Gamertell

Like a lot of gamers who spend half their lives online, I’m a big fan of game podcasts. I listen to them at work, I put them on when I clean the apartment, I work out to them and hell, I even play games with a podcast on in the background. I’ve always found it the best way to keep up on my gaming news and overall goofy game culture pontifications without losing track of the rest of life.

In reality, I probably spend as much time surfing game sites and listening to podcasts as I do actually playing games. Keeping up with the whole multimedia blogosphere surrounding the games industry is as much a game (a metagame?) as anything you’ll load up on a machine, but I digress.

Like so many other gamers/avid game media consumers, my favorite shows were on 1Up. As a longtime EGM fan, I naturally gravitated towards everything 1Up-related as games journalism moved more aggressively towards the online environment and I loved hearing the opinions of my favorite editors. My first podcast experience was with 1Up Yours a few years back, and once I heard a few half-drunken (but always articulate) arguments, I was hooked.

So imagine my shock when I returned from a week long, internet-free vacation last January and promptly found out about the death of EGM, the gutting of 1Up, and the scrapping of most of the excellent video and audio content. I mourned the loss of the magazine I had literally grown up with (fun fact: when I was 14, it was my life ambition to become EGM’s first female writer. Cue Debbie Downer sound effect), and I was genuinely upset about losing my three favorite podcasts.

After I realized that we’ve certainly not heard the last of the 1Up crew, I went about finding a few new shows to listen to. I looked around the usual sources – iTunes, my favorite game blogs, etc. auditioning shows (yes, literally) to replace the gaping hole in my iPod. I knew I had Rebel FM (the spiritual successor to 1Up FM) to start, and 1Up Yours’ successor Listen UP, but I knew it was time to seek out some new material on top of it all. This was a wake up call of sorts, and I fully intended to make use of it.

First up, I went to Joystiq. I subscribed, listened to three or so episodes, and decided it wasn’t my cup of tea. It was the same story with Destructoid’s shows. The editors all have the enthusiasm, and they know their stuff, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Chalk it up to unfair expectations, or maybe just not getting the in-jokes, but I moved right along.

I found a whole lot more success with the http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/podcast. They’ve got good chemistry and they stay reasonably on-topic without being boring. Plus, they have great guest stars. Ditto for the dudes at Drunken Gamers Radio – and they have my vote for best logo image this side of Retronauts. And while it’s not the most exciting show out there, I enjoyed the Player One Podcast. It’s just two (well, sometimes four) guys shooting the proverbial bull, but it’s casual and well produced.

I’ve always loved Gamasutra’s show, since it’s the most articulate and fascinating podcast on the subject of games, bar none. I only wish it were a more frequent affair. That, and I wish they had Shawn Elliot on every week. I miss hearing his insanely intelligent digressions and tales of grieving. Again, I digress.

Probably the overall favorite of my new found series is Console Gypsies. It’s obvious that the guys who run this show are fanatical about videogames, incredibly organized, and really personable. They open every show with two picks of the week (from older generation consoles), then move into current reviews and discussion, which is excellent, because I love retro discussion as much as I love news – call me an old lady, but it’s true. Plus – these guys are probably the least full-of-BS radio hosts on the internet. This, I like.

If I have one lament about gaming podcasts, it’s the almost complete lack of women. Sure, some shows have a female host – but I can’t think of any that regularly feature more than one woman besides the awesome Sisters in Gaming Podcast. I know that there are plenty of ladies out there who write intelligent, interesting prose about games – Leigh Alexander, Jane Pinkard, Kathleen Sanders, just to name a few. Since so many women are playing games these days, I just think it’d be cool to hear more female voices dishing on the industry.

But that’s no slight on the quality that’s out there. While I miss my 1Up shows like crazy, I’m glad I took the opportunity to actually go out and explore the rest of what’s out there on the virtual airwaves. And thankfully, I didn’t have to go cold Turkey – I’ve still got my Listen UP and Retronauts to get me through my day.

So if you’re a podcast addict like me, feel free to send suggestions my way. I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface with my current travels. Honestly, that can only be a good thing.

Read [Drunken Gamers Radio] Read [Console Gypsies]