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This year, both Christmas and New Years fall on Sundays. I don't want to release an episode on either of those days, so instead I'll be releasing an episode this coming Sunday which will only be a week apart from the last episode. Then there will be no new episode of Game Sack until January 8 2023. Though I might release a new console Crunch between Christmas and New Years. So have a Merry Holiday and Happy Christmas! 

Sega Lord X and Game Sack have collaborated on a video! This was really fun to do. We're talking about our favorite stages in a few select Saturn games in this video. I've always kinda wanted to do this on Game Sack but was never really sure exactly how to go about it. Sega Lord X did a video about his favorite stages on Genesis games and I was like "A-HA!". So I contacted him about participating in a similar video. Let us know if you'd like to see more of this in the future. I'd like to make more stuff like this. 

So as many of you have noticed, there's been a lot of spamming not only on my channel, but many Youtube channels saying you won a PS5 or some other nonsense. Obviously not me. I rely on my content to gain viewers, not contests and giveaways. Anyway I have shadow-banned the account and hopefully they just keep posting unaware. But if they do make a new account I'll ban that as well. Thanks,

--Joe 

Just released the first (and only for quite some time, probably) Left in Japan Crunch containing the first 8 Left in Japan episodes. The Console Crunches are pretty popular so maybe this will also be something you can just have on in the background while you do other things that are actually entertaining! 

In case you missed it here's the latest episode talking about some unreleased games! 

I'm in a Metal Jesus video! He reached out to me and several other peeps you may or may not know to answer questions, this week it's about what game console we regret selling or getting rid of. There will be more of these types of videos that I'm in so keep an eye out!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktdYi... 

I have a new channel out that focuses mainly on video game sound quality. Everyone talks about graphics quality all day long but sound quality rarely gets its due. This channel will have short videos that just discuss the audio aspects of games past and present. How doe sit sound? What sound options are there? Is the dialog clean and loud enough? Is there good use of subwoofer? That kind of stuff. I do these in between real Game Sack episodes and will upload new videos to Sound Sack from time to time. Check it out if this is something that may interest you! I already have 6 videos up, but here's the channel trailer. The channel itself is at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyMo... 

Be sure to check out this brand new episode, Dave had to come back for this epic battle! No it's not a reupload, we've really never done this episode before! Always wanted to, though. It was a lot of fun to make and hopefully should be fun to watch. Enjoy! 

Be sure to check out the new episode if you haven't. I'm technically not even in it, so that's great news for everyone! 

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. I am trying to *bold* the questions here to make them easy to peruse, I hope it works.


*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.




*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.




*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.




*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.




*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.




*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. 




*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.




*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. 




*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.




*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.




*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!




*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.




*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.




*Game Sack sucks!!!!*


Yes, we know.




*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.” 




*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. 




*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.


*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.




*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.




*Can I repost this FAQ thingy somewhere?*


Sure, if you want.




*FU Gam Sck!*


ok will do




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