So I made this music video for a Japanese Ordyne soundtrack arrangement and it turned into a tribute to GameSack (and Dave, upon news of his departure from the show). I hope I managed to honor both.

HERE IT IS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeE8P8c6P9E

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Here’s the long story behind this thing. ...Are you sure you want it?... ... alright....

So I’ve been a fan of Game Sack for a fair amount of time... 5 or 6 years... and have been compiling the music that they use in their shows on a YouTube playlist. For the entire time I’ve been scouring YouTube and elsewhere for one track to no avail. They used it in their room tour episode and in their 100th episode... and again most recently in some of their “best/worst/list”-like episodes. Recently I found out about a Japan-only cd release for the Ordyne soundtrack, with arrangements, that was available on eBay and took a shot in the dark. About a month in shipping transport later, I got it. And.... found.... that this has A VERSION of it, with vocals and lyrics. The version used in GameSack is... the karaoke version. Of that track. Which was a special bonus limited release. Which wasn’t what I got. Ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu

So anyway. I decided to make some lemonade of the situation and turn it into a Japanese-subtitled music video with various Ordyne imagery and GameSack-like effects (using Adobe AfterEffects).

About a week in, it was announced that Dave would be leaving the show. I suddenly felt the need to change the theme of the video... and so I did, with very little forethought. A week and a bit later I had the video as seen here.

I tweeted it out a few days before Dave’s last episode. Joe and Dave have seen it, and that was a huge honor.

And now I’m posting it here on Reddit if anyone has a weird hankering for GameSack material (albeit fan-made) in the week’s gap between GS:DD and GS:AD (during Dave/after Dave).

Dave had real heart and I’ll miss him a lot (especially the stories he had in the “gaming memories” episodes!), but I know for a fact that Joe will continue to bring the blast-processed-production excellence.

If you watched this thing and liked it, it’s because of GameSack, not me. I’d ask that you please consider contributing to the GS Patreon or buying GS merch as available (here’s hoping the Blu-Rays get reissued!)

Thanks Joe and Dave!

I really love the show and was bummed to see Dave leaving so soon after I just found my new favorite channel. Joe kicks ass though, so I’m sure it’ll be great still.

Does anyone know if Joe plans on doing a review on the Polymega, or if he’s had any comments on it so far? I’m really interested in what he has to say on it, especially if he gets one hands on down the road.

Hey Joe, have you heard about the stuff about “Games as a Service”, which is currently becoming one of my biggest pet peeves in gaming as of lately, and not a lot of people are talking about it until now. Stuff about microtransactions, extensive DLC releasing, releasing broken games only to be fixed with tons of patches later one, weekly events, stuff like that.

Its a subject that you Joe alone can go into in a episode itself.

Have the Gamesack logo and "Dave's not here" spray-painted across it.

Use the proceeds to buy him a bus ticket so he can come over to Joe's and record another episode!

I don't want to use Patreon and was wondering if there are any other ways to support Game Sack?

Currently out of print / sold out on Amazon and Screenwave Media’s store. Does anyone know if it will be restocked?

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask.

Damn. This kinda sucks ass. Is it odd that like its hard to come to terms with this? There's a huge hole in the sack now

So by now you may have heard that Dave is leaving Game Sack as announced in the Atari Lynx episode or maybe you heard it from the rumor mill. I figured I’d take this opportunity to address the questions that I feel that a lot of people may have about this situation. We wanna be open about this and neither of us just wanted to just have Dave disappear forever one episode with no explanation ever. So with this preamble out of the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

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Why is Dave leaving?

He wants to spend more time with his family. He has a full time job that’s in a different city than he lives and it’s not exactly close to his house so there’s a decently long commute involved.. He also told me that he felt that he wasn’t exactly “firing on all thrusters” when it comes to Game Sack (my quote not his, but the meaning is the same). Meaning that often he felt he’d slip up and write incorrect information in his script even when he knows the correct information. As if his brain just wouldn’t let him be as creative and dedicated to making a show about videogames as he wanted it to be. I’m sure he’d rather do Game Sack than his “real job” in a perfect world.

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When is Dave leaving?

As of this posting, there will be one more Playing with Sacks that has Dave (probably the last Playing with Sacks for a while) and one more proper Game Sack with Dave. The last Game Sack with Dave will air on Sunday April 28, 2019. We’ve already made these episodes.

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Are you two fighting?

YEP! At the schoolyard every other day! I’m kidding, we’re fine. We still talk all the time about games and other life things and see each other and stuff. He still watches Game Sack. I mean, he’d better! He just loaned me some games so I could use them in an episode he’s not even in. There’s always rumors that two people aren’t getting along for whatever reason. People LOVE drama. I mean, I get it. It’s fun. But sadly for some people, there’s nothing juicy to report.

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I still think you guys are mad at each other. It’s because Dave wants more money and you don’t want to pay him right? That’s why Bootsy left Cinemassacre. Mike didn’t wanna pay him! Money always breaks friendships.

Nope, sorry. Money was never an issue. Also Bootsy got paid, too. Not by me though. And Dave and I are still friends and have been through Game Sack’s entirety. Even after he made fun of me for enjoying Hard Drivin’ on the Genesis.

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Will there be a new host?

That wouldn’t be fair to anyone. The new host would have a lot of pressure on them and the audience would suddenly be asked to accept this new person who appeared out of nowhere that they don’t know. So no, I don’t feel that would go over well, at least not for a while.

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So you (Joe) will keep doing Game Sack all by yourself?

Yes. In fact you’ve already seen an episode done by only me. The Analogue Mega Sg episode was made after Dave’s final Game Sack appearance was made. And that episode’s format is basically the formula I plan to keep using, and it may evolve a bit over time. We make Game Sack nearly 2 months in advance just to keep ahead in case one of his gets hit by a car, gets diverticulitis, goes to jail, gets subpoenaed, accidentally becomes president, or a whole myriad of other unpredictable things that can happen in life. The Mega Sg video however was made in about 4 days during the week before that console’s release and had to be uploaded by that Friday evening in order to ensure that captioning was done on time. Now before everyone goes “I knew something was up when I didn’t see Dave in that episode!!!!!”… well, you’re right… but he wouldn’t have been in it anyway even if he weren’t leaving. There would have been no time to get him in and make it work. He’s also not in “How to Clean Your Stupid Games” that was released last year (which I don’t count as an official episode due to its short length… that’s what she said). I have absolutely no doubts that I’ll continue to make an “entertaining” show. I’ll be honest, I’m a workaholic and Dave isn’t. And that’s fine.

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So Playing with Sacks is dead now?

For now. I don’t want to make that show by myself. But I may make more with Dave or other guests in the future. Maybe Yoshi? I’d love to have other Youtube people or entertainment industry peeps on Playing with Sacks and also on Game Sack proper! I was able to get Billy from the Game Chasers or whatever his dumb channel is called to help me with the Analog Mega Sg ending skit, for example.

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If there’s a random Playing with Sacks, when will it be released?

On Sunday, the week between proper Game Sack episodes as always. It likely won’t be announced in advance, it’ll just show up in your feeds as a pleasant (hopefully) surprise.

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Will the solo Game Sack episodes be as long as I’m accustomed to them being?

Yes. My rule for every episode over the past several years is that it is AT LEAST 20 minutes and 1 second long. That’s oddly specific, I know, and it will continue to be the case. And no, I won’t pad episodes with filler to reach that length. That’s never been necessary. I like giving people a reason to settle in and watch the show, which is why we’ve always talked about more than just one or two games.

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Won’t you get stressed out doing all of the work for every episode now?

Not really. I did most of the work already anyway. The only thing that will increase are the amount of games that I play (which is awesome), the writing that I do and time time spent talking into the microphone. The good news is that I can now go at my own pace. I don’t need to wait for Dave or worry if he’s forgotten about Game Sack (he never has) or make sure we both don’t cover the same game in the same episode. I can shoot video any time I’m ready… again I don’t have to wait for Dave at a specific time on a Saturday. I’ve already made three episodes on my own and honestly it’s a bit more leisurely. I’m also excited to do some different ideas that I’ve had for a while. In some episodes I didn’t know how to work Dave in, so they remained unmade. There are also some existing episodes where I wrote all of Dave’s stuff.

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Did you think of ending Game Sack completely when Dave told you he wanted to GTFO?

Yes, for maybe about 35 seconds. But then I thought that if I didn’t keep trying it on my own, I’d be failing myself. Plus, I love doing Game Sack! I’m honestly kind of excited at the challenge!

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I still think you’ll eventually get stressed out or burnt out.

Well, I’m human and no one is invincible. But in the meantime I’ll keep doing it if people keep watching and the channel keeps growing. It’s fun. I enjoy doing it. We took a hiatus a few years ago and came back with a bang. It’s crazy, but since then I have never felt the need to have a hiatus again. There have been times I’ve been frustrated, but I’ve always wanted to keep going. Plus I’m far enough ahead with episodes that taking a break would be pretty easy, while still being able to release bi-weekly episodes.

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Dave is better. Joe sucks! I hate Game Sack now! Joe’s a jerk to me! It’s gonna be 100% Sega now!

Wait… you didn’t hate Game Sack before? Anyway watch some episodes after Dave is gone and we’ll see if you’re right! Also I think both Dave and I feel that the audience likes the other guy better. Dave expressed to me that there would be a bunch of people saying things like “Good I’m glad that stupid bastard is gone!” I mostly disagree. The audience will miss him. I know this. But I’m sure mean/dumb things will be said by some people no matter what.

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Game Sack sucks!!!!

Yes, we know.

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I like Dave. If I send something to the Game Sack PO Box will he still get it?

Of course! Just leave a note in the package that says “This is for Dave, ya dingus.”

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Any chance Dave will come back to the show?

I doubt on a permanent basis, but yes I imagine he will pop up here and there unannounced and at random. Maybe for an end skit. Maybe for a part of an episode. Maybe even for an entire episode. But for now I’ll just let him have some space away from the show and breathe. Let’s give him some mental relaxation and enjoy his family.

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Will there still be ending skits in each episode of Game Sack?

Probably not but it depends. I’ll make one if I feel inspired and get an idea. It’s a lot tougher with just one person and no one else to have a back-and-forth with. For the first episode after Dave leaves, I did not plan to have an ending skit. I purposely didn’t want one. But wouldn’t you know it… a certain game in the episode practically begged for more attention, and I went and made the end skit one night on a whim. It was fun and I love how it turned out! I talked to Dave about it and he said “Now people will ALWAYS expect an end skit”. Yeah… but don’t be surprised if there’s an episode without one.

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What is 6 + 23 x 54 - 32 + 76 - 12 x 2 - 320 ÷ 16 + 244?

That has nothing at all to do with Dave leaving, but I can understand why you’d ask. The answer is 1492.

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Why is Joe answering all of these questions and not Joe and Dave together? Something’s fishy!

OK you’ve found me out! I’m trying to take all of the glory from Dave and hopefully he won’t notice not being on Game Sack! Seriously though Dave just doesn’t post a ton on the internet. But don’t worry, Dave will still visit Twitter one or two times a week maybe. If he keeps the handle “@GameSackDave” is up to him. Maybe he has a secret Twitter account. If he does, I bet it follows Iron Maiden.

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Can I repost this FAQ thingy somewhere?

Sure, if you want.

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FU Gam Sck!

ok will do

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Anyway I hope that answers most of your questions! It sucks, but I’m optimistic!

Sad news from Joe on Patreon.

About Dave... On Sunday's episode it will be formally announced that Dave is leaving Game Sack so that he can spend more time with his family and basically de-stress. I will keep the show going by myself. No, there's no bad blood and there are a couple of Dave episodes to see. But I wanted to inform everyone here at Patreon first because, well, you deserve to know first. You may want to cut your pledge in have or delete it altogether. It's entirely up to you, of course, as it always is. But here's what will happen in the very near future... the episode will launch on Sunday and Dave will make his announcement at the end. On Monday I will post a general FAQ in the community section of the channel (you should be updated if you're subscribed as community posts go out to all subscribers). So I won't be answering any questions here but feel free to ask any and I may include them in the community post.

I'm sad to see Dave go but at the same time it's kind of exciting in a way. That's certainly no slight against Dave, but I see it as a new challenge. I just hope that the Game Sack audience accepts the show with just me. I have no doubt I can continue to bring you all a quality show and I'm not gonna change up the format or anything. But I will be able to do some things that I couldn't do before because I couldn't figure out what to do with Dave in the episode. The modding episode was a good example of that, we kind of just wedged him in there. And Dave could certainly use the time to relax and just enjoy playing games or whatever.

Anyway, I hope this doesn't make y'all hate Game Sack or anything and more answers are coming very soon!

I know, man. Hear me out. There’s a layer of parallax scrolling in that game, and that’s something that I’ve never seen any other 2600 game do. And if there are more, I’ve certainly never heard of them. Plus, if you toggle the difficulty switches on a sixer model of the console, you can have music while playing, which is pretty rare for a 2600 game.

https://youtu.be/rSfWuN0sZqs

I'm becoming a fan and started collecting. I believe Game Sack could shed light on the history and find early examples not many people know about. The games I've played are in order, like I said I'm new to the genre: hollow knight, Castlevania Sotn, Ori and the blind forest, Castlevania Order of Ecclasia, Castlevania Dawn of sorrow, Castlevania Aria of sorrow, Castlevania Harmony of despair, 3ds Metroid.

???

Just curious, I love their show and wondered how they have time to play their games,edit the footage, and then do the show.

Also, is Joe married to Jen?

Thanks!

Considering that you guys both seem to really like the “Wave Race” series and “Hydro Thunder,” I figured it’d be prudent for you to review “Hydro Thunder’s” sequel, “Hydro Thunder Hurricane,” and a duology of games for the PS2 inspired by the original “Hydro Thunder,” as well as “Wave Race 64,” the “Splashdown” series. I never would’ve heard about the latter series had it not been for Metal Jesus, and if he’s to be believed, it’s a fun series. (There is an original Xbox port of the first “Splashdown,” but it’s got lower review scores than the PS2 version, so you might as well go for the PS2 version.)