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Defining Duke, Episode 91 | Is Obsidian Entertainment "Saving" Xbox's 2022?

Obsidian Entertainment is often referred to as "Xbox's #1 draft pick" by the Dukes. While Starfield and Redfall have left 2022 more vacant than Xbox would have liked, Obsidian is showing a bit of Insomniac Games energy with two releases this fall. Those two being Grounded and Pentiment! While not entirely sexy games, these experiments carve out the future of what Xbox as a console can look like. One which allows creative freedom to a team primarily known for RPGs whereas both their games rele...

Defining Duke Ultimate, Episode 87 | The Return Of E3

Games media has long called for the death of E3. For them, it resembles a sweatshop where you tuck away in the back rooms cranking out op-eds at the behest of a publication. However, Matty and Cog come from a different walk of life and, for them, E3 was the "North Star." In Cog's case, it served as the birthplace of his successful career in gaming and throttling him to where he is now. For Matty, it was a major milestone that propelled his channel to new levels. The reality is that E3 is the ...

Defining Duke Ultimate, Episode 87 | The Return Of E3 (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 228 | Mapping Out Q4 With Defining Duke (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 228 | Mapping Out Q4 With Defining Duke

It's time once again for Sacred Symbols x Defining Duke. We welcome Matty and Cog to the show with an agenda in mind: To dig through our most-anticipated games of October, November, and December, and 'map a path' through which titles we're planning on playing. Between the five of us, we discuss 18 separate products (17 games and a DLC pack), and guide you towards what we think are the most exciting of a thankfully busy period, one that leads into a seemingly-unimaginably hectic 2023 to come.<...

Defining Duke, Episode 91: The Thread

Hey All!  It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 91 of Defining Duke.  

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.  

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, 9/28 at 1PM ET to make your...

KnockBack, Episode 242 | The Jobs of Our Teen Years

Learning the value of a dollar is a fundamental lesson for all fully-functioning young people. While some parents choose the allowance route (with chores mandatory or not), many teens are eager to score a part-time gig as soon as they're legally allowed (and often before they're not). Today's episode of KnockBack is dedicated to our earliest forays into the world of gainful employment. Dagan worked as a produce guy, at a skateshop, and even at a bagel store. Colin cleaned stables, made egg sa...

KnockBack, Episode 242 | The Jobs of Our Teen Years (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 227 | The Legal and Technical Ramifications of the GTAVI Hack (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 227 | The Legal and Technical Ramifications of the GTAVI Hack

Welcome back to Sacred Symbols+. As promised, I (Colin) endeavored to get our two favorite subject matter experts -- Hoeg and Moore's Law -- onto the show to discuss the recent Rockstar hack/leak from a more academic perspective. We begin with our legal analyst Rick Hoeg of Hoeg Law and Virtual Legality, who dives into the potential legal fallout for the hacker(s), as well as the different litigious avenues Rockstar might pursue in remedying significant injury. Then, Tom from Moore's Law Is D...

Sacred Symbols, Episode 221 | Appeasement (Video)

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Sacred Symbols, Episode 221 | Appeasement

Life is full of choices. And a fundamental choice is what you do for a living and who you work for. So it was disappointing to see Shawn Layden -- a champion of PlayStation's first party games for a run of very good years -- choosing to sign with Tencent as a Special Advisor. As an ex-Fortune 500 executive, Layden is already set for life, and with a reputation and track record like his, he can work anywhere and do anything. He's chosen to be used to help normalize and strengthen Tencent's wes...

Defining Duke, Episode 90 | Have Xbox and PlayStation Revived The Console Wars? (Video)

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Defining Duke, Episode 90 | Have Xbox and PlayStation Revived The Console Wars?

With the continued back-and-forth, Xbox and Sony are truly reviving what we thought was a bygone time: The Console Wars! It's clear now that the modus operandi for PlayStation is to obstruct the Activision deal by any means necessary. This means even taking the public "egg in the face" as they continue to sink their public image. Xbox has shown the willingness to abide by the rules, but the real question is will this awaken a more cutthroat version of the current executives we see in place? M...

KnockBack: September 2022 Primary Election

Hello!

As usual, we're giving you -- our beloved audience -- the opportunity to help select an upcoming episode of our retro and nostalgia podcast, KnockBack.

Here's what you do: Submit a single topic idea in the thread below, and then use Patreon's "like" system (which is a heart) to show support for others' submissions that you like. Near the end of the month, we'll round-up your answers and distill everything to the five most-popular choices, which you can then vote on.

<...

KnockBack, The Thread: Lost (Season 3)

Hello!

Soon, we'll be recording an episode of KnockBack dedicated to the second season of Lost, which aired on ABC in 2006 and 2007.

As always, submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas to our show concerning the topic. Pithy and well-written inquiries only! Walls-of-text and poorly-written submissions are politely ignored.

You have until Friday, September 23rd at noon ET to submit.

Defining Duke Ultimate, Episode 86 | The Xbox 2022 Fantasy Draft (Video)

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Defining Duke Ultimate, Episode 86 | The Xbox 2022 Fantasy Draft

Thanks to a wonderful write-in from our audience, Cog and I have a fun one for you all. Given it's the start of the football season where friendships are being tested via fantasy football, we thought we should bring that energy to an episode of the show. The rules are simple. Cog and I shall draft from a pool of Xbox exclusives and Game Pass games coming out through this year into 2023. From there, predictions are made on the release month or year when it applies for each title. Getting these...

KnockBack, Episode 241 | Lethal Weapon 2 (Video)

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KnockBack, Episode 241 | Lethal Weapon 2

1989's Lethal Weapon 2 is one of the most beloved buddy-cop (and action) movies of all-time, and for good reason. A trio of excellent performances from the likes of Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, and Joe Pesci set the stage for two hours well-spent, another ride through 1980s Los Angeles full of crime, violence, and of course a never-ending stream of jokes. From straightjackets to nailguns, from tow truck chase scenes and Apartheid-era racists, Lethal Weapon 2 is a wild ride, and we're excite...

Defining Duke, Episode 90: The Thread

Hey All!  It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 90 of Defining Duke.  

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.  

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, 9/21 at 1PM ET to make your submission.

Sacred Symbols+, Episode 226 | Assessing the Grand Theft Auto VI Leak (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 226 | Assessing the Grand Theft Auto VI Leak

This past weekend, something unreal happened: A nefarious digital actor scraped and released a ton of material -- stolen directly from developer Rockstar -- showing an in-development Grand Theft Auto VI. Obviously, this is a very big deal. Indeed, this is one of the largest breaches a games company has ever experienced in the history of our industry, and it's one that has wide-ranging consequences for a host of different parties. In this impromptu episode of +, we sat down to discuss what hap...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode 225 | The Last of Us: Part I Review Discussion and Spoilercast (Video)

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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 225 | The Last of Us: Part I Review Discussion and Spoilercast

Oh dear: It's time to talk about Naughty Dog again. But fear not! We're not haters. Rather, today's episode of + is a two-hour ride through The Last of Us: Part I -- recently released on PlayStation 5 and coming soon to PC -- featuring me (Colin) and Last Stand's Coordinator and Shopkeep (and my fiancé), Micah. We get deep into the story, the characters, the gameplay, the differences between the PS3, PS4, and PS5 versions, and even discuss Naughty Dog's current reputation, and why it's ...

Sacred Symbols, Episode 220 | Assassin's Greed (Video)

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Sacred Symbols, Episode 220 | Assassin's Greed

Just when you thought mega-publisher Ubisoft finally 'got it' when it came to Assassin's Creed, they went ahead and simultaneously announced three brand-new AC games for console. This is of course a change from their more recent strategy of treating this particular franchise with more care; they now seem fine with potentially running it back into the ground. What's going on at Ubisoft? And what does the future of Assassin's Creed hold? Plus: Trouble may be brewing at Sony second party studio ...

Defining Duke, Episode 89 | Xbox Is Changing the Narrative in Japan (Video)

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Defining Duke, Episode 89 | Xbox Is Changing the Narrative in Japan

Showcases, showcases, showcases! Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2022, State Of Play, Nintendo Direct, Ubisoft Forward, and Disney all came out to show what their respective teams and partners are working on. While each showcase had their bright spots, Xbox's Tokyo Game Show presentation stood out to us in particular as it feels like a lot of the playing catch-up is done. Now, the platform is primed to chase down the true game changers which should make for an exciting year as they continue to be ambiti...

Sacred Symbols+, Episode 224 | Letting Some Steam Out (Video)

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