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Published February 7, 2008

Hey kids! It’s Thursday night again, and you know what that means…

No no no, not that. Pull your pants back up.

That’s right, it’s blog time! This week’s topic: My Other favorite podcasts

So a lot more goes into the Rumble Pack than it seems sometimes. Ask anyone on the cast and they’ll recount to you many a story of crappy audio equipment, recording scheduling conflicts, website troubles, editing woes, etc.

And oooooh man, the time commitment. Between recording every Monday, all of us here update our blogs every week, constant check and post on the boards and write reviews, try to come up with new content (we need a intro theme desperately) and somehow find time to play games, be social, work full-time jobs and catch up with as much industry news as we possibly can. It’s a busy schedule!

For me, one of the most important things about the show is having an intelligent conversation about some aspect of the industry, and usually that involves some kind of news piece or issue that’s happened throughout the week. So to keep up with the news on my end and get some fresh perspectives about what’s been going on, I listen to a loooooot of gaming podcasts.

1up radioSo I just wanted to take a second and show you guys what I listen to and what I think about them. I feel like I know pretty much everyone who appears on these shows as if they were my own siblings (trust me, you’d get that way too after listening to them for 5 months on end), so if you start listening to them too, you might hear a little of what they say in my own words.

Note: This is only the first half, focusing on 1up.com‘s series of weekly podcasts, 1up Radio. Second’s coming next week, including the IGN podcasts and others.

1up yours1. 1up Yours
Some would call this the “premier” gaming podcast on the net. It basically houses some of the bigger names from the 1up Network and Electronic Gaming Monthly including Garnett Lee, Shane Bettenhausen, Bryan Intihar and Shawn Elliot. Although Shane tends to say some pretty fanboy-ish things once and awhile, everyone that appears on this show has had a loooot of experience in the industry and usually has intelligent things to say. I love their show format, and I think Garnett Lee, although a bit intense at time, makes a great host.

EGM live2. EGM Live

This is basically the podcast that features the rest of the crew from EGM magazine, such as Jennifer Tsao, Michael Danahoe, Greg Ford, James Mielke, Crispin Boyer, now-associate-editor Nick Suttner (he was an intern until recently), and of course, Dan “Shoe” Tsu. Although the format of the show’s a little random, EGM Live is a great peek into culmination of personalities that it takes to put out a solid publication like EGM. A great sense of humor usually shines through, and makes me more jealous every week that they get paid to be in such a laid-back work environment, doing what seems to be an absolute joy (compared to what I do, at least)

retronauts.gif3. Retronauts

Retronauts is another 1up.com podcast, this time the child of renowned game critic Jeremy Parish. It also usually features my hero, Chris Kohler, of Wired Magazine, whose time spent analyzing and studying the Japanese video game industry has pretty much made him my idol. The great thing about Retronauts is that every week centers around some sort of old-school gaming topic, whether it be regarding an older system, game series, or company, and therefore is usually very timeless. Except for the segment at the beginning of the show that runs through the classic release list of the week (of the Wii’s virtual console service, the PSN and the XBLA), any of these shows can be enjoyed at any point in time, because they simply analyze events of the past. Jeremy’s also a very harsh critic, one that I often find myself at odds with, but always end up respecting all the more for this very well thought-out opinions. Justin’s a big fan.

GFW radio 4. Games for Windows radio

This is the “Brodeo”, the last of the 1up.com podcasts, and probably one of the funniest podcasts I’ve ever heard in my entire life. The cast includes Shawn Molloy, Shawn Elliot, Ryan Scott, and Darren Gladstone. Probably my favorite part of this podcast is the “Heroes of the web” bit they do, in which they read a letter or forum post written by some sort of avid fanboy in a hilarious voice and then discuss what was said. It’s not as malicious as it sounds, it’s honestly just pure fun. I’m definitely not a PC gamer, but I love this podcast. God bless the Brodeo.

Annnnd that’s it for round 1! Stay tuned for round 2 next week!

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