Video Games 2 The Max

Earlier today Geoff Keighley announced the nominees for the various Game Awards 2024 categories including Game of the Year. Sean and Marc discuss the nominees for several of the awards, who they think could win, and also bring up the biggest controversy which is the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC being included in the nominations for not only several awards categories but also GOTY as well. A special guest may even join in the discussion too. Also, Phil Spencer had a lengthy interview with Bloomberg in which he discussed several topics, including an Xbox handheld that is a few years off, the no-red-line policy regarding Xbox games going to other platforms, his dislike of predatory expansions, and more. Plus, Sean's been playing the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, announcements from the Warcraft 30th anniversary stream, the Splinter Cell movie is canceled, GOG's game preservation program and more!You can also watch this episode in video form on the W2M Network Youtube Channel, please give us a like, comm

In an interview with Famitsu, Toshihiro Nagoshi, a former SEGA director who was pivotal at RGG studio, which works on the Like a Dragon games, says that the "era of game size" being pivotal to a game is coming to an end. Although it doesn't seem to be the case with the amount of large-size games still releasing in 2024, but could this be true in the near future? Could the size of a game's world finally not matter?Also, thanks to recent live-service failures such as Suicide Squad and now Multiversus it seems as though Warner Bros Games focus will come solely from four core franchises. Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones. Could this narrowing of its focus actually help improve things for the publisher? Or does it have the chance of going the opposite way and just watering down all of them instead? What does this mean for some other somewhat successful games from WB in the past? Plus, Nintendo finally confirms the Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with Switch 1, Sony President Hiroki Totoki

Unfortunately, this week is the culmination of a previous problem for Sony, as the company officially decided to put the final nail in Concord's coffin and subsequently close down the studio that made the game, Firewalk Studios, along with mobile game developer Neon Koi. Sean and Marc discuss who should share the bulk of the blame if it means Sony needs to abandon the live service push entirely. Is there a franchise that lends itself to mobile in Sony's catalog? Also, Sean's been playing the Horizon Zero Dawn Remaster after never playing the series at all. Is this finally what hooks Sean into joining Aloy on her quest for the Nora? Sean also tried out the Pokemon TCG app. Is this gonna get Sean into collecting all the cards? Marc also finished Metaphor ReFantazio is it his Game of the Year so far? Plus, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 does big numbers in sales, and Xbox Game Pass, Xenoblade Chronicles X has finally been announced for Nintendo Switch, Path of Exile 2 is delayed until December, and would a major retur

The biggest release of the year as far as industry sales is here in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and it also makes its debut on Xbox Game Pass as well. As a result, Sean has played a fair portion of the campaign and he has impressions of it so far. He's also been playing Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered which he can now speak about and guess what? It's just as good as the original just now looking better. Marc is also almost done with Metaphor ReFantazio as well. The duo also discuss their thoughts on the first three episodes of the Like A Dragon Yakuza Amazon series, does it do the first game justice so far? Are they fans of where it deviates? And what they do hope is still to come in the final three episodes of the first season? Plus, The Prince of Persia: Lost Crown is disbanded, and some of its members are working on a Rayman Remake headed up by series creator Michel Ancel. The U.S. Copyright office has denied that researchers should be given remote access to games through libraries, Netflix cancels i

The bombardment of game releases continues, and it does not seem to be going to let up anytime soon. Although there are plenty of new games on the horizon, the glut of remakes and remasters seems to have become a larger piece of the gaming pie in recent years. Does gaming have a remake/remaster problem? Or is this a symptom of the greater issue with so much uncertainty in the industry? Where do Sean and Marc stand on the number of remakes/remasters coming down the pike? Is there a preference for how they do them? Sean's been playing the latest release from Nomada studio, Neva, the development team behind the indie hit Gris. Does it deserve the same praise as their previous title? Could it perhaps be even better? Marc's been hammering away at more Metaphor ReFantazio and Diablo IV as well. Plus, our reactions to the Xbox Partner Preview, has Bloober Team finally turned the corner after Silent Hill 2 Remake? God of War Amazon show essentially starts all over, a mystery Nintendo playtest, and more!You can also w

The heaviest month in the calendar in terms of game releases rolls on as Sean and Marc try the best to keep up with the heavy hitters. Marc has impressions on Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Metaphor ReFantazio, and a big release from last month, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. There's also news from all over the place including Nintendo releasing an Alarm Clock called Nintendo Alarmo, Xbox Cloud Gaming getting a huge boost with game purchases and games you purchased becoming playable next month, Xbox gets a new studio head in Rare boss Craig Duncan, Sony selling Refurbished PS5's, and more!You can also watch this episode in video form on the W2M Network Youtube Channel, please give us a like, comment on the episode, and give the channel a subscribe and follow as well: https://youtube.com/live/BsV7GjbgVY0Listen as a podcast and give us a review on these platforms... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ag/podcast/video-games-2-the-max/id886092740Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wjd0u3xO7

Late night on Sunday during the Halo World Championships a surprise video debuted showcasing a project from 343 Industries that showcases what Halo could look like on Unreal Engine 5 as they officially make the move away from the Slipspace Engine used in Halo Infinite. They also announced multiple projects are in the works and that 343 is now called Halo Studios. Sean and Marc discuss all of this, does this give them hope for the future of Halo? And can Halo regain its flagship status as the premier franchise for Xbox? Also, Marc's been playing the Silent Hill 2 Remake that technically hasn't been fully released yet, but it certainly has a warm reception so far from other critics, but now Marc can give his thoughts on if it holds up compared to the original, do the changes make sense, and is it better? Plus, Metaphor ReFantazio's glorious critical reception, Why developers don't choose Xbox, Tecent and the Guillemot family looking into a buyout of Ubisoft, should Tekken get its own collection? Will the Horizo

Tokyo Game Show has come and gone, and aside from Nintendo and another big publisher, pretty much everyone you would expect showed off at least something to be excited about. Whether it is the PlayStation State of Play, the Xbox streaming show, the Level-5 show, Capcom, Square-Enix, or more. Sean and Marc discuss some of their favorite games from many of these showcases with specific emphasis on the PlayStation and Xbox ones. The big publisher alluded to is Ubisoft who suddenly canceled their TGS live stream and then news came out that Assassin's Creed Shadows has been delayed out of 2024 entirely. Now released in February 2025, it seems as though shareholders are not happy with the company and are putting it into a review. Also, Star Wars Outlaws has not sold as well as expected, and other things that combined have led to this moment. But Ubisoft may be in trouble and does it all fall on how well Assassin's Creed Shadows is both received and sells? Sean and Marc also both completed the Metaphor ReFantazio de

Sony finally unveiled the big promotions for the 30th Anniversary of PlayStation this past week and does it ever look enticing. Sean and Marc celebrate a bit themselves talking about the reveal, if they may pick up any of the accessories, and also give out their Top 10 Best PlayStation 1 Games at the end of the episode. Before that though, there are more current PlayStation matters to attend to, as Sony announced that a State of Play is happening on Tuesday afternoon. There are already rumors swirling about what could be announced. The guys discuss a few of the known ones and make their predictions about what could be shown at the 40-minute showcase. Also, Sonic Team is doing a Sonic Central and Level-5 also announced their stream for the same day. Xbox is also doing a stream on Thursday too. Welcome to Tokyo Game Show 2024 week, as it should be packed full of news. Plus, some big news about Concord's cost, and what it may mean for Fairgames and Marathon ahead, Sean has now platinumed Astro Bot and has some i

Mark Cerny revealed the PS5 Pro last week and it was met with an immediate reaction of excitement and then an immediate shock at its retail price of $699 (USD) and even more in other regions globally. Not to mention, the extra cost of the vertical stand and the disk drive as well, adding an extra $110 to the price if these are things you absolutely need. What do Sean and Marc think of the announcement? The price? Is it worth it? Will they be getting one? Sean and Marc have both now completed Astro Bot so they have full thoughts on the game, Sony made an agreement with AMD already for the PlayStation 6, Annapurna Interactive lost its entire gaming team, and controversy for Xbox with removing of 41 games from Xbox Game Pass Standard and laying off 650 more employees, plus much more on this edition of Video Games 2 the MAXYou can also watch this episode in video form on the W2M Network Youtube Channel, please give us a like, comment on the episode, and give the channel a subscribe and follow as well: https://you

Must Play Games are the rare title you'd encourage anyone to check out. A game that defines its generation, or perhaps even goes past that and could be classified as genre-defining or maybe even an all-timer? These are the sort of labels that Astrobot has garnered over the last week and Sean's been playing it. So he of course has some impressions. Does it live up to that crazy level of hype? Does it deserve all the accolades? Should you go out and buy it for your PlayStation 5 right now? (the answer is yes!)Sony is all but set to reveal the PS5 Pro at a just-announced Tech presentation headed by Mark Cerny. Will all the rumors come true? Could the PS5 Pro actually be released without a disc drive too? Plus, Marc's been playing more Star Wars Outlaws and Star Trucker, the PlayStation 2 receives a big honor in Japan, Amazon's Secret Level will still air the Concord episode, Destiny 2 may change its expansion strategy, Ubisoft keeps going in the wrong direction, and more!You can also watch this episode in video

The fall release season is officially upon us as starting from last week up to December there's a steady stream of major video games releasing for everyone to discuss, preview, review, or whatever. Sean and Marc kick off the fall season with impressions of Visions of Mana, the first brand-new game to hit consoles in the series in nearly two decades. How does it stack up? Should you pick it up if you are a Mana fan? Do you have to play the others to play this one? Marc's also been playing Star Wars Outlaws and he has some major thoughts.Also, the bad news cycle continues for Xbox as another game is being delayed due to issues with the company. Certification issues are causing problems for the developers of Enotria: The Last Song, and thus the Xbox version won't be released at launch until this is resolved. Meanwhile, according to various reports, Sony helped with funding the port of Black Myth Wukong for PlayStation 5, which may be why the Xbox version has been delayed. But at least it isn't all bad news, as

Gamescom 2024 is fully in the rearview mirror, but the announcements don't stop coming as Nintendo is set for an Indie World and Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase very soon. However, Sean and the returning Marc Morrison take a look back at what was announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live and if there's anything they are excited about from the show. Not to mention, also going through some of their favorite announcements from other events around Gamescom. The one more thing for Opening Night Live was actually an Xbox title, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, being announced directly for PlayStation 5 in Spring 2025, before Indiana Jones even gets an opportunity to release on its original platform. Does this signify that we might as well expect everything is now coming over? Should Microsoft just kill the idea of making a next-gen box? Or is this about something greater than we just aren't seeing? Plus, Valve officially announces Deadlock, Black Myth Wukong sells out big and sells out PS5's in China, will there

With this episode hitting right before the looming Gamescom where there are sure to be a myriad of game announcements, release dates, and gameplay previews galore, there's been quite a bit of this happening in the week leading up to it. Sean and Randy discuss some of the games that are coming between September to November, and some games that have been delayed too. Not to mention, the release of one of the year's biggest titles, at least in yearly sales, Madden NFL 25 is out, Sean's played it, and he gives his impressions. Does it eclipse the much beloved EA College Football 25, does there being a perhaps better Football game on the market hurt the game at all? And is there anything new that makes it worthy of a purchase? Plus, more discussion on Supermarket Simulator, Randy's played ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights, will Final Fantasy Remake Part 3 be one of the greatest games of all time? Should it switch to Unreal Engine 5? Does the new trailer for Silent Hill 2 Remake excite us? And sadly, more layoff

In an out-of-nowhere situation, Hi-Fi Rush Survives being shut down along with the studio that made the award-winning game, Tango Gameworks, as the publisher of PUBG and Callisto Protocol, Krafton Inc., has purchased the IP and studio from Microsoft. Essentially, it saves the studio and invites its former employees to return as well. Sean is joined for one more week by Randy Isbelle to discuss the surprising news, if a Hi-Fi Rush 2 without much of its dev team could still live up to what made the first game so beloved, and what else could come from this studio? Also, some more info on Destiny 2 and Marathon a week after the disappointing Bungie layoffs, Max Payne 1 & 2 Remasters and Control 2 are in good shape, should actors play the games if they are going to be in a film or TV series about them? Borderlands Movie is not good, Doom 1 & 2 Enchanced Editions, Our favorite announcements from the D23 2024 event and more!Thank you to Randy Isbelle for joining the episode this week and last week too. Plea

In our latest episode, what has been a rather sour week of gaming with major layoffs in two different gaming industry sectors, amid more disappointing figures for Xbox on the Console side, games not selling well enough and yeah... just less than wonderful news in general. Sean is joined by Randy Isbelle on this episode to discuss all of these things, and also actual video games too. Firstly, Bungie is in some major trouble as the company once again lays off employees, seems to be losing more autonomy, not to mention, suffering from internal mismanagement in its scope with projects. Where does the blame lie in this whole thing and how much of it is on Bungie CEO Pete Parsons who's come under fire for his own spending lavish habits. Should Sony be rueing this decision to buy Bungie? And can they turn this ship around at all? As reports suggest this was happening no matter how well Destiny 2's Final Shape expansion performed. Also, Game Informer closes after 33 years in being a lightning rod and wonderful beacon

Apologies, we've been having issues with our feed, so this is why this is just now being posted. * This was originally recorded on 07/29/2024 *The advent of digital gaming has been a great convenience and has opened up so many different avenues for gaming to thrive, especially when it comes to indie games. However, this also means that entire stores can be shut down once the console's lifecycle has ended. Such is the case for the Xbox 360 digital store, leaving around 220 games that are now no longer playable at all that are digital only. Not to mention, the games that will now shoot up in price because the only way to buy them is physically. With that in mind, Sean and Marc shout out their Top 15 Xbox 360 Games. Also, in more current gaming news, Microsoft is considering even more Xbox Game Pass tiers, including the dreaded ad-based tier. Is this a reality sooner than we think? And how far could they potentially take it? Plus, Sean has played more EA College Football 25, Concord won't have a battle pass, Cap

Apologies, we've been having issues with our feed, so this is why this is just now being posted. * This was originally recorded on 07/22/2024 *For 11 years, college football fans have been without a video game to call their own, and a court case effectively made it impossible to create a licensed CFB game. However, after three years of development, last week, EA College Football 25 became a reality, and with its release an outpour of hype and emotions swept over the nation as gamers and CFB fans could now go play as their favorite squads or alma maters yet again. Was the long wait worth it? Should you go out and buy it now? Or stick with what Madden's been offering over the years? Sean has his thoughts after spending almost a week now with the game. In more gaming-focused news, Microsoft and the FTC are perhaps in a battle again over the new edition to Xbox Game Pass and whether or not it degrades the service. Microsoft has responded to the FTC's claim. Who's right? Does the qualm really have any weight to it

Apologies, we've been having issues with our feed, so this is why this is just now being posted. * This was originally recorded on 07/15/2024 *Has the day finally happened when Xbox Game Pass is no longer the best deal in gaming? Sean and Marc discuss Microsoft's big decision to not only raise up the price of their subscription service but also elected to remove Day 1 Games from their middle tier and make it exclusive to Game Pass Ultimate. Will gating away Day 1 games provide the FOMO purchase that Microsoft hopes it does? Is the prince increase a deserved one? Is this secretly about recouping money for Call of Duty? Should Console owners once again be worried that the end is nigh? Or is this much to do about nothing? Sean's also tried out Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Surprisingly, it may be the big hit in a week when many games are coming to the aforementioned Xbox service.Plus, Nintendo Switch now owns the record for the largest period without an officially announced console successor to replace it.

Apologies, we've been having issues with our feed, so this is why this is just now being posted. * This was originally recorded on 07/08/2024 *It's National Video Game Day so why not discuss one of the biggest things happening to the medium and that's the surplus of adaptations. Sean and Marc rank their Top 5 Most Wanted Video Game Adaptations, which can include unreleased TV shows or movies that are known to be in development, or we can delve into our bag of hopefuls and put in some video games that have never seen the big or small screen outside of its native format. Marc's been playing more of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance and also more of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC as well. Sean continues to have to focus on other things, but the video game drought will be ending very soon. Plus, more on adaptations as the Horizon Netflix show and Batman: Arkham Asylum are no longer moving forward. Paramount is now controlled by Skydance in an $8 Billion dollar deal. Ghost of Tsushima wins the month of May in