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The Ghostcrawler led MMO has a setback. We have some more union labor strife. Playstation ups their game streaming offering. When is a patent not a patent and we have some nomination for video game of the year. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes The MMO being led by former WoW and League of Legends designer Greg Street looks to be dead as his studio officially closes after NetEase ends funding https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/the-mmo-being-led-by-former-wow-designer-greg-street-looks-to-be-dead-as-his-studio-officially-closes-after-netease-ends-funding-while-wed-love-to-make-our-game-our-first-priority-is-to-help-our-developers-find-employment/ Rockstar, the developer of Grand Theft Auto VI, reportedly fired between 30 and 40 employees in a move that the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is claiming was "blatant" and "ruthless" union busting. https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-dev-rockstar-accused-of-union-busting-in-sudden-firing-of-dozens-of-staff https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ah-shit-here-we-go-again-gta-6-developers-speak-from-the-picket-line-about-rockstar-north-union-busting PlayStation is rolling out cloud streaming as a full feature for the Portal. Starting today, PlayStation Plus Premium members can stream thousands of games via the cloud on a Portal connected to WiFi. https://gameinformer.com/2025/11/05/cloud-streaming-available-on-playstation-portal-starting-today Remember our story about Nintendos patent on summoning NPE's to battle,  In a stunning development attributable to the public outrage and reflecting concern over implications for the reputation of the U.S. patent system as a whole, USPTO Director John A. Squires has personally ordered, at his own initiative, his organization to take another look at Nintendo’s patent. https://gamesfray.com/huge-blow-for-nintendo-head-of-u-s-patent-office-takes-rare-step-to-order-reexamination-of-summon-subcharacter-and-let-it-fight-in-1-of-2-modes-patent/ The Video Game awards happen next month but last week there was another announcement of nominations of game of the year from the Golden Joystick awards and well, anything about video games with joystick in the name must be good. https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1onju3g/golden_joystick_awards_2025_vote_for_your/

.Sorry for the bad audio and lack of intro music at the beginning. I had technical difficulties and it sounded dumb to have the music just lead into us talking ... We have some microsoft XBox news on multiple fronts.  We learned some pokemon news by nefarious means. We take a look at another phycological study on video games and attention span in children. and finally we take a look at what the designer of Grand Theft Auto 5 has been up to lately. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Recently, a rumor swirled online that Microsoft was canceling its next-generation Xbox plans, but that is apparently not true or the full story. Microsoft said in a statement that it is "actively investing" in future first-party consoles and devices that are "designed, engineered, and built by Xbox." https://www.gamespot.com/articles/future-xbox-consoles-not-canceled-microsoft-says/1100-6535237/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D15200795;date%3D100625;lctg%3Db3a7b738bd17d2fa16eb5ab92783891fb0c35bd6f93fb6c92ad5b2d8754d0c30 Game Freak suffered a data breach and it had some very interesting Nintendo Pokemon information in it. The breach seems credible because it had some very acurate information about Pokemon Legends ZA. So let's look at what was in the data. https://thegamepost.com/pokemon-gen-10-leak-game-titles-theme-region-setting/ https://www.polygon.com/pokemon-wind-waves-leak-gen-10-game-freak/ It's understandable if Xbox users feel a little skittish about the future of the console, given the recent price increases for Xbox consoles in the US, as well as formerly exclusive titles heading to PlayStation 5. Over the holiday weekend, there were so many anecdotal rumors about Target, Walmart, and other US retailers pulling Xbox consoles and games that Microsoft decided it was necessary to debunk these reports. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-shoots-down-another-hardware-rumor/1100-6535401/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D15298898;date%3D101525;lctg%3D20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065 A psychologist tells us all about several studies dealing with video games and attention span in children. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/video-game-health/202507/do-video-games-cause-attention-problems Leslie Benzies is well known for his work at Rock Star Games on Grand Theft Auto 5. Only the best selling game of all time. # years after it's launch He left to start his own studio. Here's what happened. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzn34gwvwo

... We have a large game developer go private. Nintendo doing more nintendo things and what makes a good remake? http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Electronic Arts has recently confirmed that an investor group composed of Silver Lake, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will acquire it for around $55 billion. This consortium will acquire 100% of EA, which will no longer be listed on the stock market after the transaction is finished. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/electronic-arts-go-private-55-billion-deal-with-pif-silver-lake-2025-09-29/ https://gamerant.com/electronic-arts-acquired-saudi-arabia-private-55-billion/ https://www.google.com/search?q=games+produced+by+ea&oq=games+produced+by+ea&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABjwBRieBhjIBjIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMggIBBAAGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMggIBxAAGBYYHjIICAgQABgWGB4yCAgJEAAYFhge0gEINjQ0OWoxajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 In a world filled with remakes, remasters, ports, and mods, the quest for a truly definitive version of a game is a lost cause--and yet, that's precisely what makes the medium so interesting. Let's discuss if it is OK to change a game during the remake. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-there-a-right-way-to-play-a-video-game/1100-6535092/ Last week, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company received a U.S. patent on summoning a character and letting it fight another. Yep, you heard that right. A system that has been in video games for years was just pattened by Nintendo.  https://www.gamesradar.com/games/pokemon/this-nintendo-patent-was-apparently-granted-without-a-patent-examiner-looking-at-a-single-game-ip-expert-says-concerns-hundreds-of-games-could-be-affected-by-pokemon-summoning-patent-granted-amid-palworld-lawsuit-are-valid/ https://gamesfray.com/last-week-nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-received-a-u-s-patent-on-summoning-a-character-and-letting-it-fight-another/#397patent The latest Nintendo Direct was filled with a ton of exciting announcements for both Switch and Switch 2, and it also gave us a glimpse into how Nintendo will be celebrating Super Mario Bros.' 40th anniversary next year! Here's all the announcements. https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-direct-september-2025-live-updates-everything-announced https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/heres-everything-announced-during-todays-nintendo-direct/

Show Notes ... We'll take a look at a new wave of evidence-backed digital therapies. Nintendo is doing Nintendo things and we'll take a look at everything that was announced at Gamescon. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Your therapist might not be a person anymore—or at least, not only a person. It could be a smartwatch that vibrates just before a nightmare consumes your sleep. It could be a video game that rewires your attention span. It might even be a headset that helps you rehearse exposure therapy in a controlled virtual environment. https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/your-next-therapist-could-be-a-video-game-or-a-wearable-and-it-might-actually-work/ Nintendo has secured another payout from a lawsuit it pursued against a producer of products designed to help pirate Switch games. Already notorious for its hardline approach to piracy, modding, and emulation, Nintendo has been granted a monetary judgment against Ryan Michael Daly by a Washington district court. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/court-orders-man-to-pay-nintendo-2-million-to-settle-modding-and-piracy-lawsuit/1100-6534548/ While we were away Europes largest gaming convention happened. Gamescon was quite the event so here's the highlights of what was announced. https://www.thegamer.com/everything-announced-revealed-gamescom-opening-night-live-2025/ https://www.ign.com/articles/gamescom-opening-night-live-2025-everything-announced https://www.pcgamesn.com/gamescom/announcements-2025 Game Review Ghostwire: Tokyo

...do video games make you smart? We have some union news. We'll talk about censorship of NSFW games along with follow up on a story we talked about last time and we have a list. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Researchers have linked spending more time playing video games with a boost in intelligence in children, which goes some way to contradicting the narrative that gaming is bad for young minds. https://www.sciencealert.com/playing-video-games-has-an-unexpected-effect-on-kids-iq-study-discovers Quality assurance workers at Raven Software, one of the developers of Call of Duty, have officially ratified their first union contract with Microsoft three years after they first unionized. https://www.ign.com/articles/call-of-duty-qa-workers-win-first-union-contract-with-microsoft-after-3-years?_gl=1*1ud8te6*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjgwNjE0MzAxLjE3NTQzNDk1NTc.*_ga_736S6FVMCL*czE3NTQzNDk1NTckbzEkZzAkdDE3NTQzNDk1NTckajYwJGwwJGgw Game developers association decries 'financial censorship' amidst payment processor crackdown on NSFW games, calls for 'greater transparency and fairness in how adult games are moderated' https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-developers-association-decries-financial-censorship-amidst-payment-processor-crackdown-on-nsfw-games-calls-for-greater-transparency-and-fairness-in-how-adult-games-are-moderated/ https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq#is-adult-content-allowed https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/australian-anti-porn-group-claims-responsibility-for-steams-new-censorship-rules-in-victory-against-porn-sick-brain-rotted-pedo-gamer-fetishists-and-things-only-get-weirder-from-there/ One of the Vice Presidents of the European Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță, publicly voiced his support for Stop Killing Games in a major win for the newly-minted EU Citizens' Initiative. On July 12, Ștefănuță posted a video on his Instagram story announcing that he had signed the Stop Killing Games petition and plans to continue helping the movement. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-game-once-sold-belongs-to-the-customer-prominent-eu-politician-stands-up-for-stop-killing-games/ We have a list ... sort of. Let's take a look at the upcoming games for the rest of 2025 and see what we are looking forward to. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls565219437/ Game Review Donkey Kong - Bananza

Microsoft employees have a really bad day. Are digital games a good thing? We look at what some users are saying about the Nintendo Store and some more news about Microsoft and their desire to take over the world. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Microsoft laid off more than 9000 employees this past week. Along with the devastating effect on the lives of those people the ripple effect across the tech landscape did not miss the video game world. So let's take a look at what was impacted by this latest labor cut and what the industry thought of it. https://www.trueachievements.com/news/xbox-canceled-games-and-studios-layoffs-2025 https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/07/its-heartbreaking-the-pokemon-company-tech-vp-joins-industry-in-criticising-microsoft-layoffs You buy a game on steam and it goes ito your library. You own that game, right? Well it doesn't seem possible but what if Steam went out of business? Can't happen, think Google Stadia. You would loose access to those games that you paid money for. Well a new online initiative called stop killing games aims to close that loophole. https://wccftech.com/publishers-argue-stop-killing-games-proposals-would-make-online-games-prohibitively-expensive/ https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/initiatives/details/2024/000007_en In another instance of some people have way too much time on their hands, users of Nintendo Online believe they have figured out a future release for the Switch 2. How you say? By crossing their eyes and turning their head slightly to the side and staring at blurry pixels in the background of the site. https://www.ign.com/articles/fans-analysing-blurry-pixels-believe-nintendo-switch-online-is-getting-super-smash-bros-for-its-n64-catalogue-and-now-the-hunt-is-on-for-more?_gl=1*e7vdzw*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTg4MTU3Mjc3LjE3NTE5MzE4MTE.*_ga_736S6FVMCL*czE3NTE5MzE4MTAkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTE5MzE4MTAkajYwJGwwJGgw Game pass is a good deal and almost everyone I know has it. But is it a good thing? Raphael Colantonio--one of the co-founders of Arcane Studios doesn't think so. Let's look at what He has to say. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/arkane-co-founder-unloads-on-game-pass-calls-it-unsustainable/1100-6532991/

Today we’re diving deep into a game-changing force that’s reshaping the digital worlds we explore: artificial intelligence in video games. From smarter enemies and lifelike NPCs to procedurally generated landscapes and adaptive storytelling, AI is no longer just behind the scenes — it’s at the heart of how we play, what we experience, and where the industry is headed. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com SHOW NOTES: Mention the t-shirts and Patreon - shop.joystickandmouse.com Are any of the game developers actually using AI for game development. You bet they are. According to a survey of over 300 respondents carried out by market research firm CIST, on behalf of game engine maker Unity. “62% of the studios we surveyed said they used AI in their workflows, mainly to prototype quickly and for concepting, asset creation, and worldbuilding,” Unity said in its latest annual market report  https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/almost-two-thirds-of-game-development-studios-are-using-ai-survey-finds/ AI or Artifiсiаl intelligenсe is trаnsforming numerous inԁustries, аnԁ the gаming inԁustry is no exсeрtion. So what can it do and how is it revolutionising gаme ԁesign аnԁ рlаyer exрerienсes аt а rарiԁ расe. https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/how-ai-revolutionising-game-design-and-player-experiences/ https://www.coursera.org/articles/ai-for-game-development Is the future of artificial intelligence in video games playing out in a cyberpunk ramen bar? Tech companies would like you to think so, but game writers aren't so sure. In a recent demo from the tech company Nvidia, a human player talked to two video game characters using a microphone — and the characters responded in real time using generative AI. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238111971/video-games-ai-artificial-intelligence-nvidia You see the bad guy on the screen. Your brain processes that it is a bad guy and then tells your fingers to move to the X button to fire your weapon. The console or PC interprets that  button press and then tells the game that you fired your weapon. If you are like me that time it takes to respond and push the button is measured in slug years. Well what if the round trip to fingers and controllers was eliminated? That's exactly what a study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin is trying to do. https://www.psypost.org/brain-computer-interface-utilizes-ai-to-adapt-to-users-allowing-them-to-control-video-games-with-their-thoughts/

Show Notes: Wizards of the Coast announced an exclusive publishing agreement with Giant Skull development studios out of Los Angeles to begin work on the next video game in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. No explicit details were released about the upcoming game, save that it is currently in development for PC and console, with more information to come at a later date. https://www.cbr.com/dnd-moves-on-from-baldurs-gate-for-new-video-game/ More than 300 quality assurance (QA) workers at Microsoft’s video game subsidiary ZeniMax Media have reached a tentative agreement with the company, marking a first-of-its-kind contract for the U.S. video game industry. https://uniglobalunion.org/news/microsoft-cwa/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/business/microsoft-video-game-union.html The upgraded version of Nintendo Switch, the third biggest-selling video game console of all time, will be released on Thursday, June 5. The Japanese company hopes to match its earlier runaway success with Switch 2. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo... here's a roundup of the consoles that have marked video gaming history.  https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250602-%F0%9F%8C%9Fthe-bright-side-ahead-of-switch-2-release-the-five-best-selling-gaming-consoles-of-all-time Video game movies are numerous, and rarely any good. In the TV realm, The Last of Us and Twisted Metal have shown that with the right creative team and storytelling, you can have successful live-action video game adaptations, but it's not always the case. Nonetheless, even the most poorly reviewed video game movies and flops can still outshine the worst video game from the series they're based on. https://www.thegamer.com/video-game-movies-at-least-better-worst-game-in-series/

We are talking about the economic state of video games and what it all means for us the gamers. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Mention the t-shirts and Patreon - shop.joystickandmouse.com In another sign of the hard times in the video game industry EA Lays off hundreds of employees and cancels a game in development. https://www.reuters.com/technology/electronic-arts-lays-off-hundreds-cancels-titanfall-game-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-04-29/ It has been over six years since Epic started undercutting Steam's 30 percent revenue share for developers, asking for just 12 percent of sales on its then-new Epic Games Store. Now, Epic is going even further by reducing those fees to zero for a game's first $1 million in annual sales. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/05/epic-games-store-completely-eliminates-revenue-fees-for-smaller-developers/ Yay, we have a release date for Grand Theft Auto IV but it is later than expected.  https://www.ign.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-6s-delay-just-affected-the-entire-video-game-industry?_gl=1*phkmq0*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTgwMzY2NzUyMi4xNzQ2NDg1NjIw*_ga_736S6FVMCL*MTc0NjQ4NTYxOS4xLjAuMTc0NjQ4NTYxOS4wLjAuMA.. Following Sony's lead from earlier this year, Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/xbox-price-increase-bing-vs-google-windows-11 https://apnews.com/article/xbox-raises-prices-tariffs-microsoft-cd746a5aed59f3f5403ab262d6e149f0 So what do the tarrifs mean to video game prices? https://www.theouterhaven.net/the-rising-cost-of-gaming-and-why-tariffs-are-just-the-beginning/

The cost of the PS5 is going up. The cops get digital and all about the Switch 2. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: If you still haven't purchased a PS5, you may want to do so in the very near future. No, it's not because of tariffs, well not directly anyways. Prices for the console are rising in several regions and it's probably only a matter of time before it hits the US. So let's talk about how much, where and when. https://www.theverge.com/news/647869/sony-ps5-price-rise-uk-europe-australia-new-zealand https://www.polygon.com/news/558161/ps5-price-increase-new-europe-uk https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-online-police-patrol-internet-denmark.html#google_vignette Nintendo held another direct this past week. this time dealing exclusively with the Switch 2. Well here's all the things that were announced and how to order ... or not. https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-direct-everything-announced

more bad news on the video game developer front. We take a nostalgic look at some game systems that didn't make the grade. We discuss if genres have any meeting and discuss the latest news out of Nintendos camp. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com   Show Notes: We try to keep you up with the state of game development and unfortunately the trend of the last couple of years continued this past week. Eidos Montreal and Myst developer Cyan had layoffs this past month. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/eidos-montreal-lays-off-75-staff https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/myst-developer-cyan-worlds-has-laid-off-half-of-its-workforce We've all been there. you run out and buy that shiny new game console and it just falls flat and never goes anywhere. As the proud owner of an Adam computer system back in the day I can relate to this feeling. Well here are a few others that just didn't live up to the hype. https://www.xda-developers.com/video-game-consoles-never-stood-chance/ What's in a genre anyways. Well kataku thinks they are all mixed up and it's our fault. https://kotaku.com/genres-fps-hero-shooter-adventure-rts-action-opinion-1851772168 The Switch 2 looms on the horizon, and in less than a week's time, we'll learn more information about Nintendo's next console. Last week, though, Nintendo hosted a Switch 1-focused Direct, and it felt like a flurry of last-minute announcements for the record-shattering handheld hybrid console ahead of its successor. So here's all the things announced that will be irrelevant later this week. https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-direct-march-2025-everything-announced

One of the most successful mobile game developers finds a new overlord. Why do we even play games. A fake museum inducts some new members and Sony had it's big day since the last time we were together. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: Niantic, the company that brought us Ingress and Pokemon Go hasn't faired so well with their follow up offerings. Harry Potter was an absolute flop and the few other games trying to recapture that wanderer magic have fallen flat. As such, Niantic is being sold and here are all the details. https://www.nextpit.com/pokemon-go-sale-niantic#:~:text=Niantic%20Games%20go%20to%20Saudi,the%20development%20of%20mobile%20games. Why do we play games? It's a fairly inocuous question that the answer is probably filled with a lot of nuance. Well a research company posed exactly that question and while simplistic, their answer opens up the discussion of why we do this at all. https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/why-do-gamers-play-games-half-say-mainly-to-relax-but-things-are-different-for-the-other-half The Strong National Museum of Play has announced their annual candidates for induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. I agree, who is that but it does bring up the concept of a hall of fame for video games and what games should be in it. Let's see if our list matches theirs. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/should-age-of-empires-and-quake-be-in-the-world-video-game-hall-of-fame-you-can-vote-for-them-to-be-inducted-this-year/ https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/finalists/ Sony's first big PlayStation State of Play for the year kicked off last night, bringing with it a host of announcements, both big and small, from first-party developers and third-party publishers. The stream lasted for a little over 40 minutes, and revealed new titles, remasters, and release dates for previously announced games. So let's take a look at all that was put on display for us. https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/video-games/everything-announced-february-playstation-state-play-2030528 https://blog.playstation.com/2025/02/27/a-great-new-price-for-playstation-vr2/

Some new gaming hardware was "officially" announced. XBox showed off some new games and there was this big electronics show that happened and they talked about video game stuff while they were at it. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes Well the wait is over ... sort of. We got some information about the new Nintendo console in the works but not a lot of details. Let's take a look at what we did get. https://kotaku.com/switch-2-reveal-trailer-date-nintendo-mario-kart-9-1851739487 https://www.polygon.com/nintendo/23899504/nintendo-switch-2-release-date-power-name-games Microsoft held a XBox developer direct that showcased new titles from 4 different studios. Here's everything that was announced in this direct. https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/everything-announced-at-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-live-2025/ This is where we are going to go off the beaten path a bit. CES happened since our last episode and while it is geared towards the latest in Television technology. (Well it sems that way anyways) There is quite a bit of new that is geared towards us gamers. So we'll take a look at those announcements.  https://www.ign.com/articles/ces-2025-everything-announced

What prompted Sony to purchase Naughty Dog. We take a look at the year ahead for triple A titles. It's good to be bad and what is the best video game of all time? http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes One of Sony's first developer studio aquisitions was Naughty Dog. At the time, we assumed this was because of money and the financial backing that Sony could provide. Well an article this week confirmed that but what really struck me was the numers of what it cost to develop a video game in the 80 as compared to today. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/naughty-dog-founder-reveals-budgets-of-original-games-and-why-they-sold-to-sony/1100-6528634/ 2025 is looking like it will be a big year for video games and for triple A titles in particular. But what if those titles don't so well? This is shaping up to be a make or break year for the big name titles. https://www.eurogamer.net/2025-will-be-a-make-or-break-year-for-triple-a-video-games-as-we-know-them let's face it. Some times in a video game it's fun to be bad. Well here are the 10 video games that react best to that play style. https://whatculture.com/gaming/10-video-games-that-react-to-you-being-a-scumbag This is one of those lists that is VERY subjective. What is the best video game of all time? We have our favorites but let's look at what Rolling Stone had to say about it. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/rs-gaming-lists/best-video-games-of-all-time-1235215978/hades-2020-1235215983/

... It's the end of he year and that means a whole bunch of end of year retrospectives. Well you know we love a list and we have several this week dealing with those. http://www.joystickandmouse.com http://shop.joystickandmouse.com Show Notes: The end of the year is upon us and as always that means a series of end-of-year awards and community events. The PC marketplace Steam has announced its own slate of nominees for The Steam Awards https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/steam-awards-2024-nominees-winners/2900-6093/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D12059029;date%3D121724;lctg%3D20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065#1 Microsoft’s newest sales pitch to prospective gamers is that everything—your TV, computer, or phone—can be an Xbox. It’s part of a new strategy aimed at reaching more people, and potentially making a lot more money. It’s also a major shift for the millions of people who have been Xbox fans for decades now, and the company says it’s embracing that and yes, we told you so. https://kotaku.com/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-ps5-exclusives-streaming-1851722886 The game award winners were announced, we'll get to that later, and during that show were a lot of announcements and trailers. So let's take a look at every thing that was announced. https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-game-awards-2024-all-the-biggest-announcements/2900-6077/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=category%3Dnewsletter;name%3DGameSpot-Report;id%3D12022122;date%3D121324;lctg%3D20cb827897db11f28a37f08b80d1d1fe8847e789eebd69af2959f3e006c92065#1 All the winners. https://www.google.com/search?q=game+awards+winners&sca_esv=1016bfdc9707f9f9&biw=1592&bih=1017&sxsrf=ADLYWIJt4EFkLGhSSC7AkvegM1BICkV2Qg%3A1734987903209&ei=f9BpZ-6vDNSo5NoP7tnG6Qs&ved=0ahUKEwiu66PN5b6KAxVUFFkFHe6sMb04ChDh1QMIEA&uact=5&oq=game+awards+winners&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2dhbWUgYXdhcmRzIHdpbm5lcnMyCBAAGIAEGLEDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESM4iUIAJWOIdcAF4AZABAJgBNaABgQOqAQE4uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIJoAKeA8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgoQABiABBgUGIcCwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYFBiHApgDAIgGAZAGCpIHATmgB6Ur&sclient=gws-wiz-serp