Business Casual Gamers

It’s a new year, sure to be full of great new games. However, we have some gripes about the games we play and the industry at large that we hope every game publisher out there is setting a New Year’s resolution to fix. In this episode, we discuss some of our biggest recent gripes with the industry and offer our suggestions on how to fix them. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

What do Blizzard Entertainment and Ozzie from Chrono Trigger have in common: They’re both in a pickle. If you’ve gone to any website over the past month, it is hard to miss the news of all the hot water that Blizzard Entertainment finds themselves in. In this episode, we ask ourselves a question that may prove to be one of the most important in gaming’s history: What happens when the greatest game developer of all time collapses?   Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

In a few past episodes, we’ve taken a deep dive into games we believe to be Hall-of-Fame levels of quality, talking about what makes them so special. Over the past few weeks, Aaron and I both came to each other with a game that we thought was worthy of the Hall of Fame. The only problem: We weren’t talking about the same game. So in this episode, we are going to sell each other on why our chosen game is worthy of the coveted BCG Hall of Fame nomination. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

After a recent announcement and subsequent change of heart by Sony regarding their online store, gamers across the community were forced to revisit an important question about our community. Are we merely buying a game to entertain us for a time or are we preservers of a hobby’s legacy? Are game developers shipping products to pay the bills or are they curators of an IP universe? In this episode, we discuss the impact of our hobby increasingly moving into a digital-only world and the implications.

Back in Episode 40, I listed Witcher 3 as number 9 on my best video games of all time list. Naturally, I was excited when the developer, CD Projekt Red, was set to release their follow up game, Cyberpunk 2077. 18 frames per second lots of awkward glitches later, the developer and retailers are issuing mass refunds for the most hotly anticipated game of the year. In this episode, we discuss how a game that should be great ends up going off the rails and what the industry can learn from this event. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Microsoft and Sony have finally graced us with the announcements we’ve all been anxiously awaiting. During the 2nd week of November, the Business Casual Gamers are looking forward to entering the next generation of video gaming. In this episode, we talk about our reaction to all the news of the past week, our buying plans and what we’re most excited about as we make the leap into the future. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

From the days of Ridge Racer and Crash Bandicoot all the way through Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushima, the Business Casual Gamers have been there through every step of Sony’s journey in the video game world. Within the next few months, Sony is going to enter its 5th generation of the Playstation. In this episode, we discuss our expectations for the PS5, Sony’s position in the video game market and the next generation of gaming. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Over the course of our gaming lives, we've seen it all. Multiple generations worth of console wars, 3D graphics in video games, virtual reality and even Blockbuster video. Just when we thought we'd seen it all, a global pandemic breaks out, forces us to stay at home for months, and had a profound effect on every aspect of life. In this episode, we talk about what the Business Casual Gamers have learned about gaming at home when you have no other option. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Hard as it may be to believe, the video game hobby as we know it has been around for nearly 50 years at this point. Just like hobbies of the past: classic cars, baseball cards or record collecting, the question always remains the same - how can gamers relive the nostalgia of the hobby they love? In this episode, we explore the gaming industry’s efforts to repackage and sell us our fondest gaming memories. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Back in 2016, the Business Casual Gamers created a series of episodes where we assessed the state of gaming for all the major players in the video game industry. As we enter 2020, we’re about to enter the next console generation, the 7th in our gaming lifetimes. In this episode, we revisit our assessment of the state of gaming from a Business Casual Gamer perspective and offer our predictions about what’s in store for the gaming hobby in 2020 and beyond. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

All of us play games for different reasons. Sometimes we want to socialize with a group of friends over an epic raid or multiplayer deathmatch. Other times we want to master our favorite fighting game character, chase that Platinum trophy, or experience a great story. But sometimes, you just want to relax while playing a great game. In this episode, we discuss gaming as a form of relaxation and give our personal recommendations for games that help us unwind. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

As a video game collector, you spend time pouring over Ebay listings, visiting used game stores, pre-ordering the special edition of a long-awaited game. You stare at your game collection and feel like you’ve assembled a masterpiece. But sometimes, like jumping in a freshly-raked pile of fall leaves, you just have to get rid of stuff. In this episode, we explore the what, the why and the how of getting rid of a video game collection. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

The JRPG, while still popular, is a niche genre these days. Many of the best pieces of the format have been adopted in mainstream gaming as everything seems to have “RPG Elements” that made the genre stand out in the early days. While new games are still coming out, the genre is being kept alive by 3 defining franchises that represent most of the sales and become the blueprint that other JRPGs follow: Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Persona. In this episode, we discuss the pillars of the JRPG and what these franchises tell us about the direction of the genre going forward. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

It seems like every company is trying to convert their offerings into some form of subscription or service. While we’ve had PSN and Xbox Live for years, games as a service has clearly become the new hotness. Between Google, Microsoft, and id Software, we’re seeing a dramatic push for technologies that now make this a reality. In this episode, we discuss the impact on how we play games and the gaming community’s reaction. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Since the beginning of video games, the physical object has been a core part of the experience. The game disc, the manual, the box, the strategy guide—all of these are tangible symbols of the hobby that have lasted for decades. We now find ourselves in a place where the manuals have disappeared, the online platforms have expanded and the consoles are doing away with physical media readers. In this episode, we talk about the evolution of the video game as a physical product and the impact on the hobby and gamer community. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

When our community recommends games for us to play, we listen.  Over the past several months, we’ve assembled an enviable collection of indie game recommendations and taken the time to put them through their paces so we could discuss the games you wanted us to play.  On today’s show, we’ll discuss 4 games on your list in the hopes that we can help the BCG community discover some indie gems to add to their collection. Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

Red Dead Redemption was recently released after an 8 year development cycle. While that sounds like an eternity, and it is, it is hardly alone in the world of video game development. It seems that there is no end to the scope creep of games, but are we about to hit a wall where developer ambitions and player demand goes head-to-head with practical realities? On today’s show, we explore the rise of the long development cycle, its impact on games, and some ideas on the way forward.   Intro music provided by sawsquarenoise. Used with permission.

When we hear the term “video games”, we tend to think of a particular game or favorite console or a certain fond memory. However, after a recent trip to Tokyo, the first word association I’ll have going forward is not a thing, but a place. That place is Akihabara - the international destination for all gamers. In this episode, we talk about making our pilgrimage to the gaming holy land and what makes it so special.

For the entirety of the past console generation, remakes and remasters have been the hottest trend in gaming. You can nearly be assured that if a game sold well or is being talked about by enough fans, there is likely a plan to rerelease the game for modern consoles to sell additional copies with almost no downside risk to the publisher. Games like Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 2, some of the most iconic games of all time, are going well beyond a simple remaster and redefining the entire game. In this episode, we explore the art of the possible and discuss how we would reimagine some games that are high on our list as candidates for reimagining.

Whether the question was asked by a parent, a spouse, a coworker, or a friend, anyone in the BCG community has likely fielded the question “Aren’t you a little old for this gaming thing?” sometime in their adult life. If you are listening to this podcast, chances are you made the decision to face this question head-on, connect with your “why”, and continue with the hobby in spite of opposition. In this episode, we explore the transition into gaming adulthood and the reasons we continue in the hobby.