Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast

Rayman Legends is ready to ship for Wii U, but now won't be released until multi-platform versions are ready. Wii U sales are down, but if games aren't coming out that people want to buy, who's to blame? Nintendo is offering a Wii U bundle with Ubisoft's ZombiU (and Nintendo Land, AND a Pro Controller), but is it too little too late? Vinnk and Sean try and suss out Ubisoft's strategy, and discuss what Nintendo can do today to get people to buy Wii U without dropping the price. (*COUGH*Wii U Virtual Console!*COUGH*) "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

There's a White House petition going around to make region locking a thing of the past -- at least in the United States of America. Does such a law have any chance of passing, and can it even be effective if it did? And what would the side-effects be? Vinnk and Sean discuss the perils and pitfalls of region locking, if it even makes sense any more in an increasingly digital-only medium, and the kinds of odd behaviors it causes in those who actually want to buy games or consoles across regions. We also discuss the (successful) GCW-Zero Kickstarter, and its inevitable ROM piracy implications. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Be careful about bringing your beer to a Destructoid room party! They might claim they don't know you, and then keep your beer! Sean tells Vinnk about his time at MAGFest, the fun panels he attended, the cool people he met (and re-met), the awesome videos he watched -- like JewWario's trailer for his new FamiKamen Rider series, and how Sean would go to a Destructoid room party again (even if he has to bring more beer to get in). Discussion about the MSX also re-ignites the debate of what can or can't be considered a game console. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Rarely do games place you in the role of the villain. Either it's too difficult, tongue-in-cheek and therefore not serious, or being a villain is ultimately too unpalatable to pull off except for the briefest moments. Vinnk and Sean take a look at the games that try to bridge this gap, whether or not they were successful, and just which ones are worth playing -- even if it's juts for laughs. Also, we DIDN'T forget the most obvious example, we just saved the best for last! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

For as long as the Wii has been around, fans and critics alike maligned it for not supporting the HD or hardcore gaming crowd. There's no way it can be a success! Now that the Wii U is out, supporting even HDMI out of the box (a first for consoles), and now it has a hard time supporting older televisions and standard definition. Nintendo is turning its back on classic gaming! Vinnk and Sean explore why the launch of the Wii U wasn't quite the same as that of its predecessor (also the only console launch of any kind since the Wii), wonder how it will stack up against the eventual and unannounced competition as it ages,and discuss the importance of getting a cake from the Japanese police department. Oh, and the wisdom of releasing Mass Effect 3 for full price when all three games are available on other consoles for the same amount. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

George Lucas recently sold all of LucasFilm to Disnet for $4 billion. Not only does that mean there will be a new Star Wars movie in 2015, but all of LucasFilm's ancillary businesses came with the deal: the graphic effects powerhouse Industrial Light and Magic, used by almost every major motion picture studio for photorealistic effects; Skywalker Sound, which does for audio was ILM does for video; and the once-mighty Graphic Adventure game shop LucasArts. Sean and Vinnk reminisce about their favorite LucasArts games from their childhood -- such as Loom, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, the Indiana Jones Graphic Adventures, and more -- trace through its more recent games to see what the studio has become, and speculate what will become of its talented game designers once faced with Disney's own powerful video game publisher, Disney Interactive. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtu

There are so many consoles on the market that it's easy to forget that there used to be so many more. Not only have big players like Sega come and gone, but Atari has gotten out of the hardware race, as well as Bandai (now part and parcel of game publisher Namco). Vinnk and Sean reminisce about their favorite failures, from the Dreamcast to the Lynx, and the Wonderswan to the 64DD. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

With the unveiling of the iPhone 5 and the Wii U within a day of each other, last week was a next-gen extravaganza for two of the biggest juggernauts in their industry. Oh, and Vinnk had a baby the same day -- the REAL next generation who won't eve know anything less sophisticated! Sean and Vinnk try to decide which of these devices they'll be getting first (if at all) this fall, and if either one is a big enough change compared to the competition. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Nintendo Power is going away, although the Nintendo Power that we knew and loved went away years ago. How can a monthly, paper publication hope to compete in the realm of up-to-the-minute online blogs, weekly podcasts, and videos with talking consoles? Vinnk and Sean talk about the art of magazine creating, how the medium is dying (especially among video game publications), but mostly just reminisce about all of their good times with Nintendo Power. RIP, Nester! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

This week we have something very different. SeanOrange did not have the time to record a podcast with Vinnk this week, and asled Vinnk to see what we could come up with on short notice. We hope you like the show and we will be back soon with our normal hosts and format. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

It costs more than a 3DS XL and just as much as a Wii, contains (at least a few) games available more cheaply on either the eShop or Wii Virtual Console, and comes with a dock that looks like the AES, but doesn't actually play Neo Geo carts. And yet we still want one. Or two. Sean and Vinnk wonder what the heck is wrong with them that they'd blow their hard-earned cash on such a frivolous item. Is it because it's sexy and iPhone-like? Is it because of nostalgia? Is it because they're stodgy old-timers who are fed up with a constant parade of uninspiring new games? ...nah, but it's fun to wonder! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

It's hard being a gamer! Or maybe it's just hard being an aging gamer. Why buy new games when there are so many old ones, and so many of them are just SO good? Why add to one's pile of shame when you can just whittle it down instead? Or, even more interesting, how histories intersect and create games you never know existed, like a Super Mario Bros. game designed by HudsonSoft and written for computers older than the Famicom! This week, Vinnk and Sean are very tired. But it's because they've been working otherwise tirelessly to bring exciting new videos all summer long! We might even talk about one or two of them. However, that leaves this episode potentially a little incoherent. Also: yogurt. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

The Ouya is making waves in the console world. Not many get a chance to be a part of history and fund a new console that could change the way we look at console gaming. But will it? Can it even make money? And what value is the experience if hackers are encouraged to do what they want? Vinnk and Sean grapple with these questions, answer listener voicemail, and talk about the new Famicom Dojo episode The Neo Geo Affair, and the onslaught of videos that are being released every week for the rest of the summer! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Do you watch video game videos to find out which game to play next? Or do you watch the videos so you don't have to play those games? Or, GASP, do you not watch video game videos at all? Sean and Vinnk answer more listener calls, launch the "Vinnk Was Wrong" segment, and announce their weekly video release schedule for the summer! Get an inside look at the newest episode, and find out why it took so long to make! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Things were very different before Game Fly, Netflix, and Red Box. Heck, even before the now-mostly-defunct Blockbuster, the best place to rent video games was from the local grocery store. Do you remember those weird plastic slip cases that VHS tapes would sometimes come in, or the clear plastic shells for NES carts with a badly xeroxed copy of the box cover inside? Of course you do. Sean and Vinnk wonder if game rental is a good way to distinguish between what is a video game console and what is just a computer. Or maybe there's no distinction? Which consoles are really PCs in disguise... or vice versa? Maybe there just aren't any answers, but at Famicom Dojo we'll definitely try to find them! Also, more listener voicemails! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

New games come out every year, and we tend to play them now and again. But there are also those games that you come back to year after year, when something new and fancy just won't cut it, and you just need a little bit of that video game soul food. Sean and Vinnk bring up their favorite games which have that exciting spark even years after first playing them. Sometimes those games aren't even all that good, just supremely... comforting. Which games are your "soul food"? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

It's nice to feel like you've accomplished something in a game, but rather than bragging about your accomplishments, doesn't comparing achievements instead make you judge your friends for not being as awesome as you are? Vinnk and Sean reminisce about what they did before achievements and tropies, and if they really enhance the gaming experience -- or just feed into already-present addictive gaming behaviors. Also: our first listener voicemail! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Granted, it was announced since recording this episode that the 3DS XL is going to have its own circle pad, but that didn't stop us from wondering a couple of things: a) Why it wasn't built into the XL, and b) why it wasn't announced during E3. Sean and Vinnk grapple with the relevancy of the biggest gaming industry event in the US, and come to the terrifying conclusion that just MAYBE Nintendo might not want third parties to succeed... "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Added Content is not something you find much in video games any more. Long gone are the days of Infocom's "feelies", but great text adventure classics like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had some of the most creative in the business. Vinnk and Sean followup on their "DLC podcast" promise by adding episode content from listener requests! Guest panelist Sindra joins Sean to review the Silent Hill movie, while Vinnk reminisces about the days of hint lines, program books, and peril-sensitive sunglasses. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.