[00:00:08] Welcome to Crashing Game Night. My name is Matt Duario, your host as always. We're joined by the never seen... Yay yay! Doctor of Thuganomics. Or in this case, the Doctor of Beanie-nomics. At least we know he's here because we can hear him. We can't see him. You can't see me! The Doctor of Beanie-nomics.
[00:00:35] I really hope that right then that I hope you waved your hand in front of your face. I did. In fact, I did. Gerard Barrera. Hey! How's it going all you nerds out there? That's right. Once again, I am Ixnay the camera, but one is on the way and all will be right soon. Just gotta be patient.
[00:01:00] And right now, once again, it's the Cena. You can't see me, baby. We got the babyface one. Former Monopoly champion. Oh! The Owalski. Dang! Okay, just because you said that, I'm not gonna say anything witty.
[00:01:26] I'll say it. The, I would say the, you hear, you heard of the Ultra Ball in Pokemon. You, you gotta see the Ultra Collector of the Pokemon cards, baby. That's right. The Owalski. What's up? It was, he was on the... I didn't caption that at all. Oh, alright. Sorry. I thought it was a good, good intro. A good guy hype. He tried. Yeah, I tried. He did try. He was, he was on the cusp, you know.
[00:01:54] Probably would've been better if you were seen. Ugh. Maybe. So... Gotta see that booting gray you got going on. Oh, thank you. Yeah. And, uh, we are missing the new champion. Yeah, geez. Jason is, is out today. Yeah. So... We got, we got a lot to kind of talk about.
[00:02:24] It was a good, uh... It was a good trip. We missed everybody, but I made the executive call. I needed a break. I wanted a pure vacation. And you know what I got for my love? Or for that decision? I came home sick from Cali. Yeah, rough. The day, day, uh, you, you left. Yeah. Yeah, that's a bummer.
[00:02:49] And to think that you said that you're open to the idea of potentially moving, but the first thing it does to you is get you sick. Yup. Well, when you're leaving, not the first thing it does to you, but you know. It's, it is my own fault. I should have saw the signs when I started not having a lot of sleep leading into the trip. Hmm. And letting my body get run down. So, it was gonna happen. So, it's my fault. Nah, still playing.
[00:03:16] And it gave me a wake up call that, hey, I, I am not the quote unquote Superman that I was before, where I could, I had a killer immune system and didn't get sick. And I now really have to make sure I'm taking care of myself with proper sleep. So, you know, you know, spring chicken. No, I'm not. So.
[00:03:42] Since you bring up proper sleep, then I would say sleeping on the couch might not have helped. Yeah. Yeah. Eh, wasn't that bad. Actually, my, my bed was better though. I have a sleep number. So, but let's get into it. Um, there's a, there's a bunch to. To hit this week and it's not all roses and rainbows cause and platinum trophies cause.
[00:04:14] Last week we got some, the first of the celebrity deaths with Tom Skerritt, AKA Viper. Yeah. Top Gun passed away. Bummer. Um, on Wednesday. Then we got two different fandoms got both barreled yet, you know, yesterday.
[00:04:41] Um, so first off, um, from a star Trek perspective, we've now lost both checkoffs. Yeah. Um, first we lost, uh, Anton Yelchin right after they, they finished filming, uh, Star Trek beyond. Yeah. That's right. A freak accident.
[00:05:12] Um, the OG Walter Koenig. He passed away. Um, sorry, Sunday. Um, at the ripe age of 90. Um, and what's pretty, so when you, when you look at this picture, right?
[00:05:34] Um, cause it's, this picture doesn't have, uh, George, uh, to K in it, but Shatner and George are the only two surviving now. Out of the original group. Wow. You know, we've lost Nimoy and the forest and the shell. And all I'm like Shatner and George are the last left. Dang. That is crazy.
[00:06:06] So, um, it's, it's sad. Like it's, you know, Star Trek, regardless of which generation of Trek you like, you know, the OG cast paved the rate, you know, the way for what is modern Trek.
[00:06:26] And, you know, Kona played roles as check off all the way through some of the, the different iterations and showing up just like the force Kelly showed up on, uh, next gen and stuff.
[00:06:46] So, yeah, you know, yeah, but it's definitely getting around that time where, you know, this it's all we're going to have to. Yeah. We're going to have to get prepared for stuff like this. Yep. Now, what was shocking, and we still don't know a cause of death yet when, with Walter was just, you know, it was, it was just age.
[00:07:10] But, um, we also lost Eric Baza. Oh yeah. Um, at the age of 46 and he is a fixture in the voice acting community. Um, everybody knows him. And what's funny is his videos have been showing up on Tik TOK like crazy the last week. Yeah.
[00:07:35] Um, because he is the voice of bugs, bunny, Daffy duck, porky pig. Um, he was also in other enemies. He was in avatar and on loud house. Kiff light, man. Yeah. He has a, you know, you look at his resume, like, yeah, quite the resume.
[00:08:04] He was, he was Buster bunny in the, the reboot of tiny tunes. Oh wow. Yeah. So that was, and I know our buddy, a friend of ours, Josh is, this is hitting him hard because he actually knew Eric. Like he, he used to run his lines for him at cons and everything.
[00:08:31] Like, so we actually knew him, you know, and that's just, it hits. So, you know, they always say it comes in threes. So last time this happened, we thought we had three, but then a day or two later we ended up losing Dolly Parton. So I hope, I hope this is three, but to your point, Jerry, it's time. Like we're going to start losing our more of our greats, you know?
[00:09:02] So yeah. Yep. So I definitely, you know, our thoughts go out to especially Eric's family. Cause this was, this was very sudden and it was like an announcement that it's like, Hey, he suddenly passed away. Love more details when we have them, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, and then, you know, just start from the Star Trek community. Cause that hits. Cause for me, Star Trek six is one of my favorite of the movies.
[00:09:31] Uh, it's my favorite of the old cast, you know, and Chekov was a big part of that, you know, that whole story in undiscovered country. So it's a lot of those scenes play in my head and I can remember them. So, um, now Jerry, we missed something yesterday. Oh, did we? Yeah.
[00:10:00] Uh, yesterday was liberation day. Oh yeah. Yeah. I heard. And they did a whole bunch of in game stuff, including weapons and whatnot. Um, but they've also launched a hell divers page similar to ghosts of Yotai and Shishima. Oh, sweet. Sweet. So. Oh my gosh. You get the.
[00:10:30] Basically, that's, that's already, already dope. That's awesome. Um, and it is basically unlocking the achievement for firing 500 rounds. Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. That's already. Um, that's hilarious. You have to, you have to earn it by May 31st of 2027 and purchase by June 30th. So you got till the end of June. Not bad. Yeah.
[00:10:57] Then you've got the, the pin for reaching player level one 50. Oh, wow. Um, that you have till the end of February and then to buy by the end of March, you get. Teddy bear for 75 missions. Okay.
[00:11:25] And then there's also the pin for reaching level 100. That is hilarious. That's awesome. So they're certainly really playing it up. I love it when they're doing, when they do stuff like that with like, I really loved, appreciated what they do with Yotai. And yeah, I hope they continue doing stuff like that. That's fun. Yeah. So, uh, they decorated all the ships, right?
[00:11:57] Uh, everybody that logged in yesterday and took part in things, got this assault rifle. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. The AR 23 L liberator legacy. Oh, um, and they had some mini games and stuff too. Um, they put out some like material liberation day. Apparently that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:12:26] And you could, they send it so you could download it and stuff. So. I think there was some uniforms or something you can get to, or, or maybe. Yeah. So we missed, we missed out on, uh, some of the celebrations. Bummer. Oh, well, I mean, it's all right. It's all right. You know, this is what it is. There'll be plenty more liberation days. Yeah.
[00:12:49] Um, so let's jump to the, the other bad news that we got. Oh no. Yeah. This one, this one hurt me the most cause we were sitting at. Oh, right. Right. Yep.
[00:13:07] With John and, and will and Vic when the news broke of EA being EA and doing EA things. So, uh, I'm going off of EA.com's news page. So this is you guys, anybody can go and check out this as a source and whatnot, but this is
[00:13:37] the notice they sent to their employees. Hi team. First. Thank you. Though every major moment we face as a company or commitment to creating awesome games and experiences for our players continue to be impressive. Together. We built epic worlds and global communities that are part of the lives of hundreds of millions of people. And I will say, yeah, you can't deny that because of battlefield mass effect, Dragon Age,
[00:14:04] Baldur's gate, like it's all part of it. Right. Uh, they're going to say today what we're the number one publisher in Western HD gaming. That's an extraordinary position to lead from and one we should be proud of yet. Our industry is changing quickly. Players have more choices than ever for the, their time and attention competition is intensifying and some of our biggest opportunities for growth are beyond the markets platforms and business
[00:14:33] models where EA has traditionally been the strongest. That's why over the past several months, we've taken a hard look at our business, how we operate and what it will take to lead in the next era of interactive entertainment. We've challenged assumptions, confronted hard realities, imagined new possibilities and made deliberate choices in order to deliver exceptional experiences for our players and to drive sustained
[00:14:57] growth, like being brought out by a private equity firm where it's going to cost you more money to service the interest on the amount of money than you even bring in. So the debt they got saddled with is going to cost $1.8 billion a year to cover. The highest they've had in recent years is $1.5 million worth of income. Crazy.
[00:15:27] Crazy. So if that gives you any idea what private equity can do to a company who's desperate, right there. Anyways, we believe our best creative work happens when we're clear on what matters most for our players and give our teams the freedom to move quickly. So we're concentrating our team's technology and investments behind these three strategic priorities.
[00:15:51] Deep in our core, our greatest opportunity starts with our franchises and global communities that have made EA a leader in interactive entertainment. This is where we've had to make our hardest choices. Saying no to some things we're passionate about allows us to focus our teams and resources so we give our biggest opportunities everything they need to succeed. Expand our reach.
[00:16:15] The strength of our core business creates an enormous opportunity to reach more players across new platforms, markets, and business models. As one example in regions as dynamic as Asia, success means building experiences that reflect local players, cultures, and expectations. Yeah. God, I wish I could have seen your face for that. Because your words were just... All right. Transform our business.
[00:16:43] We believe we can use our experience building interactive entertainment together with our relationship in sports to create entirely new ways for fans to engage with teams, athletes, and sports they love. These will be disciplined investments that only scale when they demonstrate real potential. Once you test it over an extremely overpriced paywall, of course. Yep. Anyways, these priorities have been clarity and focus to your work every day. And so will the way we work.
[00:17:14] We spend time listening to teams about what's working, what's getting in the way, and what you need to do your best work. The feedback was consistent. You want clearer priorities, faster decisions, and teams that work more closely together. We've already begun simplifying how we work so we can spend more time creating and innovating for our players. Questionable. This is where things kind of start getting questionable.
[00:17:39] Across our portfolio, we're making deliberate choices to align talent investments where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth. Questionable. In our shooters business, Battlefield 6 was a great success, which it was. Yes. Let's give it its due. And we learned a lot from the launch in the live service.
[00:18:02] We're going to take those learnings, balance our resources, and leverage the technology to deliver a shooter portfolio that unlocks growth. In addition to our future Battlefield titles, we'll be bringing together our Respawn and DICE studios to collaborate on a future project that will help us achieve that ambition. We can't wait to share more when the time comes.
[00:18:24] We're also continuing to invest heavily in Apex over the next few years by introducing brand new gameplay modes in multiplayer and other new experiences to expand the universe. Unless that title says Titanfall in it. I don't really care. You don't want it? Well, that's the thing is everybody's been asking for a new Titanfall game. Yeah.
[00:18:54] For years. And Titanfall 2 was arguably one of the best of the last generation. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Like, people are now modding it to be playable on, I think, like Steam Deck and, like, other PC, like, other stuff like that. But it's getting a resurgence in streaming as well right now. Yeah. It always – it's one of those games.
[00:19:21] It always pops up every once in a while, like, every few years. It's always on people's minds because it really was. It was one of those games that's like, oh, dude, remember that? It's always brought up. It's one of those games. Yeah. Because it is. It's really that good. It was a great game. Respawn did an amazing job with it. Like, you know, there's a reason they're good at what they do. You know? Yeah. Just let them cook.
[00:19:50] This is where we're going to laugh. Action Adventure is one of the most competitive and high-stakes genre in the industry. Oh, God. Every game needs our full weight behind it. Oh, God. This is going to hurt. Yeah. We're continuing to live on our two huge launches coming up with Marvel's Iron Man. Oh, God. One, I didn't even know EA was doing Iron Man. I have no faith in that. I have no faith in that. Especially since the Avengers game was so bad. Oh, yes.
[00:20:20] Oh, God. And the next Star Wars Jedi game. Okay. I mean, you know, they know to leave... Who is it that does the... Respawn is doing the Jedi series. Right, right. But that's the Survivor and... Fallen Order. Yeah. Fallen Jedi. Fallen Jedi. That's right.
[00:20:48] I thought that was also Respawn. Yeah, Respawn's that series. Right. Right, right, right. So, faith in that one. And apparently it's getting a bit bigger. Like, it's going to open up for, like, a broader new franchise. And that's going to be the final game with that character, I guess. Yeah. But it is supposed to be, like, I guess a lot bigger, like more almost open world. Possibly. Right. Yeah.
[00:21:19] Beyond that... Okay, here we go. Beyond that, we will concentrate our efforts on fewer simultaneous large-scale projects, ensuring that every game we build in this space is fully set up for success. As we focus on these large opportunities, we've had a small team at BioWare working on early development for Mass Effect. Oh, Jesus. We've made the decision not to move forward with this development, which means we're closing the studio in our Edmonton workspace. Dumbasses.
[00:21:49] BioWare is a legendary studio that helped define the role-playing genre, and we do not take this decision lightly. Not just legendary. They're a titan. They are... Not were. They are a titan in the gaming industry that you destroyed. And let's talk about that. They did destroy it. Like, granted, that being said, I've seen some interviews with some of the old devs, right, that used to work for the studio. And they said that Dragon Age Origins about bankrupted BioWare because it took so long to develop.
[00:22:20] So, they needed somebody to come in with financial backing. EA was like, hey, we're going to provide that. But, as you can see when you look at the Mass Effect series specifically, is that towards the end of 2, with how that game started to play out, even though it is one of... I think it is the Empire Strikes Back of Mass Effect. It is that. It's one of my favorites. You can see EA starting to meddle.
[00:22:48] And then we got Mass Effect 3, where the only way to get the good ending for the game originally was you had to play the multiplayer. Yeah. Why was there multiplayer? EA told them to do it. And no one played it. No one played the multiplayer. Everyone played the story. Everyone played the game. Correct. I mean, I played the multiplayer just so I could get the better ending. Right. I had to. You know?
[00:23:18] And then you have Dragon Age, where, come to find out, I didn't know this, is that Veil Guard was originally supposed to be a live services game. Then halfway through, they decided, no, you need to make it a single player game. So that is why it was such a dumpster fire at launch. It's because it wasn't originally intended to be a single player game. It was originally intended to be a live service. So.
[00:23:48] Oh, geez. EA has to take some culpability in the decisions they made with Bioware. They did not let Bioware be Bioware and Cook. Did they miss on Anthem? Yeah. Because Bioware doesn't do live service games. Exactly. And EA forced them to do Anthem. They won't take accountability for it. No. And we all played Anthem. We can attest. Oh, my God. It was awful.
[00:24:17] It was awful. But it was, I mean, it was, it was Bioware gorgeous, though. It had potential. It had potential. Yeah. But. It totally did. It had EA's signature all over it. Yeah. So. It was not the right change. Yeah. So. The, the outpouring has been. Massive. To say the least.
[00:24:47] Oh, yeah. Like. Oh, yeah. And we'll get to some of that. But. It's like when in New Hope. And yeah, I'm going to be a fucking nerd with all this. Is. It's like. Yeah. Going to galaxy. Going to the outpost and everything. Yeah. Awoken something that's been kind of sleeping for a while. Nice. I love it. Which. Dude, Jerry. By the way, those cards. Yeah. We're going to go on a tangent. So.
[00:25:17] The one for the rebel pilot. Yeah. So it says flight lead on it. Right. Uh huh. And then. For the. The new republic. It's like lieutenant. So like going with both cards. It's like. See, I was a flight lead for the. For the. For the rebellion. And then I got promoted. To lieutenant. Nice. So it's like. Very cool. And the. Anybody that stuck around long enough. Right. To set up the new republic. Got all. Everybody got promoted.
[00:25:47] So. Anyways. But. It's like when. Obi-Wan says. It was like a million voices. Cried out in terror. And then were suddenly silenced. Like. Everybody. Like people that you wouldn't even think of. That played. Dragon Age. Mass Effect. Whatever. Have all. Been coming out for this. Voice actors. Coming out to say.
[00:26:17] Dude. If it wasn't for. Bioware. I wouldn't have a career. You know. Like. Or. It wouldn't have inspired me to do this. Or to write this story. Yeah. I mean. They have that kind of history. They. They were that. You know. They were one of those studios. It was just. You know. I guess. They would be considered. Like the tippy top. Of like the. Independent studios. That. You know.
[00:26:47] That regularly. For a good amount of time. You know. Shelled out bangers. And these are the. And you know. Every studio misses. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean. Let's be honest. Sony Santa Monica. Hasn't always been perfect. Naughty Dog. Yeah. Has not always been perfect. You know. And those are two of the most. Prolithic game studios. You know. Square Enix.
[00:27:16] Has never been perfect. You know. But when you look at Bioware. Right. Well one. I didn't know they did. Sonic. Dark Brotherhood. For the DS. I never heard of it. Neither. Neither am I. I mean. I heard it. Like. We used to rent it. You know. Blockbuster. But. Um. You know. They started off in PC. With a Mech Warrior. Type game. Oh cool. You had MDK2. Foreshadowing.
[00:27:46] That first game. Foreshadowing of Titanfall. I'm. Assuming. Oh no. They didn't make Titanfall. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah. But this was. It was. Kind of like a. Yeah. It was a. Any game. I remember playing MDK2. Back in the day. On the PlayStation. Um. What was. What was that about? Uh. It was kind of like a. A Doom. Esque. Type game. You know. Oh dang. Oh look at that. Hmm. So. I mean. It wasn't.
[00:28:17] Great by any means. It was decent. I mean. But. You know. Um. It was a match move. Oh shit. Boulder's Gate. The first. Yeah. They are responsible for it. Boulder's Gate 2. They win. Oh. They did Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter. I remember when that came out. Yep. Yeah. That was a big one. You. All around like. Uh. Like the video game. Like industry. Like that was a big one.
[00:28:47] And then. Oh. This was huge. Hands down. One of the best. Ever. Star Wars games. Even. All of us. Yes. Graphically. It. It has aged like. Oh. But back then. On the first. The first Xbox. That was one of the. Like that was one of the games. Like. Almost. Almost everybody had. Even then. I have it on my Switch. Account. That I can go back and play. Yeah. Yeah. Like you always had a Halo.
[00:29:17] Like everyone most likely had Halo. And everyone almost likely always had Star Wars. You know. Yeah. And then. The second one was done by Assydian. But. Mm-hmm. But they also did Jade Empire. I remember Jade Empire. Then they went on to do. The old Republic. Yeah. Which was an MMO. Mm-hmm. Also successful.
[00:29:47] Yep. Ouch. Ouch. Yeah. It had so much potential. It really. It really did. Like everyone was like. Everyone was saying the same thing. Like oh my god. And then. If they can do it. And then there's the goat. Oh yeah. With Mass Effect. There's two. And there's three. Oh yeah. And then. Oh god. Fucking dumpster fire. Of. It was a dumpster fire in the beginning. Oh. They fixed it.
[00:30:18] So. When I do my playthrough. I'm going to go through Andromeda. Finally actually finish it. Please let us know. Yes. Yeah. And then you've got. Dragon Age Origins. Which is fantastic. Yep. I remember that. Dragon Age 2 was. This is where EA. Put their hands into it. Because they turned it into an action RPG game. Right. I did enjoy it. I played it. But I. Like. You're not wrong. You definitely felt the touches from.
[00:30:48] From EA were like. I mean. It's a little different. You had to get used to it. But it was still a good game. But. Here's. One of the problems. And one of the. Yeah. And then you had Inquisition. Which felt like more of. EA getting their hands involved. Yep. You know. And it was. I remember getting it like. Like mediocre. Like it. It did okay. When it came out. I wanted to like it.
[00:31:18] But it just felt. Repetitive. And that's. And it was. And just some of the things we were doing. It was like. Come on Bioware. Like really. And that's some of the stuff that. EA is known for. And then of course. We got the. Oh yeah. Legacy edition. Which is. It looks so good. Plays so well. Oh yeah. And then. Veilgard. You know. So. EA can go. Screw off.
[00:31:48] Mm-hmm. Because. They're just going to sit on that license. They're not doing anything with it. They have straight up. So. BioWare. BioWare. Employees. Attempted. To buy themselves out. And EA said. Screw you. Jesus. They wanted to attempt.
[00:32:17] To find funding. Kind of like double fine. Mm-hmm. Going back to being independent. They wanted to try. Finding backing. And. Keep the studio. Keep Mass Effect. Correct. And. EA said no. And. You know. You know. They're getting a tax write off. For closing the studio. And they're going to make money. Oh yeah. For the private equity. So. Absolutely.
[00:32:47] Um. So let's. Start making you laugh some more Jerry. Oh geez. So. EA Sports. Continues to operate. From a position of strength. We are fully committed. And investing in the global growth. Of our FC franchise. And across the full EA Sports. Portfolio. We have two. Need a project. Definition of strength. Right. Yeah. Agreed. Because. No one really makes any football games. But Madden. Right. And NCAA football. Football.
[00:33:18] I was going to say like. Are there really that many. Sports games. That are exciting. These days. I mean. You got the top three. Right. American football. Soccer. And. Well let's be honest. You know. The show. The show has not been doing that great. Oh. I would also say. FIFA's big. Well that's why I said soccer. It's FIFA. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You did. Sorry. Go ahead. That's now FC. It's no longer FIFA. Because FIFA pulled the license. They can't use FIFA. Oh. Gotcha. So yeah. They only have.
[00:33:48] And honestly. Basketball. I will tell you the same thing about the show. Like. I bought 26. Uninstalled it. And reinstalled 25. They also do. That franchise does have its dedicated fans. So like. It does. It's going to get. That's going to continue coming as well. So yeah. Just like NBA. They have their. They have their cash machines. Yeah. But. They. We have two new projects in development.
[00:34:18] You'll hear about over the next. Few months. Including a brand new. Social first. Open world experience. For our American football team. That we call Project Gridiron. And. We are also in pre-production. And bring back a beloved fan favor. In Fight Night. Leveraging capabilities. From our simulation fighting team. Ooh. I'm not going to lie. That does excite me. I loved Fight Night. During the 360.
[00:34:47] And I believe PS3 era. That was so. That game was so much fun. That was like. Like. One of the sport games. That I always like. Had. And like. Yeah. I loved it. It was so much fun. Not to be Debbie Downer. But I mean. Wasn't EA the one that created that last WWE game. That had. The massive amount of bugs. Oh no. That's. That's 2K. That's WWE. That. That's 2K. Yeah. Yeah. All right. And.
[00:35:16] And it's WWE. This. This is boxing. Well. I still mean in the line. Oh yeah. I gotcha. I gotcha. But yeah. I'm excited for Fight Night. That's. I like. I'm happy for it to have a comeback. No. This is funny. In lifestyle. Oh God. We're focusing on the long term potential of the Sims. And skate. We're going to prioritize our efforts on Project Evergreen. For the Sims.
[00:35:43] To give the team more time to reach the full potential and vision for the game. And to help make this possible. We're pausing development on Project Lotus. For skate. We've had a lot of success in bringing players into the game. And we need to create an experience that keeps them engaged over the long term. To do that. We are making changes to the studio to have a more focused smaller team. To deliver on a very clear roadmap for our community. That we believe will build a healthier and more sustainable business.
[00:36:13] And you freaking close Bioware for that? Oh Jesus. Like. I mean. Don't get me wrong. Sims. It also has its dedicated fans. And it's due for a comeback. Because. I think it has. You know. Potential for. For a big comeback. I get that. That investment. But. You know. Yeah. Everything else. Yeah. I don't know. It feels like EA is trying to treat their customers like hot air balloons.
[00:36:42] Just blowing hot air up their ass. I think you are right on the mark dude. This is the letter to employees. Yeah. Yeah. So they're blowing smoke up their own staff. So. Building the EA we believe in. The decision we're making. Or the decisions we're making. In our priorities. How we work. And with our portfolio. I keep forgetting this is for the employees. I would be. This would. This would anger me. I would be. And also.
[00:37:11] I would be so pissed. After reading all of this. Yeah. Read this. So. Others. So. Our portfolio reflect our beliefs in EA's future. Some. Open exciting new possibilities. Others are difficult. Especially for the people and teams across the company. Who are directly affected. In those cases. We will support impacted employees. And exploring other opportunities within EA. And we're committed to treating impacted colleagues. With care and respect.
[00:37:38] But we're sure there will be questions. Go ahead. A little bit of a tangent. Broader spectrum of corporate America. Or whatever. I never understand it. Why they put in the words. It's like. Oh yeah. We'll support you. Going elsewhere within the company. After we fired you. Because that definitely. Initiates. Want to stay with the company. After being fired. Exactly. Yeah.
[00:38:10] Anyways. We're. But. I am sure. It's for those who like. Have already established themselves. They have families there. Like they're. Like obviously. Willing to like. Oh yeah. Transfer to another department. But. The execute. I agree. The execution is still. A slap in the face. It feels like. We're sure there will be questions. About what. These changes mean. For individual teams. And for EA. More broadly. You can speak directly. With your leaders.
[00:38:39] To hear more on that. And we'll make sure. To spend time. Discussing our direction. And the work ahead. At our next. Global town hall. In November. The past several months. Have strengthened our belief. In what EA can become. We have extraordinary people. Franchises that matter. To millions of players. And opportunities. To build experiences. We've only begun to imagine. Our responsibility. Is to make the choices. Provide the clarity. And create the conditions. For our teams. To do their best work. We also want to give. Every game we choose to build. It's the best chance. To succeed for our players.
[00:39:08] And fans around the world. We look forward to. Building more great games. Experiences together. Thanks Cam and David. Hey. Hey. I give a shout. Yeah. Don't care. Even the outro. All it is. Is a thanks. Wow. So. With this. Hey. EA. You fucked up royally. With this one. Because. Not only has there been. Massive. Good job. Consistent. Being a freaking asshole.
[00:39:38] No. That's true. You're consistent. Right. But. When you look at things. Is that. The amount of outpouring. That's still going on. After a week. Is huge. There is now. A change. Org. For save. Mass effect. That is now. Well over. 200,000 signatures. In a week. You have. The Canadian government. Is talking about.
[00:40:09] Making it so. The employees. Can have the studio. Because it is. A Canadian company. Based at Edmonton. I just want them to do. And. The federal government. Of Canada. Destiny 3 thing. Well. Go into live streams. And. Last out. Mass effect. In order for them. To get to. Do their shit. Well. You also have. Jennifer Hale. And Mark Muir.
[00:40:39] The shepherds. Are coming out. And voicing in full. Full effect. Like. Not only that. That. You had. One of the employees. Of Bioware. Leak out the trailer. We were supposed to get. For November 7th. Friend 7 day. It is. It has been. It has been. Oh that's awesome. Freaking. Verified. It is legit.
[00:41:09] Good. I hope someone offers. To just buy them. Or. Take over. Or. Or. Absorb them. Once. Once they. Yeah. EA is not interesting. Once EA shuts them down. Well. They did shut them down. Right. They shut them down. Yesterday. I think it was. Yeah. But. They are sitting on the license. Because. The TV show is still in development. At Amazon. So I think they are going to wait. And see how. Oh. Man service. Or how much. That is going to be. Which that is a show.
[00:41:39] As. Like. That is a double edged sword. Either. I mean. Yeah. It really depends on. On what. How. Amazon executes it. Same with the God of War series. So many people are. Even with Dave. The new Dave Bautista. Casting. Which I think is. Like a safer bet. But. Still. I mean. It really depends. We will see how they do it. Yeah. So. How they execute it. Yeah. Yeah. So. With this.
[00:42:11] For more than. From Bioware. You got a little bit more. Than just what EA gave. For more than 30 years. Bioware has been more. Than a studio. It has been a home. For storytellers. Developers. And the players. Who brought our worlds to life. Baldur's Gate. Neverwinter Nights. Nightsteal Republic. Dragon Age. Mass Effect. Anthem. Now. After more than three decades. Of shared adventures. Bioware is closing. And early development.
[00:42:40] On the next Mass Effect project. Is ending. There is nothing easy. About writing those words. Our focus right now. Is on our incredibly talented team. Who put their hearts. Into these games. And supporting one another. Through the transition. What generations of Bioware. Built together. Is something to celebrate. And remember. These games become. Became so much more. Because you played them. Debated your choices. Fell in love with the characters. And made these worlds your own. From all of us at Bioware.
[00:43:09] Thank you for being the most meaningful. Part of our story. And you know what? When you look at. Like. Your decision making. Throughout. Nightsteal Republic. Determine the ending. Of that game. Even Obsidian. You know. They. Also. Put out. You know. Hey. Your choices. From the first game. Factor into the second game.
[00:43:39] Mass Effect. One. Two. And three. All coalesced together. That was another aspect. That everybody loved. Was that like. Your choice. Your choices. Carried over. Yes. And like. Even the smallest. Of choices. In. Mass Effect. One. Showed up in three. Showed up in two. Yeah. There is a. Crazed fan. That kind of stalks you. Throughout. Mass Effect. One. On the set at all.
[00:44:09] Oh yeah. That's right. I remember that one. Good old Connor. And depending on how you treated him. He actually. Will try and impersonate. Shepard. As go. Going as far as getting the N7 armor. To impersonate Shepard. Oh my god. Yeah. I forgot about that. And. Shepard's supposed to be dead. And he shows up. And he's like. Shepard you're alive. Hi. You know. You know. So.
[00:44:40] Even. Even going as far as. You know. If you save the Krogans. What happens in three. If. You save the Rachni queen. In one. She will show up. In three. To help you for the last fight. Mm-hmm. With the Rachni. Like. If you kill her. Guess what. You don't have the Rachni. If you. Kill the Krogan. Or you don't give them the. The cure for the Genophage. They won't show up. They're going to tell you to fuck off. So.
[00:45:09] It was such world building. That you didn't know. That your decisions. Would have that much of a magnitude. Later on. True. True. True. Here's the actual trailer.
[00:45:37] If this was pre-production. Can you imagine what. The actual game. Yeah. Oh yeah. But also it being. In cinematic. Not anymore. So what changed? Nothing. That was the problem. By the time you put out one fire. Maybe the Zen screen.
[00:46:08] Another had already started. And now. Whoa. Making the choices. No one else is willing to make. Those are afraid to go. No more chasing fires.
[00:46:39] Stopping them before they start. You should be careful. Hmm. You had to be here. We know. Whoa. My girl. That's why we're here.
[00:47:14] So frustrating. I'll admit. I haven't played a single one of Matt's. Like the Western type of story. So. So. So beforehand. Like. In the first. In the first three games. You. You. You had to choose. Kind of like. What kind of character. You were going to have. Down to your DNAs. And that. That opened up. Like. What kind of skill tree. And powers you had. Apparently. For.
[00:47:44] For this game. It was going to be. A little bit more broad. Where it was going to be. More up to you. It was just in general. He was going to be. A really. A good fighter. Because he was a merc. He was. I guess. Kind of like. An N7. Like. Follower. So like. That's. That's the whole point. Of like. Keeping Shepard's. Memory alive. Or something. Like that was kind of. The backstory. And motivation. But on top of that. He was also. Mutated. So I think he was like.
[00:48:14] Created somehow. So like. You have a string. Of like. You had a skill tree. Of like. Powers you can. Cycle through. Much more fun. And like. A little bit more. Action oriented. But it was still. Going to have that. That choice feel. For more like. The old games. And your choices. From one. Through Andromeda. We're going to come. Into play. Carried over. Oh wow. And they were going to. Create little. Extra new timelines.
[00:48:44] Off the story. So. That's cool. They would. You know. You have your branch offs. And everything. Like they had so much. That was going to be. Going into this. That. This was going to. Evolve. Mass Effect. But. It was part of the OG team. That was going to be building it. So like. The DNA. And everything was going to be there. Wow. Now. It's come out. That. Um. Today.
[00:49:14] Sam Hulick. Uh. Who actually composed. The scores. For Mass Effect. Mass Effect. Oh wow. In celebration. Of. N7 day. If he can get it done in time. Is going to. Basically. Take that trailer. And he's going to give it. An official Mass Effect score. Oh. Cool. That's cool of him. This shows you.
[00:49:43] How much he just. Loves that game. Then. If he's willing. Yeah. Yeah. Like. And how much it means. To people's lives. Right. That. Sam. Who. Did. Mass Effect. One through three. Is saying. I'm going to score it. With an official. Mass Effect score. You have. The composer. Yeah. That's cool. You have your lead actors. All coming out. Saying this is a bad idea.
[00:50:11] And you have. Public outpouring. That is. Alive. On. Threads. And Twitter. And Instagram. And everywhere. Like all the social media platforms. It is a. Absolute metric ton. Of Mass Effect stuff. Like people sharing their memories. Screenshots. Everything. Like. Yeah. You. You done fucked up on this one. Oh yeah. Like. So. You should do right.
[00:50:41] By Bioware. And let them go be their own company. Yes. I get it. You get a big tax right off. You done fucked up. A. Ron. You done fucked up. E. A. Ron. That's right. That's right. So. So. You know. It is. It is what it is. And you know what. I'm not going to lie. I jumped on. Bioware's website.
[00:51:10] And grabbed a little merch. For what's left. Left. Oh no way. You didn't. Yeah. I did. Cool. Nice man. They don't have much stuff left. That's for sure. That sounds surprising. I haven't looked at the Dragon Age stuff. But like. They still have like pre-order stuff on here. I'm like. How are you pre-ordering stuff for something you just shut down? I know.
[00:51:41] I wonder if that. I wonder if that's just eventually going to get canceled. Or if it's. Probably. I don't know if they'll rush it. Or. Yeah. But just because. That's such a bummer dude. I ordered that. Oh cool. For my desk. Oh that's cool. It's a foot by foot. It's like for the bar. But you know what. Yeah. Screw it dude. That's a good man to set drinks on. At my desk. But yeah. It's. Yeah. I went and dropped it. I was like. Yeah. I got an oversized coaster. Pretty much. Yes. So.
[00:52:11] You know. I might go back in and add. You know. Order more stuff. We'll see. You know. Depending on what. What's left. But. Yeah. Dang. That's crazy. So. Everybody's just like. The big saying is save Mass Effect. And hold the line. Which is something Shepard says at the end of three. When they're having the fight. Just hold the line. That's right. So.
[00:52:40] We'll see what happens. I think. Yes. You've seen. Outpouring for games. Over the years. That have. Gone on to be canceled. Right. Sure. Studios. Being closed. And stuff. But I don't. This one's different though. Yes. Bioware's last couple of games haven't been great. Because they've been EA-ified. Right. But. At the end of the day. This is. Bioware.
[00:53:10] This is. This is. This is the studio. That put western RPGs on the map. At a time. When Square Enix was wiping the floor with everybody. With Final Fantasy and Dragon. Dragon Quest. I don't think there really was any like competition against them. There wasn't. Yeah. And then all of a sudden here comes Bioware. Yeah. That's right. Mass Effect and Dragon Age. And then all of a sudden there was a seismic shift.
[00:53:40] I think it was like with the first Mass Effect game. I think it was a. Quite a surprise because. I think everyone was surprised that it came from. Like it's debuted on Xbox and it was coming from Xbox. So it made. Microsoft got huge. Like it really did get a push in sales for consoles. And like that was the RPG like game to have. And it was. Yeah. It was like the new game.
[00:54:09] And it got. The hype that it deserved. It was great. Yeah. Because at the time. Remember Final Fantasy was solely on PlayStation. Yeah. Yeah. So. So. You didn't have much for RPGs. I'm just curious what it's going to take to get. To get EA out of the state of delusion. It's been in for the past decade. Thinking it's. Hot shit. Like. Oh. It's never because they. They have their.
[00:54:38] Their definitive cash cows with Madden and their sports. And they. That's what they think success is. Yeah. No joke dude. They have their dedicated fan base that every year. It's their. That's. That's revenue they know is going to come yearly. It's like clockwork. Yeah. It's one of those things. I. I think that it's going to be. This private equity that does them in.
[00:55:07] Regardless of how good Madden does for them. When. But it's all three of the tops. It's two of the top sports. And. Oh yeah. But. No, I get that. Right. But when. You have. 18 billion in debt. Right. That you're taking on as part of that deal. Mm. And. The interest on that is going to be 1.8 billion dollars. Just the interest. Not repaying the debt. Just the interest on it.
[00:55:36] And your normal. Operating income doesn't exceed 1.5 billion dollars. So you're already. So you're already. Operating at a 300 million dollar. Loss per year. Yeah. So. To try and make up for that. They're going to try and cut like 700 million per year. Where that. Damn. Probably could have made that up for you.
[00:56:06] If you had just let Mass Effect come to life. Probably. I mean. I mean. You still could have just. At least tested it out by. Not having the trailer leak. By maybe debuting it. And see. See what kind of the response would be. And then go from. Even. Go from there. Like baby step it. Yeah. Now that it's leaked. Look. Look at the response. And. Why not try and go forward. But it's just. It's.
[00:56:35] EA doesn't baby step anything. No. Right. They didn't even. Baby step. Leaving E3. They just. Went up disappearing. Didn't downsize or anything like that. It's just. They went and did their own thing. They're like. We're just going to go do our own. And. How long did that last? How many people on the show floor. Were actually really talking up. That separate event. Yeah. There wasn't. Yeah. You had more people talking about Microsoft.
[00:57:04] Over at the Microsoft Theater. Having their own. Than you did. EA. Yeah. It's. Yeah. That's true. So. Yeah. It's frustrating. But. We'll see what happens. I really hope. Somebody is able to. I don't know. It's just. Just. Equated to. EA being a spoiled. A spoiled child. Has no parent. To freaking.
[00:57:34] Beat the shit out of. In order to get straight. Mm-hmm. Hell. At this point. If. Asha Sharma. Were to step in. Somehow. Be able to get. BioWare. Away from EA. Yeah. And if they made. Mass Effect. A Xbox exclusive. God. Guess what. Oh you would get one. Here's my money. Yeah. It's Mass Effect.
[00:58:05] Yeah. Well. I have. Even if it required. To be on their new. $1,200. $1,200. Or $1,800. Uh. I have the. Yes. Yes. There is. There's a trio of posters. On my wall. Of my favorite franchises. Uncharted. Final Fantasy. And. Freaking Mass Effect. I would get it. I. If. The only way. I could play.
[00:58:34] Mass Effect 5. Was on the Xbox. Guess what. Here's my money. As much as I would not. Enjoy that. But I do agree with that move. I think that would be a strategic. Good. A smart move for. Microsoft. Yeah. To continue trying to get at. Like. You know. Get back in good graces. After once more. Their leapfrog of decisions. But. To. To. But if they did make. Mass Effect. Xbox exclusive.
[00:59:05] That would be a huge. Move in the right direction. For them. Yes. I think that would be a very smart move. But. We're. Once again. We're going to have to see. I mean. I'm still. I'm still calling it. I think. You know. I. Or. I guess I'm hoping that EA. Would be open to. Maybe selling the. Selling the. The company. Possibly. You know. Possibly. They can make more money. Who knows. I'm just hoping for something.
[00:59:34] Some sort of movement. Because. Yeah. If they. Liquidated. And. Some people. That would be frustrating. That would be very frustrating. For them to sell the license for it. You know. The rights for. Mass Effect. Like. Forget Bioware. But just sell like. Mass Effect. And Dragon Age. True. There's also. They want those. They want CD Projekt Red. To go buy those. That would be. I.
[01:00:02] I do not disagree with that. I. At least. If CD Projekt Red. Bought Bioware. Yeah. I'd be okay with that. I think. But then you've got. I think they would be okay. With. With that franchise. I think they would. You know. They'd be okay. But like. At the same time as. But then you've got. Dragon Age. Competing against The Witcher. Similar. Similar games. That's what. I think they would. I think they would purchase one. I think they would go. If. If anything. I would hope they would just go. With Bioware.
[01:00:32] And then you got Mass Effect. Is. I mean. Or I mean. Mass Effect. They would. They would purchase. Purchase Mass Effect. Mass Effect. Ain't too far off from Cyberpunk. Let's just be honest. It is. But. That being said. It's different. CD Projekt Red though. I think we'd give it. Give it the love it deserved. On both franchises. Right. Dragon Age. And. Yeah.
[01:01:03] Either decision. If they went for. Either or. I. I definitely think they would do. A service to either franchise. Yeah. But. If it were up to me. I would hope that they would. Choose. Mass Effect. Yeah. So. We'll see what happens. So. Anyways. Yeah. You know.
[01:01:33] You guys get any other. Gaming in. Just a little bit of. Tears of the Kingdom. And then other than that. I was just catching up on. Wash after. After I dropped you guys off. And just. Enjoying time with mom. Catching up on what? Wash? Yeah. Sorry. Laundry. Sorry. Yeah. Wash. The wash. Yeah. Get my wash done. That was like. Some uncle we've never heard of.
[01:02:05] No. My laundry. And then. Yeah. Just been playing a little bit. Tears. Nothing on PlayStation yet. Unless like. We want to fight for democracy. Which. I'm always down for. And yeah. I've been kind of just anticipating. GTA man. I'm so excited. I really cannot wait. I cannot wait. Theo. Have you started counting down the days yet?
[01:02:35] What do you have? 15 days. I think we're at 15. No. I'm sorry. 25 days. I don't know. I feel like. I feel like you're. Needing to. Get up on that. Be a little bit more precise sir. I don't really. Like. I don't really. Like. I don't. I'm not really counting the days. I just know. It's the 19th. I can't wait. It's 19th. 23 days. Oh. 23 days. I would have half expected you to like download some sort of GTA six countdown app.
[01:03:04] That just has a freaking widget on the iPhone. That's just. Oh no. No, no, no. I'm more neurotic. And I just rewatch the gameplay trailer over and over along with the new launch trailer that just came out. It's awesome. No, that's, that's how I, I just. 13 minutes and 19 seconds. As of saying this. What about you, Theo?
[01:03:35] Yeah. Uh, no, I didn't play anything. Uh, talking with Jerry over his, uh, organization or furniture rearrangement had me rearrange some furniture and stuff. So I was. Oh, sweet. You got some inspiration. Uh, uh, not really. I would say inspiration to get off my ass. We'll say that. I already had the idea of what I was going to do. I just wasn't doing it. Gotcha. Gotcha.
[01:04:06] Nice. I like it. So, I mean, like I've got some more room, some more shelving. So now I'm trying to, now it's leading to going down the rabbit hole of trying other things. Like I like your Calyx, your Ikea Calyx. So now I'm kind of like researching whether or not I should get. sweet. So dude, dude, it's actually fun. It's versatile because one, you can lay it down long ways or you can have it how I used to. Cause I've had it both ways at, at one point. Oh, you've had it both ways.
[01:04:35] Both ways. That's right. Yeah, that's right. On the floor. On the floor. On the floor. On the floor. On the floor and standing. On the floor and standing. Oh my God. Anyways. Hilarious. I didn't, I didn't want to know that insight as to which way that you'd like taking a doggy style, but. Oh, you are funny. we know we definitely play in final fantasy. That's right. Yeah.
[01:05:07] That's all I've been playing. Couldn't stop hearing about that one. Yeah. You didn't even play on your island for Halloween. Oh no. I am on, I am on chapter, I'm on chapter four. I literally all have been playing as final fantasy. Oh my gosh. The, the weeds are going to grow out of like crazy. That's hilarious. You know what though? But I've unlocked. Two new summons. So I've got Ramu and I've got carbuncle along with siren,
[01:05:35] which siren you get in the demo. Cool. Cool. Cool. I have now unlocked from a vision perspective. I've got fury on from FF three. I've unlocked Zidane from nine. Uh, and Tidus from 10. Nice. And for those that love 10, it's the, it's the jack shot. Okay.
[01:06:05] Nice. Like the animation, the animation, everything where he spins it and then goes up and does the back flip. Oh, sweet. Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah. It is straight up out of the game. I like that. Like it's great. So I am having a lot of fun with, with it. And that is another game that is all over my socials. Like everybody's posting about it. Um, it's,
[01:06:35] it's a great game. Um, you can, you can, people have figured out how to break it and do different accessories and weapons and abilities to make it. So like I saw one where a character, uh, can attack eight times in one turn. Oh, damn. Just through abilities and stuff and how you sweet and whatnot. So, yeah. So I'm having a lot of fun with that. I haven't played sports resort yet. Um,
[01:07:03] I was going to wait for the kids for this weekend and we'll play it. Oh, cool. I did promise them. I wouldn't play it until we were all together. I forget what's, what's added on sports resort. Um, like four games, right? Yes. I want to say fencing was one or something like that. No. Um, what are the new? And you did mention, you did mention vision. So, uh,
[01:07:32] there's also vision quest tonight as of recording. Ooh, yeah, we've got the new one. Cool. Nice. Oh, so they added thumb wrestling, skateboarding, um, you've got archery, um, boxing. Okay. Uh, they're doing jump rope in it. I feel like some, um, a thumb wrestling that, that has me weirded out. You can do, uh,
[01:08:03] you know, you can fly a prop plane. Um, um, they've got tennis, volleyball, basketball, golf. Um, I don't know if they've got soccer though. They have soccer in the first, in the original. They do. Yes. So yeah. New thumb wrestling, skateboarding.
[01:08:33] Oh, they're bringing back power cruising from OG. They're bringing back archery from the original sports resort. Yeah. Oh, from we, they're bringing back boxing. Um, yeah. So they're kind of bringing back some oldies doing some new ones. I just want to play golf. I'm definitely going to ask you about the thumb, the thumb war thing, the thumb wrestling.
[01:09:03] Yeah. We'll see. I don't get that. Yeah. I want to see how the art on the button and just don't lift off. I don't get it. Yeah. I want to see how the archery is too. So. Alrighty. Well, with that folks, thank you for crashing game night with us. Thank you. Like, please drop us. Follow, you know, where you listen and watch us at over crashing game night.com. Drop, um, you know, put us on the platform. You also want to listen to us there on, uh,
[01:09:32] check out our past guests. Um, but yeah, with everything coming up over the next week, we've got voting here in the States next, next week. Um, and then of course you've got Zelda launching on Thursday. Yeah. Be excellent to each other. That's right. Everyone. Uh, once again, you can't see me right now,
[01:09:59] but we do want to promote that same message, uh, to try to, uh, you know, seize the moment again. Of course I did. Every time. I can't miss. And, uh, I just hope to, uh, encourage everyone to once again, um, you know, seize the moment and, and, uh, try and lend, uh, lend a hand. If you see someone, uh, struggling or if, uh, you can see, see a moment to help someone out, uh, you know, offer,
[01:10:28] let's just try to do and be better. And, uh, let's just try to, uh, you know, make it a little less crazy and, uh, be a little bit more patient and more open. Cause, uh, yeah, it's still crazy out there. So be safe since, oh, oh, since, since a J rock isn't here. Uh, my man, my man, deal. Walski. Take it like you do, baby. I just trying to picture. Do you think he did the hand thing when he did that?
[01:10:58] Or did he like shove his face in the camera? That's not there. Or I don't know. You're very good. I, okay. I did get close to the mic and I, I, I, I, I, I swooped my hand. Like if I was good, if I was close to the camera. So yeah. Why do I know you so well? You do. Yeah. That was too good. All right, y'all. Thank you for watching. Thanks for listening until next time. TTFN. For now. Good night. Everybody.
[01:11:29] Game. The game.