[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 15 years ago, when the term JRPG was being thrown around, it was for Japanese, many Japanese developers, a negative term. It was like they were being made fun of for making those types of games and that they felt pigeonholed


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] By western media applying this terminology in what he felt was a sort of critical way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's why he doesn't really like that phrase. And he says that it sort of, it pushes him into a box that he doesn't really feel comfortable with. Uh, and I think that's very evident with the way that he makes games. Final Fantasy XIV is a very different type of MMO.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And 16 is a different type of mainline game. Uh, he likes to operate outside of the box and so you could see why.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Label JRPG doesn't really, um, work for him. And funnily enough, there's a lot of discourse around that now about whether or not that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's right to think that or whether or not people agree that the term was being used in a derogatory fashion or whether he's being sensitive or not. I've never used the term JRPG.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a, like I, I've looked at certain aspects of JRPG games and thought, okay, that part is not for me, but I've never thought, I've never used that label and thought, well, it's a JRPG, therefore it is shit. Like I've never used them analogously like that. You know what I mean? It's really.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think, when I think of JRPG, I think of something that has a very ambitious, uh, kind of epic storyline, uh, that usually involves quite a large ensemble cast, uh, that usually involves, uh, like a progression system where characters are leveling up,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Often quite convoluted, uh, leveling systems or progression systems with lots of different menus going on and you kind of have to decipher them all.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure, that's what I'm saying. It's those things, but then I think that the thing that really seals it is that tone or that vibe or that feel where it's...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] JRPG. You know what I mean? And again, I've never...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, Final Fantasy X was extraordinary. I mean, that was like, if any, I still to this day say, if anyone wants to get into the Final Fantasy series, you should start with 10, you know, for a variety of reasons, which a lot of people disagree with.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not because I think it's the best one per se, but because I feel like it hits this, this intersection of like story, visuals, approachability, uhm, and I think it's moments and whatever else. Like it's just a really great way to enter the franchise and not feel like scared off by it, if you know what I mean.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so yeah, like that period where he describes it as being this derogatory term, I kind of feel the opposite. And I feel, and I feel like back then JRPGs were still riding high in a way that I think they have fallen off since then, for sure. I agree with that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I wouldn't say it's because of, uh, they're taking old medieval as inspiration.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, yes and no, but what I mean is that if you, like, I just think they work with a group, a troupe of voice actors, the same voice actors who did Final Fantasy XIV, and they happen to be based in that part of the world.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they do a fantastic job. Like this, you should play Final Fantasy. If you like, if you're digging these accents, you should play Final Fantasy 14 and Xenoblade. Cause it's all about these like, different British accents. No, no, no. Thingy as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so yeah, it's, it's that trip of people doing the same. I think it's the same trip because I heard some familiar voices, uh, and they're a really talented outfit in terms of collection of voice actors and whatever. And, uh, yeah, so, so I liked it a lot. I thought it was really cool. Very cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, it's, it's always been, yes, no, I mean, to my great shame, I have not played Hitman. And it's cause I'm, I also really like time loop games and people are always saying to me like, dude, if you like time loop games, you have to play Hitman. Yep. Cause the way you described it is kind of what I imagined Deathloop would end up being.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I guess one of the reasons why I was kind of bummed about Deathloop was it wasn't that thing. We had to study roots, like people's routines and like intervene in the exact moments and like, I just love that idea. I think that's so cool. And, um, yeah, so Hitman is, is very high on my pile of shame, like one of the highest for sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I hope he's doing okay. It was a stressful time for him, Flappy Bird's release. I hope he's, uh, I hope he's, I hope he's thriving since then. Sitting on his giant pile of money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They'd be, I think it's impossible that they would not do that. Like that they would forgo the whole handheld hybrid thing because the success of their business has ultimately been built on handhelds. You know, obviously they had some successful like, you know, consoles as well, of course, but like Nintendo is


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're right, but I also wonder if they're going to become a bit more risk averse now, and I don't know, like it's, stakes are a lot higher, they've had a lot more practice at this. I wonder if you can count on them to play it a bit more safe, but uhm, I really wish there was just some way to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For that separate dock to actually providing meaningful power uplift to the base unit, would


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jack the price of this so much that there's just no way that would do it. So I think you'd be looking at stuff like, um, there's talk of, you know, the next switch involve, um, utilizing Nvidia technology for like DLSS for example. That's more than likely where we'll see things go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, yeaah, I just, I'm really happy. Look, personally, I don't use a Switch. I use a Steam Deck, right? I only use my Switch for exclusives. That probably won't change anytime in the future.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I would just want a more powerful Switch so it doesn't feel like I'm stepping back two generations whenever I boot it up and play a game on it. You know what I mean? Uh, that's ultimately it. I reckon the Switch is kind of low-key perfect in this design.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it's just, it's just, it's like, it's so good, like, it's, how do you improve, like, again, the modern games console that sits under our TV hasn't changed ultimately in the years. Adaptive triggers are nice, not gonna be wrong, but they're hardly a game changer. Just make it stronger, allow it to play better looking games. Check the Joy-Cons.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fix the joycon so they don't suck? Uh, that's it. You know what I mean? That's, that's it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I've reviewed Bayonetta recently and I'm like, it's a great game, but man, does it look like shit sometimes. Like it's just the, especially the environments, which is so bad. It's kind of like, yeah, look, you really, really need to, you know, we need to give this thing some more juice cause it's about time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, and I, you know, I learned so much as well, cause I mean, obviously I'm like the whitest dude ever, right? And I've heard about like, oh, it can't create black hair, but I didn't really understand. I was like, oh, they don't have the hairstyles. Okay, fair enough.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then I was like, what do you mean texture? And I was like, oh well yeah, it makes sense that black hair has different texture to white hair. Like of course that's a thing. Why wouldn't I understand that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then you started talking about stuff like salon culture and like, you know, being close to what's going on in salon. So you can represent that in games. And I was like, salon culture. I've never heard of that either. Like, like that was just so I, yeah. So I just found, there was a lot of, I found so much of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we'll, we'll leave a link to it in the description below. And uhm, yeah, like really, really recommend it. It's not only like really great content. I think it's just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just a really cool thing to learn about. I think it's also important in its own way. Uhm, so yeaah, definitely recommend giving it a click, cause it's, uh, 17 minutes flies by, I promise you. 17 minutes sounds like a lot on YouTube these days, but I promise you it flies by.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'll go next. Uh, yeah, I can't believe that 22 years ago today, Zone of Enders came out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, obviously I bought into it because of the demo thing, but it was still just a fun mech game that kind of like left an impression on me. The only other time I played mech games like that was in the arcade where they had those like, I forget the name of the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it was like, you would sit down and you would have two joysticks and you'd control two mechs. Yeah. Doing battle in an arena. What was the name of that game? I forgot. You know the one. Breaks. Mechanized combat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He better. I mean, or we're going to have to go to Japan to visit him. Is that a thing? We'll do a crossover cause he's got a podcast and we're, I mean, like he only really interviews very famous people. So if we became more famous than we are today, then maybe he'll invite us on, but I think we need to become significantly more famous.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ralph? Uh, yes, you can find me right here on the Shillup channel and, uh, I'm just playing Destiny, man. You can find me in the tower.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, I mean, it's, look, I mean, Spider-Man looked amazing, I thought that was a really, you know, great demo, uhm, to end it. It was nice to see gameplay. I mean, look, there, I thought, I thought it was a solid good show, uhm, a lot of game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The thing with that one was that the expectations were through the roof, right? I mean, I was seeing the tweets with people saying, you know, this is going to be generation defining, biblical proportions and things like that. So uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Good show, but you know, being in the business of making these things, I always know half of half the battle is just what the expectations are leading into a show versus what actually happens. And most of these events.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and I think yeaah, I think some fans probably wanted some, you know, shocking surprise, uh, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, where's Cory Barlog's new game or, you know, it's like, who knows? But yeah, it's, I thought, I thought it was good. What'd you guys think?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's kinda odd, uhm, I mean I thought the trailer was a little odd to me too, uhm, you know, sort of the build up to it and it's like, I mean, you don't know anything about what it is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's a remake, but who's making it? It's like they tweeted out. It's like development teams, like who's the team making this? You'll notice it no longer says that Hideo Kojima game. So now it's like this sort of, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think a lot of questions are open questions about that. So I, you know, I, yeah, I, I fundamentally have a lot of questions around what, what is the game going to be? How's, how's it going to play? Is it going to be good? Is this going to be, you know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's been cool. I mean, I think it's, it's kind of evolved over time and the, I mean, the most fun I have is when I get to do things with him or we have, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I think it was just, it's part of the challenge they faced was that it was, you know, this physical trade show event as the world was changing. It's not unlike what happened when I was at Spike.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And do that. So yeaah, we had lots of conversations, but there was, you know, a focus for them, I think, around doing a big physical event. So it just wasn't something that, you know, honestly, my team, that's not what we do. We don't worry about.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The feedback from, you know, the industry, you guys are part of it, but also publishers and everyone else is that, you know, they were moving in a different direction, uhm, than E3. So we just kind of kept building Summer Game Fest every year. Uhm, and this year, same thing, like we announced last summer,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That we were doing Summer Game Fest this year and even though E3 was sort of announced as coming back, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] E3's back, baby! And it's like, what is E3? What does that actually mean? Because, you know, the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Macro climate has changed so much with publishers doing their own events and things splitting out and so you know, the E3 that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love that you guys love that people listening to this love is the E3 from like 10 years ago, which is, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eight press conferences jammed together in two days with, you know, us running between events and all these things. And that's just like, gone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just not how things are done anymore. So yeaah, long answer, but uhm, yeaah, I think we were, we built Summer Game Fest and we're just kinda happy to keep rolling with that. Uhm, and you know, we had talked to E3 and they were,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know. I think it, I think it will be challenging. I mean, the thing to me is that E3 is really defined by the big first parties and unless I think


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, really all come together and say, hey, we want to do this together. I think it's going to be very hard for something like E3.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If the industry wants it, I'm sure it could come back, but I think we really have to start with like the first party saying like we believe in all coming together, doing this all together as sort of a physical event.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We built Summer Game Fest because I had a firm belief that we needed something to exist and I was very worried that the traditional E3 model


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bring things back together in some way. So yea, it was really sad for me to sort of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So yeaah, there's pressure around it and, you know, like any of my shows.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The time period and the expectation, especially now, it's like, oh, Summer Game Fest is the new E3, or Summer Game Fest is the E3 replacement. And I always say that that's like, I know it's a...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's like they don't actually want to compete with each other head to head and kind of put out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You guys remember the old E3 days, they'd be like, you know, 400 trailers come out in a day and stuff like that. Now it's just too complicated for people. So yeah, it's definitely, uh, there's definitely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Tension around these things and expectations and we, you know, we have to be extremely careful about sort of what we say and you know, even after.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think we have a good show. Uhm, you know, I'm not worried about it per se, but uhm, I think it's gonna be fun. And the thing that I love about our show for Summer Games specifically is that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love that stuff. Some people, you know, will listen to this and say like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Stop talking between the trailers. Why are you interviewing a developer? Like, get to the next game. And it's like, it's just, it's a preference. But for us, I love that we are doing like a live show in front of an audience, uhm, which will sort of make it sort of naturally different than what like a PlayStation or Xbox has done.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's a game with a CG piece and then three years later you'll see the first gameplay or they, you know, show it for four years in a row. Now it's like, hey, Mortal Kombat announced, you know, was it like May 19th and it's like June 18th or June 8th here's the gameplay and then ships in September, right? So it's like boom, boom, boom. Um, that'll be good. Uh, Alan Wake will have, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And yeaah, we've got, we definitely got some, we do have some good stuff, but hopefully we'll be surprises for people. Manage expectations, I can't say how many surprises we have, but we'll still be a surprise by then. Um, but yeaah, like everyone's very collaborative with the show, and you guys know exactly, there'll be a bunch of games at playdays, which is the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it's going to be a fun show, you know, lots of stuff. We'll have some smaller indie titles as well that I think is always important to kind of represent, you know, the smaller and bigger games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, you just have to, you try and book a bunch of things that are going to have a great variety of them. I always feel bad with.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] GameSpot's coverage of iJune and it's like, I think, you know, to the audience at home, hopefully they'll look at it as like this whole month.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you had to move, you had to stay in hotels and you had to get on a bus to move between press conferences. So it had to be sort of, you know, within a certain time period. Now it's like, no, I mean, today we all watched the Sony event from home and talked about it. And then it's like, you know, the Xbox thing will happen sort of in person, although I think it's more of a sort of video event that they'll screen.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every year. Cause you were saying, Jake, it's like, it's different this year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do it if people say like, you know what? We don't need this anymore. We're just going to do our own things. Like that's fine too. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, yeaah, we're just, we don't know what to expect, but we're, we're gonna do it!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Game Awards obviously is, you know, our biggest property and that's, you know, very much an award show that has a lot of announcements in it, right? Uhm, and then Summer Game Fest is the one that's probably is most...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Amorphous in sort of its format and shape and it's just kind of constantly changing and evolving, right? So I think that's the one that we're probably least confident like exactly where that's going to go, uhm, in the future. And I don't know that we'll ever do a big physical event. Uhm, you know, I question


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cloud and the next best and all these demos and stuff, you know, there's a new hardware.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, cycle, I could see there's obviously a need for that of like, you know, play this new hardware device that you can't get at home to try. But in any other year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I always say to people, like, we're not, I'm not looking to do more things. I mean, even Summer Game Fest, that was sort of, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Six events a year, and part of it is like when we, you know, we get pitched by a lot of other shows around the world saying, hey, what you do for Gamescom, why don't you come do it at our show?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's just not enough games to sort of do these announcement events. It's like, you know, even now, like game awards and summary events are six months apart.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fun weekend, I mean I think, you know, the Xbox show, I'm very curious to see.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, right? It's just one of those things that like, it's, uh, it's hard to say. I really do hope everyone does well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we'll, uh, we'll talk after again so you can tell me how we did.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we'll see. We're gonna do it and we'll read the reviews afterwards. But we're, like, generally I'm pretty excited about it, even like the stuff we've announced, like Mortal Kombat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guarantee you that's gonna blow your socks off. It's gonna be, I mean, the gameplay looks amazing and stuff. So that's part of the thing is we try and announce a few things to set expectations, but then that just creates.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I, I, yeah, it's so hard to know about some of that stuff about kind of what's real and what's not. Um, but yeah, I mean, we obviously monitor all that stuff and it's hopefully, I mean, I, it was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I mean, he's in LA. He's in LA and he's been here for like a few days. And then just as on the day of the game awards, he's like, I have COVID and we're just like, oh no. Made the trip out here. So he was in his hotel room.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Miyazaki, am I allowed to say that? Yeah, I got to meet Miyazaki. And it's like, wow, this is happening. Okay, cool. I didn't get to meet Kojima. That was on the bucket list.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, but just a whole bunch of developers that you, you know, you see them from afar and then you get to like say hi to them or performers. Like I actually, I'll tell the story later with Christopher judge, but like bullshit happened and it was exciting. So I had a blast. I had absolutely a blast.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I don't like it either, but I think a lot of that came back to me was very much like, you hated this game, you shadowed over this game, and it does, it sort of polarizes your own perspective, like, or it falsely polarizes or characterizes your perspective into one camp or the other. And it's not like that. And I think developers, to your point,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They get it, like they see the, they see the grey in the air. And as long as you're fair, like they're okay with it. You know, I had developers come up to me and same situation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where they're like, hey, you reviewed our game, hey, it didn't go so well, did it? But they were like, chill about it, they're fun, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I do think YouTube audiences are a reflection of their creators in a large part, but not one to one either, like there is some spill at either end of that spectrum where you just can't control that, you know. But anyway, yeah, the point of all this, I guess, is that meeting Des was fun. And it was really cool to see that and have that FaceTime with them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, also performers. I actually, funnily enough, I was just chatting randomly to this person that I met.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, I'm like, oh yea, so what do you do? And she's like, oh, I'm a voice actress. I'm like, okay, cool. Like, what are you, what are you in lately? She's like, oh, I was in Plague Tale Requiem. I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What? And it was Charlotte McBurney and it was like, she was nominated that night for the award. She didn't, she didn't win sadly. But I actually had previously in a bunch of other videos, I was like, this person needs to win this award because her performance is extraordinary. And as I was speaking to her,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I just randomly chat, like, met her in a bar, like we were standing around in the JW lobby and like, hey, what's going on? So uhm, yeaah, crazy to have those sorts of moments, so yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and I'm also very sympathetic, because I've always been sympathetic to Jeff with this, because like a lot of people are like, the game of wards fucking sucks, and whatever, Jeff Keighley only cares about money. It's like, I look around at that event, I'm like, how much would this cost to put on? We're talking about hiring out the entire Microsoft theater, the fit out, all the staff that are being hired that night, everything, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So like just to keep the lights on in that production would be so hideously expensive. Yeah. So I'm like sympathetic to the idea that you need to have this sort of thing. Like you need to have some shit in there for sure. And there's always going to be us being given feedback to Jeff like, well, Jeff, you should have more of this. And he's going to be like, you know, fucking, I know, I know. So I mean, I see both sides.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Um. Fairly enough, I actually, I was saying I met him after the show, like one o'clock, one thirty, we were, I was heading back to my hotel and I just, just walking home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's like, his whole plan this weekend was just to play golf, and that was it. He's just like, and Eric was telling us during the, while they were recording, and they were doing the motion capture stuff, that he would like, try and sneak away to the golf links to play golf, you know? Do I have time? Do I have time? No. So uhm, that was fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, but he's in some game now called- It's Rocky. I don't know, but it wasn't-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I, look, I think obviously it looks cool, you know, but it still, it looks like, it just obviously looks very 80s. I just wanna point out, we did zig and zag, no one said zig and zagrius.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it looks very Hades to the point where I'm like, okay, I guess I have to wait to play that to see how different it is from Hades because it looks kind of just the same. Like if this is, I don't want to say risk in because obviously these are developers that I trust and I'm sure they're going to put a huge amount into it to make it stand out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But definitely as you watch the trailer, you're like, okay, that's Hades again, which I'm relatively okay with, but also would have kind of been more pumped if they were doing something totally different. I'd be like, yes, super giant man. They're going to fucking blow us away again, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, in terms of trailers, obviously, I'm not a huge Armored Core fan, but I've actually never played an Armored Core, I don't think. I think I may have booted it up at one point on a PS2 back in the day, but I definitely not played it. Uh, and, I mean, they're not great. Well, I don't know. I mean, some people say, oh, they're incredible. They're so underrated. And then a lot of people say, yeah, they're not fantastic. It's a mixed bag. Sure, sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I think if you look at a creative, like a studio that creative, me as a arcade person that creative, you make, you've been making essentially the same type of game for a long ass time now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm gonna guess you wanna make something else. You know what I mean? Like I just, that's a guess obviously.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, Elden Ring. You're right, it is that sandbox. At the same time, of course,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I saw a tweet from Gene Park, and he's like, the reason that Horizon, uh, Forbidden West got no wins is cause he, look, he sucks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But no matter when it came out, I still do not think it would have done any better at the game. No, I don't. I think so too. I think it's just a really cool, fun ass video game, but again, as I've said many times before, it's kind of like the avatar of video games. It leaves no culture.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's like reviews on it a mix, but I really believe it's fantastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the ambience and the feeling of like conquering that landscape I think is, it's irreplaceable I think to the franchise. But I do think they could replace


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[Assistant] The combat side of things with, hey, you've now arrived at your destination trying to do some sneaky boy shit, you know?


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[Assistant] FromSoftOne, uh, Game of the Year, Elden Ring, goes up on stage, gives a speech, kind of brief, cool, he steps away, and while he was speaking though, there was this kid behind him, and everyone was like, what the fuck, this kid was kind of rocking and whatever, like he looked a bit out of place, and then as soon as Misaki,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This kid walked up to the mic, started speaking, mic was off but then they turned it back on and he said


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[Assistant] Apparently this kid is, they thought he was sort of being anti-Semitic on stage because he was talking about like reformed rabbi Bill Clinton, but apparently this kid is Jewish because


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[Assistant] All right. Hello and welcome. We are now here. Where are we guys? Sony Santa Monica.


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[Assistant] It was last night, we were at the Game Awards, it was very late, and we're all quite hungover, but we're here at Sony Santa Monica Studios, which is just super exciting, uh, and we're joined by none other than Eric Williams, who


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Directed, God of War Ragnarok. Uh, first of all, cannot thank you enough for your time. Obviously, it was a late night for all of us, and for you to be here in the morning, chatting with us, just, yea, hugely appreciative. Thank you. Thank you, man.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where's that going to happen? I could tell he was looking at the teleprompter. I was like, he's having some trouble with that teleprompter. It's going to get good. So that was, um, that was really special. But how are you feeling at this point now with that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With that night behind us, like, yeaah, where are you at sort of, yeaah, in your, in this overall journey of, of Ragnarok?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. More in. So yeah, it'll be awesome. So, so obviously, uhm, sorry, I've just got a list of questions here. Uhm, I- He's checking Twitter. Say again? He's checking Twitter. That's right. See what Cory's saying.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I was, I was actually, the question I sort of had was like, does this feel like, does the game awards and, uh, does that feel like the end of the journey for you in terms of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like your relationship to Ragnarok, cause you sort of said like, oh, we're thinking about what's next, but yeah, we're-


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[Assistant] And when would you say that this journey began for you personally? Like as a creative?


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[Assistant] Think about like your leadership style and how that might have been different from Corey's because obviously, you know, Corey did this reboot and then you sort of took, were handed the reins. So first of all, like how did that feel to be handed that responsibility? And then how do you feel, what do you feel you brought as a leader that was different from what he brought? And why did that kind of work as well as it did here in Ragnarok?


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[Assistant] What do you think your team would say of you, of your leadership style? Oh boy.


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[Assistant] Kind of, I see three buckets, you've sort of got your very slow Dark Souls, and you've got your very fast character action, and like God of War feels right in the middle.


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[Assistant] And I wonder how the industry is going to emulate that in the future. And I played Evil West recently and I was like, well these guys are just copying that. Like not obviously one to one copy, but I could feel that inspiration coming through. Have you seen, as across the industry, have you seen any other games that you're like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What was the, uh, inspiration then for that shot, uh, with Kratos and the bear? Oh, the shot. The shot. With Kratos and Atreus behind him. With the bear. In space. You know, like the ticket looks like it. Have you seen the one where it's like...


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[Assistant] Yeah, right. And do you see, do you see now that the next role for you has to be directorial? It has to be leading? Or do you think, would you like to sort of join in a more junior capacity supporting others? Like where would you see yourself? Oh, I get to be a junior designer again? Hell yeaah. Like where do you see yourself in this?


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[Assistant] Final panel in Ragnarok? Final panel? Yea, at the end of Ragnarok, when he's looking at the thing. What did you think?


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[Assistant] Uh, I, I, I thought it was kind of like if he wasn't as magnanimous and if he didn't let go of that toxic part of himself, how bad things could have gotten. But that was my, that was my read, I don't know.


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[Assistant] And therefore I think that that makes him the same as all of the forces that he's fought against all these times. So it's kind of like...


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[Assistant] That is a huge list that I just dumped. Yeaah, I was gonna say. Maybe I can, I'll whip through it fast, cause then, cause I know what's like, what shouldn't be on this list, oh sorry, stuff that I just left on there by accident, cause this is literally pulled from my new show, just so you know how the sausage is made around here. But, Evil West, did you guys play Evil West? You played Evil West. I started to play it, but it brought


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think it's really superb. It's just also kind of really broken and unfinished at this point, which is a real bummer. And everyone was sore coming from a mile off with Fatshark.


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[Assistant] Because we know shit all about Warhammer. Uh, there was Marvel's Midnight Suns.


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[Assistant] I would be so surprised if we don't see a mobile game like that come up soon.


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[Assistant] The next big one was Callisto Protocol. So, that one we have all played. We have all finished. Callisto Nautical. Uh, obviously lots of discourse about that one. Gerard, what did you think? I thought it was okay. Okay.


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[Assistant] It's, yeah. There's so much excitement for it, for sure.


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[Assistant] Let me ask you this, do you guys think, okay, I'm pretty sure we all agree that game is not scary, right?


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[Assistant] Yeah, I've, yeah, the whole crunch discussion as well is another thing where it's like-


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[Assistant] That's such a funny photo of him holding up two knives. What the hell? He loves knives. I apologize if you can't see this, but we're just looking at, if you google Gabe knife collection, you'll find some truly disturbing pictures of him just staring blankly into the camera holding up two knives like this.


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[Assistant] No, I totally agree. I think that's definitely my, cause I don't plan to do a game of the year thing this year. I plan to just do like a thing of the year cause I think there's a whole bunch of stuff that interests me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think Steam Deck is super high on that list just because I think it's so transformative. I only touch my Switch now for, um, console exclusives.


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[Assistant] Uhm, and all the indie stuff that I used to do on the Switch, it's on-deck, emulation on-deck, like I, I now follow it into my review process when I'm reviewing games, because I know people are picking it up now, it's their primary PC, so I want to make sure people know, can this run on a Steam Deck? So I worked that in there. Uhm, I just think the future of that device is, is so, is just incredible. So, yeaah. But I mean, the other thing outside of that for me was, uhm,


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[Assistant] Trigger? Trigger. Uhm, amazing, just so good. And it's good to see video game annotations, cause obviously we've had the Witcher lately, like that was a few years ago we've started that. Great, fantastic. We're also gonna have the HBO show for Last of Us, cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it's just, and we're gonna have Mario movie, Sonic of course. So it's nice to see video game adaptations getting momentum like this. And good. Yeaah, those two in particular though, I think Arcane and Air Drainers really stood out to me as


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They, they went beyond, cause like, they went beyond what their, their influence, their, um, their inspiration was, you know? Cause obviously Sonic is like, hey, Sonic is so cute, isn't he? Let's have some fun adventures with Sonic, and the Witcher is an adaptation of the book, and Henry Cavill did a great job. But I really think that, like, you just have such a


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I mean, obviously Zelda, cool. Yeah, that one would be great.


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[Assistant] And, cause that's when I came in on it. And uhm, and obviously 14 also means a lot to me, even though I'm not playing it right now. And it just looks fantastic. So, you know, especially with 15 being a bit sort of, how's it going? Had a few problems.


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[Assistant] That's right, that's right. But uhm, I just think as well, the idea that the series is kind of growing up, I really like when games are doing that now because we're all getting older, the series is getting older, and it's like as in these franchises are getting older, but they're not growing up. And I like the fact that this one is clearly trying to do that. It's trying to be more mature, more confronting, embrace


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[Assistant] Uhm, so yeaah. So 16, man. That's, that's where I'm, that's what I'm looking at right now. No one said Starfield. No one's feeling Starfield?


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[Assistant] I would, I would actually say God of War, even though I, I do, just because that 35 hours was just so special for a number of reasons, personally, professionally, emotionally, just a lot of reasons. I have that connection to that franchise and just being able to play through it like that, I think was really special. So yeah.


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[Assistant] It's basically like a, a content creator charity event. You will have seen them before, but this one is, um,


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[Assistant] But it's basically like several months of a bunch of people learning how to box so that they can do so in front of people for charity, um, cause it's pay per view. So it's I think $25 per, uh, ticket to watch the stream online and that all goes to charity. So that's cool.


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[Assistant] Uhm, so I don't, yes, I'm very, I have a strict schedule and I never really take a day off, which sucks, and I guess my workday is usually like 9am to 1am majority of the time. Uhm, but it is just being organised and not letting myself be distracted, like I don't watch any TV.


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[Assistant] It's usually in my draughts actually, so usually I just have stuff in my draughts that I tweet and then I don't look at it. I just peace out. Like, I'm just like, ehh, I haven't tweeted in a bit, there you go, alright, bye! And occasionally I'll look at my feed, but even that very rarely, like, uhm, down to 10 minutes a day on Twitter and uhm, I don't use TikTok and...


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[Assistant] You trick yourself into feeling like you're being productive when you're on social media, so then you feel like you've done things because it is like an investment and a labor.


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[Assistant] Uhm, and you're also getting all this numeral, numeric feedback. You're getting all these numbers thrown in your face. Uhm, that feels like...


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[Assistant] I think everywhere. You can't, like, if you're trying to... No, don't have all your eggs in one basket because they're also fickle and can disappear whenever. But I'm in agreement that YouTube at least is pretty solid and for all the smack we talk about YouTube, uh, I feel like it's a dependable platform at the very least.


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[Assistant] I love my job. Uhm, I think it's the best job I've ever had. Uh, how's it been going? It's super difficult. You work with a lot of people, like hundreds of people, uhm,


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[Assistant] A lot of work, but it's super inspiring work. It's also like.


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[Assistant] A Jeff Keighley versus E3 thing. I had seen it as E3 folding, not because of the Jeffs.


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[Assistant] Or Jeff Week 2K23, but because everybody's now just like, broken off and doing that. I think it's actually COVID that did it more so than Keely was that the publishers, you know, adapted to having their own streams and having their own private conferences that it's just a week all about them. They can control all the marketing. They don't have to share hype with anybody else. And so it just funneled in that direction. Like I didn't feel like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jeff's filled in a void for some of those people, but I didn't feel like it was, he was the one who tanked it. I think it was just kind of inevitable that the publishers all headed in a different direction.


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[Assistant] Uhm, the whole thing just, I'm not at all surprised by the cancellation. I'm bummed about it. I think because E3 was like such a big thing that made me want to get into the industry. You know, like you guys probably had the same thing, especially for us, Ralph, being in Australia. I was like waking up at 2 AM when I was 13 years old and watching these conferences and just getting so excited.


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[Assistant] E3 is a little bit less of that, like there's still a retailers expo that happens in Vegas where they like give all the...


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[Assistant] The business stuff is still more DICE and GDC. Okay. Yeah. Like that's why people are getting their games funded and published and, and pitches are all happening is a lot of DICE and of course a lot of GDC. So that stuff still exists, but I think it was a, it was actually a much lesser part of, of E3 then.


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[Assistant] I can't even remember what I played, you know, I think I like did some platform, they, they would like zoom out and you'd get a whole planet and then you'd just, you'd zoom in and you'd be on the street, but like without any loading and it did seem, did seem very dense. Um, but it also didn't seem at all like beyond good and evil. It was like a very big change.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's a weird time for Ubisoft, I guess. Like, I didn't realize there was...


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[Assistant] Other people looking to get into the industry, it's so easy when it's just content creators covering stuff from afar for things to be very cynical or at least that's how I view it. And I know that a lot of people want to get into that facet now and I worry that like without E3 less people are interested in.


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[Assistant] Potentially the media side or like things are less exciting because you're instead watching somebody react to conferences separately and the chat's all mad about it. Like, I don't know. I just, I worry that that magic is maybe a little bit lost without the way E3 used to be, which is Obama. It was fun.


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[Assistant] You stop priming and sanding and gluing and yeaah, it's a lot. But they are really cool. Uhm, we actually have, uh, did you guys end up going to Santa Monica Studio?


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[Assistant] Well, it's not that it didn't give me good feelings, but I ultimately agree. Uhm, I think that this is their cleanest shooting yet, like in terms of their actual combat mechanics, obviously not the powers, which are individual to the individual heroes and not as extensive as previous games, I feel. Uhm, I thought the shooting mechanics were great.


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[Assistant] I, I suspect that they did single player only just to make sure that we knew that you could play it single player only. Um, but there were definitely performances.


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[Assistant] It was very arcane light, so it's something that I do think I'll end up having a lot of fun playing, but it is ultimately like, clear out.


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[Assistant] Hoard, get safe house, shoot things in area and then leave area, things will shoot you on the way, this big map where really the goal of the game.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's an interesting one in that, like, like I said, I don't know that it's for me and I wonder if part of what you said there, which is everyone's...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The nests or the hives? Did you do one of those?


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[Assistant] Everyone that I spoke to after the preview event said effectively the same thing that Jake has said here too, is like everyone's like, yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I feel the same way about it and I am bummed about it, but I, again, I still do want to play more of it. We were pretty limited in what we got to play. Uhm, the skill tree was huge, so I don't know how creative you can actually get with the heroes and, and clearly it's, it does feel like it's designed for co-op. So it's like, I feel like we didn't have the accurate experience even playing it really.


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[Assistant] That sounds right. It's definitely a tough one to mock it because it, it does sound, I think your gambit comparison is actually a very good one. Yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just absolutely mind-blowingly pretty. Uhm, it was very functional for a beta surprisingly. Uhm, beautiful, really enjoyed the combat. I think my only concern coming out of it was that it maybe was a little bit too easy. I didn't think it was, the combat was particularly challenging.


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[Assistant] Really hard to say because like the optimistic part of me would say, well, a model worked out so poorly for them.


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[Assistant] Uhm, so it's like impossible to say if they'll learn from that at all. It's still made a lot of money, you know?


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[Assistant] I don't know, and I do think that, that you're right, that that's the thing that everybody, I mean the auction house, everyone hated that too, it's still there for too long, like it's, it's uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Look, I don't know if I'm like a massive just outlier here, and again, I don't spend that much time on social media, so I do feel like there's like part of the video game community that I don't see that much of anymore.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't care about skins, and I think it's like a thing that I-


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[Assistant] Like, it's gonna have monetization no matter what, obviously. If they've said it's only gonna be cosmetics, I would believe them. Which I guess is just how egregious that is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, I'll show you a picture of what my, I think my most prized possession is, uh, because it's upstairs, but, um, I have a lot of video game collectibles, you know, so it's this. It's, um, a crystal,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, from Daniel Arsham, like that's obviously you can see the hands in there, that's the size of it. Useless thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This guy who's being hidden by the light is probably the coolest. Uhm, but yeah, like the fact that that's not even on camera. It's all just chillin' there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and there's part of it that I think about way too often, which is like, they get


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dreaming about RE4, what's the average playtime? Cause Ralph, you said 17.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I do feel like the RE4 remake versus the other remakes, I was a lot less concerned about ammo conservation across the board and I think like, it really, I don't know, it's not that it's not scary, like did you guys find it to be a scary game?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I really like the, um, house, what has it been, Benviento. Um, I thought that was awesome as well, but I guess, um, I don't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, especially not in Resident Evil, but, um, I do feel like the strengths of Leon and like Susie keep saying the story here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Probably do make Village feel a little bit weaker, even though I had a great time playing it. Um, I still, I still really enjoyed it. Uh, I, I mean at this point, I'll play virtually anything Resident Evil. Code Veronica, damn it!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, especially like when you get to the end, like the hospital sequence is so much of like funneling backwards, people trying to flank you, like the AI is really good in part one. Uhm, but it is like claustrophobic approach to combat, I think that, like I think serves that world relatively well, but I'm kind of the same, I've never been a huge fan of Last of Us' combat, it's the story, obviously, that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was really like, our RE4 is the opposite, you are constantly being encouraged to move forward and run forward rather than to retreat, and often I guess you can't retreat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that what RE2 does well, it does really, really well. And what RE4 does well, it does really well. So I'm just glad that they both exist and are both so goddamn good. RE3 is also there. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's a really interesting point. It is, it is very, very similar to RE1 in a bunch of ways. And I feel like that probably set them up to like do the RE4 remake justice. Exactly. It's a nice package.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The only problem is the game's so big. If I'm remembering correctly, maybe it was Metal of Honor. It's like, it's one of those games that you kind of have to have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had a friend recently like play through it on discord and streamed the whole thing to us and it like is definitely very silly, but I think it still holds up. Like it has, it has quirks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Japanese release, at the very least. Uhm, yeaah, I loved Armored Core and I'm, I guess it didn't really occur to me that Armored Core is not


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't know that I was even old enough to understand what that meant at the time that it came out, but uhm, basically, you know, you pilot mechs, you do missions for these three separate corporations to get money to upgrade stuff, and it was rad. As a person who grew up really liking Gundam, like Armored Core 3 was, yea, the, the,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it probably, probably was a rental to be honest, cause it was a PS2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She's boxing. Lots of boxing. Uh, I'm on the internet everywhere at Charalanazade. It's my name in the middle of Charazade. You probably won't be able to spell it. It's fine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think the lagoon. I also will say I went to the penis museum, uhm, and like, let's just say they know exactly what they're doing, cause you walk around with a beer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The whole thing, it's exactly what you think it would be, humbling is the word I would use to describe it, but I had a great time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh here, I've got the tweet. Have you got the tweet?


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[Assistant] I hadn't intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum.


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[Assistant] After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience and Microsoft's proposal undermines this principle. It is so funny. It is so funny.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The value of having the games on other consoles, like in Minecraft and the success of that, like, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, what people associate with Call of Duty, like where they wanna play it, and so, gym's getting messy and I kind of love it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, I think at the end of the day, like, Jim does bring up the point where it's like, it's our gamers and it's like, you know, it's beyond the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] DICKWAVING of buying, you know, spending billions of dollars on company and IP. It's like at the end of the day, it is the people who are playing the game who are gonna be the ones to suffer that if like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we talked about it, like, we have everything, we are exceedingly...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Lucky in that regard that our jobs allow us the resources and the means to be able to have every console. Not everyone has that and if Call of Duty is your


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One big game that you buy every year and you are only a PlayStation gamer because you made a decision at one point and you're like, okay, this seems to be where the games are going, like that I want to play there in line with what I want. And then if COD one day isn't there anymore?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That fucking sucks, and like, it has nothing to do with you. We are the type of people who follow this shit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But like, you know, talking to my family when they're like, Oh, I don't know what game to buy. And just like me explaining to them, like different sequels and different, like the difference in PS4 and PS5.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You could be locked into owning a system and then end up in a couple years not being able to play or buy the games that you want because of some business deal like this, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, do you think that if they bought Sega, it would be a yakquisition?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, I've been playing it again and, you know, this is,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The third or something time that I've played The Last of Us and it's like, yeah, I like it. I think the visual upgrades are definitely fantastic. I think it feels better to play. I think the real unsung hero


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the 70 dollars sticks in the corral for many already, like game development is very expensive, we know this, uhm, and 70 bucks for a game that came out 10 years ago with no...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And like, this is, your mileage may vary where it comes to the phrase like, what a meaningful update to this game would be. Uhm, yeah, I don't know if it is worth 70, and like, it's art.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For a full, full price game that will probably end up-


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[Assistant] And I don't say this with malice because people worked really hard on this game on Naughty Dog and it clearly shows, like, it's fantastic. I still love it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It'll end up on PlayStation Plus or it'll be in certainly the premium tier.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or the game catalogue, very, you know, 6-12 months time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, the thing that I think as well is like, these accessibility options were not in


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The readmaster, right? Like the... And so that's kind of another part of the equation where it's like, is this some kind of like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so yeaah, I have very mixed feelings about it because I'm playing it and I'm enjoying it and I'm doing that weird thing where I was like, huh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The trophy's different, I could get the platinum on this one without having to get grounded, I could probably do that, so I'm kind of working my way, and I'm enjoying it, but like, yea, 70 bucks is difficult for me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gene, I think you, I saw you tweet this where you were like, it's a cinephile buying a 4k. Exactly, exactly.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] VHS, DVD, extended editions on DVD, uh, regular editions on DVD, the whole collection, and then last year or two years ago I spent $120 buying


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When I say I don't feel the Last of Us is worth the $70 to me, it's like, because maybe


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I- I'm not doing what Jean's doing, I'm not like playing it through over and over again, I like the game a lot, I- I love, uh, the left- the left-eyed DLC a lot, but it's like-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm not taking that extra step to, you know, I have to complete my collection, I have to have.


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[Assistant] I think it's because game is 11. We have a kind of like a... We have the chip on our shoulder.


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[Assistant] Like, you know, if you think about it, it's a relatively new medium that, I guess,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, oh, mom's basement, that kind of stuff. Oh, you're a nerd for playing video games. And so maybe...


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[Assistant] I don't know, it's kind of like this ingrain and I'm sorry I just had covid so I'm a bit flabby and I sound disgusting.


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[Assistant] We kinda feel like we are owed because we have had to with- go through like a bunch of people picking on us until video games were cool. And that's- that is a idea that I've flung out.


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[Assistant] It's certainly not the case for everyone, but it's an interesting, like, kind of more psychological approach to it, I guess.


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[Assistant] I don't think it'll, like, I genuinely don't think it'll matter when God of War comes out.


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[Assistant] I think, I think that's like, to Sony's benefit is they have these absolute jewels of IP that are just like, you can just dangle and people will just go.


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[Assistant] It's when people say like, the number of people who are on Twitter compared to, you know, the world population.


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[Assistant] And it's like, it's so easy to get caught up in, like you were saying, like, online stuff being currently online as we all are.


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[Assistant] Of part one, the HBO show, I'm like, ah, I could go, I could go back to it.


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[Assistant] And I remember, like, enjoying is- it doesn't feel like the right word. It feel- it felt like something...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Loved, uhm, but like, I definitely have the separation from it.


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[Assistant] But replaying part one has made me want to go back and just experience it again. So I...


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[Assistant] I don't know, like it's been really nice being back in that world. I feel like it's a, um, it's very well realized.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, I dunno, I wanna go back to it. Maybe, maybe if I have time, but you know, the next couple months, there's no games coming out, it's fine.


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[Assistant] That's the thing, I feel like I have enough distance from that where it's mostly the muscle memory from part one kicking in rather than remembering just how agile Ellie was.


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[Assistant] It was the first time in a long time where a bunch of my friends and I were like, okay, it's 10 PM.


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[Assistant] I've got a beer, let's squad up, let's just play, and like, we were having so much fun. Like it, and to Gene's point, it feels so good to play. It just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there are moments when I was playing it and it would be like, you know, the game would just sing and it would be just some incredible gaming moments that like, I certainly cherish and like think on fondly. But right now, no one I know is playing.


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[Assistant] I might hop on on a lunchtime or something and be like, okay, cool. Yeah, this is still a great game, but this is the same stuff I was playing at launch. Like I spent.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everyone bought the cat ears. Everyone bought the cat ears. And I was like, uuuh, you know, I'm sorry.


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[Assistant] The great moments of, oh, okay, I've completed a challenge or I've completed one of my dailies. That feels good to do. Like checking stuff off, uh, boxes going up, ticks. Yeah, great. But at the end of the day, it was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, I need more from this. And the thing about the couch cop is like,


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[Assistant] I personally wasn't gonna play it in cash card, but I remember so many of my friends being like, I'm gonna hold on the campaign until I can play it, like, with my brother or with my sister or with my friend, just like we did when we were kids.


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[Assistant] Like, that's what I'm holding out for, and then, you know, 343 going, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming, it's just gonna take a little bit, and then, nah. That sucks.


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[Assistant] Hashtag fire343i is so much easier to say in practice than it is to actually do. Like 343 industries is a studio set up to be the custodians of the Halo franchise. Like, it's not as easy as just copy.


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[Assistant] The amount of talent that's in there, the amount of money that's been pumped into that studio, whether Microsoft sees that as like sunk cost at this point.


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[Assistant] Like, I just don't think it's feasible for...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gonna make it in, uh, what's the Call of Duty engine instead? Like, you know, that would be a very different feeling and looking game at the end of it. Like, I dunno, I think it's an, it's an interesting proposition.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But not one that I think would be a reality at least immediately.


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[Assistant] Because again, a lot of money involved in staffing up, uhm, a studio, even ones that have shipped like huge first person shooter, you know.


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[Assistant] You might want to get, like, some people from Halo to make sure that the lore is right or whatever. Uhm.


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[Assistant] They just, like, Xbox just has to take the fucking hits at this point. Like, there's nothing they can say, and that means that Xbox loses face, right? Like, there will be some serious conversations happening at 343, so, uuuh, it's the kind of drama. Yeah.


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[Assistant] Like, Overwatch 2, when they were talking about their live service model, they were like, Seasons are gonna be...


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[Assistant] It's between 8 to 16 weeks. I forget which one it is, but it's like.


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[Assistant] Here's how long the seasons will be, there'll be a new hero every X amount of seasons that will be...


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[Assistant] At ease, knowing that you have a plan. Halo Infinite, it felt like we were all just so excited to see another Halo and for it to be good, that everyone kind of didn't necessarily think about the infinite part of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, it was, it was the game that everyone was like, oh my god, have you played Hotline Miami? And it was only on I think maybe one or two demo booths.


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[Assistant] I remember like, painting it down at the end of the show and I was like, oh shit, I fucked up by not playing this sooner.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, what? It's on Giant Bomb, it's, uh, Jeff Jeff's Bizarre Adventure, so it's me, Tam, Jeff Baklar, and SuperEyepatchWolf, who is like the biggest JoJo fan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, this is Jeff's first ever, ever anime. I've never seen it before, but I've seen a bunch of anime, so like, I understand that sometimes it can get weird, and Jeff is just like, but anyway, yea.


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[Assistant] No, so in, in the first season there is like one nine episodes, and then in the next one there's, uh,


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[Assistant] 12ish I wanna say, I'm probably getting that wrong. And then Stardust Crusaders is the really big season that we're in at the moment.


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[Assistant] Someone did the maths and it was like, for us to catch up to the new season, it's gonna take us like two years, so.


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[Assistant] We've got a bunch, like we're up to Jotaro, and then there's Jolene, and there's all the different Jojos, it's great.


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[Assistant] I finished it last night. Uhm, I loved Tinykin and I want to give a special thanks to Jeff Grubb, who was the person who told me about it on the bombcast last week.


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[Assistant] It is, so the game, to be reductive, it is Pikmin.


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[Assistant] But uhm, and I think the thing that works in its favour is that like,


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[Assistant] I was trying to think about like, what really makes it special, and like, I think the thing that I really love about it is like, you are these- you are this shrunken little man called Milo Dane, and you are in a, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you command the tiny kin, aka a Pikmin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, in, you're very tiny, you're in a house, so it's kind of like borrower's style, you know, using things to, uh, your main quest is you have to make a ship to escape the house, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was like, that's all, you know, fairly standard, very, the thing, so the thing that really sets the game apart for me is how good it feels to play, and...


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[Assistant] Just the game feel, as a wanky term as that is, is phenomenal.


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[Assistant] Or if you press right trigger, you climb up immediately.


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[Assistant] Okay, so I'm not gonna lie, I had COVID and I had kind of COVID brain.


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[Assistant] And I started to play immortality and I was like, ooh, I don't have the capacity for this, big man. Uh, right now, facilities big man, sorry, that's a very good TikTok meme.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the story is the one weak link because the story is like way over the top for what it needs to be. There are all these tiny people, uh, tiny, tiny creatures, the tiny kin, and you can control them for some reason. And there are also all these bugs in the house and they all pray to a god named Ardwin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't need this, okay? I don't know what's happening here. I just wanna control my tiny man. So, didn't answer your question, not sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The jumping just feels so reactive and so great. And if you hold down jump, you float. Uh, and so you get like a little bubble and that's your sort of gauge and you can collect more of the bubbles and you can just like float amongst like in the first level, you're not really doing much. You're kind of mostly on the ground the whole time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then, you know, gradually platforming up. But then by the time you get to like the third or fourth, when you've got a few more bubbles, you can just like, I'm at the top of the room and I'm gonna like drop my way down and then glide and then drop down and it feels really good. And then the other part is that you have a basically, if you press the right bumper, you get a bar of soap to glide on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And let me tell you, there is something so primal about how good it feels to just be jumping around, then switch to a float and then switch to like grinding on this bar of soap and then climbing up the guys and then the way that you use, like you have a little guy that, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The little red guys blow stuff up, so you just blow stuff up around you, and uhm, the way the puzzles all come together.


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[Assistant] The thing that I also really love about it is that like, there is not too much handholding at all. You basically enter into a new room, so you could go into like, the kitchen of the house, and the whole thing is, we want to build a cake, you need to get these ingredients, and put them in the blender.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had no idea really what to expect from this game other than it is like Pikmin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I was totally engrossed by it, the music is great, the game, the game feel.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is the thing that really got me, like it just felt so good to play, I was just switching my brain off and just having a great time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And honestly, it's on Game Pass, and I would recommend it to anyone. Like, it is great. I had such a good time. It doesn't outstay its welcome. I clocked in credits at seven hours, but I noticed that the clock did run even if you're on the pause screen, so maybe it's closer to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's really funny, there's one point where, uh, when you have the pink guys, they are the ones who can pick stuff up for you, and I think it's those guys, or I think it's like when you, oh yeaah, when you set a bunch of them because,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Things in the environment will require a certain amount of them to pick up. So, you know, you kind of spend, when you first enter a level, you kind of glide around and pick up a bunch of them and then go and do your little tasks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With the whistle noise from Pikmin, isn't it? Basically, like when you set a bunch of the pink guys to pick stuff up, it goes whoosh. And I'm like, how are you getting away with that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was enjoying it, the performances were great, but I was like, I, uh, don't have the wherewithal to put any kind of puzzle together right now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] God, Splatoon, like, you know when you get like opportunities come through to do stuff with like devs? Splatoon is my white fucking whale. Because, nah. So years ago, Nintendo in the UK, I can't remember if this was Splatoon 1 or 2.


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[Assistant] They reached out and they were like, hey, we're gonna have a dev, he's coming over from Japan, uhm, you know, which for Nintendo is pretty rare anyway, like they don't offer talent that much.


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[Assistant] And they were like, okay, he can come around. Is there anything in particular you'd want to do with him for Splatoon? And Tamora and I.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pitched that we would play a game of Splatoon against the dev.


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[Assistant] Uhm, the loser would get, uhm, gunged, or like, is that what you call it in America? Slime? We can imagine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so like, we were talking to Nintendo and they were like, okay, well first of all, we're gonna have to figure out what the Japanese translation for slime is gonna be.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We managed to get this signed off because we basically, we were like, okay, whatever, we'll make sure he wins and he gets to slime us. It was gonna be an amazing fucking video. We got it signed off, Nintendo were on board.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well isn't the UK like has EGX which is now owned by Pax?


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[Assistant] So, before I got into games, uhm, the thing about my family...


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[Assistant] My family either works in law or they're te- or they're working in teaching. There is no in-between. I am the only in-between in my entire family.


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[Assistant] If we're going for the aspirational, and I was thinking about this, I would love to be a pimple popper.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm on steam right now. What have we got? Pimple poppings.


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[Assistant] It was really fun and like I was super, I got COVID so I couldn't be in it, but I want to give a huge shout out to Kurt Indovina from, uh, the team at GameSpot. Like he, day of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Stepped up and he did so well and like he and Tam hosted it along with Greg Miller and it came together really well and I'm really happy with how it all happened. So please go and watch that over on games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jet, you know what? Jetlag James is, is your ring wrestling name?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hey everyone, I've missed, I've been gone a month. It's been, it's been a crazy month to think about. I've missed two podcasts in a row and I hated it. Uh, I didn't even realize. Yeah, but I'm back. Uh, thank you for- That's brutal, Jake.


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[Assistant] Uh, real quick, I just want to give love to all you out there who gave me a ton of love for the eShop video. Uh, that exploded the internet. I hit a million views in less than a month. And, uh, a lot of it was because of all of you early FPS listeners. So thank you guys at home. Really appreciate it. Uh, but yeah, I'm happy to be back. Back to talk about games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Good Friday is like the most some people will acknowledge depending on if they're like a Catholic or Christian based. Is it a public holiday? Is it a national holiday?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe. Maybe. We'll see. I don't want to disturb the comment section.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your content is so good, Ralph, because the passion that you have is palpable. It's why everyone tunes in. Like every, every video you output is like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A masterclass in how to just keep improving on your work and doing better every time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, uh, I, before I started doing YouTube, or rather before I did it professionally, whatever that may mean, uhm, I was going to school at Cal State Fullerton.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Double majoring in theater and film and, uh, theater being in a BFA program. So bachelor of fine arts.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what that really meant was, as an actor, uh, I was, uh, kind of, um, positioned to be in a very competitive acting program.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, uh, when you go to a Cal State that has something like a BFA, they can't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They can technically just open the door for you to try and just do it because it's a state school.


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[Assistant] But they treated this BFA program like it was a actor's conservatory, which meant that you had to train for two years consistently and halfway through your first year, you started to audition to stay in the program based on your skills.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, um, I was taking 21 units a semester, which is basically.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like a semester and a half of school, uhm, in these chunks. And, uh, because my dad, despite how wealthy he was, didn't believe in a free ride, I also had to work. So, uhm, I was working at Best Buy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cable things and turn things on and get buttons going.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As my cur- as I was auditioning for programs, for the program, for the BFA, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I kind of got screwed over, uh, by the guy who runs the program. Uh, the TLDR is that he, I wasn't going to be in the BFA. I just wanted a general arts degree and he was like, Hey, you're so talented. I want you to stick in the program. And if you stick, you're a shoe in. And I said, okay, sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I stuck around, which meant doubling my unit load, which meant double my classes. And it was like 6 AM until 9 45 every day, Monday through Friday, just doing that. And then on the weekends I would do


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, my space in the mornings, the best buy in the evenings were vice versa. So I was constantly on that grind.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And eventually it came time for me to jury for the program and the school has a policy where if you make it into a show, like one of the main stage shows as they called it, no matter how small the role was, if you had to, um, excuse yourself from an, from one performance, uh, you were disqualified from auditioning in the program.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, I got casted as, uh, as uhm, Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and the main stage production, uhm, the semes- the final semester that I was supposed to jury.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, wedding planner, uh, she's like, she used to be like the biggest wedding blogger on planet earth back in her heyday. So this was like the wedding of all weddings and I'm not going to not go to my sister's wedding. So I had to back out, which disqualified me from the program.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And all of my hard work just went in flames and I said, okay, uh, I quit my job at my space and I was just going to finish out my career as, as a, as an actor, writer, producer guy and, and just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do the work, and that's where video games kinda came into play. I always have been a huge gamer, but uhm, now that I had more free time, I was just constantly playing games all the time, and eventually at Best Buy, I went from being a customer assistant to being the guy in the gaming side of the store.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I became obsessed. It was like a drug. I loved working at Best Buy. I have a problem. If we go to Best Buy together, I am going to help us find everything we need. Cause I know where everything is in the store. It doesn't change.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the last decade. We can go right now. It's that in my, in my brain. And my whole thing was I wanted to make our Best Buy the best Best Buy in the country.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so what I did was I went dumpster, dumpster diving at different game stops.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I would like find all their cool promo images they throw away. I'd get them out, restore them, clean them, bring them to the store and stick them right in the center. Uhm, there was like a decrepit Mario statue that was awful. I restored that and put that in the store. There was the Master Chief thing, like I was so obsessed and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 80 inch TV with like a guitar hero set up and I'd put it in our store and say, free guitar hero, come on and play. And, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eventually, uh, I kind of got on the radar of the higher ups in district management level. They kept looking at our number and going, Hey, why is this store doing so well? I figured out how to do pre-orders before anyone else could in person at Best Buy. That's how obsessed I was. You're the problem. You are the one to blame.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Anyways, TLDR, I got flown out to Best Buy Corporate. They were going to offer me a corporate job to run the gaming division in the West and I worked with them for a month.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I came back home, super stoked, super excited, graduated with my degrees and thought I was moving to Minnesota to work at Best Buy Corporate. Uh, one month turned into nine and I never heard back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, well, I guess that TV screen I told you guys about, uhm, when you'd come to my store,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There was a DVD that I made of me talking in my Best Buy outfit. And it was basically my version of X-Play. So I like made my bootleg version of X-Play in my house that I would constantly update. So I was hosting a show that no one watched.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At Best Buy, in the event that if someone came in when I wasn't there, there was a digital version of me telling you what to buy, with my own suggestions and recommendations. I updated trailers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I was, I was trying to make this store the biggest in gaming. And so when I came into work one day, uh, there was a kiosk that I had set up that was exactly what I had built.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And whether it was coincidence or not, knowing that I was at that higher level of corporate where I was going to get the job and then they just ghosted me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was, I was over it and I was upset and I was pissed off and at the time I had three or four YouTube channels that I was trying to get my acting chops and writing chops in because I knew that was the future but it wasn't there yet and so uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One day I got a call from a high school buddy of mine. His name is John Jafari, better known as John Tron show on YouTube. And he called me in a panic because.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was about to have this guy named Eagle Raptor come over and this girl named Dodger from Press Heart to continue to come over to his house to do a live stream where people play video games and he didn't know how to do it and his mom wouldn't let strangers over.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I had my house that is livestream capable, cause I would stream to my acting friends who lived in the UK or Australia or whatever, because I missed them and there was no way for me to communicate. So we played games together. I would stream to one person, me playing the Lost Levels of Mario.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As the night was winding down, uh, Aaron, John, uh, Brooke, they all went home and I'm like telling the stream to like, there's like 8,000 people on Ustream watching.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Us play CRT Super Nintendo games and I was going to close the stream down and, uh, this chat was like, no, keep playing. We want to see you play games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I was like, okay, but I have to warn you, I, I'm a completionist. I complete games is what I do. And the chat was like, we don't care.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I streamed another 18 hours into the next day. I missed my next shift at Best Buy. I just kept streaming for.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I saw that and was like, how do I do that again? I have no idea how to do it, but how do I do that again? And so, um, uh, the next day at work, I,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had a very bad altercation that I can't legally talk about with a manager. And, uh, I said, fuck it. I quit. I'm doing this YouTube thing. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I'm going to do it. I'm taking it seriously. And then two months later I made the first episode of The Completionist.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It went viral and I've been completing a game every week ever since.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] MySpaceLore. Yea dude. Yea, MySpace- For those of you that don't know, MySpace was a social media website before Facebook.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, to your credit, Ralph, I think there's...


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[Assistant] That, that's a, that's a oxymoron. Like that's, that doesn't make any sense to, to require that. And it's almost like the games industry adjacent jobs outside of games journalism don't only require a degree so much as they require experience, which most people would argue you need a degree to start that experience regardless of how high or how much they request of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's okay to emulate others, but really try and start from a place of where you want to go. Cause I think when, when the let's play boom happened, right? Everyone saw like PewDiePie and Markiplier and Jacksepticeye and you know, Game Grumps and all the duos and trios out there. And, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everyone was like, I wanna do a let's play, I wanna do a let's play, I wanna do a let's play. And whenever anyone asks me, how do you do a let's play, how do I make, how do I grow my channel, I go,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, who, what, what is your channel? Like, oh, I'm a less player like Markiplier, like Jack, like Pewds or whoever. I'm like, well, that's your problem. You're not Markiplier or Jacksepticeye or PewDiePie. And it's not a, a dig at like, well, you're not them, so don't try. It's be the best person of you, be the best version of you. Like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You have to be present in your content and present yourself the best way. And the only way you can do that is by bringing yourself to the table.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think that's something that gets lost in the emulation sauce a lot. People look at others and go, I'll copy that and that'll be what I do. And then they'll find their voice, which is how a lot of early YouTube started. But nowadays there's so many people


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like that take up and blow up for no reason and a lot of that no reason aspect, like we said, not having a good camera or microphone is because the person themselves is interesting and fun to watch because they're just themselves.


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[Assistant] I, I, I do want to touch on what you said, which you disagree with me and Ralph, what I was referring to is not what you were talking about. Cause of course starting out, you have to emulate, um, something, sorry, Mike, my computer blue screen for a hot minute, but it's a different computer. I'm good. Um, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But the thing that I was going to say is like, there are channels out there that, you know, when I meet someone, they're like, oh, I've been doing Consecretion for seven years. I'm like, okay, cool. And like when you're seven years in and you're still doing that same old song and dance of emulation, that's what I'm more or less referring to. Yeah, I agree. I agree. I agree.


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[Assistant] Personally speaking, Jake, I don't know about you, but I love using electric, uh, trimmers over doing it manually, especially with this thing. I'm trying my best to get my beard to look either like a Viking or like a motorcycle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Biker gang guy. So I'm trying my best to do it. And, uh, I actually was about to pick this up. So this actually worked out really nicely for me.


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[Assistant] Right now when you purchase a three month Babbel subscription, uh, you'll get additional three months for free. That's six months for the price of three. Just go to babbel.com and use promo code friends. That's B-A-B-B-E-L dot com code friends.


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[Assistant] I was, I was stuck in traffic. Classic LA man. Get out of there.


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[Assistant] Alright, here's the deal. Here's the deal. When we're all together for Summer Games Fest, after we record the podcast live, we're watching the original Tron, and then we're gonna get dinner or food or something, and then we're gonna watch Tron Legacy. The Grid. The Grid. I love it man.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I thought I was, I thought I was, I mean look, I, I, it's weird cause I, I've, I...


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[Assistant] For legally distinct safety reasons, I've, I've known a lot of the details about the Mario film. So I, I knew what it was going to be going in.


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[Assistant] Uh, the only two things that really bothered me and it's, they seem nitpicky, but in the grand scheme of things they do kind of suck is that one,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did not like the non-Mario music choices that they used. They take on me, I need a hero, it just, it feels very, hey, let's call BMI and ask Cap and let's see what


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[Assistant] We're going to sprinkle that throughout the movie. Um, I also loved the fact that they use Donkey Kong, uh, music from, from David Wise and Grant Kirkope hate that they were not credited in the credits. I think that's a really.


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[Assistant] Huge bummer, especially because, um, David Wise is phenomenal. He created the identity of Donkey Kong country and Grant Kirkope is Grant Kirkope. He's the BAFTA award winning composer. You know, he won for Mario rabbits recently twice, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a shame that they credited him in the movie. They credited the DK rap from Donkey Kong 64 as an acceptable credit. Whereas everything else was like very specific. They credited the guys who made the Mario Brothers Super Show theme.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's safe. It's a safe movie. It's very, very safe. But what were you expecting? Shakespeare? Like, I don't know. What, what? Exactly. It's fun. It's fun. And it's building a world to a possible sequel, which hopefully will be phenomenal.


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[Assistant] There was, I think there was, there was that one headline I saw from, I think it was a Canadian outlet that was like, it was dunking on Mario by saying like they should have left the game boy unplugged. And I was like,


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[Assistant] And it was, it's just, it's one thing if it's like, the material's not for me. It's another when it's like, this movie looks amazing and sounds amazing and is a fun time. And it's not trying to get five star ratings across the board, but like, it's also not


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[Assistant] It's like, look, I had the theory and I think I said on the podcast before, or maybe in the ones that didn't make it that,


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[Assistant] Everyone was, for, for years at this point has been saying, Chris Pratt's gonna suck, Chris Pratt's gonna suck, Chris Pratt's gonna suck. I walked away being, he was fine.


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[Assistant] Like he was, he did the Mario job and it wasn't distracting and it wasn't annoying. It was just alright. It didn't upset me, which I think is like,


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[Assistant] To know that their connection is like that. They're both trying to be entrepreneurs. They both have a parent that, parents and aunts and uncles and whoever that doesn't believe in them, but the two of them have each other. Like, aw man, that's exactly the depth the movie needed. In fact, I wanted more of that depth throughout the film.


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[Assistant] It's the highest performing animated film and I think it might be the highest performing video game adaptation movie. So it's, it's, it's crazy.


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[Assistant] There is something about them going back to the music that kind of irked me a little bit. And it's that in the kind of the big action scenes or like there's kind of this Koji Kondo medley of like different Mario music, there's a point towards the end where it, the action's like really cool to watch and everyone's having a good time. It feels like almost like the Avengers, like,


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[Assistant] Panorama shot almost, you know, that everyone loves to reference. The music that you're listening to, it kind of jumps throughout Mario's history, but it's not like musically connected well. It kind of sounds like someone made a cut and was like, and then faded it.


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[Assistant] That's a lot of music that sounds really cool, but like my brain is breaking cause it's trying to process all the nostalgicness of, of what's hitting the airwaves. Um, there was a couple moments like that where it was just a little, I was like,


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[Assistant] I felt like I heard Mario 1 like 300 times in the movie, just that the opening da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da. I kept hearing those themes and I just wanted to be like, there are more, there's more, there's so many more music tracks that are so good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had zero interest. This whole time I've been watching, uh, videos. I can tell. Just to see your face. I zoned out. I apologize. Uh, I had, this was after Minecraft Dungeons, I was like,