Jimquisition

Big homes, low ceilings
Games we played this week include:
Steam Deck (9:40)
Rune Factory 4 (21:20)
Babylon’s Fall (24:35)
Retroid Pocket 2 Plus (36:45)
Are You With Us? (43:45)
Uncharted Golden Abyss (45:00)
Aperture Desk Job (50:45)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Vita software made to run on Switch (49:15) https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/a-new-tool-claims-to-run-ps-vita-software-natively-on-nintendo-switch/
Forza Horizon 5 sign language features arrive four months after release (51:45) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-03-01-forza-horizon-5-adds-sign-language-support-today
Activision Blizzard attributes failure to hire women executives to MS acquisition (52:25) https://www.axios.com/embattled-activision-facing-increased-attrition-18d74c45-d570-4a61-abcd-fed77be7243d.html
Family of Activision Blizzard employee blames company for their suicide, files lawsuit (54:20) https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/03/04/activision-blizzard-employee-suicide-lawsuit/
Former Epic employee claims they were terminated for speaking up about diversity practices (56:05) https://twitter.com/MagusFirebeard/status/1499767870003179520
You can pause Elden Ring (57:50) https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-03-08-turns-out-you-can-pause-elden-ring-without-a-mod
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Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?
Games we played this week include:
Steam Deck (11:15)
Pokémon Legends Arceus (22:10)
Elden Ring (23:50)
Roboquest (49:20)
Gran Turismo 7 (53:05)
Undead Knights (54:45)
Infernax (57:25)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Intellivision Amico looks about to cut bait (1:00:30)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-03-01-intellivision-cuts-fundraising-campaign-for-amico-short-setting-alarm-bells-ringing
Nvidia hit by crippling cyber attack (1:05:35)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/nvidia-is-investigating-cyber-attack-but-business-uninterrupted
Valve open to having Microsoft Game Pass available on Steam (1:07:05)
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/valve-has-no-plans-for-a-steam-pass-but-would-help-microsoft-put-game-pass-on-steam/
Pokémon Scarlet/Violet announced (1:11:10)
https://scarletviolet.pokemon.com/en-us/
Ubisoft does, at least, protect its employees affected by Russian invasion of Ukraine (1:15:45)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-26-ubisoft-provides-additional-funds-advance-salaries-and-alternate-housing-to-staff-in-ukraine
Ukranian developers discussing the invasion (1:16:45)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-25-ukraine-game-developers-speak-out-in-face-of-russian-invasion
Lawsuits arise from Activision Blizzard King investors unhappy about Microsoft deal (1:17:20)
https://www.polygon.com/22949594/activision-blizzard-shareholder-lawsuit-sec-violation
Sony attempts to have gender discrimination suit dismissed (1:19:15)
https://www.axios.com/sony-playstation-sexual-harassment-dismissal-dde3ab46-25c2-4b82-b028-582530617ece.html
Epic Games is acquiring Bandcamp (1:21:15)
https://blog.bandcamp.com/2022/03/02/bandcamp-is-joining-epic/
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.
Photo Credit: Katrin Morenz, used under CC BY-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Wake us when it's over.
--
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

A not-so-subtle blend.
Games we played this week include:
Nintendo Switch Sports (10:55)
Infernax (17:10)
Dying Light 2 (19:55)
A Little to the Left (22:40)
RoboQuest (26:35)
Skul: The Hero Slayer (31:50)
Pokémon Legends Arceus (38:30)
Horizon: Forbidden West (39:10)
Pinball Heroes (40:20)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Activision Blizzard’s lawyers paint union members as “footloose and fancy free” (44:35)
https://twitter.com/_TechJess/status/1496136624358494208
Accusations made against Activision Blizzard for union-busting practices at Raven Software (47:45)
https://www.polygon.com/22939657/activision-blizzard-raven-software-union-nlrb-hearing
Bobby Kotick has been covertly funding Republicans through businesses (53:35)
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/activision-blizzard-ceo-donated-to-republican-causes-3164956
Rainbow Six tournament in UAE, where homosexuality is illegal, is canceled (58:40)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-23-ubisoft-scraps-plans-for-rainbow-six-siege-tournament-in-abu-dhabi
Ubisoft hints in earnings call that it may be open to a buyout (1:00:00)
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-02-17-despite-consolidation-ubisoft-says-it-can-still-go-it-alone
The Street Fighter 6 logo bears striking similarity to a stock image (1:07:00)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-23-street-fighter-6s-logo-looks-like-an-adobe-stock-image-and-its-creator-wants-a-cut
Platinum Games takes hard stance against NFTs (1:09:50)
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/platinumgames-2022/
Nintendo is closing the 3DS and Wii U eShops (1:10:40)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-16-3ds-and-wii-u-eshop-purchases-end-in-march-2023
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

One, then two? Two, then one?
Games we played this week include:
Horizon: Forbidden West (2:55)
Infernax (16:25)
Dreamscaper (27:15)
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (34:05)
God of War (39:05)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Microsoft suggests they’re only going to keep the good employees at Activision Blizzard (41:30)
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-is-watching-activisions-execs-so-the-right-people-are-in-power-after-its-acquisition/
Roblox has a sexual content problem, along with being a predatory child labor engine (43:25)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60314572
Ubisoft isn’t doing a damn thing in terms of the demands of its workers (44:45)
https://twitter.com/ABetterUbisoft/status/1493231476980293636
Team17’s NFT push has pushed employees to push back on company direction (50:15)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-14-team17-exec-promises-change-following-last-weeks-report
Ubisoft internal discussion of NFT project got considerable negative feedback from staff (54:00)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-11/ubisoft-employees-push-back-hard-on-blockchain-initiative
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

A tribute.
Games we played this week include:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (14:10)
Sifu (33:20)
Silent Hill Book of Memories (39:10)
Killzone Mercenaries (41:35)
God of War Chains of Olympus (44:30)
Unbound Saga (44:55)
Unit 13 (45:55)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Pokémon Legends Arceus sells 6.5m copies in a week, probably because it’s good (18:30)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-04-pokemon-legends-arceus-sells-6-5m-copies-in-seven-days
Google rumored to be dropping Stadia, trying to shop its tech around (46:40)
https://www.vg247.com/stadia-reportedly-deprioritized-inside-google-which-aims-to-secure-deals-under-google-stream-label
Microsoft is rolling out the anti-trust defense propaganda, points cheeky fingers at Apple (50:15)
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/02/09/open-app-store-principles-activision-blizzard/
Ubisoft is licensing their characters to third-party NFT producers (56:44)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-09-ubisoft-rabbids-added-to-blockchain-metaverse-the-sandbox
Itch.io calls NFTs what they are: a scam (1:00:00)
https://twitter.com/itchio/status/1490141815294414856
No, Nintendo isn’t going to be buying up developers like Sony and Microsoft (1:02:25)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-03/nintendo-cuts-switch-outlook-again-on-supply-logistics-jam
Kotaku feature on Steph (1:10:35)
https://kotaku.com/jim-stephanie-sterling-youtube-interview-jimquisition-w-1848501185
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

Well, we almost made it.
Games we played this week include:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (6:45)
Pupperazzi (27:15)
Bloodborne PSX (33:45)
Terraria (42:50)
Megaman Zero (44:20)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Team 17 announces and abandons Worms NFTs in under 24 hours (48:14)
https://www.pcgamer.com/overcooked-and-going-under-devs-revolt-against-publisher-team17s-nft-plans/
EA slowing its roll on NFTs (1:01:20)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-02-ea-seemingly-backtracks-from-earlier-nft-enthusiasm
Troy Baker pulls out of his terrible NFT deal (1:03:10)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-31-troy-baker-u-turns-on-voice-nft-project
Atari’s Loot Box NFTs are self-parody (1:05:15)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSQIdTE3Npo
Sony set to acquire Bungie, leverage its live service experience (1:11:50)
https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/50988
https://www.vg247.com/sony-plans-to-release-10-live-service-games-by-2026
Techland very nicely asks players not to play Dying Light before release (1:18:05)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-01-techland-asks-dying-light-2-fans-with-early-retail-copies-not-to-play-until-launch
Activision Blizzard QA internal slack message shows typical anti-union moves (1:21:40)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-02-01-union-busting-staff-message-from-activision-blizzard-released-online
Dark Pictures Anthologies games offer “Friend Pass” co-op for month of February (1:31:45)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-31-dark-pictures-anthology-owners-can-invite-a-friend-to-co-op-for-free-throughout-february
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

Just find a damned ledge already.
Games we played this week include:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (5:40)
Gods Remastered (17:50)
Labyrinth Legends (20:30)
Pupperazzi (26:30)
Dante’s Inferno (29:00)
Super Star Path (35:45)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Raven Studios QA are forming their union Game Workers Alliance, ignored by Activision Blizzard (39:45)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-26-raven-software-union-bid-pushes-on-despite-activision-blizzard-missing-deadline-to-respond
Kotick demonstrates typical disrespect to employees in all-hands meeting on Microsoft merger (43:55)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/01/20/bobby-kotick-activision-blizzard-chat-layoffs/
The next three Call of Duty games reportedly have to come to PlayStation (47:05)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-26-next-three-call-of-duty-games-reportedly-heading-to-playstation-despite-microsoft-acquisition
LEGO game developer TT Games reported to have harmful crunch culture (48:00)
https://www.polygon.com/features/22891555/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga-has-led-to-extensive-crunch-at-tt-games
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.

Have a meaty one.
Games we played this week include:
The Procession to Cavalry (18:00)
Buck Up and Drive (26:35)
Super Bomberman R (32:28)
Galaga Plus (38:35)
The Anacrusis (39:10)
Anvil (40:25)
Forza Horizon 5 (41:20)
Halo Infinite (45:30)
Deep Rock Galactic (49:05)
Blaster Master Zero 2 (51:45)
The Gunk (58:35)
Shadowman Remastered (1:00:55)
Into the Pit (1:01:50)
Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance (1:05:45)
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News things talked about in this episode:
Microsoft to buy out Activision Blizzard (1:07:00)
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-is-reportedly-nearing-a-deal-to-buy-activision-blizzard/
Microsoft announces well-timed internal review of sexual harassment and gender discrimination (1:19:10)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-18-microsoft-to-review-its-sexual-harassment-and-gender-discrimination-policies
Bobby Kotick’s golden parachute is predictably obscene (1:22:05)
https://twitter.com/gamesbizuk/status/1483435864378290179
Kotick alleged to have attempted burying employment figures to make issues seem smaller (1:24:02)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-activision-blizzard-has-pushed-out-almost-40-employees-since-july-2021
James Stephanie Sterling turned into an NFT, proving them right about NFTs (1:34:35)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-17-gaming-youtubers-have-had-their-likenesses-stolen-and-sold-as-nfts
Continuing the trend of leaks from Nintendo, Pokémon Arceus is in the wild early (1:41:00)
https://www.polygon.com/22891556/pokemon-legends-arceus-full-pokedex-leak-new-hisuian-forms
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.
Photo Credit: Gordon Joley, used under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/

There are many barriers, even dangers, but we have no choice.
Games we played this week include:
Grim Valor (13:30)
Terraria (18:30)
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond (22:50)
Uncanny Valley (27:45)
Red Faction Guerilla (35:15)
Shin Megami Tensei V (39:20)
Breakneck City (42:30)
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News things talked about in this episode:
LEGO puts Overwatch 2 release on hold (43:30)
https://www.pcgamer.com/lego-halts-overwatch-2-set-while-it-re-evaluates-partnership-with-activision-blizzard/
Activision Blizzard claims they’re talking to Raven QA strikers, but… (48:30)
https://twitter.com/RebelComicNerd/status/1479161800537034752
https://twitter.com/RebelComicNerd/status/1480673705391009794
Xbox relationship with Activision Blizzard has changed in light of allegations, won’t say how (56:30)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-11-xbox-has-changed-how-we-do-certain-things-with-activision-following-misconduct-reports
Phil Spencer thinks cross-platform gaming should include cross-platform bans (1:02:20)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-11-xbox-boss-wants-console-makers-to-work-together-on-cross-platform-bans-and-user-blocking
The latest Twitch fad involves illegally rebroadcasting television shows, with predictable results (1:04:15)
https://gamerant.com/twitch-tv-show-meta-explained-dmca/
Horizon Forbidden West in the wild months in advance (1:09:00)
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-11-horizon-forbidden-west-ps4-images-leak-online
---
Buy official Jimquisition merchandise from the Jimporium at thejimporium.com
Find Laura at LauraKBuzz on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon. All her content goes on LauraKBuzz.com, and you can catch Access-Ability on YouTube every Friday.
Follow Conrad at ConradZimmerman on Twitter and check out his Patreon (patreon.com/fistshark). You can also peruse his anti-capitalist propaganda at pinfultruth.com.