YoVideogames!
439 episodes - English - Latest episode: 22 days ago - ★★★★★ - 65 ratingsA commentary on gaming lifestyle: its history, its news, and all things hype!
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Episodes
YoVG # 434 Nintendo Goes in Dry
April 06, 2024 19:00 - 1 hour - 44 MBIt's all but certain that Nintendo is launching a Switch 2 in 2025. I'd like to hope maybe they do it Holiday 2024, but it's doubtful. An odd thing about Nintendo and the final year of each console generation? They're almost always pretty dry years... And if 2024 is any indication? Switch 2 is coming EARLY 2025 at the latest.
YoVG # 433 What if XBOX never existed?
March 31, 2024 18:39 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBFor most of us, the original Xbox was a bit of a blip. It had good games but compared to the other consoles it seemed bulky, inept, unrefined even. During its first few years most gamers would have argued it was a forgettable system - even if they loved Halo. But what if it had never happened? If Microsoft looked at the game industry in the late 90s and decided it wasn't worth jumping into? Would the Gamecube have done better? Would the Dreamcast had a follow up? I'd argue Microsoft, and t...
YoVG # 432 What If... The GameCube Was Successful
March 20, 2024 19:29 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBContinuing our What If series with another Nintendo Alt History: we're exploring the timeline where GameCube was a success. Do we get the Wii? The Switch? Does Nintendo pursue their "Blue Ocean" strategy at all? Does Xbox have the same level of success? All questions connected to Nintendo's less than stellar GameCube generation.
YoVG # 431 What if... Nintendo Bought Pokemon in 1996?
March 14, 2024 19:13 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBIs anyone doing alt-history for videogames? Is that a thing? This week we're talking about alternate history. There's no denying that Pokemon is a juggernaut and there is a real good reason Nintendo bought 33.3% of the company. But what if they had bought the company outright? Would Pokemon be what it is today? If not, what would be different? Better? Worse?
YoVG # 430 Helldivers do it right!
March 07, 2024 19:02 - 1 hour - 52.2 MBSuicide Squad... Foam Stars... Skull and Bones... Many fail. Crushed beneath the expectations and disappointments of gamers. But Helldivers? They do it right. Again. And Again. And Again. For (Managed) Democracy. For Liberty (in accordance with the government of Super Earth). And to protect our way of life. What lessons should other live service games take from this? What lessons will execs inevitably ignore? Let's talk about everything we love about Helldivers 2!
YoVG # 429 Grim Beginnings 2024
February 29, 2024 17:48 - 1 hour - 52.8 MBNintendo continues its crusade against emulation and more lay offs announced. 2024 has had a rough start for the gaming industry, and we might still be at the top of the drop. Licensed games will be cancelled, and more talent shifting will happen over the next year. What does that mean for the first parties? Third? Let's talk about the news (and Star Wars here and there)
YoVG # 428 Nintendo Does It Different
February 23, 2024 16:43 - 58 minutes - 46.9 MBNintendo had a Partner Direct, and while there might not have been anything mind blowing - there was a little something for everyone. Which highlights how Nintendo is playing its own game. Especially when you contrast it to the news coming out of Sony and Microsoft these days.
YoVG # 427 The Future of Microsoft Games
February 16, 2024 00:28 - 1 hour - 52 MBWas today's (feb 15th) extra special Xbox podcast with Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sara Bond as important as anticipated? No. No world changing news. Was it a nothingburger? Also no. There was valuable information and insight to be had. So let's jump into it together!
YoVG # 426 EVO + Rebirth!
February 08, 2024 19:07 - 1 hour - 53.9 MBSony had a special State of Play for FF7 Rebirth and dropped a demo. Plus EVO announcements came out. Lots to be excited about!
YoVG # 425 Sony's State of Play 2024
February 01, 2024 01:06 - 1 hour - 44.7 MBWell, everyone's cards seem to be on the table now. Did our predictions for Sony stand up? Let's find out.
YoVG # 424 First Party Line Up 2024 Predictions
January 25, 2024 17:42 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBXbox put all its cards on the table right away this year. Let's talk about their Developer Direct, and then jump into what we hope/expect to see from Nintendo and Sony.
YoVG # 423 Our 5 Favorite Voice Actors!
January 18, 2024 19:25 - 1 hour - 69.2 MBChances are you have a favorite voice actor and may not even know their name. Voice acting can sometimes be treated like the step child of acting, but the truth is: good voice acting transcends and evolves the medium, just as good film acting, or stage acting expands their mediums. Here's a few of our personal favorite Voice Actors, some you most certainly know, all of whome you have heard before. Shine on!
YoVG # 422 Our Top Ten Games of the Last Ten Years!
January 10, 2024 20:20 - 1 hour - 76.2 MBAs a fun retrospective of the games that stuck with us over time, we decided to do an episode about the last decade. Our personal Top Game from each year going back to 2013. We surprised ourselves with several of these. There are of course expected picks for regular listeners but anyone new may be thrown for a loop. Shine on!
YoVG # 421 Composing Game Music w/ Alex Moukala
January 03, 2024 19:49 - 2 hours - 105 MBHappy New Year! We're starting off strong by having an extra long and extremely cool conversation with musician and composer Alex Moukala all about game music. He gives us a peak behind the curtain on the process of composing for games, as well as how he analyzes music he loves to inspire his own compositions. Projects Alex calls out during the episode: Game Music Foundation - https://gamemusic.net/gamemusic-foundation/ Chrono Trigger Main Theme Cover by Tournament Arc - https://www.y...
YoVG # 420 Exploding Game Budgets & You!
December 28, 2023 19:30 - 1 hour - 49.3 MBWe don't want to talk about the leaks, so we won't, but one conversation that the recent leaks have started is very interesting. Are game budgets getting too big? What exactly is making them jump so high? Maybe it's time to cut the games in half and get smaller games out more often.
YoVG # 419 Our Top Ten Games of 2023!
December 20, 2023 22:19 - 1 hour - 95.8 MBMerry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, or what not! Here's a two hour episode all about our particular favorite games that game out this year. If you're traveling home and need something to keep your mind off all the inane and invasive questions you'll get asked at dinner - we're here to help! 2023 was an all time incredible year for gaming. So much so, that Matt actually had a top 25! Expect an extra episode for Patrons only coming later this week!
YoVG # 418 Reboot, Reuse, Recycle
December 15, 2023 00:16 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBMore layoffs, more studios closing, and E3 declares themselves dead (finally). Let's talk how things might be reborn moving forward!
YoVG # 417 Next Gen (For Real This Time)
December 06, 2023 19:46 - 1 hour - 51.3 MBDeep in the gaming doldrums we caught a bit of a breeze this week as the GTA6 trailer leaked early. And we finally have something that looks next gen. It's coming 225 (or later, let's be honest) and so 2024 continues to look ugly post Q1, but who knows - maybe TGA has some surprises for us!
YoVG # 416 What Makes An Indie Game Independent?
November 29, 2023 18:51 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBSweet baby Keighley stepped in a semi soft turd this week when he decided to defend TGA decision to categorize Dave the Diver as an indie game. He said "indie" can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but that can't be true, right? There has to be a definition of what makes a game independent... Right?
YoVG # 415 Sony Spills The Gravy 2024
November 22, 2023 20:16 - 1 hour - 54.7 MBDo a quick google on Sony first party games coming out in 2024. Not seeing anything? Neither are we and that adds to what seems like a bit of a slide in outlook for Sony going into next year.
YoVG # 414 Award Shenanigans
November 15, 2023 20:17 - 1 hour - 53.8 MBGolden Joystick, Game Awards, BAFTAs - what do they all have in common? Bullshit categories. Who picks them? How are they organized? Why is it seemingly nonsensical? Now that The Game Awards has announced its nominees - let's go through some categories and try to figure this out!
YoVG # 413 The Legend of Zelda Starring Danny DeVito!
November 08, 2023 20:12 - 1 hour - 49.6 MBNews broke that The Legend of Zelda will be adapted into a live action feature film. TLoZ will be directed by Wes Ball, who helmed all three Maze Runner films, as well as Kingdom of the Apes (releasing soon). He's a filmmaker with a background in VFX, so I think it is safe to say that the majority of this film will be green screen and visual effects heavy. But what else can we extrapolate about the coming film?
YoVG # 412 Is 2024 Going to be a Gaming Desert?
November 02, 2023 20:02 - 1 hour - 54.6 MB2023 has been a banner year for gaming and it isn't even over! It's a good problem to have, but it is almost definitely a result of the bullwhip from the pandemic. Sony especially doesn't seem to be talking about much coming in 2024. Add in the layoffs that have been happening and we have to ask: are we in for a weak 2024?
YoVG # 411 Spiderman 2: Overbaked?
October 25, 2023 17:54 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBYou ever play a game that is just... good? Good graphics, well made, nothing particularly wrong with it - but it's just... Fine? That's how Matt is feeling about Spiderman 2. Maybe it's because it is a sequel that came too quick, or maybe it's the realistic graphics. We're diving into what's missing. Oh and console wars. We are gonna talk about the banality of console wars some too.
YoVG # 410 Building an Iconic Fighting Game
October 19, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBToday was marred by the tragic news of fLoE passing. He was a well known personality in the FGC and a common sight at tourneys. He was taken too young, and our thoughts are with his family. As seems natural, while talking about fLoE we got onto the subject of icons in fighting games, which led into what makes a game iconic. How would you replicate that?
YoVG # 409 10 consoles, 10 Games, 10 outta 10
October 11, 2023 19:38 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBA 10 outta 10 episode on 10/10 get it? I wish there was some cool story as to how this topic came about but it really was a "you're a ten outta ten" joke that made Matt go down a rabbit hole of ten out of ten games from ten different consoles. I did my best to throw at least a couple curve balls for the long time listeners while Matt brought the culture of retro games.
YoVG # 408 Lies of P & Other Public Domain Possibilities
October 06, 2023 03:46 - 1 hour - 50 MBMatt's been shouting it from the rooftops and singing it on every corner, but if you've missed it: he loves Lies of P. The clever adaptation of Pinocchio into a grimdark soulsborne action fantasy has us thinking what other public domain stories could make for a great game - and what genres would they fit.
Kamiya Makes a Break For it
September 27, 2023 22:53 - 1 hour - 54.3 MBTokyo Game Show has just wrapped up. We talk about the surprises of the show, some news about exclusivity for 3rd parties, industry speculations, and Kamiya leaving Platinum.
YoVG # 406 Microsoft's Big Leak
September 20, 2023 23:58 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBWe waited to record until we were able to read the big Microsoft Leak for ourselves. Personally, I feel it is a big nothingburger. And so far as I can tell, the only people hyping this as a big deal are engagement farmers on Twitter. That being said: there is some value to what this confirms about how Microsoft, and by extension executives think about mergers, acquisitions and the future of gaming et al. So, let's dig into it!
YoVG # 405 News Dump + Cinematic Games
September 13, 2023 18:14 - 1 hour - 50.3 MBIt's my birthday episode! And the planned topic was "what makes a game 'cinematic' and what are the best cinematic games out there." But then a few big pieces of news dropped - and we knew we wanted to talk about that too. So, the first half of this episode is about Unity, Embracer Group and ESA (E3) news, while the back half is about the planned topic. It sounds eclectic but it actually works pretty well.
YoVG # 404 Overlooked Games of 2023 (so far)
September 06, 2023 18:32 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBIt's been a bit of a packed year for games. Maybe that's because the Pandemic caused a crunch that is only now whip lashing onto the market. Who knows but one side effect has been: many games, good games, have come out and been forgotten in the pack.
YoVG # 403 Doomed Genres (For 3rd Parties)
August 30, 2023 18:13 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBBioware is on the chopping block if Dragon Age doesn't do well. It seems like a lot of third parties face oblivion when a single game isn't an over the top success, much less a failure. Are there certain genres that have become doomed for third party devs? A first party can pump out a triple AAA block buster single player game and if it is middling at best, that developer will probably get another shot. But if you're owned by EA? You might be in a soup line the next quarter. *** I real...
YoVG # 402 Gamescom ONL 2023 (& Troy's B-hole)
August 23, 2023 17:44 - 1 hour - 51.8 MBMaaaaaaaan there was some cool stuff shown for the opening night of Gamescom 2023, but there was also a whole lot of awkward, huh? This week we are talking about our favorite moments, bold trailers, and awkward interviews from the opening night live show kicking off Gamescom 2023!
YoVG # 401 Sizing Up Sequels
August 16, 2023 17:49 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBThis week we are talking about sequels and what we expect from a franchise as it moves forward. I also try to sell Matt on Baldur's Gate 3 but to little effect - THE MAN HATES FUN (kidding).
YoVG # 400 EVO 2023
August 09, 2023 18:18 - 1 hour - 54.7 MBEveryone is back from EVO 2023 and by all accounts it was a big W for the FGC. I didn't get to go this year, so I had Matt fill me in on some of the best parts. Between new Tekken 8 fighters, MK1 news, and promising looks at Project L - the future looks bright for the FGC!
YoVG # 399 Overrated vs Overhated
August 02, 2023 18:07 - 1 hour - 54.7 MBYes - you should try to enjoy things. But also sometimes it's fun to talk about the stuff that is overrated in hindsight and maybe even some stuff that has been hated on so much that when you actually look at it... It's fine. Maybe even good! Who knows let's take a look.
YoVG # 398 The Perfect Length!
July 26, 2023 18:27 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBToday I'm playing the inspiration for this episode - Amnesia: The Bunker. Matt sold it to me as a perfect shot of survival horror, coming in at 5-6 hours and never overstaying its welcome. But is that the perfect length for survival horror? And what is the perfect length for other games? As always, we have opinions :P
YoVG # 397 Not Every Game Should be a Mega Game!
July 19, 2023 21:39 - 1 hour - 53 MBLarian Studios, makers of the Divinity games, have had a massive win with regards to Baldur's Gate 3! A triumph some may call it, and now: some fans say every RPG should follow its example. The thing is BG3 is the result of a perfect storm, and while we love that it has succeeded - not every game should, or even can, follow its path.
YoVG # 396 Matt's Birthday Bash 2023
July 11, 2023 18:53 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBThis week's episode ranges from 70's gay porn aesthetics (my mustache, we are talking about my mustache) to an intro to Xenogears lore. It's Matt's Birthday episode, so he gets to take us on a journey into any topic he wants!
YoVG # 395 I Beg You To Just Enjoy Things
July 07, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBAre critics out of touch? You look at Rotten Tomatoes for instance and critics give Indy 5 a 69%(nice) while the audience gives it 88%! Does that mean the critics are wrong? I say it means they are looking for different things and in todays media landscape an aggregate score means nothing. But that leaves out another class of pseudo critic - the content creator; whose whole brand can be built on loving or hating "the thing". And that presents a problem for audiences be it games or movies....
YoVG # 394 The Case Against Open World (in FFXVI)
June 28, 2023 18:41 - 1 hour - 52.8 MBFF16 has been out for a few days now and overall it is getting a positive response. However, there does seem to be a portion of gamers who are mad the game isn't "true" open world, and it lacks traditional RPG elements. Some even claim it doesn't have classic Final Fantasy elements. We'd argue none of these points were promised, but also they are in fact in the game. And we'll go even further to say there's a strong case against open world in Final Fantasy, and maybe even games in general mo...
YoVG # 393 Bring Demos Back
June 21, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 54 MBEvery game should have a demo. Yes it means development might be a little longer but it already takes 5 years nowadays to complete a triple A game. Polishing a demo won't add that much to that kind of timeline and the benefits far outweigh that extra work.
YoVG # 392 Summer Gaming Post Nut Clarity
June 14, 2023 18:29 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBAll the showcases are done and now we get to say how we really feel! We feel... pretty good! There were shocking surprises, and maybe not enough gameplay for our tastes but overall it looks like 23/24 is going to be a very good time to be a gamer.
YoVG # 391 Are 3rd Party Exclusives Worth It?
June 07, 2023 19:01 - 59 minutes - 47.6 MBSquare Enix is facing down some lack luster pre-order numbers for FF16. Granted, I don't think that means anything because in the digital age - do many people really care about pre-ordering a game? I'd say only your most hardcore audience. That being said, looking at previous sale numbers, it does seem like making FF16 a PlayStation exclusive will hurt the game long term, and if we know that, then why do it?
YoVG # 390 We're SoOrry!
May 31, 2023 22:51 - 1 hour - 54.3 MBPoor release apology statements, released as images, are so prevalent these days that they are their own category of meme. It seems like once a month we see a statement with a remix of "we're sorry - we'll do better!" Currently, the response is to bully studios over the poor releases, but someday we will have to start voting with our wallets and stop buying new releases altogether, I guess.
YoVG # 389 Sony State of Play 2023
May 25, 2023 02:26 - 1 hour - 51.6 MBSony brought out an expansive number of announcements and trailers, but very little concrete release dates and even less actual gameplay. I wouldn't say this blew my balls off, though there was still a decent amount to be intrigued, or even excited by. Let's get into it!
YoVG # 388 Everyone's a (meta)critic
May 17, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 52.9 MBThis week's episode is wide ranging and inspired by how seemingly pointless the reviews are for Tears of the Kingdom, both positive and negative. Between reviewers often pumping out inane, sometimes bought and paid for reviews, and review bombing - do things like meta critic even matter anymore? Do critics matter in general, anymore? The big questions.
YoVG # 387 Auteurs in Gaming
May 10, 2023 18:38 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBWe've talked about story before, and how in the past story was seldom important to a game - often an after thought. We've changed our opinion on that over time, especially in recent years as games have become more story driven and cinematic. But does gaming have auteurs? As games become more and more like films, will we see more game directors emerge with distinct styles, and voices? And have there really been many in gaming's past?
YoVG # 386 Are Games Worth The Money?
May 03, 2023 21:03 - 1 hour - 52.3 MBNew data suggests that the $70 price tag for next gen games has actually hurt overall sales and could lead to decreased profits for everyone. So, are games worth the money? Is the market too saturated or capped? When games like Redfall or Jedi Survivor are being released in a rough state - are AAA games a gamble for the first couple months?
YoVG # 385 Sony's Bad Fur Day
April 26, 2023 19:31 - 1 hour - 53.2 MBLooks like Sony has lost and the Activision Microsoft deal is all but done. So, what are the possibilities? Yeah, okay, sure. We know they are going to mostly pump out COD year in and year out til they get their ROI. BUT what if they didn't? What if those ten studios they are getting brought back old IP or made some new stuff? Let's just imagine!