80-Bit Podsmash

With Mortal Kombat 11 coming out this week, Penguin & Termite discuss all things related Mortal Kombat. We talk about its cultural influence in the arcades and consoles as well as those awful spin offs. We have some fun talking about our favorites too. Music: D I V I N O - Mortal Kombat Theme 8-Bit (Best Version) http://www.jamendo.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Penguin & Termite discuss entitlement in gaming culture. Some gamers are accused of being entitled when critiquing or discussing things in the industry. There has to be more to these "entitled gamers" than people lead on. Music: Ozzed - No Fight But Cool http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Google has burst into the video game industry as a major contender with Google Stadia. This begs the conversation around video game streaming. What is it? Why does it matter? What's the future? Penguin & Termite discuss on this episode of 80 Bit Podsmash! Music: Ozzed - No Fight But Cool http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite lay it on thick with the most controversial discussion yet. Come listen to us debate some very hot button issues of our current day. Nothing is excused as our topic covers religion, politics and even science doubters.

Penguin & Termite address the growing outcry in the video game industry to unionize! We debate and discus the merit of unions as well as the pros and cons of how it could play out in the world of workers in video games. https://www.google.com/amp/s/kotaku.com/it-s-time-for-game-developers-to-unionize-1823992430/amp https://www.google.com/amp/s/kotaku.com/survey-of-4-000-game-developers-says-half-of-them-want-1832028417/amp Music: Ozzed - No Fight but Cool http://ozzed.net

Penguin & Termite's latest entry in our Developer Profile series of topics. This time we talk all about Capcom! Did you know they weren't doing so well for awhile until about 3 years ago? What happened? Why are they so good!? Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Monster Hunter Worlds, Mega Man 11 to name a few. Notes: https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/366417-capcom-became-capcompetent Music: Ozzed - No Fight But Cool http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin and Termite discuss the state of Games as a Service GaaS or live service games in 2019. How is the new business model working as we wrap up the decade? Termite things it's unsustainable in its current state. Ref: https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2019/01/04/in-2019-the-state-of-activision-blizzard-is-not-strong/#4a7224830398 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-10-19-ea-and-activisions-usd79bn-games-as-a-service-growth Music: Ozzed - No Fight but Cool http://ozzed.net

Penguin & Termite's second entry in the series of topics analyzing the different decades in gaming history. This time we visit the Aughts, 2000-2009, the entry of the "HD era" of gaming. Some say it's the emo, dark, grungy teenager decade of video games. We analyze the culture of the time, video game business during this era and talk about our favorite entries in this decade. https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/video-gaming-publishers-2018 Music: http://ozzed.net Ozzed - The Misadventure Begins

Penguin & Termite, inspired by Coopatition Matt, discuss challenge runs! Anything from Speed Runs to Mario with no jumping is on the table. Why do gamers put themselves through this? What challenges do you like? https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/top10/2330-the-top-10-mostly-self-imposed-challenges-specific https://kotaku.com/billy-mitchell-breaks-silence-about-donkey-kong-high-sc-1822815818 Music: Ozzed - City of Iron http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Deep Silver, @deepsilver, decided to publish Metro Exodus on the Epic Games store while honoring all current Steam pre-orders and DLC purchases. Penguin & Termite discuss what this means in terms of digital distribution of video games. Notes: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-01-03-uk-video-game-sales-now-80-percent-digital https://www.superdataresearch.com/worldwide-digital-games-market/   Music: Ozzed - Wetmelon http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite have a little fun on Valentine's Day by discussing video game companions. Don't we all love a little escort missions in our video games? We discuss all forms of companions; pets, duos, couch co-op, commentators and helpers! Music: Ozzed - Seductive Space http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite welcome @BrizzleMcFizzle once again as we discuss mobile games! Bree has worked as a Twitch streamer and a community manager for two different mobile games. We get her inside take on mobile games as gamers wrestle with their relevancy. https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/16/superdata-digital-games-grow-12-to-109-8-billion-in-2018-fortnite-earned-2-4-billion/ Music: Ozzed - 8-Bit Party http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite discuss the depth of in game currencies within video games. We compare and contrast different types as well as touch on the history of it. Does your new game feel padded by endless loot grinding? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_economy https://medium.com/singulardtv/how-video-games-helped-pave-the-way-for-cryptocurrency-f930521eef55 Music: Halcyonic Falcon X - Of Rainbows and Unicorns and Cuppycakes http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite are joined by the CEO of Game Over Videogames Inc, David Kaelin. Game Over Videogames is an independent chain of amazing retro-focused video game stores dedicated to the LOVE of classic video games, systems, and accessories from Atari to Xbox. We discuss the trials and rewards of operating, as well as the culture surrounding, a retro video game store. https://gameovervideogames.com/ Music: Ozzed - Top City http://ozzed.net http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Penguin & Termite discuss the video game industry's review scores. Metacritic is at the center of it all. Metacritic drives developer bonuses, publisher deals, and all sorts of business relationships with retailers and influencers. Notes: https://kotaku.com/metacritic-matters-how-review-scores-hurt-video-games-472462218 https://kotaku.com/a-look-at-metacritics-many-problems-1684984944 Music: http://ozzed.net Ozzed - Seductive Space http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/