This week has been absolutely incredible in showing the duality of the games industry at the moment. Two giants of video games, Sony and EA both have layoffs within a day of each other, closing studios, and echoing the same refrain of needing to reassess their strategies going forward. Embracer Group entered an agreement with Sabre Interactive so they can be owned by private investors. Borderlands studio Gearbox could also be sold off, and Toys for Bob, makers of Crash Bandicoot 4 and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy enter into an agreement to go independent from Activision-Blizzard-King.

Oh yeah, and around all of this business stuff was the release of a small little game called Final Fantasy VII Rebirth that so many gamers, including both Sean and Marc, have been eagerly awaiting. Sean and Marc give their thoughts on the game so far, why Queen's Blood might be the best card game, and a whole lot more.

Plus, the Pokemon Company announced Pokemon Legends Z-A set in Lumiose City is coming in 2025 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo goes into yet another lawsuit, this time against the makers of the Switch emulator Yuzu saying that it promotes piracy of its hardware and games on the platform. Other studios also have layoffs, there's uncertainty over Apple Arcade and more!

You can also watch this episode in video form on the W2M Network Youtube Channel, please give us a like, comment on the episode, and give the channel a subscribe and follow as well: https://youtube.com/live/WY77HiRLd54

Timestamps:

00:00:00: START

00:01:25: Housekeeping

------------ Games We Are Playing ----------

00:03:30: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Sean & Marc)

------------ Troubles in the Industry in Multiple Ways ------------

00:32:10: Sony laid off 900 employees at various PlayStation studios

00:44:00: EA laid off 670 employees in various departments

00:49:10: Sabre Interactive escapes Embracer Group and goes Private

00:50:30: Toys For Bob Goes Independent but may still partner with Xbox

00:55:00: Deck Nine and Supermassive Studios suffer layoffs, Apple Arcade and Indies questions

-------------- What's in the News -------------

01:05:30: A small interlude discussing some other things from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

01:08:55: Discussing unionizing for Devs

01:09:55: Pokemon Presents Big announcement is Pokemon Legends Z-A

01:13:50: Nintendo aims to file a lawsuit against Switch Emulator Yuzu over piracy concerns

01:21:45: Remedy buys rights to Control, Control 2, Control Multiplayer game from 505 Games

---------------- Random Stuff & The End ------------

01:25:20: Helldivers 2 and do we listen to soundtracks outside of games

01:26:30: Will the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Mini-Figures come to the USA?

01:29:50: Games Coming Out this Week: The Thamaturge, Uforia: The Saga 2, Berserk Boy & More!

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Latest Otalku Cafe Episode (Anime): https://youtube.com/live/eqDDMGJKTD4

Radulich in Broadcasting's Oscar Contenders: https://www.youtube.com/live/OScTLYutIzs

Radulich in Broadcasting's Madame Web Review: https://youtube.com/live/QO4MZDd0k6E

- Our Friend's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Reviews -

Hayes Madsen's Review over at Inverse Gaming: https://www.inverse.com/gaming/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-review

Hayes Madsen's chat with me on the podcast about FFVII Rebirth: https://www.youtube.com/live/ukmBOegaKGo

Andrew Agress Review over at The Outerhaven.net: https://www.theouterhaven.net/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-review-the-pinnacle-of-a-journey/

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