On this episode of Video Games 2 the MAX hosts Sean Garmer and Marc Morrison are once again joined by The Outerhaven’s Karl Smart in discussing two games he reviewed in New Pokemon Snap and Resident Evil Village. Marc also finished Returnal and has his final thoughts on the game. He also started an indie game called Insurmountable and gives his initial impressions of it as well.

The trio also gets into Microsoft not making a profit on the Xbox consoles themselves and how this being made into a much bigger deal than it actually is. Sony is also possibly facing a lawsuit regarding their decision to keep digital game codes away from other retailers. Who has a point here? Could Sony actually have to reverse their decision? And is this even worth fighting about?

Since this was a major topic on social media in the last week, the guys give their thoughts on the game review discourse. Should games always be finished before reviewing them? Are there times where it is excusable not to finish a game before reviewing it? The reality of an embargo and why more gaming sites should push them if a review isn’t ready and also why many don’t do it and why there should be more understanding on all sides about it in general.

Finally, E3 2021 is only a month away and we begin looking at what could be announced at the show from Nintendo’s side and some things we’d like to see as well.

Other things discussed on the show: Yakuza Staying a JRPG, the Giantbomb exodus, EA purchases Super Mega Baseball developer.

Thank you again to Karl for coming on. Follow Karl on Twitter, also go check out his reviews of Resident Evil Village and New Pokemon Snap.

New Pokemon Snap, Resident Evil Village, and Returnal

Timestamps:

Games We Are Playing:

Resident Evil Village (2:50) (Karl)
Returnal (13:55) (Marc)
New Pokemon Snap (20:30) (Karl)
Insurmountable (27:40) (Marc)
Marc gets scammed at Used Game Store (29:40)

Major Topics:

Sony faces a lawsuit for not allowing digital game sales in stores (44:50)

Game Review Discourse: Do you have to finish a game? Why you should and why sometimes it just isn’t possible. (1:22:30)

What could Nintendo reveal at E3 2021 and what are some things we want to see? (1:53:30)

Headlines:

Xbox consoles don’t make a profit (39:40)
Yakuza Stays as a JRPG (101:45)
Sony Trademarks Sunset Overdrive (107:40)
Super Mega Baseball Developer is Purchased by EA (109:40)
Brad Shoemaker, Alex Navarro, and Vinny Caravella leave Giantbomb (116:50)

There are no ads on this show because we had a guest, but please go support the show and the entire W2M Network via enjoying a special offer on Grammarly or a 30 Day Free Trial of Amazon Music Unlimited

About Video Games 2 the MAX

Video Games 2 the MAX is a podcast where Sean Garmer and Marc Morrison get together to talk about everything involving Video Games every week. they discuss what they are playing or reviewing, the gaming news of the week, upcoming games, a special topic, and more.

Listener Questions and Reviews

If you’d like to get in touch with one of our hosts you can email us at w2mnetwork@gmail.com or find us on social media. You can also like the W2M Network Facebook Page and review us on Podchaser or any of your favorite podcast listening apps.

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Sean Garmer

Sean Garmer has a long history with video games, since childhood. But truly, things got serious when he discovered Pokemon on the Gameboy, and thus his Japanese RPG fandom was born. Sean has channeled that love of games into reviewing them. He also analyzes the games industry on the Video Games 2 the MAX podcast and writes on various sites. Sean pretty much plays any kind of game nowadays, but he still prefers his first love, the JRPG.

Marc Morrison

Marc Morrison brings years of experience writing about games (and of course, playing them) to Video Games 2 the MAX. He currently writes a Top 8 column every week at 411mania and also reviews games. Marc plays all different kinds of games and takes analyzing them to heart.

Jens Dietrich

Jens is co-host and editor of the podcast Chapter Select and an occasional contributor to Video Games 2 the MAX. While he grew up on 90s PC adventure games and flight simulators, nowadays his preferences have shifted towards Soulslikes, JRPGs, and weird kusoge.