Game Buoy Podcast Episode 178 – Standing on the Shoulder of (Japanese Gaming) Giants: Game Buoy Remake Project Episode 5

Ahoy, mateys, and welcome to the GAMEBUOY.ORG video game podcast – your port of call for gaming news and views that maybe aren’t on your radar, but most definitely should be! On this episode, recorded Sunday, July 6, 2025, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss how the past decade has gone for Japanese gaming titans Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Konami!

This episode is part of the Game Buoy Remake Project, a series of themed episodes revisiting previously discussed topics. This week, the Podcast Pirates follow up on Game Buoy Podcast Episode 13 – Giants of the Japanese Gaming Industry, originally published on November 10, 2012.

HOT TOPIC IS THE WAY THAT WE RHYME

– Xbox has been hit with mass layoffs as part of a 9,100 job reduction in force at Microsoft.
– Microsoft has closed their studio The Initiative and canceled the Perfect Dark remake.
– ZeniMax Online Studios’ MMORPG code-named Blackbird has been canceled as part of the Microsoft layoffs.
– Everwild has been canceled at Rare as part of the Microsoft layoffs.
– As Microsoft cuts 9,1000 jobs, it is investigating $80 billion in AI.
– Warcraft Rumble will not get any new content due to the Microsoft cuts.
– Despite the mass layoffs at Microsoft, Phil Spencer is not retiring.
– Alix Wilton Regan, the voice of Joanna Dark, has asked fans to call for the Perfect Dark remake to be saved.
– Gregg Mayles is reportedly leaving Rare after Everwild‘s cancellation.
– Nintendo has announced a “price change” for the original Switch in Canada starting August 1.
– The Season 3 trailer for Marvel Rivals introduces Jean Grey and Blade, with symbiote king Knull as the big bad.

RELEASE UPDATES

– Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Series X | S on August 26.
– Arcade Archives 2: Air Combat 22 (for PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and Switch 2) and Arcade Archives: Air Combat 22 (for PS4 and Switch) was released on July 3.
– Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is now available for PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC via the Microsoft Store.
– Turbo Kid is coming to Switch on August 5.
– Cladun X3 will be releasing for PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC via Steam in the west in 2025.

CULTURE CLUB

– Kotaku has been sold by G/O Media to Gizmodo owner Keleops.
– The anime Cyberpunk Edgerunners II has been announced.
– A limited Hello Kitty edition of Suika Game will be available as part of Japanese McDonald’s Happy Meals from July 11 to August 8.
– Nintendo has shared that Donkey Kong Bananza was developed by the Super Mario Odyssey team but has not named any specific developers involved in the project.
– Target is offering $50 eShop gift cards to those who received their Switch 2 delivery late.
– Neil Druckmann will not be involved in production of The Last of Us season 3 in order to focus on game development.
– A Fortnite tournament cheater has been banned from the game forever and forced to pay a $175,000 fine.
– Mobile free-to-play game Destiny: Rising comes to Android and iOS on August 28.
– Resident Evil Survival Unit, a mobile game, is currently in development.
– Supergiant has stated that Hades 2‘s Unseen Update Patch 10 is likely to be the final patch before its full launch.

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

– Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons, a Bubble Bobble roguelike, is coming to PS5, Switch, and PC via Steam this winter in the west, with a Japanese release for PS5 and Switch in 2025.
– Arc System Works has announced the interactive adventure game Dear me, I was… for Switch 2 this summer.
– My Hero Academia: All’s Justice has been announced for PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC via Steam.

SO CONTROVERSIAL

– Patch 1.1.2 for Mario Kart World has removed an exploit that allowed players in online Versus mode to force 3-lap tracks.
– Front Mission 3‘s remake is using AI upscaling to terrible results.
– 11 Bit Studios has explained that AI text in The Alters was meant as a placeholder.

DOOM AND GLOOM

– Anthem‘s servers will go offline on January 12, 2026.

RUMOR HAS IT

– Nintendo and Amazon deny that they are in a feud, as Pokémon Legends Z-A and Donkey Kong Bananza are available for pre-order on the retailer.
– A comment from Matt Ryan, Edward Kenway’s voice actor, suggests that a long-rumored Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remake is on the way.

DISCUSSION TOPIC

This week, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy discuss how the past decade has gone for Japanese gaming titans Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Konami! As part of the Game Buoy Remake Project initiative, they take a look back at Game Buoy Podcast Episode 13 – Giants of the Japanese Gaming Industry. Back in 2012, the Podcast Pirates looked at Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Konami at three milestones – 1992, 2002, and 2012 – to examine where they were, where they had been, and where they were going. The Podcast Pirates follow up on whether their predictions panned out, discussing how things have gone for the three companies since 2012. They discuss whether the companies should have changed their approach during this time span, if they made any egregious errors, and their hopes for the next decade.

WHAT’S UP

Captain Spike has been playing Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Bravley Defaut HD, and the Blitz Royale mode in Fortnite. First Mate Slaggy McWaggy has been playing Fast Fusion, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the Blitz Royale mode in Fortnite.

SOCIAL LINKS QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Hello, folks! This week we are talking about how Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Konami have fared over the last ~15 years. Have any of these companies delighted or disappointed you in recent years?

Bonus question: Are there any older games/series by Bandai Namco, Capcom, or Konami that you would like to see revived? (Please only respond if you’re comfortable with us reading your responses on air, thanks!)

EXITLUDE

SHOUT OUTS – “FRIENDS OF BUOY”

– Orange Lounge Radio, where every gamer has a voice
– Aftermath, an independent, worker-owned website about video games, other media and internet culture
– The Bobby Blackwolf Show, a weekly internet radio show and podcast discussing the latest news in gaming as well as sometimes reminiscing about gaming’s history
– Video Game Realness, a dose of gaming chit chat among friends
– Nintendo Pow Block, a dive into the week that was in the world of Nintendo
– Famicomputing, for “Nintendo and PC stuff” including screenshots, videos, photos, and reviews
– Sasha’s Retrobytes, “bytes” of vintage gaming including magazine scans and photographs
– Defunct Games, your daily source for modern video game reviews, exciting trivia competitions and old school magazine analysis
– Thomas Game Docs, where each video covers “a different aspect of video game history”
– Craig, Slaggy McWaggy’s robot boyfriend a multi-track voice channel recording bot for Discord

Also, our theme music was done by the late, great Zelda Reorchestrated, which lives on in the form of ZREO: Second Quest!

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