#304 | Too Big to Succeed

Embracer Group's downfall will be long-studied as an example of capitalistic hubris you rarely see, even in our ruthlessly capitalist society. Following mass layoffs, spin-offs, and studio closures, Embracer will ultimately split into three smaller, more manageable entities, instead of acting as a lone unit with more employees than the entire PlayStation brand, including all of its studios combined (seriously). It's just another example of people in positions of power somehow knowing less about their industry, the economy, and business than completely random people that do a video game podcast. Other news: Stellar Blade's "Hard R" controversy, the permanent closure of LittleBigPlanet's UGC servers, the cultural revival of the Fallout franchise on the back of a successful Amazon show, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! How do we feel about Ubisoft's apparent abandonment of the Watch Dogs franchise? Are gaming cookbooks the new rage? Can you be a fan of video games without actually playing them? Will British people ever acknowledge Americans' acumen with a map? Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:21:44 - Where is Sacred 300? 0:25:25 - Sacred through college 0:32:10 - Quintin's surgery 0:39:52 - British people 0:46:20 - PS Stars points correction 0:52:35 - LBP goes offline 1:09:36 - Hard R Shop 1:32:07 - Fallout show is getting another season 1:44:57 - Metaphor ReFantazio releases October11 1:48:53 - What we’re playing 2:36:34 - Embracer's downfall 2:53:42 - Watch Dogs is dead 3:01:11 - Dustin raising a gamer 3:09:56 - Is capitalism the problem? 3:13:29 - Gaming cookbooks 3:21:51 - Colin’s trophy inconsistencies 3:25:03 - Am I broken? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices