Podcast 11-6: WiiU Ifs, Whys, and Buts

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenOctober 2, 2012
109 2,822 Less than a minute

WiiU If, Whys, and Buts

This week the crew discusses the merits of Little Big Planet PS Vita, the mistakes of Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, as well as revisits the realms of Tron: Evolution and Super Mario 3D Land. Beyond a colossal portion of gaming trivia and a heated discussion about the WiiU, we also welcome Mike and Dan from IndieGameStand, who are on hand to discuss the latest method of procuring innovative indie titles.

Don’t forget to send your questions for our next mailbag, and subscribe to the Tech-Gaming Podcast on iTunes. Leaving a review would be an awesome thing to do and keep us from begging for feedback every show.

Download: Podcast 11-6 WiiU Ifs, Whys, and Buts
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Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenOctober 2, 2012
109 2,822 Less than a minute
Photo of Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

109 Comments

  1. So what is the official schedule? Every other week?

    Every though of doing a Rob, Sean, and Jeremy show and a Sage/Blue spinoff?

    1. Terrible idea.

      One would overpower and compete with the other. Besides Sage and Blue’s interplay is why they are on the show. Fapping/dirty monkey jokes? The show would be a bit boring without them.

      Listen to Deagle’s interviews. They’re good and all, but there’s no joking they’re pretty serious. I’m afraid without Sage and Blue the show would be a bit of a bore.

  2. I hope the show is better than the superfake screenshot. 😉

    Mix is loud this week. Who cranked the music?!?

    1. Damn, he drops a bombshell at the end of the show.

      What’s up with the “rrr” sound? Whose wearing the tight leather pants?

    1. Sorry as soon at the podcast went live, we got bombed with traffic pretty hard. Should be fixed now.

  7. Can I just complain about you not reviewing Dead or Alive 5, or is Blue lagging on it?

      1. Pick on Blue again, and I’ll video tape while he delivers a spinning pile driver to your mama! 😉

  8. Des’s voice seems deeper this week. Sean does a little too. Don’t bring your Cali flu bugs over here please.

  10. I though Hell Yell did feel a lot life EarthWorm Jim.

    I did think the humor was pretty funny.

  11. Jeremy, I wouldn’t mind hearing more about Tron 2.0. Maybe a little less from Blue’s not quite old enough to be classic games.

    1. I could probably go on about it, but it WAS a bit random. Still, it’s my favorite FPS experience ever. I think a lot of folks missed it. I liked TRON Legacy just fine, but TRON 2.0 had a better story, some cool characters, GREAT environment and feel, and it worked really well with its upgrade systems and disc combat and other weapons. 😀 O

  12. Sorry if my question sounded douchey. Man, you guys are down on the WiiU.

    I have to agree with Jeremy. $300 is a good price. I wouldn’t want it to be too cheap.

    1. People are weird about prices. Gamers, especially, want platform prices down down down, but when the price IS low, they inherently value the thing less, or are less inclined to spend money on it. Not just video games, but products in general.

      I’ve also seen a lot of people criticize Sony for not lowering the price on the Vita, because they’re saying they want to “add value.” They say that lowering the price would add value. But those people mistake the concept of value.

        1. (This is what Eggman is talking about http://www.wikipad.com/)

          I think it could be neat, assuming it gets software support. Cost-wise, it’s not much different than a budget-grade gaming rigt. And, in some ways, desktop computers are dinosaurs. People don’t really PREFER to be stuck at their desk.

          But they’ll have to get the “look and feel” and the interface right. A lot of people plug their console controllers into their PC… why not have all of that on a portable?

          1. I’m with you, but I do think the new Kindle HD/Nexus 7 offer s similar experience for much cheaper. They just don’t have the dock. It someone could make one for $50-$60, the Wikipad would be obsolete.

  13. Jeremy, did you say that Nintendo was leading the charge beyond just gaming? 360’s been doing Hulu, Facebook, twitter, Kinect, and now surface. Give some credit where it’s due.

    1. I take your meaning, Baron, but thinking again about it, I sort of stand behind it. 360 does have apps for those things, but I wouldn’t say that FB/Twitter/etc are really INTEGRATED into the experience.

      Nintendo is trying to use the Wii U to consolidate services and really integrate them into the fabric of the experience they offer. And they’re driving HARD at it.

      I agree that Nintendo was the last one to acknowledge “extracurricular functions” in their consoles, sticking with strictly games. But what they’re doing with the Wii U appears to go beyond what either the PS3 or 360 are doing.

      When the next MS/Sony consoles are announced? We’ll re-evaluate.

        1. Well, I think they’re referring to multiplayer servers and game-specific backend. Regarding “social” and integrating multiple services into one interface (TVii, Twitter, status updates), it seems like they’re really trying to promote the fact that the Wii U will be one clearinghouse for all those things.

          But you’re right, Microbee: Nintendo HAS been pretty sparing with the details of the “game” side of their network.

          1. And I’d add Nintendo’s handling of digital right is pathetic.

            Microsoft, Sony, Apple, Google, Amazon- they all allow you switch over content if you buy a new system. Most allow you to use your content on multiple devices. With Nintendo it’s been 1 machine and it’s a pain in the ass to move it.

            Based on that track record, I’m not as optimistic as you, Jeremy.

          2. Yeah, and even worse than that (IMO) is their limitation on the storage space on their platforms. If they were really committed to the downloadable space, you’d think they’d give us the storage capacity to really take advantage of it. 🙁

  14. I’m sure as hell someone sticking up for Little Big Planet PS Vita. Sony’s best Vita game and they ruin the launch for it.

    1. Thanks for answering my question, guys.

      Anyone notice Sean is back is everyone gets a bit more negative. His new nick should be Stormcloud. 😉

      Just kidding, Seano!

      1. It’s official “Stormcloud” Sean Kirklind.

        I noticed more longer pauses this show and an abrupt ending. What gives?

        1. There was about 10 minutes right before the outro where Sage and I argue about the ET carts that were buried in New Mexico. There was a lot of popping and skipping, so I cut the whole bit, but we also lost the natural wind-down.

          1. natural wind down=you moving the show along and getting the kids to stop talking about hentai?

          3. No, as far as I know, a number of Atari employees said the same thing. Unless they’re all in on it, I think it did happen. They might of even had to pay a fine for environmental abuse.

          4. I said it was an urban legend, too. After the show, Rob looked it up on Snopes, and that says that it is true. The world may never know.

          5. if snopes says it true and Atari employees agree, whats the basis for thinking this is urban legend?

          8. Actually, they were on all kinds of drugs. So many they actually killed the Colecovision team and buried them in the desert. One of them said that a programmer looked like ET, hence the legend.

  15. you forgot to mention Hokuto no ken ( fist of the north star)

    that one also got the dynasty warriors treatment.

      1. I was the other person who bought Red Johnson, BTW. I might have liked it less than you though.

  18. Good show. Interview, interesting trivia, good impressions. The one thing you guys should do is try to end on an up note.

  19. A few of you are pretty hardcore and play a lot of games. I’m curious how much do you buy digital vs. boxed product?

    1. I only buy boxed if I can’t get it digital or if it’s a great collector’s ed. Don’t buy a lot of console games when they first come out anymore–so pricey.

  20. The show needs more fapping monkey talk and less my life is crumbling and I had to sell my Vita talk.

    I’m not saying this to be a dick. Just that people like to escape and have a good time listening to podcasts. Otherwise, we’d be listening to the Diary of Anne Frank on audiobook.

    1. Sorry. I didn’t want to bring it up, because it is a little poor-poor-pitiful-me, but it was relevant to the question, and it was asked directly to me.
      If it makes you feel better, I just applied for my dream job at a more stable company, so in the future, I might be happier. I’ll still hate things that are bad though. There’s no fixing that.

      2. I hope you get the job.

        But will you still podcast? Will you be so happy that you’ll lose any interest in making fun of your cohosts? Will you laugh at poop jokes? Stakes are high.

        1. I read that in my head with Desmond Doomsday’s voice.

          …He was the narrator character from the Adam West Batman TV show.

    2. Also, according to Schadenfruede principles, you should feel BETTER about yourself for knowing that someone else’s life is so much worse than yours 😉

  21. Robert– I’ll kill you faster than anthrax? Generally anthrax takes a couple days to kill you, when it kills you at all…So, most things will kill you faster than anthrax.
    Secondly–I wouldn’t kill people. It would be against the code.
    LOL 🙂

      1. This whole Sage can’t love bit must be slowly killing Sektor inside. Kind of like Anthrax.

    2. HAHA! Sage, just why do you know so much about Anthrax? Come sit down here, we need to schedule your flight to Guantanamo.

    3. So maybe he was right?

      Still he should have said “quicker than a snake bite” “or quicker than a heart attack”.

  22. Glad to see you guys chime in this week. No comments from the Lawman or Deagle, tho?

    1. For some reason it takes me a week before I remember to get into the show thread and get involved. Nobody will ever see this! 🙁

      1. I’m just posting to prove you wrong. :p

        Btw totally agree with your “too cheap” WiiU comment.

        1. Haha, thanks Kappa Man. <3

          I dunno, when it comes to the general public trying to decide what companies "should" do about pricing, I just get a little prickly. We gamers are EXTREMELY fickle, and tend not to have a lot of business sense. (I include myself here.)

          I definitely don't have all the answers, but I -do- know that the answer is not always "It needs to be cheaper!" because that just cheapens your brand.

          1. Judging from Sony and Nintendo’s efforts, business doesn’t have a lot of business sense.

          2. Oops, hit enter too early.

            From the Vita to the Move, Sony has given us cool products but haven’t really found a way to make us really want it. What cool is great hardware without must-play software.

            Nintendo made tons of money of the Wii, but between their 3DS launch and the handling of the first WiiU unveiling, they clearly didn’t have a clue of consumer attitudes.

          3. Yeah, I don’t disagree. It’s pretty hard to tell what the market wants. You certainly can’t ASK them anymore. You just have to see how they spend their money. It’s always a moving target.

            The gaming market changes monthly, and it takes years to bring out a new platform. Pretty tricky!

  23. How da fuck you get so many listeners and tha top spot on N4G? Ya’ll are boring and sound old and shit.

      1. Laughter is the best medicine, right?

        I can only imagine listening to a podcast where the host trolls threads by writing “how da fuck..”

    1. Aww, big points to you for noticing! <3

      I somehow got skipped over in the shuffle. I had a real bang-up bunch of stuff to talk about too! I think it just means that I'll have a SUPER lineup next time.

        1. I will do it, Gundam! In fact, DEagle has to rein us in on time nearly every show… this next week I may have to break loose from his chains! I foresee that I will be running my mouth quite a bit. I just hope it’s interesting. 🙂

          3. Noo, no cutting! I need everyone! LOL

            I can’t deny that I love the sound of my own voice, but I get half my gaming dosage from listening to everyone else who’s NOT me! 😛

          4. uh uh, narcissist alert! Take cover. 😉

            Kidding aside, you and Des do a good job. NOLA when he shows up.

  25. Ok, Megaton at the end of the show needs more discussion.

    Sean goes from Vita #1 supporter to selling his system and then feeling relief?

    Whoa- what gives?

    What would it take for you to get back on board?
    Has this ruined your image of Sony?
    Are you in the MS camp now?
    What went wrong besides Sony not delivering games?

    2. Like I said on the show: I had extenuating circumstances, and I needed money. When I looked at what I had that was valuable and what I could do without, the Vita was the first to go. I was mostly playing PSP games on it, and even then, a lot of the PSP games I wanted to play on it weren’t supported. There are very few games on the horizon that I’m excited about playing, and if one comes out down the line, I can pick the system up again for less than $250, I’m sure.

      Sony doesn’t have to do a lot to get me back on board, but they have to do SOMETHING. I love the hardware, but it needed games. A system can’t survive on MotorStorm RC and some lofty art games. I need a reason to keep packing it in my bag.

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