Press Row Podcast

There has been a resurgence of creative sports game concepts thanks to independent developers over the last few years and the latest to break onto the scene is Disc Jam. Reminiscent of the 90's game Windjammers, and evoking natural comparisons to recent smash hit Rocket League, Disc Jam appears to have a great deal of potential based on reaction to the beta that just came to a close.

This episode of the Press Row Podcast also includes discussion on everything Diamond Dynasty mode for MLB The Show 17 and a big gameplay patch that just released for Madden NFL 17. 

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
T.J. Lauerman, ThatSportsGamer (@thatsportsgamer)
Chris aka MillenuiumOS, Operation Sports (@millenniumOS)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_209.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33am EDT

After more than 20 years a spiritual successor to the cult classic Mutant League Football has finally reached the red zone. Mutant Football League will release later this year on PC and early 2018 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The game is described as an “NFL Blitz arcade-style football game, with nasty mutants, ferocious monsters, deadly chainsaws, and lots of gory player deaths, along with some edgy, satirical humor that parodies America’s favorite sport.”

The creator and lead designer of the original game is back to lead development on the new one. We welcome on Michael Mendheim to the Press Row Podcast to talk about the history of mutant football, the ongoing successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and lessons learned from one that came up short in 2013, the challenges of designing a game now vs then, and how fans are being engaged in its development and awareness created in an intensely competitive environment.

Check out the Mutant Football League Kickstarter campaign and follow the latest news at the game's website and with Twitter and Facebook.

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)
Michael Mendheim, Mutant Football League (@mmendheim)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_208.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:49am EDT

Still in their infancy within the competitive arena there were two major stories for sports video games and their place as eSports this week. EA Sports had to navigate controversy due to the conduct of the Madden Bowl winner on social media, while 2K Sports announced an unprecedented partnership with the NBA to create what will be known as the NBA 2K eLeague.

Also discussed this week are the gameplay improvements that have been detailed for MLB The Show 17, the return of Mutant League Football and its successful Kickstarter campaign, and the decision made for E3 to start admitting the public instead of just industry professionals and press.

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)
T.J. Lauerman, ThatSportsGamer (@thatsportsgamer)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_207.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:10pm EDT

Electronic Arts' stock is trading at all-time high levels and in looking forward to fiscal year 2018 (April 2017-March 2018) the company revealed a number of interesting facts and plans related to their various sports franchises.

There's the good: FIFA 17 was the world's biggest selling sports game in 2016 and the company continues to see its digital revenue driven largely by Ultimate Team and free-to-play mobile show no signs of slowing down.

There's the bad: NBA Live has now been delayed/cancelled for a fourth time in a seven year span and the original plan of releasing a golf game every other year appears to have been abandoned.

Host Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham discuss this news and more, including the confirmation of both Madden NFL 18 transitioning to the Frostbite Engine and FIFA 18 getting a second season of "The Journey" in this episode of the Press Row Podcast!

On the show this week:

Bryan Wiedey, Pastapadre/Hit The Pass/Sporting News (@pastapadre)
Rich Grisham, Out of the Park Developments/Hit The Pass (@richgrisham)

Direct download: Press_Row_Podcast_Episode_206_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:42am EDT

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