The Bobby Blackwolf Show

I'm going to be moderating and appearing on panels at Dragon Con! Maybe I'll see you there? Amazon Games boss says that AI is okay because their games have no acting, and AI will only take away the boring work that junior employees use to train up to become senior employees. Atari has announced the 7800+ retro console, which has all of the same features as the 2600+ with a 7800 shell. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is closing down after 7 years of service, but Nintendo is doing the right thing for island preservation. Then we talk to Rob about mini retro consoles and Dragon Con.

My Dragon Con schedule is out! I'm moderating several panels on the Digital Gaming Track, moderating a Video Game panel with voice actors from Mass Effect, and I get to introduce a Doctor Who companion on stage! The Borderlands movie that bombed at the box office is going to be available on streaming before the end of the month. Nintendo has told developers that the successor to the Switch is not expected until April or May of 2025. This means it won't be announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live, but a lot of other games will be shown (and were shown, as this was recorded before the broadcast.) Then we talk to Rob about Mass Effect.

We actually start off discussing the Olympics - primary the Breaking competition - and why I loved it and thought it was phenomenal, and why I am sad that it's not returning and all anybody saw was the Australian. Apparently the Borderlands movie wasn't that good? At QuakeCon, Doom and Doom 2 got both a 4K remaster as an update. Limited Run Games announced a new version of SNES Doom that even works with a new controller with rumble support. WB Games might be up for sale, as Warner Bros Discovery continues to try to save its shareholders money. Then we talk to Rob about the Olympics and stories from Atlanta in 1996. We miss Mario and Sonic attending...

Gamestop has shut down Game Informer magazine, laid off all of its writers, taken all of its content offline, and used AI to generate a farewell post. Bungie has laid off or transferred another 17% of their workforce in what was described as "inevitable" due to previous spending. A popular resource for video game translations and homegrown fixes for classic games has been taken offline by its owner. We discuss if there is a lack of gaming news because there is a lack of actual gaming news sites, with consumers gravitating more towards personalities and influencers, while actual journalists leave the gaming industry or the media field all together. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and the lack of gaming news.

In a followup to a comment made in last week's show - there is a certain NES game actually listed in Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition that we totally assumed would not be mentioned. The Xbox 360 digital store has closed - thankfully, it was still a console that had copious amounts of physical media. SAG-AFTRA has authorized a strike of video game voice and performance actors over concerns about AI. Not all games are affected yet, such as Grand Theft Auto VI, or any other game that is already in production - unless they need to renegotiate a contract. Humble Games has laid off everyone in their publishing arm - yet says that nothing will be affected in their publishing arm. Then we talk to Rob about No Man's Sky and how it's changed so much, even with the new update.