Player One Podcast

This week it's BioShock, BioShock, BioShock...and some Space Giraffe. And some other games. But mostly, BioShock. We suppose we should say before you listen that if you don't want to hear minor BioShock gameplay spoilers, you may want to skip from around the 28-minute mark to around the one-hour-and-20-second area. The spoilers are fairly minor, and if you've played up to Arcadia Hills (think "trees") they're nothing big.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069 or you can send a comment via MP3 to our email address, playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Don't forget to join our forums!This week's links:NASCAR 08Heroes of ManaStuntman IgnitionDead Head FredSpace GiraffeBioShockLlamasoft digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

Madden last week, BioShock this week. The evidence is all around us -- we've started into the fall gaming season where players will part with exorbitant amounts of cash to play the games they've been waiting all year for. And we're gonna like it, damnit! In this episode, we run down the releases month by month and discuss what we'll buy, what we'll skip, and what we'll wait till it's half-off to pick up sometime next year. To wrap it up, we limit ourselves to just five games -- the ones we absolutely have to pick up this fall and list them for you. What's your list look like?But of course we begin the show by talking about the games we played this week, including plenty of Madden and BioShock talk with a couple other things thrown in there as well. Possible spoiler warning: CJ talks about the retail version of BioShock during his segment. It's not particularly spoilery but if you want to remain completely untainted you may want to skip ahead.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by callin

Are Public Relations representatives really the secret evil behind all that is wrong with videogame journalism? Or are they just another necessary evil in the giant game of game media? The boys discuss a recent article over at Gamasutra regarding this very subject, as well as wax nostalgic about some of their run-ins with over-zealous PR folks and publishing CEOs. But first they talk about what's been gracing the disc-trays of their various consoles this past week. Games ranging from the original Tomb Raider to Picross DS to Persona 3 and more are all included. Numan Athletics even gets a mention! Finally, the boys listen to (and mock) your feedback. There were some great calls this week. Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069 or you can send a comment via MP3 to our email address, playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Don't forget to join our forums! This week's link: Gamasutra: PR and the Game Media digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolo

Twenty years ago, gaming began and ended with the Nintendo Entertainment System. You either owned one or desperately wanted to. It's been nearly 20 years since that time for most of us, and we spend a good portion of this episode telling tales of the NES -- reminiscing about our first experiences with the system, our favorite games, and the highs and lows of relying solely on allowances and birthdays for new games.That's not all though. Thanks in part to a little blow-up on 1UP.com, we also spend a little time talking about the effect price should/should not have on review scores. And we discuss the GTA IV delay, Halo 3 online co-op and the games we played this week.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069 or you can send a comment via MP3 to our email address, playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Don't forget to join our forums!BONUS AUDIO: Phil's NES Collection Reading.* Special thanks to mik @ thefanboys for the post-zinger audio.This week's links:Picross DSMarathon Duranda

This week the boys spend a lengthy amount of time talking about what they’ve been playing. Titles like Super Contra, Wing Commander Arena, Alien Syndrome, Overlord, Heavenly Sword, Project Sylpheed and more. And Phil has a total "Shane" moment in the process.Then, thrill to the story of how young Dan Dormer got his first break in the videogame industry, and get a bit of advice on how you, too, could do the same.Finally, we field some calls from our awesome listeners, and find out just how much Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 are going to suck. Oh, and just how little CJ knows about sports games. digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

We open this episode by talking a little bit about which outlet we thought had the better E3 show coverage (or, rather, whose coverage we looked at most). But E3 is but a distant memory for the remainder. While we chat about what games we've been playing and rap for a little while about the Jeff Bell Internet drama (full story at links in the show notes) and game developer Dave Perry's comment about the Wii's fad factor, we spend most of this episode on more of the crew's "Tales of How I Got Into the Industry."This time it's CJ and Phil, whose stories about breaking into the industry run parallel at one point (thus why we did them at the same time, aside from it also generally being a slow news week). No Greg this week and no feedback section, though if we get enough calls on the voicemail line that'll return next time.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the

It's the happiest time of the year for game companies. A time when they take precious manpower from their development cycle and cobble together an E3 demo in the hopes that some unwashed game journalist won't pass judgement on their product based on a five-minute demonstration and a press release. This week four of your favourite unwashed game journalists pick apart the three big press conferences as seen from the sidelines. Who did well? Who did poorly? Who the hell wrote Reggie's "Zap A Zombie" line and do they still have a job? Along the way the boys tackle issues like the imminent death of the Guitar Hero franchise, Nintendo's apparent lack of "real" games, the Sega Vintage line of Live Arcade games, and CJ's refusal to acknowledge any of our fine forum members on the show. Thank goodness our three other hosts do it for him. Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comme

We began recording this episode on Sunday with really just one thought in mind--talking about E3. And in the second segment we do that, mostly focusing on E3s passed and how the show changed during the time we (well, minus Dan) were actively involved in gaming magazine publishing. We share a few stories, a few yarns, a few fun anecdotes. The perfect thing in case any of you are heading down to the "new" E3, which takes place this week (none of us are, btw -- though two of us were invited).Other topics briefly touched upon including Microsoft's admission of defects with the 360 and the new warranty/repair program they've got going for anyone who's experienced red rings past, present and future. Unfortunately too late for those who just up and bought new systems. And we talk about the PS3 price cut coming this week, which was confirmed in between the time we recorded this and the time the finished episode was posted. Unfortunately it's just a temporary price cut in lieu of another $599 PS3 hardware SKU coming i

Two members of our cast are total Harry Potter geeks. In fact, the only passion that outstrips their love of the bespectacled wizard has to do with the Transformers. So you can guess what most of this episode is about. Who has the better game -- Harry or Optimus? Along with the two biggies, the boys tackle Carcassonne and Final Fantasy this week. Plus a look at some of the latest headlines in the gaming industry. And finally, they talk a bit about the licensed movie game genre. Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums!

This week: A continuation of last week's discussion about game pricing. This time 'round we tackle the price of portable gaming, downloadable content, Xbox Live Arcade game price drops (or nonexistence of any) and more. Plus, we go over what we've been playing this week and play a couple voicemails.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums!This week's links:Planet Puzzle LeaguePac-Man Championship EditionBand of BugsTransformersHot BrainTime AceDiRTTenchu Z digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

Whether it's Microsoft having to publicly justify the $10 price tag of Pac-Man Championship Edition and explain the reason why Shadowrun on 360 is $10 more than it is on PC, or news the Sony is "studying" PS3 price cuts...the price of gaming is a big topic of discussion these days. In the second segment we kick off a conversation about game/console pricing that will continue in next week's cast. Have $60 games changed the way you decide what to buy? Have you jumped ship to Gamefly and other rental services to continue enjoying your hobby? And we'd actually like to hear your opinions on it as well, so call that voicemail line and leave us a message--we'll be playing a few of them in part two next week.As always we begin the 'cast by talking about what we're playing (not much, really) and finish it out by going over some of the feedback from the last few episodes.Thanks for listening! You can leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the

To celebrate the release of Tomb Raider Anniversary (or, depending on who you ask, Pac-Man Championship Edition) the boys tackle the topic of retro remakes this week. Do we like �em? Do we hate �em? Should Square Enix just give up on the Final Fantasy remakes already? You�ll have to listen to find out. And after that, we take some listener calls (Dan likes to call them �reader� calls�he�s so cute) and discuss the current state of game magazines, the reaction to the most recent EGM redesign, and why dudes are so compelled to call us when they�re drunk. Of course, before all that the guys talk about the games they�ve played in the last week, and somehow manage not to mention Catan or World of Warcraft�at least no more than a passing mention. So listen already!This week's links:Planet Puzzle LeagueYoutube: Tetris AttackPac-Man Championship EditionPuzzle QuestTomb Raider AnniversaryShadowrunC.R.U.S.H. digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; d

This is the episode that almost didn't happen. Or, rather, it's the episode that happened three times and we still didn't make it out alive. Either way you look at it, here it is and let's all just be glad it's over. The first two tries at recording this  over the weekend were foiled by CJ's laptop teetering on the brink of obsolescence. The third time was the charm, except that halfway through Dan's Internet went wonky and his recording software crashed, leaving us with only a rough backup track of his contributions to this episode. If you're wondering why Dan sounds like he's broadcasting from a dark cave somewhere, this is why.But there are bright spots in this episode. It's not all bad (we swear). Thanks to Forza 2, Mad Tracks and the DIRT demo, we decided to spend the second segment talking about racing games. And despite Dan being disconnected during it and Phil's near complete lack of interest in the genre, we think it turned out OK. You be the judge.Thanks for listening and for hanging in there during

It's Memorial Day weekend in the USA, generally thought of as the "official" start of the summer movie season (though more and more films are opening well beforehand every year). This weekend it's Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. But 30 years ago it was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. To commemorate the occasion, we spend the second half of this episode talking about Star Wars as the series has appeared in video games. From the original 1980s arcade game to Masters of Teras Kasi and KOTOR, join us for a walk down memory lane.Thanks for listening! Leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums! Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week.This week's links:Halo 3 BetaCatanAegis WingWorld of WarcraftGuitar Hero IIWii SportsGuitar Hero III songlist previewPirates of the Caribbean: At World's EndXeviousOuendan 2Taito Legends 2 / Power UpSoltrio Solitair

Last week the rumor hit the Internet that Nintendo was planning to shutter their Nintendo Power magazine. Sad news for those of us in the "Nintendo generation" that grew up reading it religiously. So we invited Kevin Gifford of magweasel.com and GameSetWatch's weekly Game Mag Weaseling column to talk about it. We not only discuss the rumored shutdown of Nintendo Power but also about the current state of video game magazines in the US and UK and the changing nature of print publishing.Thanks for listening! Leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums! Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week.This week's links:Magweasel.comGame Mag WeaselingIGN: Rumor: Nintendo Power Shutting DownYoutube: Nintendo Power commercialThe (Unofficial) Ace Ebb Fan ClubEdge Presents FileCrackdownHalo 3 BetaRistarPokemon Diamond/PearlCatanOuendan 2Odin SphereLunar Knights digg_url =

This week we take a minute (OK, more like 30) to talk about the ill-fated 32-bit Sega Saturn system. But we're not just doing it because we like to shoot the bull about classic game hardware--May 11 marked 12 years since the system launched in North America, the first (and last) time a game console has been stealth-surprise launched. Maybe our discussion of the system and its games will spark a few memories in your mind (and if it does, pick up the phone and tell 'em to our voicemail line so we can play them on the air).While that's the main focus this week we also do a super-sized What'cha Been Playing that includes talk about the 360 Spring Dashboard Update, discuss whether we think Guitar Hero 3 or Rock Band will be better, and ponder which gaming genre will "die" next.Thanks for listening! Leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums! Thanks for listening, and

The title of this episode is a choice piece of advice on how to get into the industry from this week's special guest, 1UP.com's Patrick Klepek. If you've always wondered how to get your foot in the door, you'll want to stick around for the last part of this episode where Patrick and co-host Greg Sewart share their stories of how they got started. (We'll get to the rest of the crew and other guests in the next few weeks.)Two other big topics this week -- First, David Jaffe's blog blow-up against game reviewers and gaming blogs (Joystiq in particular). We discuss reviewers taking the price/distribution model of a game in mind, developers versus journalists, fixing bugs after reviews have been printed, and the importance of playing a game so reliant on the quality of the online community "in the wild." Then we switch gears a little and discuss Microsoft's new territory controls built around the Xbox Live Marketplace.One more thing, if you've seen Spider-Man 3 or don't mind hearing spoilers, stick around after th

Ken Kutaragi. He wasn't just the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, he was also the father of the PlayStation. Without him, Sony never would've gotten into the gaming business to begin with. So it seems a bit odd that on the eve of what should be their triumph, he's retiring. While it's debatable as to whether he should've ascended to the heights he did within Sony (and his rambling, eccentric speeches at various press conferences point directly at this), it does seem like his stepping down is in response to the PSP's lackluster performance and the PS3's rocky launch. Join us as we talk a little bit about this and Sony's future steps.Naturally, that's not all we talk about in this episode. There's lots of Pokemon talk (so be prepared), as well as discussions about the use of webcams in console gaming, the anniversary of the Wii name, the analyst that thinks Wii/DS success is bad for the industry, and much much more. Join us, won't you?Thanks for listening! Leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069

To mark the glorious occasion of the release of a brand-new Pokemon game, we take a look back on the series as a whole -- the ups, the downs, the seizure-inducing TV show, all of it. Is it wrong that grown adults love the Pokemon games too? Certainly not -- after all, they're just plain ol' RPGs with 400 cute characters to capture. At the end of the segment we issue a challenge to any Pokerapping listeners we might have out there. Any takers?Before all that we talk about what we've been playing and briefly go over the March NPD sales numbers. Not so hot of a month for Sony, strange since Motorstorm was considered a potential system-seller and Casino Royale hit Blu-Ray, figuring that it would've helped sell a few systems too.Thanks for listening! Leave us a voicemail comment by calling 713-893-8069. Or you can e-mail us, vote for us on Digg, leave a comment on the iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums! Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week.This week's links:Lego St

Warning: Depending on your stance on game spoilers, you'll either love or hate this episode of the Player One Podcast. Because Gamestop locations are running a video in-store that shows the ending of Zelda: Twilight Princess, we thought it would be the perfect time to talk about spoilers. What is and is not a game spoiler? Is watching the first 10 minutes of a highly anticipated game via a webcast spoiling the experience? When is the statute of limitations up, making it OK to spoil? After all, Twilight Princess has been out for a few months -- but is it still too early? Join us as we discuss these questions and more. (But if you care about spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2, Halo 2 and Super Paper Mario you may want to skip it to keep yourself pure.)Also this week we discuss Activision's Guitar Hero II microtransaction buzzkill. We were all ready (as some of you probably were too) to buy tracks from Guitar Hero 1 to play on our 360s. What we weren't prepared for was the cost of  the privilege. And because it wou