Podcasts about gamepolitics

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends, but this time it's special because it is the fifth birthday of Scandalous Games! In honor of five years of wild advertising campaigns, colorful characters, and panics of all shapes and sizes, we go back to the well of the Clown Prince of Anti-Simulated Crime...Mr. Jack Thompson. Join Kevin as he performs a dramatic reading of the statement Thompson wanted to read in protest of his 2008, one he never got to deliver because the judge wouldn't let him, prompting him to storm out of his own hearing.Content Warning: brief mention of suicide (25:26-26:21), lynchings and the Holocaust (28:45-29:46), and child sexual abuse (34:20-36:05). Read the full transcript of Jack's statement here: Stephanie Sterling, "Jack Thompson walks out of hearing, court recommends disbarment," Destructoid, June 4, 2008, https://web.archive.org/web/20200810161210/https://www.destructoid.com/stories/jack-thompson-walks-out-of-hearing-court-recommends-disbarment-89091.phtml.  And, of course, his disbarment ruling:  The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson, Case No. SC 07-80: 71, https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/375112/file/07-80_ROR.pdf For Jack Thompson's March 4, 2005, appearance on 60 Minutes, see: "CBS 60 Minutes: Can A Video Game Lead To Murder?," YouTube (Video Game Journalism [YTheAlien]), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WOf4CWO16c.For more on the Arthur Teele scandal, see: "Ex-Miami Official Kills Himself," CBS News, July 28, 2005, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-miami-official-kills-himself/; Francisco Alvarado, "Tales of Teele: Sleaze Stories," Miami New Times, July 28, 2005, https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/tales-of-teele-sleaze-stories-6339768/.For more on the Fusters and the Country Walk preschool scandal, see: "A Summary of the Frank Fuster Country Walk case," PBS Frontline, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fuster/frank/summary.html. Kevin's note: at least one researcher contests this account of the scandal. See: Ross E. Cheit and David Mervis, "Myths about the Country Walk case," Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 16, No. 3 (2007): 95-116 (although, based on my research, I believe this is a fringe idea).For info on Jack's sting operations, see:  Alexander Sliwinski, "Thompson sends own son on personal sting operation against Best Buy," Engadget, September 13, 2007, https://www.engadget.com/2007-09-13-thompson-sends-own-son-on-personal-sting-operation-against-be;  Bruce Haring, “The ‘Private Sting' of Jack Thompson,” Billboard 102, No. 32 (August 11, 1990): 9. On Jack passing a psych evaluation leading to his disbarment hearing, see: Dennis McCauley, "Jack Thompson Says FL Bar Official Demanded He Take Psych Test, Accept Suspension," GamePolitics, July 3, 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20070703223639/http://gamepolitics.com/2007/07/03/jack-thompson-claims-bar-official-demanded-psych-test-suspension/; "Jack Thompson Cleared by Psych Test," Cheat Code Central, August 21, 2007, https://www.cheatcc.com/articles/jack-thompson-cleared-by-psych-test/.For more on Jack's personal feud with Norm Kent in which he sent gay pornography to the Florida Bar, see: Brantley Hargrove, "Jack Thompson Don't Know Jack," Miami New Times, June 19, 2008, https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/jack-thompson-dont-know-jack-6363283/.If you like what we do, you'll also love these amazing game historians: Carly Kocurek: https://www.iit.edu/directory/people/carly-kocurek Michael Z. Newman: https://sites.uwm.edu/mznewman/ Laine Nooney: https://linktr.ee/lainenooneyBo Ruberg: https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6554Alex Smith: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ Kate Willaert: https://katewillaert.com/link-treeMore info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com. 

They’re back! 0:00 – The California Association of Realtors is lying about San Diego’s Measure A. Again. 28:58 – Fox is looking Foxy in Star Fox a remake of Star Fox. Again. 46:01 – Stranger Than Heaven appears to have a heavy focus on music which certainly appeals to me! If you missed Saturday's live ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 439 – If You Can’t Trust Realtors…’ »

I must tie them. 0:00 – I mean, if you can’t trust realtors… 22:59 – My childhood dreams of a murder-solving serial killer was realized in a video game If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on YouTube.  Alternatively, you can catch audio versions of the show on iTunes. ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 438 – Loose Ends’ »

I haven’t finished every video game I’ve ever started. 0:00 – There’s currently like 30 people running for CA governor and we don’t have rank choice voting. 2:30 – I never beat Tears of the Kingdom 18:20 – I killed Quiet in Metal Gear Solid 4 25:50 – Kratos and Boy dumped mama’s ashes and ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 437 – Gaming Regrets’ »

Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 is a movie so bad it might be a while before I can stop thinking about it. In fact, there are no timestamps this week because I somehow spend the entire hour yammering about a movie I didn’t even like. If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 436 – FNAF 2’s Runtime Feels Like Five Nights’ »

Gymkata proved gymnasts can be action stars. How does Pretty Lethal and Ballerina fare? 0:00 – I saw a butt 8:14 – My post Cold Steel II video will be about the music and… there’s a LOT of it 12:18 – What’s Up, Doc? has one of the best car chases I’ve ever seen 16:47 ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 435 – Ballerina Action’ »

Turns out DLSS 5 is exactly what it looks like. 0:00 – Someone in the entertainment industry did the bare minimum of human decency and I could just about cry! 3:48 – Hey, the new Pokémon games don’t look technically incompetent. That’s nice! 7:03 – Crimson Desert looks crap but reviewers say they’re hooked, even ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 434 – Clearly a Duck’ »

They sure are. 0:00 – AI’s ineptitude made me laugh out loud. On a Zoom call. In an AI meeting 19:30 – After a full year, I’m finally done with Monster Hunter Wilds 36:13 – Resident Evil Requiem and product placement in video games 51:16 – The Vampire Crawlers demo was cool but I was ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 433 – Super Bosses’ »

Can’t blame a dog I don’t have. 0:00 – Why I’m redoing episode 432 and the really gross reason there was no podcast or game stream last weekend 4:25 – I finally have enough money to bother investing. Yay! My portfolio is tanking. Boo! 9:10 – Clair Obscur is possibly too content rich 20:20 – ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 432 – YouTube Ate My Podcast’ »

I played some Capcom demos. 0:00 – Nintendo Direct censors violence in hilariously inept way! 9:47 – I played the Pragmata and Monster Hunter Stories 3 demos 28:14 – Sony filed a very dumb patent 47:47 – They remade Silent Night, Deadly Night. Again. If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 431 – DEMOtivated’ »

I’ve more to say on Suikoden. 0:00 – Wonder Man is not revelatory but it is consistent 6:05 – Clair Obscur is still good but where are all the paint spikes at? 19:14 – My sister bought me the first volume of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga for my birthday 27:30 – I have more opinions ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 430 – Happy Birthday Eve!’ »

Am I mature enough not to be mad at a He-Man movie? 0:00 – Gen AI still sucks and I must speak on it more 22:06 – Code Violet proves butts aren’t enough 31:54 – Now that we have the budget and effects capability to set a He-Man movie in Eternia, let’s involve Earth anyway! ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 429 – Audience SurroGATE’ »

I’m talking about posture. What did you think I meant? 0:00 – It’s going to take a while to overcome my poor shower posture 3:25 – Netflix co-CEO continues to prove he’s a clueless dipstick 11:07 – Looks like Lara Croft’s outfit in the new Tomb Raider show is source-accurate. Does that mean the show ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 428 – Standing Fully Erect In the Shower’ »

I’ve been playing video games. 0:00 – I bought a new teleprompter, tripod, and key light! 16:05 – Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii ends with a dance number! 26:41 – Escape Academy was pretty good and it looks like its sequel is making some solid improvements! 33:02 – The Séance of Blake Manor does a great ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 427 – Time Well Wasted’ »

Gogmazios is a pussycat in comparison. 0:15 – Larian studio good. Larian CEO bad. 26:23 – Compared to the original, the Trails in the Sky remake comes up short a few regards but overall, was very enjoyable 50:09 – Gogmazios doesn’t hold a candle to the difficulty or raw spectacle of a triple Blangonga fight ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 426 – Triple Ice Monkey’ »

The only Game Awards announcement that matters. No timestamps this week; I spend the entire episode talking about The Game Awards. If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on YouTube.  Alternatively, you can catch audio versions of the show on iTunes. Molehill Mountain streams live at 7p PST every ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 425 – Ghost Cat Lives!’ »

What do you mean you want access to the entire game you just paid $70 for? 0:00 – Despite Netflix’s best efforts, I may soon be able to watch the new season of a cartoon aimed at children! 8:29 – The auto repair shop may have finally fixed the problem with a car I barely ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 424 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Appalling’ »

Just friends? Sure… 0:00 – Are Rockstar and Take-Two loathsome union busters who will look for ways to legally maintain control over their employees no matter who it hurts or how? The evidence we’ve seen so far sure makes it look that way. 11:55 – I did not escape Black Friday unscathed 29:46 – Red ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 423 – Red Sonja and Her Equine Lover’ »

I survived! 0:00 – My Spanish is so bad a small child erupted in laughter 4:39 – What is the first movie I saw in the theater? 12:26 – This year’s stop motion segment from Just Dance was really great! 19:53 – How many of the 69 Game Awards nominees have I played? 31:57 – ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 422 – Gas Leak, Not Mine’ »

Samus is going to shoot this guy. 0:00 – Rich shmucks say the dumbest things about gen AI! 15:10 – Valve didn’t make Half-Life 3 but it did remake the Gamecube! 20:09 – Nintendo releases a trailer for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Daisy is still nowhere to be seen 31:08 – Metroid Prime ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 421 – Solo Bounty Hunting For Two’ »

What obvious joke? 0:00 – I’m no longer posting on Twitter. Find me at Bluesky (link below) 0:50 – Anther year, another wildly successful Extra Life marathon! 7:57 – San Diego Gas & Electric sent me a survey. It was poorly written and I told them so. 15:18 – I work in the education system. ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 420 – Random Internet Man Shares Very Important Opinions’ »

I got work stuff to do tonight but I can fit in an abbreviated podcast. 0:00 – The Extra Life charity marathon is next weekend! Unfortunately, my sister Keleigh won’t be here 5:27 – Masahiro Sakurai and the endless Kirby Nintendo Directs 11:46 – Pikmin 4 is getting a free content update! Over two years ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 419 – Quickie’ »

My precious, fragile little feelings. 0:00 – Throw a magic baby at it! 7:47 – Monster Hunter Wilds is still fun. So I’m still playing it. 22:26 – I organized one of those silly games you play on corporate Zoom calls. You know, team building and stuff? Anyway, one of the teams used AI to ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 418 – AI Hurt My Feelings’ »

Not a euphemism. 0:00 – I’m afraid I’m unlikely to be able to answer specific questions about a game I played 13 years ago. 2:25 – The trauma imposed by flipped manga 14:08 – How can I function with a broken Peacock? 24:16 – Yeah, I beat Savage Omega Planetes in Monster Hunter Wilds. With ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 417 – Broken Peacock’ »

And Dark Souls. Who knew? 0:00 – The weird and dumb computer reason I canceled last week’s podcast 5:04 – Ninja’s are known for their silence so it’s an odd name for a blender 7:56 – My silicone has gone solid 11:15 – I’m not leaving YouTube but… 40:17 – Stellar Blade has the same ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 416 – Stellar Blade Is Metroid: Other M’ »

I like these games but you’ve probably never heard of them. 0:00 – Stellar Blade (adventures at Walmart and very early impressions) 26:17 – I-Ninja 29:26 – Shadow of the Empire 36:55 – Ace Attorney Investigations 38:56 – Body Harvest 43:26 – Hybrid Heaven 48:03 – Aggressive Inline 52:21 – P.N.03 55:45 – Starfox Adventures ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 415 – Hipster Gamer’ »

I may not know a good game if it bit me but if a game bit me, I’d say it’s a bit of a jerk. 0:00 – Ico/Shadow of the Colossus 18:25 – Katamari Damacy 29:17 – Muramasa: The Demon Blade 30:14 – Metal Arms: A Glitch in the System 31:36 – Metal Gear Solid ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 414 – Good Games Don’t Bite’ »

No matter how bad you mess up in life, you will never mess up THIS badly. 0:00 – YouTube only recommends new videos from my favorite creators after I’ve already watched them. That’s dumb. YouTube is dumb and should feel bad. 2:58 – Behold! The dumbest political mailer I’ve ever seen! 7:17 – 352 hours ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 413 – The Worst Political Mailer’ »

Movies, games… little else! 0:00 – Wo Long, Wukong, Wuchang, and Woochi 3:38 – Gameplay footage of Jurassic Park Survival is apparently 65 million years in the making 7:22 – Capcom showed us all the positive things people said about their controlled demo of Pragmata. Were there any less-than-positive impressions? Surely not, you trust the ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 412 – Non-Marketer Has Opinions On Marketing’ »

Dino butts! 0:00 – I owe South Bay Drive-In an apology 10:08 – Butts or dinos? Why not both? 34:02 – Monster Hunter Wilds’ DLC is way overpriced If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on YouTube.  Alternatively, you can catch audio versions of the show on iTunes. Molehill ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 411 – Butts and Dinosaurs’ »

Unfortunately, it changes nothing. No timestamps this week as I spend the entire episode bemoaning generative AI. Don’t worry, it’s very therapeutic! For me. If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on YouTube.  Alternatively, you can catch audio versions of the show on iTunes. Molehill Mountain streams live at ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 410 – I Was Wrong!’ »

Overestimating GTA VI sales for fun and profit! 0:00 – Horse girls and ads in Spanish. It’s like the algorithm doesn’t even know me! 24:00 – Despite what venture capital would have you believe, GTA VI is NOT going to sell 85 million copies in two months 49:42 – Video game anthology Secret Level has ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 409 – VC GTA BS’ »

Monster Hunter. Because no living thing will stand in the way of fashion! 0:00 – Some musings about Superman 23:35 – Astro Bot adds Square Enix bots! And Susan Yōtei. 28:45 – Ghost of Yōtei looks pretty neat! 35:24 – I’m still having fun with Monster Hunter Wilds! If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 408 – A Tube Top to Kill For’ »

I watched some movies this week. 0:00 – I hit 12k subscribers! 8 years after hitting 11,332 subscribers! Which itself took six years! 13:16 – Madisynn should be in every Marvel project! 20:15 – I paused The Day the Earth Blew Up twice to clean my bathroom! 37:07 – K-Pop Demon Hunters is pretty darn ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 407 – Couch Potato’ »

Game previews galore but sadly not terribly much that’s calling to me. 0:00 – The new Predator animated anthology is pretty cool! 7:28 – Catch Me at the Ballpark! is a charming anime so far! 13:05 – The Switch 2, like its predecessor, is a great platform to play worse versions of old games 27:25 ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 405 – Mostly Only Positive’ »

Maybe they should try plot armor! 0:00 – YouTube continues making everything worse 4:32 – Games are more expensive these days; the total cost simply isn’t the entirety of the initial purchase price 33:18 – Storm Trooper armor offers no protection 43:04 – I can’t get into Kowloon Generic Romance because the protagonist is inexplicably ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 404 – Storm Trooper Armor Is Fashion Over Function’ »

This podcast has nothing to do with the fact that I haven’t had a burger in years. 0:00 – Sometimes, movie trailers are good! 12:25 – Can we crack the code of the inexplicable popularity of Gemma from Monster Hunter Wilds? 26:38 – I watched Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines on a whim and it’s ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 402 – Little Ado About Everything’ »

Still super annoying though. 0:00 – I accidentally ripped off my dentist 2:54 – Incredibly, YouTube manages to make its platform worse 8:10 – For next year’s Oscars, the academy members will have to actually watch all the films in a category to vote 15:36 – TV shows. Do I prefer all episodes released at ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 401 – The Least of YouTube’s Problems’ »

To celebrate the landmark achievement of reaching an arbitrary but no less round and impressively large episode number, and certainly not due to simple, serendipitous happenstance, we’re spending this week’s episode talking shop with YouTube musician extraordinaire, RafScrap and her producer/collaborator Gezeus! Check out their channels: RafScrap – https://www.youtube.com/@RafScrap Gezeus Quiryst – https://www.youtube.com/@GezeusQuiryst If you ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 400 – RafScraptacular!’ »

Nintendo Switch 2. I have thoughts. 0:00 – Monster Hunter is like Jell-o. There’s always room for more. Unless you’re full. Or just don’t like it in the first place. 28:14 – Nintendo’s expensive new console has expensive new games! If you missed Saturday's live broadcast of Molehill Mountain, you can watch the video replay on ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 399 – Nintendo Direct Into My Veins’ »

It’s not the solution, it’s the journey. 0:00 – Yahoo can’t design a website, YouTube can’t stop ad blocking software, and Facebook doesn’t care about it’s own Community Guidelines 9:42 – I thought Marvel’s five hour live stream revealing the cast of Avengers: Doomsday was kinda dumb… but it grew on me 13:40 – Nintendo ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 398 – Rube Goldberg Solutions’ »

Daredevil, Monster Hunter Wilds, and not much else. 0:00 – There’s this movie where a samurai fights off 400 dudes in one 77-minute unbroken cut! I could only sit through 17 minutes 11:58 – Daredevil is off to a good start but the third episode didn’t really work for me 38:40 – Technical issues aside, ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 397 – Daredevil Ep3 Didn’t Do It For Me’ »

Watch where you’re not looking, jerk! 0:00 – There comes a time in every adult’s life where you must poop in an envelop and send it through the post 8:11 – Monster Hunter Wilds is a lot of fun but yikes are there some issues with the visual presentation 1:06:24 – Sometimes, ogling attractive people ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 396 – Caught Not Ogling’ »

Free marketing! 0:00 – “10 Things You Need to Know” videos are mostly just reading publisher-provided fact sheets. Darn shame that YouTube has engineered its platform in a way that forces creators who make videos for a living to pad their output with this fluff, as clever and well-made as some of it can be. ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 395 – 10 Things to Know Before You Podcast!’ »

The best part of Valentine’s Day is the subsequent sale on candy! 0:00 – I couldn’t find any Valentine’s Day candy so I bought a giant Valentine’s Day cookie 13:00 – Yahoo Mail’s redesign is objectively worse 26:30 – Capcom’s marketing blitz for Monster Hunter Wilds isn’t always presenting the game in the best light ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 394 – Valentine’s Candy Sale!’ »

PSN is back up which means I can spend more time in the Monster Hunter Wilds character creator. 0:00 – The PSN was down for a day and Sony is being unnervingly quite about it 19:00 – The early hours of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team are a bit dull 37:21 – Sing is a ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 393 – I’m Sure It Was Nothing’ »

Not a lie, just sad. 0:00 – Happy birthday to me. Sans cake. 8:15 – The dead are uninsurable. 30:28 – Forensic mystery game Tokyo Psychodemic has some pretty rough spots but it’s got a solid foundation that I hope the creatives behind it get the opportunity to refine and expand on. 58:20 – The ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 392 – The Saddest Carrot Cake’ »

Let’s see how many Astro Bot cameos I recognize. NOTE: This is probably not a great audio-only episode as the majority of it relies on video game footage. 0:00 – Making people cry with Barbershop. In a good way! 3:55 – For a Nintendo fanboy, I recognize a surprising number of PlayStation characters. Hmm… If ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 391 – Secret PlayStation Fanboy?’ »

I’m sure the Switch 2 will be about as powerful as a console that came out over 10 years ago. 0:00 – Maybe we shouldn’t listen to venture capitalists, let alone adopt their falsehood-based, self-serving opinions 36:28 – Switch 2 is exactly what we expected it to be, even without the leaks 1:00:10 – My ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 390 – I’m Sure the Games Will Be Good’ »

NOTE: This podcast is not streamed in 4K. 0:00 – 4K gaming isn’t as easy as getting a PS5. You need a 4K TV. And if you want to stream them you need a 4K capture card. And a 4K switcher. And 4K HDMI cables. 9:13 – Ghost of Tsushima is Horizon: Zero Dawn with ...Continue reading ‘Molehill Mountain Episode 389 – Fun With 4K’ »