Join Alanah Pearce (game writer), Mike Bithell (game director), and Austin Wintory (game composer) as they talk about all the games, movies, TV and 'whatever else' that took their interest that week, from three unique perspectives in the games industry.
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A comedy/advice/storytelling show all spanning from the wonderful, bizarre world of Craigslist Missed Connections. Hosted by Alanah Pearce.
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Four nerds. Four microphones. Zero clue what we're talking about.
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Home to 'A Great Conversation,' and Song From the Scene.' Hosted by Ben Bateman
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This week, Alanah and Mike discuss the Switch 2 presentation!By Alanah Pearce
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The inside story of how Game Informer rose from the dead | Friends Per Second Ep #66
2:30:05
2:30:05
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2:30:05Try Factor at https://www.factor75.com/pages/podcast and get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:10 GDC Wrap Up 12:56 Ubisoft News and AC Shadows Thoughts 51:47 Factor (ad) 54:03 User Question 1 01:03:40 Interview with Alex Van Aken About the Rebirth of Game Informer 01:28:59…
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Interview: Joseph Fares reacts to Split Fiction's GOTY-level review scores | Friends Per Second #64
3:05:31
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3:05:31Eat smart with Factor. Get started at FACTOR MEALS dot com slash fps50off and use code fps50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That’s code fps50off at FACTOR MEALS dot com slash fps50off to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. Link is in our description! -- Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends to get 20% off the be…
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167. Lay-Offs, Microsoft's new AI (sorry, Phil), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit
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54:45This week, Alanah and Mike start out by talking about the lay-offs across WB Games, then jump into talking about Microsoft's newly announced AI "Muse", and then we - finally - get Alanah's thoughts on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.By Alanah Pearce
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Game reviews and why it's important to not care about them too much | Friends Per Second Ep #64
2:18:05
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2:18:05Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends to get 20% off the best-selling Everyday Earbuds! Brought to you by Raycon. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 12:01 What's Happening in the AAA Space? 27:46 How to Use Video Game Reviews 01:11:01 Raycon (ad) 01:13:33 What We've Been Playing 01:56:15 Show and Tell 02:05:26 Wrap Up -- …
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166. Talking to Eternal Strands director Mike Laidlaw!
1:13:01
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1:13:01This week, Austin and Alanah sit down to talk to Mike Laidlaw, the game director of Dragon Age: Origins who most recently started his own studio and make ETERNAL STRANDS. Which Austin also worked on, because of course he did. He cannot be contained.By Alanah Pearce
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Avowed review discussion - why we didn't love it (feat. Alanah Pearce) | Friends Per Second Ep #63
3:22:51
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3:22:51Try Factor at FACTORMEALS.com/fps50off and get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. Thanks to Factor for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we react to the Sony State of Play, take a deep-dive look at Avowed and chat with Jakub Szamałek, formerly a lead writer from CDPR who work on The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and now the Narrative Director at…
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165. The Studio Making Four Games A YEAR!? (ft. Xalavier Nelson)
1:27:01
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1:27:01Apologies for the delay here - the audio file was corrupted! This week, Mike and Alanah are joined by Strange Scaffold's Xalavier Nelson Jr to talk about how the studio makes so many high quality games, and what it really means to be a good game director.By Alanah Pearce
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Playing AC Shadows got us thinking about Ghost of Tsushima | Friends Per Second #62
2:34:51
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2:34:51Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends to get up to 20% off sitewide for the perfect gift. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- Subscribe to the FPS Podcast Highlights channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@UC82taKHHS0vOY-b8r311Ijg -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 08:37 Xbox Developer Direct Recap 31:31 Sony News 42:26 Assassin's Creed Shadows Thoughts…
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After a break due to the LA fires - which we talk about to begin with here - we chat about a recent 200-page document called "The State of Video Games in 2025" from Matthew Ball. If you'd like links to the charities we mentioned, please check those out on the YouTube version of the podcast!By Alanah Pearce
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AND WE'RE BACK! | Friends Per Second Ep #61
2:05:22
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2:05:22Use our Displate code FRIENDS at checkout for exclusive discounts on your order at https://displate.com/@friendspersecond - Thanks to Displate for sponsoring FPS! -- Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and if you’re a new subscriber you’ll get a FREE Welcome Kit, a bottle of D3K2 AND 5 travel packs in your first box. Thanks to AG1 for sponsori…
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163. Game Design Challenges & the Indiana Jones Game!
59:26
59:26
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59:26Happy four years of PWL! Sorry about Mike's audio here, we don't know what happened.By Alanah Pearce
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We chat with CDPR about Ciri, new weapons, the lore & more in The Witcher 4 | Friends Per Second #60
1:55:52
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1:55:52If you wanna check out our brand new newsletter, you can do so here: https://friendspersecond.substack.com/ -- Let's meet our hosts! - Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on YouTube across both Gameranx and his personal channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeBaldino). If you're obsessed with Delorians,…
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162. Can Indies Save The Games Industry?
1:01:31
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1:01:31Alanah left her job at Sony, and Mike got in trouble for saying something on Bluesky. We discuss the state of the games industry now that it's December 2024, and the notion that "indies will save" everything.By Alanah Pearce
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Ubisoft devs chat about their plans to improve Star Wars Outlaws | Ep #59
2:36:16
2:36:16
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2:36:16Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends to get up to 25% off everything for the ultimate holiday gift. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we're joined by a number of special guests. Michael Higham from IGN joins us to talk through STALKER 2. We've all played it and all have wildly different takes on it (for both technical and non-techn…
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161. Should DLC Be Nominated for Game of the Year?
56:25
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56:25We're back from a brief hiatus! Immediately discussing: should Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree be nominated for GOTY even though it's a DLC? Also: Mike announced another video game!By Alanah Pearce
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PS5 Pro post-launch deep dive featuring Digital Foundry + Stalker 2 Interview | Ep #58
2:18:57
2:18:57
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2:18:57Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we're joined by John Linneman of Digital Foundry to discuss the PS5 Pro. It's been out for a few weeks now so we wanted to check in on how it's been doing pos…
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Dragon Age situation is crazy | Ep #57
2:18:57
2:18:57
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2:18:57Visit http://buyraycon.com/friends to get at least 15% of your purchase of the all new Everyday Earbuds. -- This week we're joined by Paul Tassi of Forbes for a deep dive, spoiler free discussion on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Paul liked it, Skill Up didn't, Lucy's kinda in the middle and Jake hasn't played it, so we cover a lot of ground from a lot…
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Why Metaphor: ReFantazio is a sudden GOTY front-runner | Ep #56
2:34:55
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2:34:55Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- This week we do a spoiler free deep dive into Metaphor: Fantazio, and we're lucky enough to by joined by Jess Cogswell who reviewed the game for Gamespot (scoring it a …
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This week, FROSTPUNK 2!By Alanah Pearce
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The Silent Hill 2 remake is (surprisingly) great + Jason Schreier talks Blizzard drama | Ep #55
2:09:00
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2:09:00Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get twenty-to-FIFTY percent off, sitewide! That’s right, you’ll get up to FIFTY percent off everything on Raycon’s website when you go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. -- This week we're joined by the charming Ben Hanson from @minnmax (a truly top tier gaming podc…
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Dragon Age The Veilguard is make-or-break for Bioware (feat. MrMattyPlays) | Ep #54
2:26:00
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2:26:00Try AG1 here http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS! -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for s…
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159. Star Wars: Outlaws and Bugs in Video Games
56:57
56:57
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56:57This week, AUSTIN TURNS 40 (technically over a week ago at the time of publishing). So, we indulge him with almost an entire episode about Star Wars (Outlaws) and video game bugs.By Alanah Pearce
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Astro Bot game director reacts to 94 metacritic review score | Ep #53
2:47:15
2:47:15
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2:47:15Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 15% off and free shipping on your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- This week we're lucky to be joined by Nicolas Doucet, game director of Astro Bot, for his first interview after the review scores went live. A big thanks to Jordan Middler of VGC for stopping by as …
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This week, Alanah, Austin, and Mike discuss the economic state of the games industry and if game prices need to go from $60 to $70.By Alanah Pearce
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Our First Ever Live Show (feat. Ben Starr and Alex Jordan) | Ep #52
1:50:06
1:50:06
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1:50:06Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 07:25 Show and Tell (With Gifts!) 16:23 Special Guests Alex Jordan and Ben Starr 53:59 Incogni (ad) 56:03 What We've Been Playing (…
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157. This Episode is Mostly About The Expanse
1:01:40
1:01:40
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1:01:40After a month off, we have returned to bring you TOP QUALITY VIDEO GAME CONTENT! But mostly, a lot of us talking about the TV show The Expanse. And Sex in the City?By Alanah Pearce
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Jason Schreier joins to talk Bungie cuts + Game Informer crew discuss closure
3:19:57
3:19:57
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3:19:57Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends for a limited time to get 20-40% off your Raycon order! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- If you wanna check out our brand new…
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Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for spo…
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156. GamePass gets a Price Increase
1:09:37
1:09:37
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1:09:37Austin, Mike, and Alanah chat about Austin's demanding freelance schedule, the GamePass price increase (and GamePass' impact as a whole), and the Halifax Harbor Explosion. Note: almost all details of said Halifax explosion are, indeed, incorrect.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #49 - What we're looking forward to for the rest of 2024
2:32:51
2:32:51
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2:32:51Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Head to https://buyraycon.com/friends TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring FPS. -- If you wanna check out our brand…
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155. Alanah is Suddenly Obsessed with 1993's Myst
53:43
53:43
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53:43Alanah and Mike discuss OLD game development! And Myst!By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #48: The Elden Ring Difficulty Discourse Is Missing The Point
2:57:37
2:57:37
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2:57:37Head to https://factormeals.com/fps50 and use code FPS50 to get an exclusive 50% off your first Factor box, plus 20% off your next month! Thanks to Factor for supporting FPS. -- Head to https://manscaped.com and use code FRIENDS to get an exclusive 20% off + free shipping! Thanks to Manscaped for supporting FPS. -- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:45 Cat…
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154. Our thoughts on Summer Game Fest... & Music Licensing
1:16:33
1:16:33
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1:16:33This week we talk about Summer Game Fest and, because we never stay on topic, music licensing! Also featuring Rahul.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #47: Summer Games Fest ain't no E3, but it's alright.
3:04:37
3:04:37
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3:04:37Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link here to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/friendspersecond. Thanks to our friends Incogni for spo…
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Ep #46: CoD on Gamepass feels like a big roll of the dice for Xbox
2:30:58
2:30:58
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2:30:58Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get 15% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! That’s right, you’ll get 15% off and free shipping at BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends. -- No guests this week - just us talking smack. Enjoy. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 05:28 SGF Predictions 11:16 User Question1 21:31 C…
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153. Games Journalism is Very, Very Broken
55:53
55:53
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55:53This episode features journalist Nathan Grayson chatting to Mike and Alanah about the state of games journalism (and that side of the industry) in 2024. This comes after IGN announced multiple aquisitions.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #45: We chat with Ninja Theory Studio boss about Hellblade 2 (and xbox stuff)
2:32:37
2:32:37
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2:32:37Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.co…
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152. The Fallout TV Show ft. Tim Cain (the creator of Fallout!)
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54:46
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54:46This week, Alanah and Austin chat to one of the creators of the Fallout franchise, Tim Cain, all about the Fallout TV show. Includes spoilers.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #44: Xbox console sales are tanking, but does Microsoft even care anymore?
2:49:02
2:49:02
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2:49:02Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup -- Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at https://manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsori…
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This week, we talk to Abubakar Salim about his transition from actor to full-blown game director. How did he do it!?By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #43: What makes a good videogame adaptation?
2:34:49
2:34:49
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2:34:49Head to https://factormeals.com/FPS50 to get 50% off your first FACTOR box plus 20% off your next! Thanks to FACTOR meals for sponsoring FPS. -- Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first subscription at http://drinkag1.com/FRIENDS. Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS. -- We watched the Fallout sh…
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150. WE TURN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!
1:28:10
1:28:10
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1:28:10Featuring Rahul Kohli, and the return of Troy, AND we're all in the same room!?By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #42: NakeyJakey co-hosts + exclusive CDPR interview
3:05:29
3:05:29
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3:05:29Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup -- Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at https://manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsori…
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This week, Mike and Alanah chat about GDC, LinkedIn, business cards, and give great life advice.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #41: Exclusive - We played 5 hours of Judas and interviewed creator Ken Levine
2:29:57
2:29:57
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2:29:57Go to BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends TODAY to get 20% off your Raycon order, plus free shipping! That’s right, 20%! BUY RAYCON dot com slash friends to score 20% off and free shipping. -- FPS Exclusive! Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase exclusively at https://drinkag1.com/fr…
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148. TikTok Ban, Kate Middleton, Dune 2 & More!
1:22:27
1:22:27
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1:22:27A LOT OF TOPICS THIS WEEK, WE SIMPLY CAN'T BE CONTAINED.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep #40: We dare to compare: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth vs Final Fantasy XVI
2:48:50
2:48:50
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2:48:50Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: http://www.squarespace.com/skillup -- Big show this week! First up we're joined by Tamoor Hussain of Gamespot and Gene Park of The Washington Post for a deep dive discussion into Final Fantasy VII …
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147. Even More Games Industry Lay-Offs
1:03:21
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1:03:21This week Mike and Alanah chat about the continued lay-offs impacting the games industry.By Alanah Pearce
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Ep 39: The changing face of the console business (Feat. Andy Robinson of VGC)
2:49:02
2:49:02
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2:49:02FPS Exclusive! Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase exclusively at https://drinkag1.com/friends Thanks to AG1 for sponsoring FPS -- Thanks to our friends Incogni for sponsoring this episode! Use code FRIENDSPERSECOND at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni…
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