About this episode
Not to be confused with Microsoft and their exceptional line of products. Games we played this week include: Before I Forget (07:40) Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (19:45) Pokémon Snap (21:45) Undermine (28:25) Returnal (33:45) Disc Creatures (45:20) Tin Star (48:40) News things talked about in this episode: Epic v Apple court proceedings begin (50:30) https://twitter.com/thedextriarchy/status/1389595740519940101 Epic data on user-acquisition costs related to “free” game distribution leaked (1:02:20) https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-spent-more-than-dollar11m-on-free-games-in-the-first-nine-months-of-giveaways/ Info on quite how huge financially Fortnite has been (1:06:30) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-05-04-fortnite-earned-usd9bn-in-two-years How much Epic paid for six months of Borderlands 3 exclusivity (1:07:05) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-05-04-epics-fully-loaded-borderlands-3-deal-cost-usd146m-for-six-months-of-pc-exclusivity Sony agreed to cross-play when it could get its beak wet (1:10:25) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-05-04-epic-boss-says-sony-charges-publishers-a-cross-play-fee-in-certain-circumstances Microsoft to cut publisher fee to 12% on Windows Game Store (1:14:00) https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409285/microsoft-store-cut-windows-pc-games-12-percent Xbox is improving the framerate of many backward compatible titles (1:16:40) https://majornelson.com/fpsboost/ Witcher 3 Director resigns and apologizes after investigation finds no wrongdoing (1:17:20) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-04/top-director-leaves-embattled-game-developer-cd-projekt Sony makes a financial investment in Discord, securing it on PS5. (1:21:00) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-05-04-discord-playstation-integration New details emerge about last year’s Ubisoft hostage hoax (1:23:15) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-04-30-last-years-ubisoft-hostage-hoax-reportedly-the-work-of-notorious-rainbow-six-cheater 5 CDPR bosses take home nearly $30m in bonuses. (1:28:05) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-04-30/cyberpunk-managers-still-win-big-bonuses-after-shoddy-game-launch Bobby Kotick takes a meaningless 50% pay cut. (1:28:30) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-04-30-activision-blizzard-boss-bobby-kotick-takes-a-50-percent-pay-cut-but-could-still-earn-millions-in-bonuses -- Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday. Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.