Gaming Podcasts: A Thread about Listening to Others

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Julius Caesar said:

I can see where you’re coming from, and I for one would certainly want to hear about their views on reviewing games, but let’s not forget that they have received a lot of heat from their audience for talking about controversial topics (off the top of my head, they talked about Pewdiepie last year and something to do with Bethesda and Nazis, neither of which went down particularly well with anyone) in the past. If I recall, Kyle felt uncomfortable bringing up a topic which panelists, or himself, might not know enough about to comment on, but then, of course, I’m sure they’d probably have plenty to talk about with this. Another part of me wants to say that it could still come up, and that they’ve just been waiting until the picture was clear to give some input, but I’m not sure. 

This is what I don't like. They are essentially scared to talk about such things and are bending to the will of a select group of people. Kyle often tries not to get into these types of discussions as he wants to keep thing light and fun but, at the same time, I think certain things do need discussing and I think it's a bad way of doing things if you are picking and choosing the stories you want to discuss in an attempt to not have any negative discussions. 

[Julius]

2 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

This is what I don't like. They are essentially scared to talk about such things and are bending to the will of a select group of people. Kyle often tries not to get into these types of discussions as he wants to keep thing light and fun but, at the same time, I think certain things do need discussing and I think it's a bad way of doing things if you are picking and choosing the stories you want to discuss in an attempt to not have any negative discussions. 

To go into that a bit further: they got a lot of flak for not being as informed as they could be about it, because, even though it was clear that Kyle had done some research, the panelists did not know as much about the topic at hand as he did. It’s made a little more convoluted by the fact that such stories are often ongoing, and there is a three day gap between the recording of the podcast and it going live to what I assume would be the majority of their audience — those whom are not patrons. Of course they got a lot of flak for talking about it from some other crowds, but it would have seemed at the time that that was the main cause of the backlash.

I agree with you, though, that this would be the time to buck that trend: the majority of the Allies review games, and they’ve all worked in a high profile working environment in the gaming industry. However, I would argue that Kyle does hold discussions rooted in negativity, like when they talked about Quantic Dream, for example, but avoids talking about the more controversial topics after prior backlash. 

Maybe they decide to jump in and talk about it, or maybe they don’t. If you’re already listening to a decent range of gaming podcasts, though, I don’t think that the Allies in particular would have a unique perspective to bring to the table here which would change the conversation, just because it has been discussed by virtually everyone else at this point.

I think, at best, they’ll reiterate what everyone else has said: Filip is in the wrong, got thoroughly lambasted - and rightly so - and plagiarism is wrong. I’d love for them to talk more about the way that they review games, but I feel that they’ve done it plenty of times in the past, especially on Frame Trap, and could understand Kyle’s reservations about bringing such a large topic to the table of a 1 - 2.5 hour long podcast, when there typically is so much else to get through. I just think that even within Easy Allies, they have another podcast which is more suited to the discussion of this topic. 

[Hero-of-Time]

17 minutes ago, Julius Caesar said:

To go into that a bit further: they got a lot of flak for not being as informed as they could be about it, because, even though it was clear that Kyle had done some research, the panelists did not know as much about the topic at hand as he did. It’s made a little more convoluted by the fact that such stories are often ongoing, and there is a three day gap between the recording of the podcast and it going live to what I assume would be the majority of their audience — those whom are not patrons. Of course they got a lot of flak for talking about it from some other crowds, but it would have seemed at the time that that was the main cause of the backlash.

I agree with you, though, that this would be the time to buck that trend: the majority of the Allies review games, and they’ve all worked in a high profile working environment in the gaming industry. However, I would argue that Kyle does hold discussions rooted in negativity, like when they talked about Quantic Dream, for example, but avoids talking about the more controversial topics after prior backlash. 

Maybe they decide to jump in and talk about it, or maybe they don’t. If you’re already listening to a decent range of gaming podcasts, though, I don’t think that the Allies in particular would have a unique perspective to bring to the table here which would change the conversation, just because it has been discussed by virtually everyone else at this point.

To be fair, if you are being paid by people to host a podcast then I think it's in their best interest to be up to scratch on what they discuss. It's not like they are some random YouTubers just dishing out bits and bobs of information. I can see why people aren't happy with the lack of information they are bringing to the table. If you have people paying you to do a job then you should make sure you are informed enough to discuss it, right? At the moment it just kinda looks like they don't want to touch the subject matter because there event in question happened over a week ago now and that's plenty of time to get their thoughts together on it.

Because a lot of them have worked in the industry before is exactly why I would like their take on things. I mean, you could argue why listen to a number of any weekly podcasts if they are all discussing the same thing? The reason is because people are individuals and often have their own unique perspective of events. Ironic writing that when we are talking about the plagiarism fiasco.  

EDIT: There's also an argument to be made that some people may only use EZA (highly unlikely in this day and age) as their only news outlet and as such wouldn't be aware of this event that has rippled through the industry due to their reluctance to discuss it.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Hero-of-Time

[Goron_3]

Is anyone a fan of Retronauts? I'm digging through their vast library of episodes and their content is absolutely superb. I've just finished listening to the Wind Waker episode and their knowledge on not only the game but also the context of the era it released in is so impressive.

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Goron_3 said:

Is anyone a fan of Retronauts? I'm digging through their vast library of episodes and their content is absolutely superb. I've just finished listening to the Wind Waker episode and their knowledge on not only the game but also the context of the era it released in is so impressive.

Yeah, i've listened to a few episodes and they are great. I tend to just listen to the ones that focus on games that I have played and have fond memories of.

[Hero-of-Time]

I was listening to the latest episode of Sacred Symbols this morning and a question was brought up about working in the industry as a journalist. Colin was quite forward with his reply in that he said it is a nightmare to work as a more traditional journalist due to the likes of YouTube killing off the old style way of making content. It's something that we as a forum discussed recently in another topic but it was interesting to hear that the Sacred Symbols crew also shares a lot of our views.

Funnily enough, a topic of Era just popped up today about working in the industry as a journalist and how it was a bit of a nightmare. Someone replied to the topic works as part as PlayStation EU.

Quote

As a content producer on the other side of the fence, I can also relate. I think for me, one of the things that generally grates on me is the modern digital landscape. Competition for clicks, the data-driven 'how did this perform, how can we improve' nature of modern journalism and the ability of the business to track in infinitesimal detail just how well any piece performs - from click-through to dwell-time to heat-maps - means that you are constantly at the mercy of internet search engine algorithms and the terminally short attention spans of the digital readers.

In this kind of environment, you end-up writing more with a focus on what will reach the widest audience rather than what actually matters to you as producer. In my job, marketing is the key focus, so I'm not really in a position to belly-ache, but I know that journalists are fighting the same battle, and they probably didn't get into it just to be person with the most clicks - they probably got into because they cared about the medium and had something they wanted to say.

You just have to look at click-bait titles of YouTube videos or the thumbnail pictures to know this is true and a lot of people are worried more about getting more views than actually producing good content that is entertaining or informative. 

 

[Nicktendo]

On 12/09/2018 at 3:56 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

I was listening to the latest episode of Sacred Symbols this morning and a question was brought up about working in the industry as a journalist. Colin was quite forward with his reply in that he said it is a nightmare to work as a more traditional journalist due to the likes of YouTube killing off the old style way of making content. It's something that we as a forum discussed recently in another topic but it was interesting to hear that the Sacred Symbols crew also shares a lot of our views.

Funnily enough, a topic of Era just popped up today about working in the industry as a journalist and how it was a bit of a nightmare. Someone replied to the topic works as part as PlayStation EU.

You just have to look at click-bait titles of YouTube videos or the thumbnail pictures to know this is true and a lot of people are worried more about getting more views than actually producing good content that is entertaining or informative. 

 

I'm inclined to agree with everything you've written here, but I actually consume basically all my gaming content on YouTube. It's geniunely sad that written-form game journalism is all but dead, but there is still a load of fantastic content out there. 

If you can avoid the shitty clickbait stuff, I think we're almost in a golden age of gaming content. I don't have a TV connection these days, and almost everything I run through my TV is gaming stuff either with the Switch or gaming discussion on YouTube. I know you already know about Easy Allies and Jim Sterling, but I feel their content is just as good as anything that was in written form. Colin's videos get a watch every week, as does Spawn Wave, which is a daily YouTube gaming news channel, everything you need to know in 15 mins or less. He also has a weekly podcast with interesting guests, a few let's plays of newer releases and a LOT of cool tech breakdowns and stuff. Worth a sub. 

I'm sure most people are familiar with Digital Foundry, which consistently produce incredible content. DF retro is one of the best series on YouTube, take a look if you haven't already. The Gaming Historian is also great in a similar vein. His recent hour-long documentary into the origins of Tetris is one of the best YouTube videos I've ever seen. An immense amount of work was clearly put into it and it's every bit as good as any long form article could have been. 

CleanPrinceGaming is another YouTuber who does weekly "essays" about current topics, DidYouKnowGaming is great for trivia and interesting, little known facts about popular games, Metal Jesus Rocks and My Life In Gaming focus on retro stuff and collecting. Arlo? Arlo!

Basically, the content is there and plentiful, it's all a matter of carefully curating stuff to your specific tastes, and while it can take a while to find everything you want, once you're settled on your favourites, you'll wonder how you managed before. It is a shame that the written word has taken a back seat, but I guess it's just a changing of the times. It seems people would rather consume content while they're cooking a spagetti bolognese or driving to work, rather than find 30 mins to flick through a magazine or sit at the computer.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Nicktendo

[Julius]

 

[Ronnie]

@Hero-of-Time I know you watch Kinda Funny, so this is for you, or anyone who watches/listens to it too obviously...

Do you find Kinda Funny content as totally unwatchable as I do since Jared joined them? I can't stand that man, I see him on a show and I just don't watch it. I find him that annoying. Lately it seems like he's on 95% of their videos and judging from how the Youtube comments have really turned on him lately, I don't think I'm the only one.

[Julius]

Twenty minutes or so into this week’s EZA podcast, and as much as I love the Allies...Jones really does say some odd things from time to time. 

For instance, we’re 18 months into the Switch’s lifespan, and he says that he was beginning to worry that we wouldn’t get Animal Crossing on the Switch at all prior to last week’s announcement. He then goes on to imply that the games cater to only a tiny corner of gamers, despite it easily being one of Nintendo’s most successful modern franchises? 

[nekunando]

59 minutes ago, Julius Caesar said:

Twenty minutes or so into this week’s EZA podcast, and as much as I love the Allies...Jones really does say some odd things from time to time. 

For instance, we’re 18 months into the Switch’s lifespan, and he says that he was beginning to worry that we wouldn’t get Animal Crossing on the Switch at all prior to last week’s announcement. He then goes on to imply that the games cater to only a tiny corner of gamers, despite it easily being one of Nintendo’s most successful modern franchises? 

I still listen to EZA pretty much every week but they haven't been as enjoyable, recently.

Perhaps a part of that is down to a lack of really exciting Nintendo news (I don't even bother with Friend Code ) but things like 'Recruit Me' at the start of the podcast is total nonsense and I don't like it..

[Ganepark32]

I've also thought that the EZA podcast hasn't quite been up to snuff the last couple of weeks. I think last week's was a bit more on point but prior to that, it was a bit of a slog listening to them. Part of that was having Damiani on 3 weeks in a row and continuing to turn up every second week. I was never a fan of him at GT and even more so now. Unless Nintendo is mentioned, he brings nothing to the table and though he's tried to chime in more recently, it's done little to inflate the podcast. He's not the only one to negatively impact their podcast by their demeanour in my eyes but he's the main one.

I think they need to be more confident in saying that if someone can't do the podcast that week, then run with 3 and Ian in the switcher. They've done it before so I don't know why they don't do it again. I remember a month or two back it just being Brandon, Blood and Kyle and it was a good podcast, even if I'm not keen on Kyle.

It's got me thinking about the old Invisible Walls days and I still think they've not quite reached that level yet. Man I miss those days.

[Julius]

 

[Hero-of-Time]

On 9/22/2018 at 8:19 AM, Ganepark32 said:

I've also thought that the EZA podcast hasn't quite been up to snuff the last couple of weeks. I think last week's was a bit more on point but prior to that, it was a bit of a slog listening to them. Part of that was having Damiani on 3 weeks in a row and continuing to turn up every second week. I was never a fan of him at GT and even more so now. Unless Nintendo is mentioned, he brings nothing to the table and though he's tried to chime in more recently, it's done little to inflate the podcast. He's not the only one to negatively impact their podcast by their demeanour in my eyes but he's the main one.

It's got me thinking about the old Invisible Walls days and I still think they've not quite reached that level yet. Man I miss those days.

I'm starting to feel the same way. A lot of the time it seems they are just happy the play games on the podcast, such as 'Recruit Me', when the time could be spent talking about something with a little more substance. A couple of the guys are starting to annoy me. Huber saying how he loves a day one patch ( what the hell? ) really took the biscuit on this weeks episode, as did his recent defence of Shenmue. Like, I know he loves the games to bits but not being able to admit how dated they are was pretty annoying to listen to.

I've never really cared for Damiani. He's such a Nintendo fanboy and struggles to add anything to the conversation if Nintendo aren't being discussed. I also dislike how he hates to be wrong. He'll do anything to wrangle out of admitting he's made a mistake about anything. He's come under fire recently for his review of Starlink. He was essentially reviewing it as a Starfox game and Nintendo fan and a lot of people called him out on it.

Out of all of the Allies I think Ben and Bloodworth are the best. Both of them have a good knowledge about games and the industry and each of them bring something decent to the table. I do think that Frametrap is a much more enjoyable gaming related podcast than their main one.

[Ronnie]

Tried listening to EZA a while back but just couldn't last long.

I'm enjoying Gamexplain a lot these days, always great to listen to those guys, particularly when Andre is hosting. Total Nintendo fanboys but they do great work so get a pass.

Still listening to Kinda Funny (whenever Jared isn't on) a lot.

+ Game Scoop and NVC and the occasional Beyond or Unlocked.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Ronnie

[S.C.G]

I enjoy Easy Allies for the entire breadth of content that they provide but I hear you on the podcast, it's at the stage now where if they are talking about a game I'm not interested in at all such as Call of Duty etc... then I'll just skip that part of the Podcast, Frame Trap, or Friend Code.

Indeed, last night I was listening to Friend Code but sped up to 1.5 times normal speed because I felt that I know their speech patterns now plus I was short on time anyway.

Loving the start of the first Season of Box Peek though.

 

[Julius]

FINALLY! So deserved 

 

[killthenet]

@Julius just came here myself to post the video, it's fantastic news - I was actually welling up a little bit watching the video, these guys totally deserve it and I can't wait to see what they can accomplish with a proper space to work in. 

Definitely going to miss the cosiness of Brandon's garage though, but I got used to the desk instead of the couch for the podcast pretty quickly so doubt i'll be pining for the garage days for too long.

Edited December 5, 2018 by killthenet

[S.C.G]

Ah, that was such a great video to watch, especially when you know that you've been part of it since Easy Allies first started.

I've been a subscribed Patreon for as long as I can remember (I only support EZA and N-E financially each month at the moment) even through the tougher months, it's worth it.

Indeed, I'm really trying to save money at the moment but I shall keep both of my Patreon pledges for as long as the site keeps taking my credit card details.

I get a lot of joy from this place and EZA so the money is just a number but it's nice to see the positive effect that sustained financial support can have in the long term.

It's about more than that though, anyone who regularly tunes into any of their videos has helped to make them a success as well, especially if they are shared as well.

For the amount of content they make, I don't even watch all of it but I still feel like I get more than enough enjoyment out of them on a regular basis.

The gaming landscape is a lot better having Easy Allies as a part of it, I feel that their community and the N-E community are both fantastic to be a part of.

Here's to the future of both!

[Hero-of-Time]

My love of EZA may not be as strong as it once was but I'm very happy for the guys. While I don't watch a lot of their content ( I only listen to/watch Frame Trap, podcast and their reviews as I have no interest in things like Box Peek, Fiasconauts etc. ) there's no denying that they have worked their butts off to get into the position they are in today. Like @killthenet i'm also going to miss the intimacy of the garage setup. Hopefully everything still feels the same when they move over to studio in the new year.

[S.C.G]

Oh yeah, I still love the Garage setup, but it will be good for them to have their own studio I reckon, so long as it all goes to plan.

There are pros and cons to both... the pros for  the garage setup were that it was at Brandon's house, more control over everything in there.

Cons would also be that it's at Brandon's house... I mean, he seems pretty cool about it all but I bet he'll be glad to have his garage back for a bit plus I guess they've outgrown it.

Pros for the studio setup would include an increased scope on what they can do, plus it will presumably be easier once they get into a routine.

Cons of a studio setup, well... I don't know where the location is relative to the garage but it might be further for them to travel, plus hopefully the new place is pretty secure.

Those would be the things I'd be thinking about, all the equipment, in a studio where you can't really keep an eye on it all the time but I guess it's a trade-off.

Regarding their content, I love the Podcast (most of the time) Frame Trap is great, Friend Code is fun (sometimes) Box Peek is great, the Reviews are fantastic.

I watch Easy Update most weeks, Huber Syndrome every week. (unless it's about Wrestling or other Sports, TV shows I'm not bothered about)

Fiasconauts I haven't watched in a good while, sometimes it can be really good, they are more of a put on in the background video for me though, if at all.

Whenever they have one of Don's video series or one-offs I always watch those especially stuff like The Busted Trifecta or Bride of Pinbot. (that one about the Pinball Machine)

I can't get into Tabletop Escapades and I only sometimes watch Reaction Shots but I love that both of those shows exist.

Wow... just reflecting on all the individual pieces of content there, that's a heck of a lot and that's not even including the Patreon exclusive stuff.

Anyway, exciting times indeed and I just hope that whoever watches Easy Allies, be it just the odd video here and there or everything, Patreon or not, that they enjoy it.

They've certainly provided me with more than enough hours of enjoyment over the past... two - three years.

Love & Respect.

[Nicktendo]

I’m not sure if it’s going to be Patreon only or not, but I recorded a stream with The Famicast today (ex NWR guys living in Japan). Played Smash for a an hour or so and it was great fun! I’ll post a link once it’s available.

[Hero-of-Time]

I listened to last weeks Easy Allies podcast this morning and it's one of the worst gaming podcast I've listened to in a while. It was essentially an hour of them just faffing on and playing stupid games. There was plenty of stuff that happened during the week to discuss but instead they pulled this. Luckily Frame Trap dropped today so hopefully there will be an actual gaming discussion on that show.

[nekunando]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I listened to last weeks Easy Allies podcast this morning and it's one of the worst gaming podcast I've listened to in a while. It was essentially an hour of them just faffing on and playing stupid games. There was plenty of stuff that happened during the week to discuss but instead they pulled this. Luckily Frame Trap dropped today so hopefully there will be an actual gaming discussion on that show.

I feel like it has been getting more and more like this, recently

The 'Recruit Me' section is still absolute nonsense that I immediately skip each week and I'm increasingly finding themselves indulging in their own inside jokes and elaborating on things that I'm not sure many people really care about!

I much prefer Frame Trap these days as Ben Moore has quickly become my favourite member of Easy Allies but the format of that particular show is often hindered by the selection of games being discussed. Occasionally I listen to them talk about games I may have little interest in to see if I can be swayed by positive appraisals and perhaps things I wasn't aware of but it is way more preferably to listen when I'm personally invested in a particular game.

I sometimes feel like the EZA Podcast glosses over Nintendo topics at times in favour of keeping that content for Friend Code, which I understand, but I don't find that show to be particularly compelling either.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, the faffing about is just flat out annoying me now. It's been going on for a while now and this weeks episode was just breaking point. You can have a laugh and reference past events while also putting on an informative podcast. Just look at/listen to the Radio Free Nintendo guys. The fact that they are 601 episodes in without the use of something like Patreon is a testament of how good their show is and how loyal a fanbase they have.

EZA definitely skip certainly Nintendo news for Friend Code. Like you, I'm not a huge fan of it and only listen to it if I have exhausted my regular podcasts for the week.