Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Defining Duke, Episode 291: The Thread (Patreon)

Published:
2026-07-27 20:02:05
Imported:
2026-07

Content

Hey, all! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 291 of Defining Duke.

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, July 29th at 3 PM ET to make your submission.

Comments

Raisin

I know this is an Xbox podcast, but I'm particularly interested in hearing what Matty has to say about this. With the news that boycotters are calling for a PlayStation blackout from August 23rd to the 30th, I can't help but feel like this is the most convenient time for them. It's easy for them to not log on to PlayStation for a week after Marvel Token has come out and before Wolverine comes out. While I sympathize with my physical brethren and their want, need, and desire to maintain their existence as physical gamers, I can't help but feel like this week-long blackout is insanely performative. Wouldn't it hurt Sony more if the blackout occurred during the Marvel Token beta? Wouldn't it hurt Sony more if the blackout occurred during the release of Marvel's Wolverine? What about Laufey? Hell, wouldn't it hurt Sony more if the blackout occurred during the release of GTA VI? As I've stated ad nauseam, if I had my way, you'd be playing your physical PS4, PS5, PS6, PS7, and brand new physical PS8 games on local hardware in the 2040s. But I'm sorry, it's time to accept reality. No amount of shooting the messenger is going to change things. The only way things change is if you stop being a monthly active user, cancel your PS Plus subscription, log out of your existing PSN account, and unplug your PS5. You have to go off the grid. I know this topic is deeply personal to you, Matty. It's why I wrote in to the Dukes with this one. So, if I could borrow from Summon Sign for a moment. Matty, do I need to sort it out, or do the potential boycotters need to sort it out. Personally, I think the answers clear. Sincerely yours, Your all digital devil, Raisin! Edit: To be clear, I am in no way insinuating you are the one shooting the messenger. I'm talking about the losers harassing Matt Piscatella.

Captain Bon Clay

Howdy dukes! It’s just over midway through the year, and though there are plenty of great games yet to come, what are you current Top 5 games so far this year? Mine are 1. the alters: the last variable 2. Mole 3. Reanimal 4. Crimson desert 5. Berry bury berry

Hammertime44

Hey dukes! I know this year has been a great year so far, but there is still more to come! What is current top 5 most anticipated games for the rest of the year or early next year? I’ve had an extremely busy year not just in gaming, but also in life, so it’s hard to believe it’s almost August. Anyways, take care lads!

Fraser

Hello mighty Dukes! Second time writing in here, and I'm sorry but I am here to make yall talk about Halo once more.. Because yeah the fallout for Halo Campaign Devolved (no typo lol) has begun and yeesh it's not pretty. The game itself? I don't actually think it's bad, but I think that's mainly due to the game wearing the skin of arguably the greatest and most iconic FPS ever made. But the parts the 343 changed, or even added to? It all seems to have completely missed the mark. The weird stiff voice acting, the lifeless cutscenes where the characters look uncanny, the strange art style choices, the cut cinematics, the lack of any actual original cut content from Combat Evolved.. There's so much I could say but I should get to a question.. But it just makes you wonder, what the hell is going on at 34- sorry Halo Studios? They reportedly had to CANCEL multiple projects, just so the ENTIRE studio could focus on a 1:1 remake of a 25 year old game. With reports also of leadership being terrible too. So Cog, Matty.. I just would like to hear what YOU personally would like Xbox to do with Halo Studios. People always say it should be shut down, and i'd like to say I agree but man aren't we past that? Xbox made their OWN studio with 343, it failed, they rebranded it, it failed. Surely at this point it's time either put this Game franchise on ice (and please stop with the books too) or give it to ANOTHER existing studios, or even multiple. Would love to know your thoughts, Have a please asha sharma hire capcom to make a flood horror game kinda day

Prince Borutski

Hi Dukes! Xbox is having a major service outage at the time of writing, impacting people's ability to play both disc based and digital games for over 12 hours. It could be back online tonight or in several weeks like the great PSN outage of 2011 for all I know. If it spans much longer, could this be a watershed moment for the games ownership conversation, prompting legal intervention? How long until there is a social media outage from all the hand wringing? Have a "I guess I'm plugging back in my 360" kind of day!

PLAY HAS LIMITS

Mr.SexyMattyLays and Lord InCaught-nito The all digital future is crumbling before our very eyes. Xbox is down, PlayStation was down. When will they learn? I understand part of the fight is digital ownership, but physical media allows gamers to bypass outages on the their servers and enjoy the hobby we spent money on. Can these outages be a blessing in disguise? Can they wake up the masses that all digital means total dependence on corporations that don’t have the consumers best interests in mind.

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

The Duke Sexualizers, Lot of emotion in the past episode, but I have to say, I think the physical movement will lose the war if you guys won't stop buying the products, like Wolverine. It's like you're trying to quit smoking and say to yourself I'll only smoke two days a week. It won't work. If ya'll are unwilling to punch Sony in the nuts, this movement will crumble faster than a Famous Amos cookie. Cog, am I wrong? Colin will be proved right if you boys don't hold the line. I'm not buying GTA because it's basically 100, you guys can do this. I'm rooting for you. Have a my digital license can't be verified so my Xbox is a paperweight kind of day

BigDumbStupidIdiot

Hey Duke Dudes, Mr. Matty, your physical evangelist brethren are absolutely pathetic at protesting. What do you mean you're planning a week long boycott a week AFTER Token drops? Start now and don't stop. If physical media is truly important to you; cancel your PSN, disconnect your console from the internet, and only buy games second hand so PlayStation doesn't get a cut. It's so easy to hit a company in their wallet. Stand on business and don't give Sony your money. Have a "The Mets have more fight in them than physical bros" kind of day!

Ya Boy T Nasty

Hey dukes! I'm sure you've heard about the gamepass ad tier being rolled out for xbox insiders. I think this could be a great way to bring more people to the platform. My question is simple: Should we look down on these people? I would love a lower cost option for gamepass, but not it if gives off broke boy energy. Thanks guys.

Party Pooper

Hey fellas, I ask this purely out of curiosity, with no animosity whatsoever: why are people still excited about the future of Bethesda Game Studios? At this point, I see is a studio whose past four titles (ESO, FO76, FO4, SF) have seen significantly more negative reception that positive. Their last unanimously praised game was released 15 years ago, and this is simply too long for me to think they can do that again with modern expectations. Am I only listening to the haters here, or do people truly think that another Fallout 4-quality game could be a system seller for Xbox? Or is the expectation that Elder Scrolls VI will be a major step above in quality? While I’ve played my fair share of western RPGs and am eager to delve deeper into the genre, I’ve barely touched Elder Scrolls or Fallout, so I say this with a desire to be excited. But should I be? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Best to both of you.

Kevin Rafa

Hi team, Fable is reportedly "Uncomfortably Beyond Budget". Do you think it will be delayed again? Will Playground Games risk layoffs if the game does not perform?

Jonathan Kinney

Hey Dukes, I want to preface this with the fact I'm saying this with love. I was listening to last weeks Duke and during the whole physical games debate Matty was definitely talking to emotionally. When we have Matty saying that Nintendo is doing physical great that's a sign. We're talking about the company that not only started $80 games, started physical being more expensive, but gave us game key cards something which Matty in the past railed against. I get it. The whole situation sucks for the people affected, and while the decision doesn't affect me personally (I'm basically the exact customer PlayStation wants) I still want what's best for everybody overall. Also, why the hell did they make Master Chief talk so much in those prequel missions?!? I can't help but to be reminded of Halo4/5 Chief and it's clear Halo Studios still doesn't understand the character.

J Reid

What's shaking Dukes? Have you guys seen the news about Shawn Layden talking about starting up a double A publishing company? He talks about how he sees it as the sustainable path forward for the industry and the space where the most innovation happens. This generation has seen the glorious return of AA games for me with the likes of Tainted Grail, Kingdom Come, Expedition 33, and the Gothic remake just to name a few. I think he may well be on to something, what do the dukes think? Also, #gothicgate

Adam

Hey Dukes, Every year, more games enter the market, while older games never leave it. Sony is competing not only for sales, but for attention and long-term loyalty in an increasingly crowded industry. Physical customers grow assets. They can sell their games, or leave PlayStation. Digital customers grow their library with Sony. Is Sony’s push towards digital less about money, and more about ensuring the long-term survival of the PlayStation in a hyper competitive market? Is this the attempt at a death nail in the Xbox comeback?

Adam Niksch

Hey Dukes I thought the discussion about Halo and Halo Studios last week was very much needed and spot on. I’ve written in ranting about the Halo 2 & 3 remakes in the past, but I sincerely hoped Campaign Evolved would be great. Now that we know it’s just another “fine” game from the team, it’s time to put it all out there. Quite frankly Halo Studios have been awful stewards of the franchise. It’s time for someone else to take on that role and let Halo Studios meet the fate that befalls many of the studios controlled by Microsoft. People losing jobs is awful, but you simply can’t keep making mistakes like this and expect to remain employed. I think we do need to take a long and hard look about handing off the franchise to id and letting them reboot it using idTech. A reboot would allow id to do their own thing with the franchise and also give us enough time away from Halo so we miss it a little. What say you Dukes? Do you think id would actually be a good fit for this franchise? Thanks and have a “in all seriousness how on earth does that studio still exist” kind of day.

Zac

What's up Definite Dukes! Matty, I'm so sorry, but I need you to come to the front of the congregation. Please believe me when I tell you I'm saying this with love, but I think you've gone a bit off the deep end with your claim that the floor of 100k physical games sold is misleading or disingenuous. You're using four outliers to back up your point, but you're proving the exact reason outliers are often removed when performing statistical analysis. Focusing on these outliers can obfuscate the actual trend line and mislead you to the wrong conclusions. The fact of the matter is that out of the couple hundred games sold physically for PlayStation only SEVEN have sold over 100k. Yes, there are outliers that will sell way more, but that doesn't paint the whole picture. Matt Piscatella’s originally reported stat paints the picture of reality way more accurately than your focus on the outliers. His stat tells me that, once you remove the outliers that are the best selling games of the year, the mean, median and mode averages are well below 100k and that is HORRIBLE for the vast majority of the industry. To be completely clear, I am 1000% behind you in fighting for physical games. I think it's terrible for the industry and bad for the individual. At the same time, we can't delude ourselves into thinking that the physical games is absolutely booming by citing outliers as a basis for that claim. All I want is for you to pour this passion and energy into a winning argument because we need you in this fight! Again, I say this all with love and have a “if you need me I'll be over here downloading my games on Steam" kind of day!

ChickenKicker

Hail Dukes. Not a question, just wanted to point out talking points I think people have missed when it comes to Project Helix. Everyone is saying its either a traditional console or a PC they would lose money on due to Steam. No one points out that Microsoft has 2 of their own PC stores with Windows and Battlenet, and with the recent OG Xbox games coming exclusively to the Windows store it’s possible that Helix is a PC and they just don’t publish their games to Steam anymore.

Joshua Brown

Matty I got a double write in Hey Dukes, For today’s "Health is Wealth" segment, I wanted to share my homemade turmeric shot recipe. From August to December last year, I ran a gauntlet of illnesses thanks to my one-year-old starting daycare. Realising I needed a little something extra in the supplement department, I tracked down a recipe for a high-powered Vitamin C and anti-inflammatory shot. It takes about 45 minutes to prep, but a batch lasts in the fridge for over a week. Here is how you make it: Pour 800ml (28 ounces) of water into a blender. Skin 200 grams of ginger, peel four large oranges and four lemons, and throw it all in. Blend it well, then pour the pulpy elixir through a sieve into a jug. Next, pour the filtered juice back into the blender and add two teaspoons of turmeric, plus one teaspoon each of cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Give it one final blitz, store it in the fridge, and take a shot every morning. Honestly, I haven’t had anything more than a slight head cold since last December. Now, on the topic of Xbox. Last week, I woke up on my only day off and was incredibly tempted to purchase the early access for Campaign Evolved, I folded. Deciding to earn my playtime, I spent the entire day cleaning my house from top to bottom. In preparation, I got the Mountain Dew and Doritos ready to go, the CRT had music videos blasting from the year 2001, the RGB lights were set to green, the Hyperkin Duke was plugged in, the Time Machine was ready. Since the local launch time was 4:00 PM, I figured I’d have a glorious hour and a half to myself to enjoy some classic Halo before picking up my daughter from daycare. Well, the gaming gods had other plans. Early access didn’t work and wasn’t fixed until four and a half hours later. How could Asha, my Indian Goddess, forsake me like this?! PS: Matty, I actually asked Jennifer Hale about the remake at a local con last Saturday. She told me, “I’m not allowed to talk about it 😬.” MTFBWY, Josh

Loom Doom

Hey Dukes, Is there any possible universe where Valve allows Xbox to have a cut of the Steam 30% fee if Steam comes preloaded with Helix? I know the answer is probably “no”, but if Helix does well, it could be a benefit for Valve to be preloaded on the machine out of the box. Thanks guys, and have a “I was rushing to post my inquiry and then realized I had a full day before the deadline” kind of day.

thejjuan1

Hello Dukes. You probably saw the layoffs happening at Double Fine. 23 people out of the 90 that work there. It’s very sad and it’s hard to see Double Fine make it in the next 5 years. First of all it’s Microsoft's fault at mismanaging these studios they owned. But I want to say something controversial. Is this Tim Schaefer's fault as well? Tim Schaefer is the heart and soul of that studio, but it feels like he’s the reason why they are in this mess in the first place. It’s been proven time and again he has been ineffective at keeping projects within scope and being on time/budget. Within the last 8 years they have been with Xbox. And only released 3 games. Two of them in the last year. With both Keeper and Kiln highest steam numbers at below 200. It just feels like it’s writing on the wall for this studio.