In-Game Chat

In-Game Chat A radio show. About video games & gaming. Broadcasting live every Saturday night from 6pm to 8pm cen So we started doing this.

In-Game Chat is the brain child of a group of friends who, whenever we would get together on whatever occasion, would ultimately turn the discussion to video games. We thought other people would like to hear that discussion and probably join in.

15/03/2026

You’ll have to forgive me for getting completely sidetracked as we turn to someone who bought a pre-built PC. But not just ANY pre-built. Dude went ALL out with 64 gigs of RAM and a massive 5090 GPU.

So, yeah, that kinda grabbed my attention a bit there. Given the times we currently live in when we talk about RAM prices going way up and causing the prices of graphics cards to also increase.

All of this was after we started talking about what the next Xbox would likely cost. And what Valve’s Steam Machine might also cost. New tech is always exciting but no matter the thrills, the specs, the bells AND the whistles…it’ll all get kind of buried under the weight of whatever the price tag is. And that’s currently unknown for us. And may be for some time.

At any other point in time previous, we’d already know the price. We’d already have the details. But they’re taking their time on getting there and it’s because of the price of RAM. Full stop.

The Switch 2 got in under the gun and, for now, was able to avoid the spike in prices. But that won’t last much longer before they have to replenish stock and the price will likely affect that. But Valve's new PC will be our first look at just how bad it has become. And give us a better idea of what to expect from the next Xbox and the PS6.

Start saving.

Ubisoft, it’s been 4,591 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

Also, there’s been 1,626 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.

01/02/2026

The gaming industry is kind of in a bit of dire straits at the moment.

It’s odd that in the same show we talk about how many billions of dollars Steam made in only two weeks and then we end by talking about Ubisoft restructuring, Paradox losing 162% of profits, and Microsoft having pretty abysmal hardware sales. And just as I was writing this the night before posting, Intrepid studios have closed their doors and laid off all 250 odd employees.

Then there’s the whole RAM and AI issue that’s just screwing up pretty much everything when it comes to this hobby and industry. The AI situation is affecting the price of RAM and now hard drives, solid state drives, and just drive space altogether. Prices have skyrocketed. AI is also affecting jobs in the industry as it is everywhere else.

I’m not saying games are going to start drying up but advancement will hit a wall. Because in order to keep moving forward better computers will be needed and RAM is a part of that. As is, apparently, AI, sadly. Console generations are going to stretch beyond what we’ve previously known, as will PC upgrades.

It’s all a bit gloomy really. And it’s probably going to get worse and worse before it even slightly gets what you might call “better”.

So what do you do? Well, there’s very little you can do. Stop using AI is a small solution but it won’t change anything. Maybe if we all could on a global scale, sure, but that’s just wishful thinking.

We’re all just going to have to ride this train to whatever station it’s taking us to and then decide if we want to stop there or keep going. Eventually, things will change. But I can’t even begin to predict when it might. All I can do is just dig into my backlog, find the indies, and pick up games or hardware on sale when it hits a price I can afford.

Some of that, however, also feels like wishful thinking.

Speaking of wishful thinking, Ubisoft it has been 4,549 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.
Also, there’s been 1006 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2026.

11/01/2026

Welcome to Season 20.

Yeah, for TWENTY years now we’ve been doing this thing. Or will have by the end of this year. That’s…well, kind of a lot. For anything.

And it’s all your fault. I mean, we wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for you continuing to support us every single weekend. Showing up is enough but you show up live and you show up for the YouTube videos and the podcasts. You show up when we stream (which we should do more of) and you’re even there when we can’t be (my gallbladder removal, heart attack, and Covid).

You being here for us means we’ll continue to be here for you. I know that I mostly use this space to talk a bit about something we talked about in the episode or elaborate on something else within the industry but I sort of wanted to just take a moment, out of twenty years, and be very heartfelt when I say thank you.

Personally, and this is just myself, Scott, speaking, you’ve all given me an unknown dream come true. I’d never dreamed I’d be able to attend events such as E3 but you got me there. Got me to London for a visit with Criterion studios and that was also a dream come true. Got me to Spokane to visit Cyan Worlds and that was also a dream come true. Far beyond what I could have ever imagined when their games set the tone for my gaming experience standard. I’ve made countless friends as both listeners and professionals in the industry. I’ve been to Seattle, Boston, and San Antonio for PAX.

All of these things because of this show. That would not exist without you. And this is why I thank you all so very much for being a part of our lives for 20 years - as much, maybe, as we’ve been a part of yours.

It has been an honor.

Thank you so much for listening.

21/12/2025

And so ends another year of the show. We’ve gathered some friends to talk about their year in gaming and what they’ve been playing and enjoyed.

It’s a nice wrap up that doesn’t involve news of any kind be it good or bad, it’s just friends talking about games and going over the year end lists.

It’s fun to reflect at times. Therapeutic almost, even with gaming. Especially when you listen to others and discover something new. Or, perhaps, you discover a different point of view on a game you had a completely different experience with. Which is, obviously, exactly how communication works. Especially among friends.

All of us here at the show consider every single listener our friends. From those who just casually listen, tune in from time to time, the die-hards who show up in chat every single episode, to the ones who never say a word but still tune in down the line on YouTube or wherever. As well as everyone who’s joined our discord. We cannot thank you enough for your support not only throughout the year but throughout the life of this show as we head into our 20th season in 2026.

We appreciate you. We love you. And we can’t wait to see you again on January 10th. Have a wonderful holiday season and we wish you all a fantastic new year.

Listen Ubisoft, I know it won’t happen but if you could put a little speed up on that Splinter Cell to get it released next year, I could stop tracking how horrible you are treating an exceptional franchise. I’m tired of counting the days but I’m not stopping. Get it done. It has been 4,507 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

Also, there’s been 5,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2025.

14/12/2025

I won’t speak too much on the structure of The Game Awards. It’s the usual thing year in and year out. We’ve been here before and we’ll be back here again next year. Same show. Same complaints.

What I will talk about is why we’re announcing games that, at the earliest, we’ll never see until 2030. I know we’ve had announcements of games far in advance before but this one feels significant, I guess. We’ve also had games announced that never got released so this isn’t all that new but it just seems a waste to put it out there while we’ll likely never hear about it again for another 2 years or maybe 3. Elder Scrolls 6 was teased back in 2018, I think, and we’ve heard nothing about it since.

Perhaps it really depends on the game. Like Elder Scrolls there is a massive fan base who are familiar with waiting and waiting on the next installment though this has been a rather longer wait than ever before. And so we’re here with a Star Wars title that won’t release before 203 - again a massively large fan base who are also familiar with waiting on the next installment.

Of course, they’ll need to tread lightly. We’ve waited on games and other media before for very long times only to have them arrive with massive disappointment. Eventually the waiting builds up enough hype to where it peaks before the thing even releases and by then everyone’s expectations are either so high the game never lives up to it or so low it doesn’t sell because people have already peaked their hype and moved on.

Gamers have short memories, however.

But I haven’t forgotten about Ubisoft. It has been 4,500 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

Also, there’s been 5,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2025.

07/12/2025

I’d like to think I’m someone who was always into the future stuff, you know? The science of Star Trek and what we’d eventually develop with technology and all of that stuff you think about as a kid watching your sci-fi or reading about the future. I was always hopeful we’d get to a point where I could really think we took some steps into making that sci-fi stuff a reality - but like, the good kind. We got there a few times. Moon landing being one of them and video phone conversations. There’s plenty to point at and be amazed. But then there’s AI.

I won’t go into the pros and cons of the tech - there’s layers and layers deep of conversation to be had on that subject, philosophical or otherwise. But to just step back and look at the ripple effect of it…that’s a little disheartening. There’s many examples I could point to, but for the purpose of this show, it’s the current prices of RAM that is just bonkers crazy with how prices have skyrocketed. It started in Covid times when people started to work from home and needed more PCs which meant more RAM. So the companies made more. Too much, actually and we had a good surplus of it. Prices were pretty great. Now we have AI and companies are snatching up all they can. Because we were in a surplus, we now find ourselves with low quantities due to all the AI companies grabbing all they can where they can. And the prices are ridiculous. Much more so, the RAM makers are starting to skip over regular consumer RAM and selling ONLY to the big tech companies. And at the risk of sounding all conspiracy theorists, the government is involved in this as well. Like, I’d say the rabbit hole goes deep, but it really doesn’t. Mainly because it isn’t being hidden anymore.

And the more you look into it the more depressing it becomes because it absolutely shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. An AI bubble burst is the hope, but we don’t know if that’ll ever happen and, worse yet, if there’s a chance of it happening, it is WAY off in the distant future.

A lot of it feels like it’s just going to get worse before it even slightly gets better. For now, I hope you’re satisfied with the power of your PC, laptop, phone, watch, console, and any other device using RAM, because making upgrades to your PC or getting any of those other devices in the very near future is going to cost far more than it does now.

Ubisoft, in the time since you’ve announced a Splinter Cell remake, your original director on the project left and has now returned. And we’re still nowhere close to a release. A remake isn’t even a part of the deal here but it’s been so long I might make an exception. It has been 4,493 days since a new Splinter Cell game (non-animated series or guest spot in another game franchise, remake, BBC radio drama, or VR exclusive) was released.

Also, there’s been 5,300 job losses in the gaming industry since January 1, 2025.

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