Xbox Game Pass has increasingly striven to bring the best value to its player base. It has been clear that Sony and Xbox have two different strategies for competing for eyeballs. Xbox has been making inroads to get its software wherever you play games. It doesn't matter if it is on an Xbox, computer, or Switch. Xbox wants you to play their games.    To this end, Xbox Game Pass has teamed up with EA Play. As of now, you can all EA's catalog of games on the Xbox Game Pass. This collaboration is a huge win for gamers who want to get the biggest bang out of their buck for a subscription. Sony will need to make a long term strategy to compete with the incredible value Xbox is bringing.    If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone

AM:GZ News #28: Xbox Game Pass and EA Play Unite

EA has practiced in many terrible monetization schemes. EA's most recent way they have planed to monetize their games is to do role ads in their games. This choice EA made might have been tolerable if they had released that game as a free game. In my opinion, the company has been treating the franchise as a game as a service. They might as well copy other games as services and release one game that has consistent updates. Do they do this? Nope! They publish the game at $60 and then do ad roles.    If consumers are paying $60 or $100 for a game, it should be free of ads. This move is grimy and should be held in disdain. The only way to prevent these types of additions is not to buy these titles. However, there is a dedicated base that loves sports games, regardless of quality. The best we can hope for is to be vigilant and prevent these practices in our other games.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #27: EA Places Ads in $60 Game!?

Tencent is effectively an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It does nothing without the explicit blessing of the political party that rules China with an iron fist. The current President of the United States attempts to diminish the influence and power of China in the states. One part of many actions this US government is taking is banning WeChat and TikTok. There are allegations that these apps are collecting information to be used by the CCP.    What is interesting is that other companies seem to be in danger to be on the chopping block as well. Two companies specifically that might be in trouble are Epic Games due to it being 40% owned by Tencent and Riot Games is 100% by Tencent. These are huge companies in the video game space and these actions leave us with many questions.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #26: Could Riot Games Be Banned Due to Tencent?

The console war between PlayStation and Xbox is coming soon! PlayStation has done a great job of attracting costumers with console exclusive games. That is what PlayStation is known for now, and is what has made them successful. Xbox had missteps at the begging of the last console war and needs to come out swinging to succeed this time around. Did Xbox achieve this?   In our opinion, the Xbox Showcase was lackluster, and not too many titles gripped us. There were some interesting elements to the show, and the Game Pass looks excellent. However, they seem to be seriously lacking in showing a premier console exclusive game that will be released at the same time as the console. Due to this, I don't know if they will have any driver to move console sales, but only time will tell!   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #25: Inside Xbox Game Showcase

Mixer had so much promise to give the other Video Game Streaming platforms a run for their money. Many video game streamers and players hoped that Mixer would create competition between Twitch and Youtube. This competition would ideally have made a better experience for everyone involved in the space. This hope was fantastic, but these hopes were not actualized. The platform never gained the audience they hope to achieve. Due to this, Microsoft is shutting down Mixer.   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #24: Mixer is Over!

There have been methods to monetize content, both good and bad for the consumer. However, there has never been a monetization scheme, quite like the Culling: Origins. The players will not only have to play the game but will have to pay to play for each match you participate in.    Electronic Arts and Activision have crafted nefarious ways to monetize their content in predatory practices. However, this small developer takes it to levels that even EA or Activision wouldn't try to go. There are so many deserving games and developers. We would not recommend the Culling: Origins.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #23: The Culling's Terrible Monetization

Last of Us 2 was widely successful and beloved. Ellie and Joel became huge video game characters and possibly rising to timeless characters as well. Because of this, the gaming community was excited to see where the sequel would take the series. The mystery was stolen for many fans due to leaks happening. The Last of Us 2 story plots where leaked and fans were outrages on how the developers at Naughty Dog choose to treat these characters. To many fans, it was incredibly anti-climatic and a disappointment. Only time will tell now if this leak will hurt sales.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #22: Last of Us 2 Leaks

There have many different crazy iterations of microtransactions in the video game industry. However, Dead or Alive has taken the cake recently on one of the worst microtransactions in games. The game has close to over a thousand dollars worth of microtransactions in the game. If that wasn't bad enough, then the fact the game charges you every time a character gets a haircut is atrocious. Those types of charges are the pinnacle of taking advantage of your customer base. Team Ninja shouldn't get a dime for overtly terrible practices.   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #21: Dead or Alive Crazy Monetization

This news cycle we talk about the reviews of a few recent movies, and we discuss the video games coming in the future. As always, we love to hear what you think! Jump in on the conversation. Let's dive into the news.    Geek News   John Watches Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker John has finally watched Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While there were some positive moments in the movie for John; however, the film essentially rewrites a good deal of lore, and the movie came out being "ok." Both John and Richard wished for more in a Star Wars movie.    Birds of Prey We have another movie marketed poorly and a group of writers who couldn't live up to the source material. As it stands right now, Birds of Prey is on track to lose money for the studio. Another sad day for comic book movies.   Sonic Success Where Birds of Prey failed, Sonic the Movie succeeds with audiences. There are a vast number of video game films that have failed. Sonic was heading the direction when the first trailers showed off Sonic. Sonic looked horrific and would have face planted. The studio then took that criticism and completely redid the movie. That positive move has paid off for them as it has grossed $295.6 million.     Video Game News   Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing, and Resident Evil 3 We have a few great games coming up soon, and we couldn't be more excited! Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons both come out on March 20th. The crossover memes from both communities have been funny and incredible. The beloved Resident Evil franchise has a new remake coming up on April 3rd, Resident Evil 3.    Stadia vs. Nvidia  What could be worse than being a sub-par video game streaming service? Being the worst of all the streaming services. Nvidia has a new streaming service in Beta that already looks better then Stadia. Can Stadia survive the streaming services from Xbox, Nvidia, and others? Let us know what you think!   Showstopper    CD Projekt Red is the Second Biggest Games Studio in Europe CD Projekt Red has reached an incredible milestone. The studio is now the second biggest games studio in Europe! We are happy to have one of the best studios when it comes to customer relations have this accomplishment. The market is flooded with studios and publishers who institute some of the worst practices in their games. We wish CD Projekt Red the best and hope they continue to have players first in mind in the future as well.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #20: CD Projekt Red is Awesome

We are back from hiatus! We had some significant life events happening in our lives that put the podcast on hold; however, we are ecstatic to discuss everything geek and video game-related! Let's dive into the news!   Geek News   Shows We Watched During Hiatus During our break, we were able to catch up on some outstanding shows. John was able to watch the Harley Quinn animated series, and it was a fun animation. Richard finished watching the Mandalorian and the Witcher. Both are fantastic shows that are worth your viewership.   Video Game News   Pokemon Has Become Pricey With Pokemon: Sword and Shield officially on a mainline console, Pokemon fans are now paying more than ever. The base games individually are $60, so those dedicated to having both will pay $120. The DLC will then cost $30 per game. This means that a person who has both games will then pay $60 to have the DLC for both games. After that, Pokemon Home is the replacement for Pokemon Bank. Pokemon Home will cost $16 annually. All of this combined means that dedicated Pokemon fans will pay $196. Is Game Freak pushing their monetization to far, or are you on board with these prices?   Nintendo Has the Worst Return Policy We here are at AM: Game Zone has seen questionable return policies in the gaming industry; however, for now, Nintendo has taken the cake for the worst return policy. You can not return a game to Nintendo. Period. No exceptions. This even includes pre-order games. The game isn't yet released, but Nintendo refuses to refund the game. This is an anticonsumer and lousy policy. For all the things Nintendo does well, this is one of the worst things this company does.    Showstopper   Warcraft 3: Reforged Blunder Blizzard has been one of the worst companies in the video game industry of late. They continue to disappoint with the release of Warcraft 3: Reforged. Blizzard underdelivered in every category and continues to erode their credibility.   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #19: Blizzard Destroys 17 Year Old Game

The game awards are here, and the year is almost most over! What are the categories this year, and is your game listed? Let's dive in and discuss.   Geek News   Mandalorian is Still Awesome We are a few episodes in the series, and we are excited were Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau continue to take the series. The relationship between the Mandalorian the child is a compelling story full a mystery and intrigue. We can't wait for the coming episodes.   Kathleen Kennedy Contract Ends in 2021 Kathleen Kennedy, the president at Lucasfilm, will have her contract end in 2021. Now, before some become excited, this does not mean that she won't resume her role at Lucasfilm. However, Disney has not come out public state the Kathleen Kennedy will continue her position, and Kathleen has been vague about what the future holds for her. We hope that people like Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau with maybe a little Kevin Feige threw in there will hopefully be the next leaders for Lucasfilm.   Video Game News   PS5 Announced for 2020 Holiday The PS5 has been announced, and the console race between PlayStation and Xbox has begone. The big question is, what games and services will the PS5 be able to offer over the Xbox. It is shaping up to be a fantastic struggle for the consumer.    Stadia Disaster  Google Stadia is here, and, to the surprise of none, the service is laggy, limited, and underwhelming. We have voiced heavy skepticism and cation when it comes to this service. Especially when there are better services such as xCloud around the corner. Even Amazon is looking to enter the video game streaming space. It will be a competitive market that will allow little room for error. It is our feeling that Stadia has made to many mistakes to correct the course promptly.    Showstopper   The Game Awards 2019 The Game Awards are here, and we are excited to list the categories here in the show notes! These are the following categories for the 2019 Game Awards: Game of the Year, Action Game, Action/Adventure Game, Art Direction, Audio Design, Community Support, Content Creator of the Year, Esports Coach, Esports Event, Esports Game of the Year, Esports Host, Esports Player, Esports Team, Family Game, Fighting Game, Fresh Indie Game, Game Direction, Game for Impact, Independent Game, Mobile Game, Multiplayer Game, Narrative, Ongoing Game, Performance, Role-Playing Game, Score & Music, Sports/Racing Game, Strategy Game, and VR/AR Game.    If you are interested in voting, then go to the Game Awards website! Let us know in the comments the games you think will win, and what you hope will win.   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #18: The 2019 Game Awards Announcement

Google Stadia is has been going through multiple PR missteps. Now it appears to have had its worst backlash yet. At launch, there will be numerous features missing from the service. What are those services not available at release? Let's tune in to find out.   Geek News   The Mandalorian is Epic Star Wars has been sub-par in recent years. However, this may be turning with properties such as the Mandalorian. It comes out the gate swing with intriguing characters, a great storyline, and a series that feels like Star Wars. We couldn't ask better people to be in charge of this series then Dave Giloni and Jon Favreau. We can only hope that they continue with the franchise.   Disney Plus Disney Plus is out, and it appears to be a sold service. There are many good movies and series on the platform with more to come. Disney Plus had some stumbles and hickups right out the gate, and there could be some improvements made; however, it is at least worth the time to try the free trial.   Sonic Trailer The monstrosity of the first Sonic trailer left the internet in an uproar. The studio went back to the drawing board and recently released a new trailer with a more faithful depiction of Sonic. It has been well received, and people on the internet have celebrated the studio listening and taking the request of the fans. However, the studio did increase the production cost of the movie due to the time taken to redo Sonic. It is up to people now to put their money where the mouth is. The studio should be rewarded for listening to the fans.    Video Game News   Pokemon Reuses Assets Pokemon has been going through a lot of controversies. Specifically, their most controversial decision was to change how they handle the National Pokedex. The most recent controversy was that they reused assets for Pokemon Sword and Shield. This discovery would go against Games Freak's statement that it would be a new Pokemon game from the ground up. Will this alienate fans, or is this a minor bump for the video game studio? We'll have to see how it develops.   Anthem Getting an Overhaul Anthem appears as if the game has been left and forgotten. It has been a commercial and critical failure for EA and Bioware. However, the publisher and studio aren't finished with the franchise yet. The game is going to be put through another round of development to fix key game loop issues and create a more cohesive story. We love flying like Ironman; however, the game needs to be more then a couple of interesting mechanics.    Mass Effect 5 in Development As reported by Kotaku, Bioware is in the early development of Mass Effect 5. This announcement is exciting and never racking. Mass Effect Andromeda had a compelling premise for the game but failed to execute on launch; moreover, it had ample technical issues, the graphics were seemed at times worse than Mass Effect 3, and the story never was able to grab my attention. Let us hope the Bioware can salvage their reputation with the new titles coming out.   Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Scores In short, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a good video game. It won't redefine the genre, but it does put the Star Wars games under EA on the right path. Here were some of the Jedi: Fallen Order scores: IGN: 90 GameSpot: 80 Easy Allies: 90 Game Rant: 90 We enjoyed playing as Cal Kestis and would enjoy seeing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order become a running franchise.   Showstopper   Google Stadia Dead on Arrival? Stadia has been attempting to roll out a revolutionary service; despite Stadia's lofty goal, they haven't done themselves any PR favors. Moreover, their PR blunders could leave them dead on arrival. The service won't have key features that were promised on release. A few of these features are Stream Connect, State Share, Crowd Play, Buddy Pass, and Family Sharing. Also, the services will only have Google Pixel phones and ChromeOS tablet support, and the Stadia controller can only connect to the Chromecast wirelessly. You'll have to wire in the controller to your phone, tablet, or computer to utilize the Stadia service. On top of it all, the service's highest date usage, which is their 4k visuals with 5.1 surround sound, comes in at a terrible 15.78 GB/hr. This usage will be unacceptable to most people. Let us know what will happen to Google Stadia in the comments!   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

AM:GZ News #17: Is Stadia Dead on Arrival?

 Become a Patron! Blizzard had a vast PR mountain to overcome this year's Blizzcon. They would have to walk the fine line of wooing people over with new titles, but not aggravate their audience with bad corporate decisions. Did they succeed in doing this? Let's get into the stories!    Geek News   Joker the Most Profitable Comic Book Movie   We believed that Joker would be successful and profitable, but I don't think we could have called how profitable the movie would become. As of the recording, the has grossed 957 million at the box office. This achievement is incredible because the film had a 62.5 million production cost. This success almost guarantees there will be a sequel to the Joker movie. Do you want a sequel? Let us know!   Disney Plus has the Star Wars Collection Available I have been itching to rewatch and finish Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. Disney Plus will have that series and many other movies and tv series on their streaming platform. The streaming services coming in at a reasonable price and very well be worth the look. Plus, the Mandalorian had a well-received reception.    Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and YouTube COPPA appears to be a game-changer for YouTube in a very negative way. We believe that the mass majority of people don't want big companies collecting kids' information. However, there is a difference between collection information and displaying ads. The network channels have never had an issue with displaying advertisements. If you ever watch a channel like Nickelodeon, then you will see ads for Legos, Paw Patrol, and a mix of different toys for kids. In spite of that precedent, it seems that YouTube will be cutting ads to content for kids by a significant amount. These actions make the kid-specific channels unlucrative overnight. Plus, if your content is deemed "Kid Friendly," then you could be heavily fined. What defines the content as "Kid Friendly"? No one knows. We'll have to see how the platform and the content creators handle these changes.    YouTube Channel Stealers There is a scam happening on YouTube that is happening right now. The scammers send a message about being an affiliate marketing opportunity; however, they need the YouTuber to download a specific piece of software first. Once the YouTuber does this, then it gives the scammer the ability to steal the channel. It even bypasses double-verification checks. It still has not been uncovered how they can accomplish this. Despite these atrocious acts, YouTube has been silent and unhelpful in this matter. Once again, YouTube is benefiting from content creators, but not assisting them in their struggles.    Video Game News   I Tried Xbox Game Pass for a Dollar I gave the Xbox Game Pass a try on the computer to see if the service was worth it. I have seen the service on the Xbox console, and it fantastic; however, the PC version needs to be worked out. The games did not seem optimized for the PC. There were multiple stutters and dropped frame rates. The service has promise, and we look forward to seeing it improved.   Jarvis Khattri Permanently Banned from Fortnite Fortnite continues to be a pillar game in the gaming industry. The game has millions of players and thousands of content creators that are specialized in this game. Some players rise to the top, such as Ninja, LazerBeam, and Lachlan. However, Jarvis Khattri, a prominent Fortnite content creator, made the cardinal sin. He enabled aimbots and produced content for his viewers. His action became a massive mistake because Epic immediately acted and put a lifetime ban on him. This action cut Jarvis off from future tournaments and future Fortnite content creation.   Showstopper   Did Blizzard Have a Successful BlizzCon? Blizzard had a lot of hurdles to overcome. Did they do this? Yes and no. They did an excellent job of not escalating the PR troubles. Blizzard allowed people to ask the questions they wanted to ask and didn't censor people's dress attire. However, the game release information was mostly subpar. The Overwatch 2 information has us excited, and the trailers for Wow: Shadowlands and Diablo 4 had the excellent Blizzard quality. However, Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 are still ways away when Blizzard needs a win much sooner. Ultimately, this Blizzcon was in the middle of the road and unmemorable.    Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

AM:GZ News #16: Did Blizzard Have a Successful BizzCon?

 Become a Patron! David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are controversial figures after the lackluster conclusion of Game of Thrones. They rushed the ending to get to their next project, Star Wars. However, it seems that them directing the future trilogy of Star Wars movies won't come to pass. They moved away from Disney to go to Netflix for 300 million dollars! Let's jump into the news.   Geek News   Kotaku Falling Apart Kotaku has been going through rough times as the digital landscape changes. However, it appears that the company is going to battle with the parent company, G/O Media. G/O Media decided to implement irritating autoplay ads on their websites, which neither the editors or readers wanted. Then the writers wanted autonomy to write what they wanted, but G/O Media told the writers to stick to their assigned topics. The directive didn't go over well. What will the future look like for the webpage? Only time will tell.    The Games of Thrones Prequels Series is Canceled Game of Thrones as a franchise has been on shaky ground ever since the conclusion of Season 8. People are disgruntled and dissatisfied with how the series ended. Issues continue with the franchise as one of the prequels series is canceled. The series would have been named Bloodmoon, and it would have been set thousands of years before the mainline story. As of right now, the prequel series about the Targaryens is still going to happen. However, all future series seems to be in question.  Video Game News   Several Lead Developers Have Left Blizzard People leave jobs and move on to different projects. That is a natural part of people's work life. However, when massive waves of people leave the company, then it may indicate things are not great in the company. The lead designer of Starcraft 2 and director of Heroes of the Dustin Browder departed Blizzard. Hearthstone had its production director Jason Chayes and director Eric Dodds leave the company as well. These departures were quite and unannounced, which is unusual for such accomplished individuals.    EA Coming to Steam It has been a long time since EA games have been on Steam. Specifically, EA hasn't released its new games since 2013. They have released those games on their launcher, Origin. Now they are returning to Steam and will release Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Surprisingly, EA Access services will eventually come to Steam.  PlayStation 4 Overtook Wii and Playstation Sales The PlayStation 4 will again hit another mile marker. The console has surpassed the Wii and PlayStation lifetime sales. The Wii sold 101.63 million, and PlayStation sold 102.49 million. However, the PlayStation 4 surpassed both by hitting 102.8 million lifetime sales. A spectacular accomplishment by the company. Sony has dominated this console cycle with Xbox One selling only 46.9 million.    The Outer Worlds Speed Runner Beats the Game in Less Than 25 Minutes Have you bee playing Outer Worlds? We have, and it has been a fun time. In general, people have been clocking in around 40 hours when they finish the main storyline. However, there is a niche for gamers to find out the way to beat the game in the quickest fashion possible. Outer Worlds now has its first speedrun time set by YouTuber Jabo at 25 minutes. It would be fantastic to see this game in future speedrun competitions.    Wild Speculation on Next Nintendo Direct We found wild rumors and speculation about the next Nintendo Direct. Some of the rumors sounded plausible, while others sounded extremely far-fetched. What do you want from the next Nintendo Direct, and what do you think they'll announce.    Showstopper   David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Have Left Their Star Wars Trilogy for Netflix D&D rushed the final season of Game of Thrones so they could work on Disney's new Star Wars movies. Their actions angered the Game of Thrones fandom because the series being poorly concluded. Now, they have decided to move away from Star Wars, one of the largest franchises in entertainment, to go to Netflix. There are rumors that D&D will be working with a budget in the nine-figure range. Do you think that they made the right move, or have they burned too many bridges?

AM:GZ News #15: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Leave Star Wars

 Become a Patron! We had the pleasure of conversing with Marco Vale! As a talented artist, he had a great deal of insight into the life and, for Marco Vale, an unconventional career track of a Video Game Artist.    "I have been working in the games industry as an amateur since 1998. In 2003 I started as a professional. My projects range from all forms of game art, from 3d low-poly to 2d pixel art, vector, or even animation. I've also taught illustration, 3d modeling, Flash animation, and Photoshop at a professional school. I am currently working in mobile gaming." - Marco Vale   If you want to learn from a talented artist, then I would highly recommend trying his course on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/pixel-art-for-video-games/.    You can find him on his website and his social media platforms: Website Twitter LinkedIn YouTube   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!   

AM:GZ Interview #1: Marco Vale

Welcome to Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone! This podcast is the place for people who love games and geek content. We do a weekly commentary of what is happening in the news for the gaming industry and things that interest the team which ranges from movies, anime, and comics. We aim to inform and entertain! On top of the weekly commentary, we interview gaming developers and influencers. Our interest is to know more about them, their journey, and the project they are currently working on. We want to know about their position, where they are aspiring to take their career, and how others can emulate the success they have achieved. We hope you listen in and enjoy the show. Stay Strong!

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Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone

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