We're back in lucky Podtoid episode 13 as Faith, Colette, Aaron and Summa join special guest Victor Lucas, whom you know as the co-host and creator of Electric Playground, Judgement Day and other game related shows. The gang discusses shoots the sh*t about the future of video game-based television, the age old Superman vs. Batman debate, and intimate details on how much ass Tommy Tallarico gets. They also go over the Top 20 Buzz Monitor topics and give some love to the poor, sad little PSP. Download or stream it from www.podtoid.com.
Row call:
Robert Summa in NYC ......................... Articles | MySpace
Colette "Nakigo" Bennett from L.A. ............ Articles | MySpace
Aaron Linde from Bellingham................. Articles & Sex tape
Faith from St. Catharines...................... Articles | MySpace
and special guest Victor Lucas in Canada from The Electric Playground
As always, if you enjoyed this episode, Digg this Podtoid. We're also on iTunes, just hit the button on the left or search for “Destructoid” on iTunes.
In this episode:
00:00 Introductions
01:10 Victor Lucas on EP, TV and G4
19:26 Vic playing 20 games at a time
21:22 Zelda:TP and what games inspired it
24:20 Internet negativity on system launches
28:21 How can we fix video game television?
29:46 X-play gets it, 4 minute long dick joke
33:07 Superman vs. Batman (Batman FTW)
33:40 Bad videogame press, parents are stupid
36:00 Viva Pinata and collection games
42:12 Tommy T gets all the ass, "actively peruses"
42:43 MGS4 wins over Halo3 and DMC4
46:00 Five (and more) reasons to own a PSP
55:22 Nintendo's craptastic VC game releases
62:04 RPG fangirls! Cloud and his little block hands
65:00 Various game loving and farewells
Original post:
In a few hours, the Dtoid gang will be recording the newest installment of Podtoid. This week's show will be hosted by Robert Summa, with editors Aaron Linde, Nagiko, Faith and special guest, Victor Lucas, host of Electric Playground.
A previous Podtoid featured Tommy Tallarico from Electric Playground and we decided to finish the set by bringing on the show's other host and producer, Victor Lucas. Victor is the owner and founder of Greedy Productions, a Vancouver-based company that created such video game themed TV shows as Electric Playground, Reviews on the Run (aka Judgement Day) and The Art of Play.
If you have any questions for Victor "Batwing" Lucas or any of the Dtoid staff, post them in the comments below and maybe we'll answer them. It depends on how good you are.
Hit the jump for video clips from Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run.
Clip from the 100th episode of Electric Playground: Reviews on the Run moments.
Review of Men in Black 2 from Judgement Day.
Another clip from the 100th episode of Electric Playground: Star Wars moments
And finally just for fun, here are some bloopers from Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run.
Contest:
7:18 PM on 01.06.2007
| 
Who made G4 suck so badly? (Who has to die to make the sucking end?) -tears for tech tv-
oh a why the hell does robert summa post most nintendo related news if he hates nintendo so bad a dont give me that crap about you not hating nintendo is fucking obvious that you do k ty
Something I've wondered about, is videogame media coverage the same in Canada as it is in the US? Do you also see ridiculous stories like "PSPs download porn magically from the air" or "Nintendo DS lets child predators track and hunt down your kids"? Are there movements to get gaming legislation passed like there are in America?
Also: Why are your productions so greedy?
Side note to Victor, I always thought Electric Playground and Judgement Day were among the few gaming television shows to actually get it right and not be marketed to the average 13-year-old boy MTV zombie, well done on both of those.
Pronunciation key for my nick since this was an issue last time: Miks-yez-pit-lik :)
And take his aids back aswell?
By the way, Dtoid still rocks.
You kill me.
The Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Grey Bush, Or tuckers Baby Elite from RvB?
All contestants are greased, drunk and been on steroids 3 weeks prior to the fight. Humans must have smoked more grass in one hour than a dealer has to offer, and the Elite drank a bottle of lsd.
btw Saskatchewan FTW
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/video/
No questions for the podtoid, it's the part of Destructoid I rather just forget.
How has nobody else seen that movie?
What is the gamer supposed to do?
All the best!
-vic
To any people complaining about American prices for games, consoles, DVDs, shit like that; Come to the UK and try buying that stuff in HMV or something.
This is a very, very, very simple question to answer.
Video game.
Television.
Video game. Television.
Videogametelevision.
See.
THAT'S the problem.
And the answer.
Television is a massive ad-driven medium organized to produce content-by-committee product. Period.
The problem with "videogame television" is that inevitably the programs solicit talent as spokespeople who are skilled as spokespeople and nothing more. In other words, they will speak about, introduce, and comment on whatever product, item, or subject is placed before them that particular day. What often happens is that the spokespeople harbor a not-so-secret disregard for the geeks who they are speaking with. The spokespeople aspire or imagine themselves a periphery of the Hollywood aristocracy, or merely on a path to same. Their "videogame gig" is just a stepping stone to "bigger things," i.e. something that does not in any way involve unwashed geeks and their sad, little obsessions. The spokespeople attempt to demonstrate their geek sincerity for the benefit of the camera. The geeks attempt to feign some form of spokesperson-type sheen that is simply not in them.
What then occurs is an awkward dance where both participants attempt to ape the other's culture and the result is usually embarassing and insincere. The corporations who greenlight these programs can only view their consituents as demographic amalgamations. In other words, they have some data that indicates that gamers are 20-30, make $30-50K/year, are 90% male, and listen to X-band, wear X-shoe, and drink X-cola.
Then they compare this in a matrix to sponsors and content and throw all of this together in a mix that their marketers assure them is a "slamdunk" for this demographic. Of course, there are elements there we recognize, but we get pretty good at sniffing out the stench and most of this stuff doesn't pass the smell test.
Often we just don't watch.
However, this simply doesn't matter.
Because someone -- a lot of someones -- get paid to SAY we are watching.
Because even if NO ONE is watching this show, the only thing that matters is the content developers must be able to prove to their sponsors that people are watching the show. They do this with queered data, manufactured audience numbers, and just the usual buzzword song-and-dance that has always kept middle management snake oil salespeople on the payroll.
I tend to go straight for the comments sections and readers reviews online and podcasts to get legitimate reactions to gamer thoughts. I know, of course, that so-called guerrilla/viral marketing has also co-opted this with astroturf (i.e. shills who are paid to talk up a product or system while posing as an "actual" consumer), but in general I have become pretty adept at spotting the bullshit.
This extends to all things in our world.
Not just videogames.
It is a PR.
I touched the hem of Summa.
What is a company?
Who is Lezbro?
Who is Summa?
Where's the rest of it?