EXP Podcast #621: SteamPal, Fantasy Souls, and E3 Identity Crisis

Chocobo, pictured here in Dark Souls attire

This week we take a breath between Returnal runs and before what is most definitely going to be a very weird E3 to talk about some news stories.  Lots of loose talk swirling around about everything from new Final Fantasy games to new Valve hardware, so join us in the rumor mill.  Just know that if anyone releases a semi-portable console with the form factor of a standard computer keyboard, they stole the idea from us.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.


 

Show Notes:

- Run time: 35 min 33 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #549: Sonic, VR, and Tall Grass

War Machine himself, Don Chewtle

It's American Thanksgiving this week, and I know one thing that I'm thankful for: a new version of Sonic that doesn't look like the monkey-kid from Jumanji. This week on the EXP Podcast, we emerge from the uncanny valley unscathed and carrying a VR headset and some pokeballs!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.



 - Runtime: 36 min 00 sec
 - Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #485: Steam Census

The word is out: people are surprisingly obsessed with virtual trucking.  How do we know this?  Thanks to an inadvertent leak, Valve exposed data that gave us an unprecedented look at the player counts of games distributed via Steam.  The hole has since been patched, but the data we have is fascinating and can be analyzed for a long time to come.  This week we take a look at some of the surprises and get quantitative when it comes to figuring out what the damn kids are playing these days.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.

Show Notes:

- "Valve leaks Steam game player counts; we have the numbers," by Kyle Orland via Ars Technica
- Runtime: 41 mins 39 sec
- Music by Brad Sucks

EXP Podcast #446: Players Behaving Badly

"Nerf Toxic D.Va Skin. Bliz Plz."

This week on the EXP Podcast, we wrestle with the dark underbelly of online gaming - its own players. With toxicity causing trouble in Overwatch, Steam's failure to address racist community groups, Campo Santo striking back against PewDiePie, the topic is on our mind. Even Bungie is reeling from a piece of armor that looks uncomfortably similar to a white supremacist logo. How should developers and publishers police their own communities? Should they?

This is a touchy subject this week folks. We're sending our positive thoughts your way. Keep up the good fight!

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 29 mins
- "Why I Deleted My Steam Account," by Brendan Sinclair via gamesindustry.biz
- Music by Brad Sucks