Lol this is basically excatlly what I said to Chirs when he drafted this up. It's all about the mobility! 

Looks good Matt. I think I'm going to hold off for the iphone f2p version though. 

Yeah I'll be streaming a lot more in the future. Thanks for checking it out. 

Hey we are actually bringing the old episodes back. They'll likely be back up in working order by the end of the weekend. So basically disregard everything we said (as usual). 

Yeah there is no question that there PR on the matter has been horrible. Honsetly don't know what they are doing on that front. I think you raise an important question though, a big kicker for how exceptable Xbox's system will be; is what benefits will gamers recieve? If its nothing, than there's certainly no reason to give up your rights to a phsycial copy. However, there could be some benefits similar to steam with aggressive sales and more varied pricing models. 

One of the things I think people are forgeting with this is that Microsoft doesn't even know how this thing is going to work yet. Its obivious they don't or they would have addressed it alread, because the speculation fo what it could be is likely far worse than what the end result will be. That being said I don't think people should simply give MS the benefit of the doubt. It's great to question these companies and make sure they provide you the best service possible. 

Just think its too early to make a definitive statement one way or another. 

Well it doesn't have to be intrusive to be a service platform, it just has to offer a service lol. Like I said physical copies dont' necessarily need to go to wayside for these services to exist, but its hard to believe there's a future where digital doesn't become the prodominant means of production. 

Digital isn't all bad though, tears down the gate for indies and removes a lot of the barriers to entry for development. I expect physical copies to stick around (at least this gen), but I also think they are going to be more expensive. 

Yeah, Gamers certainly influence the general populace to a degree. I mean I think we've all been asked about our opinions on games and systems, and our recomendations do carry weight, just not sure if its enough to drastically alter world wide market share. 

Note: I'm not justifying the use of built-in DRM, I simply don't believe that it is going to resonate with the general consumer like it does with us. 

I understand that, I just think we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg at the moment. We really haven’t seen these games fleshed out, heck most of the stuff there didn’t even offer playable demos and when they did it was highly scripted. What we are looking at right now are concepts, a lot of them have promise but neither Sony nor Microsoft has shown a full-fledged game ready for launch.  

Well to be honest they were not the first to cross that line. Steam did it way before them. I understand that built in DRM is upsetting and I'm by no means saying that its accpetable. However, do I think this is going to influence the majority of consumers this generation, probably not. Most people won't even know this exists when they buy the console. 

Further down the line when consumers truly do look at games a service something like this should (and proably will ) register more with consumers. But for the time being I'm pretty sure they are most concered with games and what console their friends are going to be playing on. 

I'm not saying that physical media is going to die, but I do think the industry is going to make a push towards becoming a service, because it seems to be the natural progression of every media platform. It provides a more sustainable means of income for the providers and offers additional conveniences to the consumer. 

Gaming as a hobby won’t die (at least not for awhile), but you will see the idea of offering a service and a unified platform come into play. It’s obvious that Microsoft is aiming for such a strategy, but PlayStation isn’t ignoring this angle either. PlayStation Plus is the perfect example of such a manifestation offering deals and free games for a subscription. 

I totally get that, and I don't necessarily disagree but we are part of the minority here. There are plenty of people who will note be phased by the X1's DRM policies. 

Nahh its Descarte or the person who came up with the Flying Spaghetti Monster for sure. 

Yeah I try to refrain from “going on and on” about the PC, but sometimes I can’t help it. In terms of the industry right now I truly think it’s the most exciting platform. Steam with Green Light and Indie Humble Bundle are offering tons of experiences that you don’t get anywhere else.

I’d highly recommend the platform to anyone aspiring to get into games (both writing and developing). For you personally Michael, you may want to look into getting involved with some developers on Green Light. Purchasing a lot of those games will give you direct access to the game forums and the developers themselves. They often use the early adopter community as a QA team, would be a great way to not only get in touch with people within the industry, but learn how to fine tune a game in the process.

Once you get your rig setup you’ll have to let me know. 

Michael I completely agree with you. I was actually talking with Nick today and I told him I’d be surprised if anything this year can even match this game. The more I think it about, the more impressed I am with this game.

This very well may be one of the best games I’ve ever played. The mechanics are no doubt much cleaner than pervious titles, but what truly makes this game stand out are the characters and of course the amazing narrative and atmosphere that the series is known for.  

I love how you can take almost any static scene from the game and learn so much about the world by simply inspecting the details. There was so much love and thought put into this world that it blows my mind. Now everything is heightened with the addition of real characters. No longer are we viewing this utopias through the eyes of some vessel, these are real people, and there’s more at stake.

Yeah like you said, I’m blown away.

I'm hope I'm wrong and something comes out that can compare to this, but I'd be very surprised if that turns out to be the case. It may be years before we see another game like this. 

Hey Mike, 

Glad you enjoyed the podcast thanks for the great topic. I agree the sky is the limit when it comes to games as a means of education and I think you were right in explaining that general education as a whole needs to be addressed. I think games in particular though (at least from the point of individual class rooms) provide an effective means to do that. Buying a few titles would roughly cost the equivalent of a text book and allow users to implement (depending on the title) a plethora of scenarios.

Hopefully we can get to the point where we as a society take a more serious look at the way we teach our children. Because with so many new tools available, it’s a travesty that we continue to perpetuate the same system; and a system like you said that is designed for a world and an economy that no longer exists.   

That being said Mike we are going to have to coax you into being a guest sometime soon on the show. You just have too much to add to the conversation not to come join us at least for one episode 

p.s. Think I used the word great enough in this post? 

Great episode guys! Glad to hear that at least a few people are considering playing Kingdoms of Amular, despite the crappy name it’s certainly worth a look. Julian had it right, it really controls amazingly well for an action RPG, and it’s the game I’ve always wanted Fable to be honestly.

Also it was really interesting to hear the roots of this Enslaved. Seeing the game and concept art I could see the connection between Monkey and Goku, but I honestly didn’t know both were inspired by Journey to the West. I’ve never read that book, but hearing how much its influenced both to these things makes me interested to read it.

Anyways yeah I always love the first episode of Backloggers for that information. It makes me realize that I need to look more into the roots of games, because there are a lot of interesting connections that can be found.

Awesome episode, great information, keep up the great work! 

 So does that mean we are hipsters or douchebags? 

Honestly not much to add to the conversation here, as I too will be avoiding this discussion (at least for now) like the plague. However, I did want to commend everyone here for their civil and respectful tone.

These discussions while undoubtedly frustrating are also important to have. Thus, even if its “us” simply coming together to express our disappointment in the internet’s inability to foster a real discussion; it’s reassuring to know that at least in our little slice of the inter-webs there is room for discourse and intelligent discussion.

Moments like this make me excited to be part of this community.

F.Y.I. while I know most of you are more than fed up on the discussion, a while back produced some content on gender in the gaming sphere.

Jesse, Chessa, Sam, and Myself recorded a podcast discussing our various viewpoints on the subject.

Additionally, I also wrote a feature around the same time, discussing the importance of acknowledging gender within the gaming space.

I know most of you are simply fed up with this discussion (which is fine) so please feel free to tell me to “bugger off!”

Just thought I’d let everyone know the content is there if you are interested, again thanks community for being so awesome.  

"One of us, One of us"

Is it bad that part of me still just wants to use this face instaed :O .....

Yeah Xenoblade is awesome. It manages to have the old-school JRPG feel without many of the pitfalls of the genre. That beign said there are still a number of issues with the game, but overall I think this game exemplifies how the JRPG can grow and evolve to find its place in the current the gaming landscape. 

Have to agree I absolutely loved the game. I actually just talked about this game in our 2012 rap up podcast and it really was one of my favorite titles of the year. I don’t know if there is a game that has melded the hack and slash and RPG genre.

In a lot of ways this game felt like the game I always wanted Fable to be. Quick and intense hack and slash combat with deep character customization, and of course tons of loot! Glad both of you decided to pick the game up, its unfortunate that such a great title was overshadowed by its financial troubles. 

the staff here at Pixlbit has actually been talking about this. With so many new members here on the site we'd love to set up some game nights to get to know everyone, and most importantly play some games!!