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Episode 8

S1 E8 · Detroit Gamesters

8 Plays25 days ago

South of Midnight, Split Fiction, Lazaurus, The Pitt, Last of Us, Goosebumps, Oblivion, Marathon, Minecraft Movie, Switch 2 Pricing, and Upcoming games to look forward to

Transcript

Introduction and Episode Highlights

00:00:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

Hey everyone, how's it going? It's Arjun and I'm here with my buddy Shamir for episode, what episode are we on Seven. Seven of the yeah Detroit Gamesters

Game Updates and Impressions

00:00:12

Shameer Mehdikhan

podcast. ah Pretty excited to talk about a couple things here. We don't have as much because there's not as much going on, but still some exciting news nonetheless. I know we've been trying to stick with like our two-week format, but I don't know. There's just been some, not a lot, but a couple of really interesting developments that really speak to us that we have to talk about.

00:00:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

um you know So definitely we're going to be talking about Marathon, Oblivion, you know some of the big news pieces. But i think first we'll you know kind of catch everybody up to speed on what we've been up to. maybe you talk about what we've been playing. Just a quick little intro to that. so Yeah, so I know me and you are trying to play some more split fiction.

00:00:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

um What are we, like 30% into the game now? Yeah, I'd say 30%, maybe a third. Yeah, we're like in the fantasy land now, and I'm a monkey and you're a fairy. But then I randomly will turn into a fish. And I can turn into Groot.

00:01:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think it's actually an otter, but I like call it And I like the Groot powers. I like that. It's such a, like, one-to-one knockoff. Like, that is totally Groot. Like, how do you not get sued for that? There's definitely stuff in this game that they've copied and ripped off. And I'm like, did you get permission to do this? Or is it generic enough that you don't need?

00:01:21

Shameer Mehdikhan

to like consult, you know. Well, it's kind of creativity. Like, you know, everyone rips off of everybody. you know, God knows I've ripped off a lot of people in my writing, so. Wow, you don't give credit? Never.

00:01:32

Shameer Mehdikhan

But, ah so, what do you think? Now that we're a little bit farther into split fiction, we're past the first main area that's all, you know, cybernetic and whatnot, um What are you thinking now? or you feel like your opinion changed on the game a bit? No, I feel like this game just feels so much like a prototype, really. Like, hey, we had a lot of different ideas. They seem somewhat disparate. And it's like, none of it is really fleshed out. And because you move from section, to section pretty quickly especially with the side mission missions they have, which also diversify it a little bit, it doesn't feel like a real game to me. Like, I don't feel like I'm having that much fun in a sense. Yeah, it's kind of like a mishmash of different ideas yeah with like a narrative, you know, connecting everything. Yeah, but it is polished, so it doesn't feel like a demo, but I still get a prototype-like vibe, and I can't like hate on it and say, wow, this is like a bad game.

00:02:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's just the nines, I don't know if they're just right. It's all subjective, i get that, but I don't know, man. i just Maybe we need to play a little more. Maybe we have to get halfway through the game. But if it hasn't caught my attention by this point, it's like, don't I think I'm still sticking with like my solid eight for the game, which just ends up being what I consider most games.

00:02:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

you know For me, I will say that the banter between the characters are good. I do find the characters interesting. The overall premise is fascinating. And there's enough gameplay variety that like I'm always getting some sort of dopamine rush.

00:02:57

Shameer Mehdikhan

But there just doesn't seem to be any stakes. You know, there's no tension. Like, why do I really care? you know, it's a simulation. And I feel like with any simulation story, it's really hard to make the the reader, the viewer, the gamer, like, feel on edge. Like, Matrix did it well, right? Because, like, with Matrix, like, the simulation really mattered, right? Because you could see the real-world effects and, like, life was on the line and all those type of things.

00:03:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

But if you're just completely only in a simulation, like, then it doesn't really matter if the characters die It doesn't really matter if the characters feel pain because that's not real. Yeah, and I feel like you you hit the again the nail on the head because you said it last time, but I feel like if you remove the narrative elements, this would feel still the same to me because it feels like an arcade type of game.

00:03:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

like You don't need the narrative elements to be there to continue experiencing what we're experiencing, I feel like. So they, again, I'm not saying that. Yeah, know what you're saying. Like, I feel like the narrative, like the writers, like, you know, the banter, you know, the characters feeling really authentic, like that really elevates the game for me.

00:04:00

Shameer Mehdikhan

But like strictly from a gameplay perspective, other than like constant variety, like I'm not enjoying the moment to moment as much. Like yeah I like the fact that I'm not ever doing one thing too long. So I'm not getting like super bored, but at the same time, I'm not super excited.

00:04:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

You know, I'm just kind of like in between like, It's not like I'm having a bad time. It's not like I'm i'm having an amazing time. I'm just, yeah I'm just playing a game. But and but again, that it goes back to it. So the funny thing is the gameplay is tied to a narrative decision to say, Hey, two people have written multiple stories and to experience all the stories you have to have a bunch of different gameplay.

00:04:38

Shameer Mehdikhan

So the two are tied and connected, right? But again, if i if they gave me five mini games, they said, hey, just play these five games and they're like a boss rush mode or they're just five straight up like different modes in a in ah game title. Yeah, like how much are you okay how much would you really lose? yeah I think maybe as we get further, like the story will have more stakes because like things are starting to heat up a little bit. like You're seeing like the effects of you know kind of spoilers, but glitches and things like that. So it is starting to develop into a cooler place and I'm starting to see more of the tension between the characters.

00:05:10

Shameer Mehdikhan

But, you know, to me, it's still an eight. And I know I'm sounding kind of sad or like down on the game. I think it's just because i was so looking forward to this as one of the few like, you know, cooperative experiences, you know, putting split screen on the map. Like I was really, really looking forward to this. It's totally my, you know, that you know, the story premise is totally it's something I'd be interested in as a writer.

00:05:33

Shameer Mehdikhan

and And eight is fine. It's a good game. like I'll recommend it to people. It's just,

Exploring 'South of Midnight'

00:05:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

I really thought I would be enjoying myself more than I am. Yeah. And kind of, you know, I, I, I don't harp on this often, but, and this is more of of a reminder for myself, but really for me and for people out there, do your research before you buy a game. Don't just stick to one outlet, even just using Metacritic and OpenCritic. Cause this was pretty high up there.

00:05:58

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's like, watch a ton of videos. OpenCritic is normally a good barometer for me. Like I feel like I normally agree, but if I had to give this an OpenCritic score, like I would expect like an 83. Yeah, I'm somewhere between like a 70 and 83. Like that gets it's solid.

00:06:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

And again, I probably, if I didn't have this game to play with you, i probably would have done more research said, do I really want this right now? Is this the game I want to spend 70 bucks or 50 bucks or whatever on? again It's great that it gives you a friend pass, but it's just like, it's so hard to tell. Like again, biases and and the media that play these games and the types of games that it's not difficult by any stretch.

00:06:36

Shameer Mehdikhan

So the complexity really isn't there. So again, as a ah person who's reviewing the game, hey, I can get through the game easy enough and it's all based on my experience. and I don't, I'm not struggling with it. I feel like if you're playing this game with someone who's not a huge gamer, yeah like, then it's kind of nice because you can, like, introduce them into your world. It's enjoyable. But, like, I mean, I feel like it goes with, we're kind of hardcore gamers. yeah Like, we game a lot. We have a gaming podcast. So, like, I like playing things from hard mode. Like, I'm glued in. Like, I've played so many games. So, for me, like, ah you know, I think about how much of a dopamine rush I get when I play, like, Black Myth and Rukam. You know, like, I'm dialed in, you know, or, like,

00:07:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

Call of Duty, like I'm dialed in. And I get like there's different games that, you know, are going to have different niches they fill. but I'm just not getting that same like need map. and And the thing is like, I actually felt like I got that with super Mario wonder, you know, super Mario wonder can be really hard at times.

00:07:32

Shameer Mehdikhan

And even Astrobat, even though Astrobat was in challenging, like it was just like a burst of joy. So I was just always having endorphins and maybe this is a problem with me. I sound like a drug addict, but it's like, I need like a rush, you know, and I've just gotten so used to that with, with games. And this is just kind of like,

00:07:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

like it it feels like a chill summer saturday when you have nothing to do and you're just you know you know i enjoyed again if we have to compare and we've said this too but tmnt shredders revenge and um battletoads man especially battletoads was such high i think i had the most i had the most fun playing battletoads yeah matter like not only okay yes it was it was hard but yeah i think we there was a difficulty level I picked the hardest difficulty. And it was hard. And I'm not like great at games, but like man, when we got past a specific portion level— it so satisfying. Oh my god, yeah, it was so satisfying. And I think that's such an underrated gem. like i I do understand the fact that it didn't have like online co-op, which I really think will kill the game.

00:08:33

Shameer Mehdikhan

But, you know, if you got somebody to play with and you can do split screen, like I'm telling you, play that game on hard mode, like split screen, you are going to have blast. and And so again, the now compare the two and say Battletoads had a very small story compared to Split Fiction's more, you know...

00:08:50

Shameer Mehdikhan

a complex narrative to me gameplay is always king so yes i love a great narrative story it's cool and all but man gameplay first is number one for me and shows with battle toad especially and even a again tmnt yeah you know i think for me i i would probably rank it number one for me with battle toads um i actually think i might have liked this game more than tmnt which might sound like a ridiculous thing tmnt was really good but i am Not that in a TMNT overall. Like I did grow up with it a bit, but like not super grew up with it.

00:09:22

Shameer Mehdikhan

And, uh, uh, you know, I don't know. Like it, it didn't click for me the same way as like Battletoads did because like Battletoads has like more variety and this just really felt like an older school arcade game.

00:09:35

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I was like, you know, when I play this type of game, like I want to go out to like barcade, like I want to go to a place where I can be social and like have a beer And I dream like play an actual arcade game. You talk about TNT. Yeah. And I mean, so that's why for me, I'd rank it a little bit lower. Just with Split Fiction, like anything that can make my creative juices flow, like I'm in it for that. And, you know, this game does get my creative juices flowing a bit. So, you know, I got to rank it up a little higher.

00:09:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

But I think that's just, you know, my niche opinion. Like I think objectively, people just absolutely love TNT. It was a pretty great game. Yeah. That's fair. Like I said, I ah hope we'll experience a little bit more as we play this game and we'll start to enjoy a lot more, you know, hopefully as we get maybe halfway through the game.

00:10:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

But if hit like 75% and it's still the same then i think my opinion won't be unchanged I'd give it a seven. Yeah. i mean, I feel like I'm kind of at a wall right now. Like I don't really have the motivation to keep playing, especially when there's so many other things on the horizon.

00:10:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I guess we can kind of go to that next. I know you haven't gotten a chance to play it yet, but I have really been digging into South of Midnight and I, I got a lot of feelings about this game, honestly. Like I'm still processing it. Is it the gameplay, of the combat? It's, it's, I don't know. It's just different. Like it's, it's not, I didn't,

00:10:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

get what I thought I was getting. And I don't think that's a problem with the developer. Like maybe I set myself up for failure. There was the voice in the back of my head that kept saying, this is, you know, sort of Southern black American God of War, even though obviously I know it's not, but, um, different. Yeah. i'm good But anyways, um, when I first started the game, honestly, I, I would say it was a seven out of 10 experience for me.

00:11:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

Um, I realized that there's some settings I think everyone should probably change as soon as they started playing the game, and I did And so for me, I thought the game was clunky. I thought it was running at 30 frames per second.

00:11:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

The stop motion was cool, but it felt more like a novelty. And I felt like I was dropping frames all the time. During combat or during the cut scenes? Like transitioning between cut scenes and combat, like it just didn't feel like The frame pacing is right. I don't know. I'm not digital found here. But it just didn't feel like a polished game. I'm surprised they don't stop motion. And it was really strange to me because fidelity rise in terms of art style and graphics. Like, man, this game looks beautiful. Like, this is actually one of those games where there's a lot of moments where I want to actually use a photo mode. And I will never use a photo mode in the game because I think a waste of time.

00:12:05

Shameer Mehdikhan

But there was actually moments where i was like, man, this is a beautiful environment. Like, this looks dope, right? Yeah. But instead of in spite of that, I was like, why is this just not working for me? And then eventually I turned off the stop motion, whatever setting it was. you can?

00:12:20

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, you can change it. It's not going to affect the video, the the movies, like the cut scenes, but it will affect the gameplay. And man, it felt so much smoother. And then I also changed it. So Sprint is auto enabled.

00:12:33

Shameer Mehdikhan

And so that made everything feel so much smoother because... there seemed to be a lag between, and this is such minute things, but it actually makes a difference. You know, like when I played Black Myth Wukong, it feels really smooth whether I'm running or walking and transitioning between the the two.

00:12:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

But with this game, it just always felt like there was a little bit of a lag. But after I turned that setting and now it's just auto sprint enabled, it feels smoother. It's running smoother. I had to change some of the camera settings so it would only lock on to things where I wanted them on screen because what would happen from the default setting is you could lock on to things behind you. And if you weren't careful with how you use the thumbstick, you could like alternate really quickly between them, which has its benefit.

00:13:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

But the way I like to do it, like I've gotten really good at knowing the timing of when the enemy from behind me is going to attack. So I would rather just go pure on instinct and know when to dodge.

00:13:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

And now i'm I'm really kind of not locking on. And honestly, with all that said, i actually think the combat is really good. I did not expect that. I thought the comment was going to be the weakest point of this game and I'm really enjoying it.

00:13:41

Shameer Mehdikhan

I'm playing it on hard mode and it is freaking hard. Like this is a very challenging game on hard mode and I did not expect that. And similar... it was a seven out of 10 experience with me. Cause I just felt like I was clunky, slow. Like I wasn't able to be as aggressive as I wanted to be later in the game, you get an ability that's like a double dash and that completely changes the game. And I'm just like, wow, this is so much smoother. Like I can actually like tally up attacks, go in and out, like, you know, I'm way more effective.

00:14:10

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that's one of my first criticism ah of the game from the gameplay perspective because there's not a lot of variety in the different builds you can do for the character and you can't really tweak them in any specific way.

00:14:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

It feels like some fundamental skills the character should have are locked behind progression. Like you get your basic repertoire of attacks pretty quickly, but you know, things like, you know, being able to dodge really quickly, like ways to heal your health in combat by performing like certain button combos and skill combos. Like to me,

00:14:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

That's more fundamental stuff that would have made the gameplay a lot more fun for the first few hours. And I didn't get that until probably closer to like 30 to 40% through the game. After that, the gameplay felt so much better to me. it was easily an eight out of 10 having a blast with the game combat.

00:15:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

Now, other things... um I think it's the exploration and the platforming is good enough. You know, it's not really hard platforming. And there's just enough exploration that it doesn't feel linear. But the exploration is super obvious.

00:15:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like you'll press a button, there's a straight line, you go. And if you literally find any area where there's another branch, you know, like another place to walk, you walk there for a few seconds and you'll find a pickup.

00:15:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it's it's and a little better than linear, but it's still pretty basic. And I think they'll one of the other criticisms I had for the game was when you go into a combat zone, um you always know what you expect because every single time, like you have to initiate the battle and...

00:15:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

you know it's going to be a wave like encounter. So you're not just finding enemies that pop up out of nowhere. oh So because of that, when you're walking around the world, there is no tension. You're just chilling. And you know exactly when you're going fight an enemy. It doesn't really matter how much health you have going into the battle. It doesn't really matter how much ah health you have going into the battle because if you die, you restart with full health.

00:16:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it doesn't really matter if you fail at the platforming. And so because of that, after a while, if the game feels repetitive, and it's a shame because a lot of reviewers were saying, hey,

00:16:24

Shameer Mehdikhan

The combat feels repetitive and I think by-proc one of the reasons it feels repetitive is even in the beginning when you are having a lot of new moves, you know coming to you, you're having a lot of new enemies you it feels Repetitive already because of the structure of the combat encounter. So that would have been an easy fix and I think like that's one thing that really hurts the game um The things I like about the game, I actually think Compulsion are pretty good writers. like The actual characters are interesting. I think the main character has like just enough spunk to her. And i know For Spoken, she was the character was kind of an asshole and no one liked her.

00:17:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I feel like Compulsion nailed it. like She has just enough spunk, but still feels good-hearted, that it feels like a good character. And the banter between her and the fish is just amazing. think Think about that. Like you just compared it to first one, like had they made it just bad enough, that could have been the difference between an eight and a six for you. oh yeah Like, you know what saying? Cause that ruined first one. But it's a fine line and they nailed it. I think, I think the character is fantastic, you know, and she really does feel like high schooler, you know, she feels immature in certain ways.

00:17:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

um And so I think they did a great job with her. I think some of the side characters aren't as fascinating for me, like some of the little side stories. um I think the fish is amazing. I think it's hilarious. And it just, the whole game is just dripping with so much style and like pizzazz. And it's just so fascinating, the world.

00:17:56

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then just like all these folklore elements that i don't even know, like, they I mean, kind of spoilers, I don't really think it is because it's all over the trailers. But instead of like werewolf, they have like a wereowl.

00:18:08

Shameer Mehdikhan

Which, okay, I just have to say in one of my my books, I actually kind of have a wereowl. And this is before I play the game. So I'm just saying. All right. Two great minds came to the same idea on their own. Well, someone did de first. as It was them. Okay, fine. It's because I'm not published yet.

00:18:22

Shameer Mehdikhan

But that's so cool. It's like freaking were-out. so It's like familiar but different enough. So I'm enjoying that. And I think it's it's nice that it's kind of a shorter game.

00:18:34

Shameer Mehdikhan

I'm actually 70% of the way through. you've played how many hours? Maybe like six, seven hours. I think the whole game is like 10 to 12 hours, which is kind of perfect. Good. actually I mean, to me, this looks, and I haven't played it yet, but it looks like a Game Pass game. like This is the perfect Game Pass game, because I don't know how this game could survive without a Game Pass model. Yeah, sure. Because, you know, i especially nowadays with the anti-woke backlash, yeah you know that's working against it.

00:19:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

it does It's not an established IP. There's already a lot of Microsoft hate. um It's not like a full game, like a $67 experience that you're going to get a lot of gameplay out of.

00:19:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's not a multiplayer game. It's not a multiplayer game. there's and least i don't know, maybe there's a lot of replayability, but it doesn't seem like there's a ton of replayability. so I really feel like this would be a perfect Game Pass game because if there wasn't Game Pass, i don't know how Compulsion could pitch and create this game. Yeah.

00:19:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

And this game reminds me a lot about Psychonauts. To me, Psychonauts is better, but this feels like Psychonauts at times, you know, because it kind of feels like a 360 game. You know, like it's a little linear, it's a little clunky, you know, but it has so much style, right? And substance and it's fun.

00:19:50

Shameer Mehdikhan

what What was the game that Compulsion released before this? I think was We Happy Few. Oh yeah, We Happy Few. And I wonder how long it took to develop this game. Like if they can release a game every like two to three years on a cadence of this scope, like I think that that's due to time. So that's what I was going get to next. I think...

00:20:09

Shameer Mehdikhan

That's why I feel weird about this game because just so many mixed feelings. They took a long time to create this game. And to me, and maybe this will be an unpopular opinion, like this doesn't feel like the game that you make after Microsoft gives you like a nice check to make what you want.

00:20:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

This feels like the game that you make to get Microsoft's interest so then they'll acquire you and then they'll give bunch of money to expand you know and so that's what I'm kind of wondering about because there's really places where I see a lot of talent but in other ways where I feel like this is like the first game for the studio yeah but it's it's weird because if Microsoft looked at it and they pitched it it's like hey here's the one thing we'll we think will appeal to a lot of our casual gamers which is the combat i think

00:20:57

Shameer Mehdikhan

and think that was the one sticking point where there's a, okay, you have a narrative, a semi decent narrative or something. I think the pitch was terrific. I mean, it's such a fascinating idea. Yeah. but But even then, like how many cash

00:21:11

Shameer Mehdikhan

i think the comba is what probably getting most people in but if if the combat doesn't really get flexible until halfway or a third through the game that's obviously i think like especially now like with souls games like the bar for combat is so high like people will be disappointed yeah if they're and may even drop it i really think if you want to play this game it's because you're looking for a cool setting like if you want a cool setting and like a taste of southern like you know culture like i don't think there's any other really game you can get it from oh yeah so there's there's no other competition so i'll play and especially with game pass like i definitely think it's worth checking out but you know i i i think 78 makes sense for the game you know i think it's kind of an 8 out of 10 experience for me which is close enough to say well i guess now the question is as you've been playing what do you like better this or split fiction

00:22:02

Shameer Mehdikhan

Honestly, honestly i'm like I'm enjoying South of Midnight more. which as high as it Which sounds crazy to me to say. Maybe this is my cognitive bias and I'm like, how can I like put South of Midnight over um Split Fiction? I think for me, I think of the things like objective and subjectively. like Subjectively, I'm enjoying South of Midnight so much more than Split Fiction.

00:22:24

Shameer Mehdikhan

But I think objectively, Split Fiction is the more polished, better game. it's just I'm not enjoying it as much. Yeah. I mean, to me, all this all the review scores are subjective anyways. So, again... Like, I'll say this. Like, I'm looking forward to meeting South Midnight. Like, if I'm playing the game and I have to stop, then I'm like, oh, man, I kind of want to get back into it.

00:22:45

Shameer Mehdikhan

I don't feel the way the same way with Split Fiction. Like, for Split Fiction, I'm like, okay, like, me and you are playing. Let's have a beer. Let's chill, you know? And then it's fun, but that's because it's fun because, like, I'm chilling, you know? Like, just like if you were hanging out and you're like, oh, let's put out a movie, you know?

00:23:00

Shameer Mehdikhan

So... I didn't think about it that way, but yeah, I do think for me, it's been a more enjoyable experience. That's good. As long as you're having fun. And I guess, but you know, the last thing I wanted to say was I really don't know about the future of compulsion because if we weren't in a world where Hi-Fi Rush got canceled, I would actually be really happy with this game.

'Last of Us' Series Analysis

00:23:20

Shameer Mehdikhan

I'd be like, look, they got acquired. They took a swing at something unique.

00:23:24

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think for the most part, you know, they succeeded. They're going to take some learnings from this and... you know, either the Mecca South of Midnight 2 or something completely different. But to me, like, if this game kind of feels like a double-A game, like Hi-Fi Rush did, and Hi-Fi Rush is way better, you know, and that studio got canceled, I just, I don't know. And then, like, i don't want them to be canceled because I love the fact they're doing something creative and no one does creative things anymore.

00:23:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

But then if they continue to have a chance... and tango did it like i'm gonna be pissed because of that that'd be weird so that's why i just have so many like mixed feelings about this game you know yeah because you could you think again just to go off a site on a side tangent you're like why didn't you just keep the small team that made high fire rush let them be the second part get rid of find that the rest of the team but say we're gonna still keep this one ip like we don't want want anything else but high five like i didn't understand why they couldn't i know and it's like Yeah.

00:24:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

Unless they're cooking something else, I don't know. But if if they're going to take like another four to five years to make a game, like, look, I want Microsoft to support them and make more games. But then in the back of my mind, I'd be like, why can't you have done this with a studio the game? I love it. You know you look at, was it it was rare that made Steve things, right?

00:24:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. You look at them, and I think I just heard this stat recently that that game sold 13 million units on PC along Steam, and then like less than a million or so on playstation so overall plus combining Xbox that sold so well that a game like that you look at CFDs and you look at South by midnight you go okay maybe I see some similarities in terms of again scope and like yeah how no dense the game is I have to say CFDs is probably one of the most smashing surprising successes of last generation this generation but that you remember when it came out and how everyone felt about it yeah it's such a weird game but like you know you look at it you go well that allowed Rare to survive for so long to the point that they haven't released another game since

00:25:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

yeah but then you look at composing and go well will to survive and obviously we've getting the xbox showcase this summer they've announced that and I wonder if they'll already show hey either DLC expansion to maybe story to the game or maybe here's just our next game we're already working on like for compulsion yeah because we're already seeing so much output from all these studios so fast you never know you know and I think if they find themselves in a niche where they're just pumping out like a bunch of double A's like every two to three years I'm fine with that because Microsoft has enough for like 10 pole flagship games

00:25:57

Shameer Mehdikhan

franchises that they don't need South of Midnight to be like a massive AAA, know, swing. But I just, again, If you gave them a chance, we don't give Hi-Fi Rush, but whatever. I'll get off my soapbox, you know, because, you know, at least we were able to enjoy both.

00:26:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I think that kind of catches us up with what we've been playing. um How about things we've been watching? Yeah, so maybe we talk about that. I've been watching, well, let's start with this, Last of Us, because it's also video game related. So the first episode of season two just premiered.

00:26:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

And we both watched that together. Interesting. Spoilers, this man still hasn't played Last of Us 2, even though I've been harassing him for years. I've seen many clips on YouTube. i understand a lot of what's going on.

00:26:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

I don't know what happens in the middle of that game, but I know a good amount. Interesting enough, seeing some comparison videos, it seems like a lot of it was one-to-one for the episode and what happens at the beginning of the game.

00:26:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

But I don't know. I just like watching the beginning of this season. don't Something felt off. Like yeah so much different than the first season. And I, I don't want to say based on the game, like the way the game is, it's just, and don't know it's the acting or it's the writing. I think it's, even though it's like a one to one in the sense that the scenes are similar, like they have been shuffled around.

00:27:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I think it's the pacing, you know? And i I think what's happening is they're really expanding the game and they're kind of in a weird place where, You know, the second game was maybe actually like a season and a half worth of content. And now they're trying to stretch it to two.

00:27:33

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I think the reason why The Last of Us 2 worked so well for me, and I know most people hate but, you know, it worked well for me because, you know, big thing happens relatively soon in the game. And then all of the extra like world building and exposition, they happen in flashbacks later.

00:27:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

So the momentum is good. We're like big thing happens. That's the inciting incident. And now everything changes. And now the tension is there. And you're just like, boom, boom, boom, boom. boom This needs to happen. That needs to happen.

00:28:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

But then when there's quieter moments, you get those flashbacks. But right now they're kind of changing it where everything happens chronologically. And I think that's going to make this season feel like it drags a little bit. Yeah. So we'll see how, how it goes. And if they cover the entire game of the season, I don't think they are. i think they are making it too.

00:28:21

Shameer Mehdikhan

It sounded like it was two seasons and that the first this season two only cover half the game So I don't know what that means, where it stops, what's the cliffhanger, and will they change it up? Will they change the ending? will they I don't know. about that Well, I think they were hinting at, like, they don't consider canon sacred, so they could change things.

00:28:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like halo. And some the really big moments they could change, but I don't know how much they want to do that because other things have survived such backlash when they change to canon. I don't think they can change any of the major story beats. Because I think people will crucify them. I don't want to say can't because if there's been so many rumors about making a Last of Us Part 3.

00:28:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

And maybe they don't make a third game. But maybe they diverge here in the show it's say our third game is really going to be a fourth season of the show. yeah So I don't want to say can't because nothing's ever impossible. That's true. right I mean, I'll say I meant it in that way. Like they could do it, but...

00:29:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

If it causes a lot of backlash, is it worth it? Because I feel like nowadays, like communities that really love a franchise, they're so ardent that it has to follow, you know, sure the source material the source material that like, if you don't follow the source material, like,

00:29:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

you better have done an amazing job. I agree. Like your nine out of 10 has to be a 10 out of 10. Yeah, I agree. But the source material is so divisive to begin with. That's true. See, the difference with, because we have an example already is Game of Thrones, where up to the point of the source material and the story in the book where it ended, people loved it.

00:29:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

But then when they continued on on their own, everyone's like, no, this isn't good. And it like fell off a cliff, et cetera. But they don't know how the the actual book is now going to be. Yeah. But that's true it could be the opposite. it could be that they end up knocking it out of the park season three and maybe a fourth season or fifth season and they're like, wow. Didn't IGN already review the whole second season? Yeah, cause they did. They gave it a seven out ten. And I imagine like the first season, didn't they give it like a nine? Yeah, a nine.

00:30:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

yeah So I'm still excited for it, but think i think seems like maybe the pacing off. Yeah, can already tell. And, like, it's not gonna, it's not gonna hook you as much. Yeah.

00:30:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

Also, I just have to say this again, no hate towards any of the actors, but I feel like who they cast for Ellie, just her now, supposedly, there's this time skip, right? And it's like, now, when she was in season one, she definitely fit the bill of a young Ellie.

00:30:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

But now she's older. She doesn't. She doesn't. Because Ellie in the game actually felt like she was a lot more mature. Yeah. And, like, in and this, she seems... more immature. Yeah, she's more immature. And, like, stuck in a slightly older body, but that's still, like, and you know she's 21, but it just, it doesn't fit the same because when I was playing the second game, I was like, Ellie actually, don't know how old she is in the game. I'm like, she actually seems like a college student. Yeah, seems like college student. And that's how I felt, like a freshman, sophomore, like, that's the role. Well, she's immature.

00:31:12

Shameer Mehdikhan

And for, in the the TV show, like, she feels like a high schooler. yeah she definitely does and we'll see how that plays throughout the rest of the season but right now i'm like man there's that right now that was kind of hitting me a little harder because it's like a slightly grown-up version of the season one character rather than a more mature version and then she does there's a scene in the first episode and spoilers for people haven't seen it yet is like she screams to joel's brother saying hey i'm immune i've i've been bit and it just seems so off like it was just like

00:31:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

i don't know if that scene was in the game um i don't know mean she maybe she did but it just had a different feel like it's yeah it's hard to describe why maybe you have to think more about it yeah but um I think maybe was the pacing and In Last of Us 2, like some serious stuff happened pretty quick. And then like, it seemed like she was already dealing with a lot of serious stuff.

00:32:03

Shameer Mehdikhan

So she just seemed more serious. and And here she's just, it seems like we're spending, i try not to spoil the game, but we're spending more time until that inciting incident happens like in Wyoming.

00:32:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

And so because of that, she doesn't have as much stress on her. So she just seems kind of like, you know, a little more childlike. yeah But I'm sure after the inciting incident happens, the big deal,

00:32:27

Shameer Mehdikhan

um then we're really going to see what that character looks like and if this was the right, you know, actor selection. Yeah, I agree. So I'm giving the benefit of the doubt here. But overall, I wasn't super impressed with first episode.

00:32:40

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. I feel like I'm giving a lot of 8s everywhere, but that's an 8 for me. That was like a 7 for me. I'll give that a 7. Maybe I'm biased. Okay, probably it was a 7. I think I'm just biased. I did get kind of bored. Yeah. It's probably a 7. Yeah, a 7.

00:32:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

um And then I know you haven't seen this, but I have been watching Lazarus and I got some feelings about that one too. So and again, I think this might be an unpopular opinion.

00:33:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think Cowboy Bebop is not as good as people think it is. Now I'll preface that by saying I love Cowboy Bebop. When I'm writing, I listen to Cowboy Bebop lo-fi music all the time. The biggest poster I have in my gaming room Next to Batman is Cowboy Bebop. So I love Cowboy Bebop. It's like a top 10, maybe top five anime for me.

00:33:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

But I think it's been a long time and people don't remember what the structure of the show was like. And Cowboy Bebop was a huge phenomenon because it really brought the East and the West together. And it showed that like you could have a lot of style.

00:33:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that show was just dripping with character and style. And it just felt cool. And it felt badass, right? Without trying to be pretentious, you know? It was like equal parts like chill and cool and badass. And that's like such a but fine line to you know balance. And I i feel like the closest person I could compare it to is like Quentin Tarantino.

00:34:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like when you watch a Quentin Tarantino movie, like, you know what his style is. Like he kind of has that feel like, oh, this is chill. Like I'm must smoke a cigarette and like watch this movie, you know? I don't smoke, but you know.

00:34:12

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I say that because when you, I've tried to rewatch Cowboy Bebop and I find myself losing attention because it doesn't have this like really driving like plot, like premise that pushes you to watch the next episode and the next episode.

00:34:27

Shameer Mehdikhan

It really just feels like like a laid back vibe, right? and So because of that, like the pacing isn't always the best in Cowboy Bebop. And sometimes it just feels like the show is meandering around until the end.

00:34:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

We're like, now you're like, oh, spoilers, but it's all about the girl and, you know, the the tension with, you know, um I forgot his name, Vicious. And it ends in a completely badass area. But for me, it kind of felt like the show was meandering a little too much until like episode 20.

00:34:56

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that's why, even though i love Cowboy Bebop and I've really tried to rewatch it, it's hard for me to rewat And so I say that with Laz, and even if you think about Samurai Champloo, like, I love Samurai Champloo, but if you think back to your favorite moments of Samurai Champloo, like, it was a lot of the vibe of the show, right? And then near the end, I was like, oh my god, like, now that I've spent so much time with the characters and I care, like, everything is, like, going bananas and it really matters.

00:35:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I just remember the ending so well. And I feel like that's his style. Like, he just makes you, like, get to know the characters, like, chill with the characters for a while and then when time the time is up like the story like it's a 10 out of 10 and then like shit happens you know so i say that because with lazarus like right now it's just kind of like really chilled laid back like it doesn't feel like a lot's happening some of the things that are happening are kind of like what's the point you know um it Seems like an interesting world. Isn't it like the introduction of some sort of like, not a cure, but like. It's basically if like morphine's event, everyone took morphine and eventually morphine was going to kill everyone by becoming like a cancer.

00:36:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it's the promises like, Oh, this is supposed to fix a bunch of problems, but then they find out in reality it's actually. Well, it was like an amazing drug that everyone took because it was just like a painkiller with no problem. And so the whole world took it.

00:36:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then the guy was like, Oh, by the way, everyone who took it actually are going to die in three years. And it's been three years from taking your dose. And he announces that like two years and like 11 months into the first person taking the dose.

00:36:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

And so then he's like, you have 30 days to find me and I have the cure. So did he do that on purpose? We have no, he did it on purpose, but no one knows why he did that. Like, why would he create a drug?

00:36:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that three years later it would kill, start killing everyone who took it. And he's so in a way he's going to eradicate all humanity. But then why is he saying that if you find me, then I have the cure? Why did he just not say anything? Yeah. So is he like a psychotic, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, like he's basically like a Nobel piece Peace Prize winning scientist, like the greatest mind.

00:37:05

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it's very unusual. So, so that keeps to me kind of fascinated. Sure. I think the main character, like the main character does remind me of Spike in a lot of ways. I like Spike better.

00:37:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

But like this character to me is a little more like anti-authority, like a little, and he honestly, this guy can fight like crazy. Like the action is insane.

00:37:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

um The choreography, the parkour is insane. So that's like a strong, you know, plus. I think where the show is suffering is the exposition is kind of clunky.

00:37:38

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like some of the character conversations, it really feels like they're not people. Like they're just, saying the lines the writers said that they have to say you know so like it it feels kind of artificial like when some of the characters are talking to each other and you know the pacing is really slowing down because it just you don't really know when it's going to pick up I think it's a seven right now for me um how many episodes are I think two but I still I mean I'm going to watch it I'm enjoying it I think it's one of those shows that really picks up and I I feel like

00:38:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

what also has happened is over time, we've actually wanted to watch, get different things from television. Like, I don't know if you've tried to watch Sopranos recently, but Sopranos came out in a time where, you know, you waited until Sunday and it was like your Sunday show and you're just kind of chilling. And a lot of times, like the characters are kind of chilling and it doesn't feel like You have to watch the next episode.

00:38:40

Shameer Mehdikhan

and spen But like now we're in this like streaming mindset where it's all about like binge consuming. So almost every show will end with a cliffhanger, you know, but like Sopranos didn't always end with a cliffhanger. And so I felt like Cowboy Bebop was the same way. It didn't always end with a cliffhanger because, you know, see you cowboy, like we'll see you again next week, you know.

00:38:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

But nowadays I feel like people don't want that. Like people want something that gets them talking. Like you get that dopamine rush. You can't wait until the next episode, yeah you know? And like, that's not it, you know?

00:39:11

Shameer Mehdikhan

So we'll see. We'll see how that develops. I really do hope it picks up because this was probably one of my most hype anime in a long

Realism in 'The Pit'

00:39:20

Shameer Mehdikhan

time. Cause you got the director for John Wick, you know, the action in those movies.

00:39:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

And you get the guy who made Cowboy Rebound and Samurai Champloo. Like, come on, yeah that sounds amazing. It always sounds subpar, so we'll see if it picks up. So, okay, yeah, another show that you've been watching that I just started with you not too long ago was The Pit.

00:39:41

Shameer Mehdikhan

This is a new show about an yeah ER doctor in the life of an ER doctor. So, yeah, maybe you can talk about this a little bit because this is interesting. I gave it a 10 out of 10. Yeah, I gave it a 10 out of 10.

00:39:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

The first episode was very gory. um you seem to, described as medically accurate. Oh yeah. I mean, I have like friends who are yeah ER doctors and they're like, yeah, this is as authentic as television gets.

00:40:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like when it comes to ER shows. So it's like, you know, they showed in the first episode, like who cares about sp cause fuck the show doesn't matter it's not narrative narratively no one's goingnna care but like they showed like ah was that that first year med student that just faints because she sees what was it like was blood It's a degloving incident. Yeah. that was so disgusting. So disgusting. And it's just, it made me laugh because like I could see that and I'm sure and that would be me. I think any healthcare care worker who watches that show will say, wow, I can relate. Like, I, okay, that is the struggle of being a student. yeah That's the struggle of being a nurse or a doctor. Like, they didn't,

00:40:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

such a good job like capturing what it feels like to be in an ER and I think that's why I really love this show because ah every time I've seen any sort of like medical show it's always been about these like you know super gorgeous doctors and nurses and all they have a bunch of sex and they focus on those aspects and they don't really capture what it what it feels like to be in a hospital and the thing is I think any story can be interesting and well told if you capture the humanity and the character and you accurately describe, you know, capture their perspective, you know, regardless of the career, you know, and make it relatable. Like whether ah you're in a law firm or you're an engineer or, you know, you're a doctor or whatever, a teacher, like if you actually capture like what it is to be that person, the goods, the bads, the struggles, the tension, all the relationships, all of those things,

00:41:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

It actually makes for a good story. Yeah. And then don't get me wrong. The shows that you've probably seen where the doctors are getting all the sex. I'll be honest. They're high value targets. They probably do get a lot of sex. But that's not the part I want to see. Actually, people people aren't banging that much in hospitals because most of them are depressed.

00:41:45

Shameer Mehdikhan

That's fucked up. Or miserable. I mean, there is a bag in, but... I look up to these people as role models, man. If they're not having sex, who is, man? yeah i just don't get it. They're the ones who are supposed to populate the world. But no, I ah you know i actually stayed up until like 4 a.m. binging the show. It's the first time I've done that in a long time.

00:42:03

Shameer Mehdikhan

and i had a blast um i could say this i don't i haven't seen gray's anatomy or any other medical shows other general hospital but i wouldn't consider the medical show um i'll say this the first episode already caught my attention really well like there was a hook there for sure i think they have a very good balance between humor seriousness yeah like you know tension and also like teaching you a lesson well i'm also just very impressed by the actors and i asked you this question i'm like do you think these are medical actual medical pressure orre just aing you're like actors and i'm like wow like for some of these fields especially to know the terminology and just sell it and then the confidence they have yeah and then like the little nuances of like how does the surgeon act in this role like how does the ER doctor act how do they act together like what is their body language like

00:42:47

Shameer Mehdikhan

They nail it so well. and I'm sure there's scenes where some of it's a little overdramatic, but again, that's what makes it a show fun. Yeah, mean, they definitely give so much autonomy to the men's students and the residents, and do feel like maybe a little too much autonomy, you know, and there probably should be more attendings, you know. I've never seen a York that only has one attending that's that busy.

00:43:07

Shameer Mehdikhan

especially when you have multiple trauma codes. But... Well, also in the first episode, the lady that fakes coming in being sick, and she goes, I'm really here for my grandson or son.

00:43:18

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then the attending is like chasing the dude. And like, sure, I can see that being a thing, but I don't know. But the thing is, I'm... ERs have so much ridiculous stuff that happens around the world. Like you never know, you know, and I'm sure there was something like that has happened somewhere, you know, because just that's where you see the ridiculous stuff. Right.

00:43:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

And by the way, for the people that don't understand what I'm describing, the lady, the mother says, hey, I'm really here for my son because he's been- Spoilers! It doesn't matter. It's a fucking medical. Nobody's a flank fuck.

00:43:50

Shameer Mehdikhan

It says, hey, my son has been writing some really dark things about hurting people. And I'm really here because I didn't want to take a call to cops because I know my son's really actually a good person. And then the attendant gets worried. says okay and then he's like okay maybe it should pay attention to thiss kid and first has gives him a lecture and tries to get the kid to open up the kid starts to realize what he's doing and then the kid just starts to leave the hospital and then runs away but the genie starts chase chasing after yeah and it's like is this real i don't know if that would happen but um and you know i don't want to ruin the show for anyone but man that show picks up like crazy and it's already been renewed for a second yeah and i already felt like you know i was in like a mustang like going like 70 miles per hour because i just felt the tension like constantly

00:44:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

And somehow, like, I suddenly got in a Ferrari going like, Bugatti going like 300. Like, you think it's like shit has hit the fan and it is as ridiculous as can be and you don't know how these people are surviving.

00:44:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then it just enters a whole new realm. And... Oh man, I really feel like the last four episodes of that show just elevate it. And that's why I think like 10 out of 10, like I'm kind of biased, you know, medical, but I think it's deserved. Like that is one of the most fantastic shows I've watched in a while. And even if you don't think it's a 10, I think a solid nine, they they just nailed it.

00:45:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I say that because i know how you feel about, oh, it's a medical show, you know, not big deal. But I'm telling you, the show will surprise you. I think it's one of the standout shows of this year and I'm pretty sure it's probably going to win some Emmys.

00:45:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

This is a huge hit for HBO Max. Yeah, like I said, it's interesting. I'll watch it for sure now. And I wonder if it's going to end up being a more watched than Last of Us.

00:45:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

Who knows? Because right now I think it's number one. I think from a brand recognition standpoint, I think it won't. Last of Us million yeah mails some people play the game Hard to say, but I could be wrong, you never know. People love Grey's Anatomy. That's true.

00:45:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

I never have understood it, but... But that show also went on for a long time. And we don't know if this will be that type of show. That'd be hard to... It's like suits where... First two seasons were gay, but they extended it so long that it and fell off a cliff too. So I'm curious how that'll kind of turn out.

00:46:09

Shameer Mehdikhan

um think that pretty much covers most of the things we've been watching. Yeah. One thing I want to talk about real quick Goosebumps. I didn't realize that Goosebumps kind of came back 2023 and 2025. five basically this year and there's like anthology series essentially so They're not like... It's not like season one, season two. It's just they both tell a different story. And I kind of like because it's like a very gritty take on Goosebumps. Like teenagers, adults... I wouldn't expect that from Disney. Yeah. And I was like kind of shocked. And like I'm so used to the old school Goosebumps series as a kid that were purely... Wait, they had TV show?

00:46:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. I never knew that. yeah so I only read the books. The shows were based off the books. And it it felt very cheesy because they were... emulating one for one the books and it was just like like kids, right? And I actually rewatched the the old show a couple years ago during Halloween and i'm like, wow, okay this is very cringe-worthy show, but there's like nostalgia there.

00:47:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

This was like, wow, they actually tried it. There's a story here. There's like, hey, there's an overarching arc. So it's not like every episode is about a different book. It's like a completely new take and they go, hey, it goes to start like here's a mystery here's something that's going on in a specific town and what is it really like what's going on so i like that they're doing this for goosebumps because this was the way to redefine that series like they tried making movies out of it and the one with jack black was like not bad but they could do so much more with that ip and and like this is the right way so now apparently the series in 2023 that came out got really good reviews and the one that came out this year isn't as highly rated but i like the show it has david don't his last name schwimmer from uh friends he's the main

00:47:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

Does he scream pivot at times? No he doesn't, but when he talks, he talks exactly as he does. like it's it's kind of weird It's so weird and annoying, but it's like okay. He's still a good actor though, he still has it. like It's this role that they put him in plays perfectly for what he what he's capable doing with range-wise. I feel like you're hitting me with a nostalgia hard.

00:48:08

Shameer Mehdikhan

Do you remember those, I'm pretty sure it goosebumps, those choose your own fear or choose your own death. man that was amazing like i i don't think any other book has done anything like that yeah like that's so fascinating it really is that's why i'm saying like they could again it took this many years to finally come up with an original original goosebump story and i'm like wow like i feel like the tone of the goosebump books were so good because they weren't like truly horrifying yeah you know they were just like scary enough that like they would like kind of give you a like a the chill kind of a shock or a chill but then like when you're a kid you're like yeah i'm reading moosebumps yeah you know it it was a cool thing to be reading a while in school and it was fascinating and man like that was so popular yeah wrote out and then there was the competing series american chillers and michigan chillers the michigan chillers was so good yeah and like get it chillers chills it gives me the chills so again i think

00:49:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

for this because this didn't review as well I feel like Disney is really just trying to get big hits you know and they're like they feel like they're kind of scrambling they're pouring money into all these things you know um and i feel like if it doesn't make big money then they're gonna scrap it and then they're just gonna make another star wars show yeah and that's disappointing in itself but what i like about this anthology series from again 2025 is that the kids that they got to portray like what's going on in the town that they're in they do a very good job of acting as like high school kids like just enough that it's not annoying but like a typical high schooler will complain about some really dumb stuff and then there's some good jump scares like in this show i Again, it even got me to the where I'm like, I'm not going to get scared of this. It's goosebumps. And I was like, wow. like There was a couple of times where all right. Bro, you know me, man. i get

00:49:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

I always scream whenever it is a jump scare. I'm the worst, bro. but but it feels like here's about how i'll compare this it kind of feels like Stranger Things. Oh, okay. So the production is actually really good.

00:50:05

Shameer Mehdikhan

I wonder if that's what Disney was trying to do. Like they were trying to make their own Stranger Things. Yeah, like that's how it- Oh, that makes total sense. Yeah. So again, i the the season from 2023, I'm going to watch it in reverse order, but that one was highly rated.

00:50:18

Shameer Mehdikhan

Wait, why reverse order? I just didn't know there was one that came out in 2023. So I started watching the 2025 one. Oh, okay. I get what saying. And then I saw a suggested for it, and was like, oh, there's two years ago. Oh, I realize there was two seasons. Yeah.

00:50:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I'm gonna watch that afterwards, but that one was highly rated. That was like, wow, like that was real Yeah, i guess you could do that like if they don't, you know, feed into each other. Yeah, they don't. So yeah, i just wanted to talk about that. For anyone that doesn't know, Goosebumps is back. Go watch it if you haven't.

00:50:41

Shameer Mehdikhan

Okay, so I guess we can move on to big news pieces.

Rumored 'Oblivion' Remake

00:50:45

Shameer Mehdikhan

So Arjun, what is more fascinating for you to talk about? Oblivion remake or Marathon? Which one do you want to go for first? Both of them are garbage. No, I'm just kidding.

00:50:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

Um... Oblivion remake first really quickly it just gets out of the way. So there's been a lot of rumors in the last several months that Oblivion was getting remade or remastered. We still don't know what it what the ah scope of it really is.

00:51:07

Shameer Mehdikhan

And essentially, rumors are right now that it's going to be shadow dropped in about a week or so next week. And there's already been some leaks. And apparently Virtuos, the studio that's remaking Metal Gear Solid 3, which is now called Delta, is remaking this. And based on some of the leaked images from their official site, wow, this looks freaking good.

00:51:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

this is such a ridiculous story. Like it almost feels like a fake story, right? But okay. If this is the same team that's making Metal Gear Solid 3 and how big did they hype up Metal Gear Solid 3? Why is nobody hyping up Oblivion Remake?

00:51:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

Why would you shadow drop something that's as big as Oblivion Remake when Metal Gear Solid 3 has been getting so much much attention? And I would argue like, Oblivion is probably a bigger game than Metal Gear Solid 3. I think Metal Gear Solid 3 is more loved, but Oblivion, so many people played that, right? Because it was on so many different consoles.

00:52:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

And we haven't had that all. And don't think Metal Gear Solid 3 was on the Xbox. So I... Maybe if it did, it got came out super late well after the fact. So this is a massive game. And especially since people have been playing Skyrim to death. We haven't had an Elder Scrolls game since. Elder Scrolls 6 is not going to come out for a while. Avaud and all the other games that are supposed to hit that niche have not hit that niche. Like, this is the game, man. And I wonder if they downplayed it and wanted to do a shout out. Because when you look at Hi-Fi Rush, it's like, hey, we want to under-hype it and over-deliver it.

00:52:35

Shameer Mehdikhan

Right? So that way, if people think it's good, they're like, wow. Then the news will, you I wonder if there's like, they want to catch that like Helldivers 2, you know? Yeah, and it just spreads quickly. You know, it just spreads like wildfire. Everyone goes crazy. Like, oh, can you believe Oblivion came out? Yeah. No one can review it in time because just dropped. It just dropped. everyone's like, I need to play Oblivion again.

00:52:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that's exactly what I think they're aiming for. here and And I'm sure the budget for this was pretty small, but looking at some of these images, it's... No, the images blew my mind. so like I was like, oh my... Okay, maybe I'm being hyperbolic because I love freaking Oblivion, but that looked much better than I expected. Yeah, so I'll say this.

00:53:12

Shameer Mehdikhan

Obviously, Virtuos... I don't know how big they are, but to have two games being made in parallel, and both aren't released yet. So let's assume this comes out next week. We'll be able to judge, based on quality of that release, how it potentially how Metal Gear is going to be.

00:53:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

But if let's say they knock both games out of the park, first i might have to give credit to that studio who's never really done a whole lot prior to this there's been i think a couple things but if they can do these two it's like imagine what other games they can remake in a modern touch-up you know especially in unreal engine 5 you know i'm just really really confused at the release date like if outer worlds 2 is now the the big thing that they're showing is and fable got pushed back why would you shadow drop it in april when your xbox gamers have about still to catch up on South of Midnight. Yeah. They have freaking clear obscure. Then they have Doom right around the corner. And then in June, they have Tony Hawk. Like, bro, that's so... And Tower Boy. There's so many games. I would have shadow dropped this in June. Like, on the Xbox showcase. Oh, yeah.

00:54:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

Oh, and one more thing. It should be the last video. like And it's out today. June 7th. Oh, yeah. That would be insane. I don't understand. this That would be like the thing to drop in June. Yeah. i if if gda6 was going to come out in june we would have known by now yeah so you would be safe you know in june and then it seems like you know you have outer worlds and ninja gaten 4 you know coming out later i think they already said well i don't know if they gave a season for ninja gaten 4 so i guess i don't know if they said end 2020 but i thought it was going to be later you know unless they're going to drop that in june or july but

00:54:40

Shameer Mehdikhan

This just seems like the perfect thing. Like, you get through the high of developer direct, you've finished all those games, you're waiting for Ninja Gaiden 4 to be announced, and all of a sudden June hits, you got Oblivion.

00:54:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. That just seemed like the perfect slam dunk thing. Well, just to to read off a couple of things that I'm reading out again. Rumors, guys, so take this as being a salt, but... based on other credible sources and leaks prior.

00:55:03

Shameer Mehdikhan

Apparently, this is the scope of the potential changes for this remaster. So again, call it remaster, remake. don't know what the fuck. It doesn't matter. But the HUD is meant to be easier to understand for new players. So there's going changes to the HUD.

00:55:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

Stamina is meant to be less frustrating for players to be knocked down less when it's depleted. So changes to the stamina, the way works. Hit reactions. It's meant to be improve improved combat on both the player and the enemy side so it changes on how you're actually hitting and hit detection.

00:55:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

ah Blocking, it's meant to be and be inspired by souls-like games, meaning they've changed the way blocking is in the game. Sneaking is meant to have more sneak icons highlighted. And archery is meant to make it more modern for a third and first person play.

00:55:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

So how can we even call this a remaster when you have this many changes? It's massive. like This feels like a remake. like The graphics already look super updated. They're adding all these changes. like This looks like a remake.

00:55:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

This looks like a freaking slam dunk. And I just, I don't get it, but whatever. and maybe But maybe that's why they're marketing Metal Gear Solid because that's truly like, hey, we've changed it so much from the source material because now it's third person behind the back.

00:56:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

Whereas this is still virtually at the same. And we're considering the changes we have much smaller. Maybe it didn't actually take that much work to do all that, but I thought it would. um and don't know. Did you ever play Oblivion?

00:56:18

Shameer Mehdikhan

No, haven't. So Oblivion, oh god, how old was I? That came out in 2006, so I was definitely in high school. I think that was one of the first games I played on the 360, and that was probably like my more first more hardcore game, like more hardcore RPG, because like before then I played like Jade Empire.

00:56:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

um don't think Mass Effect was out by the time Oblivion came out, so that was like the first... That was 2007? Yeah, I think it was the year after, so like that was for me like the first one I really got to like soak into, and it was tough for me because, you know, I wasn't really into that, but man, it was just such a badass concept. Like, oh, of the gates of hell, you're going into hell and killing demons. And, oh, it was just, it was so sick. And I can't even imagine, like, I've kind of freaked out to think about what, you know, the, you know, that realm, you know, like hell would look like.

00:57:09

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. And what all the demons and stuff would look like. And man, I'm, I'm super excited for Oblivion. Like, I just, I, My mind is telling me like no Microsoft and Bethesda need to hype this up. They need to really make sure everyone knows it's coming out. They should release it in july June or July.

00:57:28

Shameer Mehdikhan

But like my heart is saying, bro, this needs to come out tomorrow, bro. i I think if Oblivion came out, I would probably drop everything and start playing it. I feel like, so another game that was rumored to be a couple years by especially Mr. Matty Plays was Fallout 3 I think and so honestly Virtuous and let's say they knocked it apart man if Virtuous did that too it would look amazing Fallout 3 is totally coming bro like can totally see Fallout 3 coming for season 2 or season 3 of the team show imagine they get that Unreal 5 touch up like dude that oh do we know if this is UE5 or yeah looks like UE5 man so I and again Metal Gear is also UE5 as well yeah

00:58:09

Shameer Mehdikhan

Dude, and I did not expect that because didn't they make like the Outer Worlds like spacers choice or whatever and people were hating on the PC performance? Yeah, but not virtual. I thought it was virtual, yeah.

00:58:19

Shameer Mehdikhan

They're the ones that ported it? Yeah, and so that's why, you know, I think people were like, oh, are they going to do a good job? But maybe I'm judging too much based off the images, but honestly, the images look good. like Yeah, they look good.

00:58:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

I mean, again, Metal Gear also looks good. So these are different in scope in terms of if they did the PC version that enhanced version clearly they probably had a small budget and they didn't really care but also we don't know how long this game has been in development so no idea if it was like a could see it being like a three-year thing and you know I would be happy with this coming out because I think you know for me I loved about like i i Maybe I'll get flack for this. That was a 9 out of 10 game for me. I had a blast.

00:58:58

Shameer Mehdikhan

um But I think a lot of people were left disappointed because they really thought it was going to be like Oblivion, even though the developer said like 50 times it's not Oblivion. And so I think now these two complement each other well. You know, like you can have like actual, you know, Skyrim Oblivion. Yeah, you but that's why. So if the game was smaller in scope, let's say again, in terms of it being a remaster and what's coming to it,

00:59:21

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think I can understand why they didn't want to announce this and have any pre-marketing or hype because it would i would take over and just overshadow oh about yeah about. If everyone knew Oblivion, I never thought about that, but if everyone knew Oblivion was coming out a few months after about, then people would not be hyped for about. And it makes sense because the most amount of...

00:59:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

sales you're going to get is within the first two to three months, right? For a about, especially it's not, it's not a game that's going to have long legs. I just i wonder you'll see that if Microsoft is so confident in oblivion that they don't even think yeah like,

00:59:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

They think that if people know Oblivion is coming of coming out, people will buy it. And honestly, if people were... Didn't they actually make a Skyrim for Alexa or something ridiculous like that?

01:00:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

If Skyrim was on everything and people ate it up, and even to this day, people play it like crazy, maybe Microsoft's right. Maybe they don't have to say a word. yeah and They just have to say... Oblivion is out.

01:00:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then that's it. yeah And then they make bajillions of dollars. i think you know So I think right now the rumor is it's coming on PC, Xbox, Series, and PlayStation 5. So again, a lot of people will get it.

01:00:27

Shameer Mehdikhan

But I also think it'd be cool if later on that they announced their portings over to the Switch 2. Oh, this could totally go to Switch 2. That would be dope. I think this would perform well. Because like get like here's the thing that I'm shocked about. You take a game like Metal Gear and Oblivion, which were very old, and the fact that 2006 and whenever Metal Gear came out, and say, hey, I can port it over into Unreal and just pretty it up.

01:00:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

like Like, Nintendo did that. They tried to do that from a Metroid Prime, but it doesn't look like to the extent of what we're doing with Unreal Engine. And I think this is going to be a really good test, you know, because everyone kind of, like, hates on Unreal because they say, well, every game on Unreal has an Unreal look, and going feel like a certain way.

01:01:05

Shameer Mehdikhan

But, you know, there have been a good amount of games that have come out on Unreal have been, like, fairly unique. and um like Even Hi-Fi Rush. It doesn't feel like a normal Unreal game. I'm pretty sure that was Unreal. Yeah, and Dragon Ball Z Sparking 0 is Unreal 5. And so if this releases and you're able to get all of the Bethesda things where you know every item is saved in the game and you can just do some ridiculous stuff,

01:01:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

and it works in Unreal, that's going to be a huge benefit for Unreal. like People will start to realize, man, this is really flexible. And I know I've been worried about, you know is Halo physics going to feel the same when they're on Unreal? But if they can make it work for Bethesda, then Maybe Unreal is actually more flexible than we think. And a lot of developers just use more of the cookie cutter environments and the cookie cookie cutter like landscapes because they're just low-hanging fruit. Yeah, it's low-hanging fruit.

01:01:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

So again, I'm still mind-blown because, again, taking two old-ass games and being able to just say, boom, here we go. and And it's still play with the old code. So it's not like, hey, we're changing up everything. It literally will play very similar to the old game. It's you can make tweaks on top of it and it's like wow, changes the entire experience.

01:02:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

bet you. Maybe I shouldn't bet because we have witnesses. But I'm pretty sure they're going announce like a Oblivion conference or something, like a Bethesda show, and then they'll like show it off for like 30 minutes.

01:02:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, if they did if they did a small like stay-to-play-esque type thing, 15-minute thing. Something that. Pretty cool. um But God, now is this year like a anniversary for the game?

01:02:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

I don't think so. I think it came out in 2026. I thought it came out in 2006. Okay. Because I thought this was like a within first year launch of 360. 360 came out what you done like so 2006. We're approaching the 20th year, but I want to say it's 19 years.

01:02:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

So let me see.

01:02:58

Shameer Mehdikhan

What do you think? probably.

01:03:03

Shameer Mehdikhan

Why, you think they're trying to do... Oh, you're wrong. Yeah, it's 2005. I'm wrong. So technically it is the 20th anniversary. ah Oh, no, no. It was originally scheduled for new November 2005, and then it was delayed to March 2006.

01:03:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

I knew it because I remember when I was going to buy a 360, that was one of the main games that hooked me. i was like, I got to get this. And then had to wait, and I had to play a bunch of Ghost Recon in first few months. you think they'll have the original cover art for the new one?

01:03:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think that it's that guy standing with like the fire behind him. Oh yeah. I think that's going to be the cover on him. That looks cool. think that looks sick. So... So that's dope. Anything else about Oblivion or you want to talk Marathon? I'm talking about Marathon now.

01:03:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

So Marathon, which is an extraction shooter game that was announced by Bungie. Well, it officially showed off. It was announced year prior by Sony. But it's a premium title. We don't know how much it's going to cost. amount I think they're saying $40.

01:03:58

Shameer Mehdikhan

There's no. Or is that just what people are thinking? Yeah, that's what you Bungie said yesterday or the day prior. We will announce pricing during the summer. So I don't know if there's go be a showcase but they said during summer um the game comes out I think in the fall, September, three maps at launch. There's be a paid battle pass as well.

01:04:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

don't know what people think of this because depending on how, again, dense the game is, like, should this be free or not? I think that's all a question on a lot of people's minds. So I think, like, a game like this might make sense free-to-play, honestly, I'm so over free-to-play games. Like, I would rather...

01:04:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

have you i' would rather pay $30 to $40 up front and get more content rather than the drip feed of live service. Look at Helldivers. Helldivers 2, I feel like they did it well. released a $40 game, has a decent amount of content, and it's also live service, right? Yeah, so that's, again, to explain to people this is ah pv p v e game, the genre that exists and it's an extraction shooter. So I think what you described to me earlier is like, hey, you play this game, have the whole goal is to extract loot or money or etc.

01:05:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

But like there's elements in the game where like if you have gear, you may potentially lose it if you die permanently. so i don't know if this game will speak to a lot it could be more for hardcore yeah it feels really hardcore um now i've never played escape from tarkov but i think that's the most popular and i've been like reading online like you know some people are like okay escape for tarkov is more like pub g is marathon going to be like fortnite you know for extraction and the thing is i think with battle royales like you don't have to be that invested like honestly you can kind of just hide on a map and do decent right but for extraction shooters like i

01:05:36

Shameer Mehdikhan

you've got to be good at what you do.

Bungie's Strategy and Challenges

01:05:38

Shameer Mehdikhan

You know, I mean, you could hide, you know, but I, especially, I think if you permanently lose loot, if you die, then really, I feel like it's going to be more hardcore audience. Yeah. You have to, you're not going you're gonna be camping more. going to be strategizing more. You're not going just go out the open and die. then be like, Oh great. I lost everything. I'm not playing this again.

01:05:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

So, Similarly, you know, I guess maybe this is what I'm saying for everything, but mixed feelings when I saw the announcement. I think one of my first thoughts when I was seeing the trailer was why is there no texture for anything? And I was telling you about that, like everything is a flat, shiny surface and it almost makes it feel like it's an indie double a game and you look at destiny and even when they first showed off destiny gameplay like the robots everything and texture to it and i get the fact that this is the art style is trying to be like flashy colorful you know cyberpunk in a way and i get that but to me that doesn't mean you just like don't have textures because you can have like

01:06:35

Shameer Mehdikhan

you know very like flat lines and you know smooth surfaces but still have textured details to things you know like why are they with gun models just look like a bunch of blocks that yeah blocks you know um and this needs to be a big hit for for bungee i mean for people that don't know they lost quite a few people the last year sony laid off a lot after acquiring them And they acquired him for a lot of money, I think $3.5 billion or $3 billion. dollars And a lot of that money was used as a retention bonus to keep a lot of the talent.

01:07:03

Shameer Mehdikhan

But Bungie basically needs to step up now in this aspect. ah Destiny obviously slowly has been having a declining user base or player base. And they just announced actually today Destiny's new expansion. I forgot what it's called. but it Yeah, I didn't realize that Destiny was going to keep going. I thought Destiny was going to die. No, they basically said now every year going two expansions. They're going be smaller in scope.

01:07:24

Shameer Mehdikhan

but it's still going to continue on i don't know how many people are truly are playing the game um i feel like as long as you have a couple of cool exotics and a raid every once in a while like you can the bell yeah you know like if you now have like a nice raid every two years or 18 months and you have like three nice exotics like you know you might lose like you know one of your 30 of your people but like the people who are into destiny like you're invested you know like think about the people who are still playing runescape you know like you know people who are invested in a game like If you you're going to leave Destiny behind, then what about all those hours you grinded, all those exotics you had, you know?

01:07:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. I mean, what else is this? Like, Destiny, of what captured, I think, a lot of people's attention, because it was popular at the time when it was released years ago, is that it did enough that said, hey, you need to play this game at the very beginning of its release.

01:08:12

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then slowly, you lost all of its player count, right? But it la they were able to have very long lives. Like, it lasted for so many years. yeah i doubted I doubted Destiny. And, man, it lasted. It spawned a sequel. and multiple expansions.

01:08:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

And it was popular enough that people were like, wow, like this was like, we all played it oh you know, with a lot of friends. And even though I've been kind of hard on Destiny at times, I think for me, I'm like the biggest Halo fan. And for me, those are big shoes to fill because I really wanted more like story-based content and Destiny didn't deliver for me in that way.

01:08:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

um But Destiny is my second most played online game right after Halo 3 and Halo Infinite. So, well, I guess 3 then, but played the crap out of Destiny.

01:08:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, which is funny because you can see, like, watching these trailers for Marathon, the DNA of Halo and destiny in the gameplay loop right the guns look very similar the sniping the shooting i mean in a way it's kind of ironic because like couldn't you kind of make the argument that it's just halo and different like art styles that's basically what it looks like like it's almost like hey someone took forge again and said let's make another mode i'm sure you could just make a forge extraction mode yeah yeah it's not gonna be the same obviously because they have like a whole inventory system and stuff but i think what we're trying to say is like that core dna of like

01:09:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

how the guns feel, how they shoot, how the movement feels, like how, like you have like some sort of triangle of, you know, melee and shooting and powers or grenades. Like that's always been like, you know, where Bungie has excelled.

01:09:41

Shameer Mehdikhan

And from all the coverage we're seeing, it looks like, again, hit it out of part with the gameplay. could see the melee in their game looked like the Titan Punch, and then the jumping looked the same as when you activated a special in Destiny.

01:09:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

So if anything captures anyone for this game, it's going to be because the game plays similar now well actual core loop be good enough to retain people? I don't know. Hard to say.

01:10:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

You know, what i I'm not really into extraction shooters. I'm going to give this game a try. Especially going to try the alpha and I'm to see if I can get into it. um To me, it still seems a little too grindy for me. you know because Especially now, like if I lose my gear, then I have to get some like you know pity packages to do decent. like you know I feel like this would be a game that it would be hard to leave and come back.

01:10:27

Shameer Mehdikhan

you know Because if you lose your skill and then you come and now how are you going to warm up? You know, like, yeah you can't just jump in. You're to come in with worse gear to warm up for a few rounds, you know, and then they're going be throwaway gear because you'll probably lose. So, you know, to me, it feels like this is a game you got to be dialed in and you have to be invested. And, you know, Tarkov, like the people who love Tarkov, they're invested. Yeah.

01:10:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

But you're asking me to pay a premium price. And if I, like I said, if I lose everything, you want me to come back? Like, to me, this makes more sense to be a free to play model. Like, I just don't, I don't understand why charge for Well, I think, I think a lot of,

01:11:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

businesses are realizing that it's really hard to sustain a free-to-play model because you need to have such massive you know scope and you just need to have so many players. It's just really hard. So i honestly, I feel like most shooters that are going to come out now, they're going to adopt the Helldiverse 2 format. like Instead of 60 to 70, because we would expect like a full campaign and a full multiplayer, like you know pay $30 to $40, you you know get ah good mode, and then if you want battle passes later, you get them.

01:11:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I feel like that way you get like money up front and then money later with battle passes. I really think this is what most studios do. Yeah, I think every game series will do this. Now, there's going to be a lot of eyes on this because the game just prior to this that might have been somewhat similar in nature it was Concord, released by Sony.

01:11:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

And that failed tremendously to the point where they shut the game down a week or two after launch and they closed the studio. so Yeah. I mean, i I know a lot of people are like, oh, it's Concord 2, you know,

01:12:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think Bungie knows the basic fundamentals of they're doing what they're doing so well that it's not going to be a Concord. That's how I feel. I think the gameplay is going to be really good. And so that's going to be, and it's to have a certain amount of polish. So they'll deliver on that.

01:12:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

And honestly, you know, how could Concord compete with Overwatch and Marvel rivals? You know, like there's no way, but in the space of extraction, like, Bungie is kind of the first one there, right? Because there's Tarkov, but then that's it.

01:12:32

Shameer Mehdikhan

And Tarkov is just, I mean, it's mostly like hardcore gamers who know about that. I think if I got a couple of casual gamers who play mostly free-to-play games, like they probably have not heard of Tarkov. And they probably don't really know what it is.

01:12:46

Shameer Mehdikhan

So for that, I think for this game to be successful, I really think they're going to have to find a way to retain players well. you know, yeah and they're going to have to have a really nice roadmap, you know, and it's going to have to be like ah good balance of challenging enough, but not too challenging.

01:13:05

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. And so we'll see, you know, I, I, this is my opinion. I could totally be wrong. Maybe I'm too much of a Bungie fan boy. i don't think this game will be as successful as destiny or halo, yeah but I don't think it's going to flop.

01:13:19

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think it will be very successful, but it will not hit the heights of destiny. Because, man, Destiny really was successful. Yeah, I just... I'll say this. Like, I'm not selling or buying on this game. So, like, to me, if this game fails, I don't really care.

01:13:32

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like... I mean, Sony made their decision to buy them up and gobble them up at a time where everyone was buying every studio or not every studio, but a lot of studios are being acquired. they thought this was going to give them a competitive advantage. And we can see that because they initially wanted to release 12 live service games and that's no longer the case, but now it is what it is. And they just have to stick with it. They want to take a loss on this. It was a lot of money.

01:13:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

And so they want to get the most out. And you know the thing is like, you know especially with sony i feel like they're a lot more on making the money work you know i think microsoft they're like oh we lost the know how many billion dollars on zune it's okay we got deep pockets but for sony like they gonna they're way more calculated they don't like to lose more they're very yeah business oriented they're going to streamline and make that studio very lean and they're going to say we're going to pump out something out of you and we're going to try to get as much as we can And again, I don't really give shit. Again, I'm not buying or selling. it The real question for Sonya was the juice were at thequeeze was it really worth releasing something like marathon And if it flops, we will do brand reputation and like damage to that. I don't know.

01:14:36

Shameer Mehdikhan

Well, I think for Sony, you know, their valuation on how important Bungie would be to their brand was predicated on the fact that not only would Bungie make them money, but Bungie would help their studios diversify into live service and multiplayer.

01:14:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

And then they would make money from there. So I think that initial calculation ended up failing for them. And I think that's going to really bottom the butt, right? I think Marathon will be successful.

01:15:02

Shameer Mehdikhan

um There's going to be, obviously, that like backlash we see anytime anything gets released, and people will find reasons to hate it. And then compare to Concord and talk about how it's not Destiny. But I think, overall, it's going to be a successful game.

01:15:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

Maybe it'll be as big as Helldivers 2. Maybe. but And I don't know the numbers offhand, but to me, Destiny 2 is a much bigger game than Helldivers. Yeah. And I think like you can get like Helldiver's success, maybe a little bigger than that, but I don't know if you're going get Destiny's success again.

01:15:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

Because with Destiny, you know, you still had a story mode. You still had Crucible, you still had PvE, which came later, but still you had like a lot more variety, you know, as opposed to this is just one mode.

01:15:45

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, you know exactly. That's what I'm saying. like i don't I just don't know and I'm not even going to try to guess. you know because Different games hit differently. We've got to do one guess. One guess.

01:15:56

Shameer Mehdikhan

What do you think is going to be the peak Steam concurrent count? Within what? comes amazon but First week? First When it maxes out. Whether that's the first day or within the first week. I guess the question is do we know if it's releasing Steam day one?

01:16:08

Shameer Mehdikhan

I assume so. Why would they not release on Steam? Why else are they going to release on PC? Because they don't have like a battle map. No, was saying would they delay the... Was it going to be PlayStation 1? Oh, yeah.

01:16:19

Shameer Mehdikhan

No, I think it's day same day. Okay. So i I'll say concurrent Macs. i see I don't want to say ever, i I'll just say for the first year, I'm gonna go max concurrent... I'm gonna say a... 125,000.

01:16:35

Shameer Mehdikhan

Oh my god, bro, I'm going 850. What the fuck? I'm going 850, bro. No way. Yeah, dude, I think so. Pull up the most concurrent for Tarkov. The fuck? What are you? Alright, highest concurrent for Tarkov.

01:16:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

200,000. 200,000. pretty good. And you think it's going to get 800,000? I think so. you Are you? What are you smoking? ah Let's see. Highest concurrent for Destiny. Okay, alright, maybe a little too high. Highest cooker. You think that's $306,000? And you think it's going to be $800,000, but less content.

01:17:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

A battle pass. I'll revise the estimate. No, you can't revise. We already bet on it. i never said the word bet. You said let's make a bet. I said prediction. Okay, you made your prediction. That's recordable. Maybe $450,000. No, we're not. $850,000 is $400,000.

01:17:18

Shameer Mehdikhan

How about How about this, though? eight hundred and fifty i how this how about this film I think the concurrent on marathon will be higher than the concurrent. The highest concurrent on marathon will be higher more than the highest concurrent on destiny.

01:17:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

That's such a cop-out. So it's definitely going to be over 300. Okay, definitely going to be over 300. But I don't think it's going to have the same retention. But I think there's going to be enough attention on it when it first comes out.

01:17:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

that the numbers will be crazy. I don't think i don't think it will. and This isn't Halo, a pre-established IP where when they first went free to play for Halo Infinite, we had couple million people try it out.

01:17:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's not free. But the Steam Concur was still only 200. Look, agree, but again... i agree but again Overall with both platforms like to me just ah because that game was synonymous with Xbox this game specifically is not free to play Less content upfront and people were excited that when Halo Infinite released with free-to-play that they the story to them buy them over This has none of that shit going for them. You are arguing with large logic and I cannot Prove you wrong because logically your argument makes sense But all I can say to that is

01:18:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

And not hating on the game. Because I think it was a huge success and it deserved it. Pal World. Just kidding. How many people played Pal World? Because that literally was a Pokemon rip-off. That was a Pokemon rip-off. Because are in an era where things go viral.

01:18:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I'm telling you, I think Marathon's going to go viral, and I think it's going to get over $300. I don't think so. Look, I'm not saying it's going to bad, but $125K, let's say if that's like their peak concurrent, that's great. Okay, maybe $850K was too much, but give me $400K.

01:18:54

Shameer Mehdikhan

Give me $400K. It's going to be destiny. I'm sticking $850K. don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I'll remember this. um But what happens it ends being a million? I'll say I'm wrong because like i said, I'm not buying or selling. I'm just saying i don't believe going to get that high.

01:19:08

Shameer Mehdikhan

But ah I guess those are my thoughts on Marathon. um I'm definitely going to check it out when the alpha or the beta comes out. cause I'll try to do it as well. And I guess, you know, maybe I am gassing up the game too much because don't actually know if I'm to buy it.

01:19:21

Shameer Mehdikhan

And if I'm a massive Halo fan and I'm a massive Destiny fan... And I don't know if I'm going buy Marathon. I guess a lot of people must be feeling the way I'm feeling. and Let's say it is competitive, right? It's not as fun as Destiny's multiplayer is.

01:19:34

Shameer Mehdikhan

And by fun, I mean it's not as casual. If that's the case and you play by yourself with other random people, you're going have to really communicate with those people. And if those people don't communicate with you online, that game's not going to fun. It's going suck.

01:19:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. Yeah. And especially when you're older, like, it's hard to find, like, three two other people who are going to consistently play with you and be dedicated to the game. And I just don't want this to be a game where I spend 40 bucks and then a week, a few weeks later, I never play. And that happened to Helldivers. If this was a Game Pass game, oh yeah, yeah, exactly.

01:20:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

You know, that's what happened with me to Helldivers. I had great a lot of fun for two weeks and afterwards I ever touched it again and I felt stupid for buying it. yeah So I guess, good point there. So I guess we'll see. I just, I think the part of me that thinks this is going go viral outweighs the logical part of me that thinks if I'm not going to pump, I might not buy it. You know, maybe a lot of other people are feeling that way.

01:20:24

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. So that's Marathon. I guess other big news to talk about.

Minecraft Movie Success

01:20:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

um We haven't seen it yet, but man, what do you think about how much money the Minecraft movies have made?

01:20:36

Shameer Mehdikhan

Oh, yeah. That is honestly shocking. Because I think it's already at over half a million dollars. It's already beat $500 million, which is crazy to think because that means in the first weekend to hit like $314 million global.

01:20:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

And the second weekend it must have made at least close to $200 million. Yeah. Which is not a huge drop-off. Yeah, it's not. It has some pretty good legs and it's only been in like a week or two. Like, they did it smart by casting both Jason Momoa and...

01:21:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

as well as Jack Black, two really well-liked actors. And then on top of that, it seems like the target audience is very young, surprisingly. like Well, not young, young, but like between 18 and 25, which is shocking. I think it's so funny because it has like bad reviews, right? People feel like it failed.

01:21:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

But, and apparently I was like reading up on this, like Jack Black has been playing a ton of Minecraft. Like that's like his thing now. He just really understands Jack Black, Minecraft. maybe actually this is a scenario where like the develop, like the people who made the movie actually understand their audience.

01:21:32

Shameer Mehdikhan

Maybe we don't understand the audience. yeah That's why like a lot of people in our generation are like, why in the world are people going crazy over chicken jockey? Yeah. Like the game is very meme-ish, right? So people do all sorts of funny things. I've seen people do the most wonkiest things that,

01:21:47

Shameer Mehdikhan

it just in the game so the way i see this too is like again with the different young audience showing up and i've seen a bunch of tiktok videos now people just going ape shit while watching the movie right they're making a mass they're like oh my god chicken jockey and this is crazy and then again it spreads right so if they know that a bunch of high school students are watching the movies like oh i gotta watch it's like an event it's an event so i guess like i have a couple things that like I think are like fascinating about the story. and that's why i want to talk about it.

01:22:17

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think a lot of analysts have been talking about, um okay, like Gen C and Gen X. It's, no, what's it? Gen alpha. That's the next one. Like, you know, they're not going to, they're really group on my, yeah, they're, they're not the ones, you know, they're not going to go to movies. They're the streaming generation. They have depression, anxiety. They're not that social, this and that.

01:22:36

Shameer Mehdikhan

But you know, if you speak to them, they show up, you know, like you can still have massive movie success, video game success, you know, all of those things with that generation. It's not like they hate movies, you know?

01:22:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

Um, So I think that's a big point. And I think Hollywood is really going learn from mine Minecraft because I think Hollywood is really afraid that like, man, we're going to milk millennials. We're going to really maybe even milk like older Gen Z because we're not going to be able to milk Gen X, sorry, Gen Alpha the same way.

01:23:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

And hey, I think Minecraft proves them wrong, right? And then I think there's a part of me, you know, we're in our 30s, right? So there's a part of me that kind of looks down and it's like, okay, this is stupid. Like, why are you, oh,

01:23:19

Shameer Mehdikhan

Sorry about that. We got interrupted for a bit, but we're back on. So, you know, finishing up, you know, what I was trying to get to and build towards talking to my Minecraft. I think the the thing that really, you know, gets me the most and, you know, really makes me think about it.

01:23:34

Shameer Mehdikhan

I feel like I'm finally that older guy, you know, who, you know, feels kind of, you know, in a different generation. and when I look at the Minecraft movie, like a lot of it seems kind of silly, like not my thing, you know, I'm, I think it's too casual.

01:23:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's really not like me my cup of tea at all. um So part of me wants to be kind of like critical and be like, oh no, like we had great movies. Like we had Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon Dynamite was so much funnier, right? And this is the same director.

01:24:01

Shameer Mehdikhan

But at the same time, like I can only hate so much because if I was young and they made a Halo game, which had a bunch of references, or they made a Call of Duty game that had a bunch of references, or they had like any...

01:24:14

Shameer Mehdikhan

any movie, you know, that came out with the games that we loved and had all those references, I would probably be acting a fool too. Like, can you imagine if they had like, grand theft auto 4 the movie and they had a bunch of references to the game you know we would probably do some dumb shit yeah you know and so yeah i might look at like okay it's a chicken jockey like why you're freaking out you know but for me like you know if all of a sudden you know it was someone pulling out an and energy sword right in the movie right or like remember the grand theft auto san andreas like that coffee you know meme or whatever you know ah let's have coffee and then it was like the

01:24:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

first sex scene or whatever in a video game like if there was a reference like that that came out a movie when we were younger like yeah probably act a fool you know it's funny because I saw a TikTok video where someone actually brought a chicken oh yeah I was like okay this is getting out it's like a huge problem you know because it's actually getting like kind of crazy and violent and they're really crashing stuff so I think that's kind of a shame you know because I hope now people don't just expect that out of gamers you know and like oh all gamers are going to act a fool if you make any sort of game movie so like This is what you have to watch out for with Zelda. This is what you have to watch out for with Zelda.

01:25:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

We're not trying to generalize. It's just this specific game, when it came out, resonated with an audience of kids that now that they're grown up and more older are acting in a way that maybe we as millennials would not have acted had we seen the movie that just all it does. I don't know, do you think if we were in high school and like you know Halo the movie came out...

01:25:43

Shameer Mehdikhan

I'm trying to think of a movie that came out. I feel like maybe the one what movie I can think of, and it's not like, it doesn't, it's not the same genre, but it was like episode three of Star Wars. And I feel like everyone, I was in sixth or seventh grade and I feel like everyone's like, wow, this amazing. But the thing is like, i can't think of an equivalent thing, you know, for our generation, because there were still people older than us who watched Star Wars and enjoyed it. Like they would shit on it and be like four or five and six or better.

01:26:10

Shameer Mehdikhan

Right. But still, they would like appreciate it, and they could you know experience the in-jokes and all that stuff. But like minecraft the Minecraft movie just feels like a very unique thing. you know like like That's not for us.

01:26:22

Shameer Mehdikhan

It's specifically for them. you know So, I don't know. Are you going to watch it? Probably not. Depends. Maybe I might end up taking my niece and outfit to it. So it depends. If I don't i watch it, it wouldn't because I want to it because I want them to see it.

01:26:37

Shameer Mehdikhan

I mean, I do actually want to watch it. i just don't think going to watch yeah and i definitely don't i don't care I think if it comes out like on streaming, I'll check it out because I kind of do want to get into Minecraft. like I played Legends, I played Dungeons, I just couldn't get into it. I think out of the three, like I never played base Minecraft, but that just never interested me. on I think Dungeons was kind of interesting yeah because it felt like Diablo, but I just you know i couldn't get that into it but I feel like Minecraft is such a huge pillar of gaming. I mean, it's like the second best selling game ever after Tetris.

01:27:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. It's just huge. Right. So I, I want to like understand that more. Right. Um, but I just don't really like games where you have to put in the work to build.

01:27:26

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. i don't know the world Like I don't like building games. It's just not me. also like games where I can complete and there's no complete. There's no end. Yeah. It's just like, it's just imagination. Right. So, um,

01:27:38

Shameer Mehdikhan

Do you think this is going to be the most successful video game movie of all time? Do you think it's going to be what Mario's 1.4 and 1.3? yeah um I don't think this is going to surpass Mario.

01:27:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think it'll get close. I think it'll be above a a billion. But I just don't think it's going to surpass. Maybe I'm just having two big predictions. but I think it's going to be Mario. I think it's going to hit over 1.5. I think so. You thought there was going to be 850k concurrent. Hey, I haven't been proved wrong yet. I haven't been proved wrong yet. You're fucking wild. Powered we got 2 million, bro. Give me 850.

01:28:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

But ah no, I mean, it already has 500 million. I think it's already selling better than Mario in its second week out. I think i think this is going to have long legs. I think it's really going to sell like crazy. And people are just going to be like, what the hell? They're not going understand.

01:28:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, that's possible. And Microsoft must be very happy right now because they got so much crap for their Halo TV show and then Fallout, huge hit for them, right? Now, Minecraft, you know, bad reviews. So what? They're making the money, you know?

01:28:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I think they're they're definitely very happy. So kudos, you know, for all of them. You know, i guess they found a niche, Yeah. That other people don't understand, but it's making them a little ton of money. Yeah.

01:28:55

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. Good for them. I mean, again, it's good to see these types of movies out there speaking to an audience and it's good that we're getting some variety. Again, them casting well-known actors. Oh, I think.

01:29:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think ah getting those actors really helped. Yeah. Especially seeing Jason Momoa in a pink jacket with long hair. He's been doing a lot more comedy roles. was like, you know, talking to the wife about it. was like, you know, I really liked that about Jason Momoa. Like he can be like a badass, you know, and he can be like really scary. can be really sexy. He be really funny.

01:29:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

You know, he has that range. And I think it kind of goes into like a broader topic. Like, you know, you know, how do we define manliness? And that like, how how is manliness portrayed in like American cinema? And I remember when me and you were watching Bloodhounds, remember that ah Korean TV show? And I was like, man, I love this. Like, these guys are badass. They're so tough, right?

01:29:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

But at the same time, they really respect their family. You can see them cry. You can see them feel broken up when they actually fail. Like, you never see that on American movies. Like, you always see the guy who never feels pain, never feels fear, never feels tears. Like,

01:29:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

nothing can faze him and he just is like almost a robot you know and like that's a man you know and so like i like the fact that like now some of that's changing where you can have more range like jason momoa can be like bro like i can be that fucking sexy aquaman and everyone wants to bang me that's i can also be an action hero i can be a goofball too that's so weird because that's what my wife's boyfriend said too yeah

01:30:28

Shameer Mehdikhan

But ah anyways, um anything else about Minecraft? No. All right, we'll see. Yeah. After it hits 1.5, you'll see. i say We'll see.

01:30:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

yeah, I guess there's one other topic that I wanted to talk about, just some more Switch to news because there's been lot going on since announcement so quickly.

Gaming Industry Pricing Strategies

01:30:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

So for those that don't know, in the US at least, and now this includes Canada too, but pre-orders have been delayed. So initially they were set to open up pre-orders at all retail stores that were going to get shipments on April 9th.

01:30:59

Shameer Mehdikhan

But due to the whole tariff situation and um tariffs being levied on a bunch of different countries, especially Vietnam and China, those that Nintendo's manufacturing the actual consoles in, which was like a, think Vietnam was levied with a 46%.

01:31:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, that's something crazy. I'm crazy. They're like, we have to reevaluate our situation. So we don't know if there's going to be a price increase or not. And then all of a sudden last week, so on top of delaying the pre-orders and saying, hey, we're we're just pre-ordering, delaying pre-orders, but we're not changing the release date.

01:31:31

Shameer Mehdikhan

Then, all of a sudden, there's trump's Trump came out, or either the White House came out saying, we're giving exceptions to certain electronics. But not video games systems. But not video games. And then, over the just over the weekend, they said, we never said that. We're just putting it in a different classification, but there'll still be a minimum at 20% tariff at a minimum.

01:31:48

Shameer Mehdikhan

So, right now, it's so confusing. So, I think Nintendo is like... Nintendo must be very frustrated right now. Yeah, I bet you in the war room, they're just going apeshit because... It's not like it's going to cause this to be a flop, but people are going to be pissed regardless. I mean, people are still going to buy Switch 2 like crazy. You know, I don't think to be a Wii U. Like, I think a lot of people are like, well, if you look at the boom and bust cycle of Nintendo, we're bound for a fail. But no i think no, I think there's enough strong games that are coming out. You know, there's been a lot of, like,

01:32:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

build up fervor around the switch to and the switch one is just not going to get the job done anymore because the graphics is too outdated. So switch two is going to sell well, but absolutely, you know, the price can impact the ceiling of how high it's going to go. Instead of like selling one 40, it can set a hundred. hundred Yeah, exactly. And then I think Nintendo is looking at the numbers. They're like, well, would we rather take a hundred million units sold after,

01:32:42

Shameer Mehdikhan

500 apiece for 120 million yen sold you know and so they're looking into those calculations price proposition of what they originally are announced at 450 i actually thought that wasn't bad like i was hoping for 400 but and they said that they didn't bake in tariffs for the initial price point and i wouldn't say a lot of people but there are people upset that it was announced for 450 and that mario kart is an 80 game yeah and what nintendo said is we're going with a variable pricing approach going forward which i think is good i'm happy that not every game is gonna be eighty but

01:33:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

Some games might be 70, some games might be cheaper. And we don't know what the ceiling is. Maybe some games could be more than 80. We don't know. ah But I would have to assume know the ceiling is 80 because if Mario Kart is 80, that's the most popular title.

01:33:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

and and mean, I think it's unfortunate and I don't like it, but it's kind of the reality of what we live in. like Inflation has been just, it's been crazy, you know? and if And I hate to be that guy, but when you adjust things for inflation, the consoles aren't that bad. yeah They're not that expensive. And someone's already done the analysis. I've seen multiple articles on this, but most of the consoles, other Nintendo consoles adjusted for inflation now were roughly the same price, if not slightly more, slightly less. About the same thing.

01:33:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I think what really stings for people is when you think, okay, $450 for the Switch and then for the Xbox. Yeah, so when you're looking at the Xbox being 500 and you're looking at the PS5 being 500, right, then and you look at the Switch 2 being 450, then I think it stings a little bit more because I think in people's minds, they're expecting more of a separation, right?

01:34:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I think that's one thing. but How come no one is outraged in talking about how expensive the r ROG Ally X is? You know, look at these Windows handheld PCs. They're crazy expensive. And they don't even sell as well. And they don't even sell as well. And yeah, okay, like you get more performance, but how much more performance are you truly getting when you're paying like double the price? Especially when most games, when they launch, aren't even PC optimized.

01:34:41

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah. And so the thing, and I think for people who only have Nintendo consoles, right? Right. $450 seems like a lot. For people who have PS5s and Xboxes, $450 seems like a lot because they're like, oh man, that's just $50 cheaper than what I have.

01:34:57

Shameer Mehdikhan

But like, if you actually zoom out and look at the handheld space and you look at the competitors, like what is the Steam Deck offering performance and battery wise for their price? versus an Ally X. The Switch 2 of $450 is actually a pretty good deal. Yeah, I think so.

01:35:13

Shameer Mehdikhan

i'm not I'm not upset with it, but I'm also, I reside now in an audience where i make enough money that it doesn't bother me. So for for those that are truly upset, if they don't make enough to justify the cost, maybe you should be upset with your employer's potential for not paying you. Yeah, well, that's a ah whole whole different story.

01:35:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think my bigger problem with Nintendo is Okay, $450 is the starting price, right? But nothing ever goes on sale for Nintendo. That's the problem. you know like Games retain their value. If PS5 and you know Series X come out, it's $500, a little bit too much for you, okay, you can grind, you can save up.

01:35:49

Shameer Mehdikhan

Maybe when you have sales, you wait for that, you trade some stuff in, then it becomes more palatable, it becomes more affordable. But with Nintendo, it never goes on sale. So if you can't afford a $450 now,

01:36:02

Shameer Mehdikhan

$450 later and things are even more expensive. As the year goes on. Eggs are even more expensive. So that's the thing that really sucks when you're Nintendo fanboy. Yeah, that's the only thing, man. Every game retains its value.

01:36:15

Shameer Mehdikhan

The consoles never go down. They've never gotten really a price cut. The only thing that made it helpful it was when Nintendo announced the Switch Lite and then it was $100 cheaper. And your trade-in is not going to go that far with the original Switch or you know the even the Switch OLED.

01:36:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it is going to suck for those reasons. um I mean, it's funny because I've seen multiple sales and I even got a second Series X because it was so cheap, like $300. But sometimes going for $325, I've seen a PS5 go as low as $360 on random sales. And these weren't official price because there's just holiday sales and stores. I mean, honestly, now, and I don't think this is going to help Microsoft that much. i don't think they're going to sell that much more. but man, the Series X looks like the greatest value proposition. Yeah.

01:36:58

Shameer Mehdikhan

of all time especially 300 and when it goes on sale it's gone down to 200 yeah and that that will still probably outperform the switch too so in terms of like fidelity right so it's like power wise yeah the funnier thing is sony just announced this last week they're now upping the price of the playstation 5 in europe so now they said and this is what they said their logic and reasoning was due to inflation and other surrounding factors they're basically increasing the price in europe to maintain the current price in the US.

01:37:30

Shameer Mehdikhan

So they don't want to raise the price in the US because their largest audience is here. But now people in Europe are pissed because like why do we have to pay more for them to get the console at the price they're still getting it at?

01:37:40

Shameer Mehdikhan

So that's kind of crazy now. And I feel like Nintendo is looking at those numbers too, because the thing is so much of that money is going to be pouring in from America. you know they're they're probably okay with subsidizing that, you know, and losing some money out on that. But isn't this crazy? Ever since I was a kid, I've never seen any of the OEMs say, oh, three to five years later, we're upping the price console. It was always a price cut and as well as a a refactor of the the console. Here's a new addition. I'm like, dude, if I was in here, I'd be so pissed.

01:38:11

Shameer Mehdikhan

I'd be like, this is insane. mean, this is a new world we live in because, i mean, prices have just went up so much. And the thing is, Technology has advanced to such a point where even though we're like fabricating better chips right and we're getting better yields,

01:38:25

Shameer Mehdikhan

We're at like two, three, four, six nanometer, you know, like this it's already so small and efficient. Even if you get a better way of, you know, getting more yield on the chips, so you don't waste as much silicone. Like it's already insane. You know, the technology using.

01:38:40

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, i agree with that. So diminishing returns, that switch is now catching And the thing is, I feel like what OEMs used to do is, okay, if we're on a four nanometer chip, then we move to a two nanometer chip. Now we can actually, you know,

01:38:53

Shameer Mehdikhan

have better battery life and you know pass it on that's what they did with the switch oleg right and which is what i'm sure the revised version of the switch but at this point like how expensive is it to go from three nanometers to two nanometers to like 1.1 like each drum or whatever you know it's like it's getting harder and harder it is it is harder and don't know it'll be i'll be curious to know what type of iterations they have for the switch 2 now i'm going forward because

01:39:20

Shameer Mehdikhan

it before except with the switch all that but will they do that now we're at a point i totally think so i think they're going a switch all that i hope i hope but yeah the gun the question is price i we'll see um and i and i think that um nintendo unfortunately is it's like the canary in the coal mine you know that old scenario uh saying they're the ones who are going to get all the flack for what the whole industry has to do yeah because you know or else the numbers just won't work for them you know and and and i mean it sucks to say even movies have gone crazy expensive you know you go to movie theater you're spending easy 13 15 dollars it's a lot it's a lot you know that's why try to go on tuesdays at mgr for five to five dollars the other thing i want to about another thing announced was the game key cartridges so this is interesting i don't really like think it's kind of bullshit but essentially um this game the game key cartridges a way to affect

01:40:16

Shameer Mehdikhan

having digital codes in a physical box so right now what's pretty common amongst third parties on nintendo so i just sometimes you can buy a game i did this by accident didn't even know i bought mario and rabbits parts of hope or whatever is called the second the sequel to the first game And I opened it up and there was a fucking digital code in there. i thought there was going to be physical cartridge. like, what the fuck? I didn't realize this.

Digital vs. Physical Media Debate

01:40:38

Shameer Mehdikhan

And I was so pissed because I like to collect physical cartridges. This replaces that where the physical cartridge will now exist if someone wants a digital code, but it's just a license on the cartridge and you still have download the game via the internet.

01:40:51

Shameer Mehdikhan

And why think this is bullshit is because for this generation now, Nintendo is saying we're still retaining the same size cartridges, 32 gig and only the 64 gig. six four gig cartridge is not even common so if you use it you have to spend a lot of money as the developer to say like we want to put our game on it because it's more expensive to put games on a cartridge than it is on disc okay so it's it's annoying that they couldn't find a way to get 128 cartridges two cartridges or two cartridges. Like we get sometimes at two discs or three discs, like a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth or a Horizon Forbidden West.

01:41:27

Shameer Mehdikhan

So it's just pissing me off that they couldn't find a solution that. They're like oh yeah, now let's let third-party developers say they don't have a physical cartridge, but it's actually just a license. Now granted, you can still sell this shit, but I'd rather have the game be played off the cartridge. The whole point was like, the one thing I like about Nintendo is you put a cartridge in, you don't need kind of in it, you can just play it.

01:41:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

Yeah, I think so. That's one thing that annoys me. Like if now I have to be connected the internet, that's going to annoy me. But I actually think the cartridges are a good idea because to me it's inevitable. You know, like I can be unhappy about the fact that, um oh, the way things used to be for us is gone. But the thing is physical media is dying, you know, and it's only a matter of time until all physical media dies.

01:42:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

And the only people who have anything physical are people who are willing to pay a big premium to make it a collector. Yeah. And I think eventually we're going to get to the point where it's always just going to be digital and then collectors. Yeah. And they're going to have some extra things in there.

01:42:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

um And I think, again, if anyone was going to do this, it was going to be Nintendo. Think about how much Nintendo hates people. having ROMs, and, you know, having things like that. It was the pirate. Nintendo is, softirt even more so than Sony, they are the wild garden.

01:42:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

Like, they are Apple, you know? And so, they were going do it, and I will say, like, I think, the the way the game cartridges work especially if i'm remembering like for like but like sending games to friends like the borrowing and the loaning and stuff like that that is an advancement so at least we're getting something that's better but i mean yeah it's it's still like i said it's still annoying because you should be forcing your i i feel like to preserve games you should be forcing your developers third-party developers to say you're going to put on a cartridge we'll give give you bigger sized options we're going to invest in the ecosystem and now you can get it out there but that's just me because i like to collect physical games and now going forward any games that i like like for example one that just ah that was just announced was cyberpunk it will be fully playable on the cartridge but they announced they're going to use the 64 gig cartridge which again barely used so they're going to eat the cost on the cartridge but you know what

01:43:33

Shameer Mehdikhan

i'm gonna buy it i'm not gonna play it on the switch too because it's gonna play garbage but the fact that i know i have it on a physical cartridge entices me to buy and hold on to as a collector no i feel you it's just i think like microsoft got a lot of crap for this with xbox one and then you know but as time has gone on i think the numbers kind of speak for themselves like even though everyone i think everyone will objectively say that we want to have the option yeah and physical is better the number the numbers are saying man people are really getting digital yeah you know and

01:44:06

Shameer Mehdikhan

ah some of the games that i bought i actually regret buying them digitally like uh horizon uh forbidden west i wish i'd actually got a physical copy but the convenience was so nice yeah you just where i was like i don't want to get out my house i don't want to like you know drive and buy the game i don't want to order it and wait for it to come here you know preload it before game is out i want to play you know and and I'm sick and tired of watching all these YouTube videos and reviews, let's go. And and the thought of saying 20 years from now, oh, what if I wanted to replay that game and now I can't because don't have internet access or the back office is shut down.

01:44:39

Shameer Mehdikhan

how often how likely is that to happen? 20 years from now, are you really going to be like, oh, that one game, Last of Us Part 2, I really? Like, no. You beat it, you played it, you're going to watch some clips on YouTube. So I get that. It's just like, we're used to know something different, you know? And, I mean, you've seen my anime collection. I have so many. So I get that, you know? And again, I understand game preservationism but i don't look at it from perspective i just like that that you can play off a card just the convenience of Yes, I do have to swap in a cartridge, but I don't have to connect to the internet and I don't have to download a patch.

01:45:11

Shameer Mehdikhan

Most of it's there. i I hope that this has become a thing for all of the Nintendo games because that's one of the most annoying things about the Xbox and the b PlayStation. Yeah, it is. all right. So I guess we can finish up the show just talking about what we're looking forward to the

Upcoming Game Releases and Expectations

01:45:23

Shameer Mehdikhan

most. So Arjun, in the next month or even let's say two weeks, what are you looking forward to the most?

01:45:29

Shameer Mehdikhan

Towerborn. I know that's kind of been in a a early preview state and it's finally coming to Xbox Game Pass on the 29th of April. looks fun kind of like up my alley so i'm goingnna try it for sure I don't know if it's the full release or if it's still like a early access. I think it's early access.

01:45:44

Shameer Mehdikhan

um Oh, it's it's early because it's only on PC. Yeah, but I think people have said really good things about it. um I know I was kind hyped for it initially and then that kind of died down because no one was really talking about it for a while. There was no coverage.

01:45:56

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think that would be a fun game we were together. Yeah, I'm down play that game. That's about it. That's all I'm looking forward to until Doom comes in. Yeah. So I cannot wait for Claire Obscure. I think that i think that might be a game of the year contender.

01:46:10

Shameer Mehdikhan

I think it's going to be massive. um I mean, you never know until it's actually there, but I think this has you know all of the pieces needed to be like a solid 9 out of 10 or more.

01:46:22

Shameer Mehdikhan

Because I think people did not realize that JRPGs you know that are turn-based could use a revolution, right And they found a way to do it. And it's actually not just a JRPG. It's a French Revolution, French RPG, right?

01:46:34

Shameer Mehdikhan

So I think, I really think that's going to be a huge success. I think I'm going enjoy the hell out of the game. I think that's going to eat up so much of my time. So I'm trying to clean up things right now. I'm trying to like really finish off of midnight. Maybe we'll get the finished split fiction so that I can really just, you know, devote my time to clear up Skir and then Doom.

01:46:52

Shameer Mehdikhan

And if Oblivion comes out as well, then, well, my wife's not going to see me for a while. So, all right. Well, I think that pretty much wraps up this show. So we'll catch you guys around. Yes.

01:47:04

Shameer Mehdikhan

yeah