Ep. 284 - Let Me Be Frank, with Simone de Rochefort

What starts as a lively episode with Polygon editor and podcaster Simone de Rochefort becomes something far more interesting when one panelist’s audio goes missing. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Tim Rogers, Brandon Sheffield, and Simone de Rochefort. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Questions this week: From Frank Cifaldi: What is the Criterion Channel of video games? (10:48) Sega just bought Rovio. Why? (25:29) Simone, please convince the panel board games are good. (32:26) What’s the deal with those TikTok videos that all have Minecraft or Subway Surfer footage playing at the bottom? (38:48) Improv Zone - Video Game Pawn Shop (42:20) Zara asks: Have you ever recognized something deeply personal from your real life inside of a video game? (48:29) From Ash Parrish: Who is the American Mario? (55:24) LIGHTNING ROUND: VIOLENCE ISLAND (01:02:24) Recommendations and Outro (01:25:26) A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Elden Ring The Sun Also Rises Charles Leclerc Max Verstappen decimate The Criterion Channel The Criterion Collection Mega Man: Legacy Collection Tubi Letterboxd Rocket Legend of Zelda series DF Retro Shadow of the Colossus GameTap GameFly Yoshio Sakamoto Esper Boukentai Super Metroid Hollow Knight Koji Igarashi Sega is officially buying Angry Birds developer Rovio for $775 million Angry Birds Yakuza / Ryū ga Gotoku series Persona series Sonic the Hedgehog games Bonk series Square Enix launches its first NFT project “It’s not Hitman without IO”: Why Square Enix set the franchise free Small Town Murders Sugar Blast Sonic the Hedgehog: Spinball Proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft Puzzle & Dragons Forbidden City Sleep No More Among Us Ticket to Ride Minecraft Subway Surfers Fontanelle Contra series Gordon Freeman Dragon Quest series Shining Force series Battle Chess Coquí Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999) The Bear Diego E. Garcia Casual Birder Sons of the Forest Oh, Deer! Bubsy series Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Wild Woody Sifu Kao the Kangaroo games Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Vanquish Ezio Auditore da Firenze Grand Theft Auto series Ray Liotta Kratos Diana, Princess of Wales Depeche Mode - New Dress Quiet Shigeru Miyamoto Toad No One Can Stop Mr. Domino Wild Woody Dynamite Headdy Miles “Tails” Prower Penitent One Satan Recommendations: Brandon: Echo Image, Spirit Posession, make more things like game stores and video stores so people can be paid to get baseline experience in a field they care about Simone: Murder, She Wrote Tim: Decision to Leave (2022), The Little Drummer Girl, Interview with the Vampire Brought to you by Midautumn on Steam and patrons like you Subscribe: RSS, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!