Game Buoy Podcast Episode 8 – MMORPGs
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ARRRRGH and welcome to Game Buoy, where Captain Spike and his first mate, Slagkick, talk about gaming news that is probably not on your radar but should be.
FOLLOWING UP
The HD remake of Jet Set Radio gets a price ($9.99) and release dates for PSN, XBLA, and Steam. It will be playable along with eight other digital SEGA titles at PAX, including a mystery title! Also, World Heroes Perfect is now on Virtual Console, so you can see Rasputin’s gay rampage for yourself. Finally, Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix, diffuses the rumor that Final Fantasy Vs. XIII is dead.
OMG NEWS
– The Ouya sucessfully completed its Kickstarter campaign, far surpassing its $950,000 goal by raising $8.5 million. Significantly, Namco Bandai and Square Enix will be supporting the new console.
– GamyerCon, an LGBT themed gaming convention, will be coming to San Francisco in August 2013. You can pledge on Kickstarter today, and the Podcast Pirates will be covering it in greater detail next week.
– GameStop has announced that it is interested in selling secondhand digital downloads. Everyone seems shocked and confused, despite the fact that the precedent has been set by Green Man Gaming.
WHAT’S UP
This week, Captain Spike played Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Slagkick has been playing World of Warcraft, which leads into…
DISCUSSION TOPIC
The Podcast Pirates discuss MMORPGs this week, celebrating their renewed excitement for World of Warcraft and its upcoming expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Captain Spike shares his experiences with The Secret World and the pros and cons of its unconventional approach to character progression. The Pirates talk about the upcoming relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV, now bearing the subtitle A Realm Reborn, and its promising new features. They also give some airtime to highlight the upcoming release of Guild Wars 2. However, the bulk of the discussion ties into the recent news that Star Wars: The Old Republic is going free to play, and the Podcast Pirates examine the “freemium” model, how it has affected past MMOs, and what this could mean for SWTOR. Finally, the Pirates talk about some new MMOs that will be coming out soon.
Also, Captain Spike wants to know if you think the Mists of Pandaria collector’s edition pet and mount are ugly.
LOLTAKU OF THE WEEK
This week, the Podcast Pirates take a look at The Power (and Danger) of Big Numbers in RPGs and how Kotaku’s Jason Schreier lets a design flaw in a Suikoden MUD he made negatively influence his views of big numbers in RPGs, then seemingly contradicts himself.
FAREWELLS AND SHOUT OUTS
As always, Captain Spike and Slagkick invite you to e-mail them and join in the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. Shout-outs are given to Orange Lounge Radio, Horde House, and Girls gone WoW – all part of the Voice of Geeks Network – and everyone over at the Nerdgasm Network and Video Game Outsiders.