If Consoles Become PCs What Do We Lose

Consoles are meant to be simple, so why does the future keep trying to turn them into PCs? We’re back with a proper catch-up on what we’ve been playing and what the latest gaming news says about where everything is headed. From the comfort of replaying Kingdom Hearts to the joy of having games fit around real life, we talk about why convenience is not a gimmick, it’s the whole point. 

We start with handheld habits and “sofa gaming”, including Ste's renewed love for PlayStation Portal Remote Play after updates and a smoother experience at home. Then we get honest about modern comfort loops: Fortnite dailies, battle pass FOMO, Reload chaos and the way collaborations can pull you back in. With the new season arriving, we break down the rivals theme, confirmed Looney Tunes characters, the end of surfing, and the big talking point that will annoy a lot of players: reduced V-Bucks rewards. 

From there, we move into sequels and surprises. High On Life 2 delivers laughs and weirdness, but not every new mechanic lands. Planet of Lana 2 looks beautiful and feels smart, yet it can also make you want to uninstall when you overthink a puzzle for an hour. We finish by zooming out to the industry: PS6 and Xbox Project Helix rumours, the tension between console identity and PC flexibility, a stacked Game Pass drop list including Resident Evil 7, and a UK lawsuit that could reshape how people think about PlayStation Store digital game pricing. 

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Catching Up

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Hi, and welcome to episode one hundred and seventy-eight of Gamers of the Lost Spark Podcast. I'm your host, Stuart Burgess, and joining me as always is Mr. Stephen Carter.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Hello, mate. How are we doing? I'm good yourself? Yeah, I'm good, thank you. We we enjoyed the first one so much. We thought we'd come back for reboot number two.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah, I've got to admit, this morning I was dying, so reboot number two nearly, very nearly happened. But uh I've I've mustered through and obviously, you know, we uh if we keep on it, it we'll be okay. And and there's so much stuff to talk about, and so much stuff came out after our last podcast. It was like, oh my god, you know, we've just recorded this and they've now dropped, you know, the the new console-ish. And and we were chatting on the group, and like Anthony turned round and said, Yeah, it always happened that way. Even six years ago when we did the pod. We do the pod, we discuss everything, and the next morning someone would talk about something called drop something.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

I know. It's like we've rebooted, and then oh, the lit it was literally like a day after, or the day, like a couple of days after, it's like there's this news, and then there's this news, and da da da da. It's like we've made a big song of dance about coming back, and it's like we're already outdated. Like we're literally already outdated by a matter of days. It's like, come on now, come on, it's like they were taunting us. It's like literally like Xbox were taunting us. We like Message Anthony said, Are you are you like an insider here? Like, because you know what we've talked about or discussed, and you're already releasing more information before before we've even launched as reboot. Like, come on, give us a chance, let us at least get his feet under the desk again. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

I think he's always he there's always been the the alternate reality, Anthony, that is a game developer and works in the game industry like James does. So uh I think sometimes he just looks at like those those jobs at Rare or those jobs at playground or things like that, where he's just like, Oh, what would the alternate reality be of you know Anthony Chesson, game developer?

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Yeah, I think he's a mall. I think I think he's a mall, like he was put on this earth to like spy on us all, but it secretly is a Microsoft ambassador or something. He must have a hand in it somewhere. He must do.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

It's too much of a coincidence. He's probably still getting all the press releases that when he was doing the pod six years ago.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Keeping all the juicy bits and like, no, I'm not telling him.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

I'm not telling him. We'll find out that we find out that he started a podcast of his own in a few weeks, you know. Yeah, yeah. He's not gonna come back on ours, but he started one of his own.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

He's undercover somewhere, he's I've got an alias.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

So,

Kingdom Hearts Returns On Portal

SPEAKER_00 2:38

yeah, I mean, so what have you been what have you been playing in the last couple of weeks? So you were away last week, weren't you?

SPEAKER_01 2:44

So Yeah, yeah. So we went for a week uh for up to Berwick up on Tweed, and so we had a little caravan holiday up there. So needless to say, I didn't really play much up there. We were in a caravan, so we didn't have any internet or anything, so I didn't touch anything. But since then, slightly before and slightly afterwards, I've played a couple of games which will probably come on to Planet of Lana 2, which we've both been playing. But I really, really, really got an itch to play Kingdom Hearts again. And I want to sort of come out from out of the gate, and obviously last podcast I said about the portal and obviously the ROG, things like that. I've been playing the portal since we came back from holiday. And it's worked really, really well. Like I want to say on record, after my quitism at last time, since coming home, since buying Kingdom Hearts, sticking it in the PS5, playing it remotely on the portal, it's worked absolutely seamlessly. Now there's been a lot of updates for it, and I I think Anthony shared something. We shared something about a portal update, which I haven't done the most recent update. I think it came out yesterday, the 17th, as a record on the 18th, there's been another update for it. But I updated it quite extensively. So I've probably not touched it this year, I don't think, the portal. I think it's been it's been quite a while since I touched it. But I updated it, it's got a new UI, everything, it was quite new to me. I had to learn how to use it again. But since playing Kingdom Hearts on it, granted, I mean it's one of the things I say granted, Kingdom Hearts is not stressful, but because it's cloud-based, it doesn't really matter what you're playing, I guess. But we did upgrade our internet at the start of this year, so we've got slightly quicker internet, but we had maybe three, four hundred meg before, we've got about five hundred meg now, so it's not like we had a slow connection. But yeah, I've been playing Kingdom Hearts on it on the portal. And yeah, it's one of my all-time favourite series is Kingdom Hearts. I know it's one of those series that probably people have probably choose to skip, or they probably didn't have a great affinity to it like I did, but it I kind of played it around God, I want to think what when it came out now. It was quite a while ago. It was PS2 gen, so it was quite a while ago. And I was listening to her podcast today, actually, and I think I said to Anna the other day, it wasn't a really popular game, it didn't send sell many copies, sorry, but it was actually in the top ten all-time selling PS2 games, which I was really shocked at. It came in at number 10, but I think it sold about 5.9 million copies on the PS2. So I was shocked how many copies it actually sold. It's showing its age, it really is, but as a mashup between Final Fantasy and Disney, it's almost like a game that sounds like it shouldn't work, but it really does. And I I don't know what really got me into thinking I really want to play it again, but I've just got the itch. I picked up a second hand copy on CEX on the remake, 1.5 and 2.5, and I'm loving it. I'm absolutely loving being back. It's great, like I say, it's showing its age with the controls and the camera and things, it's it's a bit janky, you know, it's got its quirks, but I'm absolutely loving being back. I don't know if you ever if you ever played it way back when.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

No, no, to be honest, it's not one I've ever really played. I I'll be honest with you, it's one of those games that's never I suppose it has slightly intrigued me. It has sort of like it has slightly made me it's like the weird mashups, like you say, that sort of intrigued me a little bit, but it's there's always been a reason that it's like I've not played it, or you know, it's obviously a purchase one where I've not wanted to, you know, drop the cash on it for something I didn't like. I'm not sure if it's I'm not sure if it's ever been on the you know the PlayStation Plus or or Game Pass to as a or a de even a demo, but no, it it's always intrigued me, but I never jumped into it.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Yeah, I think Kingdom Hearts 3 was on Game Pass for a time. None of them are on it now. I don't know about PlayStation Plus, but I checked like the Game Pass and things for if it was on there because I'm I'm 99.9% sure Kingdom Hearts 3 was on there. But like I said, I think it's probably the time that I picked up, I want to say maybe just almost like teen, pre-teen when it came out on PS2. I remember seeing it in one of the magazines and like like the preview, like when you used to flick through a magazine and see what's coming up, and like, oh, that looks pretty cool. Because like you've got like an Aladdin World, Jungle Book World, Alice in Wonderland, um, Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of my favourite ones, because Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my all-time favourite movies. But yeah, having sort of grown up on like Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy X, that sort of thing, and living in that world of that RPG sort of style game with a cartoon element thrown in with a Disney element as well. Yeah, I'd I like I said I don't even know what switched me on thinking, I really want to play it again, but there was something that just switched and I was like, I need to play this game again. I really, really need to.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

I think there's a comfort sometimes, isn't there? You know, there's you look sometimes. You look in your like I look at the digital library on Xbox and PlayStation, and I'll go, oh do you know, I haven't played that for ages, I might download it. And that may be a you know, a side-scrolling sort of like Metroidvania type of game, or but it or it might be a full-on game, and you know, and thankfully for PlayStation Plus and uh Game Pass, I found some little gems like uh what was it, Spyro the Dragon, you know, and it's like the Spyro games. You know, I've not played the Spyro games in years, but I noticed it on Game Pass the other day, and I jumped in and I'm like, do you know what? I don't even remember this. This is just like something easy that I could just jump in and out about. I've not got to think about it. There's not a storyline I've got to think about. And I think sometimes it's those those games that maybe are a bit nostalgic towards you, that you just think, do you know what? I'll jump back in, and then you remember how good it is. And of course, when you've got it on, you know, the you know, the ally X or the PlayStation Portal, it's you could sit there. I mean, I've started using my Ally X a little bit more, especially with Planet Alana, because I've sort of like been using it a little bit in the morning when I've had like a bit of TV on the background, I've picked it up, and I've just played that to get me my reward points for playing a PC game, but we're we're brush over that. Um, and um, and then um yeah, and and I do find I'm using that a bit more since the last time we podded.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yeah. Well that's it, and and after we we did last record, I was like, I I looked at the PS5 and I looked at the portal, and I've got a PSP, and I was like, I could jack all these in. My local my local computer exchange had Is it the Rogue Ally and the Rogue Ally X? You've got the white one and the black one, and they they had the white, they had the white one in, not the black one. And I'm like, I could jack the PS5 in, I could jack the portal in, the PSP, and I could probably buy it. I was like, I could jump all in on this. And then but then we said, Oh, if you're gonna do it, you're gonna do the whole hog, you're gonna go the black one. You know, you're gonna get the proper beefed up version. I'm like, no, we'll we'll give it one more chance, we'll give the we'll give the portal a go. Because, like you say, for for me, it's like if Ted wakes up during the night or something, like just to have that, just to sit in bed with him, let him settle, play that while he's settling down, blah blah blah. You know, it's just something that easy to have and convenient, and it's worked seamlessly since I've redone it. And whether it's the the updates, whether it's the software updates or what, or whether it's my slightly upgraded internet, I'm not sure. But since redoing it, I'm like, I love this thing again. Like I've fallen back in love with it, and it's just to sit on the sofa, sit in bed at my desk while I'm working between calls. If anyone's listening, you know, just to just to have it there, just to think this is easy, this is what it should be like. But yeah, like I say, I've I'm playing through one at the moment, I've got the 1.5 and 2.5 remix, I've got one and two to play through again. So yeah, so whether it's like you say it's that comfort blanket of going back and retreading old ground, maybe, I don't know. But yeah, it's just it's really, really nice to be in those worlds again, just to sort of like the the music and the soundtrack is iconic. Like I can almost recall every world, like no for note of the soundtrack and and everything. And do you know when you go back an old game and you almost remember like that's there, that's there, that's there. You know, you almost it's like, how do I remember this stuff? Like, I know where there's a chest, I know what to do here, I know what to do there, and it's like, how of all the things in my brain I've remembered, is that still there? Like, I've forgotten important stuff from last week.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

It's that it's that memory sort of reflex, it's almost like I say you never for even you know, if you don't ride a bike for five or six years, you'll get back on a bike and you'll ride a bike again. But it I think it's the same, especially if it's you know, like I mean, I've not played, you know, there's I think it was like I've not played Assassin's Creed for about a year, and I jumped back into Shadows, I think, the other day, and and it's just like, yeah, I remember how to play it, I remember where it is, you know, and then I think they were putting some of the older games out, so I went back in and played a few of the older games, but you know, I think it's just that memory sort of like reflex that you just go back in it, especially if it's something that you've got a fondness to, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Fortnite Grind And Why It Works

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah, definitely. But I've been um I've been playing well Fortnite first. Unfortunately, much to my I mean, I've not really I've not really like at the weekend, I didn't I could have just sat there all day and played it and I could have really caned it, but I think I have got to the the latter stage of the extensions to the battle pass. So I think I've got three skins for one of the characters to unlock, and I think I think as of just a minute ago, because I played it, I played it a little bit earlier, I had a couple of games to do my dailies, and I think I think I'm at a level 194. Yeah, I think, but but I I found with Fortnite that especially when you're going for like level ups, that it it you don't if you do your dailies, you get like I don't know 75,000 XP and you can quite easily level up. Then after that, even if you play like a full game of like reload or a full game of no build or or OG, you're getting sort of like I don't know, 20,000, 30,000 XP. So you've you've really have got to grind. Um so and I'm like, do you know what? I just I just don't want to, you know, I don't really it's more of a like a FOMO. I don't want to miss out on these skids, and now I'm so close to level 200, but but as we record this, you know, we are you know a day away from the new the new season, so I've almost gone like right, okay, I've done my dailies for today. That's probably the last dailies for this season because I think the other one will, I think it kicks off at 2 pm UK time tomorrow. So it's the last right, I'm fine, I'm done. I I really can't be bothered anymore. But no, I mean I've really enjoyed it. I mean, I got my first uh, as you can see around me, I got my first uh I got my first victory in reload the other day, and actually I go back to what I said on the last pod, I quite enjoy reload, it's just nuts. It's like especially when you get some good players on there. Like if I play at like half past four or five o'clock in the morning, you're playing against people in America playing, so you know, you're generally playing with some quite good players, and it's just it's nuts. You're just like bullets are flying everywhere, you know. You'll go on like I mean, I think I think this one I got like a a 12 or 13 streak before someone sneaked up behind me and took me out for something for me, for something that I can just jump into, play 20 minutes, play half an hour, have a bit of a giggle. I I actually really, really enjoy it. And and again, I I echo the comment I made the other pod was like you don't really need to stay in it and train and and do all the stuff that you might have to do with you know a Halo or a Call of Duty or a battlefield, it's just quite easy. I mean, sometimes I've played and it has been like shooting fish in a tank, yeah. You know, all you know you know, it's all all the kids have got up ready before they go to school, and you're now playing with someone that keeps them walking into a wall and you're like, I'm just gonna kill you. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I and I don't know if it does.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

I I'll I I'll have to research this and see if it does, but I think to a certain extent as well, like if you're just getting back into it if you haven't played for so long, it kind of puts you against those people, newbies, shall we say. Yeah. And then it levels you up, levels you up, and it puts you in lobbies where there's more people that are more competent, shall we say, and then it mixes you with other platforms, it matches you with PC, so you've got keyboard and mouse players. You know, it doesn't just say, right, your Xbox or your Xbox players together, PlayStation, blah blah blah, it mixes everybody in together. So I think if you just knew it's sort of like, right, let's let you find the ropes, we'll we'll stick you in against some people that might not know you know the newbies at the same time, so you're not getting nerfed as soon as you land, which can happen in some games, it happens to the best of as you land, you die straight away. But yeah, I I must admit I haven't I haven't played it for a while, but knowing that this new season, like say, as we're recorded today, the new season lands tomorrow, tomorrow night when I finish work, I'll probably jump in, see what it's about, do the dailies, tick, you know, check in, see what the new season's about, and go from there and start afresh. Because I think with Fortnite, I think we touched on this last time a little bit, is that it really depends on what the hook or what the collaborations are in the season as to what gets you like for last season or this current season was recorded. Like there was Back to the Future, and when that came out, I was on board, like Love Back to the Future, one of my favourite movies, blah blah blah. And then after that, I was like, nah, yeah, kind of they were a bit of South Park and what have you, which I don't think I actually touched the South Park stuff for as much as I really like South Park, I don't think I actually touched it. So I think it really depends on what the collabs are, which it's one of the news articles we'll touch on later, you know, for this season and things. So I will always jump into a new season, I'll always start afresh. I've got obviously Fortnite crew through the battle uh through my Game Pass Ultimate, so you know, so I've probably got some some tokens to spend on there for some skins unnecessarily for no reason.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

What I quite what I quite liked, I mean obviously I think I said on the last pod, I jumped in because of Game Pass and because of the Simpsons, and then because obviously because of Game Pass, you got the new season, and what I quite liked about it was the like the the the sort of like so you have the main season bit and then you've got the subseason where they have the music and then the Lego and yeah. And what I thought was really good was that I completed like I think I completed one of the I think they split the sub battle pass, let's call it, into like what you can earn up to, I think it was something like the 9th of January, and then what you could earn after it. And what I quite liked was was I got all the way up to it, but I kept on earning, kept on earning, kept on earning. And then when it unlocked, it just unlocked all those levels. It remembered what XPI had accrued and then unlocked all those for me as well. So it didn't sort of like it not necessarily rewarded you, but not necessarily hindered you, but it was like, look, do you know what you've created you know so you've created all these XP, we'll s we'll unlock those levels for you. And then when I logged in on Saturday, they were doing the the last event thing, which was quite you know, weird, as in like it was about two minutes long, and I'm like, Oh, is that it? But what was quite good was they had I think it was they called it the power hour, so you were getting supercharged XP. So I'm like, and I happened just to come into it with like five minutes gone. So I stayed on there for the extra, I mean, and in the end it was an hour because they were quite good. If you started a game before the hour was up, you were still basically getting XP over the hour. So that was quite good fun. But but no, I mean for me, you know, it's just I'm enjoying just jumping in, playing a few bits and pieces, doing my dailies, having a bit of a laugh in there, still not jumped into duos or anything like that. But uh, you know, for me it's just something I could dip in and out of and then just play it as and when I want to play it.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Yeah, this is the the beauty of it. It's one of those things that you can like say, I I need to do my dailies, or you know, whether it's morning, afternoon, or night, you can just dip in half an hour to an hour. I've done my dailies, that's enough. You know, we we used to play it, like I said, during COVID, during lockdown. Me and Alice should probably jump in. You know, we used to play on the or we tried to, so she'd play on the Xbox, I'd play on the portal. Now the portal seems to be more stable. We might try it again, so at least I can play on that and we can play a couple of duo's games maybe. Because yeah, she she'll explain it, but we'll have to jump on together as well and try a duo's at some point. Can just chat about with some more, try to chat about the new season when it when it rolls in.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

Yeah, I did uh to close the Fortnite stuff out. I did go somewhere the other day where they had a 200-inch modular tile wall, and I did fire Fortnite up on it, and yeah, 200-inch screen that on a on a modular LED wall. That was uh that was an experience. You know, it was almost like if you've ever been watched a movie in an IMAX and you spend the movie like moving from the movie actual head, yeah, because the screen is so big, so it's like the character on the screen was bigger than me. So what else you've been playing?

High On Life 2 Hits And Misses

SPEAKER_00 19:53

You've got High on Life 2. Have you been playing a little bit more of that?

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Yeah, so I I probably should have mentioned this the last part actually. So this was something it's something that's on Game Pass. So I played High on Life, the original, but that was on Game Pass as well. So inevitably I was gonna play the sequel. It's just mental. Like, I don't know if you played the first ones, you but like it's just crazy. Like, and I kept I think Anna was watching me play it, and she watched me play something else, and I said it's one of those things that sometimes like games that are crazy, as long as there's some sort of thread and all some sort of reasoning to it, it can get away with it. And if it's just crazy for being crazy, it can't get away with it. And for some reason, like High and Life seems to get away with it. Like, I must admit, uh, Higher in Life 2, I didn't really follow the story as much as Higher Life the original. I played a lot of it, I think I played a lot remotely on the iPad on cloud streaming, so I didn't necessarily play or pay as much attention maybe to the story as I could. But yeah, it's just it's just crazy. Like the you know, the guns that's all like the one thing that I will say that I did pay attention to is like the jokes, the humour, how it's written, you know, that seems to be really well done. Like it's very topical almost, it's quite on on the pulse of like modern things for when it was developed and written. You know, it's very self-deprecating in times, you know, it takes a mechanic itself in terms of like modern society, that sort of thing. The one bugbear that I found with this one is like I really didn't get the skateboarding thing. Like, I don't know if you've played High Life 2 button.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

I've not, I've seen I've seen the pictures of it, but I've not again it's one of those things where just mentally, because I've been busy doing life and work, I've like, do you know what? I haven't got time to start this yet. And I knew Planet Alana 2 was coming along, and I'm like, I want to play that first. So, but I have watched a few bits and pieces, and I think I was chatting with we were chatting on the pod the other day or on the group the other day about I don't like watching videos of games that I want to play. Like there's videos of Fool's Horizon up at the moment. I'm not interested. I I want to start up the game and experience the first 45 minutes. It's myself. Yeah. Okay. Especially because you've got Game Pass, so it's on there as standard. So I've not gone in because I'm like, do you know what? I want to go in when I've got a few hours to get in there mentally. But the first one I absolutely loved. I think I can't remember if I 100% it or I got very, very close, and there might have been one, like as Sony would term it, one platinum that I couldn't unlock. And I was like, do you know what? I just haven't got the time to grind this one out.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

Yeah. And I mean, I I do usually check a review out of a game before I play it myself, and then I reserve judgment of the final review, so I've played it myself. And then when I actually played it, I'm like, I kind of dig what they say in, like, I kind of understand it. It's like it's almost like the skateboarding thing. I liken it to a little bit of like Sunset Overdrive when it came out on the Xbox. It's like this this mechanic was really cool. And then they built a full game around it. Like every world, every place was built around this skateboarding thing, which is fine as long as the actual controls are really tight, you know, is you know, there's no bugs and da da da. And it was quite buggy in some respects. The controls of the skateboarding wasn't the best it could be. And it's like, if you're gonna build a game around that core concept, at least make it clean, you know, make it tight, make it work. And like there was random like bits of buildings, you know, had this like slope up so you could skate up and down, da da da da. And I eventually just stopped doing it, so I'm like, it don't really I don't really like it, you know, it's just a personal preference, I guess, but I didn't really sort of get on with it, so I just kind of left it a little bit. You know, the weapons are great, you know, the humour that's in it, you know, there's some new weapons or some old returning favourites from the first game. Do they add a lot to it? It's hard to say, you know. You end up finding his I did at least find myself like returning the same guns to use rather than sort of you, you know. The the last, the final sort of sequence of the game. So I have completed it, which is rare three sometimes. I'll get through a game and then just end up ditching it, but this I actually saw through to the end. It was like the last sequence was almost like a final exam of like, have you been paying attention? Because we've got to make you use every single gun and every single secondary ability, like you've got to use this gun and do that, then you can use that gun and da da da da da da. It's like, oh, it just felt like a chore. Like it's like, let me play it a little bit how I want to play it, but there was a little bit, right? You've got to use this gun for that, then this gun for that, da da da da. It's like I say, it was almost like a test of have you been paying attention for these last 10-15 hours? Because we've got to test you on it. But yeah, like there were some great references, the you know, there's some great worlds that like say they're almost a bit of a riff on historical games, gaming development, blah blah blah. So yeah, it was it was a good game, I'd say. I enjoyed playing it. Was it would you say it's better than the first one? Um it's probably more of the same as the first one with some different guns. You know, I wouldn't say that it really changes anything or does anything better than the first one. There's some new things that make it fun and interesting as a as a sequel. Would you say you're missing out if you didn't play it? Maybe not, but if you played the first one as a second one, just to kind of a bit more of the same, definitely play it.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

I think sometimes it's that difficult second game. I think that you I'm trying to think of an example now, but there's many things in life generally where I mean there's some restaurants I've been to, and I've had some like a friend of mine, Owen, as we helped build his cinema in Bristol, and next to his cinema is a phenomenal Vietnamese restaurant, and we had this Vietnamese there, dinner there one night, and I've got to say it's probably one of the best meals I've ever eaten. And I want to go back there, but part of me doesn't want to go back there because I know that in my mind I remember it being so good, and I'm part of me doesn't want to go back and doesn't want to play the second game because it's like I'm just afraid that I'm gonna I've gonna have hyped it up so much in my brain. I mean,

Planet Of Lana 2 Puzzle Pain

SPEAKER_00 25:59

coming onto Planet Lana 2, I feel that way with Planet Lana 2. I feel that I enjoyed the first one really, really much. I loved it, and then when the second one landed, I was so looking forward to playing it, and I jumped into it. I think it was the weekend after we podded, so not last weekend, the weekend before. And I instantly remembered how much I loved it, but also how much I had to use a poxy guide to get around some of the challenges, and and and I I have to admit, even on I want to say Saturday probably, I actually deleted it on Saturday because there was one bit I was trying to get past, and I'm like, this is stupid, I cannot get past it. I don't want to look at the guide because I not that I feel like I'm cheating, but I I'm just like it's it shouldn't. I suppose I termed it as frustratingly awesome. It's a brilliant game, and I absolutely love it, but but there was one bit, I think I'm about halfway, I'm sort of like I'm in the water where I was having to use squids to hide where I'm swimming. Yes. And and there's one bit where you sort of like you go past two of these, I think they're whales or sharks, I can't remember, but you go past two of them and you go up to the top, and and I think it Meui, you get him out and he sits at the top, and then you take over the squid and you have to jump over, come back down. And and I I thought, well, hold on a second, if you put the squid, if you put a squid ink above one of the little portals that where you could breathe and extend your life underwater, it stays there. So I'm like, I spent an hour trying to trap this bloody fish between two of these things, and it just wasn't working. And I'm like, this is stupid, and then I'm like, and I'm like, right, look at this. I'm gonna find that I'm gonna find that I'm gonna just delete it. So I just deleted it. It shouldn't be this much of a pain in the bum. But I'd play some levels before which I really enjoyed, and I was you know proud of myself that I'd completed it. Then later that day, I was I think I had the like I think I had the MacBook on my lap, and I'm like, I'm gonna go in the guide. So I went and had a look at the guide and I scrolled for and found it, and then it was like, okay, so they've taken the fish, they swum over, they've come down, they've put the ink there, they've then swum up, got larna. Is that it? Oh my god, I was so overthinking what I had to do that I then found was like I actually know the ink stays there until you ink again, and then the old ink disappears. And I just sat there and went, Oh, for sake. You idiot. Yeah, and it was it was literally, and I'm doing one at the moment, I try to think I'm doing one at the moment, which was like you've got the I think they're called rollers, and you the you you take the roller across and then up, and then you have to go over this thing, and then the idea is you set fire to it by the the yeah, and again, I was trying to do it, and I was trying to do it in a way which was like, Well, I've obviously got to set fire to the flying thing, but I couldn't get it to shoot me, and the the flames to hit the succession of the stuff I'd put down, the web, let's say, to hit it and kill it. And then I looked at the video a l about an a few minutes afterwards. I'm like, actually, no, all you have to do is jump in from one to the other, go down, and I'm like, I'm just overcomplicating it, I'm overthinking the game, but I absolutely love the game. I absolut I love the art style. I love a game that it's a it's a chilled out game, but I think if I was to sum it up, it would be frustratingly awesome.

SPEAKER_01 29:47

Yeah, definitely. And and I I didn't play the first one, so I kind of come with it like this. Is brand new to me. I didn't play the first one because I must have been these sort of 2D side-scrolling sort of puzzle games adventures, they're not really my jam, but this is the beauty of Game Pass, as we alluded to last time, is that you play these games that you necessarily wouldn't try before. And yeah, I'm much the same, is that I always find with these games is that you can stare at something for so long, you come back with a fresh pair of eyes, and it's like, why don't I just do that? Like, I should have just done that. And I was the same, like, I'd I think we're pretty much of the same part way through, actually, because I've got the first, which will I say spoilers, but not, but obviously, there's not really there's a story, but there's no there's no text or there's no dialogue. You kind of make this up as you go along, and it's brother and sister, or sister and sister, brother and brother, and obviously you've got the little cat, and the you your younger sibling gets ill, and you have to find something to cure, cure them. I'm on the second, which is I think is the pearl in the shell. Yes, that's the same time here, yeah. So that's where I am. I've just started that and going through and of doing the same as like you say getting the fish and chopping the whales or the fish or the electrocuting things, whatever it is. And the bit before then, when you're in the mines under underground, and I was like, I was like, it was the same things with the little fluffy things and the trails and setting fire, and I was like, Oh, you idiot, I've got myself trapped. Like, I'm gonna have to kill myself to get out of this now. And I was like, it took me ages to me. I was like, why don't I just go back to the I'd just do this and I'm out? And it took me about 15 minutes before I figured it out. Like, like, how? Like, it's it's so frustrating, but it's frustratingly simple. Like it makes you, like you say, it makes you doubt yourself so much that I'm like you won't realise that you're overcomplicating it so much, which is part of its charm, really, is that it is fundamentally so simple, you know. And that's saying it doesn't necessarily do anything, you know, unique or different or anything. The the puzzles aren't overly complex, but it makes you think that they are. Like it's like just get over there, you know, like you're here, get there. You know, and there's there's literally a small puzzle, but like there's these robots that you have to move with the the the mining and drilling, you have to move them and adjust them, and then you can take control of them and things, and it's like it almost gives you like different channels to think, right? We have to go here and you have to do that, da da da da it. It's like nope you just get from there to there, do that, do that, and you're there. It's like it you stare at it for so long, it's like, why didn't I just do that? Like, why did I do that from for the first point?

SPEAKER_00 32:09

And what I love about it is the fact of that when you you know, on the 90% I've done without the guide because I've overthought that last five to ten percent of them, I I've completed it. Like again, down in the mines when you took over the hoverboard and you had to fly up and and things like this, you know, and you did it, and there was that you know, that that it was satisfaction. You're like, yeah, I managed to do that one. I like I really enjoyed that, and then you so it just kept on feeding you. The only the only other criticism I would have is that it does seem to follow the same format of you know, you you will complete a challenge, you will then maybe get a little bit of you know uh storyline where it bumps into a character, you then do a little bit of walking, a little bit of climbing, you might then do a little bit of sneaking about rounds of security stuff, but then you're on to another challenge. So it's almost like I'll do a challenge, I'll have six or seven steps, then I'll get to another challenge, and then I know when I complete that challenge, I'll have six or seven steps, and then I'll get to another challenge. So it's a little bit rinse and repeat, but but again, I am enjoying it. Do am I enjoying it as much as the first one? No, I don't think I am because again, I think it's the same as High in Life, it's the same as any sequel. Sometimes I think when you experience something like that for the first time, you're like, oh my god, this is amazing. And then when you get the second game, it is amazing, but because you've already experienced it, it's not so revolutionary as the first game.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Yeah, well that's it, and like I said, because I've not played the first one, I don't know. I'm guessing these things aren't the same. I'm guessing that these things, you know, these sort of mechanics and these these different sort of puzzle, you know, the solutions to the puzzles are different. But again, it's I think it's kind you know quite clever in some respects in terms of that, you know, it says the dialogue and things, you just fill in the blanks. I think that's a clever mechanic, but I also think it's also probably its detriment that you don't have that connection because you don't have the connection between the characters and the world and an understanding of what's going on. Like I must again, in a different way to Hindlife 2. I didn't really understand what was going on. You know, I kind of got the gist of Green Planet, you know, these people love the environment, love nature to do, and there's people taking over it, industrialising it, and mining it, and you know, maybe killing the planet, but because you didn't have the subtitles even subtitles, you don't even have subtitles, you know, let alone having somebody physically talking, you were just like filling the blank yourself, make your own story. I don't have that pull and that connection, you know, I don't have that, oh my god, what they're doing is killing the people, it's killing the planet, da da da. You know, you you've got to do this because you've got to save the environment, you've got to save them, and blah blah blah. Whilst I think it's a great edge, I think it's also a bit of a double-edged sword. I think it's kind of a bit of its detriment that I think people will be lost because they don't have that pull, because they not because they don't have the imagination to make their own story, but a lot of people want they want a hook, they want a connection, and because that that isn't there, well what why do I care? You know, that's the why why do I care what's going on?

SPEAKER_00 35:21

Well, Simon was gonna come on this pod with us this week, and then ironically, I I edited a podcast the other day with three people in it, and it was such a pain that I literally was with him yesterday and I went, Look, I tell you what, don't come on it because we're now doing so we're now doing our podcast via Riverside as well. We sort of split it up a little bit. So I said, Look, you're gonna be like me, you're gonna be doing a podcast every Wednesday. I said, So one week it'll be A V related, one week it'll be gaming related. But because he up until yesterday he was coming on it, he hasn't got Game Pass Ultimate, he's got Game Pass Premium, so it wasn't included in that. So he downloaded the demo and he said, he said to me yesterday, he said, I enjoyed it, but it was frustrating in respects of that I had no idea what was going on, and then it took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on, and then I did it, and then I went on to the next one. But I think he felt the same as what I felt, or what we felt, which was like it's a great game and it's got great potential, especially if you've not played the first one, but it is like a bit rinse and repeat, but it's a beautiful game. And the first one I would play, it's really, really good, but again, when I got to the end of it, it was a little bit challenging. And with this one, you've got a few new mechanics taking over the flying platform, that's new, the swimming a bit more is new, you know, the electrocuting sort of like whale stroke sharks and the the like the jellyfish that Muy jumps on, they're new, but the like the spider-type robots that sort of look down and kill you if you go too far there from the last one. But I think I think I'm right in thinking in this one, is this one's the only one you could go up underneath them with Meui and you can electrocute them or shut them down for a few minutes with his special ability. But no, I mean I'm enjoying it, I will carry on playing it because I have reinstalled it. So so I will carry on playing it, but yeah, it it's good. But again, I think frustratingly awesome is my my sort of takeaway from it.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Yeah, and I think it is that it's almost that perfect game to play on the ROG or the Rogue Ally X. You know, it's that pick up and play, looks great on a small screen, probably great on a big screen as well. I've played mine mostly on the cloud because that's pretty much how I play my Xbox these days, but I imagine it'll look much better.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

It looks amazing on the 77-inch OLED. I mean it the colours are beautiful, and yeah, it is it is stunning on a big screen. Um but yeah, but or as I say, it's the perfect game for a handheld. So perfect game for a rock or perfect, perfect game for a P. I'm not sure if it's on I've got a feeling it's on Switch 2. So it's the the perfect sort of game for that handheld, especially like you know, when you have to wear glasses and you can't play Fortnite because the characters are this big.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

Yeah, yeah, you don't you don't need to concentrate that much on it, do you really? So, yeah, it would it does look good on I would imagine it'll look great on a small screen anyway.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Awesome. So, right,

Quick Rating And Comment Request

SPEAKER_00 38:21

so that's what we've been playing. So before we get on to the news, please can I ask you to go and uh rate us on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying this podcast, or leave a comment on the YouTube channel about anything gaming, some feedback, you know, what you're enjoying. And surprise, surprise, Stephen, our first story is drum roll, it's gonna be about Fortnite.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

It is

Fortnite New Season And V Bucks

SPEAKER_01 38:42

mate, yeah. Like we've already alluded to, you know, we've got to be. Sorry, Anthony. Yeah, sorry, big, big apologies from the get-go. But yeah, so obviously he was recording the 18th, the 19th is the tickover of the new chapter of the late season from Fortnite. So, yeah, so this one, I think I'm right in saying, I think I saw a news article, this is one of the longest chapters there's been, or is the longest chapter that's gone on, which I think started in November, December last year, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 39:08

The GameSpot article that you've put up, which I've just got up on the second screen, yeah. It's basically, or is it the first season of Fortnite, chapter six, sorry, chapter seven, is the long is the game's longest in six years, but it end is finally in sight.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Yeah, and it yeah, the roll out of the new one got delayed by two weeks, which I'm guessing they're adding a bit of polish to. But yeah, this one's been on for quite a while now. So yeah, so we haven't got much information for this, and I must admit, I usually see some sort of leaks or some spoilers about the sort of the collabs that we get as part of the new season. I haven't seen too much on this one, but I think we mentioned earlier this one is rivals, so like you do get the opposites of things, the the foundation's back, you know, which is played by Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, he's back. So we we have seen a little bit in the trailers of the people that have frozen, as part of the trailer which Captain America was won, you know, and other bits and pieces of the returning characters like Fish Stick, that sort of thing, there in it. I I haven't seen much about other collaborations. We've got rumours, you know, I've seen loads and loads of rumours about like there's essentially Pokemon, there's potential Kingdom Hearts, you know, there's Harry Potter being thrown out there, you know, there's all sorts of different things, and it's hard to sometimes you have to pick out between is it real, is it legit, you know, but there's usually some pretty good leaks and some pretty good people that have got the finger on the pulse about what's coming. So yeah, so and again, I haven't really seen a map. I haven't seen a map for this one, which I usually have found if you dig in sort of like Twitter or X or the internet, you can usually see a map that comes out earlier or before the launch of the of the new season or chapter. But yeah, the things that we we seem to have the information that we've got, uh we've got a new refreshed loop pool. So you know we've got to get some new weapons, some new gadgets, some new items, new movement items, including one it says one your who your squad can use together. So I'm guessing that's some sort of travel mechanic or something, maybe that may be endured or trios squads or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 41:09

I think there's some type of zip line or something that you might be had to go from one side of the island to the other or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Yeah, so I'm guessing that that might be something. He does say season two will dial up the Looney Tunes, that's one of the things that is definitely confirmed in there that we've seen.

SPEAKER_00 41:25

That was how literally, whilst I was waiting for you to jump on and you were doing your dad duties, uh, there is a there is a trailer out of the season, and yeah, right at the end of it, I think it is Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are there, and I think is it Lola Duck, is it Lola Bunny is there as well. But so that one is a definite one, but yeah, it's uh the the rocks back in it, and uh the sort of theme for it is sort of like rivals showdowns. So you've got like the you've got the rock character up against the ice king, apparently where the lodges on the map. So so like the secret base where a lot of the stuff's been going on, that's gonna be the sort of like the headquarters to the I can't the foundation and then where the the lodge is, that's gonna be an ice palace where apparently the ice king is living or is and there's gonna be lots of battles there. But there is the whole the clip with Fish Tick and the Squid, and I'm not sure how it's gonna work because the trailer didn't really give it away because it was only about two minutes long, but it looks like within the game some characters are gonna be rivals. So if you're playing as Fishtick, then your rival is going to be the squid character whose name alludes me now, Squid Boy, funnily enough, and it it did very much come up and say rival detected, and then when you take the rival out, maybe you get better XP or you know better weapons, I don't know. But it looks like it's gonna be based. I mean, going back to what we were saying, the South Park one for me was absolutely terrible. I mean, for me, you know, as a person that's not let's just say a fortnight virgin, the the South Park was just the skins and then you know the the the Cartman world basically. So the Simpsons one was brilliant, and I think that this I think this one's gonna have a few big changes, but it's fundamentally based on the same map, and they're gonna get rid of surfing, which I can't wait to get rid of. Today they're making you do surfing, every single one is surfing, and it's just like right, I've had enough of this now. I want to get back in my bus.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

I'd I I didn't mind it, but it did sort of pigeonal where you could and couldn't go. You know, at least the battle the bus, you could kind of it's gonna launch that way, but at least you could wait right till the end and go that end of the island. Whereas with the surfing, you were kind of a little bit limited in terms of where you couldn't, couldn't go.

unknown 43:59

But

SPEAKER_01 44:00

Excuse me, I was just looking at the article actually as well. I didn't realise this, but the V-Books is the they're changing the actual val as a value. But the amount of V-Books that you get is changing as well. So looking at this, it's cutting the amount of V-Books, including the battle pass, from 1500 to 800, which that's a massive reduction. And the amount that you receive each month from Fortnite crew from a thousand to eight hundred, so that that's a little bit less of a reduction. But the the amount that you get from the battle pass, that's like half. You know, that's that's almost half. You know, that to me is obviously get Fortnite crew now, sort of quote unquote free as part of Game Pass. But that to me was the hook. You know, it's like, well, I've paid because it went up to a thousand, didn't it, to get the battle pass? So now you're getting less than what you paid for it. Which to me, that was always hook. Well, I've paid this, if I rinse the battle pass, I'm getting my money back and a little bit more. Whereas it at least make it the same, you know, at least well, I'll pay a thousand. If I rinse it, I can get a thousand back, then the next one is at least free. That to me is just cynical that at some point someone somewhere is gonna have to buy more. You know, that they're gonna have to put that's what that screams to me is that well, eventually they'll have to dip the hands in the pocket.

SPEAKER_00 45:14

I think that's it. I think it is the case of the unless you unless you like if you're a game pass Ultimate and you, you know, like with me, I think I what did I buy the other day? I bought I think it was Blade, I bought the Blade skin the other day, and of course I didn't, I t I bought it, but it was part of the f the V-bucks that I earn. But so yeah, I think that like well, I'll pay for it or I'll then rinse it because I'm gonna, and then I then earn enough to pay for the next one. And but obviously, from a company that makes so much money, it's still not good business sense to basically take money from someone then almost give it back to them, and then the next month, because I suppose that at the end of the day, they're trying to get you in with skins and the collaborations they make with you know Looney Tunes and some of you know. I think on that article that you put up, it's saying Minecraft, Peak, Ben 10, Kingdom Hearts, Game of Thrones, Masters of the Universe. Obviously, they have to pay for that collaboration, I would assume, or give away some of the revenue. So, yeah, it it's uh it's annoying for me. I'm not hugely bothered because I just play with the skins that I've got, and I'm not really looking. I mean, I am looking at some of them going, no, I don't need a new pair of trainers. I'm gonna I'm gonna wear the Martin McFly Knight because you can't beat the Martin McFly Knight trainers, so but yeah, I mean it obviously some people are not gonna like it. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens in season two, but yeah, I'll jump into it tomorrow night and and see see what it's like. And yeah, I'm quite looking forward to it because you say the battle pass has gone on quite long, this one, and you know, and I now am looking forward to some changes as a different scenery.

SPEAKER_01 46:55

Yeah, definitely. And I've just looked, this one is due to end shorter than the last one as well, subject to any delays that come down the line. But this one is meant to be a short chapter for this season, so yeah, we'll we'll see what the next one brings. But yeah, like say just a bit of a refresh, even if it's the same map that hasn't changed a lot. The new collabs, the new universes, you know, the new characters and skins, that sort of thing, they can make a big difference to fundamentally what is the same map, really.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

I have been playing there, I've been some of the new guns that have come into it, which are really good. I mean, there's one of them, I'm not sure what it's called, but there's one of them that I've just for some reason I could just kill anybody when I've got it, and I absolutely love it. But then there's some like there's the rocket launcher, which I, you know, if you're standing on top of one of the mountains and you're looking down and there's two people fighting and they're like close to each other, jumping like some of the people do, you could just take both of them out. But that apparently is taking over from the the ray gun type of thing, which I quite enjoyed that ray gun thing. I quite enjoyed going into the secret canyon trying to. I don't know if you ever when you went into the secret canyon, there's the obviously you've got the triangular building. Then if you go all the way downstairs, you there's always a couple of mythic crates behind a door that opens, and there was always a some games, there was a bit of a race for like six or seven people will all be trying to get down there at the same time. So that that was that was quite funny. So no, I'm looking forward to it, but yeah, it is a bit annoying that they're they've sort of like nerfed the the V-Bucks, but hey, businesses are businesses at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 48:30

Yeah, that's it. Like say the the licenses and things aren't going to come cheap, are they? You know, as if we want you in our game. Well, you're gonna have to pay us then, aren't you? Do you know what I mean? So I do get it. I do get it.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

So story number two is with

Project Helix And Console Identity

SPEAKER_00 48:41

me. I've changed the uh title ever so slightly. I put whatever PS6 of Project Helix is, I just hope it's a games console. So this was an article, let me just drag the screen down. This was an article on IGN, which basically was going along the lines of the maybe the re-surgence of the fact of that it looks as if we're gonna go back to games consoles. You know, you know, there's a bit of a glimmer and a hope in respect that Sony recently pulled back from releasing future PC ports with Ghost of Yotai no longer slated for a Steam release, and with the unceremonial exit of Sarah Bond from Xbox, the long known, uh long known to be the architect of this is an Xbox, which we'll get on to, campaign that may be considered the final nan in the coffin of Microsoft's 20-year attempt to break Sony's dominance to second place. Obviously, since we uh since we did the last podcast, Asher came out and basically said, Hey, look at this nice new Project Helix console that we're working on, and and it was confirmed to be a an Xbox with a PC background. I mean, obviously, an Xbox is a PC and an Xbox is Windows. I just hope that, you know, yes, we could play Xbox games on it, yes, we could play Steam games, hopefully. You know, there are some PlayStation games that I've got on Steam, which I want to go back and play, like Spider-Man and Miles Morales and things like that. I just hope, for God's sake, that they don't go down the route of the rock, which is you are very much presented with the fact every time you turn it on that this is a Windows machine, and it also happens to be an Xbox. Ash has come in and gone, we're Xbox, we're Xbox, you know, we're gonna create an Xbox, and we're the core's Xbox, it's Xbox gamers. And I do think, you know, Phil said that you know we lost the we lost the console war, you know, back in the days of the Xbox One when everybody was starting to buy their digital libraries. And I quite like the fact that PlayStation might not put things on PC, and I quite like the fact of that this is gonna be an Xbox console. And we go back to the being a console made for console gamers. I just hope, and to to to concur with a few people I heard, I think on like kinda funny, which is like I just don't want to switch it on and anyway tell that I've got to update something, uh like a driver, or I've got to download a render pack, or I just want it to be an Xbox again. You know, turn it on. Well, not again, I want it to be my Xbox like I play now. Turn it on, play, you know, you know, instant resume, go back, bang, I'm there. I've got 10 minutes. I could play a I could play half a level of uh Planet Lana and then go on YouTube and find out how complete it, but you know, it's it's not getting me to do things I don't want it to do.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

No, and and that's always been the pull for a console. You know, I've never I've I doubled very briefly in PC. But the reason I didn't was because I play a console because it's my console, I switch it on, I play my game, that's it. I don't need to upgrade anything. Like you say, I don't need new drivers, I don't need new updates, I don't need an you know render pack, I don't need a you know mod pack or anything like that, which I know again sort of Xboxes Dabble with, you can get mods and things. I don't want to do if I wanted to do that, I would have a PC. You know, I get a console because it's convenient for me and my lifestyle. It's a box that sits under my telly, I play my games, and that's enough for me. It doesn't look the best, it doesn't play the best because I know that if I spend three, four grand on a PC, it'll look much better. But I don't have that money, so that's why I buy a console. I accept that yes, it will probably look, I say worse, it won't look as good, you know, it it won't play as good, but it's enough for what I need it to do, you know. And that's the thing that, like you say, the Xbox lost, you know, lost this generation is because it's a normal machine, it'll do TV, it'll do this, I'll do da da da da da da. I'm not buying an Xbox to watch TV on it. I'm not doing it to stream on it. It's great that it can do that. Is that its primary function? No, I want it to be as good as it can be, as powerful as it can be, as convenient as it can be to play my games for me, you know, like you say, the the is it resume, the pause, that sort of thing, great. All that I can just quickly dip in and out, da da da. That's what I want it to do. Same for the PlayStation. You know, if I play something on the portal, I can switch it on, it switches my PS5 on, it remembers where I am, great, that's what I want. I can watch Sky on it, I can watch TV on it, but I've got a TV to do that. You know, it it can do that, which is great, but that's a secondary function, and it should be five percent, if not less than, of what the console can do. Everything else should be pure and simple. Is it the best gaming machine it can be? Yes, it is. And arguably Xbox in this lifecycle that hasn't been the focus. You know, the the agenda hasn't been make it the best it can be. And I was listening to is it Xbox Unlocked podcast? I listened to that after Anthony sent us the link. You know, and and there were some good points on that in terms of obviously we're returning to Xbox, we are returning back to what Xbox is and was. And like you say, Xbox is always going to be part PC because it's Windows, you know, there's always gonna be that background, but I don't want it to be this is a games console, but it's also a PC. Like it's powered by a PC, parts software, whatever. Great, fine, because that's fundamentally what Windows is, but it should still be a console at heart. It's a games console that sits under your TV, and games are the number one thing that drives this machine.

SPEAKER_00 54:25

You know, it's I think for me I so if you go back to the Xbox One, I don't think I don't think Microsoft were wrong. I think in a way they were they should have been more Apple. They should have been like, you know, Steve Jobs was always one of these people was like, We'll we'll make something that you didn't realise that you needed, you know, like you know, it they were that was always how Apple were under jobs, and I think if you look at the Xbox One, it was a games console and it was an Xbox, uh sorry, and it had Netflix, and it had YouTube, and and actually it is what we use now. I mean, the amount of times I log on to do my dailies, and some of my Xbox friends are they're watching YouTube or they're watching iPlayer, it it and I something if they just sold the Xbox One as this is a games console, but it can also do this, and hey, you might not want to do it yet, but we assure you. I mean, I can remember being on a podcast house 16 years ago, probably now, and I remember saying to them, you know, I just feel that one day we're gonna get to a point where when we want to watch something on you know TV in commerce, we're gonna go to the app, we want to watch Disney, we go to the Disney app, we want to watch this, we go to this app, and that's exactly where we are now. You know, we pay multiple subscriptions to actually multiple services. And actually, the one console under your or the one box under your TV that is your games console as well as your access to Netflix and YouTube, I don't think they were wrong, but unfortunately, I find it with Microsoft that they're they're almost Google, where they will quickly backtrack on something called kill something if they think they've made a mistake, rather than going, no, no, no, you don't get it. You might not think you want it yet, but trust me, you want this. And I think if they stuck behind it, I potentially feel we could be in a very different place now. Apart from this, I want this to be a console. I I want to be able to access Steam, I want to be able to access Epic, but I want that to be, you know, like you know, I download an app on my phone, and that gives me access to Netflix. I want that to be, I want it to be an app that I download from the store on Xbox that allows me to access Steam, not you know, open up a secondary screen, which is a Windows login, which you download a client, and then you can access it by double pressing this, and it brings a window up where you can flip between each one. But first of all, you've got to go into Windows and do it. That I think is a nail in the coffin for the console if that happens.

SPEAKER_01 57:05

Yeah, and and I don't necessarily mind if it was almost like the console was, you know, your console, you could stick your disk in, you know, or download it, whatever. I don't mind if it was almost a hub, like you're saying you've got an ear hub, you've got a Ubisoft hub, or you know, that sort of thing. Is you as long as it is still fundamentally this is the console and you can access your ear games here and your Ubisoft games here, da da da da, which kind of Game Pass is almost that, I guess, you know, and it's a little bit like that. But yeah, if it's because I think this is one of the criticism that people said about the Rogue, isn't it? Is that it yes, it's an Xbox handheld, but it's almost like it's a PC handheld first, and the Xbox is almost tacked onto it. You know, it's not like this is primarily you open it up and it's the Xbox UI. It's not that, it's almost like a computer, then you have to go into the Xbox and da-da-da. It's like, well, if it's an Xbox handheld, the first thing that loads up should be Xbox. You know, it should be Xbox UI, interface, something you're similar you're familiar with, and then if you want to go outside of that, you can, but well, it's really an Xbox, so we recommend you do this, you know. So it's hard, isn't it? You know, it's it depends on where you see the future. You know, it depends on the way you DC the future of gaming. But I almost kind like you say the Steve Jobs-esque element of it is this is Xbox. If you want to play this game or you want to play these games, you buy an Xbox. You know, if you want to buy these games and play these games, well you buy PlayStation. You know, Nintendo that's what Nintendo do. You know, Nintendo where this is us, these are our consoles. Yes, the same games of the same, you know, Mario comes out and did uh Donkey Kong and blah blah blah. If you want to play them, come get them. They're here. You know, and they do not have to be a few.

SPEAKER_00 58:44

But you have to pay for the upgrade pack, or yeah. No, I think that is it. I think it is they have to stay stand by their brand. And you know, getting on to the next story, you know, out with the old and in with the new, this is Xbox campaign is ditched. I didn't really see anything wrong with the campaign, but I do get it from the point of view where it's like fundamentally and foremost, we are a games console company. You know, Xbox is games console company. However, if you buy an LG TV or if you buy a Samsung TV and you connect a Bluetooth controller to it, then you can play these games, but you'll play them better on an Xbox and you'll get better graphics on an Xbox. So, so yeah, so that was your next story in respects of that they've now uh, you know, Sarah Bond has left and they've now completely cancelled the one thing that she probably did.

SPEAKER_01 59:38

Yeah, and and like you say, I I don't necessarily disagree with it either, you know, because for me it's like I I can play games on my iPad, I can play it on my laptop, I can play it on my Mac, I can play it on my phone, you know, that that is great. You know, the things that Microsoft are doing behind the scenes to drive the cloud gaming, I think is great. You know, it's not the best place to play, but actually as a service and what they actually can do, it works, you know, and like say I can play seamlessly on my phone, on my iPad, on my computer, whatever, or you know, my laptop, whatever it might be. Streaming any works great. You know, it's I understand the logic behind it, you know. I understand the logic of you can play your Xbox games on here, but surely as Microsoft, you want to sell consoles. You know, that's the you know notoriously we know that Microsoft or the Xbox division of Microsoft doesn't make much money and didn't want to sell units. Well, by telling people they can play games on their their iPad, the laptop, the phone, that's not gonna sell units. You know, that's not gonna sell consoles. I g it's a convenience, like you say, but that's not the if you're gonna play games, buy this. Get this console. You need that that's what they need to get back to is that if you want to play this, you need you need this console in your life. You have to buy this console.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:52

I think that it could be it might have been better down the route of you know, buy the console, get the best experience, take the game with you with the ROG Ally X or you know, the Xbox branded, maybe maybe the Series N Sirius X Mark II will be this, you know, Project Helix and the the Sirius S Mark II may be the handheld version. So it will be like play it at home on the console, take it away on the ally, but if you if you forget your ally or you you know you're away from home, hell, yeah, dip in and resume on your iPhone or your iPad. But yeah, it's funny. It it I don't know, it's funny from a business point of view, you know, play it where you want, buy the games where you want, or subscribe to Game Pass where you want. But from a if they want to keep the Xbox platform going, I hate to say it, they need to be more Sony. They really do. Otherwise, I think, especially, I mean, we touched on the last episode, especially with so many people now, especially if these consoles, you know, the PS6 as well, especially if these consoles come out anything from $600 to $1,000, you know, that is the people that can afford it, you know. That is, you know, the people like me who can uh put it through the business as a business expense because it's in the showroom, you know, or like you know, Anthony, who will quite happily go out and buy it because him and Nicola do game quite a bit together. But it's people out there who are going PC-based, they're not gonna buy an Xbox and they're gonna stay on a PC. It's it's I can see where it is from Microsoft and Sony. It's difficult. It's a difficult time to, you know, with that gaming market fragmenting so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:39

Yeah, of course it is. And like you say, it's hard to see where the next, you know, what what's the next thing? You know, like where's the next you know, innovation, where's the next pull? You know, but for some like for me, I've always tried to have both, you know, I've tried to have an Xbox and a PlayStation. As it stands right now, it one or the other like you say, for that price especially, you know, if it's anywhere near a thousand pounds or you know, a thousand dollars, whatever, I'd have to probably jack both consoles in right now to fund partially the cost of buying the next console. I couldn't afford two consoles at a thousand pounds or a thousand dollars each, no way, and most people will be the same. So to really, really, really get people to nail their flag to the mast, I am diehard Xbox, I'm diehard PlayStation, and not regret it, you have to make it worth the while. You know, they they can't afford to do another launch like the the Xbox One, you know, they can't, and what that is, you know, unless they've got a clear roadmap.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:34

I think if they've got a clear roadmap, then I think that it's not like bear with us, we'll get there, but if they've got a clear roadmap to say this is what we perceive as being, we've spoken to Copilot, and Copilot tells us that gaming is going to be this in ten years. No, it I think it's one of those things where if they're clear and they stick to their campaign and what they believe, I mean, there is part of me that would go, yeah, I'd love to, I'd spend a thousand pounds on this console if I could get onto Steam and if I could play PlayStation games. Um, but I don't think that's gonna happen. And maybe people would say the same with PlayStation. I'll spend a thousand pounds or a thousand dollars on a plate PS6 if I could get Indiana Jones, if I could get Halo, if I can get Ford Horizon, but then they're not gonna buy an Xbox. But then, as you say, most people are not gonna be able to drop $2,000 or £2,000 on two Games consoles for something that they're gonna play at the weekend or in the evening. They're gonna go and buy a HP Omen gaming laptop, or they're gonna buy, you know, maybe buy an ROG Ally X and and get it on a monitor so they can play it. Yeah, it's it's interesting. It's gonna be very, very interesting. I still think, you know, then they say dev dev kits are coming out next year, apparently.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:50

Yeah, stay 27.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:52

I still think we're gonna see it holiday 27. That's that's my money. I'll I'll put I'll put a pizza bet on holiday 27. That's that's when we're gonna see it, I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:02

Yeah, well, and there's always gonna there has to be that sort of almost who's gonna get the jump on who? You know, who shows their hand first, you know. Would we see another switch? I don't know. It's hard to say, but it's definitely gonna be between the two. It's gonna be Xbox or PlayStation. Who comes out of the gate first? We are launching like is it holiday, whatever. Because it's gonna be it's gonna be Christmas, isn't it? It always is. It's always gonna be Christmas. So is it gonna be next year? Is it gonna be the following year? You know, will it push one to say, oh, they're doing 27, we need to do 27? Or do they say, well, they're doing it, fine, but we'll do 28. You know, it's you know, it's hard to say, but we'll we'll see. It's an interesting 12 months, that's for sure, for both for both parties, I think, for Sony and Xbox.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:43

I mean, if they could do it in maybe holiday twenty nine or holiday thirty, I might have the gaming points to be able to buy it then if it's gonna be a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:53

Until they're slashed them until they're worth nothing.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:56

Well, I mean, I did look the other day because after our last after. My last podcast, I have turned the magical 700,000 barrier. And I actually, I think, to be honest, I think I'm on 705,000. So I did go on to the app or the website the other day and go, so how much is this worth? And it at the moment it is worth about 400 great British pounds if you go for something like an Amazon or an Apple voucher. If I go with Microsoft, like you know, Microsoft or Xbox Shop, I think it is something like £569. It's probably about £570 now. So it's taken me six years to get to £700,000. So if the console's going to be a thousand, then I need another three years delay so I can get up to a million points and be able to buy this outright. Otherwise, the thing I made, the the promise I made to Anthony back in 2020 about buying the next console solely with points is ain't gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:58

No, you you you're gonna have to you could have to start a position like please, please hold off, let me let me get there, let me do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:05

And then they've nerfed the points now. So like your daily check-ins on Bing and that are getting half the amount of points. So it's six years now. Yeah, it's gonna take. I mean, I as James said, they're my my family, they're like my little children. I love seeing them there, but one day I will let them go. They can grow up and leave, and they will go on something new and shiny for me. Yeah, you have to do it eventually. Exactly. I'll have to rip the band-aid off. I mean, you put something up the other day about perks, and for a minute I looked at it and went, oh no, they're not. I mean, how am I gonna claim 700,000 rewards this weekend before they ditched them? Yeah, but actually, it was like the the game pass exclusive demos and things like that. They've they've nerfed and taken away. So I start I did panic for a minute. The next

Game Pass Wave And What To Play

SPEAKER_00 1:07:51

headline is on Game Pass. So Resident Evil 7 headlines, Game Pass March 2nd wave. Let me just bring my other screen down. So available today as of this was written on March 17th on Xbox Wire. Available today was DreamWorks Gabby's Dollhouse. Coming today was South of Midnight on Cloud Console, handheld and PC, autars on Cloud Xbox, Sirius S and X and PC, and then Disco Elysium on the 19th, uh Like a Dragon, Infinite Wealth on the 24th, to Console Handheld, PC, and Cloud. Then we've got Nova Roma, which is a Roman Empire sort of like civilization type game, comes on March the 26th. A long dark, uh sorry, the long dark is cloud console PC on the 30th, which is an exploratory survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness. And then the big one is Resident Evil 7 Biohazard comes on the 31st, along with uh Barbie Horse Trials on the 2nd of April.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:06

I felt that when you said it's the big one, but I was expecting Barbie horse trials, I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:11

I mean, also you can say uh Claire Obscure Exhibition 33 on the 2nd is is obviously the big a big one, and then you've got Final Fantasy 4 coming on April the 7th, and then you've got some other games that are on there already. I mean, for me, two that I played previously that I really really really really enjoy. South of Midnight was brilliant. I thought that was a phenomenal game. That was just it was just, you know, it was based in the deep south, it was modern folk tales, it has some amazing music. Yeah, some of the gameplay was a little bit janky, but I completed that, really enjoyed it. Altars, that was a fantastic game. The the guy, I can't remember his name now, apologies, but the guy that did the voices for all the characters, but you basically were in this you crash-landed on this planet, and you basically had to you had to create versions of yourself, but as different people, so like as a scientist or as a security agent, or you know, as a I'm trying to think what the other ones were now, but but and then it was just it was a brilliant, brilliant game. Have you played any of those on there, or is there anything that you're looking at going, oh do you know what I'm gonna jump into that?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:31

I I don't think I've actually played any of them. I'll probably jump into Resi, you know, just as a as a homage, you know, I played the Resi games, you know, years ago, but and probably Final Fantasy 4, because I didn't really play the old, old Final Fantasies. Well, I think we discussed this and I'll touch on it last time, that it's great for games that you would you can go and hoover up and play that otherwise you probably haven't touched. You know, it's almost those classic Xbox arcade games, isn't it? That well, they're in it, so why won't I play it? You know, and look at you know, listen to your recommendations there, South uh South of Midnight and the altars. I'll go check them out, you know, because it again it sounds like games that I can just jump in and out of play on the iPad, cloud stream them, cloud play them. But whilst they're there, just just dip in. You know, because and this is the thing, there's there's something for everyone in that package, you know, you've got the the kids' game, the Barbie Horse Trials, you know, you've got the Resi, you've got the horror, the RPG with Final Fantasy, the R you know, the more arcadey games in Altars and South of Midnight, you know, the shorter, shorter stints. So again, there is just something there for everyone to go at, which is what I think they do very, very well with their monthly monthly releases.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:37

And of course, you know, you've got Claire Obscure, which you know literally wiped up at the majority of awards, uh the game awards and and all of those awards. I mean, what is it? It was 2025 game of the year as well. But I mean, for me, I don't know, Final Fantasy's never really floated my boat. I I just I don't know what it is, I'm just like it just doesn't and Resident Evil I've played, but it was funny. I was at a distributor yesterday and they were talking about Sinners, the film Sinners, the you know Michael B. Jordan's just won the Oscar for. And my first words out of my mouth was, How horror is horror? And then whenever I think of Resident Evil, I always think of Anthony playing Resident Evil and PSVR, and how like jump out loud, scary it was because you were playing Resident Evil fully immersed in PSVR one, and it was it would scare the living bejeebas out of you. But you know, for me, Alters was a little bit of a hard sell at the beginning, but and there was a few bits of pieces I had to roll back to save because I didn't have enough uh crude enough of this and enough of that. But I don't know, I suppose in the same way as Planet Lana, sometimes it was frustrating, but then when I got to the end and saw the story out, I was sad that it was over. And it and every every stage it gives you the opportunity to go, are you gonna do this? Are you gonna do this? Are you gonna do this? So, you know, are you going to this is gonna this is gonna happen? And I actually found myself going, okay, I'll do option A, and then I'll roll back, and you know, not save scum, but I'd roll back and then do option B, and then I'd roll back and do option C because it got to the point at the end I wanted to see how it ended on all I think it was two or three ways you could end it. But again, as you said, Game Pass, you know, and PlayStation, PlayStation Plus, it's like it's great because it just makes you play those games or gives you the ability to play those games without you know dropping a load of money on something that you think you that you might. I mean, I played a what was it? I played Like a Dragon. I mean, I played I played one of the Like a Dragons and it really didn't float my boat, but because it was on Game Pass, it was like, okay, that's not for me. I know I'm not gonna play it. And it had no vested interest in it from me because it was quote unquote free, you know, included in your subscription.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:03

Once it's there, you can at least dabble, can't you? You know, you've not you've not spent whatever it is to get entry to it, so you like say you can dip in, it's not for me, you've tried it, well, giving it a fair crap, you know, then put it down, that's it. You know, and when it's a crowd game, you don't even have to install it, you know. So that's the that's the beauty, isn't it? That you can at least dabble, dip a toe, and it's for me, great. If it's not, well, hold on to the next thing anyway.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:24

And then the last story, we'll get on to our one Sony section of the podcast.

PlayStation Store Pricing Lawsuit

SPEAKER_00 1:14:28

You know, this is we we we're very Xbox heavy again. So uh apparently Sony are in trouble, and gamers could be owned billions. I need to say that in an Austin Powers type, could be owned billions.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:39

Yeah, yeah. I know. And that that's why I want to sort of preface the start with I want to be sort of positive on the Sony because otherwise it seems like we're just digging and bagging on Sony and PlayStation. But yeah, this was something that I saw that I think I actually saw this on Facebook initially. I wasn't actually really looking for it, and it just oh, this looks interesting. Um, but yeah, headline PlayStation gamers could receive two billion compensation, two billion pounds in compensation if lawsuit succeeds. So basically, yeah, yeah, each yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it's bankrupt Sony. Wait, buy a game and you can get two billion back. It it's Xbox that's filing the claim for the dope. It's uh no, it's not, but it's yeah, so the basically the headline is that there's there's a there's an allegation that PlayStation have basically broken competition law by controlling the amount they charge for their games on their PlayStation store digitally. Which notoriously it always has seemed that uh Sony charges more or digital games via the PlayStation Network on the PSN are more expensive. You know, it has always seemed that way. But yeah, there is um is con consumer champion Alex Neal has been sort of raised the raised the claim, and allegedly if it's found to be successful, each person, gamer, you know, whoever is applicable could receive £162 uh in compensation. So yeah, it hinges on how the digital PlayStation Store is run and exploiting customers by charging them too much with digital games and in-game content. So there is a claim that Sony is basically controlling how much they charge and can be charged for their content, and it allegedly, if it's to believe, can affect 12.2 million people. That's a lot of gamers, and two billion pounds is a lot of money.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:26

I think you're I think it rolls on really from the court cases that we've had with like Apple and Google, where they you know brands have created these devices. So Xbox have created the Xbox store, PlayStation's created PlayStation store, Apple's created the Apple store, and so on and so forth. But then, you know, I started seeing be as charges being passed on. For instance, it's got on here, develop developers were being charged 30% commission to sell their apps on the app store, which the lawsuit argues meant that customers or clients had the sub chat subsequential charges passed on. And I've seen in some places, and I think some podcasts have gone like if you if you do your Patreon payment through Apple, let's say, let's say it's £15 or £15, but if you do it straight on Patreon, it's $10 or £10. So they're almost saying, look, we've got to pass this on because we can't handle the 30% charge. You know, in the same way that in my day job, I won't, if I charge a client for a TV, let's say, I cannot take a credit card for it. And I remember Anthony wanting to buy a TV, another TV from me, and he said to me, Can I check on the credit card? And I'm like, No. I said, because I make about 2% on this TV, and I probably pay about 5% on a credit card charge. So I will be losing on that TV. I think it is going to be one of those ones where I think you're going to start to see a lot of these platforms opened up a bit. You know, maybe you know, they've got to have brand continuity between a you know an RRP on Amazon and PlayStation. But yeah, it's interesting. It's going to be an interesting one to see because it is a UK-based lawsuit, which is quite rare. But yeah, it's going to be interesting, you know, especially if they are are found guilty, and that's anybody who's found guilty to overcharge clients to keep them staying on their platform. You know, that's just wrong. You know, I go to I go to Amazon, you went to CEX to buy a second hand game, I'll go to Amazon to pick up a game or you know, which is a few years old. But yeah, you know, I think I'm right in thinking it's the same with Xbox. The one, the one I the Dead Space game, the Dead Space remake that I didn't complete before it came off Game Pass. I think if I wanted to buy it on Game Pass, let's just say for argument's sake it was £40. I bought it on Amazon for £20. Now, okay, I can get that, but if Amazon are charging £20 because it's an old game, then Xbox or PlayStation should be charging £20 because it's an old game. No, it's going to be interesting. It'll be interesting to see, but I do think it's the way we're heading with a lot of this. You know, I think we're going to start seeing a lot of this being cut down.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:18

Yeah, £100. And I do get it to a certain extent. It's like the surely the digital version should be cheaper than the physical one. You know, if I go to a shop and buy it, it's 60 quid. Even if it's 50 quid, you know, tenant, it should be cheaper buying it digitally because there's no there's no disc, there's no box, there's no middleman, you know, there's no way it should cost me more to come to Sony and buy direct than going, like you say, to Amazon to whomever has the test, you know, even a supermarket, you know, the supermarket sometimes slash their prices loss leaders, which if we want to do that, fine. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But why should if I don't physically have something, why should I pay more for that than when it's in my hand? You know, what how is that a thing? You know, and it's hard, isn't it? You know, it's it's who regulates it? Because it's almost like I guess in like, you know, a secondhand car, you know, that it's self- it's a it's almost like a self-regulated market, isn't it? You know, the value is the value, you know, it's it's based on the market and all sorts of you know other variables, but whatever computer exchange value at, or whomever, they charge this, they charge that, they charge that, da da da. When it's new, I suppose it's easier. It'd be secondhand, it's a bit more tricky, but like you say, if it's cheaper on Amazon, or why is it cheaper on Amazon? Why are they charging less? You know, where where does that cheaper price come from? You know, because it's not like it can be sourced cheaper anywhere else necessarily. But Yeah, I I I do get it from a a case of digital versus physical, because 100% the digital version should always be cheaper than the physical version. There's there's there's no j there's no justification for that in my mind.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:48

And and you touched on it there also, it's almost like there was a few times there years ago where I think we discussed on the pod about, you know, surely they've got to come up with some way to do a digital trading or a digital pass-on. So, you know, I I buy Planet of Lana 2, it's not on Game Pass, I gift it to you to play. You know, maybe there's only you can only gift that game once, but of course they're gonna look at it and go, well, we're not earning money out of that gifting, or we're not earning any money out of that, you know, digital, you know, trading. Because yeah, you are buying a game, you know, you're buying a you know, Ford Horizon 6 premium pack is well over a hundred hundred pounds, well over a hundred dollars. And once you've played it, that's it. Okay, I will argue the fact that it's worth that because I really enjoy that game and I rinse that game, plus I get it on Game Pass, I just buy the upgrade. But if you're buying it outright, surely you should be have the ability to be able to gift it to a cousin or a nephew or put it onto your, you know, my daughter's Xbox or something like that for her to play just once. But again, whether that will ever happen, we don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:03

Yeah, that's it, innit? And I don't want to go sort of like 22, 2300, but like you know, when you go like NFTs and stuff, you buy something that it's not you you don't physically own it, but it has a value. Well, I've got something that's not physical, but it has a value, it has a worth. Like, say even if that is I can you gift it or I can sell it to somebody for 20 quid, you know, it's worth 60 quid. I'm gonna sell it to someone for 20 quid. Well, well, it has a value, do you know what I mean? It has a worth, it has some sort of in the grander scheme of things, a material value. Well, why should you lose out on it? You know, why why should I not have something back, you know, or like you say, just say, well, I've done with this, I'll put it towards that next one, and it's you know, it's whatever it's worth, it knocks the price off. Surely that incentivizes people to come into the ecosystem more by doing that. At least it's got some sort of value, you know, I trading a physical copy. It has some sort of worth, surely.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:54

Well, I think it you know, it could bring people into the brand like Game Pass does. So, you know, let's say for argument's sake, you know, I buy Assassin's Creed of Alhalla and we have a conversation on a podcast, and you're like, you know what, I never played that. So I gift it onto you or I sell it onto you for you know 20, 10, 20 pounds, but you like it so much that when you know Shadows comes out or when Mirage comes out, that you jump straight in and buy that at full price because you enjoyed Valhalla so much, you now want to buy the next one day and day. So you're buying into the brand. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. But yeah, yeah. But

Wrap Up And Where To Find Us

SPEAKER_00 1:23:35

right, that's it. I mean, we're uh we're uh we knew it was gonna be long. We're an hour and 27 minutes on the ticker in front of me here. So is there anything else you want to touch on?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:45

Or I think I think that's good, mate. I think it's good. I think we'll we'll try and make it an hour at some point. We will achieve it. We'll do it eventually.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:52

Well, let's put it this way we picked this up, we picked this up on 177 episodes, and I don't think the 164 below 160, sorry, 176 below that, I think we ever did it in less than an hour. So uh never gonna happen, is it? It's never gonna happen. We'll get there, don't worry. So um, so yeah, so thank you for listening to this episode of the gamers of the Lost Spark Podcast. Don't forget to keep up to date with us at all social media at Lost Spark Podcast. For some reason, I got that wrong last time. I don't know whether it was Google Docs, but actually we are at Lost Spark Podcast on pretty much everything, not Lost Spark Pod for some reason. I think it just deleted the last bit, the cast bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:34

Everyone's gonna listen to a different podcast now.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:36

Exactly. They might see someone much more attractive than us too. Um so yeah, so on socials, on YouTube, Lost Spark Podcast. On YouTube, you can go back and watch the older episodes of the podcast if you want and pick up with us talking about cutting-edge games like the Star Wars and you know Grand Theft Autos from back in the days. So, Steve, where can we find you on Xbox and social media?

SPEAKER_01 1:25:01

Yeah, so I'm pretty much Steakarter 91 uh everywhere. So that's Xbox PlayStation, YouTube and Instagram. So, yes, if you search Steakarter 91, you'll find me somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:11

You've got brand continuity there.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:13

Yeah, streamlined now, efficiency.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:16

The easiest place to find me is on social media at Mr. Stuart Burgess. And of course, again, you can comment on the YouTube video or leave us a feedback on the podcast or review on the podcast. But uh, but yeah, that's it for uh I can't remember what episode is, episode 178. And yeah, we'll see you again in a couple of weeks for episode 179. Thank you for your time, Steve, and we'll catch up in a couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:43

Yeah, no, thank you, mate, and thank you for listening, and we'll uh we'll catch you on the next one.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:47

Awesome. Cheers, buddy. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Uh bye bye.