GameHounds Episode 29: F*ck Off, Bobby

Look. Here’s the deal. It’s almost 3 a.m. Pacific time, which means you East Coast GameHounds listeners are just waking up and wanting to update your MP3 players.

So we’re not going to delay this posting by staying up and writing show notes tonight. We’ll just cut to the chase.

Hawkes is out this week due to a pinched nerve, so instead, GamerEdie Sellers hosts this show with a special guest, Bobby Blackwolf of the Bobby Blackwolf Show.

In addition, due to a curious set of conditions that will most likely not repeat, they were able to live cast this episode on AllGames Radio. So, mentions of chat rooms and live chat comes from that. If you had a chance to listen, great. If not, you can enjoy the antics with this episode.

We’ll post show notes tomorrow afternoon.

GameHounds Episode 28: Offend Everybody

In this very special episode of GameHounds, Alex P. Keaton says goodbye to his sister Mallorie… Wait, that’s not right. Sorry. Channeling 80s sitcoms again.

In this very special episode of GameHounds, Edie Sellers and Cooper Hawkes welcome a guest host, Mrs. LeftyBrown of The Married Gamers podcast. They talk about dead celebrities and colored poo. No really. That part’s true.

Really. Stop laughing.

When not explaining exactly what blue food coloring does to your body and Mrs. LeftyBrown weakly attemping to assert that her listeners are better than our listeners, they also delve deep into the last week of gaming industry news.

Topics and links (and how YOU can make Mrs. LeftyBrown eat her words) after the jump…

Topics include:

• Sony is looking for players to join its USA and European beta test for Playstation Home. But it’s not going to be easy to get in. In the US, you’ll have to be active in the PSN and Playstation Store and download the Home theme for your PS3. In Europe, it will be invite only.
• Microsoft says downloadable content has accounted for $240 million in revenue, with $180 coming in the last 12 months. Does your wallet feel lighter?
• Some PS3 owners say the recent 2.42 firmware update has caused their consoles to stop playing Blu-Ray disks, erased save data, and made it unable to connect to the internet. Sounds like yet another update is coming soon.
• Bioware says it’s considering bringing Mass Effect to the Nintendo DS. Oh what a conundrum for poor Hawkesy!
• The owner of the gyrpscopic technology of Wii’s new MotionPlus dongle says Nintendo doesn’t own the exclusive rights and that other unnamed companies have expressed an interest. We all know who they are, but the question is whether we’ll see the Xbox and PS3 dongles for this or next generation consoles.
• Have you fallen over yourself to purchase the Gears of War 2 Lancer edition pre-order from Amazon? You know, the one with the full-size lancer replica? Well, you’re one of the rare, smart ones because Amazon reports they’ve been flying off the virtual shelves since coming on sale on Friday.
• Fable 2 achievements have been released, and if they’re accurate, they offer an insight into how fun this game may be. Also, they show how you’ll have to Fable yourself silly to get them all.

Don’t forget to check out Playpalooza 08, Platform Nation’s upcoming charity and gaming marathon on August 14! It’s going to be huge and it’s a great cause! The Married Gamers have thrown down the gauntlet to GameHounds, and we’re just not going to stand for that. Give till it hurts.

GameHounds Episode 27: The Third Trimester

Second trimester? Wait, who’s pregnant.

Nobody, but as we celebrate the six-month anniversary of the GameHounds Podcast, it occurs to us that this little baby of ours is entering it’s last three months before it becomes a human being.

In otherwords, this podcast spawn is almost ready to be considered “fully functioning.” Oh, let’s not kid ourselves, this thing will always be a little half-baked, and maybe it’s been dropped on its head a few times, too.

Anyway, this week Cooper Hawkes and Edie Sellers once again cover the week in gaming news, including games they’ve played and these hot topics.

Links and topics after the jump…

In this week’s podcast, Hawkes and Edie discuss:

• id Software’s John Carmack says that, due to royalty fees due Microsoft in order to give Rage a third disk, the company will have to squeeze it into two disks and the resulting game won’t look as good as what you’ll get on the Playstation 3. Of course, he also says he hearts the 360. We think this public airing of private laundry won’t work.
• Ars Technica’s inside source at Microsoft, the one who accurately predicted the new 60GB Xbox 360, says the prices for all the console’s SKUs will drop in “early September.” And we’re not talking little whimpy drops, either.
• Life with Playstation, the new Playstation Network functionality that adds Google and YouTube functionality, didn’t drop in July, and sources say to expect it this month instead. Bug-check twice, release once, we always say.
• Game Reviewers are “lazy” says Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences president Joseph Olin. While we agree in theory, it’s clear this guy has never actually done any game reviews or worked in the media. Get educated, then mouth off, jackass.
• EA is like a “petulant child instead of a professional market leader,” exclaims Sega of America predisent Simon Jeffery. He then proceeds to masturbate over the thought of Activision’s Bobby Kotick. God, maybe he’s angling for the rights to Brutal Legend?
• Beware! Sporn (ie: Spore + Porn) approaches! And parents afraid their kids will learn where babies come from are shielding their eyes and gnashing their teeth over the thought of their children be irrevocably scarred.
• If that wasn’t enough, hell has frozen over. Wait, no. That’s just a shortage of the Xbox 360 in Japan!
• Too Human goes gold. Cool!
• Activision’s boot of Vivendi titles not fatal to a few high profile games, including Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and the Bourne series. No word from smaller stuff, but we don’t have much hope for them.

Enjoy. And thanks for six months of fun! Looking forward to several more.

GameHounds Episode 26: Our Dirty Little Secrets

Sorry this got to you on Monday rather than Sunday. When we finally finished editing this ultra-long episode, Edie was exhausted and needed sleep.

But there was quite a lot for Hawkes and Edie to talk about this week. And, with Hawkes now able to freely use his filthy mind and mouth with freedom, it felt like old times.

… good times.

This week, Edie and Hawkes catch up on the rest of gaming news, including lawsuits, Gears of War 2 info, a new Trek-flavored MMO, and beating the dead horse that is E3 2008.

Topics and links after the jump….

This week, Hawkes and Edie discuss:

• Good news and bad news for Gears of War 2, with info coming out of this week’s ComiCon in San Diego. The collector’s edition is a spendy $130, but some GoW2 achievements will be linked to your GoW1 achievements. Yay, player loyalty.
• Cryptic Studios issues a help-wanted ad. Unfortunately, in it they leaked (maybe unintentionally) an upcoming Star Trek MMO they’re working on. Bonk, bonk on the head!
• Are you a big enough Halo fan to make a pilgrimage to a Bungie fan fest? I guess Frank O’Connor is looking for something to say after Microsoft pulled the rug out from under Bungie’s big “countdown” annoucement.
• How do you kill that which has no life? Cut the attendance, close the main floor and call it E3 2008! Peter Moore says, after this year’s “soulless” event that E3 should be open to the public.
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is rumored to be dropping on September 23. Seriously? Isn’t our end-of-year gaming dance card already pretty full?
• The Itagaki v. Tecmo soap opera got a lot more interesting this week, with the release of secret audio tapes, documents, and the withdrawl of a gag-order. Kotaku’s coverage is pretty extensive, and you gotta check the program if you want to know the players.
• Thank yous to iTunes our commenters! If you haven’t already, don’t forget to do that!

Enjoy.

GameHounds Exclusive: Sit-Down Demo With “The Big Man”

Originally, we were just going to post this as a straightforward interview.

And then all you listeners started speculating. Who did Edie talk to? Was it CliffyB? Was it Will Wright?

So rather than wreck the surprise by just telling you, you’re just going to have to listen. Suffice to say, it was an honor and a privilege to spend a half-hour with this gentleman as he demoed his hotly anticipated upcoming title. It was an unusual amount of time for someone of his stature to spend at a crazed event like E3, particularly at the end of the show when nerves are frayed and exhaustion is setting in.

But indeed, he did. And it was a joy.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as Edie did.