Defining Duke: An Xbox Podcast

Latest Episodes:

An In-Depth & Critical Look At Fallout's Future Dec 25, 2022

Show notes

Fallout is a series that is near and dear to our Duke hearts and undoubtedly one of the lead reasons behind Xbox's purchase of Zenimax Media. While Fallout 76 lives on, many wonder where the next mainline entry lies and with whom. You see, Xbox has a unique talent issue when it comes to this particular franchise as they happen to own all the teams with members that are responsible for what Fallout is today. Brian Fargo, Feargus Urquhart, Josh Sawyer, and Todd Howard all have left their mark on the series. The question really becomes, how can Xbox best utilize this talent to bring Fallout to new levels? More importantly, can we get our hands on Fallout remasters? What of remakes? What fills the gap ahead of Fallout 5 which is arriving after Elder Scrolls 6? Will Obsidian be able to produce Fallout New Vegas 2? While tantalizing, the future of this extremely popular series is surprisingly uncertain. That doesn't account for its new TV show in production that marks the series first ever piece of expansion material. Joining us is AnchormanV to chat all things Fallout and how Xbox can figure this one out.

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Is Xbox Planning A Surprise 2023 Showcase? Dec 18, 2022

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Capping off Xbox's tragic 2022 and our final episode ahead of the holiday break is a glimmer of hope for us to at least conclude that year on a somewhat positive note. Many fans are now left searching for answers following the absence of Xbox at The Game Awards despite apparently having three first party, AAA games arriving in the next six months. Following a tweet from Aaron Greenberg saying that we won't have to wait long to hear more, we can't help but wonder what this may mean. Follow up reports and downplaying by Bethesda all point to some sort of event being on the horizon. What will it be and will be enough to overcome the rough conclusion to 2022? The Dukes dive it. We also have new details on questing in Starfield as well as Halo Infinite slowly gaining traction! That plus holiday traditions, our thoughts on Avowed's absence, and a transparent conversation with our audience round out our year. To everyone who listened to Defining Duke in 2022, thank you! We hope you enjoyed and we'll see you in 2023 with (hopefully) games to talk about!

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Xbox's WORST Week? - Game Awards No Show, $70 Games, & FTC Sues... Dec 11, 2022

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Xbox's conclusion to 2022 is rather thematic as it matches the vibe of the overall year: Disappointing. While we began on the high of the Activision Blizzard deal, swift delays of Starfield and Redfall as well as a vacant first half of the year painted an all too familiar picture. With the windows closing for Starfield, Redfall, and Forza Motorsport respectively to be dated for the first half of 2023, it was stunning to see Xbox not only skip out on showing anything from those games, but not show up in any form. To make matters worse for them, this all happened on the same day that the FTC had announced they will be suing Microsoft to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. With the deal now in jeopardy despite announced deals with both Nintendo and Steam, Xbox's one saving grace in 2022 may be dashed away into nothing more than an extensive headache. If that wasn't enough, this is also the week we learned that all first party games would be $70 moving forward. After all that has transpired, it undoubtedly places more pressure on these three games to perform exceedingly well for Xbox or we may reach another low for them in this generation.

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Todd Howard Finally Opens Up On Starfield & Elder Scrolls 6... Dec 04, 2022

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What better way to celebrate 100 episodes than to hear from Godd Howard himself? Many fans are clamoring for new Starfield information, but what we didn't expect was Todd Howard to appear on a podcast for three hours and talk about things beyond Starfield. Those topics range from Elder Scrolls 6, to Amazon's Fallout TV show, and even MachineGames' Indiana Jones! Todd even dives deep into his relationship with Xbox with how things have changed for the better and, in some ways, not at all. Outside of this, we are relatively free from the shackles of the perpetual news cycle following the Activision-Xbox deal and can instead turn our attention toward Xbox's achievement system. With a new report from Jez Corden, fans are excited about the possibility of Xbox layering PlayStation's trophy system on top of the current Gamerscore infrastructure. Hopefully within the new 100 episodes, we can cover what this new achievement system truly is!

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Is The Xbox-Activision Deal In Trouble? Nov 27, 2022

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Bethesda seemed to be an answer to a prayer when it came to Xbox fans in 2022. With Starfield and Redfall, they were set to deliver new AAA exclusives that the platform is hungry for. While that obviously got pushed back, Bethesda may have a surprise reveal up their sleeve. Zenimax Online Studios, keepers of the Elder Scrolls Online, have amassed a 200 person team to work on a new Xbox IP. It is one such project that creative director Ben Jones states has been in development for four and a half years with significant resources put into it. Are The Game Awards a good spot for this reveal? We discuss! Meanwhile, the battle for Call Of Duty ensues. It appears that Xbox has submitted an offer to PlayStation that the public has deemed "too good to be true." According to the NYTimes, Xbox has offered PlayStation ten years worth of Call Of Duty which another three added onto their original offer if sources are to be trusted. This begs the question, have the two warring companies finally reached an impasse? PlayStation has refused to comment and Jim Ryan is insisting in his latest statement that choice for gamers will outright disappear if Activision joins the Xbox family. With the EU's extension for a decision being put back until April, it seems like we are truly in for the long haul when it comes to this deal and who will ultimately come out on time.

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Are The Game Awards Worth The Scrutiny? Nov 20, 2022

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The Game Awards, or as some may call them, The Lame Awards, are the subject of ire year in and year out. 2022 has proven to be much of the same as the Game Of The Year list is out with contentious picks aplenty. While it may be the home of things like nepotism and recency bias, many folks such as Cog have accepted it as the way things shall be. From snubs to perplexing categorization such as Elden Ring in the Best Narrative category, we (along with the audience) have many questions to ask. Perhaps the biggest one is, is it worth our frustration or should we just take our game announcements and go? Beyond that, we get into a busy week for Xbox releases as we dive deep into Pentiment along with Somerville. It may not be nearly on the level of God Of War, but Xbox fans will take it! Furthermore, we mull over the comments of Phil Spencer as he firmly closes the door on any Call Of Duty doubts, but raises key points on the future of both mobile games and Project Keystone. That plus The Witcher 3's next gen update, Dave Bautista's Gears Of War casting, and Starfield's uncertain marketing cadence round out our discussion.

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Trouble Is Brewing At Bethesda Nov 13, 2022

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The relationship between Game Developer and Game Composer is a subject we rarely get a lot of insight on within the games industry. As the news of Doom Eternal's composer controversy comes to the public eye, Cog is joined by LSM family Ben to analyze the extremely fascinating implications. Maty Booty interviews, N7 Day and some fun slander await!

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Can Xbox Keep Their First Party AAA Promises? Nov 06, 2022

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Phil Spencer has heard the frustration of Xbox fans regarding the absence of first party games in 2022 loud and clear. The question is..can he actually keep his promises to a frustrated base? Cog is joined by the Man with the million Gamerscore Rand Al Thor 19 to discuss this and the interesting relationship between Embracer Group and Xbox. Is there more than meets the eye with their acquisitions ? We dive in with fun speculation.

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Is Persona 5 Royal A Major Game Changer For Xbox? Oct 30, 2022

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Xbox fans have made many declarations to bring Persona to their beloved box and, finally, it has arrived. This week sees the re-launch of Persona 5 Royal, but for many; it's the first time they are arriving in Shujin Academy. Xbox fans have responded in kind as Persona 5 Royal has reached the top 10 for played games on consoles. Does this signify a major turning point for Xbox's battle in Japan? Could other Japanese developers be taking note of such a surge on the platform and be willing to play ball with the oft neglected platform? As Cog dives in for the first time and Matty watches like a proud dad, we get into the thick of things in Shibuya. Beyond the region of Japan, we move our attention to China where the status quo is shifting dramatically. It is reported by Reuters that Xbox is assembling a team to scout talent throughout China after missing out on the ever popular Genshin Impact. This has major implications for the brand moving forward and we have much to say on it. Beyond that, it was a busy week for Xbox Game Studios across Bethesda, Arkane, and World's Edge! Indeed, this episode truly feels like a bit of a preview on what Defining Duke conversations will be like in 2023. GAMES!

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Are Xbox & Bethesda Mishandling Fallout? Oct 23, 2022

Show notes

Fallout is arguably the most lucrative IP that Xbox earned from its acquisition of Zenimax Media. Since the ink on that deal dried, the possibilities for that series seem endless. With brilliant Fallout minds underneath the Xbox umbrella such as Todd Howard, Brian Fargo, Feargus Urquhart, Tim Cain, and Leonard Boyarsky, it feels like we're primed for a special era in the franchise's lifecycle. While it sounds great, it looks like we're a ways out from any meaningful collaboration. A recent interview with Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart has resparked the famous "Fallout: New Vegas 2" conversation as there is a true hunger from within Obsidian to work on this franchise again. This dates back to 2013 with public pitches for a game by Obsidian, but now with so many answers available in-house; it feels inexcusable to not have something cooking for an objectively profitable series. We also get into the thick of things again with the CMA as well as Microsoft facing some layoffs. There are new details on Minecraft Legends that are beginning to shape up Xbox's early 2023 picture. Plus, we dive into the fiercely debated 30 FPS topic as well as the importance of the conversations surrounding pay for voicework in gaming.

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