Victor Lucas is joined by Danny Peña and Paris Lilly to discuss the recent studio closure Xbox has made, what it means for the Xbox brand, the state of the AAA gaming industry and how Xbox and its competition will operate and pivot in the face of these dramatic changes. These three veterans of game coverage have a lot to discuss. Enjoy! Watch: YouT…

Victor Lucas connects with Alan Belardinelli, a recurring presence in The Electric Playground’s early years , representing Nintendo for many of the latest games of 1997-1998, like Goldeneye 007, Pokémon, 1080º Snowboarding, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pilot Wings 64 and many more! Alan was part of some of the biggest moments in Nintendo h…

Victor Lucas is joined by game industry legend, David Doak to chat about his years with Rare working on Donkey Kong Country 3, Goldeneye 007 and starting and leaving Perfect Dark; then his years at Free Radical and inventing the incredible, TimeSplitters franchise; and we also hear about his time spent working on Star Wars: Battlefront 3, Haze and …

ProbablyMonsters’ Mark Subotnick joins Victor Lucas in Vic’s Basement to discuss his long career in video games. Fresh from Mark’s appearance in S1E3 of #EPClassic, Mark details his years at SEGA working on Genesis, SEGA CD, Saturn and Dreamcast projects, then his transition to Xbox and launching the original platform and Xbox 360. Afterwards Mark …

Victor Lucas sits down with Kelly Benson to celebrate the launch of #EPClassic and to catch up on all of Kelly’s adventures over the years in television, video games, new media and beyond! Enjoy this long overdue catch up convo with the wonderful Kelly Benson! EP on Facebook (for contests): Facebook.com/ElectricPlayground EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN EP…

The groundbreaking NAR settlement has real estate agents, lending professionals, and home buyers scrambling to understand its ramifications. Here to weigh in is the Clear to Close crew: In this conversation, Alan, Bryan, and Anthony channel their experience in the industry to walk through possible outcomes of the ruling. Specifically, this episode …

Victor Lucas is joined by game industry legend, Chris Taylor, who helped create Total Annihilation, Dungeon Siege, Hardball II, Test Drive, Triple Play Baseball, 4D Boxing and many more games in hi long and prolific career in games! Plus he’s got a prominent feature in The Electric Playground’s very first episode from 1997! EP on Facebook (for cont…

Victor Lucas is joined by Jeff Minter, the creator of games like Tempest 2000, Llamatron 2112, Akka Arrh, Space Invaders Extreme, Attack of the Mutant Camels, Polybius, Gridrunner, TxK and dozens more! As well as Digital Eclipse’s Editorial Director, Chris Kohler, to discuss their brand new game & documentary project: Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Sto…

Victor Lucas is joined by Jose Sanchez and Behr Safi to talk about the unquestioned hit live service game of the moment: Helldivers 2! Does it deliver? Does it have legs? Does it stack up to other live service games like Destiny and Left 4 Dead? Find out in this in-depth Vic’s Basement/Review on the Run chat! Rest in Peace Akira Toriyama. Thank you…

No one knows exactly what lies ahead this year, but one thing is clear: 2024's market will remain competitive, with make-or-break economic factors influencing recovery and lenders scrambling for profitability amid evolving challenges. One headline set to impact the market is ongoing trouble brewing in the commercial real estate sector: As assets co…

Victor Lucas sits down with Lee Skwarek from EP Classic sponsor, PNP Games, to discuss the massive EP project and what bringing the episodes to YouTube will entail; why PNP is the perfect fit for EP; what the shows will look like; why the archive has endured and much more! Enjoy this lengthy conversation about the beginning of an epic partnership! …

Victor Lucas is joined by Jose Sanchez to discuss all of this week’s consequential developments in the video game industry. 2024 has just begun but there are HUGE changes and big events already happening! Thank you for LISTENING / REVIEWING / SUBSCRIBING / SHARING! #PlayForever Watch EPN: YouTube.com/EPNtv EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN EPN Shorts: tiktok…

Victor Lucas is joined by EP’s Jose Sanchez and Behr Safi to discuss the recent business decisions that Xbox announced and what that means for the game industry, along with a deep dive discussion on Nintendo’s and PlayStation’s plans and much more! Essentially the game business is tricky and our goal was to solve everything in this podcast.* *we di…

Victor Lucas welcomes Go Mecha Ball creator, Jakob Wahlberg and arcade legend and creator of games like Defender, Robotron 2084 and Smash TV, Eugene Jarvis, to the Basement! Watch EPN: YouTube.com/EPNtv EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN EPN Shorts: tiktok.com/@theelectricplayground Official EPN Merch: EPN.tv/Merch Thanks for LISTENING/SUBSCRIBING/SHARING/REV…

Victor Lucas hosts EP’s Rocket & Raygun Awards and determines The Best Indie Game, The Best Sports Game, The Best RPG, The Best Action Game, The Game of the Year and so much more in this special presentation. Joining Victor are game players and fans of The Electric Playground, who offer their compelling insights about Their Game of The Year, Buried…

Victor Lucas interviews Cinematics Director, Joseph Antoine Clavet about his work on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and his perspective on working at Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Montpellier. Vic and JA also dig into the future and past of Prince of Persia, the tumultuous times the video game industry has been going through and is there hope for …

Victor Lucas is joined by the creator of Prince of Persia, Jordan Mechner and editorial director at Digital Eclipse, Chris Kohler, to discuss the complex and fascinating history of Prince of Persia! Enjoy this detailed conversation about the creation of the original Prince of Persia, The Sands of Time, The Lost Crown and the Prince of Persia featur…

Victor Lucas is joined by Denny Unger, founder and CEO of Cloudhead Games and the duo discuss the ups and downs of the VR industry, Apple’s foray into the sector, PlayStation’s awesome but closed tech, VR studio closures, massive successes and Meta’s ongoing commitment to VR/AR hardware and software. Play the pair do their best to predict the futur…

Victor Lucas sits down with Blizzard’s Rod Fergusson to discuss his work on Diablo IV, Diablo II: Resurrected and Diablo Immortal! Plus Vic explores Rod’s work on Gears of War, BioShock Infinite and his thoughts on the current state of Live Service game development. This interview was recorded at the world famous, Vancouver Film School! Watch EPN: …

Victor Lucas sits down with Audi Sorlie from Limited Run Games and Digital Foundry and Seth Fulkerson from Seedy Eye Games to discuss the making of Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore! Watch EPN: YouTube.com/EPNtv EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN Official EPN Merch: EPN.tv/Merch Thanks for Listening, Subscribing and Reviewing!…

Recent Fed announcements, declining interest rates, and increased loan activity spell an optimistic end to the year. But is the mortgage industry's renewed sense of hope warranted—and is the worst truly behind us? In this episode of Clear to Close, hosts Alan, Bryan, and Anthony dig into their thoughts on 2024's market, including how they believe r…

This week on the Clear to Close podcast, we have a special guest: Melissa Langdale, TMC President and COO and a career-long mortgage veteran. In this conversation, Melissa leverages her unique perspective gleaned from interactions with lenders across the industry to provide actionable tips on how to drive revenue and capture market share in 2024.…

With Alan Parris freshly back from sabbatical, the Clear to Close team dives into the topic on everyone's minds: housing market challenges. While it's easy to point fingers and ascribe blame at times like these, the truth is that the forces driving today's conditions are varied and complex. In this conversation, we dig into a few of the factors kee…

As Alan Parris takes a sabbatical from Maxwell, two-thirds of your favorite trio—Bryan Traeger and Anthony Ianni—are back to catch up on the status of inflation, interest rates, and today's market outlook. From the latest CPI numbers to the recent job openings report, Bryan and Anthony talk through economic factors that impact lenders and what they…

Artificial intelligence: Is it the efficiency-driving copilot you've been waiting for or an increasingly intelligent force vying for your job? To move past polarizing headlines and unpack the truth, we spoke with someone who lives and breathes technology: Maxwell Co-founder & CTO Rutul Davé. In this episode, Rutul breaks down the implications of AI…

Between fallout from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, the latest Fed announcement, and more news of stubborn inflation, there's plenty of economic drama continuing to unfold. The question on every lender's mind is: Has the market finally bottomed out? In our new Clear to Close episode, the Maxwell team is back to discuss the industry's biggest happe…

Victor Lucas is joined by YouTube’s @BrianTong and Accenture’s Metaverse Strategy Lead, Nick Rosa, for a deep frank discussion about the Apple Vision Pro. Is this new headset the future of computing and entertainment or will it be another footnote in VR/AR’s long history of interesting products that just don’t break through? Watch EPN: YouTube.com/…

Victor Lucas is joined by Danny Peña and Parris Lily from Gamertag Radio. You’ve seen them all over the game industry on everything from G4 to Kinda Funny Games and even on stage at Xbox events and now they join Vic in the “Basement” to discuss the Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Showcase and much more! Watch: YouTube.com/EPNtv Live: Twitch.tv/EPN Offic…

Victor Lucas speaks with Capcom’s Head Localization Director, Andrew Alfonso, about making the most ambitious fighting game in the company’s history, Street Fighter 6! Watch EPN: YouTube.com/EPNtv EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN Official EPN Merch: EPN.tv/Merch Thanks so much for listening to, subscribing to, reviewing and sharing Vic’s Basement!…

Victor Lucas is joined by Sam Witwer (Starkiller, Darth Maul) and David W. Collins (The Mandalorian, Star Wars Visions, The Bad Batch) to talk about the state of Star Wars! Thank you for listening Listening To, Subscribing and Reviewing Vic’s Basement! EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN Official EPN Merch: EPN.tv/Merch…

Join Victor Lucas and Jose Sachnez as they discuss the biggest news in video games: – The release of the final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – The PlayStation State of Play focused on Final Fantasy XVI – The move to launch Redial at 30fps Quality Mode and what it means for the game and Arkane – The delay of Sucide Squad: Kil…

In the first new episode in a while Robin and Josie chat to author Lucy Nichol about her latest book, 'Don't Call Me Snowflake'. Please note this episode contains discussions around the topics of mental health and suicide. This is an abridged version. Patreon subscribers get an extended version. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles.…

Hispanic and Latino populations are an integral, growing part of American communities and a rising force in U.S. homeownership. Still, many Spanish-speaking borrowers struggle with the financial, logistical, and readiness challenges related to home buying. In our latest conversation on Clear to Close, we sit down with an expert on the topic: Laura …

Two and a half months into 2023, the question on every lender's mind is: Are we seeing real signs of market recovery? Headline after headline announces the moderation of rates and the beginnings of volume returning. Still, challenges remain, and in many ways, the trajectory of the market continues to be uncertain. So, what lies ahead for lenders, a…

Victor Lucas and Behr Safi host The Rocket & Raygun Awards celebrating the best games of 2022 including, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, God of War: Ragnarok, Elden Ring, NFS Unbound, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and so many more! Plus members of EPN’s Community and friends from Gamespot, Game Sack, Digital Foundry, Happy Conso…

Victor Lucas sits down with Ryan Payton, the founder of Camouflaj and a game industry veteran from the Metal Gear Solid and Halo franchises to discuss the making of Iron Man VR for Meta Oculus Quest 2 and the future of virtual reality and much more! TIME STAMPS ———————- 00:00 – Intro and Making Iron Man for Quest 2 03:45 – Comparing Iron Man VR on …

New Story, a nonprofit tackling homelessness through proven, sustainable, and scalable models, has built an impressive 3,380 homes, impacting 15,200+ people across 4 countries. In this episode, we sit down with Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer Matthew Marshall to talk through how New Story got started, the outside-the-box ways it’s tackling home…

As the dust settles from the MBA Annual conference in Nashville, the industry is still abuzz with market predictions, industry announcements, and new concepts that came out of the event. In this episode of Clear to Close, hosts Alan, Bryan, and Anthony unpack the most important takeaways from MBA Annual, including current lender sentiment, breaking…

As interest rates rise to levels not seen since the early 2000s, now is the perfect time to take a pulse on the market: How are lenders viewing the current conditions, what challenges will Q4 bring, and does opportunity still exist today?By Alan Parris

Today is the day that Robin Ince's new book, Bibliomaniac, hits shelves around the UK so today's episode is a recording of the book's launch event which took place in East London on October 4th. Robin talks about the book and, well, a million other things because he was quite tired. This is an abridged version. A full filmed edition will be availab…

On today's episode, Robin is joined by the multi award winning novelist Kamila Shamsie. They chat about her new novel Best of Friends, as well as how she knew from an early age she wanted to be a writer, letting go of books once they're finished and, obviously, the Clint Eastwood western musical Paint Your Wagon. Hear an extended edition by subscri…

Sona Movsesian has been Conan O'Brien's personal assistant for over 13 years. By her own admission, she is terrible at her job. She's been a regular on Conan's TV shows, co-hosts his podcast and has now written her first book, World's Worst Assistant. And, as she tells Robin on this week's episode, it's all because she doesn't care. About her job t…

In the week that actual Liz Truss became the actual Prime Minister of the actual United Kingdom, could there be a more appropriate guest to have on the show this week than political columnist Marina Hyde? She chats to Robin about her new book, What Just Happened, (which is out in a few weeks), trying to be a voice of sanity amongst a world gone ins…

Our guest this week is Darryl Bullock, author and winner of the Penderyn Music Book Prize 2022 for The Velvet Mafia. But he's on the show this week to talk about his brand new book, Pride, Pop and Politics: Music, Theatre and LGBT Activism, 1970–2022. He chats to Robin about researching for the book, It's a Sin, fifty years of pride and where LGBT …

While lenders nationwide struggle with market challenges, Chris Ledwidge of theLender is thriving. A fast-growing wholesale mortgage lender headquartered in California, theLender just landed an impressive spot at #11 overall on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list. Its secret to success? Leaning into non-traditional loan offerings that cater to underserv…

Victor Lucas chats with Charles Murakami from Konami and Chris Kohler from Digital Eclipse about creating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection! Thanks for listening and SUBSCRIBING to Vic’s Basement! Don’t forget to REVIEW the podcast! #PlayForeverBy Victor Lucas

We spoke to US author Jessamine Chan right after her novel, The School for Good Mothers was just revealed to be on Barack Obama's Summer Reading List. She chats with Robin about bucking expectations of what the book is about, writer's who've inspired her, avoiding parenting advice and they both try and not give away any of the twists and turns of t…

On today's episode Robin is joined by Dr Helen Czerski as co-host to talk to US physicist Professor Michael Dine about his new book This Way to the Universe. They chat about the challenges of explaining complicated ideas to a mass audience, string theory and the different ways to tackle physics problems, from an experimental or theoretical approach…

Artist and writer James Bridle joins Robin this week to talk about his new book, Ways of Being: Beyond Human Intelligence. They hat about AI, Darwin's less popular experiments, science fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin and Robin asks none of the questions from his two sets of notes. To hear an extended version every episode, subscribe at patreon.com/books…

Boasting 200 million monthly users, real estate tech giant Zillow is only becoming a stronger competitive force as it expands its presence in the mortgage lending space. In the face of this trend, local lenders have a choice: they can ignore the growing threat or they can bolster their competitive advantages and learn from Zillow's actions. In this…