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:What to make of the State of Play for Borderlands 4Apple losing the ability to block third party payment platformsXbox price hikesSkin Deep, the new hilarious immersive sim from BlendoJar Jar's in Fortnite nowClair Obscur is still unbelievably FrenchWe even got Jeff to briefly talk about Blitzball. What a treat.As usual, we pulled your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight from our Discord like we do every single week.
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2:16:23
French Robert Pattinson w/ Fūnk-é Joseph
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:the Nintendo Switch 2 preorder messDonkey Kong Bananza's clear connection to Red Factionhow Mario Kart World is attracting the hatersMarathon alphaClair Obscur: Expedition 33, the world's most French gameexplaining Blue PrinceAll of this and your HIVE QUESTIONS, answered each and every episode.
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2:07:36
Possums in the Blueprints w/ Jessica Cogswell
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:The reveal of Bungie's MarathonNew Mario Kart World detailsThe good and bad of Blue Prince, one of the year's most polarizing gamesLeaving the bloat behind in Final Fantasy VII RebirthAlso, Jess commits to getting John into Magic: The Gathering at SGF this year. Niki's clean and will not participate.Finally, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS, featuring some bangers about music, mediocre games that never drop price, and snacks.
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2:06:44
Inquiries On Animes w/ Lotus
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:More tariff changesMore Switch 2 preorder delaysThe GameCube controller has bizarre limitationsThe Piranha Plant camera for Switch 2 is 480pThose Titanfall 3 rumorsA Slay the Spire mod with waifusAlso, we played:South of MidnightHot WaxMTG ArenaAs always, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS, which you can ask each and every week if you're a member of The Hive.
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1:27:25
Trade War 2025 w/ Imran Khan
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:A recap of Wednesday's announcementsTrump's specific new tariffs announced Wednesday afternoonNintendo's response on FridayHow this expands WAY beyond Switch 2Why manufacturing jobs will not be created sustainably here in the USWhy this moment may or may not radicalize the average gamerHow these conditions may cause more delays, price increases, and supply issuesIf this is your first time thinking about things like this, welcome! We don't judge! Just consider looking at your hobbies getting priced out of your comfort zone as the first step in looking at the world in a more intersectional way! Okay!?!If you like the idea of maybe making more bonus podcasts, consider supporting us at vgbees.com/join.
Host and founder of VGBees, John Warren, is joined every week by cohost Niki Grayson and illustrious guests adjacent to video games and culture for candid, funny, and enlightening conversations about an art form that is both uniting and dividing us.
Every week, The VGBees Podcast will explore trends and touchpoints you need to know in order to have the most well-rounded idea of what's going on in games.
Explore vgbees.com after each episode for notes on each episode as well as written pieces by our collaborators and guests.
We all have to work together to build a brighter future for games, so Join The Honey Hive today!
Ireland