YoVG # 519 Holiday 2025 - Ghosts of Christmas Past
YoVideogames!
A Christmas Carol themed holiday episode? That's right. It's a Christmas Carol themed holiday episode. But... What does that mean? It means we are going to look at ghosts of Christmas Past (1995), Christmas Present (what it's looking like this year) and Christmas Future (if nothing changes) to try and figure out what is going on with the industry and where it might be going. So, if you're stuck driving to your in-laws, visiting family, or have to work this Christmas Eve and need the company of foul-mouthed nerds - we are here for you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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YoVG # 518 Larian Studios Says AI is Good For Game Devs?
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Small bomb dropped when indie darling Larian revealed it uses AI in the preproduction and ideation phase of game development. Naturally, opinions deviate strongly, especially because artists have left Larian over their use of AI. In this episode, we discuss Jason Schreier's Bloomberg interview with Larian CEO Swen Vincke. Specifically, we discuss Vincke's quote about how Larian uses AI, and what, if any positive effect it has had. For the full context and a great read - check out the full article here: It is no secret that neither of us are fans of AI, but I take the devil's advocate position...
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YoVG # 517 Marvel Tokon vs Avatar Beta
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Recently, both Marvel Tokon and Avatar: The Last Airbender had their beta weekends. In a shocking turn - the perception of each game FLIPPED. Where players expected Tokon to dominate attention, and Avatar to be a fun but forgettable curio tie-in game; we instead watched people lose their minds at just how good Avatar was while also being underwhelmed by Tokon. Nothing is set in stone and Tokon is by no means bad, but I don't think anyone was expecting how good Avatar has turned out to be.
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YoVG # 516 Free Game Ideas
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Like all gamers, we sometimes get hit by ideas we just NEED to see made into a game. From extraction shooters to racing games, here are some ideas we have been noodling on for a while. Comment with your burning idea (unless of course you are currently developing it)!
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YoVG # 515 FGC 2026 - IP Based Flood
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Next year looks pretty cool for the FGC. Three promising games, from promising teams, are coming at some point in 2026. An interesting connection between all three games? They are all based on animated shows/comic books IP... Huh. Is this a good thing? Or is this a trap? To all our listeners in the USA - Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful meal with family and friends.
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YoVG # 514 The Rise of Handhelds - Holiday 2025
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Handhelds are on the rise! Where once the only option was a Switch or a Steam Deck, now we have Android devices like Ayn's ODIN line, Lenovo's Legion Go, and ROG's Ally series. Plus, Playstation and Xbox are expected to commit to hybrid or handheld consoles in the near future. So, how do you know where to start? Do OS's matter? Do price points differ greatly? Here's a casual guide to handhelds on the market today or coming very soon. Their price points, who we think they are for, and why you might choose one over the other. We aren't trying to be Digital Foundry. We aren't going in depth into...
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YoVG # 513 Sony's State of Play Japan 2025
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Sony dropped a State of Play just for its Japanese Developers. Matt and I are split on this one. He feels it fell flat, I feel it says: Sony is finally waking up to the type of games it should be pushing harder. Plus: We debate horror elements and their effectiveness. I love ambience and build up, he loves sudden unavoidable terror. We score the State of Play out of TEN. We talk Marvel Tokon and how maybe Sony didn't think this was going to get much attention (Kpop Demon Hunters all over again!?) And we close talking about alleged Rockstar Union Busting.
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YoVG # 512 Unlikely Tie-In Games (That Should Exist)
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In the 90's tie-in games for movies and TV shows were pretty much BS. I mean most of the time they had little to nothing to do with the property they were tying into, and in the worst of cases actively made the original property worse by association (ET). Not to say that there weren't good ones, too. But more often than not, a tie-in game never raised expectations. That isn't true into the 00's and later though. So, we get to thinking, what would be an unlikely tie-in game for a movie, or tv show or book - whatever. And what genre/gameplay would the game have?
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YoVG # 511 Expecting 2026 Turbulence
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Hey, so all these layoffs? Well, it means lots of projects are dead in the water. And that means we are going to see a serious dip in games coming to market. Will that be next year some time? Maybe the year after? And I hear you - AI is gonna solve this problem! But what if it doesn't? What if AI goes bust? No your highly profitable money printing game business is limping because you shot it in the foot. Also, because it was fun we talk about theme parks and which, if any, are worth the money right now.
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YoVG # 510 The GameFreak Leak
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I liked the title The Freak Leak, but then who would click on it? GameFreak had a leak. It was possibly an old school phishing scheme, which is sort of hilarious. That leak did tell us what games they are working on for the coming five years or so, but that isn't what we are interested in - two guess what it the games are though lol. No they leaked GameFreak budgets and earnings for the last several games, and what that tells us is pretty interesting.
info_outlineSmall bomb dropped when indie darling Larian revealed it uses AI in the preproduction and ideation phase of game development. Naturally, opinions deviate strongly, especially because artists have left Larian over their use of AI. In this episode, we discuss Jason Schreier's Bloomberg interview with Larian CEO Swen Vincke. Specifically, we discuss Vincke's quote about how Larian uses AI, and what, if any positive effect it has had.
For the full context and a great read - check out the full article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-12-16/-baldur-s-gate-3-maker-promises-divinity-will-be-next-level
It is no secret that neither of us are fans of AI, but I take the devil's advocate position this episode. I do actually think there are spots where AI could help creatives with busy work. (Our problem is: we all know that isn't what AI is targeting.)