Keen Cast

In Keen Cast's twentieth episode, Sean, David, and Tim speculate what the future holds for Google Stadia and if the streaming console will ever be ale to recover from its lackluster launch. We also talk about the streaming movement as a whole and offer our opinions on whether or not the phenomenon will replace physical media in the near future. Other topics of conversation include Kathleen Kennedy's comments regarding the Star Wars franchise and its lack of source material, Valve's announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, and our picks for who should win at this year's Game Awards. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: David's impressions of The End of the F***ing World – 00:01:48 Sean's impressions of Pokemon Sword – 00:32:15 News Stories: It’s hard to make Star Wars movies because there’s no source material, according to President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy (00:48:25) Valve announces Half-Life: Alyx, a new VR game (01:07:26) The Game Awards announces its nominees (01:20:22) Topic of the Show: What does the future hold for Google Stadia? (01:40:39) Google Stadia launch is exactly what you knew it would be. Google Stadia wants you to replace your video game console. Don't. Game developers are worried Google will kill Stadia Google promotes ‘gender neutral’ colored controllers (white, black, greenish) Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 02:01:49 

In Keen Cast's nineteenth episode, Sean, David, and Tim offer their opinions on what publishers and developers should do to stem the tide of unfinished games that have been releasing recently. We also talk about Pokemon Sword and Shield's installation bug, Anthem's troubled development, and Fallout 76's disastrous launch. Other topics of conversation include Hideo Kojima's comments on the criticism surrounding Death Stranding, Disney Plus' shaky debut, Sonic's redesign for his upcoming movie, and the ramifications of COPPA, or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, especially when it comes to content creators on YouTube. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: David's impressions of One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows – 00:01:35 Tim's gambling adventures – 00:14:14 Check out Sean's interview with World of Warcraft designer John Staats here! News Stories: Hideo Kojima says that Death Stranding criticisms in the US are due to the country's favor for FPS games (00:37:47) Disney Plus puts The Simpsons in widescreen and ruins sight gags (00:56:52) The Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer reveals Sonic's new design (01:11:58) New COPPA regulations could hurt YouTubers (01:21:27) Reddit reacts YouTuber Chadtronic offers his opinion Topic of the Show: Are unfinished games an epidemic? (01:39:19) Pokemon Sword and Shield bug uninstalls games on a Switch's SD Bug documented on stream Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 02:07:57

In Keen Cast's eighteenth episode, David, Sean, and Tim discuss the recent Pokemon Sword and Shield Pokedex leaks and determine whether or not we should accept developer Game Freak's decisions with the titles. We also predict if the games will be successful even with all the controversy surrounding them. Check out links and timestamps below: Topic of the Show: Pokemon Sword and Shield Pokedex leaked Our standouts (00:01:31) Our overall opinions on the Pokedex (00:20:05) Employee morale at Game Freak is at an 'all-time low' (00:26:18) Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 00:40:42

In Keen Cast's seventeenth episode, David, Sean, and Tim discuss Blizzard's weak apology at BlizzCon this year and offer our insight on how the company can repair its reputation moving forward. We also talk about Overwatch 2, Diablo 4's lack of an offline mode, and World of Warcraft's newest expansion, Shadowlands. Other topics of conversation include the announcement of Death Stranding for PC and EA games coming to Steam thanks to a new partnership with Valve. Sean also offers us his opinion on The Lighthouse, a new drama starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, and vents his frustrations with Destiny 2. Tim joins in on the criticism and gives us his opinion on Living with Yourself, a Netflix show starring Paul Rudd. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below:  Sean's frustrations with Destiny 2 – 00:01:13 Sean's impressions of The Lighthouse – 00:11:44 Tim's opinions on Destiny 2 – 00:17:37 Tim's impressions of Living with Yourself – 00:25:41 News Stories: Death Stranding announced for PC (00:30:01) EA games are coming back to Steam (00:41:00) BlizzCon News Stories: Diablo 4 announced (00:50:14) The game will not have an online mode World of Warcraft Shadowlands expansion announced (01:01:09) Changes will include reduced player levels Overwatch 2 announced (01:14:09) New hero looks revealed Topic of the Show: How can Blizzard make things right? (01:32:13) BlizzCon opens with apology from Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 01:51:40

In Keen Cast's sixteenth episode, Sean, David, and Tim determine whether or not video game leaks damage a title's momentum before release. Can they effect how well a product will perform on the market? Yup, this means we're talking about that recent Fortnite Chapter 2 leak and those Overwatch 2 reports! We also discuss the never-ending controversy surrounding Fallout 76 and determine whether or not Bethesda will be able to make a comeback in the near future. Other topics include Joker's international success, Five Below's bizarre efforts to appeal to esports fans, and a surprise showing of Terminator: Dark Fate. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: Tim's impressions of Obsidian's The Outer Worlds – 00:02:40 David's impressions of The Outer Worlds – 00:31:45 Find David's review of The Outer Worlds here. News Stories: Fallout 76 gets paid subscription service offering private worlds and unlimited stash (00:52:12) Oops! It’s broken - private worlds aren’t private and stashes are deleting Five Below to open esports centers within select Philadelphia stores (01:20:09) Joker becomes top grossing R-rated movie of all time (01:21:25) Terminator 2 showing turns out to be surprise screening of Terminator: Dark Fate (01:23:29) Topic of the Show: Do video game leaks damage a game's momentum? (01:30:08) Epic suing Fortnite Chapter 2 leaker Our reaction to the Overwatch 2 reports – 01:48:44 Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 01:55:55

In Keen Cast's fifteenth episode, Sean and David decide whether or not censorship is good for the video game industry. Would we support titles that have been heavily censored? The controversy doesn't stop there, as we revisit Blizzard's recent fiasco regarding Hong Kong and its banning of a professional Hearthstone player. We also talk about another prominent Hollywood director's comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other topics on this week's roster include Xbox Game Pass' supposed success, Larian Studios' decision to put Divinity: Fallen Heroes on hiatus, and the data cap issues that may come with enjoying games through Google Stadia. On top of all that, Sean gives us his review of Lab Zero Games' Indivisible! Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: Sean's review of Lab Zero Game's Indivisible – 00:27:22 News Stories: Study shows that six million Americans will easily hit their data caps by using Google Stadia (00:43:58) Xbox Game Pass users are playing 40 percent more games than normal users - including outside Game Pass (01:01:31) Divinity: Fallen Heroes put on hiatus by Larian Studios (01:13:01) Francis Ford Coppola calls the Marvel Cinematic Universe 'despicable' (01:18:59) Members of the United States Congress pen letter to Activision-Blizzard condemning the suspension of Blitzchung (01:32:25) Topic of the Show: Is censorship good or bad for games? (01:47:00) Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE becomes the best-selling Wii U game on Amazon Japan after news of Switch censorship Final Verdict – Our official consensus – 02:17:28

In Keen Cast's fourteenth episode, David, Tim, and Sean try to answer a simple question: Was Blizzard wrong with the way it handled a pro Hearthstone player's comments regarding the Hong Kong protests? We also offer our opinions on how the house of World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Overwatch should approach situations like this one in the future. The show isn't only about video games this week, as we also offer our impressions of Joker, My Hero Academia's fourth season, and The Flash! Other topics on this week's roster include more information regarding the PlayStation 5 (yup, that's the official name!), our thoughts on the console's controller and its haptic technology, Doom Eternal's delay, and a game that looks a lot like Cuphead. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: Our impressions of Joker, My Hero Academia's fourth season, and The Flash -  00:01:04 News Stories: PlayStation 5 announced and detailed - expected to release in Holiday 2020 (00:45:30) Doom Eternal delayed from November 2019 to March 2020 (00:58:11) Enchanted Portals looks a lot like Cuphead (01:05:39) Topic of the Show: Was Blizzard wrong? (01:18:26) Activision-Blizzard suspends pro Hearthstone player for comments about Hong Kong protests Blizzard makes an official statement Blizzard returns money to suspended Hearthstone player, Blitzchung Blitzchung makes an official statement regarding his ban and ban reduction Protests are being organized for BlizzCon this year Players are trying to get Overwatch banned in China by using Mei as a protest symbol Final Question – 01:40:43 Closing Thoughts – 02:06:40

In Keen Cast's thirteenth episode, David, Sean, and Tim analyze Martin Scorsese's recent comments regarding superhero movies and determine whether or not the genre can ever be considered cinema. We also talk about Rockstar Games' announcement of Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, EA leaking the personal information of FIFA customers, Valve's interesting new approach to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's loot boxes in France, and the Writers Guild's decision to remove video game writing from its award categories. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: New York Comic Con 2019 Coverage: Impressions on Marvel's Avengers, My Hero: One's Justice 2, and Disintegration -  00:12:10 News Stories: Red Dead Redemption 2 officially announced for PC - with exclusive pre-order bonuses on Rockstar Games Launcher (00:27:05) EA leaks personal information of FIFA customers (00:37:07) Valve introduces x-rays for loot boxes in France (00:45:43) Writers Guild will no longer award video game writing until more games are made by Guild members (00:53:40) Topic of the Show: Are Marvel movies “cinema”? (01:02:19) Director Martin Scorsese says, “The closest I can think of them… is theme parks.” Actor Samuel L. Jackson responds Nail in the Coffin – Our official consensus – 01:13:38

In Keen Cast's twelfth episode, Sean, Tim, and David attempt to answer how long publishers and developers should support live service games before they move on to other projects. We also talk about The Last of Us Part 2's lack of a multiplayer component at launch, WB Games Montreal's tease of a new Batman game possibly set in the Arkham universe, Epic Games' $10 million dollar exclusivity deal with Digital Bros. and Control, Microsoft's Inside Xbox presentation, and Sony's State of Play broadcast. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: News Stories: The Last of Us Part 2 won't have any multiplayer modes at launch, but they could be coming at a later date (00:18:43) WB Games Montreal teases a possible Batman Arkham sequel (00:28:06) Digital Bros. reveal that Epic Games paid them nearly $10 million for exclusivity of Control (00:39:36) Microsoft holds another Inside Xbox presentation (00:48:36) Sony broadcasts another State of Play (00:55:51) Naughty Dog and Sony reveal a new look at The Last of Us Part 2 (01:01:31) Topic of the Show: How long should developers support live service games? (01:18:09) Treyarch announces that Dark Divide will be the last Operation in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Nail in the Coffin – Our official consensus – 01:47:04

In Keen Cast's eleventh episode, Sean, Tim, and David try to figure out whether roadmaps and season passes are just empty promises or beneficial for developers and consumers in the long run. We also talk about Pokemon Sword's newly announced Sirfetch’d, the controversial Rockstar Games Launcher, Shantae and the Seven Sirens on Apple Arcade, and a French organization's legal action against Valve's digital resale policies. Check out links and timestamps to all of our topics below: News Stories: Farfetch’d gets a new evolution - Sirfetch’d - exclusively for Pokemon Sword (00:26:57) Rockstar Games announces the Rockstar Games Launcher (00:39:36) Out of nowhere, the first past of Shantae and the Seven Sirens releases on Apple Arcade (00:56:29) France says Steam must allow the resale of digital games by consumers (01:06:12) Topic of the Show: What do we think of post-launch loot boxes? (01:24:16) Bioware and EA abandon Anthem's roadmap Nail in the Coffin – Our official consensus – 01:45:07