
The NPCs - Video Game Commentary, Video Game News, And More!
By The NPCs

The NPCs - Video Game Commentary, Video Game News, And More!Dec 05, 2023

The NPCs Discuss - Game Awards 2023 Predictions
Welcome everyone to a special episode of The NPCs Discuss! In this episode, we will be talking about our predictions for 20 of the 31 categories for the Game Awards 2023!
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Sony PS Store Lawsuit, N64 18+ App, Ubisoft Pop Up Ads - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of December 1st
#Playstation #N64 #AssassinsCreed
In this week’s news:
- Sony set to face $7.9 billion class action lawsuit over PlayStation Store prices
- Nintendo is launching an 18+ n64 Switch Online App in Japan
- Ubisoft blames “technical error” for showing pop-up ads in Assassin’s Creed
- Dave the Diver comes under the Game Awards nomination controversy and Geoff Keighley weighs in
- Embracer CEO confirms Free Radical is facing closure
- Netflix lands the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy
- Level 5 Vision announcements at the November Showcase
- New Sonic Movie 3 teaser reveals Shadow the Hedgehog’s shoes
- Resident Evil 4 Remake PSVR2 coming next week
- New Tribes game announced
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Blizzcon 2023 Announcements, MW3 Campaign Disappointment, Sakurai & Smash Bros Future - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of November 3rd
#Blizzcon #CallOfDuty #Destiny2
Main Stories:
- Blizzcon 2023 Opening Day Recap
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 reviews are out, and it’s not pretty
- Bungie lays off 100 devs, and gamers respond
- Sakurai thinks it’ll be difficult to push Smash Bros further
- Fortnite OG has brought in nearly 4 million players in the first day
- Microsoft set to cut free Xbox Game Pass benefit from employees, until Phil Spencer steps in
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PS5 External Disk Drive, Gaming PC + Human Blood, Nintendo Smash Bros Rule Changes - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of October 29th
#PS5Slim #DiabloIV #SmashBros
In this week's news:
- PS5’s external disk drive will require an internet connection at install time
- Blizzard will give away a gaming PC… cooled with human blood?
- Nintendo drops new rules for Smash Bros tourneys, and it’s not good.
- Xbox Series S gets a massive price hike in Brazil
- Microsoft looks to be alerting to unauthorized 3rd party accessories on Xbox
- Want to smell like Solid Snake? Well fret not!
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What's Next for ABK + MSFT, Analogue 3D, Roblox a big hit on PS5 - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of September 21st
#ActivisionBlizzard #Analogue #Roblox
In this week’s news:
- With Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard acquisition done, what’s next?
- Analogue is making a 4K Nintendo 64
- Roblox launch on PS5 a big hit, but how big?
- Nintendo removes Switch announcement trailer, but hold steady!
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ABK + Microsoft, PS5 Slim, Animal Crossing Lego - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of October 14th
#Microsoft #ActivisionBlizzard #PS5Slim
In this weeks’ news:
- Microsoft completes their acquisition of ABK
- PS5 Slim announced, to replace current model in November
- Cyberpunk 2077 live action adaptation in the works
- Halo Infinite Season 5 announced
- Lego and Nintendo showcase Animal Crossing sets
- Someone bought a brand new Wii U in 2023?
- Sony adding streaming to PS Plus Premium memberships
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CS2 Releases, No New Steam Deck Yet, Bye Bye Jim Ryan - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of September 30th
#CounterStrike2 #Unity #SteamDeck
In this week’s news:
- Valve doesn’t expect to launch another Steam Deck for a few years
- Unity apologizes by walking back some of its planned changes
- Crystal Dynamics, Epic hit by layoffs
- Counter Strike 2 officially drops
- Someone gets Phil Spencer to sign a PS5 faceplate
- PlayStation head Jim Ryan to retire this spring
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Unity against Unity, Sept Nintendo Direct and PS State of Play Recaps - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of September 16th
#NintendoDirect #PlaystationStateOfPlay #Unity
In this week's news:
- Developers unite against Unity’s new pricing model
- F-Zero, Paper Mario, and more in a new Nintendo Direct
- Apple Event shows off AAA titles coming to iPhone
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Spider-Man 2, and more in a new PlayStation State of Play
- Embracer Group may sell Gearbox
- Microsoft & Barclays are launching an Xbox Credit Card
- Xbox has shared the Game Pass Core games list
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Switch 2 Tech Demos, Starfield's a hit, Rockstar DRM Kerfuffle - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of September 8th
#Starfield #Switch2 #E3
In this week’s news:
- Nintendo shows off Switch 2 demos @ Gamescom
- Starfield hits 1 million concurrent players on launch day
- E3 2024 not happening; maybe in 2025?
- Steam will soon show players which games support PlayStation controllers
- Rockstar may have sold some games with DRM cracks on Steam
- Miss the Xbox 360? Why not build one with Mega Bloks!
- Stray is getting an animated movie
- Were you hoping for an Assassins' Creed Black Flag remake? Think again!
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PlayStation Portal, Denuvo on Switch, Charles Martinent no longer voicing Mario - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of August 25th
#PlaystationPortal #Denuvo #CharlesMartinet
In this week’s news:
- Sony dubs Project Q the PlayStation Portal
- Denuvo offers built-in protection on Nintendo Switch & Unreal Engine
- Charles Martinet stepping away as the voice of Mario
- Overwatch 2 director responds to review bomb on Steam
- Atari releasing the 2600+, which will play original cartridges
- Microsoft finally ends production of the Kinect
- Microsoft selling wraps for your Xbox
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Switch 2 in 2024, Ratatan Kickstarter, Xbox Controller parts - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of August 4th
#Switch2 #CSGO #Transformers
In this week’s news:
- 3:09 - Switch 2 may be out in 2024
- 16:26 - Ratatan beats Kickstarter goal, coming to consoles
- 23:52 - Twitch bans CS:GO skin gambling sponsorships
- 30:03 - Microsoft now selling replacement parts for controllers
- 37:22 - Hasbro says Activision lost “Transformers” games, retracts soon after
43:14 - Quest Markers
- Vampire Survivors may be getting a “Director's Cut”
- PS5 Beta adds Dolby Atmos, 8TB SSD support
- Fans aiming to beat player count record on Half Life Opposing Force
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FF XIV on Xbox, Dreamworks Kart Racer, Ubisoft terminates accounts - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of July 29th
#FinalFantasy #Ubisoft #Playstation
In this week’s news:
- Square Enix bringing Final Fantasy XIV to Xbox
- Emulation working again on Xbox, until the suspensions began.
- Dreamworks is joining in on the kart-racing genre
- Ubisoft said to be deleting inactive accounts, immediately steps back.
- Playstation Project Q handheld leaks, and it’s not pretty so far.
- Microsoft reveals “pizza-scented” Xbox controller
- Nicki Minaj is going to be a Call of Duty Operator
- Neopets are making a comeback
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PS5 Project Trinity, Activision Blizzard eSports Layoffs, Major Nelson leaving Xbox - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of July 21st.mp3
#ProjectTrinity #OverwatchLeague #Spiderman2
In this week’s news:
- Project Trinity is supposed codename for PS5 Pro
- Dolphin Emulator no longer coming to Steam
- Activision Blizzard lays off 50 eSports staff, terms change for OWL
- Major Nelson is leaving Xbox
- Spider-Man 2 PS5 & controller coming soon
- Blizzard adding games to Steam, starting with Overwatch 2
- Ratatan, spiritual successor to Patapon, has been announced
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The NPCs Discuss - Cloud Gaming
#xcloud #playstationplus #geforcenow
On today’s episode:
Over the last 15 years, the tech industry has continued to push us into using the cloud for nearly everything we do. While many of the things we do in the cloud today have become commonplace, such as document generation and photo sharing, one of the things that hasn’t hit its stride yet is gaming in the cloud. We as gamers are used to our physical systems more than anything, knowing that we can play games with (hopefully) minimal fuss because everything is at our fingertips. However, the notion of playing triple-A titles on the cloud on nearly any device at nearly any time is a rather enticing offering, but some of the same limitations that we have with the rest of the cloud can be more visible when playing games. So what’s the fuss with it, how did we get here, and what is going on now that could shape the future of playing games? Let’s dive into this Discuss to talk about Cloud Gaming.
Links:
- Cloud Gaming - Wikipedia
- Best Cloud Gaming Services - NY Times Wirecutter Review
- What is Cloud Gaming? - Android Police
- The rise and fall of Stadia - Games Industry
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PS5 Slim, Valve & AI games, Sega on NFTs, 90s Sega Leak - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of July 7th
#Playstation5 #Steam #Sega
In this week’s news:
- Even Microsoft thinks Sony is going to launch a PS5 Slim
- Valve says “no” to possible ban on games with AI-generated art on Steam
- Sega withholding franchises from blockchain games
- Leak of Sega documents from the 90s surfaces
- Microsoft lawyer may have inadvertently leaked Elder Scrolls 6 release date
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Microsoft vs FTC, Nintendo Direct Recap, Robolx 17+ - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of June 23rd
#Xbox #NintendoDirect #Roblox
In this week’s news:
- Microsoft vs. the FTC in court over the Activision-Blizzard acquisition
- June Nintendo Direct recap
- Roblox will now allow 17+ rated content in game
- Social & Casual gaming still found to be decimating console gaming
- Fan buys $3500 in Nintendo stock just to heckle them about… Splatoon.
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Summer Games Showcase 2023 Roundup (Mostly) - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of June 11th 2023
#Xbox #Starfield #SummerGamesFest
Welcome to the great Summer Games Showcase of 2023! In this week’s roundup, we (mostly) talk about all of the game showcases that have taken place (so far):
Day 1
Day 2
Day3
- Wholesome Games Direct (50 games?!)
- OTK Games Expo
- Future Games Show
Day 4
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Meta Quest 3, Redfall's Downfall, Nintendo stops emulator on Steam - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of June 2nd 2023
#MetaQuest #Redfall #Nintendo
In this week’s news:
- Meta Quest 3 has been announced
- Meta Quest Gaming Showcase recap
- We now know what happened with Redfall
- Nintendo shuts down Dolphin release on Steam w/Valve’s help
- Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater will reuse the original voice lines
- Do you want your name on a Diablo 4 statue?
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PlayStation Showcase, MSFT Appeal to CMA, Xbox Summer Showcase Leak - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of May 27th
#PlaystationShowcase #Xbox #Nintendo64
In this week’s news:
- PlayStation Showcase Recap
- Microsoft appeals UK’s CMA ruling on ABK acquisition
- Xbox Summer Showcase reveal list may have leaked
- Nintendo Japan will soon stop repairs on the Wii U
- Would you trade a limited edition Nintendo 64 for a Switch?
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Blizzcon 2023, OW2 loses PvE, Mortal Kombat 1 - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of May 19th
#ActivisionBlizzard #Overwatch2 #MortalKombat
In this week's news:
- EU approves Activision Blizzard + MSFT deal
- Blizzcon is coming back this year
- Overwatch 2’s PvE “Hero Missions” are going away, more info from game director
- Mortal Kombat 1 has been announced
- Could we be seeing GTA 6 next year?
- Did you know a popular CoD map was added by accident?
- For some reason, Nicolas Cage is being added to Dead by Daylight
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Phil Spencer Reaction to Xbox News, TOTK Leaks Early, Discord Usernames - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of May 5th 2023
#Xbox #LegendOfZelda #Discord
In this week's news:
- Microsoft’s Phil Spencer reflects on the state of Xbox at CMA and thinks, “Losing the Xbox One generation was the worst one to lose.”
- LoZ Tears of The Kingdom leaks 2 weeks early - beware of spoilers!
- Could we be at the tail end of Overwatch League and Call of Duty League?
- Discord is forcing a username change
- Seagate drops price on Xbox Series X & S expansion cards
- Apex Legends problems to blame on a single line of code
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CMA says NO to MSFT+ABK, Tears of the Kingdom Performance, Lego DK - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of April 29th
#ActivisionBlizzard #LegendOfZelda #Lego
In this week's news:
- CMA says no to Microsoft + Activision Blizzard deal
- LoZ Tears of the Kingdom first impressions good, but Switch shows it’s age
- Lego Donkey Kong announced, and Lego Pac-Man leaked
- Asus ROG Ally may cost only a bit more than the top tier Steam Deck
- Call of Duty board game on the way… for some reason
- Armored Core 6 gets a new gameplay trailer and release date
- Steam Deck is being used by the Ukrainian army to control a turret
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Rovio and Sega, LoZ TOTK Final Trailer, Ubisoft+ on Xbox - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of April 14th
#LegendOfZelda #Xbox #AngryBirds
In this week's news:
- Rovio Entertainment, makers of Angry Birds, reported about to be sold to Sega for $1 Billion
- Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom final trailer released! (Kotaku article for reference, too)
- Ubisoft Plus subscription is now available on Xbox… and costs more than Game Pass?
- Microsoft is experimenting with Windows Handheld Mode for Steam Deck-like devices
- Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League has been delayed till February of next Year
- Hidetaka Miyazaki, of Elden Ring and Dark Souls fame, has been named as one of Time’s Most Influential People of 2023
- A new Jet Set Radio game may have gotten leaked by Sega
- Xbox Project Keystone makes another appearance in a Phil Spencer video
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E3 Cancelled, Zelda TOTK Gameplay Reveal, PSVR2 may need price cut - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of March 31st
#LegendOfZelda #E3 #PSVR2
In this week's news roundup:
- E3 has been cancelled, and no one is shocked
- Legend of Zelda TOTK gameplay revealed
- Sony may have only sold 300k PSVR2’s - analyst says price cut may be needed
- Microsoft patent hints at Xbox controller with touchscreen
- Microsoft ends $1 Game Pass Ultimate trial
- Horizon Forbidden West DLC will be PS5 exclusive… because clouds
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Counter-Strike 2 Announced, UK nearly says OK on ABK+MSFT - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - Week of March 24th
#CounterStrike2 #EldenRing #ActivisionBlizzard
In this week's news:
- Counter-Strike 2 Revealed
- Counter-Strikes Skin Market Goes Wild
- Valve could cancel matches immediately if they detect cheating
- Elden Ring now has ray tracing, and it might be breaking the game
- Microsoft is Developing its own App store to Rival Apple and Google
- Microsoft gets a big boost in the Activision Blizzard acquisition
- Epic’s Biggest Announcements from State of Unreal keynote
- Smell Like Mario, Luigi, and Friends
- Ninja Turtles graphic novel The Last Ronin to be adapted into a game
- EA announces 3 Battlefield games are going away…. Forever
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EU delays MSFT + ABK ruling until May, Square-Enix says FFXVI runs best on PS5, CSGO skin sells for a lot - Weekly News Roundup - Week of March 18th
#CSGO #FinalFantasy #GoogleStadia
In this week's news:
- EU delays ABK + MSFT decision until May
- Valve likes OLED screens, but says it’s not that simple for Steam Deck
- Google’s Stadia cloud service is now gone, too.
- Square Enix says FFXVI has to be on PS5 only; Additional context from Kotaku
- Fan takes first 3 minutes of RE4 and Lego-ify’s it
- A CS:GO skin just sold for $160k
- Diablo 4 beta code with a Double Down
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Counter-Strike 2 On the Way, more Sony vs Microsoft drama, RE4 cancelled pre-orders - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - March 10th
#CounterStrike #ResidentEvil4 #ActivisionBlizzard
In this week's news:
- Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad game has been delayed once again; Poorly received footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBczhEOp-m0
- Obsidian apologies for buggy launch of Outer Worlds Spacers Choice Edition
- Sony throws more shade at ABK + Microsoft deal, says CoD on PS will get bugs
- GameStop cancels in-store pre-orders for Resident Evil 4’s collector’s edition
- Is Counter-Strike 2 on the way? Nvidia drivers seem to indicate so
- Super Metroid has been recompiled and ported to PC.
- Epic will now let developers self publish games on the Epic Game Store
- In celebration of Mario Day and the Mario Movie Nintendo brings Mario’s boots to life
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Multiverses low player count, Tetris movie trailer, PSVR2 reviews - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - February 17th 2023
#PSVR2 #MetroidPrime #Tetris
In this week's news:
- Original Metroid Prime devs are pissed at Nintendo for omitting them in credits of “Remastered”
- Player count for WB’s smash clone Multiverse plummet
- The Tetris movie trailer drops, and I didn’t know what I was expecting.
- PSVR2 Reviews are out, and it’s a mixed bag: Ars Technica, The Verge, Forbes, GameSpot, TechRadar
- Sega joins Nintendo in increasing salaries of its staff instead of layoffs.
- Power Wash Sim is getting FF VII’s Midgar?
- Horizon Forbidden West comes to PS Extra and Premium this month
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Nintendo Direct Recap, more drama in MSFT + ABK | NPCs Weekly News Roundup | February 10th
#NintendoDirect #CallofDuty #MetroidPrime
In this week's news:
Nintendo Direct recap
More Sony Vs. Microsoft drama in ABK acquisition
- Bobby Kotick says Sony is trying to sabotage the acq.
- Sony accuses Microsoft of “harassment” in court filings
- UK CMA says to spin off CoD to separate unit/org
Nintendo announces Switch sales milestone, will not perform layoffs in Japan
Team Fortress 2 is planning a “full on update sized update”
Full VOD here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nj_4Gwrntw
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Why are these games shutting down or being canceled! - NPCs Weekly News Roundup - February 3rd
#Titanfall #PS5 #PSVR2
In this week's news:
Multiple games being delayed, shut down, or canceled
- Back 4 Blood
- Titanfall - Apex Legends Crossover
- Last of Us Pt 1 PC
- Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
- Apex Legends Mobile & Battlefield Mobile
- CrossfireX
- Unannounced titles from The Coalition
- Playstation Plus Collection
Microsoft may or may not be shutting down Xbox 360 Marketplace
Sony refutes report that it’s slashed PSVR2 production
343i is starting over with Halo, switching to UE5
Sony says 30% of PS5 players never played via PS4
PS5 beta system update adds support for Discord
Redfall will require online connection to play Single Player
Full VOD can be found here: https://youtube.com/live/2Ny0TIugN28?feature=share
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