Player One Podcast

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POP Ep.36: One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall (Voicemail line: 713-893-8069) Jul 02, 2007

Show notes

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!

POP Ep.35: Insert token to continue (Voicemail line: 713-893-8069) Jun 25, 2007

Show notes

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 League Pac-Man Championship Edition Band of Bugs Transformers Hot Brain Time Ace DiRT Tenchu Z digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.34: Keep Inserting Tokens (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) Jun 17, 2007

Show notes

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 iTunes Music Store, leave a comment on the blog page or join our forums!This week's links:Planet Puzzle League Prince of Persia Puzzle Quest Virtual Console: Punch Out Final Fantasy IX Pac-Man Championship Edition YouTube: Pac-Man C.E.Gamerscore blog: Lunchtime Conversation (Pac-Man and Pricing)Level-Up: Disparity from Microsoft Game Studios: PricelessPS3 price drop only a matter of time Joystiq: May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49% digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.33: Retrofit (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) Jun 11, 2007

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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 â��em? Do we hate â��em? Should Square Enix just give up on the Final Fantasy remakes already? Youâ��ll have to listen to find out. And after that, we take some listener calls (Dan likes to call them â��readerâ�� callsâ�¦heâ��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 theyâ��re drunk. Of course, before all that the guys talk about the games theyâ��ve played in the last week, and somehow manage not to mention Catan or World of Warcraftâ�¦at least no more than a passing mention. So listen already!This week's links:Planet Puzzle League Youtube: Tetris Attack Pac-Man Championship Edition Puzzle Quest Tomb Raider Anniversary Shadowrun C.R.U.S.H. digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.32: Bowl of Humanity (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) Jun 06, 2007

Show notes

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 our technical difficulties! 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:Forza 2 Shadowrun Ouendan 2 Planet Puzzle League Catan DIRT demo Mad Tracks Youtube: Speed Devils Online digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

Episode 32 - delayed (again!) Jun 04, 2007

Show notes

Sometimes, technology is against you. Episode 32 is delayed -- and will be posted on Tuesday, June 5, instead of the usual Monday.CJ spent the last few days in Chicago and we tried, twice, to record Episode 32 while he was on the road. Unfortunately, the iBook he'd purchased back in 2002 wasn't powerful enough to handle Skype and recording via Audacity without crashing multiple times or resetting its settings to record via the laptop's internal microphone instead of the headset.The lesson here is that CJ needs to buy a new laptop before we try to do a show while he's on the road again.UPDATE: Well, we recorded it a third time. And of course ran head-on into two more technical problems that have prevented this one from going smoothly. So the episode will be out Tuesday night, hopefully before midnight. Here's a tease -- we discuss racing games.

POP Ep.31: In a Galaxy Far, Far Away... (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) May 28, 2007

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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 Beta Catan Aegis Wing World of Warcraft Guitar Hero II Wii Sports Guitar Hero III songlist preview Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Xevious Ouendan 2 Taito Legends 2 / Power Up Soltrio Solitaire Famicom Star Wars Masters of Teras Kasi digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.30: Power Down (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) May 20, 2007

Show notes

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.com Game Mag Weaseling IGN: Rumor: Nintendo Power Shutting Down Youtube: Nintendo Power commercial The (Unofficial) Ace Ebb Fan Club Edge Presents File Crackdown Halo 3 Beta Ristar Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Catan Ouendan 2 Odin Sphere Lunar Knights digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.29: A trip to Saturn (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) May 14, 2007

Show notes

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 we'll be back next week.This week's links:Puzzle Quest Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Catan Calling All Cars Super Paper Mario Double Dragon XBLA Legend of the Mystical Ninja Virtual Console SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS 1UP Yours: May 4, 2007 episode 1UP Boards: Did you ever overreact to a game's low score...EGM Review: Star Fox Adventures (Shane)EGM Review: Star Fox Adventures (CJ)Joystiq: Is Catan changing Xbox Live?Youtube: Sega Saturn promo video Youtube: Sega Saturn commercial Youtube: Freaky Sega Saturn commercial Youtube: Segata Sanshiro commercial Youtube: Dragon Force Youtube: NiGHTS Youtube: Winter Heat Youtube: Radiant Silvergun Youtube: Keio Yugekitai Youtube: Burning Rangers Promotion Video Youtube: Segata Sanshiro final commercial digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

POP Ep.28: Don't be an a**hole, don't be a fanboy (Voicemail line 713-893-8069) May 07, 2007

Show notes

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 the ending theme music for 10 minutes or so of talk about the movie.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:Guest Patrick Klepek's blog and 1UP blog Lord of the Rings Online Pokemon Diamond and Pearl The Red Star Raiden III Odin Sphere Spider-Man 3 Catan Centipede/Millipede Super Rub-a-Dub Castlevania Boom Boom Rocket David Jaffe's blog: Comments on first Calling All Cars reviews Joystiq on Calling All Cars delay David Jaffe's blog: That's it for now...see you soon Andrew Pfister's 1UP.com blog: Reviewing Reviewers of Reviews Gamerscore blog: Xbox 360 Marketplace Territory Controls Strengthened Gamerscore blog: More on Xbox LIVE Marketplace Content digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';

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