Checkpoint Daily Podcast

During a recent episode of CheckpointXP On Campus, we discussed an esports minor degree at Northern Illinois University. Interest in gaming is growing with game streaming/esports growing and no sports for a couple of major conferences in the fall. So NIU resolved to create a program that not only focused on coaching and strategy but also marketing and game design. This creates a more holistic view of the esports industry and what goes into it. Jacob Brothers got a chance to catch up with Dr. Steve Howell, the director of the sports program at Northern Illinois University. And We got a glimpse into what sort of education you could be looking at when declaring esports as your minor at NIU. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did leakers confirm the existence of a second next-gen Xbox because of the controller? And with Halo Infinite delayed, how will Xbox Series X do during it's initial launch in November? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic still continues to spread throughout the United States. In reaction, a number of college conferences decided to postpone their college sports seasons. The Big Ten and Pac-12 became the first Power Five conferences to decide the health risks were simply too great at the moment. The other three conferences in the Power Five (Big 12, ACC, SEC) will forge ahead with truncated schedules. The Mountain West also decided to postpone play. The decision to halt play comes with the loss of massive amounts of money for colleges. According to the NCAA, college sports generated over $10 Billion in 2019. But with the Big 10 and Pac-12 out of the picture, the losses will toll in the tens of millions. If not hundreds. But there is one type of competition that barely slowed during the pandemic. Esports. Could it be the thing that gets Big Ten and Pac-12 sports fans something to talk about! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Splinter Cell is getting an anime, and it's got the guys talking about reboots and remakes of games.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luminosity Gaming signs a paralyzed streamer who plays Warzone WITH HIS MOUTH who holds two world records for most kills and most wins in Fortnite using his mouth, Shroud announces his return to Twitch and is partnered in less than three hours, and SK Gaming fails to get a VISA for one of their top players which leads him to be unable to compete in Worlds! All the latest in esports news! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Robbie and Ben dive into one of the best comic book events of all time, the Green Lantern Saga of Blackest Night. Plus, if the lantern rings existed in the Marvel Universe who would wield them? Check out this episode for a breakdown of Blackest Night and who in the Marvel Universe would best wield the power rings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ric's got a list of retro game consoles, but the problem is that some of them aren't real. Can the guys figure out which is which? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With next-gen consoles slated for arrival this winter, we're taking a look at everything we know so far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the show Robbie and Ben are joined by a very special guest, Jason “Budman” Paige of Big Mama and the Wild Bunch morning show from Cape Coral, FL. Budman, as he has been dubbed in the Other Identity universe. Jason joins Robbie and Ben to talk about some of the big headlines hitting social media this past month. Some of the headlines that the guys are talking about include; Marvel picking up the rights to Alien and Predator. Robbie, Ben, and Jason all give their best ideas for an Alien v Predator crossover with Marvel. Plus, there are all types of DC Cinematic Universe rumors spreading from a Zatanna Film to a Rebirth Reboot for the Justice League and much more. Zach Snyder also has new comments on Joss Whedon’s involvement in the Justice League film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Disrespect drops out of NOWHERE to announce he is streaming on YouTube, and he crushes the numbers Ninja had during HIS return to Twitch, so does YouTube finally have the momentum to compete with Twitch? Plus, the State of Play 2020 for Sony happened Thursday, so what games were announced that YOU should be paying attention to, and what game that was supposedly STOLEN WORK should you avoid? And, new legislation plans to BAN TikTok and WeChat company Tencent, but will it also affect huge gaming companies like Riot and Epic? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An amateur Call of Duty LAN Tournament from American Gaming Network secretly played in person, despite the organizers claiming it was canceled. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ninja makes his return to Twitch, and let’s slip that he may already have a deal in place that nobody knows about yet, the newest Battle Royale game Fall Guys gets REVIEW BOMBED right after it launched yesterday and the Steam community is not having it, and a slew of Overwatch players including BabyBay and Rawkus defect to Valorant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ninja BLOWS UP at his teammate live on stream during Valorant and gets a professional player KICKED OFF his team, Playstation announces a new State of Play 2020 event happening later this week (and why Sony does announcement events the right way), and FaZe Clan FIRE their team captain after he can’t even practice with the team. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest host and co-founder/fashion designer for the gaming clothing collection Ateyo, Rachel Feinberg joins the Checkpoint crew to rank each controller. Which ones make it to S Tier? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rapper Logic is retiring from his music career, inking a deal to game stream on Twitch instead! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.