Game Buoy Podcast Episode 180.5 – MICRO Episode 8: Oh My God, News (A Game Buoy Remake 7.5 Interlogue)

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, August 17, 2025, Captain Spike and First Mate Slaggy McWaggy clear the news slate and talk about what they’ve been playing lately!

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 previous news-themed episodes, as well as the Game Buoy Micro format last seen in 2015.

HOT TOPIC IS THE WAY THAT WE RHYME

–Yuke’s has announced that they are acquiring AQUAPLUS.
– Former RedOctane employees have established RedOctane Games, a new studio that is working on a rhythm game to be announced later in 2025!
– IGN boss John Davison is leaving the site after six years, following the latest round of Ziff Davis layoffs.
– Digital Foundry is now independent from former owners Ziff Davis.
– Nexon is using bizarre AI ads to promote its mobile game The First Descendent.
– After multiple customers were told that LGBTQ content was not allowed to be purchased with Stripe, the payment processing company has confirmed that this information does not accurately reflect their business practices.
– A great lineup of games is available on PlayStation Plus for the month of August.
– Arcade Archives Aqua Jet for PS4 and Switch, and Arcade Archives 2 Aqua Jet for PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2, are now available.

RELEASE UPDATES

– Atelier Ryza Secret Trilogy Deluxe Pack launches worldwide on November 13 for PlayStation 5, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam. 
– Pixel action RPG Cladun X3 launches in the west on September 26 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam.
– Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection launches digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC via Steam on September 9, with a physical edition available for preorder.  
– Chibi-Robo! is coming to Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics for Switch 2 for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers on August 21.
– LEGO Party! launches on September 30 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam.
– Necrosoft’s school life strategy RPG Demonschool launches on September 3 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
– A Switch 2 version of The Exit 8, featuring new anomalies, launches on August 29 alongside the theatrical movie adaptation.
– UFO 50 Is now available for Switch.
– Cozy management game Tiny Bookshop is now available for Switch and PC via Steam.
– Mina the Hollower will launch on Switch 2 alongside the previously announced versions, and a limited time demo for Switch and Switch 2 is available until August 21.

CULTURE CLUB

– Crossover fighting game Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga, which was previously scheduled for release in the west this summer, has been delayed a few months. 
– Free DLC characters Evil Marian and Super Anubis are now available for Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons.
– The 7th and 8th DLC pack characters have been revealed for One Piece Pirate Warriors 4.
– Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s “Fox Hunt” multiplayer mode will launch later this fall.
– Speedrunning community RTA in Japan has revealed that Nintendo is requiring them to ask for advance permission to feature first-party Nintendo games at future events.
– Heretic + Hexen is now available for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam, Microsoft Store, and GOG.
– McDonald’s in Japan placed purchase restrictions for Pokémon Happy Meals over the weekend, after a promotion last week resulted in wasted food and disappointed children.
– New screenwriters have been hired for New Line Cinema’s Space Invaders film.
– PETA has called for Nintendo to remove Cow’s nose ring in Mario Kart World, as a means of bringing awareness to bovine cruelty.
– Nintendo has announced an adorable new line of merchandise for babies and toddlers in Japan called My Mario, featuring a wooden block playlet that doubles as amiibo figures. 
– In addition, a free app for Android, iOS, and Switch called Hello, Mario! will allow families and young children to playfully manipulate Mario’s face.

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

– Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation for Switch is getting a release this fall in Asia with English language support.
– Square Enix announced a Return Home to Vana’diel free login campaign and discount sale for Final Fantasy XI.
– Ratatan will launch in early access on Steam on September 19, after being delayed.
– A new One Piece punching game is coming to Japanese arcades. 
– After getting flooded with “Mixed” reviews on Steam recently, NetEase has responded to claims that Marvel Rivals uses engagement optimized matchmaking. 
– Capcom will be holding a “Capcom Presents” panel at New York Comic Con 2025.
– Exit the Gungeon is no longer exclusive to Apple Arcade on mobile.
– Date Everything has sold 500,000 copies.
– Katy Perry performed a verse from her Simlish version of “Last Friday Night” at a recent concert.

SO CONTROVERSIAL

– Roblox is being sued by the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana due to being “a breeding ground for child predators.”
– Scalpers ran rampant at the Pokémon World Championships.
– GungHo Online Entertainment has dismissed a former senior executive for embezzlement.
– An AI slop clone of Palworld has been spotted on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
– The Battlefield 6 beta, which requires Secure Boot to load, is already plagued with cheaters.

DOOM AND GLOOM

– Sony CFO Lin Tao admits that live service gaming is “not entirely going smoothly.”
– Genshin Impact is ending support for PS4.
– PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is ending support for Xbox One and PS4 on November 13, alongside the launch of its Xbox Series and PS5 ports.

SMASH HIT!

– Is whale-chasing a viable strategy in an era of recession? (GamesIndustry.biz)
– From Nintendo Power Hotline To Now, Human Labor Has Always Been The Soul Of Video Game Guides (Aftermath)
– Despite What NYT, WaPo, And Vanity Fair Seem To Think, We Still Need Critics (Aftermath)

RUMOR HAS IT

– Black Ops 7 is apparently releasing on November 14 for €80, but there is no indication it will release for Nintendo consoles.
– BioWare apparently pitched a Dragon Age trilogy remaster, but EA turned down the pitch.
– Dataminers have found that a new endless mode seems to be coming to Elden Ring Nightrein.
– Despite previously being indefinitely delayed, Marathon is expected to release “within this fiscal year,” per Sony.

WHAT’S UP

Captain Spike has been playing Marvel Rivals, Bakeru, UFO 50, Gradius Origins, Arcade Archives Macross 2, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Fortnite, and Final Fantasy XIV.  First Mate Slaggy McWaggy has been playing Donkey Kong Bananza, Fortnite Festival, and Final Fantasy XIV. They also partook in a certain playtest that they did not have to sign an NDA for, but nonetheless prefer to not speak to specifically at this point.

EXITLUDE

SHOUT OUTS – “FRIENDS OF BUOY”

– 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
– Sasha’s Retrobytes, “bytes” of vintage gaming including magazine scans and photographs
– WoW… That’s Crazy, for throwback and modern posts about World of Warcraft (from the creator of Standard Issue Computing and Famicomputing)
– 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”
– Orange Lounge Radio, where every gamer has a voice
– Aftermath, an independent, worker-owned website about video games, other media and internet culture
– Game Mechanics, where TTRPG designers “kick tires and run diagnostics on tabletop experiences”
– 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!

The post Game Buoy Podcast Episode 180.5 – MICRO Episode 8: Oh My God, News (A Game Buoy Remake 7.5 Interlogue) appeared first on GAME BUOY.