Should We Have Any Trust in Xbox? Are Xbox Game Pass Days Numbered # 397

Video Games 2 the MAX

This week in gaming showcased a bombshell announcement from one of the big pillars of the industry. Microsoft and Xbox announced the closure of three Bethesda studios and the consolidation of another one. Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog, Tango Gameworks, and Roundhouse are all gone. Although some of the employees will be put into other places or studios, many of these wonderful developers are now out of work.
At what point do figureheads start to carry the blame for all of these bad decisions? How does anyone have any trust at all in Xbox moving forward? Should Xbox just rip off the Band-Aid and change lanes with Xbox Game Pass? Is this all beyond Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty? How much blame does the Activision-Blizzard-King purchase carry on this as well? Should other Xbox studios be on notice now too? Sean and Marc try to parse through all of this stuff and the terrible interview by Sarah Bond with Bloomberg as well.
Thankfully, there are some positive things from this week, namely Nintendo dropping a lot of future news about the Switch 2, a June Nintendo Direct, game sales, and other things. Marc talks about games he's been playing and more!
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Timestamps:
00:01:00: START
00:02:50: Housekeeping
---------- BIG TOPIC ----------
00:04:25: Xbox Shutters Four Bethesda Studios, is there any trust in Xbox at all?
----------- What's in the News --------
00:56:15: Vicarious Visions was working on a 3D Donkey Kong game for Nintendo Switch
00:58:00: Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Announced
01:03:30: Nintendo's President Finally Reveals Switch 2 Announcement Period and that the Switch 2 is a "Next Edition of the Switch"
01:08:20: PlayStation reverses course on Helldivers 2 PSN Account Linking
01:12:20: Atlus Considering Release Persona 5: Phantom X Mobile Game in more regions
01:13:55: There could be an Elden Ring 2, but probably not more Elden Ring Expansions or DLC
01:16:40: Newzoo Market Report on Top 10 Games of Q1
--------- Games We Are Playing ---------
01:19:15: Marc has finished Stellar Blade and talks some Knuckles TV Show
------------- The End ----------
01:24:25: What's coming out this week!
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