Episode #104: From the NCAA to the UN

AVoCADo GamesCast

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
1:45 – Cycling Adventures
3:45 – The Borderlands Movie
19:15 – Diablo IV
33:20 – Clickolding
39:55 – Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
44:10 – RollerCoaster Tycoon
51:25 – Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
1:01:30 – Dragon Age Worries and Hopes
1:08:50 – Krafton Acquires Tango Gameworks
1:20:25 – Bungie Layoffs
1:57:55 – “Weird”
2:01:30 – Gamestop and the Shutdown of Game Informer, Part 1
2:13:20 – Football Video Games
2:20:00 – Gamestop and the Shutdown of Game Informer, Part 2
2:31:50 – Spending Time Outside
2:36:50 – Conclusion and VR Complaints

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep104

Podcast header image from Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Linkdump after the jump.

Introduction (0:15)

• Correction: 500 total hours of podcasting over 104 episodes would imply an average episode length of just over 4.8 hours, and as long as our episodes are, they’re not that long. (Source: a calculator)
• Wikipedia article section on the health hazards associated with bleach. In particular, chloramine gas can burn the lungs.

Cycling Adventures (1:45)

No links here.

The Borderlands Movie (3:45)

• Wikipedia article on the Borderlands film.
• A report on Randy Pitchford’s comments on the film. (Source: PC Gamer)
• Trailer for Borderlands. (Source: Lionsgate Movies on YouTube)
• Clarification: The Kappa was talking about domestic gross, not global gross, for the Borderlands film. At the time of recording, the film had grossed an estimated $8.8 million USD at the US box office. The film also did indeed earn a D+ CinemaScore. (Source: Deadline)
• The Rotten Tomatoes page for Borderlands. The Tomatometer score is now up to 10% from 9% at the time of recording.
• Wikipedia article on Madame Web.
• Wikipedia article on the Assassin’s Creed film, directed by Justin Kurzel.
• Report on the partial leak of Season 2 of Arcane. (Source: IGN)
• Wikipedia article on the Halo TV series.

Diablo IV (19:15)

• Wikipedia article on Diablo IV.
• Wikipedia article on Overwatch 2.
• Correction: The cancelled story missions for Overwatch 2 were intended to be co-op, not single-player. (Source: IGN)

Clickolding (33:20)

• Steam store page for Dungeons of Hinterberg.
• Steam store page for Clickolding.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (39:55)

• Steam store page for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI.
• Official reveal trailer for Civilization 7. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on the Knights of Malta.

RollerCoaster Tycoon (44:10)

• Steam store page for RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic.
• Official website for OpenRCT2.
• Correction: RollerCoaster Tycoon came out in 1999, not 1995. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Announcement trailer for Planet Coaster 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.
• Wikipedia article on Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (51:25)

• Steam store page for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
• Wikipedia article on the Xenoblade Chronicles series.

Dragon Age Worries and Hopes (1:01:30)

• Wikipedia article on Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
• Clarification: Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s release date was announced as October 31^st, 2024 a few days after we recorded the episode. (Source: Dragon Age on YouTube)

Krafton Acquires Tango Gameworks (1:08:50)

• Report on Krafton’s acquisition of Tango Gameworks. (Source: Windows Central)
• Kenji Kimura was the director of Ghostwire: Tokyo. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Immortals of Aveum.
• Fanatical’s online store.

Bungie Layoffs (1:20:25)

• The official announcement of the layoffs. (Source: Bungie)
• Additional reporting on the layoffs. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Correction: Around 40 employees will be joining the new spin-off studio under Sony Interactive Entertainment. (Source: The Friends Per Second podcast, hosted on Skill Up’s YouTube channel)
• Wikipedia article on Destiny 2.
• Official website for Foamstars. The game does not have its own Wikipedia entry. (Source: Square Enix)
• Steam store page for Concord.
• Rebekah Valentine’s December 2023 report on layoffs at Bungie and the clause in their deal with Sony that allows Sony to dissolve Bungie’s board if certain financial targets are not met. (Source: IGN)
• Official website for the upcoming Marathon reboot.
• Report on Pete Parsons’s classic car acquisitions. (Source: Kotaku)
• Some of the $1.2 billion USD spent on employee retention in the Bungie acquisition went to buying back stock from employees. (Source: Forbes)
• Wikipedia article on Michael Salvatori.
• Report on fire damage nerfs in Helldivers 2. (Source: IGN)
• At the time of preparing this linkdump, Destiny 2 was not in the top 25 most played games on Steam, but it was in the top 50. (Source: Steam Charts)
• Correction: The statement explaining the reason for the cancellation of the Last of Us multiplayer game was an official statement from Naughty Dog, not a direct statement from Neil Druckmann. (Source: Naughty Dog)

“Weird” (1:57:55)

• An explanation of the JD Vance couch joke. (Source: Cincinnati Enquirer)

Gamestop and the Shutdown of Game Informer, Part 1 (2:01:30)

• Report on the shutdown of Game Informer. (Source: The Verge)
• Game Informer’s website is now just a farewell page. (Source: Game Informer)
• The Jimquisition’s “Game Journalism of Thrones” video essay. (Source: Jim Sterling on YouTube)
• Official websites for MinnMax, Kinda Funny, Giant Bomb, and Remap Radio.

Football Video Games (2:13:20)

• Remap Radio episodes 56 and 58, which heavily discuss football video games.
• Wikipedia article on EA Sports College Football 25.

Gamestop and the Shutdown of Game Informer, Part 2 (2:20:00)

• Gamestop’s loyalty program is called Edge. (Source: Gamestop)

Spending Time Outside (2:31:50)

• Canada geese are primarily herbivores but will occasionally eat insects and fish. (Source: Wikipedia)

Conclusion and VR Complaints (2:36:50)

• Wikipedia article on Google Glass.
• Correction: Google’s phone-based VR platforms were called Cardboard and Daydream. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Apple Vision Pro. The introductory price is $3,499 USD.
• Wikipedia article on fattoush.
• A recipe for green pea guacamole, which the AVoCADo GamesCast absolutely does not endorse. (Source: NYT Cooking)