Episodes

  • Newscast: Nintendo has announced new hardware, but it's not Switch 2

    Newscast: Nintendo has announced new hardware, but it's not Switch 2
    Oct 14 2024
    This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Nintendo's big new hardware announcement - and no, it's not Switch 2. Despite months of frenzied rumour that Nintendo was ready to reveal its next-generation Switch, the company instead revealed... Alarmo, a new interactive alarm clock. It costs £90/$100, and is currently only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Alarmo looks fun enough, and I love that Nintendo has wrong-footed everyone's expectations with a left-field new product once again. (Remember Ring Fit? Remember Labo?) On the other - what exactly is the point? Apart from the fact that alarm clocks are found on every smart device you already own, why is Nintendo launching this specific product? And why now? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • Newscast: When it costs £700, who exactly is the PS5 Pro for?

    Newscast: When it costs £700, who exactly is the PS5 Pro for?
    Sep 11 2024
    Yesterday Sony finally announced the long-rumoured PS5 Pro in a technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny. The console is a more advanced version of the PlayStation 5 that boosts its graphics capabilities, and even improves backwards compatibility with some PS4 games. Yet the biggest catch of all is its £700 price tag. What's more, with this being a digital-only console, the £100 disc drive add-on is required for physical games, not to mention the additional £25 needed for the optional stand just to hold the console vertically. That's a total of £825 - without games, as well as the fancy TV necessary to really show off those extra pixels. The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly negative, predominantly thanks to that audacious price. Indeed, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote, the PS5 Pro is "an argument against 'Pro' consoles altogether". It certainly seems more in-line with the expectations of PC players than console players. With all that in mind, then, what really are the benefits of this new console? Who is the target audience? And would we consider buying one ourselves? Joining me to discuss all things PS5 Pro in this week's Eurogamer Newscast are news reporter Victoria Kennedy, Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan, and managing editor Katharine Castle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • Newscast: PlayStation's Astro Bot success and PS5 Pro tease can't distract from Concord's failure

    Newscast: PlayStation's Astro Bot success and PS5 Pro tease can't distract from Concord's failure
    Sep 6 2024
    This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the most dramatic few days for PlayStation in recent times. Sony's stunning decision to kill off live-service shooter flop Concord after less than two weeks sent shockwaves around the industry, setting a new precedent for how swiftly a troubled title from a major publisher could be given the axe. After eight years of work, the game has already disappeared from sale, and will soon vanish from people's game libraries, with refunds automatically given. It's a remarkable move - even if Concord does somehow get a second lease of life - and another nail in the coffin for Sony's overly-ambitious live-service plans that have already seen other projects shelved and delayed. And yet Sony has still ended this week on something of a high - riding a wave of love for Astro Bot, the company's platforming platform mascot and star of an excellent new game, and subtly-teasing one of the worst-kept secrets in video games right now: the imminent announcement of its souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake, as we dissect the week, discuss what might be next for Concord, and where PlayStation goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    20 mins
  • Eurogamer 25th anniversary special: The former editors return

    Eurogamer 25th anniversary special: The former editors return
    Sep 4 2024
    How long have you been a Eurogamer reader for? Let me put that another way: how many different Eurogamer editors do you remember? The site has been around for a long time now - 25 years this week - so there have been a few different sets of hands at the tiller. I ask because, well, I've gathered those editors together again for a very special anniversary podcast, which you can listen to right now. With me on the podcast are Eurogamer's originating editor John Bye, better known to some as Gestalt, who edited the site from its foundation in 1999 through to 2002. Then we have Kristan Reed, who took over in 2002 and ran the site through to 2008, before passing the baton to Tom Bramwell who led through to 2014. Then Oli Welsh steered Eurogamer from 2014 to 2021, before Wesley Yin-Poole took over from 2021-2023. Unfortunately Martin Robinson and Tom Phillips - our more recent editors - were unable to join because they were at Gamescom when we recorded. We also have Ellie Gibson on the podcast, who was a hugely influential voice and personality on the site, and also briefly editor of it, in 2011. It's been years since I've seen and talked to some of these people - I worked alongside almost all of them - and in most cases, it's been years since they've talked to each other, too. Despite that, it isn't long before we all settle into a familiar rhythm as stories are told and memories shared, and many laughs are had. I've missed these people. If ever you've been curious about the roots of Eurogamer and how the site became what it did, or if you just wondered what the former editors are up to now - or maybe you just want to reminisce - then I've got the conversation for you. A huge thank you to all of my guests both for joining the podcast and for helping make Eurogamer what it is today. Many happy returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • From the archive: Behind Eurogamer's strapline pun tradition

    From the archive: Behind Eurogamer's strapline pun tradition
    Sep 2 2024
    Originally recorded for Eurogamer's 20th anniversary, five years ago, this podcast explores where the site's obsession with puns comes from. The podcast is hosted by Matt Reynolds and features Emma Kent, Wesley Yin-Poole and Christian Donlan - all of whom have since gone on to work elsewhere or as freelance. We'll be sporadically posting more podcasts from the archive as time goes on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Newscast: PlayStation live-service Concord won't sell you a battle pass - but would it be more successful if it did?

    Newscast: PlayStation live-service Concord won't sell you a battle pass - but would it be more successful if it did?
    Jul 26 2024
    This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the downsides and upsides of the video game battle pass. In a week where PlayStation live-service hopeful Concord trumpeted the fact it won't sell you a battle pass as a marketing beat, and Apex Legends dialled back (some of) its battle pass changes following fan fury, we consider the options available to video game makers hoping to ensure their latest releases keep being played - and paid for - well after release. Would more people play Concord if it was a free-to-play title with a battle pass? Or is it better served by being a £40 launch? Not everyone can promise they'll never sell post-launch content, as Stardew Valley's creator did this week. But there's clearly a balance to be struck to ensure players don't feel fleeced, particularly when full-priced launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are getting in on the act too. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?

    Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?
    Jul 11 2024
    This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's big changes to Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass for console is gone, unless you subscribe already. In its place: Xbox Game Pass Standard, which will no longer include new day one games from Microsoft, Activision, Blizzard and Bethesda. Oh, and everything's going up in price. Do these changes mark the end of Game Pass being a must-have subscription for Xbox owners? Or, after an impressive summer presentation painting a rosy picture of Microsoft's 2025 slate, are you now more likely to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, where day one launches will remain. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Newscast: With the death of Keystone, will Xbox give up its streaming console plans forever?

    Newscast: With the death of Keystone, will Xbox give up its streaming console plans forever?
    Jun 27 2024
    This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the cancelled Xbox project Keystone: Microsoft's plans to launch a relatively cheap streaming console. Keystone popped up yesterday in an old patent which detailed the prospective hardware in fresh detail, though we have of course seen it in the wild before - on Xbox boss Phil Spencer's shelf. Spencer has addressed Keystone's cancellation, and blamed it being shelved (literally) on Microsoft not being able to make it a cheap enough proposition. But does the end of Keystone mean Microsoft is abandoning its cloud gaming plans entirely? No, of course not - and Xbox Cloud Gaming remains. And in the future, as internet speeds improve and streaming games becomes more common, could we see Keystone Version 2? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins