Episode 73: Stadia: Complete Catastrophe or Mismanaged Mess? (News Show)

Feb 28, 2021

Reports on the Stadia project’s inner workings are pouring out, revealing gears rusted with dysfunction. Also: EA cancels Anthem Next (but may have saved Dragon Age in the process), GameStop loses its CFO (but awards him a massive severance), Apple scores a win in court, Sony reorganizes its legendary Japan Studio, and a class-action suit threatens Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda.

TIME STAMPS

• [00:00:55] - Stadia’s leadership and strange business decisions
• [00:25:36] - GameStop CFO resigns, shareholder war ongoing
• [00:34:28] - Apple wins in court, Valve has to turn over data
• [00:38:49] - Quick Hits
• [00:57:10] - Call of Duty Mobile player murdered in Brazil
• [00:59:56] - Paradox earnings and Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 news
• [01:11:07] - Anthem Next canceled (and other EA news)
• [01:17:08] - Bethesda faces class action lawsuit over Fallout 4 Season Pass
• [01:25:49] - Report on Techland’s mismanagement
• [01:31:24] - Sony: PSVR2, State of Play, Japan Studio, and more

SOURCES

• Stadia's 4K gaming claims come back to haunt it in class-action lawsuit (PCGamer): https://www.pcgamer.com/stadias-4k-gaming-claims-come-back-to-haunt-it-in-class-action-lawsuit/
• Jacqueline Shepherd vs. Google: https://www.classaction.org/media/shepherd-v-google-llc-et-al.pdf
• Google’s Stadia Problem? A Video Game Unit That’s Not Googley Enough (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-26/google-video-game-unit-stadia-struggled-to-be-googley-enough
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• GameStop Announces Resignation of CFO and Succession Plan to Support Transformation: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/23/2180940/0/en/GameStop-Announces-Resignation-of-CFO-and-Succession-Plan-to-Support-Transformation.html
• GameStop SEC Filing re Jim Bell departure: https://news.gamestop.com/static-files/a9ccb1fc-1c3b-4059-b187-7f545c151558
• GameStop: How a 2020 Shareholder Coup Could Transform the Company Forever (IGN): https://www.ign.com/articles/gamestop-how-a-2020-shareholder-coup-could-transform-the-company-forever
• Valve Ordered to Give Apple Information on 436 Steam Games As Part of Epic Games Legal Case (MacRumors): https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/25/valve-apple-data-request-for-epic-games-case/
• COD: Player Sol is murdered in São Paulo (ESPN): https://www.espn.com.br/esports/artigo/_/id/8230747/cod-jogadora-sol-e-assassinada-em-sao-paulo
• Paradox Year-End Report 2020: https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/en/year-end-report-2020/
• Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Update: https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/bloodlines-2-development-update
• Anthem Update (BioWare): https://blog.bioware.com/2021/02/24/anthem-update/
• Electronic Arts Removes Multiplayer Mode From Dragon Age Game in Big Pivot (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-25/electronic-arts-pivots-on-dragon-age-game-removes-multiplayer
• Bethesda faces broad class-action lawsuit over Fallout 4 DLC as Microsoft takeover looms (GamesBeat): https://venturebeat.com/2021/02/23/bethesda-faces-broad-class-action-lawsuit-over-fallout-4-dlc-as-microsoft-takeover-looms/
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Upgrade and Purchase FAQ: https://support.activision.com/tony-hawks-pro-skater-1-2/articles/tony-hawks-pro-skater-1-2-upgrade-and-purchase-faq
• Report: Techland Is Bleeding Talent Due To Autocratic Management, Bad Feedback, And Lack Of Direction (TheGamer): https://www.thegamer.com/techland-report-bleeding-talent-autocratic-management-bad-feedback/
• Play At Home returns: Four months of offers for PlayStation games and entertainment begin March 1 (PlayStation Blog): https://blog.playstation.com/2021/02/23/play-at-home-returns-four-months-of-offers-for-playstation-games-and-entertainment-begin-march-1/
• Introducing the next generation of VR on PlayStation (PlayStation Blog): https://blog.playstation.com/2021/02/23/introducing-the-next-generation-of-vr-on-playstation/#sf243317607
• PlayStation’s Jim Ryan: ‘We’re making a completely new VR format for PS5’ (GQ): https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/playstation-vr-jim-ryan-interview-2021
• Sources: PlayStation is winding down Sony Japan Studio (VGC): https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-playstation-is-winding-down-sony-japan-studio/
• Bloodborne Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa Is Leaving Sony (Kotaku): https://kotaku.com/bloodborne-producer-masaaki-yamagiwa-is-leaving-sony-1846352378