Ep. 388 - Big Heads, Big Hearts

The panel mourns the loss of two titans of video game journalism, considers the future of games reporting, and imagines a horse covered in human skin. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. SHOW NOTES: Andor The Mandalorian DMC DeLorean Marcus Aurelius Mark Antony 1: Let us begin by mourning the losses of game journalism (02:42) Polygon sold to Valnet, editorial staff hit with layoffs Michael McWhertor Fandom Blows Up Giant Bomb Was the Media’s Big “Pivot to Video” All Based on a Lie? 8-4 Shane Bettenhausen Jeremy Parish Tencent lays off nearly all of staff at its gaming site Fanbyte Kotaku The Verge Valnet Blues: How Online Porn Pioneer Hassan Youssef Built a Digital Media ‘Sweatshop’ 1Up Digg Gamergate (harrassment campaign) Simon Carless GameDiscoverCo Substack Fortnite Roblox Stephen Totilo 2: DIDDY WATCH: What does it mean that Cranky and Rambi are in Donkey Kong Bananza? (24:58) Diddy Kong Donkey Kong Bananza Cranky Kong Rambi the Rhino The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Scrooge McDuck Diddy Kong Racing Super Smash Brothers series Waluigi Shigeru Miyamoto 3: Brian David Gilbert asks, if your typical fashion had stat boosters attached to it, what would they be and why? (29:25) Summer Game Fest Sonic Mario 4: How do you convince people to buy horse armor in 2025? (39:18) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Remastered Horse armor Limited Run Games The Elder Scrolls VI NFTs Fallout series 5: How would each of you specifically design a video game for the other two panelists? (44:01) Elena Monster Maker TurboGrafx-16 LIGHTNING ROUND: GameFAQ&As - ? (47:03) Recommendations and Outro (53:28): Brandon: Eine Kleine Beng-beng Musik by dis.placed, The Seventh Curse (1986), Promise Mascot Agency Ash: Aftermath, Remap, VGBees, support journalism Frank: Enjoy, support, and share smart media Jaffe: DC Action News This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!