- Nintendo's new ruthless crackdowns
got the internet furious.
Joe Rogan is the king of podcasting
but there's now news that might change that next year
and why a shooting survivor is suing Walmart.
We've got all that and more on today's show.
So buckle up, hit that like button.
And actually before we jump into it
I gotta say this, this is last call.
You literally have just a few hours left if you wanna get in
on the Christmas BeautifulBastard.com drop.
It ends tonight, midnight Pacific.
So it's a now or never
to grab that emotionally exhausted flower power
or get hooked up with that sports gear.
Maybe you want a hail Santa.
Or remember one day we'll all be skeletons
in the comfiest of gear.
And while you're at it
you can sag the premium notebooks, the water bottles,
and the best fucking candle you will ever buy.
But once the clock strikes midnight and it's my birthday,
things go away and the whole site changes.
Now you know, you can't complain if you miss it.
And let's just jump into it.
And then Nintendo's family friendly image,
it's a mask.
When it comes to business they are extremely cutthroat.
Now, I've been doing this job 15 years
they've popped up several times,
they make it very hard for their community.
I think back to like how they treated YouTubers
who just wanted to stream their games back in the day.
They're like, "We get you love it, but fuck you."
And so now this latest controversy it has shades of that.
Revolving specifically around Nintendo's decision
to effectively kill one of the largest
and longest running community driven events
in the gaming world, the Smash World Tour.
Also, quick disclaimer,
this is gonna be a top level breakdown,
getting fully in the details,
that's like a whole 20 minute video.
And so I wanna cover it correctly for the community
but I also wanna make it consumable for everybody.
So this tour ran over the course of a year
across the world featuring hundreds of thousands of players
at local tournaments and nearly as much money
with it all culminating at the end of the year
with its Smash World Tour Championships.
And that was actually supposed to happen in about a week.
However, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving
allegedly Nintendo knocked on the door
and they were like, "Hey, it's Thanksgiving.
We wanted to give you a present, go fuck yourself."
With them telling the tournament organizers
they couldn't host the event or any future ones
because they didn't have a licensing agreement.
Now, key thing,
it's not like this was completely out of left field.
Due to Nintendo signing an agreement back in 2021
with eSports sponsor Panda Global to make the Panda Cup
aka Nintendo's official Super Smash tournament series.
However, at that time,
instead of Nintendo shutting them down,
the opposite seemed to happen.
According to the Smash World Tour,
"Nintendo reached out to us to let us know
that they had been watching us build over the years
and wanted to see if we were interested in working with them
and pursuing a license as well."
And since then,
they say that they were just essentially strung along
until suddenly being told, 'No".
And on top of apparently being strung along,
there was drama behind the scenes with plenty of reports
that the organizers behind the Panda Cup
were pressuring local tournaments to drop their affiliations
with the Smash World Tour.
With them even saying things along the lines
of it's not even going to be around anymore.
Although notably, there are also accusations
that it was far more forceful than that.
And that Panda was actually the catalyst
for Nintendo cutting ties with everyone.
With 'em, even allegedly going so far
as to threaten to use Nintendo to shut them down.
And in general, these alleged actions
have led many prominent players and community members
to boycott the Panda Cup.
And so this move to try and force people
to fall in line with this new tournament on top of Nintendo
canceling this longtime community driven event
has angered a lot of fans;
with many putting out
that what made the entire thing special
was that it was a community event.
But this also seeing takes like that from Eevisu,
a popular caster in the Smash space.
- But the thing is,
the community wasn't based off licensing.
The community was based off the hardworking individuals
of the grassroots scene.
That's what built this up.
That's it.
Point blank period.
- But then there's also a little extra drama
on top of all this.
Due to Nintendo coming out this morning
and telling Kotaku that it never canceled
the 2022 Smash World Tour Championships,
and that it only denied a licensing agreement for 2023.
But the Smash World Tour disagrees
providing this quote that they got from Nintendo.
"Nintendo will not be able to grant a license
for the Smash World Tour Championship 2022
or any Smash World Tour activity in 2023."
So you have a situation where it seems
like there's only three possible answers.
You either one have Nintendo lying
about canceling this year's event on such short notice.
Two, Nintendo just doesn't know
what's happening at their own fucking company.
Or three, the Smash World Tour is making up the quote.
However, when it comes to Nintendo
it is hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.
They have a long and storied history
of squashing community driven things such as events.
And Nintendo is usually such asshole about things.
It's easy to just go,
"Yeah. I side with the community obviously."
And then Elon Musk just did something
I didn't think it was even possible.
He picked a fight with someone that is more money than him.
With Elon taking his fight to Apple.
This after they apparently decided
to stop advertising on Twitter.
Two days ago he provocatively tweeted,
"Apple is mostly stopped advertising on Twitter.
They hate free speech in America?"
And asking who has been censored by the company.
But quickly you had people saying,
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Is this just Musk using the statement,
'Apple is against free speech' as a weapon
against what seems to be the real problem
that he has with the company, money."
In addition to losing out on Apple's ad money,
Apple takes 30% from in-app purchases from developers.
A practice that has long been criticized
and famously was part of a lawsuit
with the creators of Fortnite.
With Musk even retweeting the video that they put out,
criticizing Apple's monopoly on iOS devices.
With Musk probably becoming hyper aware of this
after he rolled out Twitter Blue.
It was only available for iOS users
and he was only getting $5.60 per user
rather than his $8 price.
With Musk so angry about this 30% secret tax as he calls it,
that it's the alleged reason
he is postponing releasing Twitter Blue.
It was supposed to come out Friday,
now we'll see where it's gonna get pushed back to.
Although to be clear,
while there is a lot of criticism around it
companies like Apple and Google taking cuts
for in-app purchases isn't a secret thing.
It's a well known thing.
You don't have to just watch my show to know that,
it's dominated headlines for months if not years.
But also there's another aspect to this story.
Musk claims that Apple is threatening
to take Twitter off the app store completely
and he's saying he's not sure why.
Which obviously if that were to happen,
it would be a massive, massive blow to Twitter's viability.
Now, along this line of the story,
there are other theories
as to why Apple might wanna remove Twitter.
Some wondering out loud if Musk tried to pull a move
to circumvent doing payments through the Apple store.
Which would've been an update that Apple would deny
also putting him on thin ice.
And who knows, we may never actually know the actual reason
because Apple hasn't said a word.
Now, here's what I'll say around this.
I think it absolutely makes sense to criticize Musk
and how he carries himself and is handling of Twitter.
But at the same time,
even if he's only using it as a weapon
the 30% cut that Apple takes is notorious in the industry.
I think this is a little less
than a black and white situation.
It's more gray.
Yeah, ultimately, we'll see what happens.
I don't know, it's all (Philip stutters)
Musk is also saying that he might launch a phone.
Which hey, I mean could work.
The culture where I think for a lot of people,
very profitable.
For now we'll have to wait and see.
And of course in the meantime
I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below.
And then it's pretty much the end of the year
which means it's a time to take a look back and say,
"What was the best?"
Some of it more personal
like Spotify Wrap dropping for you today?
Today where Spotify shows you what you've been listening to,
how much also compared to other people.
Personally I always feel attacked
and embarrassed when they do this.
Side note, I still stand by,
"Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse"
being the best best soundtrack of all time.
You can't shame me away from that opinion.
Also less personal and more global as far as music.
Most streamed artists globally were Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift,
Drake, the Weeknd, and BTS.
But also beyond that,
we got to see who the king or queen of podcast was.
On Spotify, "The Joe Rogan Experience"
taking that title again.
Followed by Alex Cooper's, "Call Her Daddy."
Both of those being Spotify exclusives,
which is interesting because the third spot
goes to "Anything Goes With Emma Chamberlain,"
which will actually become
a Spotify exclusive podcast next year.
So there's a question
of how much of a viewership difference on Spotify
do you have between "Call Her Daddy" and Emma Chamberlain
and Joe Rogan and Emma Chamberlain.
Because currently she has a sizeable audience off platform.
So how many people come over?
Does she all of a sudden become the new queen of Spotify?
Though I'm sure none of these three
actually care about the numbers
except the guaranteed dollars
going into their bank accounts right now.
You also had Apple announcing
the 2022 App Store Awards this week,
the iPhone app of the year going to BeReal,
which actually I just recently joined.
If you wanna follow me there,
one of the top links in the description.
Also the iPhone game of the year
went to "Apex Legends Mobile."
But personally, the thing I am most interested in
as far as best of the year
is what you beautiful bastards who play video games
think should be the game of the year.
Am I asking this question to cause a fight?
Absolutely.
And while in those comments
I'd like to know what specific game it is.
Feels like a majority of this conversation
and debate seems to be between
"Elden Ring" versus "God of War: Ragnarok."
So for those who have played both,
I have only played one, which is better and why?
We'll come back to this question on Sunday
with a community show.
And then I'd like to take a second
to thank today's sponsor Manscaped.com,
the global leader in men's grooming tools
and hygiene solutions.
Personally, Christmas came early for me
with the ultimate men's grooming kit,
the new Platinum Package 4.0 for Manscaped.
The all one kit literally has you covered
from head to toe with tons of goodies
to keep you clean and fresh.
Your kit includes the cordless
lawnmower 4.0 body hair trimmer
that has an LED light to keep you safe from accidental cuts.
As well as the weed whacker nose and ear hair trimmer,
making it easy to tidy up
which I will say has come in clutch several times.
And hey, smell fresh and clean
with a new aluminum free stick deodorant
for under your arms,
the Reviver bald toner spray
and the crop preserver for you know, your crops.
If you're looking for a stronger shower game
the Manscaped body wash
and two in one shampoo and conditioner duo
cut my shower time in half.
The best part is all these products
are vegan and sulfate and paraben free.
And for a limited time get a shed luxury travel bag
and a pair of anti chafing boxer briefs absolutely free
when you order a platinum package.
Simply go to Manscaped.com/phil today
and get 20% off plus free international shipping.
It's 20% off plus free shipping at Manscaped.com/phil.
And then we've got big Alzheimer's news.
Because scientists studying it recently presented research
on a drug that may slow the disease down,
but it might have some severe side effects.
So the drug is called lecanemab,
and their study found that the use of the drug
reduced cognitive decline by 27%
in the study of 1800 participants.
Some of the specifics the study used
an 18 point cognition test to measure the effects.
And they reportedly found that those who were given the drug
scored about half a point better
over the course of 18 months.
Meaning they were declining slower than their counterparts
who weren't being treated by this drug.
But experts are divided
whether this clinically makes any difference.
One doctor in the field but not involved in the study said,
"It's unlikely that the small difference
reported in this trial will be noticeable
by individual patients,"
and saying that a meaningful improvement
would be at least one full point on the 18 point scale.
Others, however, are saying this is a notable achievement
in the bleak and disheartening study
of Alzheimer's treatment.
With one researcher telling the AP
that the drug delayed the worsening of participants
by five months over the course of the study.
And Dr. Ron Peterson, an expert in Alzheimer's
working with Mayo Clinic called the Drugs Effect,
"A modest one but I think it's clinically meaningful."
And this is something I can kind of relate to.
Part of my health journey over this last year
is I have a fatty liver,
and because of that I can't take a drug
that's supposed to slow down the growth
of my cysts on my kidneys.
A drug that I'm still trying to actively be able to take
even though how much it slows down the growth
is somewhat minimal.
But honestly, if it's a difference
of having a better quality of life
for one to six months more because I took it,
please give me that.
But as far as this specific drug,
how does it function?
They say it's by attacking amyloid.
A protein in the brain
said to be one of the culprits behind Alzheimer's.
But also that's another issue with the drug.
Amyloid targeting drugs can cause
some pretty hefty side effects.
This drug is no exception
with one in five people in this study
reportedly experiencing an adverse effect;
that including swelling and bleeding in the brain,
confusion, headaches and visual disturbances.
And a reported 6.9% of the participants
who received this drug
left the study because of the side effects,
compared to just 2.9% in the placebo group.
And two people have reportedly died
in connection with this drug.
However, a big key thing there,
both of those people were also reportedly
taking blood thinners at the same time
for other health issues.
But of course this has caused
even more hesitation around the drug.
One doctor saying it raises concerns
for its use outside of research studies
where people tend to be sicker
and have multiple medical conditions.
But as far as where we are,
the question of approval for the drug it's underway
with the FDA is set to make a decision
about it in early January.
And then, holy shit the Senate actually did a thing.
With the Chamber yesterday passing a landmark bill
that will codify the right
to same sex and interracial marriage into federal law.
The legislation, which is called
"The Respect for Marriage Act,"
was passed in a bipartisan vote of 61 to 36,
with 12 Republicans bucking pressure
from many of their colleagues
and powerful conservative groups.
And I'll be honest,
I am actually surprised this is happening.
I definitely had my doubts.
I even expressed those to Senator Tammy Baldwin
when she came onto the show.
She of course helped lead the push to get enough votes.
And if you want greater detail of the bill
or you wanna watch that interview
I'll link to it down below.
But the TLDR here is that the bill would repeal
the 1996 "Defense of Marriage Act,"
which defined marriages between one man and one woman.
Though, and this is a key thing here,
the bill would not require all states
to allow for same sex marriage,
but it does require all states to recognize
out-of-state same sex marriages performed legally
in states that do allow them.
Also very notably the bill contains a provision
that Republican supporters insisted on
that clarify some language in the bill.
This including that religious non-profit organizations
do not have to provide goods or services
for same-sex marriages and that the federal government
is not authorized to recognize polygamous marriages
among other things.
And as far as why is this actually even necessary,
it's because of the Supreme Court.
Justice Clarence Thomas made it very clear
in his decision to overturn Roe v Wade,
that he wants the high court to reconsider
the 2015 case that established gay marriage.
Which really hurt many Republicans arguments saying,
"Hey, this respect for Marriage Act thing,
it's not necessary.
It's just a political stunt."
Except it's hard to argue that
when everyone can see and hear
Justice Clarence Thomas knocking on the door.
But even with that,
Baldwin and others spent months and months
convincing Republicans to get on board.
With the leaders at one point
even delaying a vote on the bill until after the midterms
to ensure they could actually get enough Republican support
because they might be worried that supporting gay rights
would hurt them in the elections,
which is an unfortunate and eye opening sentence.
But the timing and the plan, it seems to have worked.
And so as far as what happens next,
while an earlier version of the bill
did pass the house this summer
because some of the changes in the language,
the Lord Chamber's gonna have to vote on it again.
But because Democrats still hold the house for now
and even on that previous version 47 Republicans joined on
this is being seen as pretty much a sure thing
expected to go through next week,
with President Biden also applauding the Senate vote
and saying that he looks forward to signing the bill.
And the last key thing that I'll touch on is,
this is truly massive, right?
It's very easy to live in the now
but it's important to remember like where we came from.
Or even just two decades ago,
this would've been unimaginable.
And I mean not just because of the Republicans,
Democrats at that time were part of the opposition as well.
And remember it was President Bill Clinton
that signed the "Defense of Marriage Act."
And it was only 10 years ago
that President Obama came out in support of gay marriage
while running for his second term.
Well, that can seem like a long time.
It's not really, as Axios notes,
"Compared to the decades and decades it took
to dismantle Jim Crow laws or secure women's right to vote,
America's about face on same-sex marriage
happened in the blink of an eye."
When Clinton signed the "Defense of Marriage Act" in 1996
support for gay marriage was just 27%.
But now polling shows 7 in 10 Americans
support legal recognition,
though 30%, still a lot of people.
And we saw 7 out of 10 Republicans in the Senate
opposing the "Respect for Marriage Act."
But overall, I say at least for now,
let's take a win for a win.
Is it perfect. No.
Is it important and good?
Yes.
And then the survivor of the Walmart shooting
in Virginia last week is now suing the company
for $50 million.
So some background here.
Last Tuesday, a manager of a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia
opened fire in the employee break room
killing six people before shooting himself.
One of the employees of that store
and a survivor of the shooting is now suing the company
for negligent hiring and retention practices.
And that because she'd actually filed a complaint
about the man months earlier after he made several bizarre
and inappropriate comments towards her.
Repeatedly harassing her based on her age and appearance
and "for being poor and short."
It had even gotten to the point
where her mother had come to the store
to speak with management about the harassment
because she was concerned about her daughter's safety.
But the mother was reportedly told nothing could be done
because he was "liked by management."
That lawsuit reportedly detailing that the gunman
had made several threatening comments
toward other coworkers as well,
including asking them if they had received
active shooter training and then walking away smiling
when they answered yes.
The shooter had also been previously demoted
for improper and disturbing interactions with others
but was later reinstated as a team leader.
And the lawsuit also saying
that Walmart had received numerous reports
that the gunman was bullying, threatening,
and harassing other employees
and they knew or should have known that he was dangerous.
With a lawsuit going on to say,
"Despite the gunman's longstanding pattern
of disturbing and threatening behavior,
Walmart did not enact any preventative measures
to keep Walmart customers and employees safe."
And saying, "As a result you had this woman
watching six of her coworkers die
and injuring herself trying to escape."
As far as how Walmart responded
to being sued for $50 million in compensatory damages.
They said, "Our deepest sympathies go out to our associates
and everyone impacted, including those who are injured.
We are focused on supporting all our associates
with significant resources, including counseling"
and saying, "We are reviewing the complaint
and we'll be responding as appropriate with the court."
And if we wait to see what happens there
something unfortunately that we have to say
on the show far too often
are our hearts and our well wishes go to the friends,
the family members and the loved ones
of the victims of this attack.
But that is where I'm gonna end today's show.
As always, thank you for watching
and being subscribed to my daily dives into the news.
Also, a reminder, you only have a few hours left
over at BeautifulBastard.com.
But as always my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in,
I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.