Ok, I didn't exactly follow the typical SIA format, but if you're gonna kick off a podcast with Bad to the Bone, you better be the kind of guy that writes his own rules. This weeks feature? Music to blow up your fellow racers by, because any competition is so much better when things can explode.
After some serious technical difficulties and scheduling problems, the Nerds are back! We had all sorts of well-laid plans for this episode but they never came together. Instead, Patrick and Julian got together the day before E3 to record a predictions podcast that wouldn't be released until after the show was over. Enjoy this E3 time capsule!
It’s safe to say that Sony delivered an impressive showing at their E3 press conference and gained a ton of good will with gamers looking to upgrade to next generation consoles. While it’s far too early to declare the PS4 the winner of the next console war (the systems are five months away, after all), many people in the gaming community have latched on to the system since it still offers gamers the freedom to trade, sell, and buy used games. It would be foolish to count Microsoft out at this point, however, and even if many elements of the Xbox One are less than attractive, people should understand that it’s a glimpse into the future.
Sony’s E3 press conference Monday night was striking for a lot of reasons, but the greatest contrast of all wasn’t between Sony and Microsoft. It was between Sony and itself.
What? Another special edition of Nerds Without Pants? You lucky ducks! This time, Angelo joins Julian for a look at what Nintendo had to show off, as well as a bunch of other stuff that you'll want to hear.
Hello there! The Pantsless Ones simply couldn't stay silent after the Sony press conference. Here is an hour of unfiltered, unedited NWP, with the guys high off of video game announcements.
E3 is on the horizon, and as usual, we are buzzing. This year in particular should be huge. With two brand new consoles on the way and the promise of rescue titles for the Wii U, there’s a lot to be excited about. That said, history proves that things could easily go awry. Despite this, part of what makes E3 so great is the hope that comes along with speculation leading up to the show. I for one am pretty optimistic for this E3. Here are some of my hopes for E3 2013:
Microsoft seems to have a real knack for bad timing. While gamers everywhere are trying their best to reserve judgment about the upcoming Xbox One until E3 is underway, seemingly unrelated revelations come tumbling out of Washington that the NSA is performing extensive data mining on US citizens and many of their activities. As it turns out, all of this snooping requires the full cooperation of companies we rely on to maintain a modern, connected lifestyle. The first company put on the well-behaved corporate list of the observation program known as PRISM is none other than Microsoft – the same company who wants to place a set top box in your home with a required microphone and camera.
JD takes the helm for Sound and Action this week. Let his soothing voice and mellow soundtrack selections calm and relax you after a long day of blasting space pirates and traversing desert landscapes.
It's time to hit the dance floor! Let Julian be your DJ as he takes you through an audio journey of thumping base and funky beats. If you can't dance don't worry--just find an abandoned warehouse and dance your frustrations away, Footloose-style!
You’ve got your game and you’ve got your character, so the next step is potentially one of the most difficult – learning the basics. At this point, assuming you’ve fiddled around with the game, and at least have a handle on the game’s systems, there is still a lot to learn in terms of playing the game properly. Learning the basics at times makes people feel like they don’t know how to play the game at all. It can be frustrating, but the payoff is well worth it, because not only will it you progress in your game of choice, but it will improve your success rate with many other fighting games.
Before you sit down to devour your weekly PB & Jason, make sure you have an hour and fourty minutes on your plate! PB & Jason 124 part two tackles all the topics left after last Thursday's first part: The various game ideas based on somewhat random audience suggestions; the aftermath of the Xbox One unveil, specifically the console's somewhat confusing used games policy; the Nintendo Direct from the middle of May; and the confusing situation behind Precursor Games kickstarter projects, including their relationship with Silicon Knights and Denis Dyack. Also, click this sentence for the NeoGAF thread I mention in the latter half of the podcast. Enjoy!
Welcome to another excellent podcast from PixlBit! I guess once you've been bitten by the podcasting bug you feel this need to create interesting and entertaining shows, and with that in mind, I decided to spearhead Sound in Action: PixlBit's gaming music podcast!
In this edition of Push Start to Continue the boys don’t spend any time at all talking about the newly announced Xbox One and Microsoft’s “One Device to Rule Them All!” market strategy…wait, that’s actually the opposite of what happens here.
Press A to jump, press X to hit, press RT to shoot, press B to put me to sleep, am I right? So many games use buttons all the time and they just do the most boring things you can imagine. You have to use them to finish levels and beat opponents and whatever, but what about using them for the really important stuff? Very few games use buttons to do things that are truly unique and appeal to our darker, immature inner selves, but when they do it can be excellent, sophomoric fun. So, turn on that middle school brain of yours and revel with me in the best uses for game buttons of all time.
Now that Microsoft has revealed the Xbox One, the stage is finally set and all the players have taken their places. I already talked about how excited I am at the prospect of a new knockdown, drag out console war, and it’s already begun thanks to some snarky comments by Sony on the big Xbox day. In just a matter of months, gamers will either be voting for their console champion of choice or taking a Switzerland approach and waiting on the sidelines to see who comes out on top. With all of this in mind, I think it’s important to talk about this next generation, and what it means to you as a gamer.
This week's PB & Jason is split into two parts. Why? There's just too much to talk about. The Xbox One alone takes up more than an entire issue! That means today, you'll get some perspective on the entire Xbox One reveal press conference. PB & Jason covers the entire stage reveal: The TV parts, the all-in-one parts, Kinect, the gameplay footage that lacked gameplay, and the cross-generation and multiplatform games shown. The verdict? Things aren't looking so good. Tune into tomorrow for the second part, featuring discussion about the news revealed after the press conference on the Xbox One, Denis Dyack, the most recent Nintendo Direct, and those game ideas I've been promising for a little while now!
Microsoft's Xbox One is now revealed and our users here at PixlBit have a lot to say about it. People in our community have been showing tons of negative feedback with only a handful of positive comments towards Microsoft's gaming future. Most people are concerned that Microsoft's focus is on TV programming instead of video games. Here's a quick guide to some of our Xbox One user blogs.
If you’re even tangentially involved in gaming, you likely heard at least something about Microsoft’s new system yesterday. Previously referred to as the Xbox 720, Nextbox, and Xbox Infinity by gamers, has now materialized as the Xbox One. Confused? I know I was, considering this is more like the Xbox 3 and we kind of already have an Xbox 1. However, that’s simply something we’ll have to get used to. What might be a little harder to swallow are the details about the system and the role it wants to play in your living room.
As I was moving into the end game of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I was tasked with finding three power couplings to unlock a door. It was a simple enough job, but in a game that had been almost entirely a linear affair, I was glad to have the rails taken off if even for a small section. It turned out that this wasn’t the case; any time I got remotely close to one of the power couplings Doktor would chime in on my codec to inform me that I was near my objective. Frowning, I destroyed the coupling and repeated the task with Doktor telling me exactly where to go and what to do. It made me realize just how much game design has changed in recent years, and what needs to be done to combat the need for constant hand holding that game designers have developed.
Hi there. We're all nerds and geeks here, right? We're passionate about our hobbies, but why does that passion so often turn to rage and complaining? Can't we all just have fun and enjoy each other's thoughts and company? Well, this week on Nerds Without Pants we're joined by a couple excellent guests to talk about just that. Enjoy the beautiful voices and even-handed opinions of Erika Szabo and John Gholson!
Nintendo made waves in the gaming industry recently when they announced that they wouldn’t be participating in a traditional press conference at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Right off the bat, people started in with the doom and gloom. Oh, Nintendo is fading fast! Nintendo doesn’t have anything to show! Rhetoric like this was prominent --as was talk that the entire E3 conference is a dinosaur -- and perhaps Nintendo is reading the writing on the wall and is beginning to part ways with the trade show. This sentiment has been circulating for years, and even though I believe that E3 is vital to the gaming industry, it’s high time that the show evolved.
That's right, this week's PB & Jason is mostly about people NOT developing things for the Wii U. It isn't a big surprise, since that seems to have taken up most of this week's headlines. It's also about hopes that EA's Star Wars exclusivity license is more limited than we believe it is. Interspersed throughout the discussion of games that aren't for the Wii U are a few thoughts about the trouble ahead for the PS4 and the next XBox, as well. Follow all of this with some discussion about the relationship between US gun violence and video games, and we've got ourselves a delicious PB & Jason.
Hey! Listen! We have a big show for you this week, and we kick things off by talking about how awesome Felicia Day is before Patrick gives us the lowdown on the c2e2 convention. Is that Jeff Green guesting on our show? Not quite, but Angelo sounds a little bit like him, and he drops by to talk about Nintendo and other fun things!
This week's PB & Jason was recorded in front of a live studio audience. Or it wasn't. I can say this: No one's ever lost money playing a carnival game to listen to PB & Jason. I'm not sure if I should be proud or saddened by that fact. To know what I'm talking about, you'll have to click through to listen to the podcast.