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Listen "AI is grooming our youth. Plus, James has thoughts on the Xbox Ally X."
Episode Synopsis
The Steam Next Fest - October 2025 Edition
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest
BIRDCAGE
MOTORSLICE
Hell Maiden
Alabaster Dawn
Slots & Daggers
Insider Trading
Yunyun Syndrome Rhythm Psychosis
Steam’s New Record! 41+ MILLION concurrent users
Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-is-officially-bigger-than-canada-with-a-41-million-concurrent-user-record/
41,666,455 concurrent users all at once on Steam. It’s a population that’s a bit more than the entire population of CANADA. Last time Steam had broken a record was last year when it hit 35+ Million concurrent users all at once on Steam. Many factors could be involved. Could be due to Battlefield 6’s series high, record breaking sales. Could also be due to ARC Raider’s public server slam test. Or dare I say… The Next Fest? Whatever the case is, it seems no matter how you game, whether it’s on a PC, or Steam Deck, or even that newfangled ROG Xbox Ally X, you’re bound to be on Steam, so Valve just keeps winning.
The ROG Xbox Ally X reviews are IN
Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1o7cawu/rog_xbox_ally_review_thread/
The ROG Xbox Ally X released on October 16th, 2025. While many praise its performance and battery life, there are MANY criticisms surrounding the price and the fact that Windows is still Windows despite the FSE. And also the FSE feels somewhat incomplete. There are also criticisms that despite the fact that this is an Xbox branded device, this is NOT an Xbox that plays Xbox games, but a PC, despite MS’s marketing that everything is an Xbox.
Halo Studios has AI “woven into every aspect” of development says Insider
Link: https://thegamepost.com/insider-halo-studios-generative-ai-game-development/
They weren’t kidding when they said it was woven into every aspect of game development. Everything from game logic to world design to enemy behaviors and even internal workflows. It isn’t exactly surprising given game devs already use AI for stuff like vibe-coding. Call of Duty infamously sometimes uses AI generated assets for ingame assets and marketing (sometimes). The problem herein lies that AI is often being used as a substitute for human talent, not as a supplement or tool. Tighter deadlines, layoffs and Microsoft is HEAVILY invested in AI. They really want you to use AI so you can rush out games faster it seems. What a shame really. Of course this is just a rumor.
Pokemon’s Embarassing Lack of Voice Acting
Link: https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-legends-z-a-voice-acting-story-characters-lumiose/
https://x.com/Dr_Scaphandre/status/1978580508465328239/video/1
https://x.com/MizukiumZ/status/1978697114793218539
Games don’t intrinsically NEED voice acting to be good… but The Pokemon Company can certainly afford voice actors. Even lower budget games from Japan can somehow secure pretty decent voice actors. The reason why the lack of voice acting is so egregious in Pokemon Legends: Z-A is because there are actual cutscenes where character mouths are animated as if they were talking, subtitles and all, but no voices come out. It’s the worst of both worlds, featuring meticulously animated cutscenes with no voices coming out of their mouths and subtitles you need to read following a cutscene’s pace rather than the old JRPG special of pressing A to progress dialogue boxes. Furthermore, there is a cutscene depicting a rock concert, with the lead singer belting out some lyrics but there are no words coming out of his mouth. What the hell?
Do Gamers not buy video games anymore?
Link: https://www.vice.com/en/article/us-gamers-arent-buying-video-games-anymore-new-study-reveals/?
Only 4% of gamers in the US actually buy more than 1 game monthly. 30% of gamers buy one or two new games a year, and 33% not even buying new games at all. Though general survey takeaways indicate that the industry is still funded by hardcore gamers. Of course, it’s hard to state how much of this was due to Roblox/Fortnite, but it certainly could be the case.
1 in 5 High Schoolers admit to dating AI & the rise of Fictosexuality?
Link: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/high-schoolers-admit-to-dating-ai-as-romantic-relationships-grow-3267837/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihiko_Kondo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality
The children yearn for AI companions, and I have no idea why. Life and relationships are all about compromises, not dating a sycophant machine that literally won’t tell you no for anything. Also somewhat related is this Japanese man, Akihiko Kondo, who unofficially married Hatsune Miku in a symbolic marriage. The marriage was not approved nor sanctioned by Crypton Future Media, who owns the rights to VOCALOID as a whole.
📢 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a comment, and follow us on your favorite podcast app.
Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/cw/OffTheConsole/home
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest
BIRDCAGE
MOTORSLICE
Hell Maiden
Alabaster Dawn
Slots & Daggers
Insider Trading
Yunyun Syndrome Rhythm Psychosis
Steam’s New Record! 41+ MILLION concurrent users
Link: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-is-officially-bigger-than-canada-with-a-41-million-concurrent-user-record/
41,666,455 concurrent users all at once on Steam. It’s a population that’s a bit more than the entire population of CANADA. Last time Steam had broken a record was last year when it hit 35+ Million concurrent users all at once on Steam. Many factors could be involved. Could be due to Battlefield 6’s series high, record breaking sales. Could also be due to ARC Raider’s public server slam test. Or dare I say… The Next Fest? Whatever the case is, it seems no matter how you game, whether it’s on a PC, or Steam Deck, or even that newfangled ROG Xbox Ally X, you’re bound to be on Steam, so Valve just keeps winning.
The ROG Xbox Ally X reviews are IN
Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1o7cawu/rog_xbox_ally_review_thread/
The ROG Xbox Ally X released on October 16th, 2025. While many praise its performance and battery life, there are MANY criticisms surrounding the price and the fact that Windows is still Windows despite the FSE. And also the FSE feels somewhat incomplete. There are also criticisms that despite the fact that this is an Xbox branded device, this is NOT an Xbox that plays Xbox games, but a PC, despite MS’s marketing that everything is an Xbox.
Halo Studios has AI “woven into every aspect” of development says Insider
Link: https://thegamepost.com/insider-halo-studios-generative-ai-game-development/
They weren’t kidding when they said it was woven into every aspect of game development. Everything from game logic to world design to enemy behaviors and even internal workflows. It isn’t exactly surprising given game devs already use AI for stuff like vibe-coding. Call of Duty infamously sometimes uses AI generated assets for ingame assets and marketing (sometimes). The problem herein lies that AI is often being used as a substitute for human talent, not as a supplement or tool. Tighter deadlines, layoffs and Microsoft is HEAVILY invested in AI. They really want you to use AI so you can rush out games faster it seems. What a shame really. Of course this is just a rumor.
Pokemon’s Embarassing Lack of Voice Acting
Link: https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-legends-z-a-voice-acting-story-characters-lumiose/
https://x.com/Dr_Scaphandre/status/1978580508465328239/video/1
https://x.com/MizukiumZ/status/1978697114793218539
Games don’t intrinsically NEED voice acting to be good… but The Pokemon Company can certainly afford voice actors. Even lower budget games from Japan can somehow secure pretty decent voice actors. The reason why the lack of voice acting is so egregious in Pokemon Legends: Z-A is because there are actual cutscenes where character mouths are animated as if they were talking, subtitles and all, but no voices come out. It’s the worst of both worlds, featuring meticulously animated cutscenes with no voices coming out of their mouths and subtitles you need to read following a cutscene’s pace rather than the old JRPG special of pressing A to progress dialogue boxes. Furthermore, there is a cutscene depicting a rock concert, with the lead singer belting out some lyrics but there are no words coming out of his mouth. What the hell?
Do Gamers not buy video games anymore?
Link: https://www.vice.com/en/article/us-gamers-arent-buying-video-games-anymore-new-study-reveals/?
Only 4% of gamers in the US actually buy more than 1 game monthly. 30% of gamers buy one or two new games a year, and 33% not even buying new games at all. Though general survey takeaways indicate that the industry is still funded by hardcore gamers. Of course, it’s hard to state how much of this was due to Roblox/Fortnite, but it certainly could be the case.
1 in 5 High Schoolers admit to dating AI & the rise of Fictosexuality?
Link: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/high-schoolers-admit-to-dating-ai-as-romantic-relationships-grow-3267837/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihiko_Kondo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictosexuality
The children yearn for AI companions, and I have no idea why. Life and relationships are all about compromises, not dating a sycophant machine that literally won’t tell you no for anything. Also somewhat related is this Japanese man, Akihiko Kondo, who unofficially married Hatsune Miku in a symbolic marriage. The marriage was not approved nor sanctioned by Crypton Future Media, who owns the rights to VOCALOID as a whole.
📢 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a comment, and follow us on your favorite podcast app.
Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/cw/OffTheConsole/home
In God we trust