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This much loved podcast, currently on hiatus, is literally a recording of the writing process for Penny Arcade - one of the first "webcomics." When I say "writing process," let me be clear: it's that, and literally any other topic that occurs to us. I'm in these podcasts, and I STILL listen to them. It's kinda good.
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Technology is our future, there are tips and deets that you need to know. The Downloadable Content Technology Lab helps consumers to get the best bang for their technology buck. Jaren George is a certified IT ambassador. He chases the wonders of technology. Steve Magnuson is a web wizard who's decrypted today's cyber trends. Join them in the DC Labs for news, analysis, consumer reviews, guests, and competitions.
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Two years ago, we visited the sprawling world of Final Fantasy XIV as it hit its 10th anniversary. Since then, the Endwalker expansion released, and we spend four and a half hours going through the last expansion in the current FFXIV storyline. Ep S11E5Autor: Brian French
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We shine a spotlight on a genre of video game that has old roots, but has found a second life in the indie scene: the classic Metroidvania. From its beginnings with Metroid and Castlevania to new classics like Hollow Knight, Ori, and Bloodstained, we find that there's still a desire for these kinds of games. What are some of your favorites? Ep S11E…
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In this episode, it's a Free Play, an open discussion where the panel talks about anything and everything related to video games. Here, we cover big video game acquisitions, the upcoming Chrono Cross remaster, the silly notion that certain game design decisions somehow shouldn't be subject to criticism, digital board games, and tons more. Ep S11E3…
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In this episode, we talk about the video game industry's new lovers: crypto, blockchain, and NFTs, and why the big developers are pushing ahead with this terrible marriage despite near universal outcry from fans. Ep S11E2Autor: Brian French
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Apparently we just couldn't stay away. It's a fresh start, and a fresh format. DLC is now a live monthly Twitch show! Be sure to follow us on Twitch to get notified when we go live! The audio only versions of our shows will be made available on the usual places as well as our website. To kick things off, Brian, Ron, and Ronny take a deep dive into …
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After a wonderful run of 10 years and a total of 183 episodes, Downloadable Content comes to an end. On this final episode, we end it in the traditional way: with a Free Play. In Part 2, we chat about favorite modern game soundtracks, speedrunning, memorable endings, and plenty more as we bring this podcast to a close. Ep S10E14B…
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After a wonderful run of 10 years and a total of 183 episodes, Downloadable Content comes to an end. On this final episode, we end it in the traditional way: with a Free Play. Part 1 sees us covering a range of topics from Sephiroth in Smash, to game replay-ability, to emulation, and plenty more. Ep S10E14A…
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On our 8th episode of DLC, we did our very first retrospective episode, talking about Sonic the Hedgehog as the franchise turned 20. It seems only fitting that as DLC nears its end, we do our final retrospective on our favorite speedy blue mascot and see what he's been up to as he turns 30. Ep S10E13…
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It's an undisputed fact that Nintendo is king of the handheld consoles. On this episode, we take a fond look at the Nintendo 3DS, a plucky little handheld that stumbled out of the gate in 2011 but ultimately became well-loved in its own right well before it was discontinued in September 2020. Ep S10E12…
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Final Fantasy IX released twenty years ago, and with it, returned the series back to its roots. We continue our discussion in Part 2. Ep S10E11BAutor: Brian French
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Final Fantasy IX released twenty years ago, and with it, returned the series back to its roots. In Part 1 of our two-part episode, we dive back into this love letter to the franchise and revisit the worlds of Terra and Gaia. Ep S10E11AAutor: Brian French
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In our second Free Play of 2020, we talk PS5, Persona 5, A Link Between Worlds, re-classifying video games, and how season/battle passes are replacing lootcrates and lootboxes. Needless to say, we've all got a lot of thoughts. Ep S10E10Autor: Brian French
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With the PS5 and Xbox Series X releasing in two weeks, we take a side-by-side look and see what we got right and wrong in our prognosticating, and give some thoughts about the launch games as well. Ep S10E9Autor: Brian French
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On our 2nd half of our FF7R chat, we traipse through the rest of the game and dive into some plot speculation and thoughts for the remaining installments. Ep S10E8BAutor: Brian French
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It's Part 1 of our Final Fantasy VII Remake discussion! With our biggest DLC panel ever, we head back to Midgar, over two decades since we first got off the train and began one of our greatest gaming adventures. Ep S10E8AAutor: Brian French
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On our second and final part of our Final Fantasy XIV 10-year anniversary episode, we talk about the different expansions and favorite moments. The panel does a pretty good job selling Brian on buying it. Ep S10E7BAutor: Brian French
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It's been 10 years since Final Fantasy XIV launched, its second major MMO in the flagship franchise. It wasn't without its problems, though, and opened to such dismal reviews, forcing Square Enix to shut it down and go back to the drawing board. Re-releasing as A Realm Reborn, it proved to be exactly what the game needed, and it shows no signs of s…
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Once upon a time, video games used to be included with a purchase of a new console, giving players an opportunity to use their systems right out of the box, which had the added bonus of driving sales and widespread early adoption. We take a look at this old practice and talk about how it's evolved today. Ep S10E6…
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On the nearly 3-hour long and final part of our Resident Evil 4 15th Anniversary episode, we have EVEN MOAR WORDS TO SAY. Well, Spencer and Ronny do, at least. Ep S10E5CAutor: Brian French
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No, seriously, it turns out we had a lot to say. Part 2 of RE4 15th Anniversary episode has us giving our thoughts on the game as we take a huge dive into madness. We cover the start of the game to partially through the castle. Ep S10E5BAutor: Brian French
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It is without question that Resident Evil 4 marked a drastic change for the franchise, dropping its formula of puzzle solving, conserving ammo, and Raccoon City, shedding many of its own created survival horror tropes. Fifteen years later, we take a look back and revisit this divisive game. Turns out we had a lot to say, so here is Part 1. Ep S10E5…
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On the first Free Play episode of Season 10, we cover a lot of ground--games we're playing, games we have a love/hate relationship with, games we'd love to see get a full-on remake, and plenty more. Dive in and enjoy! Ep S10E4Autor: Brian French
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There are many nuances and facets of video games that are open to constant debate. On this episode, however, we put aside debates and focus on a single one: graphics. We go through the generations of consoles and come up with our own personal lists of purely beautiful games. Ep S10E3Autor: Brian French
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Twenty years ago, the Playstation 2 was released, boasting full backwards compatibility with the entire PS1 library, and a DVD player to boot, marking the first major console to make a serious push at being a multi-functional entertainment center. It left its competition in the dust to become the top-selling console of all time. On this episode, we…
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Kicking off Season 10 is the news of the upcoming new consoles from Sony and Microsoft, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. With these due for release later in 2020, it gives us time to a little prognosticating. To begin this series of DLC, we talk about what we currently know of the two consoles and speculate on what we'd like to see, both fr…
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On our season finale, we do a third and final Free Play, talking about our best games played this year, our most disappointing ones, a little dive into Red Dead Redemption 2, some games of the decade, and more. Happy New Year, all! See you in 2020. Ep S9E11Autor: Brian French
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The Super Nintendo era of Final Fantasy was so good that many long-time fans of the series often see those games as the best in the series. Their amazing stories, memorable characters, and wonderful music make them worthy of being viewed in such a light. On this episode, we’re going to take a deeper look into Final Fantasy 6, and how its influence …
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It's a sparse panel this time, and we shoot the metaphorical shit for 2 hours in this Free Play, covering topics like: yet more things that video game developers do that piss us off, the possibility of selling your digitally-purchased games and the court case in the EU that could be huge in that regard, and devoting the entire second half to Team C…
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Reviews are probably the only direct way a consumer has to voice their enjoyment or displeasure regarding a product. In the world of video games, though, coordinated efforts to quickly bombard a game's page with (mostly) negative reviews to address a perceived wrong either with the developer or the game itself leads us to ask: is this practice a go…
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It has been a brutal year for developers in the video game industry. Massive layoffs from Activision Blizzard, EA, and ArenaNet, the collapse of Telltale Studios…well over a thousand people suddenly out of work. Then we have the phenomenon known as "crunch." It is pervasive, with developers working 14-hour days for weeks and months on end to meet t…
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Twenty years ago, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan put out just its second-ever game. It ended up an underrated gem: The Legend of Dragoon. Released almost 3 years after the much-beloved Final Fantasy 7, it sort of got swept under the rug. We dive in to the land of Endiness on this episode, and talk about why we still love it two decades later. Ep…
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Now that the dust is settling on E3 2019, we take a deep dive into all the conferences, big announcements, surprises in our annual recap. Part 1 covers Microsoft, EA, Bethesda, Google Stadia, Limited Run, and the PC Gaming Show. Part 2 covers Devolver Digital, Ubisoft, Kinda Funny, Square Enix, and Nintendo. Ep S9E5B…
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Now that the dust is settling on E3 2019, we take a deep dive into all the conferences, big announcements, surprises in our annual recap. Part 1 covers Microsoft, EA, Bethesda, Google Stadia, Limited Run, and the PC Gaming Show. Part 2 covers Devolver Digital, Ubisoft, Kinda Funny, Square Enix, and Nintendo. Ep S9E5A…
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After a few months off, we're back--this time, rolling out the first of our Free Plays for the year. We talk PAX East, the latest in eSports, gamers behaving badly, and the top 20 games of the Heisei era as voted on by Japan. Ep S9E4Autor: Brian French
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Five years ago, we did some episodes talking about where the video game industry was regarding inclusivity and representation of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, etc. On this episode, we check in to see what strides have been made, and what we feel the industry could do more of. Ep S9E3Autor: Brian French
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More and more companies are going the way of digital distribution only, and some companies are getting into business models where you can stream a video game, removing the idea of ownership completely and having the player pay a certain amount to rent a game to play. While the idea of offering video games as a service is not new, streaming now cert…
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From its humble beginnings on the Nintendo 64, this madcap insanity we know as Super Smash Bros. has kept us gleefully entertained, with something for just about everybody, whether you're a casual player to a hardcore tournament player. And with the latest incarnation on Nintendo Switch, this series shows no signs of letting up. How has this crazin…
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On the final episode of our 8th season of DLC, it's our third and final Free Play episode. This open discussion has us talking a variety of things: what games we're playing, VR games, recommendations for the Switch, FF15, the new Epic Games store, and a ton more as we go nearly 3 hours to close out 2018. Ep S8E17…
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When a developer creates a game and decides to take a multimedia approach to the game's narrative, what does that do for the player's experience? If a player has to go beyond the game in order to fully appreciate its narrative, does it become a chore? An expensive money grab? An acknowledgement that the developer can't contain the game's narrative …
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Squaresoft director Tetsuya Takahashi began writing a scenario for a game that was to begin development. Finding it too dark to be a Final Fantasy title, it became Xenogears. Several years of planning, creating backstory, and development ensued, and in February 1998, Xenogears was released. Critically acclaimed then despite its obvious lack of poli…
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What makes speedrunners tick? These gamers devote countless hours to their craft: completing a game so quickly and so thoroughly that it boggles the mind. Whether for fun, for charity, or both, speedrunners give life to games decades old, broadcasting their conquests and giving new fans a glimpse into the titles we played as kids. There's truly an …
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November 1998 saw the release of the 5th major installment in the Legend of Zelda series: Ocarina of Time. It proved to be a groundbreaking entry in the franchise, and is widely considered one of the greatest games ever made. Twenty years later, it continues to delight fans the world over. Why? Listen in as we dive into Hyrule once again. Ep S8E13…
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It's the 3rd official entry in the Metal Gear canon, but in 1998, Konami released Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 to universal acclaim. Widely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time, it combines stealth and confusing narrative, as well as an unforgettable cast of characters. Listen in as we take a deep dive into this amazing class…
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This week Gabe and Tycho create the comic Denouement.Autor: Penny Arcade Inc.
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With Nintendo's current crusade against ROM-hosting websites, now seems a good time to talk about forced and planned obsolescence in video games. What happens when developers pull the plug on a game that is still enjoyed by many? What ways do we have to preserve games? With few legal ways to do so, is emulation and piracy the solution to preservati…
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This week Gabe and Tycho create the comic Shopophobia.Autor: Penny Arcade Inc.
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This week Gabe and Tycho create the comic Sam Fishing.Autor: Penny Arcade Inc.
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With Resident Evil 2 bursting onto the scene in January 1998, survival horror became firmly established on the PlayStation. Not to be outdone, Square created a game that blended the styles of RPGs, action, science fiction, and survival horror to create Parasite Eve, based on the novel of the same name. We look back at this underrated classic on its…
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This week Gabe and Tycho create the comic Bus Stimulator 2018.Autor: Penny Arcade Inc.
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This week Gabe and Tycho create the comic Wasted Youth.Autor: Penny Arcade Inc.
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