PewDiePie, South Park & Social Issues in Gaming | The Video Game Pals Episode 20

Between PewDiePie's latest controversy and the news that South Park: Fractured but Whole's difficulty slider is tied to your character's skin color, race is on the mind of lots of gamers this week. The Pals dive in to the controversy and discuss how games as a medium can tackle social issues effectively. PLUS: Pete's reviews for Sonic Mania, Life is Strange: Before the Storm and Uncharted: Lost Legacy. RANDOM QUESTION OF THE WEEK: favorite multiplayer game? DA NEWS: 1. Nintendo of America’s President Reggie Fils-Aime “strongly” urges you not to buy a scalped SNES Classic: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-exec-comments-on-snes-classic-supply/1100-6453238/ 2. Speaking of Nintendo shortages, if you were waiting until Christmas to pick up a Nintendo Switch you may be disappointed according to Reggie: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/nintendo-president-switch-holiday-sales-1202550623/ 3. Rockstar is releasing 4 new versions of L.A. Noire on November 14: http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/60266/4-New-Versions-of-L-A-NOIRE-Coming-November-14 4. IGN is reporting that Crystal Dynamic’s upcoming Avengers game will at least in part be an online 3rd-person action adventure: http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/09/05/marvels-avengers-project-will-be-an-online-3rd-person-action-adventure 5. PUBG is unstoppable: https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/8/16273604/pubg-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-concurrent-players-one-million-steam 6. Since we’re recording the show Monday night instead of Sunday, we caught the latest controversy around YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMq65CslbZA https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/10/16285188/pewdie-pie-racist-slur-firewatch-retaliation-dmca 7. South Park: The Fractured but Whole's difficulty slider changes the color of your character’s skin: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-09-07-south-park-the-fractured-but-whole-difficulty-slider-changes-the-colour-of-your-skin Meat and Potatoes: How do you feel about political statements being made through gameplay mechanics? Do you want to see more things like this? What do you think the best way to tackle these kinds of issues is in the context of video games as a creative medium? Music: "Swanky Ballroom Party For Sophisticated People" by Adhesive Wombat - @adhesivewombat The Video Game Pals is The Pals Network's weekly video game podcast where we talk about video games, the news and how it all makes us feel. The Pals: Sean: twitter.com/SeansSoapbox Pete: twitter.com/Loud_Pete Andy: twitter.com/Tiger_Millions Thompson: twitter.com/RelicVampire