AI Summary
5 min read“They say when you’re jet lagged, it takes one day to make up for each hour of time difference,” Kirk Hamilton remarked at the top of this mailbag episode, before confessing that ChatGPT had just given him a plan to sleep until 10 a.m. on the day of his 11 a.m. flight to Tokyo. The admission set the tone for a wide-ranging listener Q&A that moved from the psychology of Nintendo Direct hype to the tax mechanics of Steam’s 30% cut, the art of forming critical opinions about media, and why fewer games have been canonized as all-time greats since 2020.
The Hype Cycle Trap
A listener named Mitch asked how to balance excitement for future games with appreciation for what’s actually announced, pointing to a Nintendo Direct that revealed an Ocarina of Time remake, a new 2D Metroid, and an open-world Kirby — yet left some viewers angry that no new Mario or Smash Bros. appeared. Jason Schreier argued the companies bring this on themselves by building Directs into marketing spectacles that trade on surprise. Kirk Hamilton noted that the model now resembles Hollywood: we know Christopher Nolan is making The Odyssey long before we see a frame, and the eventual reveal is still exciting. Maddie Myers observed that the angry fans are a tiny minority within an already small minority of hyper-engaged players, and that most people hear about announcements days later through shor
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:12) **Show Introduction & Jet Lag Chat** - Kirk, Maddie, and Jason open the show with a discussion about Kirk’s upcoming trip to Japan and his failed attempt to use ChatGPT to create a jet lag plan.
- 2 (06:11) **Nintendo Direct Hype & Fan Expectations** - Mitch asks how to balance excitement for future games with appreciation for current ones, especially when Nintendo Directs disappoint fans who expected a new Mario or Smash.
- 3 (14:58) **One More Thing Archive Site & Dream Analysis** - Mike built a Claude-generated site cataloging all "One More Thing" picks, and Eleanor asks the hosts to interpret a dream where they played a sci-fi parkour game and Maddie had a wolf cut.
- 4 (26:13) **Tax Deductions on Platform Cuts** - Nathan asks whether developers can write off the 30% cut Steam or Apple takes as a business expense.
- 5 (29:14) **Frameworks for Thoughtful Media Consumption** - Liam asks the hosts how they develop such thoughtful opinions on games, films, and books for the podcast.
- 6 (35:15) **Future TV Series for Bonus Episodes** - Ben suggests the hosts cover The Wire or Chernobyl as a bonus podcast series, similar to their Sopranos deep dives.
- 7 (39:47) **Why Fewer Recent Games Make "Best of All Time" Lists** - Ryan, a Wikipedia editor, notes that since 2020 only five games have been added to the list of "video games listed among the best," and wonders if studios are less ambitious.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Kirk, Jason, and Maddy open up the mailbag to tackle listener questions about the expectations surrounding Nintendo surprises, what Valve's 30% Steam sales cut means for studios, Wikipedia's "list of video games listed among the best," one listener's Triple Click Dream, and more.
One More Thing:
Kirk: Marvel’s Wolverine
Maddy: The Rehearsal S2 (finally)
Jason: Sleep Deprivation (AKA: The NFL Is Back, Baby)
LINKS
One listener's Claude-assisted database of Triple Click One(s) More Thing(s)
List of video games listed among the best (Wikipedia)
Kirk’s 2018 review of Red Dead Redemption 2
Tim Rogers’ Kotaku review of Football
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