A look at gaming in May 2005

May 2005 feels like a crossroads you can almost hear. The PS2 and original Xbox are at full stride, the Nintendo DS is quietly changing what “portable” means, and the PSP is making headlines because Sony can’t manufacture it fast enough. We dig into that month like a proper time capsule, starting with the games that would have been in your hands and ending with the news that shows the industry bracing for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 leap.

On the release side, we get into why the first Forza Motorsport hits a special balance between sim and accessible racing, and how it gave Xbox players a real alternative to Gran Turismo. We also revisit the surprisingly enjoyable era of movie tie-ins through Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, then swing into the neon-soaked car culture moment with Juiced, the Need For Speed gap-filler strategy, and why Midnight Club still deserves more respect than it got on the shelves.

The deeper cuts are where it gets fun: Cold Fear as a survival horror “hidden gem” worth hunting if you love that Resident Evil 4 style tension, Jade Empire as peak OG Xbox BioWare energy, plus quick hits on Psychonauts, Nintendogs, and even why a snooker game can absolutely be good. Then we hit the 2005 gaming news that sets the mood, including PSP production pressure, Kojima’s famously odd “dinner” analogy for the next-gen console battle, and publishers scrambling to position themselves for the Xbox 360 launch window.

If you’re into retro gaming, PS2 nostalgia, OG Xbox exclusives, PSP history, and the early PS3 and Xbox 360 hype cycle, this one’s built for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who lived through 2005, and leave a review. What game from May 2005 do you most want to replay now?

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Transcript

Welcome Back To Flashback

SPEAKER_00 0:39

It is episode 17. It's me, RGT, and I'm joined by, as always, the Portal Professor. The retro reminiscer. The podcast professional. It is UCP George. How you doing, George?

SPEAKER_06 1:02

I have arisen. Um like some sort of dead creature that you've just summoned from the ground. I don't think I exist outside of episodes of flashback. I think you just put me to rest and then you summon me with those words.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Like you're cryogenically frozen.

SPEAKER_06 1:16

I'll just think so, yeah, like the Universal Soldier.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Yeah. Of podcasts.

SPEAKER_06 1:21

Yeah. But the little version.

unknown 1:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

So everybody gets the right.

SPEAKER_06 1:27

Yeah, so everyone just gets the right sort of metrics and sort of budget that we're going for here. Let's not get carried away with ourselves here. Let's simmer down.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Well, thanks for joining us as always.

SPEAKER_06 1:38

I I'm glad to be here. Glad to be unfrozen for my one and a half hour sort of unfreezing. It's a bit weird to live your life in these little windows, but yeah, mate, it's uh picked another great uh month and year. I have to celebrate your ability to zone in on a sweet spot in gaming.

Setting The Scene For May 2005

Forza Motorsport Finds Its Identity

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Well, as George said, this uh week we're doing May 2005. Um, yeah, another one in the 2000s. Um, interesting one as well. Um some different games, some games I played, some games I haven't played, same probably with George. Um, but I think we ought to get right into it, really. Let's see uh see what we would have been playing in May 2005. Um I'll go first because I'm gonna go straight off with third of May 2005, Forza Motorsport.

SPEAKER_06 2:32

Yeah, I just saw that. I don't know why I didn't see that when the dock loaded up earlier, but um yeah, I was there day and date for that. I I was I was needing that on OG Xbox, I'll be honest with you. And um yeah, I enjoyed it. Yeah to be fair. I don't know if you've played it recently, I've not played it since the moment. Obviously, we had the we had the 360 looming at the back end of the year, so it did feel a little bit kind of uh naughty to be blowing money on these games on the lead up, it always did back in the day, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I I think I I've played it about a year ago, 18 months ago. Um and you can tell this is getting towards the end of that because it does look good for the system. You know, they'd they'd worked out what they can do do on that, and it does look good for the year.

SPEAKER_06 3:24

Um and obviously I'll be honest with you, mate. I know Forza, the other Forza has implemented more things, but there was something about the I often go on about this, I have on flashback, something that sequels capitalise on something that you maybe didn't like about the original, and they expand that out. There was something about the heart of the original Forza that kind of made it it kind of incorporated a little bit more of that sort of Sega GT vibe.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Yeah, I think you're right. I think it was it was almost wanting to be a GT, a Gran Turismo, but it wanted to be its own thing as well. So like the Sega GT, it was yes, you can do things similar to this, but this is how we would do it. Do you know what I mean? It was it was almost balancing on that uh sim stroke, uh not quite so sim if that makes sense. Whereas GT had gone a bit more all in with your different things you could do. This was a bit more balanced.

SPEAKER_06 4:27

Um I think the presentation in the menus also gave a a nice vibe to me. I can say that Sega GT, like it's okay, you're back at the clubhouse, kind of it's it's all chill here, you kind of work on your cars, and I felt Falls of Motorsport, maybe give me that the first one, give me a little bit more of that feel of ownership. I don't know, we talk about this in car racing sort of ownership games. You want to feel like they are yours and not just like that selectable stat you grab off a menu on your way into a race, like they need to have that personality and that feel. And this one it gave it to you, I feel.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, I think so. Um it was not as in-depth, but that was quite a nice thing as well. You know, you didn't feel overwhelmed in it. There was still the variety there, but it wasn't too intense, and I think that I think that was a great thing about the game. I think the cars handled well, I think it was good fun, I think the customisation and upgrades were good. Um and I think if you were an Xbox owner at the time looking looking over to PlayStation, thinking, oh, wish we had a Gran Turismo, I don't think you'd have been very disappointed with this. I think that was me.

SPEAKER_06 5:42

You know, I'd been playing a lot of GT4 at the time. Um this was a nice alternative, I'll I'll be honest with you, and I was grateful for it. And it was a reason to turn on the big green machine. Um perfect, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah, brilliant. Um, anything else tatting your eyes on there, George?

SPEAKER_06 6:05

Um I mean, yeah, of course I'm gonna say Star Wars episode three, Avenger the Sith. I've played that most on PS2, so that's probably the one I'd like to talk to. I think it'd probably be the same on Xbox and GameCube, but obviously when you get to the handheld systems of the era GBA and all that sort of stuff, I'd imagine very different game. But on the PS2, that's quite fun. Again, that's that kind of I believe we there's that saying, isn't it? How do you know when you're in the good old times while you're actually in the good old times? And I think this era was the good old times for the movie license. I think they for this for the most part they got it right. We'd come off the back of some good Lord of the Rings games. We got this, which plays reasonably well. Um, you know, King Kong was on the horizon. We didn't know that we were in the good old days. There's a game I think coming up in the boot as well, Batman Begins, which I was champion as OG Tom's favourite game, although he denies ever playing it. Although I remember him waxing lyrical to me about how he used to hide in the shadows. Um I'm vengeance.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

No, you're not, you're OG Tom. Come out of the cupboard.

SPEAKER_06 7:16

Playing Batman in the dark in your bedroom on GameCube. I am the night. Yeah, Tom, it's your tea. Um your cousins here, stop making a plank of yourself. Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Um don't call me Tom, I'm vengeance.

SPEAKER_06 7:36

You don't know how true that is. Hey O G if you're listening. Um, but episode three, yeah, it nailed it, it had all the bits in it that you'd want. It obviously doesn't follow this the movie that closely. This one, I think, famously came out before, and people grabbed it to try and get any sort of information or footage from the movie to see if they could work out what was happening. It does go off script a little bit, so that left people a little bit confused, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

See now, I I remember I know I've played this on PS2, um, but I just can't remember anything about it. I can remember I've got the GBA version, which is like a side scrolling. I thought like say the beat, but it's actually quite good. It's quite good. It's a decent sort of side scrolling, sort of beat-em-up Star Wars version, you know.

SPEAKER_06 8:24

Yeah, I don't doubt it, it's just been changed and dumbed down and put on in a different way. Totally exactly how I thought they would have done it in on the preamble site. Oh, but it's different on GBA. So it's gonna be um, yeah. I enjoyed it. I mean, if if you've got it in your collection, it's one of those ones you could play through on a Friday night with a mate just for some shits and giggles, you know. Yeah, um, some fun to be a little bit like those Lord of the Rings games, you know. If you play them co-op, you there's a little bit of fun in there.

Juiced And The Need For Speed Gap

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Yeah, definitely. Um I was gonna go with um that's another game series I know I've played and I've got, and I can't remember too much about it, and that's Juiced.

SPEAKER_06 9:05

Oh, I knew you were gonna bring this out. That box art was everywhere. That was, yeah. We say this often, right? But juiced, if you read gaming literature at the time or even caught a bus, juiced was everywhere, mate. They saturated the market, and the game did kind of alright, but I never gravitated towards it. It was a little bit more the dare I say it, max power. And I'm I'm not I'm not talking back page max power, I'm talking, you know, yeah, every other page. And it's yeah, it was just a bit too far down that road, or pretends to be from the way it you know showed itself in the the magazines in the adverts, you know. We were talking about neon lights, and one of these games, and I thought it was one of the um I thought it's one of the need for speeds, but I could have misremembered it. One of these car modifying games from this era, I'm sure had a section where you could do the stereo, and in need for speed underground, there were sections where you could do drag, street race, little short challenges and other bits and bobs, wasn't there, where you kind of went for like style. Now I misremembered it thinking there was also one where you had to do your stereo, where you'd like bought these sort of certain things. Yeah, bring it about with me that now it might not be that is it juiced if you remember this messaging. Because obviously, we're not dealing with games of the now, uh, we're talking about games from 20 years ago here, and some of it mileage may vary depending on our memory or our own mileage with the game. My mileage reduced is minimal, but I do remember seeing around at the time, either in magazines or in demo videos, like a stereo off. I might be misremembering it. It was probably some of that GTA that I've just completely got.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, so it reminds something of me.

SPEAKER_06 10:56

I mean, the thing have you got juiced?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yes, I have, yeah. It's juiced one and five.

SPEAKER_06 11:00

What format is it you've played?

SPEAKER_00 11:02

What oh, yeah, what back in the day I played on PS2, but I have got the PSP version as well.

SPEAKER_06 11:07

Um whoa, really? Yeah, but the thing I've never seen this on PSP. Yeah, I would have avoided it, but I've never seen it.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Um the thing that I always think, and I remember this from back in the day thinking this, is because Need for Speed was really in a high at the time. You had some really good Need for Speed games coming out, and they were sort of car culture as well. Yeah, the car culture, they were at the top of the tree at the time, and pe you know, guys that were doing games like Juiced, they were very clever because they would release in-between need for speed games. So it was like we're gonna hop on the back of their their popularity because these people really want a new need for speed, and they're not gonna get it for another year. Let's just let's release it now because everyone went out and bought juiced. Yes, you'd play out for two or three hours and think, well, this isn't need for speed, but it'll do until the next one comes out, and that's exactly what I'd done back in the day. I just bought it in between. I remember having fun with it, but I can't quite remember. I remember it being I mean, need for speed was cheesy enough, and I think this was this was the full Gorgonzola.

SPEAKER_06 12:08

I don't know as it was cheesy at the time, but it felt very cool.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

It well it I can even remember playing Juice thinking this is a bit too far.

SPEAKER_06 12:21

Um to me, Juice feels like Saints Row.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

That is a very good comparison.

SPEAKER_06 12:28

So I'm a bit nervous of some of these games, yeah. You're right. They're off cycle. Normally, when you're hungry for a new version, these clones pop up. Yes, like, oh hello. A bit like when you go, you need a new drill, and you're like, yeah, I need to get to like somewhere, screw fix, being Q somewhere, get something solid like a DeWalt. You happen to call into Lidl to get some rice and stumble across this fine, the mother of all sins, the cure all. I found a drill in the middle isle of Lidl. It's fine, we're gonna be okay. Two weeks later, the battery pack for it fails, and then you can't find anything that's compatible with it this side of China, and you end up being in it, realising you should have bought the DeWalt from B and Q in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah, that's juiced, and yeah, and the DeWalt wouldn't have burned your shed down while you were charge.

SPEAKER_06 13:23

Yeah, and you only went in for rice, came out with a drill because well, you know, it was cheaper than the rice, yeah. It was, it was, and so was juiced, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I uh something I must go back to. I kept thinking about maybe doing it as a video idea, going back to uh um need for speed, you know, clones, see if there is any good ones out of all the games, have a bit of a chat about them on the street.

SPEAKER_06 13:48

I think there I think there are depending on which way you look at it and which came first, chicken or the egg. You could say something like Midnight Club is actually is it the OG? Yeah. Is it maybe the best iteration with the most street call smarts going? Yeah. Is it often underlooked compared for need need to speed? Need for speed? Yeah, very much so. And I I can't profess to really be into either of them, but it always struck me as a bit odd that Midnight Club had that kind of edge to it, yet felt like it was quite often shelf filler compared to your need for speed. Have you played both? Um presumably.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

I played some of one of the Midnight Clubs, and I remember they had motorbikes and things in, which was quite unique as well, which stood stood out from the others.

SPEAKER_06 14:39

Um why did you never gravitate towards that? Did Need for Speed have a little bit more of the max power culture and felt real, or was Midnight?

SPEAKER_00 14:48

I loved the way once they done um Underground 2 and went open world, I was just in it. That open world now I just absolutely loved, and you'd go up in the hills of the the city, whatever city you're in, I can't remember Bay City, whatever it was, and you'd you'd find all your races and drive to them, and you keep adding to your car. And I loved that. And at the time you just thought, well, everything else is a clone, need for speed is you know, is the OG. But go back trying these now, you're probably thinking they're a bit probably a bit closer than what you think.

SPEAKER_06 15:18

Um I well, I was gonna say a Midnight Club 3 dub edition always seemed to have a big still has, it's still a recognition around it, mate. Yeah, yeah, I think, and probably retrospectively, probably holds up as a better game. I think this probably I don't own any midnight clubs. I might actually get them now and do a retrospective sort of look across the slew of the games versus that concurrent because Need for Speed did well with Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2, and then it kind of lost its head and then took ages to find itself again. If you think about it, we've spoken here in the main show about what was it, Shift and the running.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

I think before them with Carbon, yeah, most Wanted was good, um those were quite good, but then as you started getting towards the end of the PS3, PS4, or especially end of the PS3, they were dropping games and they sort of done, like you say, the run, they done shift, shift two, and you're like, Well, because I think pro street pro street.

SPEAKER_06 16:25

I think didn't the team split and they were still both allowed to use the name and they both went different directions and well I think they were maybe they did that on purpose because they were trying to then chase the sim market, and maybe after development team were more keen on that, and then the other one was trying to chase the classic what had built up as let's call it the underground market, because I think the need for speed brand for me has a wider reach than just those games, but the underground market and then let's call it the pro street market seemed to be the split of the product. But where are we now?

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Because well, the only time they did pull it back on track was Need for Speed 2015, which they done the live actors on the PS4 Xbox One, when they had the live actors doing the scenes, and then you'd done the car right and they'd walk round your car that you'd actually built when they were chatting, and you're in this gang, and I think Ken Block appeared in it, and some others appeared in it, and you always raced at night in the rain. That that felt to me like a need for speed was coming back. And then they went to you, and they went random off.

The Edgy Adult Game Wave

SPEAKER_06 17:26

If Need for Speed was a family pet, it would have been it should and would have been euthanized. It did well, you know, it was a cute little puppy in its early days, but now nah. Talk to me about Seven Sins, because that's another game on the list that I have seen everywhere, but never played. I think it was a little bit Well, I can tell from the picture here, I didn't quite realise at first what I was looking at. Now I realise you're looking through a woman's legs to man in a chair, and it's called Seven Sins. I remember this being ever I remember it being a little bit I might be misremembering it, but I thought it was a bit Sims-ish.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yes, I think it is. It's a life simulation video game, I believe.

SPEAKER_06 18:12

Yeah, yeah, I remembered it right with an adult twist.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

Well, in their own blurb, it's based on pride, wrath, greed, envy, lust, sloth, and gluttony. So make a fit what you will.

SPEAKER_06 18:26

Yeah, I see that. I understand the seven sins. I'd argue that the front cover probably only really plays into two of them. Uh but whatever sells, you were never gonna get it away on gluttony with you, with a man on the front you're being force-fed pate, not gonna happen. Um I wouldn't have remembered that cover, would I? Well, I might have.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Yeah, I think if you had bought it, you would have done. Um I always noticed one of them is a f a couple of games of this era that were uh in the blur, who made it. Um let me just double check. Um it was uh published by uh in UK it was uh Digital Jesters. And in France it was Monte Cristo, and I think that's the only releases it got. I don't think it was.

SPEAKER_06 19:21

What developer was it?

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Uh Monte Cristo.

SPEAKER_06 19:27

What else did they do?

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Um Monte Cristo, our French uh developer. Um I'm trying to find anything that is they done a lot of these tycoon games, Wall Street Wall Street Trader, Airline Tycoon. Yes. Um after Seven Sins, they done 1994 Battle of the Bulge.

SPEAKER_06 19:53

Remember me.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Silverfall, um War on Terror, the plan, nothing very memorable. Um so I think this one probably jumped on the bandwagon of the Sims and tried to use something.

SPEAKER_06 20:13

Well, I don't want to rock your boat, mate, but there's uh there's also a hot looking game uh within the what you've been playing section that you've brought May 27th, singles two, triple trouble. I think we need to remember this is the era of the pixelated booby, isn't it? Where uh I felt like this is the BMX triple X seven sins Playboy Simulator Singles 2 Triple Trouble kind of this was that era, wasn't it? Where they were trying to be a little bit edgy.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Yeah, don't you also find I think this is the era where people realised that gamers weren't just children, they weren't just toys, but they weren't quite realising what adult gamers wanted. So a few of them went down the smart route thinking this is obviously what they want because they're adults, and it's like, well, I think they probably thought they're 18-year-old jocks.

SPEAKER_06 21:11

I think their idea of what a gamer was had moved up from 12, but it had moved to 18, and then in their mind, like what do 18-year-old gamers want?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Boobies, and they're not wrong. No, no, they're not wrong.

SPEAKER_06 21:23

I mean at the same token, you're in that kind of proverbial societal trap where you like them, you're mildly curious by a game about them, but you know that your street cred cannot survive taking it to the till to buy. So your target audience all of a sudden can't buy your game because of socio social economic reasons.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a strange time, isn't it? It is a strange time.

SPEAKER_06 21:48

It is. And you probably would have had to have some real gumption about you to buy the Playboy simulator game. Now, I have to add, I've always been intrigued by that game, and I'm thinking about picking. It up because I do believe underneath all that it's a magazine simulator, and I'm quite intrigued to try it out. Um, well, you did like yourself a simulator, so well that's why it sort of cropped up. Tell me what else before we get off track. Tell me what else are you gonna grab? Because I'm gonna hear that you want to talk about because you've you've put your old reputation on it.

Cold Fear As A Survival Horror Pick

SPEAKER_00 22:22

I have, yeah, and that is a game called Cold Fear out on May 17th, 2005. Hidden Gem from over on the UCP, one of my hidden gems.

SPEAKER_06 22:30

May I say my whole gaming career? I've always in my mind, and now I see why, got cold winter and cold fear wrapped up.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

Two games, what the Amiga game and an Atari ST game.

SPEAKER_06 22:46

On your thing, May 11th.

unknown 22:47

Look.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Oh, I was thinking of midwinter.

SPEAKER_06 22:50

Yeah. I don't know what cold winter is, but cold fear and cold winter coming out at the same time and probably occupying the same appetising space was confusing.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

Yeah, I can understand that, definitely. Um they almost look like they're in the same universe, don't they?

SPEAKER_06 23:11

They were it, mate. They honestly super confused. But tell us about Cold Fear, elaborate on your hidden gem, my love.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Um develop Dark Works. No, I like it. Please stick to it. You like it? Yeah, okay, we'll leave it. Published by Dark Works. Um, sorry, published by Ubisoft and developed by Dark Works. It's a survival horror, very well made, graphically very good for the era. Um, but it's on a ship, a Russian ship, and you go on and there's been an accident, and the soldiers on this uh vessel have turned into lot of zombies, and it had some great had some great um effects where the boat was swaying from side to side and you're um you know obviously trying to keep your sea legs and stuff, but yeah, absolutely brilliant game. Um it's creeping up in price now, definitely, um unfortunately. Um from when I done my hidden gem. Yes, George, you're dying to speak.

SPEAKER_06 24:11

Midnight Club 3 dubbed editions. I didn't see it. See her, is it?

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Oh, I haven't said it myself yet. Oh no. Um but yes, Cold Fear. So you could now a over£20 game for PS2. Um, you may be able to pick it up a bit cheaper. Um, and I think the Xbox version sort of£10 to£15, which probably graphically the better version. But if you like survival horrors, um I'd definitely play Cold Fear. I think it's a great game. Um, and it's another one of them that people are now realising. Like I say, when I done my hidden gem, not really many people had heard about it, but now it's it's getting a bit out there as one that people need to pick up now. So it's definitely got that sort of hidden gem statue to it. But yeah, really enjoyed it. Great game. Um, like I say, if you're into your Resident Evil, pick it up, really, because that's I don't think you'll be disappointed, especially if you like like Resident Evil 4, that sort of over-the-shoulder third person. Um you'd almost think this was made by Capcom. That's you know, that wouldn't surprise me if it was, because it's very similar. Um what else are you looking at on there, George?

SPEAKER_06 25:21

Um I'd like to take a minute to champion the Xbox's. Well, let's hang on, while we're here, let's talk about Bidnight Club 3 dub edition. Sat here. I talked it up earlier. I've never played it, but I feel like it's got teeth in the game. I I believe that's also open world.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

I believe it is, yes. This must have been the 360 version, I would imagine. As 360 was out then, obviously PS3 was not.

SPEAKER_06 25:47

No, I don't think the 360 was out.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

Oh, wow, 2005.

SPEAKER_06 25:51

It came out in 2005, for them, but I think it came out in the holidays of 2005.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Uh must have been a cross gen.

SPEAKER_06 26:00

November onwards.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

So I've got the PS3 version of this.

SPEAKER_06 26:05

Interesting. Was it also not on PS2?

SPEAKER_00 26:08

That's what I mean. Maybe it was a um maybe it was a cross-gen title. Um, but it's definitely one I want to investigate more, really, especially now as we've been talking about these um yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:21

I don't think it was on 360. I think this was solely on PS2 unless it got a re-release later.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Oh, really? Um I know I've definitely got it on PS3 because it was the last sort of Midnight Club they'd done, wasn't it? Dub Edition 3.

SPEAKER_06 26:33

But maybe it's the Dub Edition, is the pumped-up version. I don't know. Here we are doing a podcast about games, and we know absolutely nothing about Midnight Club.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

Not a clue, not a clue.

Why Snooker Games Deserve Respect

SPEAKER_06 26:43

Um, but I'm gonna make it my thing to investigate these, because as I said, I think they've got more skin in the game, and I think for the maybe for the long-term purists, there might be a little bit more game here for them to get the teeth into if the need for speed could ever offer up. So I'm I'm a big champion of that. I think we need to get behind that. Another game I want to get behind a champion, if I may, uh it's here in its PSP incarnation, apparently, but I want to talk about the PS2 and Xbox versions I played of World Snooker Championship. This game seemed to come out of nowhere and really nail on that kind of feeling that that TV we've talked maybe a couple of episodes ago about Jimmy White's whirlwind snooker and its effects on snooker games generally, and the uplifting quality that came as a result of that sort of 3D table that they'd got working. But for me, the next time I noticed Snooker take a solid step forward in terms of its presentation and gameplay was was with this series, and they really got something going on. I do believe they're still the developer of the game now, RGT, correct me if I'm wrong, but the way they had the TV style, they had obviously the likenesses of the characters, which was missing in previous snooker games, so they were just sort of floating cues in black rooms, weren't they? Um, this one gave you a little bit of everything that you wanted, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the World Snooker Championship series. Have you played it? Have you had a dalliance with this game?

SPEAKER_00 28:27

I think I've had brief goes on PS2. I've never tried this PSP version. Um I've got I can imagine I think I can imagine yeah, I think I got rid of my PSP ones. I didn't think I'd ever play them, but I can imagine they're playing quite well on there.

SPEAKER_06 28:42

Mate, they play one thing that blew me away with the snooker was it was one of those kind of I didn't realise that you could get it was a PS2 game in your pocket, basically. It looked good enough. It looked good enough on that screen anyway. Don't forget me wrong, if you put it on a CRT, oh my god, Steve David, what happened to you?

SPEAKER_00 29:04

He looks like he's gone to Turkey.

SPEAKER_06 29:06

You look like a you look like a I tell you what, Steve, you look like a Delboy model from Lidl that's been set on fire and put out with a brick playing snooker with a I guess it's straight, but it looks like a queue made out of Lego stacked on top of each other. I'm sure on a PSP screen it looks gravy.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Um I think a lot with these snooker games, a lot of people just write them off as almost shovelware, you know. Oh, who's gonna play snooker games? Do you know what I mean? It's a bit they're not that no, exactly.

SPEAKER_06 29:36

And I implore you to pick one of these up because I think you'll quite enjoy it. Sounds like you've kind of played with it, but you need to go all in.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Um, you were correct on uh Midnight Club 3, it's the LA remix, which is PS3, not that's it.

SPEAKER_06 29:50

So is it the LA remix that made itself to 360 as well?

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Yes, I believe so. Yes. Right.

SPEAKER_06 29:56

So this Club 3 dub edition was last this gen.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

It was, it was Xbox, PS2, and PSP. That's what I've got it on.

Jade Empire And Xbox Exclusive Glory

SPEAKER_06 30:03

Right, okay. Well, I'm probably gonna look it out on PS2 because I just want to give this its props, and I think if it's on an Xbox and PS2 at this moment, the PS2 is gonna be the one that's struggling graphically, so I want to see that happen. Yeah, I like to see consoles sweat. If I may, just a brief moment to talk about Jade Empire. Um, the Xbox had a lot going on with Bioware in this era, yeah, had some great exclusives, and this is a continuation of that success, but taken the formula removed from the Star Wars universe and laid here within this kind of Chinese mythological universe. And I'll be honest with you, I enjoyed it. It's been a long time, it's been 20 long years since I played Jade Empire. Yeah, but I remember really enjoying it, it felt like a high quality product. I think I've always recommended it in my kind of top 10 lists of Xbox games, exclusives, anyway, that you've got to make sure you've tried or got in your collection. Jade Empire's right up there. Um, and if you've played Knights of the Old Republic one and two and you're like, I wish there was something else there is, it's this, and you're gonna love it.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Yeah, definitely. Um definitely this one. If you're playing OG Xbox and you want to pick up the exclusives, this is one you've definitely got to get Jade Empire. Um one I've uh we seem to see nearly in every um either what you're hoping to play or what you would have been playing. A King of Fighters game. They seem that I mean they've released they've released some versions of these, haven't they? I mean, they seem to every generation you get King of Fighters. I mean, we've had them on Switch, we've had them on PS4, we've had them on PS3, we've had them on I mean, so this was King of Fighters 2002, 2003, but they must sell. I mean, a lot of people really rave about them, you know, over your Street Fighters and bits and pieces. One on you know, those one-on-one fighters that not really I used to have fun with Street Fighter back in the day or Tekken, but it's not really as a genre that I've really followed that much. But it's always intrigued me that King of Fighters has always done so well, even to this day. They still release games, but very interesting. Um, what else we got on here? I noticed the Ford Mustang games. I mean, I know this was an era where Ford were releasing quite a lot of games. I did have quite a few of them for a while, and I think there's one or two of them which are quite rare, actually, hard to get hold of. But they done like Ford versus Land Rover and Ford Racing 1, 2, and 3.

SPEAKER_06 32:36

Stop collaborating, listen. You see this Rise of the Cassai game. Look at this, get your eyes on this. Let me save you from Ford Racing versus Lamborghini. I think you were gonna take us down a dark road. Versus Lamborghini. I thought you said Land Rover. Rise of the Cassai. You see it?

SPEAKER_00 33:02

I'm still trying to find it at the moment.

SPEAKER_06 33:04

April 5th.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_06 33:09

Yes, oh yes, I know that's what that remind you of.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Sorry if you can hear my dog barking on here.

SPEAKER_06 33:18

No one can hear this. Um looks a little bit like Mark of the Creed, does it not?

SPEAKER_00 33:26

Yes, it does, yeah. Is it this is a sequel? I don't know. I don't know. Let me you Phil, I'll research.

SPEAKER_06 33:34

Okay. Uh I just it's got a very distinctive artwork and um font, so to me that screams like it's from that. If not, then uh Sony should probably sue them, because I do believe it was a Sony game. Uh, a game that intrigues me that I never got a chance to play, but will add to my list of things I would like to pick up is Predator Concrete Jungle. I can't remember that getting six and sevens at the time, which was probably the Kiss of Death for a game in 2005. But through the modern lens, we'd say um that's probably not a bad game. I would argue that the review metrics at the time say it was garbage, but you know, it is what it is. RGT, what do the facts tell us? And um let's get into the news after that.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Um action adventure video game developed by a Bottle Rocket Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game serves as a sequel to The Mark of Cry. So you are correct, young man. Um yeah, so very interesting game.

SPEAKER_06 34:41

And I tell you another game that always it was advertised the hell out of at the time. It's that game at the top, Pariah, came out for Xbox apparently in Windows. So shoot again. I remember that being everywhere at the time as well. Might have been because I was subscribed to the original, and it kind of comes across as like a half-life kind of one of the yeah, even the cover art does, don't it? It's got I don't know how it reviewed, though. Probably reception.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

Am I right in thinking? Was that an exclusive to Xbox?

SPEAKER_06 35:18

I think you could argue it was on PC as well as a PC and Xbox game. Um it got like uh six to sevens out of ten, so yeah. I'll mention just a few others of death at the time, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 35:31

Oh god, yeah. Um, just a few other honourable mentions that come out. We had Pokemon Emerald. Um, we had Haunt and Ground, which I do believe is quite an uh ec collectible game nowadays. We had games, yeah. Smart Bomb over on the PSP there. Um what else did we have coming out? We had Warrior Wear Twisted uh trying to think of anything that people know Moto GP4.

SPEAKER_06 35:59

SingStar Pop World, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

SingStar Pop World, E's, uh, another one of the E's, the uh Oath of Feligana, which I've never played that one.

SPEAKER_06 36:09

Um that's something you made me take before I took you to the doctors.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Um then we had things like Archer McLean's Mercury, which was a definite step away from yeah, that game is everywhere, obscure, and yeah. So there was there was a slew of games out at the time. Um plenty to choose from. Um but I think it's time now.

Psychonauts And Nintendogs Surprises

SPEAKER_06 36:31

Oh, hang on a minute, mate. You didn't scroll down far enough. Psychonauts came out April 19th, 2005.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Oh, no one's playing that.

SPEAKER_06 36:40

Some losers are playing it right now. Yeah, they certainly are. I picked this up, much like I'm gonna pick up Midnight Club 3 dub edition a few weeks ago. Just intrigued by it, never really picked it up at the time. I always heard a lot of noise about it. Absolutely brilliant presented game. It's a game that feels a little bit trapped by the hardware of the PlayStation 2. I don't know what episode it was, maybe the main show, the unofficial controller podcaster talks about it in the what you've been playing section. But yeah, for a game from 2005, it's got all the tropes of something that was maybe built for something that worked on a hard drive. It it feels slick the way you interact with it, the way it kind of gets you to pick your control type, put your name in for your save file. Everything about this game is about taking friction away and letting you just play. It's a work of art as far as I'm concerned in that regard. Some of the mechanics probably not aged that well. Um, probably could do with a little bit more of a modern handheld to pull you through the first sections just so you can get the rhythm in if you're not used to games from that era. But other than that, um, lots to be said. I think you should probably also give some props to uh Nintendo's.

SPEAKER_00 37:59

Um baffled me as well because I remember my daughter playing Nintendo Dogs, and they'd think that Nintendo Dogs was out the same month as Psycho Dort baffles me. I always thought Nintendo Dogs was a lot later, it's unbelievable, really.

SPEAKER_06 38:14

Probably believe it. DS game probably would have been DS at the time. We forget how old a DS is. Um, Nintendo Dogs, mate, that must have shifted so many. My daughter got a DS obviously way past this time and fell in love with Nintendo Dogs.

SPEAKER_00 38:31

Yeah, yeah. My daughter did as well. She was born 2005, so that was a few years later. But Nintendo Dogs is what she played straight away when the first games, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 38:39

And and you know what? I've always like had to doff me captain in Nintendo Dogs because I think the advertisements on the TV were really good, really classy. I think the way the product presents, um, with the kind of breeds on the side and the art on the front, and it was all kind of it was almost like you were buying. Now, this might be my imagination, but it almost when even when I see them in a charity shop now, it almost feels like you're buying the keys to a like a Kennel Club dog. It feels right, doesn't it? It feels authentic. You get it, and you're like, Oh, crafty Labrador, yeah, okay, let's get this home. You sort of delicately wing it home, you put it in your DS, and more often than not, on these sort of older ones, it comes up and you're like, There you go, let's bring this dog in here. And it's a bit obtuse, it's all very much around the stylus, and this is how you're gonna play a DS game. But in there is the heart of something where you actually feel like you've got a real dog in your DS, and that's the magic of Nintendo Dogs because it doesn't matter whether you're a kid or an adult, at some point in time, the Nintendo magic comes down. You're a little in on this pixelated pile of fur, all in on it.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

So it looks like the uh Tamigotchi at a time, aren't it?

SPEAKER_06 39:52

Oh, that's that's it, but the the price to entry a little bit like your Lenovo was a little high. Probably could have got a real dog for that money in 2005. They're for life, not just for Christmas, right? But you know, and Nintendo Dogs did that save a dog or two? Probably did, didn't it? Mummy, mummy, I want a dog, I want a dog, oh Crakey is Nintendogs, how's that going on? Uh, it's dead. That's why he ain't got a real dog. Right? You know, we joke, but it saved a few, you know, probably did K9 Brothers, hasn't it? Let's face it. So fair play to it. One more shout on the way out, friend, and it's kind of it's kind of good because it works for the news, is the Midway published Area 51, which I think was like a late PS2 Xbox game. Um, I remember it reviewing graphically quite well and being quite the kind of critical darling. It was a game I kind of followed and thought would get an absolute kick in, uh, and ended up doing quite well from memory. Have you got it?

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Have you played it? Yeah, I thought I got the steel book as well for the PS2 because they'd actually done a steel book of it, so that was obviously they're expecting it to be quite another little uh yeah. I think it was you know quite more popular than what people remember. I think people look back at these Area 51 games or alien games, thinking, oh, that was probably again probably a bit of shovelware, but actually, no, it's quite a well-developed game.

SPEAKER_06 41:16

I think mate, I was looking at like things like Destroy All Humans on Xbox and PS2. I actually managed to get through not only the cycle of a late stage game, but get to a sequel of a late stage game as well. And those games look really good. Um and because they're dumped at the back end, a bit like Area 51, they're kind of a bit forgotten. And now I know Destroy All Humans got what a modern remake or a remaster, PS4. Yeah, and game holds up, game holds up real well.

SPEAKER_00 41:48

Yeah, gameplays. It didn't really have to change the gameplay, just modernise the graphics a bit and away you go.

SPEAKER_06 41:53

I'll be honest with you, I put it on PS2 not that long ago. It's one of those games that you can get running at 480p, and it looks mate, it looks absolutely fine.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

Yeah, I bet you I bet it does, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 42:05

Yeah.

Digging Up The News Of 2005

PSP Shortages And Outsourced Production

SPEAKER_00 42:06

Um sexy. Yeah, so brilliant. Like I say, it's plenty to talk about with uh what we would have been uh hopefully playing at that time. But like I say, we'll head over to the news now. We've scoured the very darkest back pages of the gaming mags and even delve deep into the interweb to bring you what was the latest stories in May 2005. And this is first up from gamesindustry.biz. They are all from gamesindustry.biz, and also I've kept these on par this week because 2005 was there was new tech coming. And this is a little bit about each three bits of tech that people are all talking about at the time. And our first story is Kutaragi considers outsourcing PSP production. Sony is not prepared to start selling in Europe with uh launch just three months away, according to comments made by Ken Kutaragi. Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi has confirmed that the PSP production may be outsourced as consumer demand for the handheld continues to rise and a European launch approaches, according to a report on Bloomberg. We have to somehow increase our production capacity as we're not prepared to start selling in Europe. We've run out of units in the US and it's still selling well in Japan, Kuragi told Bloomberg. We're making the key components here, but we're looking to expand assembly of the production outside of Japan, he continued, adding that Taiwan and China are being considered as two possible options. But according to uh Taipai newspaper, the Commercial Times, Taiwanese company Honhai Precision Industry has already picked up the contract. Honhai currently manufacture PS2 consoles for Sony, and the newspapers claims that PSP production is due to commence in the third quarter of this year. Neither Sony nor Honhai were available for comment. Are you alright, George?

SPEAKER_06 44:02

I'll tell you what, it's easy for you to make decisions from up there, innit? Up on high, like you are.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

Oh you are on high. Very good. Um, at present, there is only one factory producing PSP consoles. Uh, the this is a tough one. The Kurazuru facility east of Tokyo, which uh manufactures around one million units per month. That is crazy. Sony has previously announced plans to double this figure by the summer as it continues to fight to compete with Nintendo. The success of the Game Boy SP and Nintendo DS consoles have gained Sony's rival a 90% share of the Japanese handheld market. The PSP launched in Japan last December and in the US US back in March. The European release has slipped several times, with Sony citing hardware shortages as the cause, and the handheld is currently set for a September the first launch. Um, yeah, I thought this was interesting because I can't remember there being a delay with the PSP coming out in Europe. Um I can't remember that at all, but I think this the sales in America and Japan really seem to have caught Sony on the hop. I don't think they expected it to be as popular.

SPEAKER_06 45:26

They'd almost sort of I think the forces market in America are solely alone at this up, like raw, you know, big time. Add that into your transient college market, add that into a world pre-smartphone, and this thing looks like a hot ticket. Yeah, it's got really everything you might want in your pocket, got a little bit of web browsing when you're at home, it's got your movies, you can put movies on it, you can download your music to it, so all of a sudden, you know, you've got this gaming machine in your pocket that's gonna play music, play movies. It's exactly what they wanted it to be. It's the Walkman of the Modern Era, except it got look the PSP by any metric was a success unless you measure it against its competitor, which is the Nintendo product, and at that point things start to look a little bit not so great, but the PSP sold fantastically well.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

Over 80 million, yeah, over 80 million.

SPEAKER_06 46:31

You know, anywhere else you would say that was a success. And I believe it was, which is why the Vita got green lit. Yeah, I think they missed some of the marks of what made the PSP great when they popped the Vita out, if I'm honest with you, where the movies, yeah, exactly. You know, at least give me Netflix or something.

SPEAKER_00 46:47

It's the same with putting a DVD player and a PS2. You're giving people a reason to buy it who necessarily wouldn't buy it for the games. So you put movies on it, there's people thinking, well, I'm not really a gamer, but I'd love to have be able to watch a movie in my pocket. Yeah, so it would have been brilliant to have that on the Vita, definitely.

SPEAKER_06 47:04

The thing is, I suppose by the time the Vita came out, we were fully in the grip of smartphones, so then you've got to differentiate. You've got to say, actually, we're just a gaming thing now. So it was a they they were difficult times to manage, but this was the perfect time and the perfect product. I think it was always going to be a little bit more your kind of bigger boys one. I'd had previously working away the way I did, I'd had Nintendo products, and they're alright for 10-20 minutes, but then you're kind of a bit bussed, so then you sort of migrate to a console with a screen, so then you're taking like a massive bag away, you're taking all these different wires and chargers, you set your console up for a half-hour blast, and it takes you probably half hour to set it up, and it looks like it's on live support, and it's not terribly cool. Whereas a PSP, it fits in your pocket, yeah, yeah, all those problems gone, and it had that.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

This was Sony, you know, especially when the PS3 come out as well. And even if you had, I mean, I've got a 3D Blu-ray player of the of the era as well, and they had that interface, PSP, PS3, Blu-ray player, and they tried to really go down the more classier route. Whereas the Nintendo, no disrespect, was more seen as a a kiddies handheld, it was more seen as a child's handheld.

SPEAKER_06 48:20

So, what do they call it, Sony, at that time? They developed, what is it, the XMB bar or something? Is that what they call it?

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Something like that, yeah. Um I don't think it really worked. And I still I know I I've said this loads of times on the UCP as well, but I still remember when I'd got my PSP 3000, got it in the red, and I just thought, what a classy piece of kit. You know, all the buttons looked really classy, you know, you had your sound and your brightness and your volume, and it all looked like almost like a little mini bit of media tech from your house in your pocket. And they the design was pretty exactly what it was, yeah, exactly. Yeah, you know, and it was you know, doing things that other things weren't doing at the time, and then to squeeze that all in, you know, and then you'd look at it and think, Well, these are PS2 games, they're not quite as good as PS2, but you really did think they were very close when you were getting in that time, totally acceptable, yeah. Unbelievable, yeah. It was a proper, you know, you didn't feel we've said this before with other things, you know, like the switch to in on the UCP where the compromise had gone. You didn't feel compromised, and if you had a PSP as your main console, you didn't really feel like you're missing out because also it was backed well, so a lot of developers were for instance like Juiced or Grand Turismo or the bigger titles, they were releasing a PSP version.

SPEAKER_06 49:40

It was getting they were seeing the sales and thought it's worth us putting a uh uh there were times where you were getting day and date PS2 and PSP games concurrent.

SPEAKER_00 49:49

Yes, yes, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_06 49:50

So you could buy a home for PS2 and buy it to take away with you on PSP. And I get I guess you're probably gonna be spending the thick end of what 70 bucks. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Hey, do you know what? You'd be sorted.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

Yeah, yeah. And I mean, obviously, Sony was caught on the hop here because they did not expect this popularity. Like you say, the US market absolutely hoovered this up to where they sold out. Japan was selling really quick, and this company was making one million units per month. I can't get my head round that, and then Sony was so caught out, they were like, you need to double that to two million. Imagine being told that you're flat out making a one.

SPEAKER_06 50:27

I think initially, when anyone launches a piece of new tech, a console, a handheld, a phone, or whatever it is, you know that the initial sale price, the RRP, is going to be high. So you you factor in, I guess, for a target with some stretching, normally 10% of what you think you're gonna do. I don't think Sony are a badly managed business. So even by their own metric of success, they exceeded their sales targets and 10% stretch goal, and we're into a world where they'd then exceeded that moment, and we're into a position where they'd exhausted their supply chain. That's one L of success. Yeah, they're patting themselves on the back, but at the same token, as Kurt Ragi is saying, we've got this kind of flow of desire, we've got this kind of push behind the product. We've messed up by not having these components here because there's this not only in the countries that it's launching in that are depleted the launch stocks, we're trying to get enough stock together to satisfy that and launch in Europe. And if they catch wind of how well this is going, they're gonna buy it up in droves as well. Yeah, we need to overproduct, overproduce. And in a way, you do see an element of that now, 20 years later, from this period with PSPs stacked from floor to ceiling. When we say it sold 80 million units, if you go into any second-hand market, you can see why. They're everywhere, aren't they? But at the time they didn't have enough. So maybe they ended up chasing their tail through the production of the PSP from then on in, really.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's you, you know, as they say, strike will iron top. But if if if the stock isn't there and you're chasing it, you're thinking, oh my god, we could be selling ten times this number, but we haven't got the stock, you know.

SPEAKER_06 52:16

Well, also, you maybe didn't want to overcommit to high-price launch stock while you wait for the groundswell to go so you can start buying up in even bigger bulk than you were before. So, oh okay, we've got them out. Oh, god, nightmare, boss. Well, what is it? They love it. Share. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 52:37

Okay, yeah, so yeah. Interesting, definitely interesting bit of news.

Kojima’s PS3 Expectations And Dinner Analogy

SPEAKER_06 52:40

That's one way of dealing with success, isn't it? They've had their cake, now they're trying to eat it. What's next? Here's my bit of news.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 52:49

Now, over at what was this gamesindustry.biz contributor uh on the 31st of May 2005. Tom Bramwell got his pen out, it's crayons, got his legal pad out, started writing this. Metal Gear Creator Uncertain on the PlayStation 3. Oh, how he changes his tune. Hideo Kojima indicates that he is worried about the high standard Sony has set with its PlayStation 3 launch campaign and weighs in on each of the next generation platforms. Here we go, then Hideo. Metal Gear Solid Creator Hideo Kojima has weighed in on the battle of the next generation consoles, stressing their diversity and cautioning that he is not sure if everyone can live up to the high standard that Sony is expecting on PlayStation 3. The platform for which is Konami's subsidiary Kojima Productions is developing the next Metal Gear Solid tile. Speaking in an online interview, Kojima-san said Xbox 360 was a little bit more down-to-earth, so people maybe can join easily to start creating on the 360. While on the Nintendo Revolution front, the DS connectivity and downloadable back catalogue gave him the impression that the developers developers could create games on a lesser budget. Kojima-san then launched into a lengthy analogy about having dinner to clarify his thoughts. I can't wait for this. PS3 would be like a dinner you have you only have once a year or twice a year on your on your anniversary, he said, whereas Xbox 360 would be something you add two or three times a month. And Revolution is a kind of a great dinner that you have every day at your home. He's a man of my ilk, isn't he? The point is that they're all individualistic dinners, he said, and as a result, it's all about choice. For Kojima San, the next generation conflict is about how much the dinner will be, isn't about how much the dinner will be, will it be worth the cost? Where can I have this dinner? Um, if you want to read the full interview with Hideo Kojima on boomtown.net, um probably get in the uh Wayback Machine, have a little look-see. In the meantime, RGT, you leave me here with Kojima's word soup. It seems that uh head of the PS3, he became a big advocate making MGS4 an exclusive for the longest time. It's only recently managed to escape the orbit of the PlayStation 3 and come in the second iteration of the Metal Gear Solid collection. He made this exclusive for the longest time, citing it's uh as you as you install Metal Gear Solid for it tells you about the amazing use of the Blu-ray digital disc, how versatile it is, how this is only possible here on the PlayStation 3 because of this size and its abilities and all that good stuff. But who would have thought Mia months before he sat there saying that the he he's it's hard to know with these Japanese interviews quite what they are saying actually in the true translation, and it looks to me they maybe didn't get the full gist of what he's saying, but I kinda see what he's saying. I don't actually think he's even referring to the even the programming capabilities. I think he's probably thinking more along the price or the the mindset associated with it. The PS3 high-end product, you maybe once maybe once or twice a month you go there, it's a posh restaurant, you know, it's expensive, a high calibre. What did he say at the start? It's a very high standard that Sony is expecting in terms of its product quality of production in PS3 games.

SPEAKER_00 56:31

Um personally, I I saw him at when I first read this. I thought, oh, you wouldn't have thought Kajima was having a bit of a dig at Sony here, saying that their standards are too high. But once reading it back, I think he's almost saying to other developers, if you want to develop on this, this is you know, this is the A-class standard. He's almost actually praising Sony and saying the others are a lesser system. Do you know what I mean? The Xbox, yes, you you know, you'd have dinner, an Xbox dinner, you know, two or three times a month, whereas Sony is something you just have on an anniversary, it's a special system, and it's almost saying to the other devs if you want to create on a PS3, you need to have a high standard. Um, maybe that's something to do with because I know the PS3 was actually a bit awkward to develop for.

SPEAKER_06 57:26

I think it was quite complicated with its own architecture, so maybe I don't even initially I thought that's what this would be about, but I'm actually now thinking that it's about a combination of many things. It's a combination of the difficulty for programming, and I think within all of this is also wrapping it up within around the price and availability and affordability of the said console as well.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

Yeah, obviously launching at the price they did was uh it it was a high.

SPEAKER_06 57:55

It kind of walls it off. It suddenly makes the PlayStation 3 that expensive dinner you have once or twice a year on your anniversary in terms of affordability. The the 360s two or three times a month, it's affordable fodder, it's your you know, it's your it's your hungry horse, whatever it's called. Yeah, and um people liked our pricing the way we did it last week, by the way, on the main show. The Starmers, the Macrons, and the Trump.

SPEAKER_00 58:23

Really, did they apparently uh yeah, uh and the Nintendo, I mean, what are they?

SPEAKER_06 58:30

They're probably sort of just over hundred bucks at the time. Uh, you know, it is something that you you eat at every day, something your kids could throw around and get ruskin, and he doesn't matter, it's still gonna turn on, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 58:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and this it was obviously, especially with the Xbox launching year earlier, uh, roughly, than the PS3. Um killer move. It was a killer move, and everyone was then thinking, well, you know, PS3 is a year late. Is it gonna be this massive bit of tech? Is it gonna be massive? Well, was it a year later?

SPEAKER_06 59:05

Was it on time? And did it did Xbox 360 just do a juiced? I actually think the Xbox 360 did a juiced.

SPEAKER_00 59:12

No, that well, they did because obviously they launched too early because they didn't have the correct calling in the systems. It was obviously the early ones didn't even launch with the HDMI, so they did literally chuck it out.

SPEAKER_06 59:22

But there's a lot of what I would hardcore PS2 operators that moved across to 360, yeah. That didn't come back until maybe PS4.

SPEAKER_00 59:35

Yeah, no, you're you're right. You know, it financially it didn't do them a lot of good, but on the actual on on the uh on the ground of gamers, it really did, you know, from the sales of the original Xbox, which is quite actually mediocre when you look at the sales figures to the 360, you're like, oof, they've that's a massive leap from what the original sold to what the 360 sold. That is a massive gap, you know. It wasn't just like a standard progression.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:03

I think that audience for the most part came back to Sony in the PS4 era, and Sony did a really good job of locking them down into the ecosystem, and now they can't leave.

Midway’s Xbox 360 U Turn

SPEAKER_00 1:00:13

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Um, but yeah, interesting from Kojima. Um and these early days of these new systems that is interesting to see what people are saying, especially people as highly regarded as Kojima. Um, but a final bit of uh news also from gamesindustry.biz is Midway confirms support for Xbox 360. Uh US Publisher Midway has confirmed that it intends to support Microsoft's Xbox 360 console in future, despite having no software ready for the system Q4 launch, with seven titles for the platform currently in development. Seven. Um US Publisher Midway has confirmed that it intends to support Microsoft's Xbox 360 console despite oh it's just repeated that bit, I'll carry on. Speaking to the US website GameSpot, a Midway representative said that the mid that um Midway is fully supporting Xbox 316. We have games in development at all of our internal studios. The news follows comments from Midway CEO David Zucker earlier this week, which revealed that the company will be releasing software to support the launch of the PS3 but not of Xbox 360. At the time, Zucker commented that the decision was down to a uh pretty small install base and said that to really maximise to get the performance out of some of the games, it's going to take some time to do that, and we want to make sure we're launching high-quality titles. However, the publisher fully intends to support Xbox 360 going forward, it insists, and has confirmed that seven games are in development for the platform at present and its internal studios, um, including an Xbox 360 version of the next gen title Stranglehold, which will also appear on PS3 and is a game sequel to Hong Kong director John Wu's Colt 1992 hit Hard Boiled.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:17

Banging game. Um and I checked because I couldn't I didn't remember Midway's association, but uh I went and grabbed the game off the shelf and damn straight, brother. There it is, right on the front, bottom right hand side, the Midway logo. Bright and bold as a button.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:36

Well this this basically said to me that originally they're saying, you know, we're PS3, we're not gonna be going on Xbox 360, and then suddenly the U-turn, I think they knew this was launching early and this was gonna be a seller, so they've done this sudden U-turn.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:53

Oh no, no, we are gonna be doing something as things started to drip feed during the year, it wasn't until the back end of the year that we got confirmation of some of the games like Oblivion, started to see leaks of the dash. I people started to pay attention, and I think this is that that moment in the sand where better get up, get switched on, get involved. I mean, they were there for the launch of the PlayStation 3, Strangle Hold, I think, was around that time. Um I think it's all Gangbusters on. Now, the the the chicanery of uh Mr. Zucker's comments here is that the install base isn't there for the 360, yet they're preparing for the hyper-expensive PlayStation 3 in a year's time that by then will only just be starting its install base.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:49

Yeah, hence why it's done this U-turn.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:52

Exactly. It's like a massive reverse logic. You know, they sub that there's Midway titles on the OG Xbox, so why not just announce something saying you don't have to go into numbers, you don't have to do anything, you just put out a press statement that everyone's expecting you to see from Midway games saying with the advent of the new generation of consoles, Midware pleased to announce that they'll be supporting PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Congratulations on another generation of gaming.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:20

You think that'd have been better? Because when he said um wouldn't that be the easy route? Well, it would, and also they'd obviously to me it sounds like they put all their eggs in one basket, which was the PS3. Then when they started getting the rumours on on the inside that the 360 is going to launch early, it's gonna sell big numbers, you know, it tells you that that they weren't prepared for that.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:41

Well, did we know it was gonna do big numbers? I suppose Mr. Zucker, he didn't know, did he?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:46

Well, no, but he also says, like I was just saying, the future, despite having no software ready, so they were caught on the floor, they were caught on on the flop and basically thought, hang on, we need to be on this system, we need to be selling on this system. Um, and like you like you probably rightly said, this they probably realised that launching early, there's gonna be a lot of PS2 people jump across to this. We need to have games on this system.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:08

Yeah, they didn't. I don't know if they knew, but the the barometer at the time felt the PS2 felt like it had rumbled on for a while, and in between the PS2 launching and 2005, the reality of it, technology had moved on quite a lot in terms of everything else in your life. So the PS2 gen felt old. The OG Xbox came along as a bit of a kick in the arse because it was like, Oh, you know, maybe console game has still got a little bit of teeth in its mouth, you know, with Halo, stuff going on with the hard drive, it's like mmm, you know, it was a little bit of a shot in the arm. When the 360 and PS3 broke surface and 360 came out in the back end of 2005, people sat up and paid attention because they were bored of the flat grey textures and they wanted to see something. And I tell you what, in terms of like generational. Leap 16-bit to 32 was one of them. 32 to 128 or PS2 was something else. But also the generational leap from sort of PS2 to PS3, OG Xboxes 360 was significant, mate.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:16

Oh, massive, massive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:19

We've gone to worlds that were at the time veering on sort of the best we'd seen, could be argued, almost in some times photorealistic. I know that gets chucked around in gaming a lot. Every gen we hear it from the spectrum to now, and it's probably only becoming true today. Um, but photorealistic, believable lived in worlds suddenly became the derigger, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:43

Yeah, and I mean I still remember getting the PS3, you had to get a new TV to play out on, and then playing Motorstorm, and thinking, Oh my god, the HD, I that's the first time I'd seen HD and just thinking, Oh my god, this is unbelievable, you know. Yes, and it was you really felt this is a massive leap. Massive leap. Um, but for 360 to uh you say drop the ball early, get launch, and yeah, it brought a lot of people over, and then once you got the online and bits and pieces, they were absolutely smashing it out of the park for the first few years. Um, and obviously David Zucker had a bit of a whiff of this and had to do a bit of a U-turn on we're not producing for them, but now we are producing, but they're not quite ready yet. But we have got seven titles being made. I thought, yeah, you've yeah, I think you're starting to realise what a powerhouse the 360 is gonna be. Um interesting. Um interesting bits of news there. I hope you like those. Um I tried to keep them sort of hardware-based because it was 2005 is that time where we were getting this new hardware. We were a bit spoiled for choice with the upcoming 360 PSP. You know, people are all wanting to see what that was like. Um, PS3 was still a little way off, but 360 weren't far off. And uh, yeah, it was an interesting time to see what developers thought and how they were handling numbers and um, you know, all the productivity, you know, with the PSP and bits and pieces. Um, but yeah, very interesting. Um do a bit should we do a bit? Oh no, we'll do the housekeeping at the end.

Retro Easter Memories And Listener Mail

SPEAKER_06 1:08:17

No, no, let's do it now. You want to do it now, and then we're with Ray and Easter chocolate, we're done. Because this is this is Easter flashback, you know. Joe, do you want to know my retro Easter memory?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:31

No.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:32

Okay, I'll keep it to myself.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:33

No, no, go on, go on. I do want to hear it. Come on.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:35

This is this is this has got real spirit. This is very iconic. This is me going to my NANS, uh, so maybe even Tom was about, taking my newly acquired SNES, playing Mario All-Stars, eating Easter chocolate, and then going and sitting with my grandfather and watching an amazing European Grand Prix where they had the iconic uh Proston Hill Sonic Williamses, and where Senna I remember like the build-up, then going back, playing a bit of SNES, and then the start, and then like coming back over and just being like wow, wow, wow, like sitting down, like, yeah, oh wow, and yeah, mate, great memory. Uh brilliant, yeah. Getting the warmth of the fire on your knees as you come back because it was this big room. So if you went out from the circle of chairs, you felt like you were Captain Oates going out making the ultimate sacrifice. It was absolutely Baltic.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:43

I'm going to the toilet, or maybe something.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:44

Yeah, and you felt like that. Like you you went for a wee and you felt like you were gonna have to wee on ice, it was it was brutal. Uh, so if you and the T obviously the snares and the TV had to sit, had to be outside of the circle, but I still wanted to be in the same room because if you weren't on your own, it felt if you were on your own, it felt even colder. But if you're in a cold room with people that were warm, you felt alright. Uh so that was me all playing that and then entering the warmth circle for the Grand Prix. That's how I remember it anyway. Someone's probably couldn't come on here and now say that's not possible. Okay, well, you know, it's how I remember it.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:20

Brilliant. Yeah, I love memories like that. Easter memories gaming, I don't really have many. Um, nor as was Christmas for me.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:27

I don't really have many of the uh that's the only one I've got, and it kind of sticks. It's kind of that it felt like that kind of Good Friday bank. I definitely remember having Easter eggs. You know, why else would I be there? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, it felt right.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:42

If you've got any Easter memories, gaming memories, let us know at questions at unofficial controllerpodcast.com. We'd love to wear those. Yeah, jump on our Discord, let us know on there. Um, you can find links to that in our Instagram unofficial controller podcast page or mine retro gamer Thomas page is a link tree you can jump on from there. Or if you're not on any of them, just email us and we'll send you a link. Um, also check out our website, our ever growing website um for flashback and unofficial controller news. And so it's unofficialcontrollerpodcast.com. If it doesn't come up on your search, just put unofficial controller website in. Um also um we've got a TikTok now, so definitely jump on there with releasing reels and bits and pieces. Um and also um OLL26. If you don't know what OLL is, it is a games convention in Norwich. We will be there this year. Um, me and George and a few other our members.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:41

If we weren't already the Alan Partridge of podcasts, mate, we are now. We're gonna we're going to television studios in Norwich.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:49

I don't know if it's television studios, it's Epic Studios, but was it the former Norwich TV studios? I'm not sure. I always thought it was. I don't know if I'm correct on that, but we'll find out when we're there.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:00

Why don't we just make it up?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:01

Yeah, well, Angler TV Studios, we've got Alan Partridge on the table with us. Yeah, for the net. Um he'll be doing a live interview with us for uh Radio Northern.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:11

Do you know I had a little moment earlier, and I know this is completely irrelevant, and you're gonna chastise me for it, but uh I was gonna ask you what that little shelf was with the little sort of um little drawers in it on the wall behind you. Then I realized it was a PlayStation symbols light that had just kind of like fell down a bit.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:30

It's giving up on life, yeah. My temporary set, but yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:34

I thought it was like a little Harry Potter thing, but like these little drawers for the houses.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:38

No, it's just died. It's just for you know what, I've had enough of this. But the set will be changing here. I've got a new layout to draw.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:45

No one knows what the flashback video set looks like, though.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:48

No, no, no. But they they will do hopefully once we start doing videos. So um I'll hopefully have it ready for then. But anyway, yes, OLL26. Um come and get your tickets, come and join us. Um, come and say hello. There's plenty on. Dominic Diamond's doing presenting there.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:03

We've got that's enough of a deal. If you grew up in the UK and you profess to know anything about video games, come meet like video game Jesus. What's wrong with you?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:15

Yeah. So there'll be John and his team always do a fantastic show. There'll be events on, there'll be challenges, there'll be there might even be a a little event on our table, so you'll have to come over and see us and find out. But we will be the unofficial controller podcast slash.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:29

Let's not mess about. OLL.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:31

Hang on, hang on. I'm just telling them where to find us. We'll be at the flashback stroke unofficial controller podcast table. You'll see the both art images, you'll see George's sexy face standing there. So he's now frowning at me yet again. What is the problem now, George?

SPEAKER_06 1:13:46

In the official marketing template documents of the show, UCP goes first.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:53

I knew you're gonna say that. I had started saying that first before I was rudely interrupted before I could even finish my sentence, and then I got it wrong and said flashback first. But yes, come and find us at the unofficial controller podcast slash flashback. You will see us there.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:06

Um, on the facey be calm down, this is flashback.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:15

It's just a nice way to remember it. I'm not sure it's a nice way to remember it, but yes, check out OLL, get your tickets. I think it's at ticketbrite.com, I believe. But yeah, check out on there. Um, yeah, I think that's pretty much most of the housekeeping, isn't it? I don't think there's anything you want around.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:30

I had that one thing. I had that one thing that I've waited patiently.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:33

Yes, go on in.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:35

May I? I shall. Let's OL26. Call her what you like. Let's face it. Let's face it. It's the UCP Live 26, isn't it? So get yourself down there, grab a ticket, screw your face up all you like, RGT. We'll sell it how we like. If we get enough people there, look at it this way. It's a takeover.

unknown 1:15:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:05

Well, we can do this. And we will do this.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:09

I don't know of all the work John's put in, he's gonna be totally grateful about you just taking over his show for a UCP live.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:15

Oh, look out. We've sold a load of tickets. Maybe I can retire to a small carib in Ireland.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:21

I think you're gonna say caravan.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:24

That's better, it fits the scale. Maybe I can retire to a small caravan in Yam.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:28

There we go, there we go. Yes, better.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:31

Yammouth. You don't want to be no, actually, he don't defecate in his own town. He'd go in Maybo.

unknown 1:15:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:46

You're our top to crack on this show, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:48

I know I am. I'm trying to keep it straight, lace, and professional. And you keep mentioning defecate. That's your new word.

SPEAKER_06 1:15:55

That's my way of being UCP as well, isn't it? Uh you want professional? I'll use the professional words. I defecated on it.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:03

Well, that leads us nicely into uh what we call affectionately Stingray's boot, what's nestled between some counterfeit nappies and a dodgy copy for Battle for Endor is some of the new releases for June 2005. Spring stop! Wow! Get out of the way!

SPEAKER_06 1:16:18

Let's go! He's keen today.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:21

Yes, I know. He's obviously uh got a few promises to be made, I think, or kept. Um what are you uh picking out of Stingray's boot, or did you want to describe what Stingray looks like?

SPEAKER_06 1:16:34

I absolutely do, because I tell you what. Hot off the hype, and at this point now, six films worth of tat he needs to offload, and he's not quite sure when he's next gonna get the chance to do a mega dump of tat like this. So everything's a third of the price. He's all over it like a rash, he's got out the car dressed like Jar Jar Binks, he's thrown little Wayne at me. Like, what is this? Vader, you could have done him as Yoda, you missed an open goal!

SPEAKER_05 1:17:09

Right, calm down.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:12

I know. Fine, don't worry about it. So there you go, that's how I'm seeing him. I tell you what movie I'm picking, Star Wars.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:23

Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm in doing movies. No, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You just rewind a bit there, Stallion. We'll just go back to uh what we're gonna be banned. I haven't even done what my stingray looks like yet. We'll do the films at the end. You just wind that little neck in.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:39

If a if a tree falls in the woods and no one sees it, did it make a noise?

SPEAKER_00 1:17:48

God, I sort of have an Eric Cantnar on here.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:51

If I see the Ray and you don't tell me how he sees, did Ray even come?

SPEAKER_00 1:17:58

Anyway, how I'm seeing them.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:00

You wanted Ray on Flash U B, you wanted the sled, but you gotta deal with the the fallout of a man who appears differently to everybody. You can't just skirt these questions.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:10

I'm not skirting them, but you were going straight into movie selection. That's just like woe up there, fella. Yes, yeah, and I was saying into the script of the show.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:21

Right.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:22

How are you how are you seeing Lord Way?

SPEAKER_00 1:18:25

Uh Way I am seeing uh the Ray. He's in a he's in leather, tight, very tight leather trousers. Is he? He's in a purple shirt. He looks very similar to the guy with seven sins on the cover. I thought that's what you would do. Yeah, yeah, he's very similar. Although he hasn't got the shoes like the guy, he's in sort of these sort of dirty white crocs with no socks.

SPEAKER_06 1:18:53

Be careful because I I'm nervous that you're gonna announce Wayne as the legs we were looking through.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:59

No, thank God, definitely not, not the woman in his share on the front. No, no, he's he's been a bit more careful with that. Um little Wayne, he looks like um one of the like zombie guys from Cold Fear on the ship. Yeah, nice, yes, so he's in he's in a little uniform, he's got a little sort of scruffy sailor's beanie hat on. Yeah, less of that. He's making all the noises of a little zombie less of that.

SPEAKER_06 1:19:37

Oh, more of that, yeah, more of that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:40

So, but yeah, very on big, but also Actually, you're a lot, lot less of that.

SPEAKER_06 1:19:44

Actually, with my eyes closed, that that wasn't clear what that was.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:49

And he's also made his uh bluebird look like it's induced, so but he's actually made the body kit out of cardboard and tried to paint it blue with with with with lot poster paint. So, but it's sort of I mean if you get a gust of wind, it's gonna blow that sort of side skirts off. But it looks looks simple.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:08

What sort of speed gust of wind do you think it would take the side skirts off?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:13

Not yeah, he's he's crawled up the drive a bit, so I think he's worried about any high speed, he's gonna go straight over his skull. So he's yeah, it's not quite there, but it it looks alright. I mean the cardboard spoiler's sagging a bit.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:26

Um, if he gets up onto the A12, that's gone.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:30

Well, yeah, I mean the spoiler looks like a bench after Debs Babs has sat on it, it's got a big, a big bow in the spoiler.

SPEAKER_06 1:20:37

In it? That's Tracy's ironing board.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:39

Oh, geez. Wow, yes, it's a odd shape spoiler. But um let's go on to what we would have hopen to have been playing. What are you gonna pick out of Sting's boot?

SPEAKER_06 1:20:53

That's a wire out. Debs is brasier, steady. What am I gonna pick out of here? I don't know. Uh oh, I had a game, looked it out. I'm gonna take two because it's Easter.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 1:21:13

I'm gonna take Batman Begins for Thomas, OG, as he's known. Not you. And I'm also gonna take because I'm feeling really mainstream, and I feel like I want a bit of this, and you're gonna be like, George, are you okay? Like, yeah, I'm totally fine. I'm taking Medal of Honor European Assault as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:36

Nice. No, no, good, careful. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with two. I'm gonna go with um a game I really do need to play again. We did play it as part of a playthrough a few years ago on on Unofish Controller podcast, and that is Conquer live and reloaded on original Xbox. I've got that. Um sort of a modern version of Conquer's Bad Fur Day. Um I'd like to play that again, but also a game to this day that I still want and I still want to play, and that is Steambock Chronicles. I know it's quite an expensive game now. There's a very collectible game. Sat on PS2. Hmm.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:13

I know I know it's how much is expensive when you say expensive. What does that actually look like?

SPEAKER_00 1:22:19

Um let me have a quick look. I know it is if you know Radical Reggie off the YouTube as his favourite game of all time, and he always talks about it. And I saw a bit of play footage when he was playing it, and I thought, do you know what? I really like the look of that game. Um did it even come out here? Yep, yeah, yeah, it is. It's£80 plus, so you're looking. I think if you got a good deal on it, maybe£70 to£90 in between there, somewhere.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:46

Oh wow, mate. Well, one thing I would say is the UK box art is not doing that game any favours.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:52

No, it's it's awful when you look at the Japanese box art.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:56

Those£505s, they were thanks for bringing the game out over here. Thanks for murdering the game with the box art choices that you made.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:06

Yeah, um, but yeah, so Steambox Chronicles for me, and now I'll give you permission to say your movie.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:13

Oh now you won't listen to Steve.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:15

You only wanted to say it early because you worried I was gonna say it, so you wanted to quickly get your I had no fear.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:21

So I'm gonna pick Harry Potter. I thought you were getting Star Wars. I know, but I like to uh mix it up.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:32

Well, I was gonna go.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:34

Do you know which Harry Potter it was?

SPEAKER_00 1:23:36

What 2005 that would have been I don't know, what's the second or third one would it have been?

SPEAKER_06 1:23:44

Goblet of Fire. Was it really? Ray got me it, don't ask.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:48

Mmm, I'm not gonna ask. I'm not gonna ask. Um what you got, Lover? I was gonna go Batman Begins. That was out in May 2000.

SPEAKER_06 1:23:57

Well that would have been quite a good idea.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:59

Yes, um, but because we spoke about Batman Begins quite a bit, I thought, well, as a backup, I'm gonna go with, and I still can't believe this film's that old, but I'm gonna go with the Longest Yard, the remake of Adam Sadler in. Um I like that film, it's a good laugh. The remake of the 74 movie with Burt Reynolds in. Which which was remade again in the UK, um, as Mean Machine with Vinnie Jones as a UK version.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:24

Um it was.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:26

Yeah, yeah, with with I think a debutant of Danny Dyer in, I believe. One of his first movies.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:32

Um why didn't you say his middle name?

SPEAKER_00 1:24:35

What is his middle name? I don't know his middle name.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:41

Alright. I thought we got with an F.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:45

I have no idea.

SPEAKER_06 1:24:48

Rhymes with looking. Well, I genuinely believe that's his middle name.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:55

Right?

SPEAKER_06 1:24:58

We'll get ready with a bleak machine when we come back, by the way. It's a swear word.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:02

Oh well no no no, don't say it. Don't say it.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:07

Danny Effie Dyer, mate. You know, it's Danny Effie Dyer. You don't say Danny Dyer. You say his full name, his middle name. Effing, my middle name's Effin, mate. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows that.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:26

Beautiful. I thought he was in the room.

SPEAKER_06 1:25:29

Exactly. And that's why you don't mess with him. And you say his full name, or you don't say it at all.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:34

Well, I do apologise, Mr. Dyer, but obviously I can't pronounce that word on here.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:39

Effie you say that, come here, eh? Why you say that? I just said it. You're gonna edit it out, edit out, Danny Dyer. Would you even do that?

SPEAKER_06 1:25:49

He looks pretty angry to me. He says it. Why don't you simmer down before you do it?

SPEAKER_00 1:25:54

He says he's about 13, but he sains it, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:25:56

He's just quite far back from the mic. He's a little bit he's not sat on the knee. He's Danny Dyer, mate. You don't mess about, he's not gonna sit on someone's knee. It's not an albert. This is not an advert for caliber lager. He's the full deal. He's sat on the back. Probably the two that listen. It's very direct it's very yeah, exactly. It's for ourselves to consume. Uh what else do you got to tell me about 2005?

SPEAKER_00 1:26:26

Um, I think that's pretty much it, really. I think we've covered May 2005 pretty well. Um, I hope you've liked what we were hoping to play. What we would have been.

SPEAKER_06 1:26:35

I wonder just on the when you sent me across that 2005 thing, by the way. I just want to say that it was very much a time of expectation, waiting. It didn't matter which brand you were loyal to. There was that kind of like, oh, what's happening here? What what's going on? Uh are Microsoft gonna fumble it back end of the year, what's going on with Sony? Is this is the PlayStation 2 gonna cut it? It was a it was a very as always RGT. You always just zone in, but sniper in on these months, these kind of thank you, I don't know, seasonal changes. I would say episode 17, you might have just got lucky, but actually I think there's a little bit of something to it. I actually now started to see a wider sort of almost strategic picture to what you're doing. Uh this is not how I would do it at all. This is very very intelligent. So I feel like a I'm on a very highbrow show. Very I feel well, I feel like you're on a highbrow show. I keep trying to drag it into the gutter and oh god, yes, you quite rightly just you're not having any of that.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:47

This is the hardest anxiety I have a week just trying to steer you through the filth and just keep you on a straight line.

SPEAKER_06 1:27:53

I think filth's a bit strong. I don't think I'm line for that.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:57

It's almost like you're you're a worm in person.

SPEAKER_06 1:28:18

I think me. All my family have ever received in terms of a compliment in that character. So I shall take that to the bank in cash. I don't know if I've never been described as a worm. Who am I kidding? In every pantheon of life you can imagine, I've been described as one.

Final Thoughts And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 1:28:46

But yes. So thank you, good sir. No, no problem at all. You're my little worm. Um I hope you all enjoyed this show. I hope you enjoyed the show. Hope May 2005 was uh interesting enough for you with the hardware coming out with the news stories and the games. There's plenty of games that are coming out there from all the different genres. Um but enjoyed that one. Um just saying thanks for listening. Thanks for continually downloading. I hope you're still enjoying the flashback shows. Um, if you want to contact us, questions at unofficial controllerpodcast.com or you can contact the show on your podcast provider, but when it comes through to us it won't have who you are on there. We can relay that comment on the show, but if you'd like your name read out, just put the bottom, just put your name, and we will uh we'll give you a shout-out on the show. But um yes, thanks everyone. Thanks, George, again. Another great show and your knowledgeable insights into the world of gaming.

SPEAKER_06 1:29:43

Ever random.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:45

Random, but you are very knowledgeable, and that's why you're here. Because uh you have a good memory for games that I tend to forget, so it's normally good. I think I have a good memory for adverts for magazines for You do, you remember the advertising, but you also remember the games, whereas I'm always like, I've played that, I can't remember it, I've played that, I can't remember it. So you fill in the gaps and say, Well, it was like this, it was like that, so yes, you're uh you're a must-have on here, I'm afraid. So you aren't going anywhere, fella.

SPEAKER_06 1:30:12

I was I was yeah, sorry about that, but I I was trying to get Scotty interested to see if I could save myself from Flashy B. But he's I'm not recording with him. I was like, alright, mate, fair enough. Just tell him politely that you're struggling with workers.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:30

Stranger how it played out.

SPEAKER_06 1:30:31

Um but yeah, I see you both you both yeah walked me into a Flashy B permanent co-host role. Stop. Genuinely though, mate, great as I say, great episode. Enjoy it, enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:45

Thank you very much. Yes, and like I say, thanks to everyone. Um just leaves me to say flashback, the games you loved, the stories you forgot. I'll see you later, everyone, and I will see you next week, George.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:58

See you later, guys.