The Bobby Blackwolf Show

Latest Episodes:

922 - 01/19/25 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Marvel Snap Temporarily Banned In US, Popular Indie Games Banned In Better eShop Jan 26, 2025

Show notes

I was at the tabletop/board gaming convention Dice & Diversions this weekend, run by the same folks behind the Southern Fried Gaming Expo. The government ban on apps by Chinese-owned ByteDance included the popular mobile game Marvel Snap, which surprised its California based developers. The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally unveiled in a CG rendered trailer, with a full reveal occurring April 2nd. Gaming outlet Nintendo Life released a "Better eShop" after a week of development, and silenced many highly rated, award winning indie games in the process. Then we talk to Rob about the Better eShop and the name of the Nintendo Switch 2.

921 - 01/12/25 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Meta Discontinues Quest Pro Headset, SteamOS Coming To Other Handhelds Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

CES was this weekend, but the big news were the leaks of the Nintendo Switch 2, which had not been formally announced at the time of reporting. Nintendo did, however, say that the Genki mockups shown at CES were not official. Meta is discontinuing their higher end Quest Pro headset, instead concentrating on the Quest 3 and Quest 3S line. Valve has announced that SteamOS is coming to other handhelds sooner than you think, with the Lenovo Legion Go S being the first device to get official support. Then we talk to Rob about other CES announcements, like a mini virtual pinball machine from My Arcade.

920 - 01/05/25 Bobby Blackwolf Show - New D&D Pinball Machine, Apple Vision Pro Ends Production Run Jan 12, 2025

Show notes

We are back! It is now 2025, the holidays are over, and it's time to get back to talking about video games. I was in Las Vegas over the Christmas holiday, and went to AREA15 (along with Meow Wolf's Omega Mart as well as the Asylum Bar and Arcade) as well as the Pinball Hall of Fame. I also picked up Balatro. I won on my second game, and I will now retire from the game forever. (Or will I?) Apple has halted production on their Apple Vision Pro headset because they believe they have produced enough units to meet the demand over the headset's lifetime. Stern Pinball has announced a new Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine with celebrity voiceovers as well as a procedurally generated dungeon that changes every Sunday. Then we talk to Rob about my virtual pinball cabinet, and how Zen Studios unlocked the cabinet mode for free for Pinball FX3 users, rather than forcing you to jump through hoops to get a free activation code.

919 - 12/15/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - The Game Awards Rceap, itch.io Website Taken Down By AI Dec 20, 2024

Show notes

The indie game storefront itch.io was taken down by Funko earlier this week due to a fraud report by Funko that was executed after itch.io removed the offending content. We talk about games being inaccessible, and somehow this devolves to yet another love session for the racing game Blur. The Game Awards was this week, and we talk a lot about the winners and trailers. During this, we wonder aloud why College Football 25 was not nominated for Best Sports Game when it was such a cultural phenomenon this summer. Then we ask what YOUR GOTY was.

918 - 12/08/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - EA Makes More Patents Free, Dragon Quest Creator Wants Kids To Play Remake Dec 15, 2024

Show notes

We start off talking about where Microsoft Flight Simulator gets its maps - and why the game may be years behind what you can find in the web version. iFixIt now sells official Xbox parts, marking another win for Right to Repair. EA has made 23 accessibility patents free to use for any studio. The Dragon Quest creator wants you to loan your copy of the HD-2D Remake to kids when you're done with it so they will appreciate the genre like we did when we were kids. Then, thanks to chat, we talk about the legacy of Dani Bunten with 80's era multiplayer innovations with Seven Cities, M.U.L.E., and Modem Wars.

917 - 12/1/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Shuhei Yoshida Leaves Sony, Xbox Avatars Leave Xbox Dec 08, 2024

Show notes

I was on the Dragon Con Digital Media Track's "Be Awesome Together" livestream this week, go check it out! Shuhei Yoshida is leaving Sony after over three decades. Sony has officially announced that the PlayStation 2 has sold over 160 million units worldwide, keeping it as the best selling game console of all time. Microsoft will be removing the Xbox Avatars App from the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles in January of 2025 because nobody was using it. Then we talk to Rob about our previous gaming setups, including Bobby's dorm room in college.

916 - 11/24/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Tetris Forever Impressions, Sony To Buy FromSoftware? Dec 01, 2024

Show notes

We start off by talking about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and its current performance in VR, which has a long way to go to become stable. I finally went through Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series of Tetris Forever, and I loved it, but people who just want the games may not be feeling it. Sony has submitted a proposal to purchase Kadokawa Corporation, which owns many anime and manga companies, but also FromSoftware, the developers behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Steam has issued new rules about DLC and season passes which are very pro consumer but make things more difficult for publishers who can't accurately predict release dates. Itch.io now requires AI disclosure for all products, and are making every project declare if they used GenAI in the development of what they are selling. Then we talk to Rob about Pikmin Bloom.

915 - 11/17/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - SEGA Delisting Games, Internet Archive Preserving Them Nov 24, 2024

Show notes

The second DLC for Atari 50 is out, about the first console war, and it has some interesting games - as long as you have a second player on the couch with you. Tetris Forever is also out now, and I give some early impressions of the games included and the start of the documentary portion. SEGA is delisting many classic games on all platforms, probably to sell them back to you at a higher price. Epic Games has said they are supporting the Internet Archive's hosting of Unreal and Unreal Tournament. GOG announced a preservation program that has them taking on tech support and updates for older games. Then we talk to Rob about game archival and when holiday lights should come up.

914 - 11/03/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Nintendo Music App Launches, Sony Closes Two Studios Nov 08, 2024

Show notes

I finally got to the part in Metaphor: ReFantazio with the mandatory stealth section...I don't like stealth. Nintendo has launched a new music app, and it has a feature that Spotify doesn't - extending the game loop for up to an hour. However, they don't credit the artists on any of the songs, and this is partially due to how Japanese companies work. Sony has closed Firewalk Studios, who made Concord, and Neon Koi, a mobile game studio, just two years after purchasing them. Then we talk to Rob about the Nintendo Music App and the Like A Dragon: Yakuza series on Amazon Prime.

913 - 10/27/24 Bobby Blackwolf Show - Video Game Libraries Cant Rent Online, AAA Studio Closed Before Making Game Nov 03, 2024

Show notes

If a AAA game studio is closed, was it ever a AAA studio? Netflix closed their AAA game studio before even announcing a project. The US Copyright Office declined a DMCA exception for Video Game Libraries looking to help researchers access their materials online. A Larian Studios executive made comments about Ubisoft's drive to be more subscription only after the new Prince of Persia was declared not profitable and the team disbanded. Then we talk to Rob about game preservation - which is a very hot topic for him. (Language alert!)

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