Our Big Predictions for Video Games in 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Besties Episode - "Our Big Predictions for Video Games in 2025"

Release Date: January 3, 2025

Hosts:

• Christopher Thomas Plant
• Russ Fresh

---

I. Introduction and Casual Chat (00:00 – 03:27)

The episode opens with Christopher and Russ engaging in a lighthearted conversation about Christopher’s Christmas gift: the Vanillaware Go, a new handheld console dedicated exclusively to Vanillaware's lineup of games. Christopher enthusiastically describes titles like Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Odin Sphere, and Grimoire, highlighting their iconic status and his excitement to finally play them fully on the new device.

Notable Quotes:

• Christopher: “This is actually true. These are a lot of games I've owned but never fully played. Gra. Knight's History. I mean, the list goes on.” (00:41)
• Russ: “So universally beloved that you've long had physical copies of all of these games and now you're finally getting the opportunity to play them.” (00:48)

II. Transition to Main Topic: Predictions for 2025 (03:03 – 04:56)

After their initial discussion, Christopher formally introduces the podcast’s theme: reviewing predictions for 2025 while reflecting on their prior predictions from 2024. They acknowledge the absence of Justin and Griffin McElroy, attributing it humorously to needing a "holiday break." This segment sets the stage for an engaging analysis of their forecasting accuracy and upcoming predictions.

Notable Quotes:

• Christopher: “We rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?” (03:03)
• Russ: “This is a chance for you to hear what's been going on behind that wall...” (04:09)

III. Reviewing 2024 Predictions (04:56 – 17:15)

The hosts delve into their 2024 predictions, assessing which ones stood the test of time. They discuss various forecasts, evaluating their accuracy based on developments over the past year.

Key Discussions:

1. Borderlands Movie Reception:

   • Prediction: The Borderlands movie would receive poor reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and spark criticism over Hollywood's rush to adapt video games.
   • Outcome: Confirmed accurate with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 10%. Multiple outlets, including Time Magazine and TechRadar, echoed the sentiment, criticizing the adaptation.

   Quote:

   • Russ: “The score for the Borderlands movie right now sits at 10% cool. Which I believe is rotten.” (09:07)

2. Fortnite's New Standalone Mode:

   • Prediction: Fortnite would release a new standalone mode similar to Lego Rocket Racing or Fortnite Festival.
   • Outcome: Achieved with the release of Ballistic, a 5v5 first-person shooter distinct from Fortnite’s traditional gameplay, developed internally by Epic Games.

   Quote:

   • Russ: “Ballistic is effectively an answer to games like Counter Strike or Valorant.” (10:18)

3. Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remake:

   • Prediction: An Oblivion remake would be announced and released within the year.
   • Outcome: Still pending, with rumors suggesting a potential announcement and release timeline.

4. Nintendo Switch 2 and Iconic IPs:

   • Prediction: The Nintendo Switch 2 would launch within the first three months of 2024 with another iconic IP besides Metroid.
   • Outcome: Adjusted by the hosts due to delays and rebranding, leading to a loss in prediction accuracy.

5. Hades 2 Horde Mode:

   • Prediction: Hades 2 would introduce a horde mode, shifting from the traditional room-by-room gameplay to wave-based challenges.
   • Outcome: Not yet confirmed, leaving this prediction in limbo.

Insights: The hosts emphasize the importance of language in making accurate predictions, as noted by Russ:

“Language is very important. And part of this, as established by the triple click podcast, language is in the way that, you know, we all know the Supreme Court considers language very importantly and never gets anything wrong.” (16:54)

IV. Crafting Predictions for 2025 (17:15 – 43:19)

Transitioning from past evaluations, Christopher and Russ outline their methodology for drafting new predictions. They set rules to ensure fairness and challenge, avoiding easy picks and focusing on significant, impactful forecasts.

Process:

• Selection Pool: A comprehensive list of potential predictions.
• Drafting Mechanism: Each host selects five predictions, alternating picks to balance influence.
• Final Tally: Assessing which host’s predictions come to fruition.

Notable Interaction: Christopher humorously reflects on his previous prediction loss:

"Language is very important. And part of this, as established by the triple click podcast, language is in the way that, you know, we all know the Supreme Court considers language very importantly and never gets anything wrong.” (16:54)

V. Presenting and Drafting 2025 Predictions (43:19 – 51:45)

The hosts present their 2025 predictions, each selecting five from the drafted list. They engage in detailed discussions about the plausibility and implications of each forecast.

Selected Predictions:

1. Christopher:

   • Mafia The Old Country Release: Anticipates the new Mafia installment release in mid-2025, delaying GTA 6 to 2026 to avoid market saturation.
   • Death Stranding Metacritic Score: Predicts Death Stranding will surpass an 85 Metacritic score with positive coverage from major outlets like The New York Times.
   • AAA Game of the Year: Forecasts a high-budget AAA title will win Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
   • Valve Hardware Release: Believes Valve will introduce two new hardware pieces, expanding the Steam Deck line.
   • Nintendo Switch 2 with Iconic IP: Expects the Switch 2 to launch post-June 2025 with a new Mario or Mario Kart title.

   Notable Quote:

   • Christopher: “I think that’s a chance for you to split your bet too. If you do this, then you pick the Switch two option.” (30:50)

2. Russ:

   • Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remake: Predicts the announcement and release of an Oblivion remake within 2025.
   • Samus Speaking Time in Metroid Prime 4: Foresees reduced vocal presence for Samus compared to Metroid Dread.
   • Ubisoft Hostile Takeover: Speculates that Ubisoft will announce intentions for a sale, acquisition, or merger.
   • New Nier Entry Announcement: Anticipates a new Nier title being officially announced for major consoles.
   • Public Reference to Switch 2 Analog Stick Durability: Expects Nintendo to address analog stick durability issues in official communications.

   Notable Quote:

   • Russ: “Language is very important...never gets anything wrong.” (16:54)

Engaging Dialogue: The hosts engage in back-and-forth banter, debating the likelihood of each prediction and refining them based on recent industry trends and insider info.

Notable Exchanges:

• On the Ubisoft Hostile Takeover prediction:

  Russ: “Is there breaking news?”
  Christopher: “No, but I think it feels safe to say...” (35:43)

• On Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Timing:

  Russ: “Needs to come out before June 15th.”
  Christopher: “Okay, let's do that. Nintendo Switch isn't released until after June 15th...” (49:12)

VI. Finalizing Predictions and Draft (51:45 – 57:00)

After selecting their top five predictions each, the hosts finalize their draft. They express optimism about the accuracy of their forecasts, acknowledging the inherent uncertainty in the gaming industry's fast-paced environment.

Key Points:

• Valve’s SteamOS Expansion: Russ believes Valve might release new hardware with native SteamOS support, citing the ecosystem's potential profitability.
• Nvidia’s Government Hearing: Christopher is intrigued by the possibility of Nvidia being compelled to participate in AI-related government hearings, reflecting on the broader implications of AI in gaming.
• Nintendo’s Address of Switch 2 Issues: Both hosts agree that Nintendo addressing hardware durability publicly is a likely scenario to mitigate potential backlash.

Conclusion and Future Content: The episode wraps up with acknowledgments to Patreon supporters and teasers for upcoming episodes, including a special guest segment and a deep dive into the best open-world games.

Notable Closing Remarks:

• Russ: “We have some patrons from the Patreon, if you will. We have Verum, we have Connor, we have Logan, and we have Damodanko. Thank you for being patrons of the Besties.” (54:34)
• Christopher: “Next week we are doing the most anticipated games of 2025 with the whole gang...” (55:32)

---

VII. Key Takeaways and Insights

• Accuracy in Predictions: The hosts demonstrate a commitment to refining their prediction-making process, emphasizing fairness and the importance of precise language.

• Industry Awareness: Christopher and Russ exhibit deep knowledge of the gaming industry, discussing potential acquisitions, game releases, and hardware innovations with informed perspectives.

• Engaging Presentation: The conversation flows naturally, balancing technical discussions with humor and personal anecdotes, making the content accessible and entertaining for both avid gamers and casual listeners.

• Community Involvement: By acknowledging Patreon supporters and teasing future content, the hosts foster a sense of community and anticipation among their audience.

Final Notable Quote:

• Christopher: “We do pretty okay. I think we did better than we've done previously, if I recall correctly.” (17:15)

---

This episode of The Besties offers an insightful and entertaining exploration into the future of the video game industry, blending accurate retrospectives with bold forecasts. Whether you're a gaming enthusiast or simply curious about what's next, Christopher and Russ provide a compelling narrative that keeps listeners engaged and informed.

Transcript

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So for Christmas, I got the hot new video game handheld console.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, yeah?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. I got the Vanillaware Go. Have you heard about this one? It's pretty. No, yeah, the Vanillaware Go. So the. The basic idea is it's this like, amazing, beautiful handheld that it. It only plays all of Vanillaware's games except, like the most recent one. So.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, sure. So it's. So it's only for adults as well.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. You shouldn't play it in public also. I should mention that, but Muramasa, the Demon Blade, Odin Sphere, Grimoire, you know, these like kind of iconic, universally beloved games.

[Russ Fresh]

So universally beloved that you've long had physical copies of all of these games and now you're finally getting the opportunity to play them.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

This is actually true. These are a lot of games I've owned but never fully played. Gra. Knight's History. I mean, the list goes on. And by goes on, I mean, I think there's maybe one more. Yeah. And it's just so great for the dozens of us out here. The weird thing about it, though is it does play Dynamite Dica, a die hard arcade, inexplicably and effectively like every other video game released before the PlayStation 3.

[Russ Fresh]

That does seem weird.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I don't know why they branded it like this.

[Russ Fresh]

Right. It does seem weird to brand it specifically, like, Vanillaware.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. And the weird thing is it came in a box that I had wrapped in paper myself and scrawled Vanillaware Go.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But then when you tore off that, it said retroid pocket 5 underneath it. And that looked like it was like somebody had actually, like, put some real work into it.

[Russ Fresh]

But there was a busty lady on the box.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, I had drawn that.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'd also draw, because I want to be fair here, Mini Busty Min just absolutely shredded beefcakes.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm starting to think that I might have been in a fugue state. And it was kind of like, you.

[Russ Fresh]

Know, I mean, this is Chris playing autopilot. He just ends up with a bunch of Vanilla Wear games. I think that.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Right. Like, I went to sleep and then kind of like my own Santa Claus, I cobbled together the system of my dreams. I woke up the next morning covered in cookie dust and.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, good, I'm glad it was cookie dust.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, yeah. And, yeah. So anyway, that was my Christmas. How was yours? How was your Hanukkah?

[Russ Fresh]

Great. Cool.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Let's talk about video. My name is Christopher Thomas Plant, and I know the best game of the week.

[Russ Fresh]

My name is Russ Fresh and I know the Best game of the week.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Welcome to the Besties, where the world's best friends pick the world's best games. This week we are talking about our predictions for 2025, and looking back on our predictions from 2024, which is a tradition amongst Froshtik and I, you might have noticed by now There are two McElroys who are not here.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, they both died.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

They both needed a holiday break, which is understandable.

[Russ Fresh]

Is that what it is?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That's what it is. Which it feels like to not have them around. It feels like this giant gaping hole in our heart. That is sad. But I am so excited to be able to continue this tradition which we've been doing for a few years now.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, it's a nice tradition. And it's also nice because we originally were gonna put this episode, this predictions episode, behind the paywall for the rest of these folks. But because Justin and Griffin were not here, and because it's the first episode of the year, we thought where better to put it? Y'all had a bonus episode from our bracket episodes and now we have a, I guess another almost Patreon bonus. Although there will be also a Patreon Resties coming to you shortly as well. So you're getting both.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

This is a chance for you to hear what's been going on behind that wall and be like, you know what, I want to go see more of that stuff. Or you might be like, you know what? If I have to hear Plant talk about Vanillaware games one more time, I need to go back to the normal main feed. And you know what? Either one's cool. I'm cool with it either way. For people who are unfamiliar with this, just real quick, we'll do the rules and then we'll take a break. The way this works is we go through a list of predictions that we've made, kind of a pool of predictions, and then we draft them. That's our current standard of them. We pick five each and. And then we reflect back on them to see who had the most success. I think this is going to be a contentious episode and I can't wait. So let's throw it to the break and we'll be right back.

[Russ Fresh]

Awesome.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Hoo boy.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay, so the first half of this episode is gonna be dealing with the predictions from last year to determine who got more right correct. And I'm very excited. Cause I think because of the new drafting format, it did result in more POS answers than previously. And I'm very excited to see which you consider to be Right answers versus wrong answers. But should we just like list out the ones that we got right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Let's dig into all of the predictions.

[Russ Fresh]

And see what we got right and wrong.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

How about, how about we just go through the predictions? Top item real quick. Okay, we'll go, we'll go back and forth between mine and yours.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. My first one, we haven't even heard the name of 2024's game of the year yet. And this prediction is made in January 2024.

[Russ Fresh]

Correct yours. My first prediction was the Borderlands movie will have a rotten on Rotten Tomatoes and at least one outlet will question Hollywood's rush to adapt video games.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay. Next one I have is Bobby Kotick has a new executive job before the end of the year.

[Russ Fresh]

Next one I have is how handheld not made by Valve will launch with native Steam OS support.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I've got Switch goes for two. Nintendo Switch has at least one other iconic IP in its first three months, not including Metroid.

[Russ Fresh]

And to be clear, you were Talking about the Switch 2 when you were talking about that or are you gonna make this?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, no, I'm not gonna. I was talking about the Switch 2. Yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay. My next prediction was Fortnite will drop one more standalone mode akin to Lego Rocket Racing or Fortnite Festival before the end of the year. Developed by Epic or a studio that Epic owns. It can't be a one off experience like the Alan Wake thing that they did.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, next up I've got one of the five major Japanese publishers will be Capcom, Square Enix, Konami Bandai, Namco, Sega. This is tricky because some of these have huge parent companies and recently we haven't seen big consolidation amongst Japanese studios.

[Russ Fresh]

Mine is Nintendo will make some public reference to the durability of the switch 2 analog sticks in either marketing materials or an official press release. An interview does not count.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And last one for me, Hades 2 will have a horde mode. That is instead of going room to room, you have to survive against waves a la Vampire Survivors or like traditional horde modes.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, and my last one is Hollow Knight. Silksong will come out and let you play as a character other than Hornet. And this character has to be really playable and not like a rideable Hornet. Not like a rideable Hornet cannot be near the other playable character. This is only because we had some fun last year about the Zelda prediction where I tried to make a case for a giant robot that you ride being a separate character. Anyway, it doesn't matter because fucking so telling didn't come after.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So some Things you should know as we go through this and actually see if we nailed these is we actually set out to make these more difficult. I remember.

[Russ Fresh]

No, I don't think so.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No. So we let each other draft, which was to create a sense of fairness where, like, neither of us was able to let us kind of set up easy ones for ourselves. But we do push on these to be, like, challenging. We don't set the. I don't think we. Like, we could pretty easily pick 10 predictions.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, yeah, sure. That is true. I do want it to be a bit of an X factor.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes, yes. And it can't be stuff we already know, et cetera, et cetera. So, okay, so let's go through this from the top. What are the ones that you think you got?

[Russ Fresh]

Sure. So the two that I got were the Borderlands movie being rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, and at least one outlet questioning Hollywood's rush to adapt video games. And the other one that I got right was Fortnite will drop one more standalone mode akin to Lego Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival by the end of the year. Developed by Epic. It's that reserve.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, so tell me about the Borderlands one first. What? Obviously it's rotten unrotten tomatoes. No question.

[Russ Fresh]

Do we need to check the score? I haven't seen it in a little while.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

We don't need to check the score.

[Russ Fresh]

I'm gonna check it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, great.

[Russ Fresh]

So the score for the Rotten Tomatoes movie. I'm sorry, the score for the Borderlands movie right now sits at 10% cool. Which I believe is rotten.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Unquestionedly rotten.

[Russ Fresh]

Tears of rotten that have not yet been seen. So the really second part of this is really just having an outlet talking about the rush to adapt video games. I have a few links here. The first one comes from Time magazine. This is like. This is an article called Borderlands is a video game movie made for absolutely no one. The quote is right. As Hollywood has started to learn how to successfully adapt videos from the screen, Borderlands arrives as a reminder on how not to do it. I have another link. This comes from Screencraft. I'll just give you the article title, why video game adaptations may work better as TV. And the last one is from TechRadar. Borderlands is proof that the era of video game adaptations is officially over. Good. Video game adaptations officially over.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, that last one feels like it nails it.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

The first two back and forth.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay, okay. Okay. And then walk me through the Fortnite one.

[Russ Fresh]

Sure. So Fortnite, as of just a couple weeks Ago released a mode called Ballistic. Ballistic is.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

What did you think I was gonna say?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I had no idea this was the one. I was like, what are you talking about? I was too busy thinking about ip. I was thinking like, no Disney thing came out. No big IP thing came out. But you're right. Tell. Tell the listeners what Ballistic is for people.

[Russ Fresh]

Ballistic is effectively an answer to games like Counter Strike or valorant. It's a 5v5 first person shooter set, you know, with Fortnite characters in the Fortnite universe. But like, the gameplay is following the model of Counter Strike. It really plays nothing like Fortnite and internally developed and released, I think it basically checks all those boxes.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay. I think that's definite that you got those two. I think that makes perfect sense. Okay, so mine, I have. We haven't heard the name of 2024's game of the Year yet. The case for this being that I said that Game most publications award Game of the Year has yet to be formally announced or if it is public, it's not from an existing franchise. There are two games that I think would need to actually pass this test, and that is Balatro, which I think is like an easy pass. And then I think the other one is Astrobot, which is also passes.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, Astrobot is actually not even a question. There was a post, I think, on reset error. I'm doing your research for you. That collated all the major publications and their pick for Game of the Year. And Astrobot was the leader by a mile. It was. It had a dramatically more picks than any other game in the list.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, I've wanted to favor the Polygon Game of the Year too.

[Russ Fresh]

You know, that's nice.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I got to do what I can.

[Russ Fresh]

No, I appreciate it. I would have pushed back if you said Bellagio. I would have pushed back.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Here's the tricky one, and I'm curious where we land on this.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

One of the five major Japanese publishers will be acquired. And I'll read the entire blurb. Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, Bandai Namco, Sega. Then I said, this is tricky because some of these have huge parent companies. Recently haven't seen big consolidation amongst Japanese studios. The company, the parent company that owns Elden Ring maker From Software, is in the process of acquisition with Sony, which is a massive, massive, massive company. The tricky part is that From Software is not technically owned by Bandai Namco, but it is owned by a company that is bigger than Bandai Namco. And that's where I feel. I think it's like if we're going by the sanctity of what we meant when we said it, I don't think I was like, oh, somebody's got to go buy up Pac Man. I think what the clear intention there is. Somebody's got to buy up from software. I'm Van Dynam Co.

[Russ Fresh]

I would agree with you if you said that someone buys fromsoftware. And honestly, even if you had said that, I would push back because no one has bought fromsoftware at this point. They're just talking about it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, no, no, no. There's a letter of intention for the acquisition. We could never say buy within the calendar year because what happens in any acquisition process is the letter of intention of acquisition.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, let's look at the language. Let's look at the language, see what it look. One of the five major. One of the five major Japanese publishers will be acquired.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No. Okay. You know, just as well as I.

[Russ Fresh]

Mentioned of acquisition, if you want to. I'm. I think there's just no scenario where, like I'm giving you credit for someone buying Bandai Namco because another company mentioned that they're intending to acquire from software and they. And Sony is like considering the acquisition. That's. Those are. There's like a mile between those two.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think we should put it up to the listeners.

[Russ Fresh]

We can put it up to the listeners.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm prepared to lose at the hands of the listeners.

[Russ Fresh]

I'm fine. I pesky mofo last year with the Zelda thing and the. And the Yoshi thing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Do I expect to lose? Yes.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But do I think I am still, you know, in the heart? Right. I think the intention of it is pretty clearly right, which is like one of the, if not the biggest.

[Russ Fresh]

I don't even think. Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't think Sony's the one that would acquire it. Is that right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

I don't think they've officially said that they're going to move forward with it. I think they've just said that they're considering the acquisition. But tell me if that's incorrect.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I don't think that's correct. Also. You would never say that. You would never. Unless you. You would never publicly say that you are going to acquire something.

[Russ Fresh]

I mean, there might be like a formal business step Anyway.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. In IGN the 20th of November. Yeah. It's intense.

[Russ Fresh]

You can put your evidence in the thing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

My evidence is simple. The words from software were never uttered in this prediction. So that's really? What?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It. Yeah, it's.

[Russ Fresh]

If you guys want to give Chris Plant a pity quarter point, I'm fine with that.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Quarter point. Full point. I have a feeling.

[Russ Fresh]

Crazy to get a full point.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I have a feeling I will lose. So what if I lose? What? What am I going to get? What? What. What did we agree on for the.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, we did the art last year. I thought that was a nice thing. What did you think? You remember when you.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I liked it. So I would need to. I think I would need to find you a piece of kind of like a waifu pillow.

[Russ Fresh]

Is that what you're looking for? I got you a very respectable, near nonsense thing for the wall that you could actually hang up and not be embarrassed.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You did.

[Russ Fresh]

It was surprisingly difficult.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Was it surprising?

[Russ Fresh]

No, it wasn't surprising.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You know what, I'm just gonna say I lost cause I don't want to tie. That doesn't sound good. And also, you're right by the letter of the. This is a good lesson for me about how I come up with my answers moving forward. Yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

Language is very important. And part of this, as established by the triple click podcast, language is in the way that, you know, we all know the Supreme Court considers language very importantly and never gets anything wrong.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That's so true. I do like to think that we are better at this than the Supreme Court.

[Russ Fresh]

I think that's a fair assessment.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay. So I'm going to find you a gift and I'm going to be seeing you in person in only a couple weeks. I'm going to maybe do it that quickly. We'll see. We'll see.

[Russ Fresh]

That'd be exciting.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. I feel good about this. You know what? We actually did pretty okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I think we did better than we've done previously, if I recall correctly. In previous years, we've gotten like one and maybe one and a half. Right? If that.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Well. And what I feel good about this with is like the stuff we didn't get is kind of still in play for the most.

[Russ Fresh]

I kind of. I brought some of these. I don't know if that's fair, but I have them in the draft. I added some of the ones that I didn't get this year because I do think they are going to happen and we maybe just got the timing wrong.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Yeah. Some other stuff that we had from last year that we ended up not going with, we had. Xbox will show its hand. We will see gameplay from at least two of these five borderline Vaporware games. Everwild contraband, Perfect Dark Avowed south of Midnight. If either of us had taken that, they would have gotten it.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Silent Hill will be relevant again. Either Silent Hill 2 or the new Silent Hill release will score above 80 on Metacritic. We would have gotten that one. Right. But then there's some ones that we would not have gotten. Right. Control of Remedy, Epic, Sony or Microsoft will acquire Remedy. They actually went the other direction.

[Russ Fresh]

Right.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Remedy has really begun to, like, set its independence.

[Russ Fresh]

They're securing their IP and doing their own.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. YouTube interest the gaming space. YouTube ads, games. People can publish games directly onto YouTube. Didn't see that.

[Russ Fresh]

I think there is an interactive, like, YouTube gaming thing. I remember seeing it, but I didn't look directly into it because we didn't pick that one.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, that would have been a reach, I think, even if either of us had done this. And then return of the classic. Three franchises that haven't had a mainline entry in at least five years will return. Their publishers will announce new titles. So this excludes games already announced like Metroid and Prince of Persia. This, I think, is a perfect pick for 2025. I think this is like, the future. I think everybody's gonna try to do the Nintendo model if they have a deep pool of classic ip. Sega's already there. Right. Sega's really rushing to bring back a lot of its popular franchises.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. Top of my head. Also, like, things like Fable.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes, that. But I think we'll also, in 2025, see stuff like new Castlevania announced, New Metal Gear announced. I would not be surprised at all. It also sounds like predictions Pac man and Dig Dug. I mean, I just feel like old IPs are coming back in a big way.

[Russ Fresh]

Is Sony going to allow Pac man and Dig Dug to come out after they buy Bandai Namco?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, you're getting your art. You're getting your art. And every little joke you make is one step closer to your waifu pillow.

[Russ Fresh]

Understood? Understood.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's gonna be great. Okay, this is good. You wanna go to the meet and talk about our predictions for 2025?

[Russ Fresh]

Let's do it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Cool. Okay, we are back. And here is the meat. Here is the good stuff, the fresh stuff. The what is in the future, we are looking into our crystal ball and telling you exactly what to expect for the months ahead. You might be saying, but you only got a third right on the last segment. Hey, a third. That's pretty damn good. I'm feeling even more powerful this year. It's good enough that you can walk away from this episode knowing something that will happen. In the future, but not so good that you can gamble on it, which I would say we do intentionally. I would hate for you to lose your house on something like this. So here's how it will work. We are going to read through all the predictions we have here and then we will draft them. So as we read through these, I think this is a good chance for us to hone them. If either of us have any concerns about them or just want to talk through why we picked them, we can do that now and the draft will be kind of bam, bam, bam at the end. That sounds good to you?

[Russ Fresh]

That sounds great.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Cool. So I'll kick things off with my first prediction. Mafia releases in 2025. The new Mafia game and GTA 6 bumps to 2026. Here's my logic behind this.

[Russ Fresh]

Now, this is Mafia the Old Country.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Mafia the Old Country. Thank you. Words matter. The rumor, I think it's might not even be confirmed yet, but the rumor is that Mafia the Old country should release in June or July. And I think it will hold to that date. I don't understand why Take two would release both of these games in the same year. That doesn't make sense to me. They have a crowded year already and this is a publisher that is known for kind of clearing the Runway for its major releases.

[Russ Fresh]

So, I mean, yeah. Do you honestly think, let's say for argument's sake, Mafia does come out in June or July. And again, argument's sake, GTA 6 were to come out in October, do you honestly think Mafia sales would at all impact GTA sales?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's the opposite.

[Russ Fresh]

It's the opposite.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

GTA sales affect Mafia sales.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. I think the rationale being that, like, maybe sales would have tailed off by then. I agree with the premise. I don't agree with the rationale necessarily. I think whether GTA 6 comes out this year or not has nothing to do with Mafia. It has everything to do with when can they put this game out and not have it be a disaster? And given the complexities of these games and given the cyberpunk of it all, where no big studio wants to risk their cash cow, they're going to make sure this game is fucking great. And I think a game this complex has a tendency to get bumped. So I think for sure, I mean, I agree with this premise, but I guess we'll. We'll get to the drafting part later.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Cool.

[Russ Fresh]

But I think we're both on the same page in terms of the actual letter of the law.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Next up.

[Russ Fresh]

You want me to do this One, the Elder Scrolls Oblivion remake will be announced and released in 2025. So there's been rumors very recently of an Elder Scrolls Oblivion remake happening. HD remaster, whatever it's going to be. There's been rumblings of it. There's been word that it's going to get announced pretty soon. There's been no news about a release date, but that's pretty much all we know. So obviously it being announced and releasing in the same year, pretty straightforward.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, it feels to me like the cadence for announced to release for these remakes, remasters especially something like this is pretty quick. I also think Bethesda has a bit of a history of putting games out shortly after announcing them. This is following the.

[Russ Fresh]

Was that a joke?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, there was a weird. There was that point where they had not been acquired by Microsoft yet and they clearly wanted to be acquired and they announced like every game they would make for the next 15 years. And then they went pretty quiet for a couple years and started doing this thing where it's like, oh, we announced the game in June, it comes out in August or September. Yeah, but I could be wrong. I.

[Russ Fresh]

But I. I would be very excited. I think Oblivion's great. I think it's kind of unheralded because obviously Skyrim has been around for so long. It is much weirder than Skyrim is. It allows you to like break the game in fun ways. So I'd be very happy to see that. But yeah, good prediction.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, next up, I have Death Stranding breaks 85 on Metacritic and gets a glowing write up in the New York Times or New York Mag.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay, this is a pretty interesting one, I think from a. I mean I'm a fan of simplicity. I would probably just lose the New York Times or New York Mag thing. It feels like snobby media talk. And if it breaks 85, that seems like enough for me. Whether an editor at the New York Times thinks that's worthy of coverage is a different story. So I would just lose the second part.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm fine losing the second part. I'm gonna bonus worth no points just to have it there. Because yes, the reason that I want to include that just as a calling our shot is it feels like such a game that is going to get the exact story that people have been telling about Death Stranding. One is going to finally be said on the New York Times and presented as wholly new by like some random writer.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, they've also done. I don't know if the New York. I forget who did it, but either New York Times or New York Mag has done like the profile, Kojima's great thing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think Simon Parkin did a good one over at New Yorker.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But yes, I could be wrong, but it just feels like we're gonna get the. Hey, this was a game about the pandemic story a few years late. That said, I'm curious because by the time that that game comes out, the writing, the game's writing at New York Times is getting better. Like it's just getting better and better.

[Russ Fresh]

So I mean it doesn't. Whether they're good or not does not determine whether they're going to write a glowing review. None of this counts as a point. I don't know why we're analysing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I just find it interesting. Okay. Death rating breaks 85 on Metacritic. That would suggest that it gets a better score than the current one, which I think has an 82 on Metacritic. And I think it's. I think it's gradually gone up.

[Russ Fresh]

The director's cut is at 85, which I think is a more representative. That was like the post release included whatever add ons and shit. So it would have to do better than the previous one on Metacritic.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay. I think that's good. Okay, what do we got next?

[Russ Fresh]

Next up, Nintendo Switch 2 isn't released until the second half of 2025 and launches with either a New Mario or a New Mario Kart.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

How do you feel about that one?

[Russ Fresh]

Well, I don't know that I want to put a ton of thumb on the scale for any of these whether I think they're legit or not because it's going to impact our drafting.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I will say, like a lot of these came from you. We. I added ones at the end of the list so we are just reading them back and forth in order. But that was one that you added. Okay, you want to read the next one?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. EA releases a new Battlefield and it breaks 75 on Metacritic. I had a bonus here worth no points. A major outlet or YouTuber describes it as a comeback for the series, which I think is like kind of a given. If this game is even mildly good, somebody major will say those exact words.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, this is an interesting one because the last game, if I recall, I think it was an 81. But it also, those reviews came out before the huge blowback of the entire community and the game being a total disaster. So there is, I think a narrative currently that Battlefield games are bad.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So really if it's bad, it will be punished.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, yeah. Pretty severely. I think it was probably a little bit defended by its ip and that won't happen again.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Okay, what do we got next?

[Russ Fresh]

Next up, the Game of the Year winner at the 2025 Game Awards is released after June 1. But at least three games from the first half of the year are nominated for the award. That's very complicated, but I think I understand it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Here's my logic behind this one. Yeah, there are going to be a bunch of big games in the first half of the year, like just an onslaught. We have a bunch of triple A stuff that got delayed into that window. I don't think any of it will actually win Game of the Year, despite it being like the new Monster Hunter being out. Right. These are all going to be very popular, very beloved games. They will make it into the final game of the words category, Game of the Year category. But whatever wins is going to come out after the June 1st. It will be something that is closer to the awards. It will be something maybe that we haven't even heard of yet. It could be a, you know, New Mario on Switch or it could be something like Mafia, right? I mean, I don't think it will be Mafia, but it could be. But it will be something in the back half of the year.

[Russ Fresh]

It definitely, from a historical standpoint, you're favored the first. The first half is favored by the release calendar because historically, big games release towards the end of the year, you know, September, October. But the X factor Here is the Switch 2. And when the Switch 2 comes out will determine so much of this. Because you have to assume at least one of those games, probably, unless it's like a total fucking disaster, will appear on the Game of the Year list. Yes, I guess, you know, you're a little bit screwed if the Switch two comes out after the second half of the year. If you pick this but good insight.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

A good chance for you to split your bet too. If you do this, then you pick the Switch two option.

[Russ Fresh]

That's true. Hedge it. Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, after that one, I have Valve releases two new pieces of hardware, including a new member of the Steam Deck line. Now, when I say new member of the Steam Deck line, I want to be super clear. That could be a portable, but it could be a Steam Deck. Like that goes under your tv. It would be called, like whatever. It would use a Steam os. It would work like a Steam Deck does. I don't know if they would call it the Steam Deck, but it would be like in that same category.

[Russ Fresh]

I think it would need to be Called something Steam Deck related for it to be in the Steam Deck line.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, I think that's fine. I think still keep it.

[Russ Fresh]

So.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And then the other hardware could be anything from a VR thing to I think a original new controller. Okay, let's see. A non Steam deck labeled PC. But there would be something.

[Russ Fresh]

I mean they're not putting out a fucking. They're not doing that. Yes.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. I mean the Steam machine coming back, baby. Yeah. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay, that's an interesting one.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, the next one. I'm glad that you're saying this one because this is something you really care about.

[Russ Fresh]

Wait, wait, wait. Actually, let's go back to the last one.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Language. Valve releases two new pieces of hardware. I'm just gonna like throw this out there. If Valve puts out a new original controller with two different SKUs, like one of them has fucking back buttons or whatever. I don't think that counts.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, it wouldn't count because it wouldn't be a Steam Deck line.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, no, they could very easily call it a Steam Deck control, whatever.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, okay, sure. Yeah, yeah. We won't count that if they do.

[Russ Fresh]

And ditto for like if they put out a Steam Deck. I don't think they're gonna do this. But if they put a Steam deck and one has like five 12 megs and one has, you know, different SKUs don't count.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, that's okay. Okay, okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Good, good, good, good. Can't include two SKUs of the same product.

[Russ Fresh]

Next up, this is one that's near and dear to my heart. A new entry in the in Nier is finally announced.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Fantastic. Love that pick. Love it. No notes. I don't think there's any that like we don't need any more added to that.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, I guess the question I have is so there's two Nier games right now, right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

So are there more?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

We should actually adjust this. A new entry in Nier is finally announced for major consoles. For home consoles.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, because there's been like mobile shit.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

There's mobile shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes, that sounds.

[Russ Fresh]

And it can't be an HD rerelease.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And I mean.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, just clarifying.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, no, it's worth doing. Nier Automata could get something like that. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Next up, a aaa, which I'm going to say is a budget bigger than Astrobot Game will win game of the year at the Game awards.

[Russ Fresh]

Do we know for sure the budget of Astrobot or are we just kind of gut checking?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think we can agree. We certainly know here's what I would say by this, because we can kind of use some examples in the past to set the ground here. Astrobot would not count. Baldur's Gate 3 would not count. We are talking about something like a Last of Us, A Spider Man 2. A Tricky. A fable.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay, well, let's give an example. Super Mario. Whatever. If there's a new Super Mario on Switch 2, that's a bigger budget than Astrobot, it's got to be, right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. And I think we can also just say that like, that represents AAA and it is like the peak of whatever that company has to offer. Right?

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. When I think budgets smaller than Astrobot that are still like big publisher budgets, I'm thinking of games like, what was that game? Tear Down. Tearaway. Tearaway, sure. Or those sorts of things.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. The question for you is Avowed would still count as aaa, do we think?

[Russ Fresh]

I think Avowed would be AAA and more expensive than Astrobot.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, Okay. I think that's good. That's a good boundary. I think Avowed is a good line of what falls into that category. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I don't know for sure that a vow is more expensive, but my gut says that it is and I think we can gut check it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Next up, Ubisoft, or a hostile takeover company will announce its intention for a sale, acquisition, or merger.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, I wrote this one before we recorded the episode. And already more careful with the language. This one seems pretty likely.

[Russ Fresh]

Is there breaking news?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, but I think it feels safe to say that Assassin's Creed Shadows is make or break for this publisher. And I would not say that is the game I want to have a giant publisher's future writing on.

[Russ Fresh]

Certainly not when it gets delayed like a week before release. February. Yeah. Yikes.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Okay, next up, following a successful announcement of Nvidia's new GPU earlier in the year, a major government official. And this can be a member of Congress, the Senate or presidential administration demands Nvidia participate in a government hearing about AI.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay, so again, it's two parts here. There's two parts here. I mean, I would. They've announced the new gpu, right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

They haven't announced it, but we could take this away because they will announce it.

[Russ Fresh]

Has there. Has there been a year in recent memory where they haven't put out a new gpu?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, no, this is the first time that. Sorry, it's the new RTX label. So this is the. They only do these every few years where it's the major step ups. But we can we can just remove it. I think.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, I would just lose that part for simplicity's sake. This is a major government official demands Nvidia participate in a government hearing about AI. So to clarify, Nvidia does not need to participate. We're just. There's just a public statement made by a government official that's saying Nvidia needs to come and do it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes, but Nvidia, you can't like say no.

[Russ Fresh]

Sure.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You know, I mean, I will also say Nvidia, a member of Nvidia appears before appears before a public or behind closed doors console.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. Next.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, what do we have next?

[Russ Fresh]

I think this is you.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You want to read it?

[Russ Fresh]

A major developer sparks a controversy over listing a job opening for AI prompt experts.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

[Russ Fresh]

Pretty straightforward. Well, we should define sparks of controversy. I think we need, certainly news coverage needs to happen. It can't just be like Reddit posts.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

At least three different publications cover it.

[Russ Fresh]

I guess. Major publications again.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. The trick is always like what is major? But I think like the type of publications established.

[Russ Fresh]

Yes. It can't be a medium post.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

We're getting into a handful that I added here. We'll start with a simple one. Silksong comes out, baby.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Great, great. You are not gonna add the second part that you had last year to this.

[Russ Fresh]

I mean, at this point I can't even rely on anything about silksong. I don't even wanna like put caveats on it. Cause it's been such a fucking running joke.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, that's.

[Russ Fresh]

I, I think we should just leave it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Sure, I think that's fair. Next up, I got Nintendo will make some public reference to the durability of the switch. Two analog sticks in either marketing materials or an official press release. An interview doesn't count. I feel like I remember this one from last year.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, this one was carried forward and I loved it so much last year because I sure it's such a anti Nintendo thing, but you know, it's just a question of whether they're going to have to like publicly acknowledge stick drift, which they really haven't done intentionally because they don't want to get a class action lawsuit against them. But yeah, that's okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

What do we got after this?

[Russ Fresh]

After this we have either Xbox or Sony will formally announce their handheld plans and show a clear look at the hardware. I think you added that last part, which is probably a good ad.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. Yeah, I think that there is very much a chance that Phil Spencer is like, yeah, we're making one and never gets around to showing it. Okay, I like that. Do you want me to include this one? You skipped. A handheld not made by Valve launches with native Steam OS support. It needs to be new hardware and it can't just be retroactively added to existing hardware. So I think what you mean by that is the Vanillaware Go or the Retroid Pocket 5, whatever you prefer to call it, somebody could add SteamOS to it. That doesn't mean it has a new handheld that is launching intentionally with SteamOS support. You're talking about.

[Russ Fresh]

You need to open the box, turn it on, and it needs to be.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

SteamOS and the first OS it launches with is SteamOS.

[Russ Fresh]

Yes, got it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Because I think there is a scenario where things dual boot but it's not.

[Russ Fresh]

The first OS now. Yeah. And again, when I say it can't include an existing piece of hardware, I'm talking about the ROG Ally. If Valve announces support for steamos on the ROG Ally, that does not count unless you buy a ROG Ally and you boot it up and it starts in steamos.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Got it. I like that. I like that a lot.

[Russ Fresh]

It's a slight modification of what we did last year, but I think it's a good one. Just a side note on last year, in week one, I thought I got last year's write, which was really just something launching with Steam because. And I forget the hardware company I think it might have been. Ayaneo announced that they were releasing a SteamOS handheld and I was like so thrilled. There was like all these news stories about it and then Valve forced them to retract it and say, actually we're doing a side offshoot third party version of SteamOS which didn't count unfortunately. But it was a funny, funny brief celebration that I had there.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It was a great moment. A new 3D Mario comes out and follows the open world structure of Bowser's Fury. I like that one.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, that's fun. And. Oh, I guess. Okay, question on the open world structure of Bowser's Fury.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It can be multiple open worlds, but.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, that's what I was going to ask.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So if they have to be as big as Bowser's Fury and not like Mario Odyssey. Yeah, okay. Okay, okay, okay.

[Russ Fresh]

The last prediction and then we're gonna do our draft.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Samus will have less speaking time in Metroid Prime 4 than she did in Metroid Dread.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Wow.

[Russ Fresh]

She speaks for about 15 seconds in dread. Now I am not including like text stuff. So like if she's Reading, like a diary that's written by Samus doesn't count unless she's vocally reading it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You're talking about vo. Recorded vo.

[Russ Fresh]

Recorded vo.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, Okay. I like that. That feels. I like these because they feel both obvious and high risk somehow at the same time. Like, in hindsight, if they happen, we'll be like, oh, obviously. And yet, I don't know if I would put my money on it.

[Russ Fresh]

I mean, there's been games. There's been Metroid games where she speaks for like an hour.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Russ Fresh]

So it's an interesting one.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, so you ready to draft? Each of us are going to take five each, so some of these will not get picked.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, man. Who gets to go first?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think. Do I? Loser goes first in a draft. Is that how it works? I think. I think that's.

[Russ Fresh]

I'll let you go first.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Wait, actually, I think I went first last year.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, I don't remember.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think so. So how about you go first?

[Russ Fresh]

Okay. I'm going to take as my first draft the Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remake. I think the Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remake will be announced and released in 2025.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. I will take. Ooh ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. This is tough. I will take Death Stranding breaks, 85 on Metacritic. The one where My heart is.

[Russ Fresh]

I would love to see it. I think there's a pretty good chance of that happening.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It has a shot.

[Russ Fresh]

I mean, it's so rare that I feel like game sequels very rarely go down in Metacritic. And I think the people that will be reviewing it will be Die Hard Death stranding people, which we should just. I'm going to add a 2 to.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That, just for clarity's sake. The other hook here is will it actually come out this year?

[Russ Fresh]

Right. Which is certainly up in the air. Okay. So my next one, I'm going to take the. The triple A game, a budget bigger than Astrobot, will win Game of the Year at the Game awards.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Cool. I like. I like this one because I think it speaks to just next year being a banger year for big budget games.

[Russ Fresh]

It is. It really is. Yeah. I mean, I like small. You know, we all love small games of the besties, but it will be one of those years. Maybe one of the last years.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Honestly, it does feel like that. Um, I'm going to go with Ubisoft, or Hostile Takeover company will announce its intention for Sailor acquisition.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay. Poor Eve. He's gonna have his golden parachute and everything.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

What do you got next?

[Russ Fresh]

I'm gonna do the Samus One.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I feel.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I like that.

[Russ Fresh]

I'm a big Metroid fan and I'm always fascinated by how much they do with Samus or how little they do with Samus. And it's definitely a big X factor, so I think that'll be a fun one to do. So this was just to clarify. Samus will have less speaking time in Metroid Prime 4 than she did in Metroid Dread. She speaks about 15 seconds in Metroid Dread. It needs to be recorded. VO. It can't just be text.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I can't believe I'm going to do this stupid one.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, boy.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Silksong comes out, baby. Yeah. I'm gonna. I'm gonna take the bait this year.

[Russ Fresh]

I love it. I think it's gonna happen. I've been saying for a while that I think when they announce all the third party support for Switch 2, it's gonna be in there, and that's why it keeps getting delayed. That's been my headcanon guess of what's going on with this game.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I like that. I don't know if it's right, but.

[Russ Fresh]

I don't know if it's right, but it would be cool.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, what else you got.

[Russ Fresh]

Man? Let's see. I want to do. I want to do the Durability one. I want to run it back.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Nintendo will make some public reference to the durability of the switch 2 analog sticks in either marketing materials or an official press release. An interview doesn't count.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, what am I going to do here? What am I going to do? Do I go with my heart?

[Russ Fresh]

Is this your last one?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, I have. I have two more.

[Russ Fresh]

You have two more to go.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Damn. Okay, I'm going to say Nvidia. I'm going to say a major government official demands Nvidia participate in a government hearing about AI.

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. So this is your last one.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, this is my last one. Oh, boy. Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It better be good because I can see you thinking. The listener can't see this, but you are thinking so hard that ripples are going across your forehead. Energy, pure energy is radiating out of your ears.

[Russ Fresh]

I'm leaning towards one of the two Valve ones, but Valve is such an enigma.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's so tough. Right? And what they tell you is never what they tell you. Right? They'll be like, we're not making another Steam Deck. And then it'll just.

[Russ Fresh]

They don't. I feel like they don't know until like a week before it happens that it's for sure happening. Like, Gabe will show up with some knives and be like, fuck this shit. I'm making more knives.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And also, here's Half Life.

[Russ Fresh]

And also here's Half Life. I think for my last one, I. I've been saying there's no way GTA 6 is coming out this year in 2025. And I gotta put my money where my mouth is. We're gonna Go Mafia is coming out this year, and GTA 6 gets bumped to 2026.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, I like that. Okay. Can I walk you through a challenge I'm having here?

[Russ Fresh]

Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Nintendo Switch 2 isn't released until the second half of 2025, and it launches with either a New Mario or Mario Kart. I would do this if it was after June 1st, because I think there's a real chance that it comes out in June, but I'm a little worried about saying it's gonna be like, July through.

[Russ Fresh]

Here's what I'm gonna give you. Needs to come out before June 15th.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I think that's a generous option.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think it's. I like that. And it's so good, because there's a real chance that it would be, like, June 7th. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah. Just adjust the second half part for clarity's sake.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, yeah. So it'll come out after June 15th. Okay.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, let's do that. Nintendo Switch isn't released until after June 15th and launches with either a new Mario or Mario Kart.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okay. We did it. That's five each.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, man.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Is there any that you left on the table that you're like, maybe I should have taken that.

[Russ Fresh]

I want to do the Valve one. About the handheld not made by Valve launches with native SteamOS support.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah.

[Russ Fresh]

Because I know for sure that they're working on bringing SteamOS to other devices. But there's a far cry. They've been saying for a while. I think it is close. I think it's gonna happen this year. But there's a far cry from that actually happening to a device launching natively with it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes.

[Russ Fresh]

But I think I feel like it might happen.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But I also wonder how interested they are in that now that Steam Deck is such a success.

[Russ Fresh]

I think they're super interested in it because any handheld that comes out that has steamos natively on it will sell a fuckload of Steam games.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That's true.

[Russ Fresh]

That's true.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That's true.

[Russ Fresh]

They want people in their ecosystem. Like.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

That's true.

[Russ Fresh]

And that's why a lot of these hardware manufacturers haven't done it, necessarily. Because they want people seeing that control.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, right. Yeah. The only one that I. There's, like, a bit of pride going into it for me is the Nvidia in a government hearing. Mostly. Like, I want to be able to call this shot, but I'm worried that Nvidia, especially with the upcoming Trump administration, you can't really predict anything of, like, what's going to go on.

[Russ Fresh]

Well, here's what it relies on. Is Elon Musk and Trump, Are they still gonna be friends? And how does Elon Musk feel about Nvidia?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, no, that's true. I mean, a year is a long time with that. And also there is the fact that Congress could require the hearing, too. I just think. I feel like there has to be some sort of hearing. It's so weird that we are having this giant shitstorm around TikTok, but not around, like, AI companies.

[Russ Fresh]

The thing that will really impact us.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. And, like, how these pieces of hardware are being sold in China. Like, it feels like the conversation's kind of happening, but not nearly at the level that you think it would. Yeah. Yeah. It'll be interesting. Okay. That's it. We did it.

[Russ Fresh]

Did it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I feel good about this. How are you feeling?

[Russ Fresh]

Good. Yeah. I'm not. I don't think there's guaranteed home runs anywhere, but I feel pretty good that certainly. I think either of us is going to get at least one, if not multiples.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You got any stuff you recommend that you've been playing or watching separate from all this?

[Russ Fresh]

Well, here's the thing. I'm. I'm finally on the shogun train. And as a. As a father of a toddler, I realize that I'm late to all forms of media that aren't video games because I have to play video games because I'm. Because of this job. And now that I'm watching Shogun, I am absorbing the fact that it's one of the best television shows I've ever seen in my life.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Wow.

[Russ Fresh]

And no one wants to talk to me about it because that this happened, like, months ago.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Honestly, this should be your prize for winning the award is I will watch all of Shogun. It's not.

[Russ Fresh]

You know what? That's your prize. You win for enjoying such a fantastic show.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You're right. That is. I tried to get out of it. I tried. Okay, okay, okay.

[Russ Fresh]

I will say this, though. Shogun has, like, made me kind of want to go back and play, like, Ghost of Tsushima. Wow. And I'm kind of pumped about the sequel because I think they take place in similar. I have to check the years, but both of those games do focus pretty heavily on the like the west interceding within Japan.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Do you remember that game that we played at the beginning of this year, the Open World.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, the Sony produced, Sony published game.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh my gosh. I really enjoyed that.

[Russ Fresh]

Yeah, that was pretty cool.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, I think that you might dig going back to that because it has a lot to do with.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, does it?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, like there's. I think it's Yokohama that's in it where it's like kind of built up in western style.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh, sure.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think it takes place probably 100 years ago.

[Russ Fresh]

Probably Nagasaki, I think was the western style.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. But it is. That game was pretty cool and just kind of lost to time. Yeah. I've been playing Muramasa the Demon Blade and let me tell you, that game works so well as a handheld game. It is just a delight. And I think it came out on Vita. I think there was a version of it on Vita.

[Russ Fresh]

I think that's right. I think I did play it on Vita.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. And yeah, I'm really, really enjoying it. Even with it on Vita, the kind of stop and go nature of it on the Retroid Pocket 5, being able to just save wherever you want is really great because while the game is awesome, the art is incredible, it is a bit repetitive and being able to just play a little bit and burst really matches the kind of tone and speed of the game. Yeah, that's it. Who thank. We got some Patreons.

[Russ Fresh]

We do. We have some patrons from the Patreon, if you will. We have Verum, we have Connor, we have Logan, and we have Damodanko. Thank you for being patrons of the Besties. We really appreciate you. Thank you to everyone else who listens to the show, shares the show, spreads the word. We hope you've enjoyed this brief glimpse behind the paywall into what's going on with the Resties. As well as last week's Bracket Battles episode, we've got a new Bracket Battles episode that is coming out this Tuesday. We determine the best open world world. So all the open world worlds that have happened over the years, we've picked the very best one and that'll be available to subscribers on Tuesday.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm very happy with the Final Five, how we got there. Interesting. It was a route. Yeah. I'm very happy with where we landed with the Final Five on that one. Cool. Well, that is it.

[Russ Fresh]

I should mention next week we are doing the most anticipated games of 2025 with the whole gang, so that'll be really fun. There's a ton of games that we either think are coming out or we know are coming out. Some of them were mentioned in this episode, so we'll be pumped to go through those next week and we will.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Be talking about Indiana Jones by the end of the month.

[Russ Fresh]

We will talk about Indiana Jones before the end of January. We will do an episode on Indiana Jones. I still have not had time to play it because it's awesome. Breaks are not breaks for me, but once school reopens, I'll be hanging with Harrison and all his friends.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm very excited to hear what you think. I also know that we have. We won't spoil it, but we have a special guest episode coming up.

[Russ Fresh]

Oh yeah. Coming in a couple weeks. I'm very excited for that as well.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think the audience is going to be super pumped for that. Okay, that's it. We did it. Thank you for listening, everybody. If you really enjoyed this, like we said, you can go get a lot more Restyz episodes over on the Patreon and you can always just hang out right here because we are here for you with the Besties every Friday. That's it for the Besties. I'm Christopher Thomas Plant.

[Russ Fresh]

I'm Russ Freshstick. This is the Best of.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

We don't normally do this at the end of the Besties. This is another episode of the Besties. Because shouldn't the world's best friends no.

[Russ Fresh]

Best games pick the world? Wait.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, you're right.

[Russ Fresh]

You got it right.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games Besties.