to kind of rein it in.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, yeah. You need to not, not brag. Nobody likes a boastful kid. Okay. Shout out to Fran Mirabella and his pinball obsession. The stream after that is going to be the boys playing Windblown, which Andy has been hyping me up on. This sounds incredible. It's a Hades like game from the makers of Dead Cells.

[Isla Hink]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is like the little animal guys, right? Or is that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one looks cool.

[Tim Gettys]

Really cool. And then if you're a kind of funny member, you'll. You can get today's Greg Way, which is his thoughts on the new Monster Hunter game. So, yeah, if you want to hear all of Greg's first impressions and thoughts of the game, you can check out Greg Way, which would be fun. Thank you to our Patreon producers Delaney Twining and Carl Jacobs. Today we're brought to you by Sonic the Hedgehog at topgolf, Marvel, Snap and Shady Rays. But we'll tell you all 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, a baker's dozen. We do a lot here. I love it. I love it. Story number one, Microsoft confirms plans to release an Xbox handheld, but it's years away. This comes from Wesley Yin Pool at ign. Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer, AKA Big Phil, has confirmed the company's plan to release an Xbox handheld, but stressed it's years away from release. In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer said, the expectation is that we would do something in the handheld game devices category, but such a device is a few years out. Microsoft, Spencer said, is currently working on prototypes and considering what it might do with its team developing its vision for a handheld based on what it learns from looking at the market. In the shorter term, Microsoft will focus on improving the Xbox app so it works better on existing handheld gaming devices. Spencer added, quote, longer term, I love us building devices and I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning on what's happening now. When asked if a hypothetical Xbox Handheld would be a dedicated gaming platform where you can play games locally like a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch or a cloud Based handheld. Spencer responded, I think being able to play games locally is really important. Isla, you have any thoughts on this?

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, I'm a sucker for these things. I've got, I've got, you know, obviously a switch. I got the Steam Deck. I, I tried for a bunch of months to get the Portal and then I finally got it and I've used it twice.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh yeah.

[Isla Hink]

So it's like, to me, I think it needs to be a standalone thing and their xcloud stuff works so well. Like I've used that on phones and you know, so it's like I could see them doing that and you just need wifi or something. But like the Portal I just haven't used very much. So I hope it's more like a Steam Deck.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I mean, I think at the end of the day the versatility that the Steam Deck offers is it makes it the supreme leader of all of these things. But just like you, I am a big fan of these machines and specifically recently I've been getting really into the cloud side of stuff and I found that it is definitely a. And I'm in a privileged position to have the multiple devices but I do think each kind of has their place. Like specifically, PlayStation games are better on the Portal than they are the Steam Deck and that's simply because of the haptics and the dual sense controller built into it. And while the screen's not oled, it's still very, very high quality lcd. And yeah, the size of the screen, I think it just like really works well for it all. And just all of that stuff's great. The fact of the matter is though, like the Steam Deck runs games better over the cloud over remote play than Portal does. And like that's like the one use case. The thing is though, the steam deck is two, three times the price of the PlayStation Portal.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Let alone your phone that you might already have buying a backbone controller or just using a dualsense controller with your phone. There's so many different options.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

But on the Xbox side of things, I think it is very. Thank you. I feel like it's important for Xbox to take this seriously and I think they're already starting to. I saw someone in the chat say, oh, this means that we're not going to get game pass like proper support on the Steam Deck. I disagree. I think that Xbox is clearly going down a path and they've been going down this path. But I think as we see the video game industry kind of mature into becoming more PC friendly where console and PC gaming, I feel like, is like a little bit more hand in hand.

[Isla Hink]

Which Microsoft embraced years ago.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. And adding the handheld side of that or the portable PC side of that, I think it's even more so. Bridging the gap for hardcore players. But I think eventually, once they can break through and find the right marketing pitch, to the moms and dads out there that don't understand how easy it is to just stream games to a handheld device that they can pop into for 10 minutes in between doing things with their kids or whatever, all the errands of their lives or whatever, that, to me, I think, combined with educating people more on the value of Game Pass, because I feel like it's still such an insular thing to the people that talk about Game Pass, understanding it.

[Isla Hink]

But it's an incredible value.

[Tim Gettys]

It absolutely is. Right. But I feel like I'm still struggling to convince my friends to get Game Pass, even though it'd be perfect for them just because they don't.

[Isla Hink]

I played Call of Duty for the first time in, like, 15 years because it was on Game Pass.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, that's awesome.

[Isla Hink]

Zombies rips.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. So I. I feel like it's important for Xbox to be everywhere and to offer it specifically Game Pass in as many places as possible. And I think if they were to put out a handheld, I imagine it would be a dedicated, more Steam Deck like system. There we go. There we go.

[Isla Hink]

These mockups are so funny, but I.

[Tim Gettys]

Think that they wouldn't position it as, oh, this, you need this to be able to play this. I do think that they would be on Steam Deck. They would be anywhere that they possibly can, because I think that's their goal.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. I've been saying for a long time that, like, I think after, like, the Xbox One kind of didn't win the generation, they sort of pivoted into being the subscription service kind of first. And hardware supports that. And I think that they, like, definitely think the more eyes we have on this anywhere, you know, the better it is for us. And, like, obviously, like, putting Call of Duty out on stuff. And like, everyone was saying, is Call of Duty on Game Pass gonna, you know, ruin Call of Duty or whatever? And it's like, no, it's sold gangbusters on PlayStation, as it always does. And I think if they have a dedicated Xbox handheld and the messaging is handled correctly, which, you know, don't name it something weird, but, like, that could, you know, it'll be more accessible than a Steam Deck and get into more of the Switch territory where it's like families will buy it, you know, have two per household kind of thing. And like, if they, if they nail that, it could be huge for them, I think.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, absolutely. And it's, I think, very interesting that like, again, I do think it's important to note that we're talking years away.

[Isla Hink]

Years away.

[Tim Gettys]

Which is interesting because I, I feel like the time is now. Like, I feel like it's. We all kind of expected Xbox to have a, some type of handheld option out whether this year or next year. But it sounds like that's not the case, which does surprise me quite a bit.

[Isla Hink]

So it's like.

[Tim Gettys]

But I do think that's the other side of it is maybe Xbox knows they don't need to because there are others. So they can kind of dedicate figuring out the optimal, like, hey, here's the Xbox like platform that maybe even comes built in with like a, a year subscription in Game Pass or something, I don't know, to entice people even more to be able to jump on.

[Isla Hink]

But weirdly, they could, like if they put, you know, Game Pass and X Cloud and stuff on Steam Deck and have dedicated experiences there, you know, they get to beta test it basically for their own handheld for a year before putting it out. So rock solid.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I mean that we gotta hope.

[Isla Hink]

I am surprised by years, though. Yeah, I would think year. You know, like, why talk about it then?

[Tim Gettys]

You bringing up the. Well, to his credit, I think they're talking about it because people are asking and they're giving some type of question, which, I mean, this level of transparency is more than we used to get from them talking about new devices that technically don't even exist yet, you know, so I'll give them that.

[Isla Hink]

Shareholders love. Love. Yeah, yeah, we're doing it.

[Tim Gettys]

We're doing a thing. Story number two here. Despite buying Activision Blizzard for 69 billion just last year, Microsoft still looking at even more video game acquisitions. This comes from Wesley Yenpool at ign. Microsoft's still in the market for acquisitions. In an interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer said he's up for buying more companies, although cautioned that nothing's imminent and big deals are off the table for now. So if Microsoft does open its wallet once again, what might it spend its billions on? Deals that add geographic diversity, including in Asia, might be worthwhile, Spencer said Apparently Microsoft's eyed up buying another mobile company. Microsoft picked up candy crush maker King as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Quote, we definitely want to be in the market and when we can Find teams and technology and capability that adds to what we're trying to do in gaming at Microsoft. Absolutely. We'll keep our heads up. Microsoft still busy absorbing Activision Blizzard employees, Spencer added, which is why very large deals are probably impossible right now. But that leaves the door open for major acquisitions in the future.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. You surprised at all? No, I mean, I didn't. I didn't figure they would pump the brakes entirely, you know, slam on the brakes. I guess I figured they would pump the brakes, whether by court order or just by, you know, we just spent a whole lot of money. But yeah, I mean, what are you saying about getting into more Asian markets or like worldwide markets? That makes sense for them because they've been weak. I mean, especially in Japan compared to Sony, obviously, and Nintendo, obviously. But, yeah, I'm. I don't know. It's a good business move because I was wondering if they were just going to kind of quit over there, you know, But I think, yeah, I mean, if you can get into. I mean, the more markets you're in, the more money you make, so.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think especially with how worldwide Xbox Game Studios is, I feel like they've made great strides with Japanese companies and Japanese games via Game Pass. A lot of it has been more of back catalog stuff, but their attempts to get the final fantasies, the Yakuza games, the Persona games, and pushing them and putting them in the forefront of like, look, this matters to us. Yeah, I think that's great and very, very key to Xbox having that in their back pocket and going forward. But I also think that with the massive, explosive growth that China or Chinese games have had, yeah, I feel like it'd be silly to not keep an eye on that and be like, all right, where can we invest in this? Or what acquisitions can we make to kind of own this kind of rising boom from the beginning. I think it makes a lot of sense, especially when you start looking at this next story we're going to get into about how they are as open as it possibly can be in terms of where their Xbox games do or don't land. I feel like, yeah, it does make sense to look at a lot of the. The rising talent out there that could use the backing of a big publisher. Obviously there's a lot of negatives that come with this, and we've seen time and time again the amount of layoffs and the amount of what the consolidation can actually look like. But I do think that there is such a rising class of talent out in China, specifically Korea as well. That obviously Phil Spencer and the team are looking at of like, all right, how could this benefit Microsoft gaming and.

[Isla Hink]

A huge user base, like untapped market, if like America, you know, it's easy as an American to think like, oh, we're the biggest market, we're the driving force like commercially, you know, which is generally completely untrue in like, like if you see, you know, the. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that I've seen it, but if you see the like map of servers for a big game, you know, like a big MOBA, for example, you know, America's like 3% of the, of the user base.

[Tim Gettys]

And I feel like, yeah, a lot of that is genre specific, right. We're talking about these like massive verticals of gaming that in a lot of ways, like to your point, we kind of just write off as different, you know what I mean? For whatever reason that is, like we don't talk about MOBAs typically. And whenever we do, it does feel like we're talking about something that's outside of the traditional space. And I think a lot of that is because it's not. They're not on consoles. And we have been seeing little types of entries into like, how do we do a console version of a MOBA that have limited success. But I think that we are knocking on the door of that bridge, kind of opening up a little bit more, but.

[Isla Hink]

And like extraction shooters and stuff. I love it. Every time I hear of a game that I've never heard of before, like Crossfire did this to me a few years ago and then, and then it's followed up with like, yeah, this has like, like 300 million players.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

And I'm like, how, how have I never heard of it? That's. Am I bad at my job?

[Tim Gettys]

It's wild, man. Yeah, it really, really is story number three here. Tying things together even more. Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer won't rule out any Xbox exclusive making the jump to PlayStation, including Halo. This comes from Wesleyan Pullet IGN. With Microsoft's multiplatform video game release strategy in full swing, some Xbox fans are wondering whether flagship exclusives such as Halo will ever make the jump to PlayStation. But according to Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer, there are no red lines in this first party lineup. Microsoft has so far used older games released over a year ago for its multi platform push as opposed to brand new games. But that will soon change with the release of Indiana Jones. Microsoft will launch machine games hotly anticipated Xbox game on PS5 just a few months after it launches on Xbox and PC and Game Pass this December. Speaking to Bloomberg, Spencer said every Xbox game is up for grabs when it comes to making the multiplatform jump quote. I do not see any sort of red lines in our portfolio that say, thou must not. He said it's too early to make any sort of decision on the next version of Halo. Bloomberg quoted Spencer as saying, what a time we live in this is. Barrett's killing it today with the B roll.

[Barrett Courtney]

This is going to be our reality one day. This is from when Master Chief joined Fortnite, and this was a real thing that happened. But just think about it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, think about it. Yeah. Yeah. It's just. It's wild, you know, I never in my life would. So another thing is, I went to Digital Eclipse, like I was saying, and it was in the same building as the Video Game History Foundation.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Which I've never seen. And it was the coolest room I've ever been in. There was just so many. Like, it was like a library. And they literally had every video game magazine that's ever existed.

[Isla Hink]

Wow.

[Tim Gettys]

So, like, complete collection psm. Oh, yeah, every psm, every Game Pro, every Game Informer, every Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power, official PlayStation Magazine, official Xbox Magazine. Like, it was wild.

[Isla Hink]

That sounds awesome.

[Tim Gettys]

And I was nerding out looking at all of it, and I. I looked at the. The 100th issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, which is very important to me. It had a top 100 list of all games of games of all time, which at the time was very important to me back in like, 97 or 8, whatever that was. But on the COVID they commissioned custom art that was just like, what essentially now just looks like the Smash Brothers Ultimate.

[Isla Hink]

Right.

[Tim Gettys]

Characters select screen. But it was just like every video game character ever. And in the forefront, it was Mario, Crash, and Sonic. And just seeing them together at that time was like, whoa.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Imagine the possibilities. And over time, we've kind of seen that in different permutations to see where we're at now with the Xbox side of it as, you know, the mascot platformer and the characters that kind of represent these different consoles and systems have, if not died out, changed in importance. Nintendo still sticks to that, but I feel like otherwise the 3D, 3D platformers aren't the main genre of gaming in the way that they were 2D platforms even, right. Where it's like, shooters are a bigger deal and, like, the more mainstream, like, thing to be in that era and to now see Xbox games starting to come to PlayStation and now Indiana Jones like their next big release is so soon coming to PlayStation. It's like these are different times. I think this is a really good thing overall.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And one thing I want to bring up is the Switch to.

[Isla Hink]

Right.

[Tim Gettys]

Because we have the Switch to coming out next year.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

If this. If Nintendo can pull off what I expect them to, which is to put out a successor to the Switch. That is what people are expecting and what they want.

[Isla Hink]

Not some weird left turn.

[Tim Gettys]

Don't do something weird. Give us the Switch to.

[Isla Hink]

Tiny discs are back.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Exactly. Like don't do anything weird like that.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

If they can manage to actually put this thing out and maintain the momentum they have and Xbox then has another giant platform to be able to put their games on.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

In addition to their own system, in addition to the cloud, in addition to PlayStation. That is. That's wild. Even if. All right. The Switch 2 is not going to be able to play things at like the highest, highest quality I feel like.

[Isla Hink]

But they've been doing the cloud streaming thing for a long time which.

[Tim Gettys]

So it's unfortunate. You know what I mean? But at least for the Nintendo. Because the tech's not there to back that up. But I think that the Switch to power wise is going to get it close enough to be in the realm of we can play these games specifically because games still need to be developed for the Xbox series s and in some cases Xbox One.

[Isla Hink]

I figure it'll hit current Steam deck.

[Tim Gettys]

And that's the thing. I just feel like there's a balancing of power that's happening because of all the devices that are out there where there has to be this lowest common denominator somewhere. I think the Switch 2 is going to be at least around there. And so maybe the brand new Xbox games aren't coming out. But what if Master Chief collection came out on PlayStation and on Switch 2 like Xbox has such a monumental opportunity here to treat their games more third party and see massive success with that. So I'm really interested and I'm happy that we're at a point now that even things like Halo are not off the table.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. It doesn't surprise me. You know it would have. It would have blown my mind like five years ago. But I think if this is just a step to getting Game Pass on PlayStation, I doubt they would ever let it on Switch. But like, you know, if they do that, they're. They're in it like you know, game over.

[Tim Gettys]

Totally.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. They don't even need to make boxes anymore.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean. Yeah, but that's the thing is. I see. I think that they always will because you look so.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

When you look at. And always is a big word. But when you look at Microsoft's history as a, you know, hardware, but also software operating system developer, like Windows to them, like they make their own, their Surface devices and all that, then Windows is just on whatever device you. Whatever. Whatever PC device that you have out there. So I think that that strategy has clearly worked for them in a space that is very different, but has a lot of crossover with the gaming space.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

So they continue that. I. I think that there's going to be some. Some big wins for. For Xbox IP in the future.

[Isla Hink]

And Office 365 on Switch.

[Tim Gettys]

That's what we're waiting for, everybody. Let's get there. Oh man. We're gonna get to our next story, but we're gonna do that after a quick word from our sponsors. This episode is brought to you by Sonic the Hedgehog at topgolf, y'all. When you take one good thing and you take another good thing and you mash them together, that is when magic happens. Kinda funny loves Sonic the Hedgehog. Kinda funny loves topgolf. So you know, kinda funny is hyped for Sonic the Hedgehog and friends to arrive at Topgolf at supersonic speed on Friday, November 15th with the launch of the new Topgolf game Sonic the Hedgehog. Exclusively available for play at Topgolf venues across the United States. Created for players of all skill levels, which is great for me, topgolf meets the fast paced action of Sonic in this new in venue game where players go head to head in iconic virtual Sonic environments, Green Hill Zone and Sky Sanctuary. You can play as four iconic characters, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy to hit springs, collect rings and destroy Badniks. For players making the transition from a joystick to a club for the first time, topgolf has your back with its new club, the sure Thing, designed to make golf less hard. Come play around with your friends and family at a topgolf near you and try out the new Sonic the Hedgehog game. This episode's brought to you by Marvel Snap. Y'all know Marvel Snap completely took over my life when it burst on the scene two years ago. I love it so much that I even mentioned Marvel Snap in my wedding vows because to this day my wife Gia is so obsessed that she has not missed a single day of completing her challenges. Marvel Snap is an award winning collectible card game that combines deep strategy, a unique snapping mechanic and your favorite Marvel characters with thousands of unique card art variants created by renowned artists to collect and use. One of my favorite things about Marvel Snap is just how fast paced it is. Each game only takes about three minutes, so it's always a great time to pop in for a game or two. New cards are released every week, new seasons every month, and frequent events keep the game fresh and exciting. Each game takes takes only three minutes, so you can get in and out wherever you are. And with more than 270 cards in Marvel snap with over 2000 unique art variants, you'll always find something new. Download the Marvel Snap app, now available on the App Store, Google Play and steam, or visit marvelsnap.com to learn more. This episode is brought to you by Shady Rays Forget the boring gifts this year. Shady Rays makes finding something special for everyone on your list easy. With premium polarized sunglasses that bring both clarity and comfort, you'll be giving a gift that they'll appreciate every time they step outside. Shady Rays is an independent sunglasses company offering a world class product rated five stars by over 300,000 people. Their shades have durable frames and crystal clear optics, making them the perfect choice this holiday season. Every pair of shades also comes with lost or broken protection. If those shades ever disappear or get damaged, Shady Rays will replace them, no questions asked. Shady Rays makes gifting easy with a team ready to help with fast and friendly support. So give the gift of quality, style and worry free. Wear this season with Shady Rays. Treat yourself for someone special. Go to shadyrays.com and use code kindafunny for 40% off two or more shades. Try for yourself the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. Shady rays.com code kind of funny. We got some super chats I want to get to here. Shay says Pump it up is better than DDR. Go to Dave and Busters. I've never actually played Pump It Up.

[Isla Hink]

It's cool.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Is that the one where it's like on the diagonals instead of the the four arrows?

[Isla Hink]

It's been years but I think so.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Tell me if that's wrong.

[Tim Gettys]

That seems a lot. I'm down to try, but I'm also slow.

[Isla Hink]

Slow. The the one that's like with your hands and it's circle. That's crazy.

[Tim Gettys]

There was the one I used to like where it had like the two things and it was like one's blue and one's pink and there'd be like like light beams that would go under it and you just like go like that. I like that.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Mara says shout out to the Invincible podcast celebrating 150 episodes today. They've been kind of funny best friends for a long time and I'm very proud of those guys. Hell yeah, that is awesome. I'm pretty sure there was 150 issues of Invincible, so that. That's a fun little coinky dink there. Sam B. Says, Easy Allies. Love and respect, of course. Always and forever. Banderas and says, hey Isla, longtime fan just want to say there's a street named Isla Place on my running path and it always makes me think of you. Love and respect.

[Isla Hink]

I have to go there. I have to see it.

[Tim Gettys]

Samson L. Says they need to make Xbox app work on ARM slash Linux first. Yeah, like kind of like Isla was saying earlier. I do feel like we're in the R and D phase of all this, and it does make sense that Xbox needs to figure out the software side of it first before what if the.

[Isla Hink]

Xbox handheld hardware doesn't run Windows?

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, honestly, stranger things have happened.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, please don't.

[Tim Gettys]

Please don't do that. Foxy Steve says. Easy Allies got me into D and D and that really changed my life for the better. Love and respect. Very cool stuff out there.

[Isla Hink]

This 5.5 is weird changes, Changes Moving.

[Tim Gettys]

From Sony or Xbox over to the Sony side of things. Story number four here. Sony teases something for December 3rd just in time for PlayStation's 30th anniversary. This comes from Alex Ko at Dual Shockers. While the original PlayStation console was released on September 9, 1995 in the United States, it was released a few months earlier in its home country of Japan, where gamers got to pick it up on December 3, 1994. A few months earlier. That's a lot of months earlier. That's a. Yeah, that's almost a year earlier. This means it will be the PlayStation brand's 30th anniversary in less than four weeks. Does Sony have something in store for the big day day? If the latest PlayStation trailer is anything to go by, it seems that might be the case. While a New Play has no Limits trailer might seem innocent enough as just a marketing reel, one little nugget of info has the Internet buzzing around the 47 second mark of the video. The train schedule board has the date of December 3rd on it along with 20 and 2024, which should be for the time of arrival departure on the train, but can also be interpreted as time and year. So that does look like it is teasing. December 3, 2024. Do you think anything's going to come of this.

[Isla Hink]

I mean I've. I've learned being in this business that hope is a disease and that you should just kind of, you know, expect. Keep your expectations in check. Play has no limits. And maybe just because we were talking about handhelds, I'm like, is this a. Is this an independent portal?

[Tim Gettys]

But no, play has no limits. That, that's just their marketing.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

But for the last couple years they're.

[Isla Hink]

All out in the world though. But they love to do these kind of commercials.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Look how fun things could be.

[Isla Hink]

Nine commercial.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Where it went up your nose.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh yeah. This to me is not aware. There's smokes, there's fires type situation. I don't expect this is going to turn into anything like, mainly because what would it be? Because I think a state of play doesn't make sense. I personally just don't feel like a showcase is in the books. Like I feel like we are unfortunately a ways out from that. I, I still believe the next time we get a PlayStation showcase, it's going to be a big one. I think it's going to be with substantial first party studio announcements. And I do not think that despite it being their 30th anniversary, I don't think December 3rd is the time for that.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, and they, I mean they've obviously, they announced the 30th anniversary console like colorways or whatever and game game awards is like a week and a half after this date. December. It's like December whatever, 11th or whatever. And like obviously Jeff's gonna try to get all the stuff that he could get that would have been in a showcase whether they play ball or not. You know, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I don't know what this could be. It's probably just nothing.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I think it's nothing. And I mean we've already seen PlayStation celebrating their 30th anniversary like the last couple weeks with all of their special consoles and just, I mean the entire LineUp essentially of PlayStation products having a 30th anniversary, which I do love that version. It's so cool. God, I wish I didn't get the pro.

[Isla Hink]

I was like, I don't want to spend 1200 bucks on, on a color gray right now.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean I, I was down to spend it. I just couldn't get it.

[Isla Hink]

Couldn't get it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. So I was like, that is a bummer.

[Barrett Courtney]

But I need to at least get the controller.

[Tim Gettys]

I need. I didn't get the control. I got the portal though.

[Isla Hink]

Oh, they Had a gray portal.

[Tim Gettys]

They did have a great portal.

[Isla Hink]

I didn't know that.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, yeah. So I got that on the way. I. Technically I bought it for Kevin because I wanted to get him a. Kevin is a new father now.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And so I wanted to get him a father's present. I don't know, like a congrats present. What do they call it? You know what I mean? Your baby's here. Everybody deal with it. Have a good time.

[Barrett Courtney]

There's a gift.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes. So I got that for him, but yeah, I don't think it's going to be anything. And you bringing up Game Awards. Yes, that is right around there. Game wars is a little later this year than it normally is. Like just by a week or so.

[Isla Hink]

I want to say the 8th, and I feel like it's the 11th or.

[Tim Gettys]

12Th, something like that. Like, I think it might be even later than that. I think it's like the 14th, if.

[Barrett Courtney]

I'm looking at it right. I would. Looking at our calendar, it's the 12th.

[Tim Gettys]

December 12th. Yeah. So I feel like just this year is a little bit weird with, like, where the weekends fall, so it kind of pushes it back a little bit. But so with that, that is still, you know, pretty far away from whatever this is. I don't expect any announcements here. I do think that if we get any major PlayStation news this year, it will be a singular thing at the Game Awards. Like, I feel like we're not getting a showcase, we're not getting a state of play, because I just don't think they have enough to really, like, bring the heat there. But, like, I wouldn't be surprised to see some type of Ghost of Yote situation at Game Awards, like, last show, obviously. But, like, that's actually a really good call too.

[Isla Hink]

I. I mean, they'll probably do a sale. Maybe they'll put out another DLC in Astrobot. Something a little more like the. Not leaderboard kind of like more levels or something like. I expect something on that scale.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

For. For this December 3rd, if anything.

[Tim Gettys]

God, I hope we get some more Astrobot.

[Isla Hink]

That was sick.

[Tim Gettys]

I need it. Have you played through the. The Speedrun levels?

[Isla Hink]

I haven't played that. That part, no.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay, cool. Baron, have you been keeping up?

[Barrett Courtney]

No, and I've actually retired. I've retired.

[Tim Gettys]

You retired?

[Barrett Courtney]

Retired, because I, like, I wasn't into the Astro Bot speedrunning stuff when, like, the playroom was out, so I didn't have the history with it. And then seeing, you know, Jesse Fatali, Jeff Grubb, Mike Minati less so Dan Ryker. But like, all of these times I'm like, I can't keep up. I can't keep up. So I had a lot of fun with that, like, first one, but yeah, I haven't gone back.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. I mean, I was never into the competition with, with all those sickos because, like, I don't got the stuff like that. But, like, just playing more. Astrobot, I've been a big fan of, but I keep forgetting to check in every week. So I've only done two of them, which at this point I feel like four of them must be out, so maybe I'll do that tonight. But I've been liking the levels. I think they're. They're cool and like, I love doubling down on the gimmicks even more. But yeah, I do want more. You know, I'm insatiable.

[Isla Hink]

Obviously this won't happen, but, like, thinking of Xbox kind of like getting on other stuff. It would be cool if, like, Astrobot just becomes like a celebration of every game.

[Tim Gettys]

It would, but it won't happen. No, no, no. PlayStation's got that lockdown.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Story number five here. Monster Hunter Outlanders has been announced. This comes from Kat Bailey at ign. An ambitious new Monster Hunter mobile game is under development by Capcom and Timmy Studio Group, the developer behind Age of Empires Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile and Pokemon Unite. Titled Monster Hunter Outlanders, it's billed as a new fully featured game in the series, with multiplayer hunters and expansive exploration. It'll be free to play and feature in app purchases, a representative tells ign. The initial trailer shows off some of what fans can expect from the new mobile release, which promises an open world teeming with familiar monsters like Angith and great Jagras. As with the core games in the series, Monster Hunter Outlanders appear to include multiple biomes that can be explored using a glider similar to the one link uses in the Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild. It features impressive graphics despite being a mobile game, and can be played either solo or with friends. Remember, for all of Greg Miller's thoughts on this, you can check out today's Greg Way if you are a kind of funny member on Patreon or YouTube. But Isla, are you a Monster Hunter?

[Isla Hink]

I love Monster Hunter. And Janet. I think Janet and Janet.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah. You big fan.

[Isla Hink]

No, I love Monster Hunter. This looks definitely like a mobile game, but I'm going to play the hell out of it. I don't know. I loved World and Rise. I played a little of Try, but that Was kind of before my time just with Monster Hunter World really got me in. So I am jazzed out of my mind. For Wilds, it's. I've played it a couple of times, played the beta, it's really, really, really good. So obviously I didn't play it on PC because that was a whole thing.

[Tim Gettys]

But yeah, so what, what's the. What do you feel about this being announced now? Is this good timing? Is this bad timing? Because it feels like with most similar games and ip I would argue it might be over saturation. But with something like Monster Hunter, I almost feel like putting this out and we don't have a release date or anything. But this out on mobile with Wild coming out, I do feel kind of makes sense.

[Isla Hink]

It's interesting because at the end of the trailer I think it just says soon, soon tm, who knows? But I think you're right. You're so right because with Monster Hunter specifically we just want more and more and more and they have a history of doing like kind of cross events in their different games. You know, like you'll get iceborne stuff in Rise, you'll get whatever, you know. So like this feels to me like like Animal Crossing Pocket Camp while New Horizons happens. Kind of a thing where they can just like cross promote each other on each other. The thing I worry about with this is that they call it an open world survival game which could be sick, just kind of like hanging out living in that world. Or it could be a grind fest nightmare which who knows.

[Tim Gettys]

But yeah, it's mobile. So I feel like that is the, you know, you go into it expecting that and hopefully you're surprised that it's not, I will say graphically really damn impressive.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, like a tiny bit framing it seems like sometimes. But I mean running on a phone and like when you're looking at it this big, I think yeah, it'll look great. And I don't. I haven't played those other games that they've. That company has made but like you know, I've certainly heard of them and they must be doing fine because they're huge.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I mean, well, Call of Duty Mobile is like in like as big of a beast as you would expect it to be. And Pokemon Unite, I remember kind of took over Snow Bike Mike and Andy's lives for a little bit as well. And that kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier. It's mobile so it's different but the game's on Switch too. That to me is an example of MOBA's kind of being console fight. A little bit of like. Or at least getting into that audience and trying to make that format work because clearly there's an audience out there for it.

[Isla Hink]

Smite. Yeah. Is the one that I, that I played on console that I was like, okay, this works. This I could see. I would be kind of surprised if it came out before Wilds, but I think if it came out like holiday this year, like December. People are so thirsty for Monster Hunter Wilds right now that it'll do gangbusters if it comes out before Wild.

[Tim Gettys]

We're just so close.

[Isla Hink]

Which is crazy. Yeah. That's what February 14th, I think, like.

[Tim Gettys]

That is, you know, very, very, very right around the corner. Especially like considering the holidays. Feels like it kind of takes out so much time. Yeah. Before we're getting to things. So yeah, I, I'd be surprised if this comes out before then, but Me too at the same time.

[Isla Hink]

But it would be smart.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, it really would. And this does kind of ring to me as a game awards shadow drop type thing as well. So I could see that being a potential there because like, yeah, it looks pretty ready just from what we saw like that. Normally I'd expect like a CG trailer or something to announce a game like this, but like looking at that, it's like, oh, okay, cool.

[Isla Hink]

Well, and also Capcom, like obviously they're developing this with a partner, but Capcom has a pretty robust history of short. Shorter than a lot of companies announced to release. Timing, you know, like think Resident Evil 2 remake. I think it was like six months or something. And like I love that. I think that's the way to do it. And I think you're so, you're so right. Like this feels like kind of a game awards drop. Kind of a. Kind of a thing.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Especially if there's like ad money in it, you know.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure. Story number six, eace. Sorry. This is just a crazy one to get through here. EA CEO Andrew Wilson is reportedly being considered for the top Disney job. Whoa. Taking over Bob Iger. This comes from Tom Ivan at vgc. Disney's reportedly considering EA CEO Andrew Wilson as a successor to current boss Bob Iger. That's according to the Wall Street Journal sources who claim that Australian born Wilson is currently one of three external candidates in the frame for the job. Internal candidates being considered for the role reportedly include Disney Entertainment co chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Palatro and Disney Experiences chairman Josh demaro. Iger, who's in his second spell as Disney CEO is due to step down when his contract expires in 2026. Wilson joined EA in 2000 and has served as his chairman, as its chairman and CEO since 2013. What a shocking turn of events. That does make sense when you actually, like, look at it from a business perspective. But it's just like, I never expected to hear those kind of worlds cross over this way. But again, it does kind of add up. I don't know necessarily that I'm thrilled about it based on my love for Disney properties and how I've seen EA do things. But when it, when it comes to just how many assets are at play and how much they are responsible for at that top level, it's like there is a level of business acumen necessary just to be.

[Isla Hink]

You gotta be a freak. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Keep your, like, control of things because, like, very often there is no control.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. I mean, yeah, somebody in Chad said it too, but, like, he looks like a Bond villain. I just love that. But it's. It's interesting because the other people on that list are all in the Disney family because Disney owns espn and like, it's interesting that they're looking at four people in, in or close to Disney and then him.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

From ea. And I do feel like it feels like C Suite. People kind of just get shuffled around every 12 years, you know?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

And. And I'm always just kind of like, cool, good for you. But like, is this a fit? Because it's like we want to kid ourselves and believe that Disney is, you know, wholesome and good and all about love and Princess Jasmine and what have you, you know. But they're a ruthless business nightmare just like anybody else. And EA is not known for not being evil.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

So, yeah, I don't know. It's probably a perfect fit.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, part of that does come into play there. But yeah, I do think that it. It. What's interesting to me here is thinking about how this would even have started. The relationships between EA and Disney and.

[Isla Hink]

Who met who on which Golf. Golf trip.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, that's a very good question. Maybe it was one of the Tiger woods games. Golf trips. But the Star wars stuff comes to mind because there were the deals Right. Between Star wars games being exclusive with EA for a while, but that didn't go well. So that. That's the most interesting thing about this is like, that not going well. Maybe there was just introductions there and that's kind of how it all started.

[Isla Hink]

But I wouldn't be surprised if he spun that somehow where he was like, listen, I would have done it differently.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

You know, like we, we didn't have total control. We could have, you know, something like that.

[Tim Gettys]

I, I don't think that, that Wilson's going to be the one at the end of the day here. I do.

[Isla Hink]

I would be surprised.

[Tim Gettys]

It's just inconsideration, but a lot can happen. Two years, a lot can happen. And he has been an EA for a very long time. So I do think in terms of tenure, like, I wouldn't be surprised that it's time for him to move on.

[Isla Hink]

So that timing does not surprise me at all.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

That he would be shopping around.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. I mean, man, though, the CEO of EA becoming the leader of Disney, that would be, that would be big.

[Isla Hink]

It would be, yeah. New.

[Tim Gettys]

It'd be very, very, very, very big. Isla. But if I wanted something small. Oh, something so, so small. Where would I look?

[Isla Hink]

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

[Tim Gettys]

That's true for my gn, Fallout, Elder Scrolls and Doom workers have gone on strike in protest at parent company Microsoft. Staff who are members of Zenimax Workers United CWA are on a one day strike to call out Microsoft for an alleged lack of progress at the bargaining table over remote work and for allegedly unilaterally outsourcing quality assurance work without bargaining with the union. Go get them.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, get it.

[Tim Gettys]

GOG preservation program has been announced. It's a new initiative from GOG to maintain games compatibility with modern and Future Systems. Over 100 titles are in the program. Awesome. Love to see that stellar Blades coming to PC in 2025. That's great. I always just love seeing big titles get to more platforms. So.

[Isla Hink]

Big titles.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, big titles. We news everyone. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund PIF reduced its stake in Nintendo again from 7.5% to 6.3% or things interesting or Nintendo. Yeah, I wonder what's up with that. But I mean, hey, it's good news. We don't want that Saudi money. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D Remake Review Roundup is here. Open Critic. Right now it's at 85 on Metacritic. It's at an 82 for the PS5 version. Eurogamer gave it a 3 out of 5 saying some excellent enhancements make this the ultimate version of Dragon Quest 3. But it can still do more to make it wholly welcoming to newcomers. PC gamer gave it 91 saying Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D is welcoming for newcomers. A fan stream and a Truly timeless classic.

[Isla Hink]

I know Huber was out of his mind about it.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah. God, what a beautiful looking thing. Though I'm waiting for Chrono Trigger or Fish. I feel they're inevitable.

[Isla Hink]

Tactics.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah. Well, where is the Tactics rebate?

[Isla Hink]

Where is it?

[Tim Gettys]

Leak more things. What are you about to say, Barrett?

[Barrett Courtney]

I need Chrono Trigger. And yeah, I'd be down for Tactics as well.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. BGC also says the studio behind action platformer Berserk Boy has signed up to Outersloth for its next game, Berserk Bits. The game's now getting bigger in scope and got delayed to 2025. Tequila Works, who made the sexy Brutale Rhyme and Guilt filed for bankruptcy after announcing layoffs in October. That is very unfortunate.

[Isla Hink]

Dang it. I loved the sexy Brutale.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Which one was that?

[Isla Hink]

That's the time loop. It's kind of like top down. Not really Chibi, but like you're like small little, kind of short guys and it's like a time loop in a weird hotel. Very colorful, really cool. It's a great game. Check out the set.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, I think this was 2018.

[Isla Hink]

It's been a minute.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, I was at IGN. I remember Dorn Bush reviewed this and he really loved this.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, this looks cool.

[Isla Hink]

It's. It's really weird and neat.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Dang, I love this game.

[Tim Gettys]

And then PS plus Premium and Extra games have been announced for November. Extra gets GTA 5, Dying Light 2 Like a Dragon, Ishin, MotoGP24, the Sims 4, Island Living, Digimon, Survive, Overcooked, all you can eat, Stick Fight, the Game, Clash, Artifacts of Chaos, Killer Frequency, Hungry Shark World and Chivalry two. Then Premium gets Synapse, Blood Omen, Legacy, A cane, Blood Omen 2, Resistance, Follow man and Resistance 2. And then Locomotive is launching on November 21st for Switch and PC. And that is it for WE News, everyone. Oh, we. I know. It's like, I love that music. It's so good. It's so good. Shout out to Carter Hale by. By the way for making that theme. I. I don't think I've been able to shout him out for that because we were using the actual just Wii Shop channel theme.

[Isla Hink]

Probably want to dodge that.

[Tim Gettys]

When Nintendo launched Nintendo Music, we're like, ah, we gotta be safe.

[Isla Hink]

Did you see on that app? It blew my mind. I never realized it had that many tracks. The Wii Channel Music like playlist had like 63 songs.

[Tim Gettys]

Good for them.

[Isla Hink]

I was like, wow, do that on the Switch too.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Channel Music.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. The Wii Shop or Switch Shop. Like, they're weird sound effects. I'm okay with some of it, but it is very lacking in that specific theme song. But so is the entire world. I feel like every moment deserves to have that. I will never get sick of it.

[Barrett Courtney]

I would love. Because we've talked about themes forever. But Isla, you just like. I would love to like have themes for Switch 2, but then also be able to pick what your like, menu music is.

[Tim Gettys]

Imagine if you could have themes that like, looked like the Wii.

[Isla Hink]

Ugh.

[Tim Gettys]

You know they would have to, right? That would be so sweet. Oh my God. You can't go back that far. Like, Nintendo doesn't really have that big of a legacy of like operating Systems. Right. Like GameCube, that little opening animation, which is sick. Yeah. But God, remember, Even like the PS2, it's like you'd boot it up. It would be like, what were the two options like? Oh man. I think browser was one of them. Which I was like, why such a weird thing to have? Like the first thing you see when you turn on your. I have console in 2000.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. I had the ethernet connector for that thing and I. It did not work.

[Tim Gettys]

Great system configuration, right? Yeah, right. That's so funny.

[Barrett Courtney]

That's fucking awesome.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, no, this looks. I think this is like one level in. Let's find. Yeah, it's that. It's that browser and system configuration.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

God, that's so weird because if you.

[Isla Hink]

Didn'T have a disc in it, it's like, what are you doing?

[Tim Gettys]

What are we doing here?

[Isla Hink]

What do you want me to do?

[Barrett Courtney]

I love the PS1 one though. Look at this.

[Tim Gettys]

The memory card. Yeah, I love it. They each had their own unique, different avatar thing and someone like 3D icons. God.

[Isla Hink]

The Symphony of the Night had like a bunch of different ones.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Oh, so cool, man.

[Barrett Courtney]

Take me back.

[Tim Gettys]

Different time. Let's see. You're wrong here. Tim said gog, so I thought he was talking about something else. But in fact what he meant to say was gog. Is that really right?

[Isla Hink]

They. They did officially change it. I don't remember which way that went. They did officially say. Well, I can't remember if they were like, no, it's gog or no, it's gog. I thought it was gog, cuz they went away from. Yeah, I thought it's the GIF and.

[Barrett Courtney]

GIF thing where Roger likes to say gif because he's an insane person. He's like, oh, the creators is jiff. But like the creator doesn't know they don't know, you know, jif.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. When you put GIF into the world, it becomes ours and it's gif.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yes. When you say gif, I think you're going to get your oil changed or you're talking about peanut butter.

[Isla Hink]

Peanut butter, yeah. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I go straight to peanut butter.

[Isla Hink]

I, I, I had thought that they changed it to GoG because they were kind of stepping away from the good old games branding, but was Good Old Games. That's what it stands for. Good Old Games.

[Barrett Courtney]

Good Old games.

[Isla Hink]

That's what it stood for. Because it's now it doesn't stand for anything, if I'm not mistaken.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like IGN.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. It's just letters.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

All right. BAM 255019 says, can't stay long. Going on a 12 hour flight to Japan. Congrats. That's awesome. I just want to say thank you all for all your hard work and giving us enjoyment and news in a safe place. Well, thank you so much. Enjoy Japan. EJRPG says if you want Chrono Trigger. Did you see Threads of Time? It looks like a love letter to chrono trigger in HD 2D. Oh, no.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah. This might have been a game, silly, that you weren't on. Tim.

[Isla Hink]

Threads of Time.

[Barrett Courtney]

I feel like this was weirdly something that Greg, like, put on our radar and was like, hey, this looks sick as fuck. Let me get into some gameplay here, yo.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah. Wow. Yeah. Dinosaur dinos. Yeah. Oh, that's cool lighting.

[Isla Hink]

This looks really good.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, this feels like a combo of Chrono Trigger and Sea of Stars that I need also Tim Placey of Stars.

[Isla Hink]

Is it good?

[Barrett Courtney]

It's so good.

[Tim Gettys]

That was like, whoa, that is sick.

[Barrett Courtney]

That was a top three for me last year.

[Tim Gettys]

Question mark.

[Barrett Courtney]

Two years.

[Isla Hink]

Nice.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, my God. Wait, this looks really, really cool.

[Isla Hink]

Really cool. The combination of the animated effects and the, and the pixel stuff is really cool.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

I love, like late 90s animated cutscene cutscenes like this.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Wow. Check this out. Threads of Time, y'all. Oh, man, that reflection, man, this is very, very cool.

[Isla Hink]

She seems nice.

[Tim Gettys]

What's the next game you're excited for? Isla?

[Isla Hink]

Probably Monster Hunter Wilds. Anytime anyone asked me this question, I forget all video games.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I get it.

[Isla Hink]

So now I'm like, yeah, I'm in.

[Tim Gettys]

A weird place where I guess Indy's next. But after the preview that I did, I'm not like, itching for it in the same way it used to be.

[Isla Hink]

Everyone's kind of reaction to it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Whether they've previewed it or just seen it, they're kind of like, yeah, I'm sure it'll be cool.

[Tim Gettys]

And it's not bad. It's definitely not bad. It's just. I was hyped for it, I had high expectations, and now I'm just like, I don't know. It's going to hit that for me personally. I do think it's going to be for a lot of people.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Very, very their.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

But, yeah, otherwise I. I'm just like, looking at December and I'm feeling like there's nothing for me, which is fine, though. There's such a great backlog and I'm still working through metaphor Bear. It's not going well, man. I'm just like, like, it's just like there. Baby steps, Baby steps. And I feel like I'm making no progress at all. But I'm still loving it. Still. Absolutely.

[Barrett Courtney]

Like in a. I mean, I'm still.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm in the first dungeon. No, no, no. I'm past that. I'm the. In the first town. Second town, I guess. Okay, but first town you go to.

[Barrett Courtney]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Past the.

[Barrett Courtney]

What? Seems people are being kidnapped, essentially.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Barrett Courtney]

Okay. All right.

[Tim Gettys]

So, yeah.

[Barrett Courtney]

But I'm proud of you for making it this far.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Chat reminded me of. Sorry, we're closed, which I'm very excited about. Comes out very soon. It's like a. It's like gay Silent Hill.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay.

[Isla Hink]

Kind of retro vibes. Kind of like retro neon, you know? Yeah. It's got like the PS1, PS2 graphic style, but, like, really flashy and very queer, which I'm super into. Recently finished Fear of the Spotlight, which I adored. And then I started playing 1000. I don't know if it's 1000 times resist or 1000x resist, but there it's all about into that. So far, I've played like four hours of it and I'm loving it.

[Barrett Courtney]

I think it's the best story in a video game this year.

[Isla Hink]

Yeah, I'm, like, shocked. It kind of like went under the radar for me. And then I had heard of it, you know, and I hadn't heard of.

[Barrett Courtney]

It until reviews had dropped, which I think it was like, the same day the game came out. But, yeah, that game is awesome. It's all made by people who've never played or made video games before. They were all, like, artists who live in Canada who, when, like, lockdown happened, they're like, well, we can't do our practices because we're stuck at home. Let's make a video game together. And you can like, really feel that.

[Isla Hink]

Yes.

[Barrett Courtney]

Throughout the game. It's so good.

[Isla Hink]

It definitely feels like. Yeah, like real artsy, installation y, but really playable and good. I don't know. It's really cool.

[Tim Gettys]

Cool. Have you played Crow Country?

[Isla Hink]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

Okay, Doug. Crow Country. A lot.

[Tim Gettys]

A lot of the games are saying. I was like, I feel like you.

[Isla Hink]

Need to dig that. I know some people are kind of tired of it. It is getting pretty oversaturated. But I love that kind of like retro. It always feels like, because people say PS1 retro. To me, it's always kind of like, you know, obviously a modern combo of PS1, PS2 kind of vibes because, like, there's stuff that they're doing that the PS1 just couldn't do.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Isla Hink]

But yeah, Crow country was sick. Lorelei and the laser eyes, like, oh, this. This year's actually had a lot of really good indies. Like, really good freaky, weird indie puzzles and horror games. Yeah, I know. There are more games I'm excited for, but I can't remember them right now.

[Tim Gettys]

That's totally fine.

[Isla Hink]

I left my phone in the other room.

[Tim Gettys]

Totally fine. Isla, thank you so much for joining us here today on Kind of Funny Games Daily. Where could people find you, support you, all of that good stuff?

[Isla Hink]

Yeah. I recently, like, most of us, am focusing more on Blue sky and Instagram. On Blue Sky's Isla Hink and on Instagram, it's. I think that's where I can be found. Otherwise, we're on Easy Allies. We do streams and podcasts and chilling and hanging out and, yeah, all the good stuff.

[Tim Gettys]

We know y'all love that. You'll love Easy Allies as well. Thank you for hanging out with us. Like I was saying, you're about to see the kind of funny games cast. That is our review of LEGO Horizon Adventures. And until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you. Now we shake hands.

[Isla Hink]

Oh, good.