The GamesIndustry.biz Microcast
Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring, two business journalists with more than 35 years' combined experience, as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube.
276
Live from (near) GDC 2019 - The GamesIndustry.b...
James, Rebekah and Haydn reflect on the biggest news of this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Inevitably, Google's Stadia streaming service dominates much of the conversation. We recap the most interesting aspects of the...
50 min
277
Bad Influencers - The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast
James, Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest gaming headlines, including whether publishers need to be more careful in screening the influencers they work with. We kick off with an update on the various lawsuits between Epic and the creators of...
34 min
278
Valve does the right thing for the wrong reason...
Rebekah, Brendan and Haydn once again discuss the latest industry headlines, many of which centre around rather toothless apologies. We follow up on last week's main topic as THQ Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors addresses his subsidiary's decisions to run a...
44 min
279
When THQ Nordic visited 8chan - The GamesIndust...
Rebekah, Brendan and Haydn discuss some of the biggest games industry headlines from the past week. The biggest topic of the week is THQ Nordic's ill-advised decision to conduct an AMA on controversial forum 8chan, known for harbouring hate speech and...
41 min
280
What does success mean for Crackdown 3? - The G...
Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather to discuss the biggest industry headlines of the past week. Chief among them is the arrival of Crackdown 3 and the difficulty it presents in judging its success. Media reviews are mixed, its retail performance (in...
49 min
281
Activision's record year & redundancies - The G...
James, Rebekah and Haydn discuss the latest industry headlines, starting with the biggest story of the week: Activision's plans to cut 800 jobs despite record revenues. We debate whether such drastic cuts are necessary, and how Activision could have...
35 min
282
Apex Legends and the safety of a surprise launc...
Chris, Charlotte, James and Haydn gather to discuss the biggest news of the past few days. We kick off the episode with the surprising (or is it?) success of Kingdom Hearts 3, having shipped five million copies worldwide and broken series records in...
37 min
283
What now for Activision? - The GamesIndustry.bi...
Following the news that Bungie and Activision are parting ways, the GamesIndustry.biz team discuss where the AAA publisher goes from here. Whether part of the ten-year agreement between the two firms or due to a change in strategy, there's no denying...
28 min
284
What we expect from 2019 - The GamesIndustry.bi...
Brendan, Chris, James and Rebekah kick off the year with their predictions for the year ahead. We've already covered analysts' predictions and industry leaders' most anticipated games on the site, but now it's time for us to offer our own take on what...
46 min
285
Game of the Year 2018 - The GamesIndustry.biz P...
We round out the year with a thorough discussion of our favourite titles from the past twelve months. The entire GamesIndustry.biz team is on hand for this episode, each with their pick (or, in a few cases, picks) for best game of the year. While we...
70 min
286
Unpacking loot boxes - The GamesIndustry.biz Po...
In light of increased scrutiny around loot boxes in full-price games, Brendan and James discuss how in industry is (and should be) handling this divisive monetisation mechanic. During the episode, we touch on the dangers that legislation like that...
30 min
287
Virtual Reality, with Resolution's Tommy Palm -...
This week, we're joined by Resolution Games CEO and virtual reality proponent Tommy Palm to discuss the ongoing hurdles the immersive technology must overcome. At a time when skepticism around the future of VR is on the rise, with with past champions...
28 min
288
Counting on cryptocurrency, with Reality Clash ...
This week we're joined by Reality Gaming Group co-founder Tony Pearce to discuss the changing landscape of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based games and services. Following a surge of interest in the technology at the tail end of 2017 and the...
39 min
289
Red Dead Redemption 2 Special - The GamesIndust...
Chris and James reflect on the recent Rockstar controversy surrounding the working conditions behind Red Dead Redemption 2 - and, more importantly, ask where the industry goes from here. We discuss the growing scope of open-world games and the...
30 min
290
Full stream ahead? - The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast
In the wake of Microsoft's Project xCloud announcement, James, Matt and Brendan ponder the possibilities for game streaming. While undoubtedly a disruptive force in the games industry, what role will the technology play in Xbox's future - or that of...
38 min
291
Family games, with Thumbfood - The GamesIndustr...
This week, we're joined by Simon Smith, managing director of family games publisher Thumbfood. Smith joins us to discuss why the family and kids games market needs "a kick up the arse" on consoles, and why a wider audience is the key to driving...
30 min
292
Artificial Intelligence, with Chet Faliszek - T...
Recorded during Develop:Brighton 2018, we're joined by former Valve writer Chet Faliszek to discuss the realities and possibilities of AI in video games. Faliszek shares how he believes AI can be used to build more systemic gameplay, and how this can...
35 min
293
Shorter games and quicker releases, with Mike B...
We're joined this episode by indie figurehead Mike Bithell, developer of Thomas Was Alone, Volume and bitesize text adventure Subsurface Circular. Recorded just a few days after the surprise launch of the latter's spiritual successor, Quarantine...
29 min
294
Fighting Ageism, with Kate Edwards - The GamesI...
This week, we're joined by Geogrify founder and ex-IGDA director Kate Edwards to discuss one of the less-highlighted challenges of working in the video games industry: Ageism. Recorded at E3 2018, the discussion explores who is being affected by...
30 min
295
E3 Aftermath (2018 Edition) - The GamesIndustry...
The entire GamesIndustry.biz team convene to reflect on this year's major games showcase in Los Angeles. Instead of talking through every announcement (which listeners are no doubt familiar with), we each choose a topic or trend that emerged from the...
56 min
296
E3 Expectations: 2018 Edition - The GamesIndust...
The full GamesIndustry.biz editorial team unites to discuss the upcoming video games extravaganza that is E3. Working through the major press conferences that always serve as the tentpole for this annual event, we discuss what we hope to see from each...
51 min
297
Accessibility in games, with SpecialEffect - Th...
Hot off the announcement of the Xbox Adaptive Controller, we're joined by SpecialEffect's Dr Mick Donegan, Joe Morgan and Bill Donegan - a trio of experts in the field of helping disabled gamers play the latest video games. This episode begins with an...
27 min
298
Voice acting in games, with OMUK - The GamesInd...
This week we're joined by Mark Estdale, founder of leading voice production firm OMUK. Drawing on his experience directing actors for games ranging from best-selling PlayStation blockbuster Horizon: Zero dawn to Telltale's Game of Thrones series and...
42 min
299
Making virtual reality mainstream, with Terra V...
We're joined by Kish Hirani, industry veteran and chief technology officer at new virtual reality start-up Terra Virtua. Recorded during the official unveiling of the subscription-based VR platform, this episode discusses the remaining barriers...
22 min
300
Following Florence - The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast
James, Brendan and Haydn discuss the impact and implications of Mountains' debut title, Florence: a short but definitely sweet love story built around gameplay vignettes. We ponder the lessons to be learned from this acclaimed titles, both in...
37 min