Podquisition 523: Mic Check

We’ve done it again. Follow Joanna Blackhart on BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/joannablackhart.com) and check out their website at joannablackhart.com Games we played this week include: (0:14:05) Balatro (0:27:45) Borderlands 4 (0:35:30) Umamusume: Pretty Derby (0:43:35) Dying Light: The Beast (0:57:25) Sonic Racing Crossworlds --- News things talked about in this episode: (1:02:45) Microsoft increases Xbox console prices in US for second time in 2025 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-console-prices-set-to-rise-for-a-second-time-in-the-us https://www.eurogamer.net/tariffs-used-by-xbox-as-an-excuse-to-continue-raising-prices-says-former-blizzard-president (1:06:40) GDC does a rebrand and seemingly little else https://www.gamesindustry.biz/game-developer-conference-rebrands-as-gdc-festival-of-gaming-the-industry-is-changing-and-so-are-we https://bsky.app/profile/officialgdc.bsky.social/post/3lzgrpfurvk2z (1:12:05) US Dept of Homeland Security steals Nintendo’s intellectual property https://www.eurogamer.net/us-department-of-homeland-security-uses-pokemon-theme-song-and-images-in-disturbing-ice-promotion --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

25 Sep 1h 20min

Come out and pray. Games we played this week include: (0:14:05) Cronos: The New Dawn (0:27:45) Little Witch in the Woods (0:35:30) Donkey Kong Bananza (0:40:25) Borderlands 4 --- News things talked about in this episode: (0:55:05) Valve makes adult games ineligible for Early Access on Steam https://www.eurogamer.net/adult-games-hit-once-more-as-valve-seemingly-denies-early-access-to-games-with-mature-content (0:57:40) Nintendo awarded patent for summoning creatures to fight on behalf of the player https://www.eurogamer.net/is-nintendos-potentially-industry-changing-new-monster-battling-patent-enforceable-we-asked-some-lawyers --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

18 Sep 1h 5min

We think we got away with it. Games we played this week include: (0:06:00) Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (0:13:50) Hollow Knight: Silksong (0:28:30) Balatro (0:40:25) Metal Gear Solid Delta --- News things talked about in this episode: (0:49:20) Genki settlement with Nintendo makes them unable to use certain color combinations https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/nintendo-and-accessory-maker-genki-reach-settlement-in-switch-2-lawsuit (0:54:35) Paradox refunding Vampire Bloodlines 2 premium edition pre-orders https://www.psu.com/news/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-begins-issuing-refunds-for-premium-edition-pre-orders/ (0:55:45) Members of fighting game community are dropping EVO after Saudi acquisition https://www.eurogamer.net/fighting-game-players-in-uproar-after-evos-new-saudi-government-owners-calls-to-support-grassroots-events   --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

11 Sep 1h 1min

The depth of the wellspring from which this font of wisdom flows has no bottom. Games we played this week include: (0:20:50) Tinderblox (0:25:10) Metal Gear Solid Delta (0:35:40) Abiotic Factor (0:40:20) Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (0:46:40) Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (0:48:00) Dying Light 2 (0:49:55) Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

3 Sep 57min

We’ll crack the code on success yet! Games we played this week include: (0:09:35) Telltale’s The Walking Dead (0:24:15) Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (0:35:20) Raccoin (0:41:55) Dusk (0:44:15) BioShock Infinite (1:00:20) Kill the Brickman --- News things talked about in this episode: (1:00:00) Hollow Knight Silksong developer Team Cherry has been doing just fine https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-08-21/why-silksong-team-cherry-s-sequel-to-hollow-knight-took-so-long-to-make (1:04:00) Paradox backpedaling on paid DLC clans in Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 https://www.eurogamer.net/good-the-grubby-paid-clan-plan-for-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-is-being-adjusted --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

28 Aug 1h 17min

Gotta be rid of those rats.   Games we played this week include: (0:11:35) UFO 50 (0:24:25) Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 (0:42:10) The Torture House (0:46:00) Mafia: The Old Country (0:47:00) Vampire Survivors (0:50:40) Bridge Command --- News things talked about in this episode: (1:00:00) State of Louisiana taking Roblox to court over child safety https://www.eurogamer.net/louisiana-sues-roblox-for-allegedly-choosing-profits-over-child-safety-claiming-its-basically-open-season-for-sex-predators-on-this-app   --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

21 Aug 1h 10min

And we’d have gotten away with it too. Games we played this week include: (0:06:05) BioShock (0:19:10) Night Freak (0:22:45) Drag x Drive (0:31:20) Mafia: The Old Country (0:39:00) Calm the Storm (0:40:40) This Game Will End In 205 Clicks (0:42:10) Hop Havoc --- News things talked about in this episode: (0:46:10) Pokémon promo at Japanese McDonald’s canceled after one day due to customer behavior https://www.eurogamer.net/chaotic-pokemon-and-mcdonalds-collaboration-in-japan-ends-early-due-to-shocking-food-waste (0:48:40) Tencent pulls Light of Motiram key art and assets after comparisons to Horizon franchise https://www.eurogamer.net/tencent-quietly-updates-slavish-horizon-clone-light-of-motirams-steam-page (0:51:55) Sony is re-evaluating its live service games strategy https://www.eurogamer.net/after-concord-and-a-string-of-delays-and-cancellations-sony-admits-playstations-live-service-strategy-is-not-entirely-going-smoothly --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

14 Aug 59min

A name you can trust Games we played this week include: (0:06:30) Evil Dead: Regeneration (0:12:05) Powerwash Simulator 2 (0:16:30) Adventures of Elliot (0:26:05) Heat: Pedal to the Metal (0:36:20) Bridge Command (0:41:20) Empty Epsilon (0:42:30) Detroit: Become Human (0:57:10) Nubby’s Number Factory (0:58:30) Co-op Kaiju Horror Cooking --- News things talked about in this episode: (1:01:50) Assassin’s Creed Black Flag voice actor didn’t understand phones (1:04:00) Microsoft crows about Game Pass revenues despite massive layoffs https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/29/mastercard-visa-backlash-adult-games-removed-online-stores-steam-itchio-ntwnfb (1:05:40) Raven Software gets its union contract https://www.eurogamer.net/pokemon-stadium-alike-new-game-pokemon-champions-gets-a-2026-release-date-in-new-action-packed-gameplay-trailer (1:06:55) Mastercard claims they have nothing to do with censoring games https://www.videogamer.com/news/after-laying-off-9000-employees-killing-projects-and-closing-studios-microsoft-ceo-says-the-company-is-thriving-as-success-is-not-about-longevity-but-re/ (1:16:25) Indie dev tells players to pirate instead of playing Roblox knock-off https://www.eurogamer.net/peak-developers-would-rather-you-pirate-its-game-than-play-roblox-microtransaction-riddled-ripoff-slop (1:17:35) Nintendo won’t let Japanese speedrun even play their games https://www.eurogamer.net/japans-biggest-charity-speedrunning-event-wont-have-nintendo-games-because-nintendo-couldnt-help-but-nintendo --- Buy official Jimquisition merchandise at https://thejimporium.com Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on https://LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Instagram/BlueSky and check out his Patreon (https://patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at https://mercenarycreative.com.

7 Aug 1h 27min