Episode #114: A Tale of Two Egmonts
Featuring: Merve The Kappa Editor: The Kappa Timestamps: 0:15 – Introduction 2:10 – Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate 21:45 – Donkey Kong Bananza 37:55 – Adult Content and Payment Processors 1:06:20 – A Digression on Fanfic 1:08:15 – Microsoft’s Business and Generative AI 1:24:40 – Nvidia’s Business and Generative AI 1:44:25 – How We Talk About AI in Gaming 1:52:40 – The Business of Tech and Entertainment Conglomerates 1:58:15 – The Use of AI in the Workplace 2:01:40 – Search Engines 2:07:35 – AI, Labour, and the Politics of Tech, Part 1 2:15:00 – Recycling 2:21:00 – AI, Labour, and the Politics of Tech, Part 2 2:24:45 – Problems with Games Media Reporting on Business 2:35:50 – Holding Companies 2:40:30 – Conclusion Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep114 Podcast header image from Donkey Kong Bananza . Mild spoiler warning: Donkey Kong Bananza . Content warning: discussions of sexual assault and sexual topics. Linkdump and timestamps for warnings after the jump. Introduction (0:15) No links here. Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate (2:10) Steam store page for Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate . Clarification: This episode was recorded before the announcement of Pete Parsons’s resignation on August 21 st . (Source: Bungie) Donkey Kong Bananza (21:45) MILD SPOILERS: Donkey Kong Bananza Trailer for Donkey Kong Bananza . (Source: Nintendo of America on YouTube) Wikipedia article on Super Mario Odyssey . The Zebra Bananza theme from Donkey Kong Bananza . (Source: Shacknews on YouTube) Adult Content and Payment Processors (37:55) CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of sexual assault and sexual topics Collective Shout’s open letter to payment processors. (Source: Collective Shout) A recap of the story to the end of July. (Source: CBC) itch.io’s announcement of the partial reindexing of adult content. (Source: itch.io) GOG’s protest giveaway of adult games. (Source: GOG.com) Clarification: While ABC was fined by the FCC for nudity in NYPD Blue , the fine was ultimately struck down by a U.S. court. (Source: Wikipedia) Valve’s comments on Mastercard’s statement denying responsibility for the content takedowns. (Source: PC Gamer) Confirmation: Steam accounts are limited until at least $5 USD is spent on Steam, so activations of gifts and externally-purchased games don’t count. However, activating a Steam Wallet card does count towards the $5 USD, so a credit card is not required to lift the limitations. (Source: Steam Support) Fallout 3 was originally refused classification in Australia for its depiction of drug use, but it was later permitted for sale after it was altered to remove the offending content. (Source: Wikipedia) Steam store page for HuniePop . A Digression on Fanfic (1:06:20) Confirmation: Unfortunately, Archive of Our Own does not have any fanworks that feature both Commander Zavala and Donkey Kong. We also confirmed that there are no results when searching by tag instead of by keyword. (Source: Archive of Our Own) Destinypedia entry on Mara Sov . Microsoft’s Business and Generative AI (1:08:15) Article about 9,000 layoffs at Microsoft . (Source: CNBC) Clarification: The news that development on Contraband had ceased came after we recorded. (Source: The Gamer) Satya Nadella’s open letter about Microsoft’s pivot to AI. (Source: Official Microsoft Blog) Know Your Meme article on Focus Group Man , the source of the “he admit it!” meme. Microsoft’s annual reports for FY2023 and FY2024 . (Source: Microsoft) Spreadsheets Merve prepared analyzing Microsoft’s financials . Nvidia’s Business and Generative AI (1:24:40) Report that Nvidia is set to slash RTX 5000 series card prices . (Source: Tech Radar) Article on Nvidia reaching $4 trillion US in market capitalization . (Source: Reuters) Report on the RTX 5060 review scandal . (Source: The Verge) How We Talk About AI in Gaming (1:44:25) Report on the controversial New York Times article on AI in gaming. (Source: PC Gamer) Steam store page for the AI-driven remake of The Portopia Seri