Podcast 11-8: Free is About the Right Price

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenNovember 18, 2012
112 3,989 1 minute read

Podcast 11-8: Free is About the Right PriceThis week the crew offers impressions of Forza Horizon, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, NASCAR The Game: Inside Line, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Ōkami HD, Fallen Enchantress, FTL, Quantum Conundrum, Thomas Was Alone, and WWE ’13. Beyond our customary dose of gaming trivia, we also offer responses to reader mail- exploring the Geoff Keighley/Eurogamer incident as well as offering our Game of the Year picks.

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.

Devoted listener Diego aka Gunmetaljackal was kind enough to provide a Steam code for the PC Version of Metro 2033. To become randomly entered for our November 25th drawing, simple post a message in this thread. Don’t forgot to leave your email address is the space provided so that we may contact the winner.

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Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenNovember 18, 2012
112 3,989 1 minute read
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.

112 Comments

  1. I approve of this week’s podcast art.

    I also approve of a new show. Halloween art was getting old with Thanksgiving nearing.

    1. GunMetalJackal’s an awesome guy. We regularly exchange tweets on Twitter. Definitely give him a follow if you’re on there. Thanks, Diego!

      (No, I’m not trying to win the contest by sucking up. XD)

      1. I would but things like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ aren’t for me. Real friends>social media cliques.

        1. I feel the same. Especially on days when I wake up and Twister is just one long complaint about the Wii U firmware update.

          I don’t need 25 people telling me that multiple times.

          1. I know right? You’d think people would be happy to have a WiiU and go make a sandwich while their system updates. But no. They complain like babies about it.

          2. Luckily you wont find me complaining(much) 😛 And if I could I would like to know everyone here personally 🙂

          3. Social media is a great way to meet new people. A stranger is a friend you just haven’t met yet.

            Or something. But it’s nice.

  3. Des, were you stoned. BLOPS2 never goes to Vietnam. You’re still in Angola during that part of the game.

  4. What’s with the font change? I liked the old one better.

    Nice to have a new podcast to listen to this week.

  5. Here’s wheres the Burn Your Fat With Me!! impressions?

    One comment: it sounds like you guys are taking turns speaking instead of having a conversation.

  6. Did I miss the usual site crash when the podcast posted? That’s one of my favorite parts of a new show.

    1. I definitely think about it differently than I used to. I’m kind of really interested in the fact that gearhead culture and hardcore automotive fandom exist.

      I’d be interested to watch a European touring car race. It seems like all we have in the US is NASCAR. I want to see some new stuff!

    1. They both wanted to be there, but Sean got stuck on a plane and Sage had Phoenix Wright commitments.

      1. You guys need a sub. I’m willing to volunteer! I play 25% of every new console games that comes out, like JRPGs and have a voice that’s only slightly nasally. 😉

  13. Jeremy, your joke would work better is you said, “You know why NASCAR frustrates it’s republican fans? It’s all about turning left.”

  14. Also, Sony is totally dropping the ball on promoting their games. I didn’t even know LBP Karting and LBP Vita were out. I’m not the Wonderbook audience but that passed me by as well. You shouldn’t have to check the PS Blog just to know what’s going on.

    1. I really have the feeling Sony is hurting badly. Between Vita sales and the lack of PS3 push, something is up.

      Also, when people like Rubinstein leave it’s for a reason. Maybe it’s just a shakeup but I get the sense that other things are brewing.

      1. Yep. And I’ve noticed the enthusiast press turning on them. Almost every Sony article has a snarky tone now.

        1. Turning on them? I don’t know that Sony ever really had a “favorable” press outlook in the last 6 years or so. Even Microsoft has burned up its capital.

          Really, I think we have a perspective of skepticism all around. Yay video games!

    1. Man, that song has been redone so many times I feel like it’s got 30 years on it.

      Just don’t tell my wife I thought it was an 80s song. <_____<

  16. Question for next show: I see a lot of industry people kissing Michael Pachter’s ass, while everyone else hates the guy. Why is this?

    1. I’ll tell you why. Every two bit journo in town for E3 want to go to Pachter’s house, drink his food, eat his food and walk away with one of his ‘swag bags’.

      Last year, HipHopGamer and some other dude, “Danny “Moral Free” Pena took extra swag bags like a couple of douches.

      https://twitter.com/hiphopgamer/statuses/210910905700061187

      To me, this is the problem with the industry it’s one big circle jerk. Journos are trying to hobnob to get the scoop, PR people kiss ass to get press, and industry analysts are obviously getting kickbacks. Yet no one cries foul, and when when do they get censored.

      I guess it’s only a matter of time before Robert puckers up to the Pachter’s sphincter.

      2. Why do some gamers seem so upset all the time? Just take things with a grain of salt and two grains of common sense. If you’ve relaying on HHG for gaming new or reviews, then I can’t help you. Dude’s a great rapper and all, but as a games writer and video maker, the dude is awful.

        If you smell something fishy, take note.

    2. I think people are interested in Pachter because he’s strictly a money analyst. He’s very open about having a limited knowledge of the games themselves, so when he makes predictions, there is very little favoritism in his voice. For example, he won’t talk up the WiiU because he’s anxious to see more Mario games, but he won’t talk down on it because he has a hard-on for Master Chief either.
      I’m not making a value judgement as to whether or not that makes him a
      “better” analyst, but it certainly makes him an interesting voice to listen to. It’s like how I might look to a tech blog to decide which PC I want to buy, and they might tell me to buy a Dell. But if the Wall Street Journal told be to buy Apple stock instead of Dell stock, I’d listen to them about my investments, even if they didn’t know anything about tech. They’re just going to be looking at different data.
      As for the e3 parties, we’ve never been invited to one of Pachter’s parties, but if we were, it’s doubtful that we’d go. Rob and I are both local to the Staples Center, so we tend to go home after the show floor closes. Sage usually ends up party-hopping with friends, but Pachter’s party isn’t one that you can just show up to, so it’s really not her cup-of-tea. The reason those SwagBags are so ludicrous is that they aren’t intended for the press, they’re meant for investors. Pachter throws those parties for investors, and the companies he represents need to get their names out there to stay afloat. He’s made friends in the press, which is dangerous on our end, but it doesn’t really make a difference for him. A lot of people don’t take them, and that’s the right thing to do, but our integrity is our business, and he could probably care less.

      1. Let’s say Pachter advised investors not to put money is a developer/publisher? Think they’d still supply swag? Plus, from the contents of the bag, these aren’t airflow controllers, these are laptops and consoles.

        “He’s made friends in the press, which is dangerous on our end, but it doesn’t really make a difference for him.”

        Our as in our industry or for Tech-Gaming?

        1. I think the folks that are supplying the swag are the people that Pachter is trying to sell to investors. I think Intel was handing out the laptops last year, and it is more important for them to get their products seen by investors than by critics. I think it’s more egregious when these “super swag bags” end up in other events, like awards shows. One of the reasons the original iPod took off was because Apple handed them out at the Oscars, AMAs and Grammys so that celebrities would use them. Your average Oscar swag bag can be worth upwards of $5000 retail, and people from all walks take those without thinking. I think the journos that turned down the 360s a few years back should be applauded, as I don’t think a lot of folks in other industries give those things a second thought. People trust Juliana Ransig to give them fashion tips without thinking that she got her $600 Gucci sunglasses for free from a gift bag at some event. It’s the exact same dilemma here.

          As for who’s at risk, I was implying journalists in general, but that certainly includes us. TG has done a pretty good job of keeping our noses out of that particular brown, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that has a lot to do with us keeping a low profile. Like I said before, I don’t see us ever being invited to those kinds of events, but even if we were, chances are pretty good that we’d decline. (we were invited to the infamous Activision BlackOps party featuring Rhianna and Eminem, but didn’t go) It’s not what we came here to cover, so it’s not what we’ll spend our time on.

          2. Low profile? Not at 50 comments on a thread. Also Jeremy is such a Sony where it’s not even funny.

          3. Hat off to you. It seems like every journo will sell his own sister to keep into these E3 parties. I remember on the podcast saying you guys gave swag away. Very cool.

      2. Would you invest in a movie studio and not watch any of their films?

        Just going by press previews is an awful way of predicting the quality of the game and ultimately the success of a developer/publisher.

        1. I would certainly invest in a film studio without watching their movies. Bad movies that make money are still doing their job from an investment standpoint. If Lifetime Films was making a killing, I wouldn’t force myself to watch schlocky chick-flicks just because they were making me money!

  17. Jeremy, I’m cheap too, but throwing a few bucks at Sony or the developer isn’t going to hurt you.

    1. Well it it free on PS+ so don’t feel too bad for Swift.

      I think Deagle just took issue with Jer saying that the game wasn’t worth paying for. He reviewed the game some time back and seemed to like it.

    2. Yeah, since I got it through PS+ they are being subsidized somehow. But your point is well-taken Samson. I highly recommend that anyone who reads this considers putting your money where your mouth is once or twice a year and patronizing some content creators who are doing right by you.

      I did mine twice this year. $120 for MechWarrior Online, and a full-price preorder for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Maybe a couple of other times besides that. But if someone out there is doing something you like, spend some money or get the word out.

      Thanks for mentioning that. 🙂

  18. I can’t believe you guys were more excited about NASCAR than BLOPS 2. I guess sims are your thing.

    1. I think I’m approximately equally interested in NASCAR and BLOPs. I just had a story about NASCAR that I wanted to share. 🙂

  21. Man, Jeremy can talk. Have you guys ever thought about giving impressions by rotating through the lineup?

    1. You know, I am super self-conscious about this all the time. I think I even talked faster than normal (super fast) because I was talking about so many things.

      Maybe I’ll scale back. :-\

  23. Heard that too.

    Now, CAGcast is also saying Sony isn’t promoting their software.

    My question for the next show: Since the Wii U is skipping Mass Effect 3 DLC in its “special edition” do you think that Nintendo is moving away from DLC altogether? Would like make you more or less interested in buying the hardware?

  24. Pretty good show this week, but needed NOLA and Sage. Tell the Con-Air duo to get with the program.

    1. Sorry. My job has been sending me on a lot of last-minute trips this quarter. I THINK I should only have one more before the end of the year, but unfortunately, I can’t make any promises :\

      2. UPDATE: My boss told me I had to fly out to Tampa tonight, which meant I was going to miss this week’s show. I called the customer and told them “no.” Now I’m staying.

        I WILL BE ON THIS SHOW, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER!

        1. Hooray for you Sean!
          I’ll also be there but prolly low on impressions….and sleep. School is murdering me right now. Someone give me a gif of law school sitting on my head and laughing. And sorry for my absence–murder trial, had to send a guy to jail. I LOVE METRO 2033!

    2. Need more interviews. Cmon DES, this could have been a 2.5 hour epic. Instead it goes down as good but not great.

    1. Thanks! And I’m not just saying that because your Gravatar looks like Ultron with giant boobs (okay, that may actually be the real reason…don’t judge me)

  29. Since this is the catch-all thread:

    Happy Thanksgiving Robert, Sean, Sage, Jeremy and Blue! Hope you have a great time and get some good BF deals.

  31. Thanks, everyone! Hope you all had a great day with your loved ones (I did! /*^_^*\). I also wish everyone good luck on your Black Friday shopping.

    I managed to grab Forza Horizon for $15 early at Walmart. Tried to get Tekken Tag Tournament 2 at the same time, but it wouldn’t ring up since they had already removed it from their systems. I think a Walmart employee got his ass chewed out by a manager over some of the Black Friday games still being in the glass case (where I got my games). When I was walking past the electronics section, I heard the guy who got my games out of the case complaining to one of the other employees. As I was walking out of the store, someone over the PA system reminded the employees not to sell any of the Black Friday games before 8 P.M.

    I might also try to grab Modern Warfare 2 tomorrow from Amazon since I started COD4 last night.

    1. I scored Forza Horizon on MS’s site. I could have went for TTT2 as well.

      How did Wal-Mart’s across the country screw up their BF deals? I heard so many people got in on deals early.

      1. Somehow, Walmart’s systems dropped a lot of games to their post-8 P.M. Black Friday price early. Once it was discovered, word spread like wildfire and everybody was grabbing their stuff early. Huge brain-fart on their part, but I’m not about to complain. XD

        BTW, to whom it may concern, Lollipop Chainsaw is $10 on GoHastings. The PS3 version is out-of-stock, but the 360 version is still available as of typing this. I jumped.

          1. I’m surprised too. I remember groaning a lot in Robert’s or Blue’s general direction because of it, but I guess we never formally covered it.

          2. Yep. Every once in a while there’s a game that’s totally up your alley and you glaze over it. Right now, I’m surprised there’s no Wii U reviews/talk. Hell, even the top bar doesn’t have a Wii U spot.

        2. Two people from checking out and they changed their system to not sell me 3 games. Damn you Wal-Fart!

  32. Question for next show since you asked.

    What in your opinions are the strengths and weaknesses of the Wii U. Have any of you bought one or considered buying one? Do you think the game press is being too hard on Nintendo?

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