Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast

In the waning years of the 20th century, secret codes were a common feature in games that would unlock secret content or make the challenge a bit less difficult. But now if you want those extras, you can "unlock" them for just a few dollars! Is that this a terrible shift in developer entitlement, or another example of how gamers feel like they shouldn't have to pay more than a few dollars for a new game? Sean and Vinnk look at the things that developers do to get more money out of gamers, and what gamers do to make developers believe that they can't get paid fairly for their work. Used games aren't evil, but some developers want you to think they are. Developers aren't evil, but there are gamers who... well, you know the rest. Is one side more entitled than the other? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

What companies or individuals make games that you will buy just because their name is on it? Vinnk and Sean examine the perils and the pitfalls of Developer Worship, and wonder aloud if there's really anything our favorite personalites and companies can do to make us hate them. We list some of our favorites: Harmonix, Square and Enix (before they were one company), BioWare, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda 51 and more! Which ones are your favorites, and why? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

The idea and practical applications of marriage barely come up in video games. Sure, there's not much of a place for it in Angry Birds, and it theoretically might be the ultimate goal of dating sims. But what about games where you're playing as a character or interact with NPCs who just ARE married? Sean and Vinnk (gamers who are, apparently miraculously, each respectively married with children) explore the reasons why games might actually shy away from the trapping of matrimony, and how the few games that do use it (Fable, The Sims, Alan Wake) want to milk it for emotional impact. But how "emotionally impacted" might an 8 year-old gamer feel about such subject matter -- and is that right there the reason it's a subject few developers dare to tread? And when is Mario just going to marry Princess Peach already! How many more times does she need to get kidnapped by Bowser for him to get the hint?? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by

Injuries in video games tend to be minor annoyances rather than the game-stopping events they should be. But wouldn't having to heal from actual injuries be a sure way to kill gaming fun? Vinnk and Sean discuss how injury has been taken out of games with the advent of armor and shielding, and on the other side of the spectrum games that are all about healing. And somewhere in between, there's the worst offender of the blurry line between life, death, and severe crippling injury: RPGs. Also, we give out copious amounts of Phoenix Downs. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Hype is great... until your game comes out. Quite different from development hell, these are games that come out, but when they do they don't quite live up to the promises made by the marketing department -- and sometimes the developers themselves. Sean and Vinnk discuss the raft of hate against the Mass Effect 3 ending, the lack of ending for the Shenmue series, Peter Molyneux's retirement from Lionhead Studios, and more. Suffice to say, it's been an interesting year for the hype machine and its consequences. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Could the console and PC wars have been snuffed out in the early '80s if NES hadn't been released? Or was Nintendo's intervention in the market overblown? Vinnk and Sean ponder the rift between PC and console gamers, those who do both, and what kinds of games seem to be better suited to one over the other. Are the two devices on a collision course? Or is the idea of a Steam Box or other PC-based "console" nothing more than a fever dream? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

There's something to be said for a game missing its release to make it more awesome, but after a while there's the law of diminishing returns. Then there's also the trap of trying to make everything SO MUCH MORE awesome than anything else out there, you keep changing things -- even things that have or should be long since settled -- that you enter the inferno known as "development hell" where ideas both good and bad go to eternally torment fans and developers alike. Sean and Vinnk discuss Duke Nukem, the fate of Silicon Knights and their dedication to Too Human that took them under, and how Rare going to Microsoft Studios changed the company forever. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Kids get a bad rap in video games. Sometimes they're beat up to pull emotional heartstrings, but mostly they're just annoying. Is there a way for kids to be used or portrayed in games that isn't exploitative or make you want to cause yourself bodily harm? Vinnk and Sean run down the appearances of children in games, from the NES all the way to the upcoming Mass Effect 3, across consoles and the PC. We also run down the history of unlicensed NES publisher Color Dreams, and what their originally shocking games turned into. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

There are a lot of couples in video games, but is there romance? Mario and Peach, Luigi and Daisy, Link and Zelda, The Brooding Loner and the Star-crossed Japanese Flower Girl Who Loves Him, and -- of course -- Samus and the baby Metroid. Do any of these games do romance well, or is it just assumed? And how far is too far with player-to-NPC romance? Sean and Vinnk wonder if video games can truly ever be your Valentine as they discuss these problems, the likelihood of your characters ever finding true digital love, and the potentially unfortunate state of Princess Zelda's armpit hair. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Video games aren't just about blowing up bad guys, pretending to be a secret agent, or saving galactic civilization from moon-sized cuttlefish. Sometimes they're about everyday, ordinary things, like stock brokering! Or newspaper delivery! Or making dinner! Vinnk and Sean discuss these more "mundane" titles, and how surprisingly fun they can actually be. Haven't you ever wanted to be a lawyer? Or start your own football league? With the power of video games, this could be you! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

The Wii U is set to launch by the end of 2012... but is it really? We've been seeing the same tech demo since E3 2011, but no actual titles running on Wii U hardware. Will Nintendo make the projected launch date, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Sean and Vinnk disagree about what this means, encourage Sony to get out of the hardware market since the PS3 has never gotten above third place in North America, the PS Vita's launch has been a larger thud than the one for 3DS, and rumors that the Next Xbox from Microsoft will somehow ban used games. RAMPANT SPECULATION! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

What is the amazing truth behind the Bungeling Empire, Sim City, Bomberman, and Choplifter? You'll be surprised! No, really! It's pretty surprising! But you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out. Hint: they're all connected by HudsonSoft, makers of the TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, countless awesome 8-bit peripherals, and home of the honeybee -- may they rest in peace. Vinnk and Sean reminisce about the company that they thought they knew, but clearly didn't, and now will miss more than they thought possible. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Gaming can be deadly. Oh, we're not preaching about violence in games becoming violence in real life. More about self-inflicted injury -- like playing Starcraft in an internet cafe for 36 hours straight until your heart gives out. Sean and Vinnk discuss their narrow brushes with that big game pad in the sky by way of a variety of titles mobile, PC, and console. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Does allowing gamers to create their own worlds within a game make that game better, or does it just excuse the developers from having to create any content themselves? Vinnk and Sean discuss their first experiences with user-generated content (on the NES!), the wonders of the Famicom Data Recorder, and which games they thought were helped or hampered by being able to draw dongs on the sides of racecars. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

It seems like it's getting harder to play video games all the time: an especially embarrassing realization when you've gone halfway across the country to attend the tenth annual Music and Gaming Festival aka "MAGFest" Sean is joined by guest panelists Justin "JewWario" Carmichael (@JewWario), Brenna "Sindra" Wilkes (@TastesLikeSin), and Powet.TV founder Zac Shipley (@ZacShipley) discuss the potentials and pitfalls of the Wii U, the events of the first day of MAGFest, ruminations on the seeming necessity of the waiver policy in light of ninja refrigerator attacks, and the importance of personal hygiene -- even if in Pikachu form. Also, Vinnk (unable to attend due to living on the other side of the planet) regales is with HIS version of a fun convention! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

What a year! 2011 brought its share of good games, bad weather (including a tsunami that devastated parts of Japan), and lots of changes for Famicom Dojo. Sean and Vinnk discuss what games they're looking forward to in 2012, if the PS Vita is already a failure before it's even been released in the US, and if the Wii U will be making its appearance before the end of the year. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

The Christmas season, in the video game industry, is more about big sales of blockbuster titles, console launches, and a bit of rubbing-it-in-the-face for people who perennially spell Nintendo's doom. (The 3DS is already outpacing sales of the DS in its first year.) If you're a kid, subsequently, it means new video game time! Vinnk and Sean talk about their favorite Christmases, the games they got, their favorite Christmas games (yeah, there are a few), their most HATED Christmas games (there are even more), and more! "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

With a slow shift to digital-only content, and the inability to share such content like you would lend a book or a disc, and publishers deliberately devaluing their game content through the use of activation codes and central server authenticaion, will there ever come a time when used games become a thing of the past? Sean and Vinnk explore why console games cost so much, why iOS games cost so little, and the ruin that would be visited upon the gaming industry if no one could lend out their games or buy used ones ever again. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Operation Rainfall is so far one third successful, but the only way we'll be getting Xenoblade Chronicles is through GameStop or the Nintendo online store. Sean and Vinnk explain their misgivings with GameStop, why they're sure Nintendo expects Xenoblade to fail (or at least doesn't care if it succeeds), and actual precedents that should exonerate Nintendo for being so cautious. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.

Should Nintendo be scared? Since the launch of the iPhone -- which encouraged the rise of the Android platform -- smartphone gaming is set to become a majority of the handheld market, eclipsing Nintendo for the first time since the release of the Game Boy in 1989. Vinnk and SeanOrange take a look at the data, how the mobile gaming pie is growing, why smartphone gaming has been so successful, and what (if anything) Nintendo can do about it. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo.