The Bobby Blackwolf Show

The Muppet*Vision 3D experience from the Disney parks is coming to the Apple Vision Pro - and other VR devices. A game archival site is going to go offline because it cannot afford to stay online due to various factors including the increasing cost of RAM and storage due to the global AI infrastructure roll-out. The State of New York is suing Valve over their use of loot boxes, possibly hoping to set a legal precedent to go after larger corporations with deeper pockets and better lawyers. Then we talk to Jamie from OLR about loot boxes and the "gaming" industry.

I was at Dice & Diversions and played a bunch of board games, and I talk about two of them - Magical Athlete, and Draft & Write Records. The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack's Virtual Boy collection has released, and I did buy the $100 piece of plastic to get the headaches I remember. There was a shakeup at Xbox - CEO Phil Spencer retired, President Sarah Bond resigned, and Asha Sharma, a former AI executive, is now CEO. Then we talk to Jamie about the Xbox shakeup and how we can be cautiously optimistic - IF they learn from their mistakes.

At the Sony State of Play, there was a new Digital Eclipse collection released for Rayman's 30th Anniversary - and I didn't get it on launch, going back on my word that their collections were now day one purchases. Steam Decks are now out of stock and Valve doesn't know when they'll be able to manufacture more. This is most likely because of the RAM shortage because AI companies have already ordered more RAM than factories can produce right now. Because of this, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame are also delayed and will not launch in the first quarter of 2026 like originally announced. Riot Games has laid off the majority of the team that built 2KXO two weeks after the game left early access. What is the actual plan for live service games to keep their teams after releasing the core product? Then we talk to Jamie at OLR about the new Stern Pinball release - Pokemon.

I spend the first part of the show excited about my Commodore 64 Ultimate shipping this month and talk about my favorite C64 game as a kid that most people had never heard of - Agent USA. (It wasn't that great.) There is a class action lawsuit in the UK against Valve over their 30% fee on every transaction, and I explain why Valve is the target right now and not any of the other storefronts that also have a 30% fee. Sony has patented a controller that has movable buttons on a touchscreen, and I talk about why it will be great as an option, but not a replacement for tactile buttons. Then we talk to OLR about accessible controllers.

Dice and Diversions, a tabletop/board gaming convention in Atlanta, has been postponed to February due to the ice storm. Forza Horizon 6 was shown off on the Xbox Developer Direct, but no, you will not be flying a Gundam. I got the PlayStation VR2 PC Adapter, and getting the controllers to work over Bluetooth was a multi-day struggle. A VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 was removed due to CD Projekt Red not allowing the modder to charge money for it. Ubisoft cancels six games and delays seven others in order to concentrate on what they think players want. Then we talk to OLR about the Cyberpunk 2077 mod and about launching the second season of the long running podcast.

I was going to be at a tabletop/board game convention next weekend in Atlanta called Dice & Diversions, however mid-week it was postponed to Feburary. An Alternate Reality Game released on Steam in 2018 recently got a lot of negative reviews for being "too hard" because apparently younger people can't send an email correctly. Meta has exited the VR Gaming business, shutting down three of its VR gaming studio acquisitions. Meta is also refocusing its remaining VR studios to be more AI and wearable devices focused, rather than with VR. Then we talk to Jamie about the upcoming debut of Orange Lounge Radio IIDX and where Meta went wrong.

I am back from Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, where we raised over $2.4 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation! I talk about the runs that I hosted, and even quasi-commentated, as was the case with the maimai DX PRiSM Plus arcade showcase. I also talk about AGDQ's move to Atlanta for 2027, and why the city is more welcoming than many people not from around here are led to believe. LEGO has announced a "smart brick" at CES, which has no generative AI but will allow for more technology to be put into certain builds.

I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 next week! We remember Vince Zampella, who we tragically lost this week. He was a force in the gaming industry, even if you weren't someone who regularly played the games he brought to us. Nvidia has announced that a 100 hour per month limit is coming to ALL GeForce Now customers starting January 1st, where previously it was only for new subscribers. I took a look at Daytona USA VR in VRChat and discussed why VRChat is the metaverse billionaires wanted.

I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 the first week of January - tune in! I'm also hosting the English Restream of RTA In Japan Winter 2025 THIS WEEK! Reviews are out for the Commodore 64 Ultimate, and I wish I had bought one earlier so I would have it now. The Video Game History Foundation has released a bunch of ROMs of the 90's era Sega Channel, so you can relive the 90's goodness on your own emulator. Some of Arcade1up's assets have been sold to competitor Basic Fun! who entered the home arcade business earlier this year. The Indie Game Awards have revoked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's awards due to the use of generative AI in development. Then we take a call about generative AI usage in the world.

I'm going to be a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, and I can finally announce when! I'll be hosting Mario Kart World, Jak 3, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Super Metroid, and maimai DX PRiSM Plus! The rest of this episode is actually about our trip to Orlando's theme parks, focusing on Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe, but we do talk a little bit about the newer rides at the Disney parks. We also take a call to talk about Ranma's trip to Super Nintendo World in Japan.

I finally built the LEGO Game Boy, and I go through the elements that it has and the different ways it can be displayed. The USS Enterprise LEGO set came out on Black Friday, but there is a bad typo on the stickers. Tim Sweeney believes Steam should not require developers to disclose if Generative AI was used to make their games, since he claims everyone will use it eventually. Nintendo is buying a Bandai Namco studio in Singapore that assisted with game development. Then we take a caller to talk about the Saudi Arabia influence in the newly resurrected Overwatch League.

There were several debuts on this day, such as Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, but also the final episode of Orange Lounge Radio was done right after my show, and we say goodbye. I will be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 in January! Schedule will be posted in mid December. I am a sucker for the Picross series of nonogram games on the Nintendo Switch, and there are two new games celebrating Capcom and SNK, but they are twice the price of their predecessors. A US Lawmaker has taken aim at the use of Generative AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and calls for regulations to protect jobs. Vedinad, a nominee for Best Debut Indie Games at The Game Awards, has withdrawn his nomination because Megabonk is not his debut indie game release. Then we talk to Rob about Orange Lounge Radio: The Final.

I checked out the Atari 50 Namco DLC and was pleasantly surprised about how well it treated the Atari 2600 Pac-Man port as the programming masterpiece that it is. Valve has announced three new pieces of Steam Hardware to come out in early 2026 - a new Steam Machine, a new Steam Controller, and the successor to the Index VR device, the Steam Frame. Then we talk to Rob about Atari 50 and finally watching the end of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection "dokumentary" and who was left out of the stories.

I did in fact get the Star Trek: Strategic Operations Command tree ornament from Hallmark, and I realized Hallmark is my Funko Pop with regards to spending on geek trinkets. Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed six months, and I believe it is because they fired key employees in an effort to bust unionization efforts at Rockstar North. People have spotted a "PC Cross-Buy" icon in the PlayStation Store. Digital Eclipse is launching a new Atari 50 chapter about the Namco partnership, including talking about the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. Then we talk to Rob about the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection and the Atari 50 collection, as well as the final month of Orange Lounge Radio episodes.

I spend a lot of time in this episode telling you about Blippo+, the FMV art project originally on the Playdate console but now on Steam and Switch. It's not for everybody, but it might be for you... But first, we talk a little bit about my time with a (company owned) Meta Quest 3 VR headset, and why I'm still being a sucker and buying the Nintendo Switch Online's Virtual Boy plastic case. Atari has announced an Intellivision console that will actually ship - the Intellivision Spirit - with 45 games. No cartridge port, though. Then we talk to Rob about TRON: Ares (we haven't seen it yet) and the Intellivision Spirit.

I give my early impressions of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles after revisiting it for the first time in decades. Microsoft has stated that they are still committed to making traditional consoles. Nintendo has sued a moderator of a Switch piracy subreddit. Then we talk to Rob about Tron: Ares and the upcoming final episode of Orange Lounge Radio.

EA is being purchased by private investors in 2027, and will immediately be saddled with $20billion worth of debt when the deal closes. (EA made $7.5billion in revenue in 2025.) There is a vulnerability in all games using the Unity Runtime released since 2017, so all of those games must be patched before some systems will be allowed to run them. Microsoft has changed up the Xbox Game Pass system to incur higher prices, meaning it is no longer the best deal in gaming. Then we talk to Rob about Game Pass and why it might be a failing of Xbox leadership.

We have an update about the game preservation story from last episode with some more context on why this might not be as big of a disaster as we first claimed. EA was rumored to be going private by being purchased by several investors representing Saudi Arabia. (This was confirmed the day after we recorded this episode.) Doug Bowser announced his retirement as the President of Nintendo of America. Microsoft has announced that there is yet another price increase on Xbox consoles thanks to "macroeconomic conditions." Then we talk to Rob about the music festival I went to last week and how I'm too out of shape to attend music festivals.

The Virtual Boy is making a comeback on Nintendo Switch Online - but you'll have to buy an expensive piece of plastic or cardboard to use it. A devkit and prototype game collection was seized by UK police, and preservationists are fighting to get it back. (There's more to this story that came to light after recording this episode.) Nintendo has been awarded new patents on gameplay revolving around Pokemon battles - but could be used for more general things like summons in JRPG's. Then we talk to Rob about Donkey Kong: Bananza.

I'm back from Dragon Con and got to moderate some panels! I also talk about the artist who was kicked out of artist alley for selling AI art and explain exactly why they were kicked out and exactly why (and which) police were involved. Hollow Knight: Silksong released and broke the internet - and maybe makes a great case as for why digital preorders should actually be a thing. Some indie developers are upset at Silksong's $20 price tag because they can't afford to sell their game for $20 and it isn't as feature rich as Silksong. Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con.