Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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! 

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!

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! 

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?

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!   

Become a Patron! It is spectacular how Bethesda's Fallout 76 gives AM: Game Zone new topics all the time. The latest scandal Bethesda has created is Fallout 76's subscription model they have implemented. The subscription won't cost $5 or $10 but a whole $100 to get the subscription benefits. The worst part of all, all the subscription mechanics are broken! Let's find out what happened this week!   Geek News   Joker is the Top Box Office R Rated Movie Our team at AM: Game Zone loved the Joker, and it appears that people are coming in droves to see the Joker. The supervillain film is projected to surpass the $800 million mark. Joker is now amongst the best box office R rated movies such as Deadpool, Matrix Reloaded, and The Passion of the Christ. It appears that great work is strongly desired and appreciated, regardless of the rating.    Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Ticket Sales reach 2nd Best All-Time Sales ... but Only on Atom Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker hits record on Atom by being the second-best first-day sales. The first-best first-day sales being Avengers: Endgame.   Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be the Longest Star Wars Movie It has been revealed through AMC Theaters that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will have a runtime of 155 minutes. This runtime puts the film as the longest at Star Wars movie in the franchise. The shortest of the movies in the franchise is Star Wars: A New Hope, which clocked in at 121 minutes, and the second-longest is Star Wars: The Last Jedi at 152 minutes. Will the long runtime help tie up loose ends and help salvage the mess left by Episode 8? Let us know what you think!   Video Game News   Expansion for World of Warcraft Leaked Ahead of BlizzCon There is a rumor that Shadowlands will be the next expansion for World of Warcraft. The speculation started when an ad for a t-shirt and a fine art print had WOW Shadowlands on it. Blizzard desperately needs to show gamers new expansions and new games to regain the reputation that has been damaged over time. Our team is watching intently on what will be announced.   Call of Duty Mobile Spins are Rigged! The mechanics for microtransactions and loot boxes utilized by developers and publishers have proven to be nefarious and egregious. Activision has proven to be one of the leaders in the awful practices. Their newest monetization scheme is on their mobile app of Call of Duty. They had seasonal offerings of skins and items that you had to spin for to acquire. The company tried to make it seem that you could randomly get the premier skins, which are the Outrider-Skeleton and the AK-47. However, the system is rigged for your failure! An excellent and thorough look into this can be found at PickRickle.   Switch players will have to wait for Outer Worlds Though understandable, it is still disappointing that the Switch version will not be released till next year. Though Outer Worlds is a massive RPG, Bethesda has shown they have been able to put their games on the Switch. Bethesda's ability to put their games on the Switch gives me full faith that Obsidian will be able to accomplish the same thing. Obsidian has been outclassing Bethesda as of late, and we hope they will do so on the Switch as well.    Showstopper Bethesda's Implements a $100 Subscription in their Broken Game The game started broken and continues to be a buggy and awful mess. What is the logical thing to do then? If you said to fix the game, then you are wrong! If your Bethesda, then the answer is to charge $100 a year for more broken mechanics! The glitches include with the subscription include the scrap box glitch that deleted items when players switched from private servers to public servers. The private servers aren't private. People on the subscriber's friends list can come on the private server even if those friends aren't subscribers. Then on the private servers also don't seem to "newly created." There are a few anecdotal stories of dead NPCs in the private server and already looted areas.    Fans are outraged at this attempt to monetize Fallout 76 so aggressively — one fan took the initiative to display their displeasure. They were able to get the URL named falloutfirst.com. It is a parody of Bethesda's Fallout 1st website. The parody is vulgar and does not hold back any punches saying this like, "WHAT'S INCLUDED BEHIND THE FALLOUT FUCK YOU 1ST PAYWALL?" and "THIS STUPID ASS MEMBERSHIP." The community is upset about how Bethesda continually tries to manage and monitize. We at AM: Game Zone won't be surprised if stunts like these continue.    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! 

  Become a Patron! After the turbulent news cycle, we ease into a week with more consistent ups and downs. This week consisted of highs with Pokemon, Capcom, Star Wars, and Minecraft and lows with Stadia and Blizzard. Let us jump into the news! Video Games News Pokemon Center in London has Strong Opening Pokemon continues to be a powerhouse franchise throughout the world. The appeal for Pokemon is popular from young audiences to adults. The love for Pokemon was present in London this week. On 18 OCT 19, a Pokemon Center opened in London. The Pokemon fandom came out in droves to see the Pokemon Center. Though the store opened at 10 AM, there were those that arrived as early as 4 AM. There are not too many brands, especially in this digital age, that can attract people to wait hours in line to enter the store. The store closing hour was 10 PM, and they had to end the line at 1 PM when they determined it had a 9-hour queue.  Blizzard Cancels Event at Nintendo's New York Store We dedicated our last Showstopper on Episode 12 about how Blizzard's ineptitude led to mass outrage. That outrage continues to haunt them as they cancel the Overwatch Launch event that was to take place at the Nintendo New York store. The event was scheduled to take place on 16 OCT 19, but Blizzard, on short notice, canceled the event on 14 OCT 19. This cancellation surprised us because of how long these events take to plan. Blizzard even had scheduled to have the voice actors in the Nintendo New York store. This action means, to us, at least, they feared the outrage from their current choices more than the wasted planning and effort. Did the Blizzard make the right choice, or should they have made a different choice? Capcom Bring Back Past Franchises Capcom has seen significant success in titles such as Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 2. Monster Hunter World has sold 58 million copies, and Resident Evil 2 has sold 4 million copies. With these recent achievements, they are looking to revive a few of their titles. Which titles would you want to see be brought back?  Stadia has No Wireless Function Without Chromecast We have been open about our skepticism and reluctance when it comes to Google Stadia. From the price of games, the data caps, and latency, there is a decent amount of questions that will need to be answered when the service is officially launched. The next that gives us pause is that as of right now, the Stadia controller will not have wireless capability to connect with other devices. A Chromecast device will need to be plugged into a television or computer to utilize the controller. To use the controller with a cellphone, the controller will need to be physically connected via a wire. This lack of a simple feature seems to be an oversight for the fledgling product. It is not the end of the world, but it seems to be one more hurdle for Google Stadia.  Blizzard States They Are Not Banning pro-Hong Kong Messages on Twitch There has been a loud outcry about the suspension of "blitzchung." Many people have rallied around "blitzchung" and in solidarity, have repeated his liberate Hong Kong statement. People have even brought similar pro-Hong Kong messages on the official Blizzard Twitch channel. It has been reported that there have been multiple bans due to these posts. However, Blizzard states that it has nothing to do about the pro-Hong Kong posts. The posts are being banned due to them being spammed in the chat. Though it is understandable, it is another PR debacle that Blizzard seems to find themselves in again.  Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Reveals More Details Electronic Art's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order continues to intrigue us here at AM: Game Zone. We discussed the game on Episode 2 and how the trailer didn't win us over yet. However, the developers continue to release information about the game that increases our interest in the game. IGN released a 28 new gameplay features in Jedi: Fallen Order. Features such as accessing any of the planets in any order, diverting blaster fire from Stormtroopers is necessary for large crowds, and Obi-Wan Kenobi will appear in hologram form. These features and the new gameplay trailer brings a fresh appeal for the game. Also, the game will have three different difficulties in the game so you can create the experience you want.  Showstopper Minecraft Earth has Launched in Early Access Minecraft is a substantial cultural phenomenon that has let gamers vast and expansive worlds. With 176 million sold copies, Minecraft is a cornerstone game in the industry. The game relevance to people's lives is so important that a convention about Minecraft, Minecon, that stated in 31 AUG 10 has convened annually ever since. At this year's Minecon, the Minecraft team announced that they are launching Minecraft Earth in early access in select countries. The game is an Augmented Reality mobile game. Minecraft Earth will allow players to build structures on real-world objects collaboratively. Then after building objects and structures, anyone can take pictures of the creation or save it for later. This game seems to be a new step for the Minecraft series. Will it lead to anything? Only time will be able to tell. If you are in New Zealand or Iceland and interested in the game, then it is a perfect time to pick up the Early Access. 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!  We have the transcriptions of the show done by Otter for your convenience. It is done by machine so excuse errors, please. Episode 13Download

Become a Patron! In general, we enjoy our games because it allows us to escape from daily issues. We do our best to keep those issues out of our video games, especially politics. However, that is not always ascertainable. There are times when politics and video games intersect in ways we don't expect and can not ignore. The most recent example of this is the Hong Kong Hearthstone player vs. Blizzard.  Geek News Batwoman - Lowest Debuted Rated CW Show  The marketing for Batwoman has been terrible from the get-go. It came off as manhating and came off as subpar to the other CW shows. Whether it is merely poor marketing or the show quality is lacking, Batwoman has officially made history as the CW's worst Debuted series. Flash, CW's highest debut viewership, launched with 6.83 million viewers and Supergirl, CW's lowest debut viewership before Batwoman, began with 3.06 million viewers. Batwoman claims the title at 1.8 million viewers. Will Batwoman numbers improve over time, or will the CW drow the show? Video Game News Reportedly Google Stadia Will Be Fater Than Consoles  We have serious doubts here at AM: Game Zone about the technical challenges and date caps the Google Stadia will have to address. However, the marketing and engineering teams continue to confidentially boast that Stadia will be able to tackle these issues. The Stadia team recently talked about how they are going to handle the potential latency issues. Their solution, Negative Latency.  The concept is that cloud computing will be able to predict the player's potential moves and send the correct sequence to the player. What if you, the player, had a different move set in my mind? Well, to our knowledge, the servers will generate multiple different scenarios and send the one the player chooses. The technology sounds like an impressive feat; the Stadia team state that they are still a couple of years from having this perfected. Will Stadia be able to stand on its own till Negative Latency is perfected? The Google Stadia Annonces Current Game List The Google Stadia list of games is limited to mostly big AAA games. However, the list is an excellent collection of games. The following is a shortlist of games: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Destroy All Humans, Doom Eternal, Orcs Must Die 3, Watch Dogs Legion, and Tom Clancy's: The Division 2. If you want to see a complete list, then go to Google Store.  Nintendo Switch Discounts on First-Party Games If you've wanted to pick up a first-party Nintendo game, then this might be a perfect time. A few of the games have a fifteen dollar discount applied to them. We'll leave affiliate links for your convenience and a way for you to support the show at no cost to yourself. Amazon: The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening Super Smash Bros. Mario Kart 8 Super Mario Maker 2 Yoshi's Crafted World Nintendo Switch Reaches 10 Million Sales in Europe Nintendo has done an incredible job in moving Switch units throughout the world. The most recent mile marker Nintendo hit was in Europe. Nintendo has sold 10 million units. They were able to move 30% more units in 2019 compared to 2018 and 40% more compared to 2017.  Showstopper Hearthstone Grandmaster Suspended By Blizzard Hearthstone Grandmaster player "blitzchung" made significant waves while streaming on the official Taiwanese Hearthstone stream. After winning the match, "blitzchung" made a bold statement during the stream, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times." Blizzard's action that not only felt harsh, but politically motivated. Their responses were in line with their policies. Blizzard utilizes the 2019 Heathstone Grandmasters Offical Competition Rules v1.4 pg.12, Section 6.1 which states the following: "Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard's sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard's Website Terms." Blizzard is within their rights to do so since it is their game and competition. Their response is because they want to keep good relations with the authoritarian government of China. As a United States company and as a company that has benefited from western civilization privileges, Blizzard made the following deplorable statement to China: "We express our strong indignation and condemnation of the events that occurred in the Hearthstone Asia Pacific competition last weekend and absolutely oppose the dissemination of personal political ideas during any events . The players involved will be banned, and the commentators involved will be immediately terminated from any official business. Also, we will protect our national dignity." Blizzard's employees were livid about the company's response. The employee's walked out on to the campus with umbrellas since umbrellas have been one of the unique items in the Hong Kong riots. The employees covered up the company's two key values that are displayed on the campus, which are "Think Globally" and "Every Voice Matters."    There is a growing aversion to Blizzard, and this aversion is growing vocal. The American University Hearthstone team made its statement while streaming. The held up a sign that said, "Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz." As soon as they raised the sign, the broadcast quickly cut away. There are growing talks about creating a protest outside BlizzCon and showing their displeasure inside BlizzCon as well.    Two Senators, Ron Wyden (D) of Oregon and Marco Rubio (R) of Florida, condemned Blizzard for placating kowtowing to China. Ron Wyden stated: "Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party. No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck."   Marco Rubio stated: "Recognize what's happening here. People who don't live in #China must either self-censor or face dismissal & suspensions. China using access to market as leverage to crush free speech globally. Implications of this will be felt long after everyone in U.S. politics today is gone." Will Blizzard be able to recover from this PR disaster? Has Blizzard crossed the line too far for your support? Let us know what you think!   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/ We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! We have the transcriptions of the show done by Otter for your convenience. It is done by machine so excuse errors, please. Episode 12Download

Become a Patron! The Joker film performed by Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant. We enjoyed this character film, and how it is a movie that makes the viewer question what happened in the movie hours later. Joker is the high for us this week, and companies such as Electronic Arts never disappoints in providing the lows points to cover. Let us talk about what happened this week!   Geek News   Spiderman is Back in Disney's MCU There were questions about if Sony would permanently keep Spiderman away from Disney after initial negotiations fell through. As of the airing of this episode, Disney and Sony have come to agreements, and Spiderman will continue to be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though we have slight skepticism on how Phase 4 will perform, we are excited that Tom Holand will continue to be a favorite web-slinging character in the MCU.    Star Wars Trailer Reminds Us of the Better Films As Jon and I sat in the theater to watch Joker, we watched the trailer for Episode 9 of the Star Wars Saga. What amused us the most is that the trailer highlights all the other good Star Wars movies. It seems that they were attempting to get the viewer nostalgic to encourage them to watch Episode 9. We can't speak for everybody, but the trailer did not have the intended effect on us. The trailer made us excited about watching all the old films again, and not bothering with Episode 9.    Video Game News   Switch Lite Nintendo has released the Switch Lite, and Jon and I have been able to test run the console. It feels great in our hands, and the picture quality is sharp. Although the text is small on the screen. It is official; the Switch Lite has put the Nintendo 3DS to rest. At the price point of $200, it seems like a great console for the family.   EA Switch FIFA Legacy Under Delivers   Electronic Arts is notorious about not supporting or underdelivering their games to Nintendo Consoles. It seems that the Switch does not match their goals for monetizing their audience. This lack of support is apparent with every game they put in a sub-par effort in releasing to the Switch. The current example of this is FIFA Legacy 20.    EA Data Breach of 1600 FIFA 20 Players In this age, data breaches seem to be inevitable in these digital times. However, their destructive effects should not be understated. EA's data breach connected with FIFA 20 is a significant misstep for the corporation. Instead of players successfully signing up for the FIFA 20 competitive circuit, they instead were given other player's information. The corporation is under constant scrutiny due to their unscrupulous microtransaction practices in the games they publish. EA can not afford to be known as the company that also has data breaches.    Fallout Legacy Collection - Only for Germany and the United Kingdom The German Amazon website leaked the future Fallout collection. The collection includes Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition, and Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. This excellent collection worth hours of play will be sold at €40, which is roughly $43. Disappointingly, this Fallout Legacy Collection will only be sold in Germany and the United Kingdom. We are not sure if this a test run that will eventually come to the States, or it will only stay in Europe. Only time will tell.   PlayStation Now is Reduced in Price Streaming services are being positioned to be the primary way gamers engage with their games. Services such as Google Stadia are hoping to capitalize on this developing trend. However, Sony appears to be positioned their services to compete with Stadia. They have reduced the price of the service by $10, making it $10 per month. Sony has an excellent chance of undercutting Google Stadia due to the extensive catalog of games Sony has.    Showstopper Joker is an exceptional film that people should go and see. However, if you haven't seen the movie and want to stay spoiler-free, then go from 1:45:10 to 2:19:48. It is a film that is begging to be rewatched. There were incredible insights into mental illness and how extreme social isolation effects people.    One of the things we couldn't believe is how people were trying to insinuate this movie would incite violence. People rage that the film shouldn't have been created because of being "insensitive." This film, to us, is the definition of art. If this type of art is not allowed to be created, then how can we explore these topics. What are your thoughts on the Joker film?    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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!   We have the transcriptions of the show done by Otter for your convenience. It is done by machine so excuse errors, please. Episode 11 TranscriptsDownload

Become a Patron! Who knew that the fantasy dangers in Fallout 76 would be brought to the real world! GameStop has recalled the Power Armor Collectible Helmet - Nuka Cola edition due to health hazards. This story and more are part of our news lineup. Let us get into what is happening in the geek and video game world.   Geek News   Kevin Feige and Star Wars Marvel's Kevin Feige is rumored to produce his own Star Wars project. It seems that he will be part of the new wave of projects to be set in the Disney Star Wars Universe. Feige has met with Kathleen Kennedy and studio co-chairman Alan Horn and Alan Bergman. Feige has also declared that he wants Bree Larson to star in the next Star Wars project where he is the producer.   Wakeen Phoenix's Joker Controversy Wakeen Phoenix's Joker is just around the corner, and the internet never disappoints in drumming up controversies. Different groups are declaring that the movie will be a rallying cry for different groups to enact violence. Jon and I find the claims ridiculous. This movie is a piece of art and should be allowed to explore important topics. The topics of mental health and how we treat other people are topics that have profound relevance in our society. What pushes a man to the breaking point? What could we do for our neighbors to prevent what happens to Wakeen Phoenix's Joker? These and other questions we should be able to explore in films.    Ninja on Masked Singer On Masked Singer, the ice cream mask is revealed as Ninja! He performed Old Town Road as he rode out on a lawn mover. An impressive performance from the career video game streamer! It amused us that he was introduced as a prominent Twitch streamer. Either this show's recording was before his transition to Mixer, or they improperly said where he currently hosts his channel. It is nothing major but enough to make us chuckle.   Video Game News   Mario Kart Tour Microtransactions Mario Kart Tour has released on mobile devices. It is a time for celebration! Or is it? The game is fun and entertaining, but the microtransactions are steep. The 200cc, the game's fastest mode, will cost the player five dollars a month subscription. The subscription also includes gold gifts by racing in tours and badges from challenges. Mario's name is in the game, so he is one of the main playable characters, right? Wrong! He is behind a paywall. There are two ways the player can acquire Mario. The mobile game has a 20 dollar Mario pack. The pack includes Mario, Mario's kart, and other specialty items. The other method to acquire Mario and other characters is through their premium currency. Their top rupees option at 135 rupees will cost the player 70 dollars. The player then pays with the rupees to utilize the "Warp Pipe" to fire off characters, karts, and other items. One fire cost five rupees, and ten fires cost forty-five rupees. Will this monetization model be able to compete with the other options on the market? Only time will tell.   Call of Duty: Modern Warfare The next Call of Duty is just around the corner, and it appears that some familiar faces will be greeting us again. This Modern Warfare will be a soft reboot of the 2007 release. The 2019 CoD: Modern Warfare will bring back well-known characters and voices back in the game, but the story will be updated to reflect the times. Every CoD has a core focus on multiplayer, and it looks like the game is here to impress. The developers have put in a new "Realism" mode that removes the HUD. In the match, the player can breach doors for ambushes and utilize night vision goggles on nighttime maps. Two new modes will be coming to this title. A 2v2 mode called Gunfight and Groud Wars, which sets large teams against each other. The developers went out of their way to emphasize that Ground Wars isn't a battle royale and that they had no plans to implement such a mode into the game. As of right now, PlayStation has a year-long exclusive on the Special Ops: Survival Mode.   Google Play Pass Apple Arcade made a splash in the mobile market by providing premium quality games for five dollars a month. To our surprise, Google is joining in this mobile model. Google is releasing Google Play Pass. The service will be 5 dollars a month, and it will include a wide selection of games. Part of the game collection includes Stardew Valley, Limbo, Old Man's journey, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. If you are interested in trying this service, then their free trial might be a great deal. They offer a 10 Day Free Trial. Then after the trial, the first year is charged at 2 dollars a month.    Hearthstone Pro Caught Playing Two Games At Once Lihn "Seiko" Nguyen competed in the Grandmasters League match, but he decided to play this game a bit differently. Instead of giving the game his all and demonstrating is real prowess at the game, he tried to play Hearthstone and Auto-Chess at the same time. People on the stream noted that he looked distracted, looking from his lap to the screen regularly. His made a misstep during that game that turned out to be his undoing. He played the Legendary Minion Shirvallah the Tiger which is an excellent source of healing. For the current meta of the game, the proper play is to play Shirvallah and then use the Baleful Banker card to shuffle a copy of Shirvallah back into the deck. He missed this step which sealed his loss. The Hearthstone commentators and communities were upset and outraged that "Seiko" took up a Grandmaster spot from players who would have taken the match seriously. Ultimately, his heart and head weren't where they were supposed to be. The Grandmaster League is the pinnacle of Hearthstone, and it is disrespectful to the Grandmasters, and it is rude to those who want to be in his position. On top of it all, the audience watches these matches to see the top players in the world compete. If Esports is supposed to be taken as seriously as regular sporting events, then these expectations are not out of line. Honestly, at the level, you are a professional and should conduct yourself as such.    Showstopper Fallout 76 is the gift that keeps on giving. However, this time, it doesn't look as if Bethesda is directly responsible for this debacle. A recall issued for the Power Armor Collectible Helmet - Nuka Cola which was sold by GameStop due to the helmet being a health hazard. Reports say that mold can be present on the fabric insert inside the helmet. This mold can lead to respiratory or other infections with compromised immune systems or damaged lungs. At this time, no incidents have been reported. Though the manufacture was Chronicle LLC, of Irving, Texas, the helmet was manufactured in China. If you have this helmet, then go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We will also leave the consumer contact information for GameStop. Consumer Contact: GameStop at 800-883-8895 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at ProductSafety@gamestop.com with "Product Recall" as the email subject, or online at www.GameStop.com and click on the "Recall" link at the top of the page for more information.   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/ We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! There were some surprising developments in video game news. We discuss Google Stadia, the new drama on the video game live streaming platforms, new games, and how another gamer fell victim to microtransactions and loot boxes. Let's dive into the news!   Narcos: Rise of the Cartels looks like an exciting addition to the turn-based tactical combat genre. If you love XCOM and want to experience Netflix's Narcos as a tactical game, then this game might be a perfect fit. It is being developed by Kuju who created Advanced Wars and Battalion Wars.    Former Twitch employee reveals that Twitch does not use any bots to ban or suspend streamers. An employee gives every ban and suspension that happens on the platform. This piece of news begs the question of why the Twitch rules are being enforced unequally. The most recent example is cosplayer quqco has been banned for dressing as Chun-Li. However, other streamers have dressed as Chun-Li and not been banned from the platform. Twitch has an issue with unequally applying punishment.    Mixer has rolled out ads for the video game live streaming platform. However, does it benefit the video game streamers? As of right now, it does not seem that the video game streamers will directly benefit from the ads. The streamers will not get paid directly for the ads put on their channel. Will this hurt Mixer's fight against Twitch?   Sony's State of Play will be airing on the twenty-fourth of September. As of right now, there will be no new news on the PS5. Sony will be informing us about The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima. Richard and John speculate on what other announcements will happen at this State of Play.   Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening released, and it appears to be a hit! The scores ranged from eights to tens, and the reviewers agree that is has improved on the older game. It is a perfect game to be released along with the Nintendo Lite.    Link's Awakening Amazon: https://armstrongsmusings.com/linksawakening-amazon   Switch Lite Amazon: https://armstrongsmusings.com/switchlite-amazon Walmart: https://armstrongsmusings.com/switchlite-walmart    This week had another tragedy when it comes to a video game, putting a family into significant financial distress. The eighteen-year-old MMO game, Runescape, recently had a player who spent 62,000 dollars in microtransaction. The game is heavily monetized with microtransactions, a subscription, a Battle Pass, Treasure Hunter Chests (loot boxes), and other premium offerings. These type of stories will only grow as video game companies look at ways to monetize their games.   Our Showstopper is Google Stadia Founder's Edition has sold out in Europe and soon to be sold out in other countries. The Founder's Edition is being replaced with Premier Edition. The Founder's Edition comes with special usernames, a Chromecast device, three-months of Stadia Pro, the three-month friend pass, and the limited-edition Night Blue Controller. The Premier Edition comes with a Chromecast device, three-months of Stadia Pro, and Clearly White Stadia Controller. Does this mean that Stadia might have a fighting chance? Are you going to purchasing Stadia? Let us know what you think!    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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   Visit us at our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! This week provided a good deal of speculation, and we jumped into the stories!    Disney Plus announced it includes the 90s X-Men and other Marvel Animated Series. The Apple TV+ Streaming service is launching 1 November, and it's beginning titles are compelling and exciting. Is the old and new content in both of the streaming services enough to compel customers to subscribe to the perspective services?   The Game Awards announced to convene on 12 December. We contemplate on what games might make the game of the year. Let us know what you think the game of the year will be!   Frequently, it seems we get endless stories of how GameStop is in its death throws. The most recent story is that GameStop closes up to 200 underperforming stores worldwide. Along with closing the stores, the company laid off exceeding 120 corporate employees, including members from Game Informer.   It has been a rocky and disappointing development for Anthem. The games beginning content was underwhelming and limited. Then Bioshock's release of new content underdelivered. The final blow may be that EA has moved the game to EA Access.   Apple Arcade is releasing at the price point of 5 dollars a month. Though the service is cheaper, one must ask who are they trying to target for this service? Are they trying to focus on casual or dedicated gamers?    Our Showstopper conversation is the newly announced Ring Fit Adventure. It looks as if Nintendo is taking their fitness titles to the next level. They have incorporated an RPG story in the game along with an exercise free mode. If you're interested in the game, then it will release on 18 October 2019.   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   Visit us at our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!  

Become a Patron! This week has been an exciting week for AM: Game Zone. We have published our website, and now we can be found at https://armstrongsmusings.com. We will still be on different directories, i.e., Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, Deezer, Spotify, etc.; however, having a platform we control gives us the ability to take our show where ever we want to go. We also upgraded to the Rodecaster Pro for the recording seasons. We are thrilled by the hardware and are looking forward to interviewing future guests with this fantastic tool.    This week turned out to be a robust week for news! Starting, we touch base on Total War: Warhammer 2 Hunter and the Beast DLC, the incredible World of Warcraft Classic response, and the allegations against Chucklefish exploiting young developers.    Amazingly, Electronic Arts received a Guinness World Record. Except, it was not the type of record you would ever want to receive. The record EA broke was that they received the most downvotes, 863,000 votes, on any comment in Reddit history! In response, they then offer up to 75% discount on Select EA Games.   The 04SEP19 Nintendo Direct dropped a truckload of information! There were updates for things we were expecting and some pleasant surprises! We touch base on Animal Crossing, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Luigi's Mansion 3, Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection, and Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Overwatch's release to the Nintendo Switch is a great addition but is a shame that Blizzard did not create cross-save between platforms. This cross-save ability with the PC is possibly due, as shown by Divinity: Original Sin 2. If you don't have a Nintendo Online access and you are a Twitch Prime member, then you can get 12 months free. Nintendo released the new SNES app, and it is a great way to play many of the classic SNES games on the Switch. Banjo Kazooie is released, and Terry Bogard is announced to join the fight on Smash Brothers.   Our Showstopper for this Episode is the egregious and ridiculous implementation of gambling mechanics in NBA 2K20. The game looks like it is a gambling game with some basketball sprinkled throughout the rest. The game implements card packs, a roulette wheel, pachinko, and a slot machine. On top of it all, the ESRB and PEGI are doing a disservice to the consumer. By their standards, the game should be rated T for ESRB or 12 for PEGI due to the simulated gambling. Though I believe it to be gambling, these mechanics do not meet the legal definition of gambling because you are unable to cash out the in-game currency. However, ESRB has this game rated as E and PEGI has it rated 3. These ratings show a blatant attempt at manipulation of the consumer. The mechanics are not acceptable and are unwanted.   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com.    We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! Things are shaking up in the streaming community! Ninja has started on a new platform and has gained one million subscribers. We are excited about how Microsoft and Twitch, two tech giants, will compete and improve their services for the consumer.    We discuss on this episode Swamp Thing and the DC Univers streaming service. Does Swamp Thing look promising and is DC Universe do enough to drive people to their platform? We dive into the rumors of why Disney is not using the iconic characters in the park and the films.   The Show Stopper is Ooblets and how it improperly handled their fans. The fans of their title had some legitimate concerns about how them being an Epic exclusive would affect their experience. However, the Ooblets developers had a tone-deaf response, which created an incredible controversy. Let's start a conversation about what they did wrong and how other developers can interact with their fans.   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! This week was a good week for news! We touch base on the Attack on Titan Season 3 Pt 2 Dubbed finish. We discuss the horrific first look at the Cats Trailer, and the Twitch Streamer Alinity abuses her cats. Then we congratulate PlayStation selling 100 million units.   Bethesda can not stay out of the limelight! We dive into the newest controversies with Bethesda and how they are not meeting their customer's expectations. The studio stumbles with the re-release of Doom. The game is a thirty-year-old tile but needs a constant internet connection. Bethesda then struggles with the poor reception of Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Bethesda's last issue is how their new patch release for Fallout 76 has broken the game, once again! 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  Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! Welcome to Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone! This week was filled with Geek news that we are eager to cover. However, we need to start with the Kyoto Animation Fire. If you can spare money to donate, then please go to the GoFundMe page and donate to the relief fund/ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal We touch base on the Lion King mediocre reception, the Comic-Con 2019 Marvel and DC lineup, Fallout 76 continual debacle, and much more! 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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/   We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!  

Become a Patron! ***We didn't timestamp the episode at the time of publishing*** In the digital age, we have moved away from physical copies and owning are media. There are multiple services that stream videos to our phones and TVs. However, is the market now ready for video games to be streamed? That is the topic we explore in this episode!   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/    We appreciate you listening, and we hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! E3 2019 has come and gone. In its wake, E3 has left us a wealth of information to talk about and games to look forward to in the future.  Some parts of E3 were exceptional, dare I say, breathtaking. However, not all of E3 was outstanding. We dig into the good, bad, and ugly of E3.   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   Connect with us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/    We appreciate you listening, and we hope to hear from you. Stay Strong!

Become a Patron! Welcome to Armstrong's Musings: Game Zone! This episode is the first of our video game and geek culture commentary podcast. We feel that there is not a better time to start this podcast series than with E3 around the corner. We discuss what we predict will be announced and what we hope for E3 2019. The discussion includes EA, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Square Enix, and Nintendo. 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 We appreciate you listening, and so happy you are joining us on this journey. We hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! Connect with on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongsMusingsGameZone Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArmstrongsMusi1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armstrongs_musings_game_zone/