Kinda Funny Games Daily — Episode Summary
Episode Title: Xbox Console Prices Are Going Up in the U.S. AGAIN
Date: September 22, 2025
Hosts: Blessing Adeoye Jr, Tim Gettys, + guest interjections
Episode Overview
The Kinda Funny crew dives into a huge day of gaming news, headlined by a controversial second round of Xbox console price hikes in the U.S. The hosts dissect the economic and industry impact, review the newly released Silent Hill F, discuss canceled Xbox games, and banter about their personal gaming and media weekends. Listeners also get candid commentary on gaming industry trends, from console pricing to the resurgence of classic horror IPs.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Xbox Console Prices Going Up Again in the U.S.
- Source: [Rebecca Valentine, IGN]
- Xbox announced a second price increase for its consoles effective October 3, 2025:
- Series S 512GB: $400 (+$20)
- Series S 1TB: $450 (+$20)
- Series X Digital: $600 (+$50)
- Series X: $650 (+$50)
- Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: $800 (+$70)
- The increases are blamed on “changes in the macroeconomic environment,” namely tariffs.
- No changes for controllers, headsets, or outside the U.S.
Tim (12:18):
“This is rough. Like, it sucks. We know why this is happening and that reason sucks ... These numbers are insane. Prohibitively expensive for a console that already wasn't selling ... Who in their right minds in 2025 is buying an Xbox Series X for $600?”
Blessing (14:37):
“For me that's the line. ... Seeing that at $400? No, absolutely not.”
- Implications:
- Potential for inventory to sit unsold.
- Xbox’s ecosystem push (cloud, play anywhere) will likely intensify.
- Old hardware cycles saw prices drop over time; currently, five years post-launch, prices are higher than ever.
2. Silent Hill F Reviews Roundup
- Review Aggregates:
- Metacritic: 85
- OpenCritic: 87
- Critical Takeaways:
- GamesRadar: “Every part of Silent Hill F is a piece of a jigsaw... Horror highs raise the bar for the genre... But uneven combat encounter design threatens to pull me out of it.”
- PC Gamer: “A true return to form ... Brave enough to take risks ... groundwork for the future.”
- GameSpot: “Not just a return to form, it's a remarkable evolution ... new benchmark.”
- IGN: “Fresh setting and fascinatingly dark story ... but melee-focused combat doesn’t quite land.”
Tim (23:41):
“This is really, really great that we are seeing a new entry in a Konami franchise review well ... This was not a foregone conclusion ... Now that we're on the other side, it's like, hey, they kind of did the damn thing.”
Blessing (25:15):
“This makes me so happy for Silent Hill fans... seeing that Silent Hill is back makes me want to jump on that train.”
- Silent Hill F is seen as both a return to form and an innovative step forward for the franchise, echoing Resident Evil’s recent rebirth.
3. Personal Gaming & Media Banter
Magic: Spider-Man Set Pre-Release:
- Blessing and SnowBikeMike attended a Magic: The Gathering pre-release, played the new Spider-Man set.
- Community Reactions:
- Some pushback on “crossover fatigue” among longtime Magic players.
- Blessing: “I fucking love this set.” (01:30)
- Complaints in community mostly about set size and abundance of different Spider-Men.
Weekend Watch:
- Blessing saw the new Kanye (Ye) documentary—found it stressful and emotionally heavy, not a polished work.
- Tim saw Stephen King’s The Long Walk—described as “very stressful and not a fun watch by any means,” extremely violent.
TV Shows Discussed:
- King of the Hill revival (“won over even animation skeptics”), Futurama’s return, Gen V, and Peacemaker’s new seasons.
4. Canceled Perfect Dark – Art and Gameplay Leaks
Details (41:27):
- Documentation and concept art from Xbox’s internally canceled Perfect Dark reboot surfaced.
- Game would have featured:
- “Adrenaline system” (finite resource for healing, boosting, etc.)
- “Relentless” and “reward” systems
- Episodic/seasonal structure hinted.
- Tim: “It’s sad that games this big can be canceled ... Never really had faith Perfect Dark was going to be the one.”
- Blessing: Doubts about the viability of an episodic/seasonal model for this IP, wishes for a noclip-style deep-dive documentary on what went wrong.
5. Industry Advocacy: Pixels to Policy Campaign
- Video Games Europe and EGDF launched a campaign to explain the industry to non-gamers, especially policymakers. (45:00)
- Interactive, approachable website is segmented into “levels” like a game.
- Focus is on facts, diversity in games/jobs, player base, and consumer protections.
- Both hosts agree that this is necessary, given the current political and legislative climate.
6. Nintendo Customer Support Mass Outsourcing
- Sourced from Rebecca Valentine, IGN.
- Nintendo of America is outsourcing customer support to South America, impacting hundreds of jobs.
- Fears over language barriers, quality, and timing close to Switch 2’s first holiday season.
7. Quick Hit News & Notable Mentions (“Wee News”)
- Unyielder: Roguelite FPS launching via Shueisha Games.
- Skate: 2 million players in first day (Cameron Kennedy cited).
- Daft Punk: “Experience” coming to Fortnite on Sept 27 at 11am PT.
- Zelda II OST: Now on Nintendo Music (“Best thing about one of the least good Zelda games,” per Tim (52:51)).
- Arc Raiders: Server Slam open test Oct 17-19.
- Insert Coin: Sent Blessing a Doom Slayer jacket.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Xbox prices and industry economics:
- Tim (12:18): “It just sucks... Everyone’s hardware is being affected. It’s just the hardware being affected, I think, affects Xbox more than it affects others because they already had trouble selling this stuff. And this is all bad news.”
- Blessing (16:35): “I also expect this to increase the marketing for, hey, play anywhere... this shit’s gonna be sitting on shelves already. Xboxes were sitting on shelves...”
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On Silent Hill F’s tonal achievement:
- “Silent Hill F is not just a return to form, it's a remarkable evolution in a visual spectacle, a mastercraft in psychological horror, a work of narrative brilliance and a new benchmark for the Silent Hill series.” — Jessica Cogswell, Gamespot (Read by Blessing, 22:26)
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On too many must-play games in 2025:
- Tim (29:00): “We can't all just play all the games that we want to play whenever we want to play them. Because then we're never going to be able to sit down and have a conversation about one game.”
- Blessing (30:04): “If I can create more time in the day, trust me, I’d be playing more video games.”
Gaming Industry & Community Vibes — Ongoing Trends
- Console pricing and hardware economics: Everyone expected prices to trend down on older hardware; the fact that they are climbing is shocking, especially five years into the cycle.
- Diversity of games in 2025: The team agrees 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most diverse, surprising “Game of the Year” slates ever, with no obvious triple-A favorite and tons of weird, creative titles in contention.
- Industry adaptability: Companies like Xbox may be forced to lean even more on services, streaming, and platform ecosystems as hardware sales stagnate.
- Cross-media resonance: Discussions about Magic: The Gathering, TV revivals, and anime emphasize how interconnected the geek culture landscape is in 2025.
- Candid community talk: Back-and-forth about team “brands” (e.g., Blessing’s laptop stickers), Halloween plans, and internal polling on podcast duos underline KF’s community spirit.
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00–07:00: Opening banter (Magic: The Gathering, anime, Magic pre-release stories)
- 12:00–18:00: Xbox console price hike deep dive
- 23:40–27:50: Silent Hill F review roundup and analysis
- 41:20–43:00: Perfect Dark canceled project leak and reactions
- 45:00–48:30: Pixels to Policy campaign / Industry-government relations
- 49:40–52:00: Wee News rapid-fire (Unyielder, Skate stats, Daft Punk, Zelda II OST, more)
- 52:57–55:00: Community shout-outs, discussion of best podcast duos, Halloween plans
Summary Takeaways
- Xbox’s double price hike in one year is getting universally panned—even by hardcore Xbox fans—and poses real risk to their hardware business.
- Silent Hill F marks a triumphant, risky return for an iconic horror franchise, providing a new entry point for both fans and newcomers.
- The gaming industry’s transition to ecosystems, as well as the variety and quality of new releases, is forcing even gaming journalists to make tough choices about what to play—an embarrassment of riches, perhaps, but a challenge for coverage.
- Industry lobbying and advocacy are ramping up, with organizations keen to preempt negative scrutiny and policymaking via accurate, gamified information campaigns.
- Community interaction, nostalgia, and a sense of connectedness run through the show, making light of sticker choices and team-up favorites, and reflecting the broader social fabric of gaming in 2025.