The Easy Allies Podcast

Xbox was busy buying up Bethesda this week while its community was trying to buy up the remainder of Series X|S pre-orders. Amazon also made a big move by announcing their own streaming platform, Rayman-creator Michel Ancel leaves game development entirely, and at the drop of a shadow Kirby is fighting himself again on the Switch. 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:24 - Corrections 00:03:58 - Silver Lining 00:05:41 - Microsoft buys ZeniMax Media 00:27:14 - Xbox Series X|S Preorders 00:50:51 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:56:30 - Amazon's Luna Announced 01:09:11 - Michel Ancel quits Game Dev 01:16:11 - Kirby Fighters 2 Shadow Drop 01:21:02 - Also This Week... 01:29:19 - L&R - Game: Skyrim's the Limit! 01:33:10 - L&R - A Gaming Quantum Leap 01:34:28 - L&R - Microsoft's Smash Bros? 01:35:53 - L&R - Konami/PlayStation partnership? 01:39:15 - Time for Bets 01:45:10 - Closing 01:47:01 - Producer Credits For a limited time, Logitech G is offering our listeners 10% off select products at logitechg.com when they use code EASYA. Go to http://buyraycon.com/allies to get 15% off your order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft just made a surprising deal, and we have to talk about what it means for the future of Xbox. News sources referenced: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/09/21/welcoming-bethesda-to-the-xbox-family/ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-09-21-xbox-buys-bethesda-parent-zenimax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The PlayStation 5 Showcase had so many updates this week, we spend more time covering those than the actual games. Nintendo shares another round of new Partners on Switch and finally discontinues the 3DS, Facebook premieres the Oculus Quest 2, and August is another record-breaking month for the NPDs. 00:01:11 - Corrections 00:03:28 - Silver Lining 00:05:36 - PlayStation 5 Showcase 00:37:03 - Nintendo Partner Showcase 00:45:33 - A Word From Our Sponsors 00:49:58 - August NPDs 01:03:55 - Oculus Quest 2 Announced 01:17:51 - Nintendo 3DS Discontinued 01:22:52 - Also This Week... 01:27:01 - L&R - Ian lost a bet 01:28:33 - L&R - Hoops jumped for a console? 01:33:33 - L&R - Game: Know Your Platinum 01:37:58 - L&R - Weird old cross-gen games 01:40:03 - Time for Bets 01:46:17 - Closing Logitech G is offering our listeners 10% off select products at logitechg.com for a limited time. Use code EASYA for 10% off today. See why Upstart has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot and hurry to upstart.com/easyallies to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate can be. Checking your rate only takes a few minutes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xbox had a week of price and launch date announcements they didn’t plan for, but somehow managed to still pull off with impressive results. In the midst of this historic week in the battle for next-gen supremacy, Ubisoft tries to steer the focus away from their internal mistakes and on to a few big end-of-year releases, and Nintendo drops some musou news worth celebrating. 00:00:58 - Corrections 00:03:23 - Silver Lining 00:04:32 - Ubisoft Forward 00:21:40 - Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity 00:33:07 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:36:17 - Xbox Series S Announcements 00:48:37 - Xbox Series X Announcements 01:00:07 - EA Play Coming to Game Pass 01:04:47 - Also This Week... 01:09:56 - L&R - Too Good at Tony Hawk 01:16:38 - L&R - Game: Guess That Gaming Engine 01:20:24 - L&R - What games need random dice rolls? 01:24:17 - L&R - What gaming memoirs do we want? 01:29:05 - Time for Bets 01:34:31 - Closing Get $100 of free delivery credit for your first SEVEN days when you download the Postmates app and use code EASYALLIES. Go to http://luminskin.com/allies to get a one-month free trial of everything you need to start your skincare journey at home! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nintendo wants you to buy more Mario games on the Switch (in the next 6 months, specifically), Sony hopes you’ll pick up more PS4 games on PC, and Nvidia has new graphics cards to put on your shopping list. To celebrate the prospect of these new purchases we revisit Press Release Me and the language we use to make a quick buck. 00:01:01 - Corrections 00:03:43 - Silver Lining 00:05:01 - Mario's 35th Annivesary Direct 00:41:22 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:47:20 - Nvidia's new graphics cards 01:06:30 - Sony wants more PS4 games on PC 01:13:47 - Press Release Me 01:21:39 - Also This Week... 01:27:49 - L&R - Ever had accessibility issues in a game? 01:36:17 - L&R - Game: Avenger or Not-us League? 01:41:12 - L&R - Obscure memories, literally 01:43:02 - Time for Bets  01:49:00 - Closing Go to http://logitechg.com and use code EASYA for 10% off today! Go to http://amazon.com/allies to get 20% off your Amazon Smart Lighting Bundle! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

gamescom Opening Night Live kicks off a big week of gaming updates while also sun-setting the Summer Game Fest. We run through most of the 40+ games of the show while still reeling from finally seeing the 2 big Batman announcements, coping with Rocksteady’s ongoing allegations, and understanding Nintendo’s sneaky Directs. 00:00:48 - Corrections 00:02:11 - Silver Lining 00:03:28 - gamescom Opening Night Live 00:54:48 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:59:55 - Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights 01:14:21 - Rocksteady Studios harassment accusations 01:24:37 - Nintendo Direct August Partner Showcase 01:37:06 - Also This Week... 01:45:27 - L&R - Opinions on damage numbers 01:51:26 - L&R - What IPs would you want to buy? 01:53:49 - L&R - What do you watch in the background? 01:56:06 - Time for Bets 02:03:18 - Closing 02:04:50 - Producer Credits Go to http://logitechg.com and use code EASYA for 10% off today! Go to http://att.com/galaxynote20ultra5g to learn how you can get the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G for free and go to mark.app to download the MARK AR app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of our favorite franchises are in danger as Bloodlines 2 lets go of its Lead Writer and Forza Horizon 3 gets de-listed. After learning we’ll someday have to turn our Oculus accounts in for Facebook profiles, we have to cheer ourselves up with some jolly Nintendo Indies and an extra helping of Love & Respect. 00:00:41 - Corrections 00:03:51 - Silver Lining 00:06:42 - Bloodlines 2 Lead Writer Fired 00:19:00 - Facebook required for Oculus 00:29:49 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:32:03 - Forza Horizon 3 to be de-listed 00:42:57 - Nintendo Indie World 00:56:00 - Also This Week... 01:04:09 - L&R - Flight Simulator mapping in other games? 01:11:45 - L&R - Pitch It or Ditch It? Hardware Edition! 01:16:26 - L&R - Your last 2 games fused into one 01:19:34 - L&R - Furthest you've gone to play a game? 01:25:26 - Time for Bets 01:30:57 - Closing 01:34:14 - Battletoads Bet Get 15% off your order at http://buyraycon.com/allies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we weigh the financial impact of some big plays in the industry. Epic Games goes to war with Apple, Halo Infinite sets a new course for 2021, EA Executives ask for way too much money in raises, and Control shows us how not to announce a next-gen version of a current-gen game. 00:00:43 - Corrections 00:03:25 - Gaming Gladiators 00:08:46 - Epic Games vs Apple 00:30:23 - Halo Infinite Delayed to 2021 00:46:20 - A Word From Our Sponsor 00:48:56 - Control Ultimate Edition 01:02:51 - EA Execs voted out of getting raises 01:11:08 - The Story of The Weddle Grab 01:16:07 - Also This Week... 01:24:23 - L&R - What's up with Monster Hunter? 01:27:53 - L&R - What demos made the wait harder? 01:30:03 - L&R - Game: Eventually Great? Or Just Real Late? 01:33:06 - Time for Bets 01:39:04 - Closing Go to http://luminskin.com/allies to get a one-month free trial of everything you need to start your skincare journey at home! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sony had a wild week, pulling our attention between Spider-man, PS4 controllers, and a fully-stacked August State of Play. Also GDC goes online, xCloud goes offline on iOS, and Nintendo reports more record hardware and software sales. 00:00:42 - Corrections 00:03:22 - Gaming Gladiators 00:05:08 - August State of Play 00:24:03 - Spider-man's Avengers Exclusivity 00:38:55 - PS4 controllers won't play PS5 games 00:48:30 - xCloud won't work with iOS 00:57:02 - Game Developer Conference 2020 01:03:45 - Also This Week... 01:12:36 - L&R - How do you practice music? 01:15:24 - L&R - Game: Timesplitters 2 01:20:14 - Time for Bets 01:25:25 - Closing Get $100 of free delivery credit for your first SEVEN days when you download the Postmates app and use code EASYALLIES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week was full of success stories to celebrate: Eiyuden Chronicle’s breakthrough Kickstarter, Ghost of Tsushima’s record-breaking sales, the mesmerizing chaos of Fall Guys, and the entirely unpredictable return of G4. 00:01:11 - Corrections 00:03:52 - Gaming Gladiators 00:06:14 - Eiyuden Chronicle Kickstarter 00:21:38 - Ghost of Tsushima Sales 00:33:21 - G4 is back in 2021 00:57:56 - Grounded 01:09:06 - Fall Guys 01:15:34 - Also This Week... 01:26:28 - L&R - Difficulty vs Load Times 01:30:20 - L&R - Game: Which Game Currency? 01:34:07 - Time for Bets 01:39:39 - Closing 01:41:32 - Producer Credits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices