The VGBees Podcast

Niki is IN JOHN'S HOUSE this weekend. Wild stuff. They grabbed lunch at Hurtado BBQ and ate a truly irresponsible amount and then decided to podcast! Smart? Not really. But here we are! Discussion points:

We also answer your HIVE QUESTIONS from Discord.

On a very special public bonus of the show, John is joined by fellow disabled games media person Grant Stoner (IGN, Polygon, VGBees) to celebrate Disability Pride Month! How do they celebrate? By regaling each other with tales of crippledom from yesterday and today! Also:

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This week, Niki and John are joined by perhaps the greatest games media talent scout in the industry's history, Endless Mode's Editor-in-Chief Garrett Martin. He hung out to tell us about the new site, what to expect from its amazing writers, and, of course, theme parks! Also:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord.

This week, Niki and John go deep (again) on Mario Kart World and its most head-scratching design choices. Tired of us talking about that? Okay! We also talked about:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord!

John returns to the podcast after spending last week in the hospital and joins Niki to talk about the second full week of Switch 2 as well as:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord community.

This week, John was zooted in the hospital recovering from surgery (he's fine!), so Niki and Lotus took the reins and delivered a banger of an episode, featuring:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our lovely Discord.

John broke his ankle in a car accident so couldn't make it out to SGF this year, so instead Niki attended the planned VGBees Mixer and we decided to set up a little area for John to digitally greet guests. And then we decided to make it into an episode. Smart? Not really! Jordan Mallory, our intrepid producer, did a marvelous job making this at least listenable, but conceptually it was not smart. But we did it anyway!

The VGBees Way.

Is it a fun episode? Yes. John tackles the Sony State of Play and...

Niki and John are riding solo this week while we prepare for Summer Game Fest. Included in their hangout:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord!

This week, Niki and John are joined by one fifth of the owners of Giant Bomb, the unfathomable Dan Ryckert! Yes, wrestling comes up. Yes, fast food brands are discussed. Yes, extremely local minutia is mentioned. Also:

We answer your HIVE QUESTIONS from our Discord like we do every single week!

Hello Hive! This week, Niki and John are joined by extremely talented and funny video essayist, streamer, and podcast host Jenna Stoeber! In addition to a lively discussion of whether can is barrel, the group discussed:

Also, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS, which you can provide for us every single week on our Discord.

This week, John and Niki ride as a duo to talk about the big American Pope. Also:

We answer your HIVE QUESTIONS every single week on the show, but you must JOIN THE HIVE to do so!

This week, Niki and John were supremely lucky to have Jeff Gerstmann on the show to discuss the shocking sale of Polygon to Valnet (laying off the vast majority of the team there) and the implosion of Giant Bomb, the very website Jeff cofounded 17 years ago. We did not plan Jeff's appearance like this! We promise. Niki, as of this recording, was still technically under contract there!

Very wild and sad and emotionally-draining day, but we still go around to other topics, including:

This week, Niki and John are joined by game developer and former colleague (and current friend) Fūnk-é Joseph to discuss the Nintendo DS! That's it! That's all! Just two hours of Nintendo DS! Actually, you'd probably be totally cool with that, but we did move onto other topics, including:

All of this and your HIVE QUESTIONS, answered each and every episode.

This week, Niki and John are joined by the wonderful Jessica Cogswell of Gamespot dot com. We talk hot neighborhood gossip including a harrowing tale from Jess right from her own back yard. Of course, we also talked about games, including:

Also, Jess commits to getting John into Magic: The Gathering at SGF this year. Niki's clean and will not participate.

Finally, we answer...

This week, John & Niki are joined by former Fanbyte colleague and current social media manager at System Era, Lotus! We started by getting caught up on Starseeker, the next game from the makers of Astroneer, one of the many titles affected by the odd YouTube technical issues during the Nintendo Direct. Also:

Also, we played:

As always, we answer your burning HIVE...

Only two short days after the announced details of the Nintendo Switch 2 and about twelve hours after we recorded this week's main VGBees Podcast episode, Donald Trump's trade war with the rest of the world created the environment responsible for Nintendo announcing the delay of US pre-orders for their new console.

I decided it was worth recording a public feed bonus with my friend and former colleague Imran Khan to discuss the event. We covered a lot of ground, including:

In this supersized episode, John and Niki are joined by Game Informer Associate Producer Charles Harte to unpack the 60 minute Nintendo Direct for Switch 2 and all of the accompanying (and globally relevant) stories coming out of the event. Including:

Also, we discuss games we've been playing, including:

Finally, we answer...

This week, John and Niki are joined by the wonderful Ben Pack to discuss this week's fascinating, funny, and sometimes confusing Nintendo Direct!

Also discussed:

The crew also answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS like we do each and every week!

Texas, my home, has been a battleground over the soul of the American Dream as it pertains to immigrants from around the globe. I want to use whatever platform I have to educate myself and my audience about things that matter to me. Right now, our laws are eroding around us and immigration attorneys like my guest in this bonus episode are part of a group fighting for the vulnerable every day.

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch (aka Abogada Kate) is an immigration attorney in Austin, TX, serving families and individuals through the complicated and sometimes harrowing immigration process. In...

This week, Niki joins (for about half an hour) from the Fandom Chamber of Audio Recording in San Francisco to help John find a Lexus LS 400 he can buy. They're joined by special guest Tim Rogers, who helped the crew rethink their camera and monitor setups. Whatever notes John had for the show...don't worry about it. Instead, Tim and John spent 2.5 hours discussing:

This week, Niki and John are joined by Polygon's Patrick Gill, who goes deep on why Monster Hunter Wilds is so good, his most recent video guide on the game, and which weapons Niki and John should used based on their chosen professional wrestling style. Good stuff. Also:

Also discussed:

As always, we...

This week, Niki and John are joined by former Fanbyte colleague and current PC Gamer writer Andrea Shearon! We had to ask our resident Final Fantasy XIV expert about Yoshi-P leaving the Square-Enix Board of Directors and about the future of the company. Also:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS like we do each and every week.

This week, Niki and John are joined by bestie of the show Michael Higham to discuss cooking habits, the games we're playing, and the news of the week, including:

We also answer ONE of your Hive Questions this week. Yep. Ran out of time. We're going to record a bonus to get to the rest of them, so stay tuned for that if you're a H...

This week, John and Niki are joined by the one and only Merritt K, one of the brilliant minds behind Fledgling Manor. The show starts, of course, with the most important news of the week: how much the Nintendo Tip Line cost per minute. Also:

Also, we talk about Avowed and 1994's hottest game, Stone Protectors.

We answer your HIVE...

This week, John asks Niki all about Split Fiction, the follow-up to award-winning It Takes Two. It is another one of those, for better or worse (mostly better). They also dive way, way, way into the big changes coming to Overwatch 2. What are they? Do they matter? Where did this franchise lose its way?

Also:

Of course, your HIVE QUESTIONS are also answered like they are each and every week!

This week, John and Niki discuss what it would take to get them to attend the new ESA-fronted conference called iicon starting next April in Las Vegas. It's like GDC but worse, somehow. Also:

Of course, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS like we do each and every week.

The entire sports world was shocked when 5-time All-NBA 1st Teamer and 25 year old megastar Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a Randy's donut and some unpaid parking tickets. Okay maybe it's not quite that bad, but it's really, really, really close.

Your local basketball experts and fans of both teams in question, John and Niki, break down what you need to know about why the trade happened, what happens to both of these teams, and the long-term effects this trade may have around the league.

They also get into why...

This week, Niki and John dive into the news that BioWare is downsizing and outsourcing part of Mass Effect 5's development. More than that, it strikes our hosts that maybe the series should go away if it means saving the jobs of the remaining employees tasked with such a burden. Anyway, it's a good discussion about a complicated problem. Also:

We also answer your HIVE QUESTIONS...

This week, Niki and John take in the most recent Xbox Direct showcase and dive into each game discussed, including:

They also discuss the cancelation of Celeste follow-up Earthblade and the blog post announcing it. In addition, the news that EA is disappointed in the sales of both Dragon Age: The Veilguard and EA Sports FC 25 is examined through a lens that understands the latter is much, much, much more interesting and noteworthy than the former.

As always, the duo answers your burning HIVE QUESTIONS...

This week, Niki and John discuss the biggest story in games. That's right, it's the MegaByte Nation Gaming Expo from Los Angeles, CA! What are Game Hogs up to? What does a UMD of old Family Guy episodes cost?

Oh also we discuss the official announcement of Nintendo Switch 2, including:

We also answer your Hive Questions like we every single week! Which game would change the hearts and minds of a Footloose-style town that hates video games?<...

This week, Niki is laying low to escape the horrible fires facing Los Angeles. John runs solo, discussing the games news of the week, including:

We also answer your HIVE QUESTIONS and discuss John's fleet of emulation devices.

Here are some links for donations/causes to help aid in the recovery of Los Angeles.

This week, Niki and John both shake off their respective Holiday illnesses to come together for the first episode of 2025! They reflect on what they might have missed in 2024, including:

Also, what would the first episode of the new year be without predictions for games to play in 2025:

We also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS like we do each and every week!

It is that time of year! VGBees has awarded its official (well John and Niki's) Games of the Year 2024! We had two overlaps, so we cover eight total games and wow we had a blast revisiting the year's very best games.

Not to spoil the surprise (stop reading if you don't want to know), but in alphabetical order we discuss:

No HIVE QUESTIONS in this special episode, but you can always join and ask...

Niki and John go through a whirlwind of big games news this week, including the revelation that Woody Johnson is steering New York Jets personnel decisions with advice from his sons, Brick and Jack, derived from Madden 25 player stats. Also:

As far as what we've been playing, well:

As always, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS on the show and this...

This week, Niki worked an entire human day within the span of two human days to work Gamespot/Giant Bomb's TGA coverage and lived (thrived!) to tell about it. John asks burning questions like "what was the deal with those long sandwiches Dan Ryckert was giving to people?"

Then, they get into the meat of The Game Awards 2024, including:

Also, what did giving the Game Changer Award to a (perfectly nice...

HARK! An early holiday gift from VGBees is upon us!

We have reunited Nerium, Natalie Flores, and Michael Higham to unpack Dragon Age: The Veilguard in the style of acclaimed former Fanbyte podcast 99 Potions.

Did we like it? Who are our favorite companions? Did Solas live up to the villain hype?

If you like this bonus, know that in the future, we'll be putting big fancy bonus episodes like this behind The Hive, VGBees' premium subscription. Your support allows us to do many more of these! We'd love to do more of these!<...

This week, Niki calls in from the cartoon construction zone that is their house this week. That didn't stop Niki and John from talking about this week's video game news, including:

We also talk about the stuff we're playing AND we answer so so so so many of your amazing Hive Questions, which had us planning a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

It's a Thanksgiving Week miracle! Niki and John recorded a podcast early in the week so they could take the rest of the week off! Wow! What foresight!

Sure, there's some video game talk, but Niki also introduces the podcast to Car From Japan, the most important website of all time. Need a short truck? Need an old Lexus LS 400? This site has you covered.

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS, including:

This week, Niki presents John with a long dissection of Days Gone, not even remotely a new video game. Still, it is welcome information which it is a game both of them missed when it came out five years ago. Did you know the main character's name is Deacon St. John? Now you do! Also:

We also gave The Game Awards on this one! You're welcome, Geoff! As always, we answer your HIVE QUESTIONS and...

This week, Niki is back and with them comes the revelation that Xbox has gone and found itself an official breakfast partner. That's right IHOP is the official breakfast partner of Xbox and Niki and John are going to bring you all the crucial details right here on this very podcast. In less vital news:

And of course, all of your burning HIVE QUESTIONS are answered!