Game Mess Mornings

Mike Minotti and Jan Ochoa start your week with trying to make sense of the growing situation of the massive layoffs happening at Xbox, Nintendo to stop selling the original Switch 1 in Europe by 2027, Cyberpunk 2077 hitting a massive sales milestone, and more for your Monday! 

00:00 - Intro
4:00 - Xbox to reduce staff by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27
29:00 - BREAK
29:14 - Nintendo will stop selling the Nintendo Switch in 2027
32:27 - WayForward announces next Shantae game at Anime Expo with 2027 release window
34:25 - Cyberpunk 2077 Just Hit Another Massive Sales Milestone
37:50 - Halo: Campaign Evolved’s boxed version will come with physical discs so that players can ‘have tangible items to add to your collection’
43:40 - Hideo Kojima ‘really sad’ about PlayStation killing discs, ‘frightened’ for future of ownership
47:00 - More traditional Final Fantasy remakes could happen, as Square Enix says it'll follow what "truly resonates" with fans, even if that's not open-world action
55:26 - Summer Games Done Quick 2026 is happening this week

Jan Ochoa joins Grubb before the Holiday weekend in the states to try and understand what's happening at XBOX and clarify what's happening with some of its internal studios. We also get into the mess also happening over at PlayStation, Nintendo continuing to operate on their own accord, a potential NEW Metroid game, Onimusha moving up its release date, and more! 

00:00 - Intro
4:35 - Obsidian Entertainment among Xbox studios negotiating to avoid closure
16:12 - Everyone disliked that, Sony
26:00 - PlayStation ditching physical games ‘unlikely to influence Nintendo’s plans’, says analyst
29:00 - Xbox is reportedly planning a way for players to convert their discs into digital copies
36:32 - BREAK
37:00 - Unannounced Metroid Ravenous rated in Brazil
41:00 - Onimusha: Way of the Sword release date moved forward in a crowded September
43:28 - Star Fox opens No. 1 in Japan

Jeff Grubb is joined by Lex Luddy to chat about Rhythm Heaven Groove reviews, a new Switch 2 model being spotted in the wild, and the status of Kojima's horror game for the XBOX. We then buckle up to dive into a whole grip of PlayStation related news such as the company ending physical disc production, Sony closing the PlayStation store on the PS3 and VITA, and more!

00:00 - Intro
5:40 - Rhythm Heaven Groove reviews
13:50 - New Switch 2 model spotted in the wild with updated screen
19:15 - Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles
25:55 - PlayStation 6 ‘almost guaranteed’ for 2028 after digital-only news, analyst says
35:55 - BREAK
37:00 - Sony is closing the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita
44:25 - Hideo Kojima’s Xbox exclusive horror game reportedly safe from Microsoft cuts
48:55 - US bill requiring paid games to be playable after they shut down has failed to pass a Senate vote
55:55 - Rockstar accused of ignoring pay inequity, mandating crunch, and weaponizing bonuses

Jeff Grubb is joined by Jason Fanelli to start your week with an EVO roundup, a Splatoon Raiders Direct coming this week, Star Fox selling very well, and a class action lawsuit accusing the big three RAM manufacturers of colluding to drive up prices. 

00:00 - Intro
3:40 - EVO roundup here: 
14:55 - Splatoon Raiders Direct tomorrow followed by Treehouse
20:30 - Some stores are apparently selling out of copies of Star Fox
21:20 - Star Fox is No.1 in the U.K. and sold double the sales of Star Fox Zero on Wii U
25:50 - break
26:07 - Class Action Lawsuit Accuses The Three Largest RAM Manufacturers Of Colluding To Drive Up Prices
32:00 - Donkey Kong 64: Recompiled for PC coming in next few months
33:46 - GTA 6 has no plans for a post-launch physical release, "not at launch, and not months later", insists new report
42:08 - Xbox disputes reports of PS5 crushing GTA 6 preorder demand
44:00 - PS5 ‘captures 75-80% of AAA single-player launch sales’ versus Xbox
46:30 - Xbox reportedly pausing new third-party Game Pass deals, developers say
50:40 - Sony says it doesn’t plan to ‘sell hardware at significant losses’ but is ‘monitoring the market’ with PS6 in mind

Jeff Grubb is joined by Jon Martin to end the week chatting about the May 2026 Circana report on the video game market, XBOX prices increasing significantly, layoffs at Bungie, GTA 6 listings on Amazon, Star Fox plushies coming to North America, and more! 
00:00 - Intro
3:42 - May 2026 U.S. Video Game Market Highlights
15:46 - Microsoft Announces Significant Price Rises for Xbox
29:10 - BREAK
29:20 - Bungie layoffs revealed to have affected nearly 300 jobs at Destiny 2 maker
32:25 - Amazon GTA 6 listing mentions unannounced features including ‘Larger map’ and ‘NPC routines’
38:20 - Retiring Mario and Zelda director Takashi Tezuka clarifies he’ll still be involved at Nintendo
42:00 - Bandai Namco Announces TEKKEN! CARTOON With First Teaser Trailer and Staff Reveal
44:00 - The Star Fox plushies are coming to North America
45:50 - Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen preview
48:00 - Nintendo Raises base salary for employees
50:55 - Poll
56:00 - B12