Game Buoy Podcast Episode 15 – Wii U Rising, Pt. 2: Breaking Dawn
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Ahoy mateys and welcome to Game Buoy, where Captain Spike and his first mate, Slagkick, bring you gaming news and views that may not be on your radar, but definitely should be!
FOLLOWING UP
– Anarchy Reigns “Day One” edition has been confirmed for release in North America as a GameStop exclusive.
– THQ are in talks with a “mystery financial sponsor and have reached an agreement with Wells Fargo.
– Fighters of Capcom has been trademarked and could be a localized version of the GREE game, Capcom All Stars With Everyone.
OMG NEWS
– The Karaoke Channel will be teaming up with Xbox Live to make its 8,000+ song library available for streaming. You’ll pay for blocks of time to “rent” the content, in the vein of an Asian karaoke box. There will be some sort of SmartGlass integration involved.
– Uncharted: Fight for Fortune for PlayStation Vita will be hitting the PSN store on December 4. The turn-based card game will only set you back $4.99 and will probably be much better than Golden Abyss was.
– The Last Story sold super well and now it’s only $29.99. Though this is not a special edition like the original package, you can now get this great JRPG at a budget price.
– SEGA is removing old Shining Force fan videos from YouTube because the trailer for their new PSP game, Shining Ark, is not turning up in the top 10 search results.
– Square Enix is bringing Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade to America! If you sign up for this free iOS/Android social game on the official site, you can get a Cloud Strife summon.
– Crimson Shroud, part of the Guild01 project, will be released on the eShop for 3DS on December 14 and cost $7.99. Yasumi Matsuno put out gems like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, so this is highly recommended.
– In response to the Humble THQ Bundle, the gaming community at large seems to think that Humble Bundle lost what made it special, and that this THQ bundle threatens the Humble Bundle brand’s reputation.
DISCUSSION TOPIC
The Wii U has been out for about two weeks now, so Captain Spike and Slagkick wrap up the discussion they started last episode by giving their first impressions. A majority of the discussion is devoted to Miiverse and why it is successful as a gaming community and unlike others out there (as Penny Arcade so perfectly points out). The Pirates then highlight the games they have been spending the most time with – New Super Mario Bros. U, NintendoLand, and Danica Patrick All Stars Racing Hyper Turbo GO! Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed. What is it about these games that Captain Spike and Slagkick find so appealing? The discussion closes with thoughts on how Microsoft and Sony can improve on what the Wii U offers (specifically, taking the Miiverse concept a step further) – but Slagkick gives a different (and very in-depth) vision of what he would like the eighth console generation to look like.
Supplemental reading material:
– The State of the Wii U, Just Three Days In (Kotaku): A surprisingly not-terrible “first impressions” post by Steven Totilo that is a fair assessment of the new console.
– The Nintendo Wii U: A Review (Entertainment Weekly): A decent review from the mainstream media, which gives an opinion shared by many but is a competent article.
– Nintendo’s Wii U: The console’s first must-have games (Los Angeles Times): Another mainstream article that gives great recommendations, including indie games!
– Wii Can’t Go On, Wi’ll Go On (Gamasutra): An academic essay from Ian Bogost that is the single best thing ever written about the Wii U. Required reading!
READ OF THE WEEK
Each week, Captain Spike and Slagkick look at one article (or very rarely, two) and tell you whether it’s well-written (Read!) or an embarrassment to gaming journalism (Reeeeeeead.)
560 People Are Playing Black Ops II on the Wii U Right Now (Kotaku)
At the time of press, Wii U had been out for less than 36 hours – yet Stephen Totilo wonders why Black Ops II on Wii U didn’t have the 800,000-user player base that it had for Xbox 360 on launch day.
Verdict: Reeeeeeead.
Here’s a Devastating Account of the Crap Women in the Games Business Have to Deal With. In 2012. (Koktau)
A concise article documenting the Twitter hashtag #1reasonwhy, letting the tweets speak for themselves and shedding light on the horrid gender inequality in the gaming industry.
Verdict: Read!
FAREWELLS AND SHOUT OUTS
– Qoopa Klub, a Nintendo-centric LGBT podcast
– Orange Lounge Radio, where EVERY gamer has a voice
– Nerdgasm Network, the wildest 3 hours of shock jock video game radio
– Horde House, the show about World of Warcraft but NEVER too seriously
– Girls Gone WoW, for a female perspective on the world’s most popular MMO
– Video Game Outsiders, an Xbox Live Community Award-winning podcast running 7 years strong
– Theme music by Zelda Reorchestrated
– Email Captain Spike and Slagkick and join in the discussion on Facebook and Twitter