Free Play Podcast

Apple has announced so many attempts to competitively get into the gaming space with many of those either never happening at all, not living up to expectations, or falling through as Apple moves onto the next idea. What’s happened in the past, and where does that leave us with the next big ideas of Apple VR and Apple Glasses? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.

We don’t often delve into this side of pop culture, but the Oscars this year ushered in a new level of... Chaos. Something we can relate to here on the Free Play Podcast. We submit our own nominees for random Oscar categories (picked by me) which you can vote on this week on our Twitter account @freeplaypodcast. As long as Kate can remember to post it. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.

Playstation’s subscription service is supposed to launch really soon (it could even be out now) and we’re curious about what benefits and services it’ll offer. Will there be PS5 exclusives available? Or will they just combine Playstation Plus and Playstation Now under one name and call it a day? We make some guesses and predictions. We wrap up this week’s show with a story that blew our minds: spinach can send emails when they detect explosives. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast

Community Content Producer Andy - aka Prodigas - asked us our thoughts on review bombing, why people feel the need to score games 0 out of 10 that haven’t even been released or give 0 or 1 scores to balance out the ratings of popular games with high ratings.  Horizon Forbidden West is one such game that got hammered by negative reviews before it was even out yet. What about the idea that art is subjective? And can you share your experience with something in a review in a constructive way, even if it wasn’t necessarily a good experience? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.

There is massive potential for games to be able to teach us new skills, especially as technology gives developers and designers new ways to be creative. Community Content Producer Kyle Matthews sent us Overisles is a tabletop RPG currently on Kickstarter to teach sign language and promote deaf awareness. The game is developed by Hatchlings Games along with the deaf community and a high school D&D team. We dig into the details about Overisles and other games that can teach valuable skills this week on the Free Play podcast.

If you know us here at Free Play you know we don’t normally do big brain topics that require thinking. But we got a topic submission asking about what it’s like to have a partner that doesn’t play games as much as you do and if we had any helpful tips/tricks. We asked our community to share their thoughts and experiences and talked about our own lives. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast.

Hold onto your butts because this week Free Play is teaming up with Moviga to bring you a cross-promotional, 2-part episode LIVE from Tantrum Con 2022. So get ready for laughing, media coverage and a boat- load of inside jokes this week on the Free Play podcast.

Netflix makes a move into the mobile game business with games we’ve never heard of like Bowling Ballers, Asphalt Xtreme, Krispee Street, Dominoes Cafe, and Hextech Mayhem Netflix Edition. Why are they getting into gaming? We chat about this, experience Netflix gaming in real time, and turn from haters to believers. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.

This week Matt found a Kickstarter for Marvel Zombies - A Zombicide Game and the highest tier that included ALL the good stuff was over $600. He was crushed. The Kickstarter was also finished, so he had no chance anyways. But it made us think: is there a price limit to Kickstarter FOMO? Is a $600 ask a good business decision for the developers and reasonable for the consumer? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.

Tabletop games have been making a move to the digital world through Tabletop Simulator and digital versions of tabletop games you know and love.  Physical games offer the benefits of in-person experiences and the ability to use the cards and pieces the developers created, but digital games have an advantage of letting people play together during the time of COVID and the ability to demo games in a cost effective way. What do we think about these two approaches to tabletop gaming?  That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.

You’ve probably heard all about Microsoft’s in-progress acquisition of Activision/Blizzard where Microsoft could come to own franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch. We wanted to take a look at what this could mean for the video game space as well as the effects of gaming turning into a push for content over consoles. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Season 6 premiere of the Free Play Podcast.

It’s that time of year again where everyone starts picking their best games of the year so we thought we’d hop on that bandwagon and put together an even BETTER award show with BETTER categories. Trust me. Hear what we picked as our favorite video games and table top experiences this week on the Free Play Podcast Season 5 finale.

Disney Plus Day 2021 was this week and the amount of content was… overwhelming. We had Bubba blind react to some of the biggest and most interesting shows that Disney announced like the continuation of the X-Men 90’s animated series, the Star Wars: Obi Wan Kenobi series, and more. That’s what we’re talking about this week on the Free Play podcast.

You know that here at the Free Play Podcast we love both video and tabletop experiences. So what happens when these two things collide to make board games based off of popular video games? We take a look at the massive Skyrim - The Adventure Game that’s currently being funded on GameFound.com to see how it holds up to Skyrim the video game and think up some other games we’d like to see turned into tabletop games. That’s what we’re talking about this week on the Free Play podcast.

Halloween in-game events always make our games a little more festive. With spoopy activities or limited time skins and items to earn, there’s usually something to be gained during this season. What if we told you that you could get a free burrito? In real life? Chipotle is hosting a massive free burrito giveaway digitally this year on Roblox of all places. And that has us discussing the Boorito event itself, other Halloween events in games and most importantly, sandwiches. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.

We’re mixing it up a little on today’s episode with our new segment, HOT TAKES, where we dig into random gaming related dilemmas off the internet. And we answer a chat submitted question about which one of us would live the longest in a zombie apocalypse which turns into a heated discussion. We also talk about LTN Con that’s happening Oct.15-17! That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.

Everyone has been talking about the moment where Nintendo announced that Chris Pratt was going to be the voice of Mario. Yes, MARIO! And reactions have been mixed. We did not see that one coming. With Chris Pratt joined by a host of other A-list celebrities, what do we think this movie could look like? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.

Playstation held their September showcase this week and 2 out of 3 of us were pretty excited by what we saw. If you think about it, you can probably guess who was less than enthused. Between announcements of new Marvel games, a Star Wars remake, and a look at God of War Ragnarok, the showcase proved to be pretty exciting overall, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.

This week, China implemented a new ban on online games. This means that everyone under the age of 18 is only allowed to play for ONE hour on Fridays, weekends, and special holidays. Why would they do this? Besides parents complaining about gaming addiction are there bigger reasons for the ban? What do gamers think of this restriction and what does it mean for the future of gaming in China?

Have you been to one of those concerts in games? You know, the ones in Fortnite and Travis Scott or Marshmello? Minecraft is also no stranger to hosting concerts in-game either and Roblox is having Lil Nas X perform in November and is including some limited edition emotes and items. Are video games the future of live music? Also, Kate flys into a rage as we discuss it all, this week on the Free Play podcast.