Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 91

Wii Fit Fat Bastards, Battlefield Bad Company, Ticket To Ride, EA's Scott Blackwood Tells Us All About Developing Skate For The Wii Balance Board, A New Audio Sponsor, PS3 Mea Culpa...Kind Of, Your Emails and more!

Since the announcement of the Wii Balance Board, we've been sure some kind of skateboarding game would follow soon after. Lucky for us, it's the team behind EA's detailed, realistic Skate franchise taking the first shot at it. Julian grills Scott on developing for the board, how far along in development they are and how it all works. We also have a new audio sponsor from Mike Eberhardt and an audio email from the Lord of Leisure himself!

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined.

Battlefield Bad Company
Williams Pinball
Wii Balance Board Audio Surf
Instant Action
Ticket to Ride
OohSometimes.com

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks
"Anxious Tedium" - Ouranos OST (Tom Quinn) - www.citadel-studios.com - 0:33:18
"Cosmos" - (Workbench) - www.workbench-music.com - 0:55:29

Comments

I have the same complaints about Wii Fit. I really wish there was a type of "workout scheduler" where I could choose the exercises and perform them without navigating through menus the entire time. Back and forth. Also, why do I have to stand on the Balance Board before every single exercise? Some of them require you to be on the floor for crying out loud. It's so annoying when I prepare myself for some Jackknifes just to have the game tell me to stand on the Balance Board again.

They weren't going for convenience, huh? I guess my thumbs need to lose weight too.

Rob - with Diablo 2 you can set up your own LAN game you can type in /players 8 or any number between 1 and 8 to get the benefits of extra XP. It doesn't work in single player though...

You can check if it's working by bringing up the chat log and it should say players set to 8

Shawn, 179lbs at about 6 foot a little over perhaps... though i'd say it's good (~12 st). It's about right.

Swearing? I'm all for you guys continuing on with it. Being false on the podcast means that i don't respect you...

360 vs PS3. It really shows the 360's dominance in the US - due to the early release and marketing no doubt - combined with the critical mass that Julian's talking about and this is why it's winning in everything over there...

NSMB - I don't like that game or rather i should say i want to like it. I think the whole save system is stupid....

The GWJ game - wordsmythe would have a grammar correction blocking technique - confusing and undermining the attack.

That youtube guy wrote:

LEAVE ROB ALONE!

Rob, don't listen to them. You're the Wombat to his CheapyD... the Morcambe to his Wise... the Omega to the Alpha. You're the straight man to the clowns. Don't change!

Rob - with Diablo 2 you can set up your own LAN game you can type in /players 8 or any number between 1 and 8 to get the benefits of extra XP. It doesn't work in single player though...

I think you mean Elysium.

You're the Wombat to his CheapyD

You take that back!

Certis wrote:

I think you mean Elysium.

Gah! You people and your identical accents! Next thing you'll be telling me that Rabbit's come back from his hiatus and Demiurge will leave the podcast!

You're the Wombat to his CheapyD

You take that back!

I didn't mean that you were CheapyD! Obviously your character is above reproach....

I think you guys spent a little too much time defending your PS3 love. Listening to the podcast week after week, it's clear you're all giving your PS3s many chances (except Rob since he doesn't like anything ever). The kind of people who are calling you "ignorant" for pointing out that the PS3 has flaws are the kind of people who will insist that you are a raving moronic Microsoft fan boy (and that they are not a Sony fan boy) if you even acknowledge that dust is physically capable of settling on a PS3. When you say there aren't a lot of games for it that isn't ignorance or fanboyism either, it's entirely a matter of taste and preference. When you say you don't like a game, people can't argue with that. They can suggest you're doing it wrong, or haven't given it a chance, but they can't say you don't really feel the way you do.

Gah! You people and your identical accents! Next thing you'll be telling me that Rabbit's come back from his hiatus and Demiurge will leave the podcast!

Fool! I clearly have a northern-midwestern elongation to my long vowel sounds, while the others have a southern central Canadian elongation to their vowel sounds.

Okay, for the record, this needs to go in your tagline:

"Fire up the patronizatron!"

Elysium wrote:
Gah! You people and your identical accents! Next thing you'll be telling me that Rabbit's come back from his hiatus and Demiurge will leave the podcast!

Fool! I clearly have a northern-midwestern elongation to my long vowel sounds, while the others have a southern central Canadian elongation to their vowel sounds.

Speaking seriously for a moment.
It's not how you speak - it's the tone of your voices. Certis' girly squeaks are obviously unmistakable, Demiurge and Rabbit's mid-tones confuse me... but your voice seems to have two settings.: mid-high and gruffly-low - the second one overlapping with Rob's range. You tend to start off with a higher-pitch and then as the show goes on (or your conversation does) you slip deeper and deeper. I find it very difficult to differentiate between yours and Rob's laughs.

From someone outside of the US, the accents on show (for everyone) aren't all that different. It's like asking one of you to pick out the difference between someone from Liverpool and someone from Southport - very minor differences which are immediately obvious to anyone speaking them.

So I'm not meaning to offend anyone when i can't tell you apart... Just know that you're all great!

Besides you might have the chance to ridicule my accent sooner rather than later... :/

It's like asking one of you to pick out the difference between someone from Liverpool and someone from Southport - very minor differences which are immediately obvious to anyone speaking them.

Oh, I know and agree. I was actually making a subtle joke with my response, by referring to both our accents being highlighted by the use of elongated vowel sounds. No offense taken at all.

Frankly, I couldn't tell Julain apart from Samfisher's audio e-mail. I wish that guy had _some_ kind of accent, but he was just bland, bland, bland.

I didn't know I had mid-tones. I guess I can live with that.

Elysium wrote:
It's like asking one of you to pick out the difference between someone from Liverpool and someone from Southport - very minor differences which are immediately obvious to anyone speaking them.

Oh, I know and agree. I was actually making a subtle joke with my response, by referring to both our accents being highlighted by the use of elongated vowel sounds. No offense taken at all.

Frankly, I couldn't tell Julain apart from Samfisher's audio e-mail. I wish that guy had _some_ kind of accent, but he was just bland, bland, bland.

Hehe *Fwoosh!* Over my head, i'm not that much of a linguist so the reference was above my knowledge of accent distinctions. I was originally going to include in my post a drawn on map of North America with some crosses in the northwest US and midsouth Canada with the words - "not that far apart!"

The thing is - that accent is SO put on. No one really speaks like that over here. At least not real Englishmen... though i suppose he is now a part of the Arian race of men called Londoners (not those Cockney people, you understand).

There is exactly one problem with Ticket to Ride:

There is a turn timer that cannot be turned off, and it boots you from the game (rather than skipping your turn) if you fail to act before the timer runs out. This is lame beyond belief.

Other than that, it couldn't be a better game. Can't wait for the two DLC packs (Europe and 1910) to be released.

Great show. I vote for more cussing. I say you get it to a f*ck a minute.

And next week's emails will all be about how much everyone thinks GWJ hates British people.

Rat Boy wrote:

And next week's emails will all be about how much everyone thinks GWJ hates British people.

They already are. Anytime anyone mentions a game, its a code for keep hating the british.

boogle wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

And next week's emails will all be about how much everyone thinks GWJ hates British people.

They already are. Anytime anyone mentions a game, its a code for keep hating the british.

Nah, that includes Europe and Australia too. They just hate everyone equally

I dunno. I kinda like the Dutch.

Elysium wrote:

I dunno. I kinda like the Dutch.

I'm half Dutch, so that makes sense. Dank u vel!

Two things I hate; people who discriminate against other people based on national identity, and the Dutch.

Duoae wrote:
boogle wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

And next week's emails will all be about how much everyone thinks GWJ hates British people.

They already are. Anytime anyone mentions a game, its a code for keep hating the british.

Nah, that includes Europe and Australia too. They just hate everyone equally :)

I thought they were all veiled jabs at me. I know Certis has some axe to grind against me, rabbit just loved stabbing me in the back in DEFCON, and I'm starting to suspect that Gaald intentionally flew that Super Cobra I was riding in into a telephone pole in BF2. Makes me wonder what Elysium's got against me.

Rat Boy wrote:

I thought they were all veiled jabs at me. I know Certis has something to grind against me,

Fixed... oh YEAH! Giggity!

In the past, I'd never much thought about the amount of cussing in the podcast. However, these days, the only time I get to listen to GWJ is on the weekends, in the car with the kids in the back while running errands and such. I have to have the speakers balanced all the way forward in case one of you guys gets on a hot streak and starts dropping the f-bomb...

I hate to sound like a cranky Mrs.Grundy, and you guys shouldn't change who you are. (It is after all 'Gamers with Jobs', which presupposes a level of age, if not maturity, on the part of the listener!) If, however, you chose to use more 'descriptive', rather than 'colorful' language when getting exercised about something, I know I would appreciate it...

If I had a podcast, I wouldn't swear.

/sarcasm.

When I need to strip paint from my walls or cut a shoe in half, I just blast Team Fremont Live. Preferably the Journey episode for those hard to reach places.

Makes me wonder what Elysium's got against me.

Nice cigar, clownhole.

Certis wrote:

or cut a shoe in half, I just blast Team Fremont Live. Preferably the Journey episode

I don't think listening to TFL will make that feel any better when you cut your shoe while wearing it.

Edit:

Elysium wrote:
Makes me wonder what Elysium's got against me.

Nice cigar, clownhole.

Well, I knew it had to be something.

So, as the PC and Wii are the only gaming systems I own, I can't fully speak to the PS3 disdain that's perceived, but I've been listening to the GWJ podcast for a few weeks now and it really doesn't sound to me that there is any less love for the PS3 on this podcast that the others I listen to (namely the Joystiq Podcast and 1up Yours).

All three podcasts tend to focus on the 360 for games, with some mention of certain Wii titles, the occasional PC title, and sometimes briefly, a PS3 title. I think it's a bit unfair to single out the GWJ podcast for lack of positive PS3 discussion because there simply _isn't_ much positive to say about the situation. But, as the guys so eloquently put in Conference Call 91, things are getting better and, with some luck and good development, the PS3 will catch up to where the 360 is in the near future.

I guess I'm just saying that the GWJ podcast isn't alone in its PS3 disdain and it isn't something to fault them for. It's Sony that should be faulted for dropping the ball. GWJ, and other podcasts/journalists, will be more than happy to put down their hard-earned dollars/euros on PS3 games and hardware when the games worth purchasing and player community arrive.

Three of my buddies have bought PS3s in the last 2-4 months.

One purchase was directly for GTA4. He didn't really give two damns about the other games on the system, he just wanted to play GTA. He ended up on a PS3 because of BluRay.

Another of my buddies sold off his 360 to fund a PS3 purchase. I'm not sure why as he hasn't mentioned much more than that. He's a huge movie fiend, so it may well be the HD support. He'll have a heck of a time rebuilding his collection, though.

The last of 'em got a good deal on the MGS pack. Hasn't used it for BluRay, hasn't even touched MGS4 yet. I guess he just wanted to feel complete as a hardcore HD gamer.

I think the will is swinging around, but the 360 has had a very, very good lead with games (and its Live functionality is unmatched so far). I'm tempted to say that the PS3 wave is waiting for drops like Little Big Planet to cause some swell in support, but the way my buddies have approached it, it might just be a matter of time and price.

Consequently, I really hate it when people complain about anti-PS bias. Their playbook has been nothing but fumbles and missteps, and while it may get a little tiresome to hear it repeated, you can't expect good press just because of the PlayStation brand.

ilduce620 wrote:

So, as the PC and Wii are the only gaming systems I own, I can't fully speak to the PS3 disdain that's perceived, but I've been listening to the GWJ podcast for a few weeks now and it really doesn't sound to me that there is any less love for the PS3 on this podcast that the others I listen to (namely the Joystiq Podcast and 1up Yours).

All three podcasts tend to focus on the 360 for games, with some mention of certain Wii titles, the occasional PC title, and sometimes briefly, a PS3 title. I think it's a bit unfair to single out the GWJ podcast for lack of positive PS3 discussion because there simply _isn't_ much positive to say about the situation. But, as the guys so eloquently put in Conference Call 91, things are getting better and, with some luck and good development, the PS3 will catch up to where the 360 is in the near future.

I guess I'm just saying that the GWJ podcast isn't alone in its PS3 disdain and it isn't something to fault them for. It's Sony that should be faulted for dropping the ball. GWJ, and other podcasts/journalists, will be more than happy to put down their hard-earned dollars/euros on PS3 games and hardware when the games worth purchasing and player community arrive.

I guess perhaps that is why we heard so much. I didn't think about it like that before and I didn't think it was possible for Sony to continue to make a balls-up in such a fashion but judging from opinions here, I guess it's deserved. Guess I'll stick with the PC for a while longer (considering games are now forthcoming which are making me drool....Diablo.....hint hint....)

Great show, and Sam Fisher's piece was priceless!