Yes, which makes the irony all the more interesting.
I love 1up Yours to death, but them's some overbearingly opinionated motherfuckers.
And to illustrate that point beautifully, this past Friday's 1up Yours podcast was a fucking cesspool of stupidity. Wall to wall, which bugged me all the more since Thursday's show was so damned good.
Would love to add a bit more, but you guys have all the shows I listen to covered, plus a few more I'm going to check out now.
We can only hope Shawn Elliot will infect 1upYours with cool.
Since John left it has been wandering the desert. It was on the downer when Luke Smith quit for Bungie.
In contrast, GFW has gotten better and better. The fuckin Brodeo. Also, Robert Ashley is essential.
I gotta ask. Was John different before he left? Because I started listening to them as he was leaving, and he sort of grated on me. But he was on this past Friday, and he made Shane sound balanced and reasonable. He literally did nothing but shit on something with a short, smug comment, and didn't explain, didn't discuss, didn't follow anything up. He literally added nothing to the cast but a big stream of rancid douche.
Is Shawn on both now? Because if he's left GFW to do 1UP Yours that's a ridiculous decision. He mentioned something about the 'last Hero of the Web' in a recent episode.
I've a feeling John is being very careful with what he says given that he's now the family-oriented guy and he's a guest at ZD after holding a prominent position. A lot of the time some of the best discussion came from either John and Shane taking opposite viewpoints and playing devil's advocate when appropriate, or John calling Garnett on some or all of his stupid bullshit.
John/Shane/Garnett/Luke was a very good combination, but last time they were all together properly was PAX 07 and Luke just had to keep his gob shut whenever they said anything because he was representing Bungie at that point. I hope that this year their panel will be a lot more relaxed and free-speaking because no-one's really got that tension there any more.
They are doing a live PAX show this year, right?
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I tried an episode of One Life Left once, and for some reason I absolutely hated it. I'd give it another try, but I'm not hopeful.
Urk. We get this sometimes.
BUT! We also get people who take a few episodes to 'get' the show, so it might be worth you trying again. If you don't feel it, don't worry. You are far from being alone. We don't cover the bleeding edge, we are Not For Everyone (that is fast becoming our motto), and there are plenty of other things out there. Diversity! Sweet.
All that said, we do share a few important things with P-A which is why I'm glad this topic exists: total independence, a solid 'these are OUR jokes and this is OUR thing' community feel, and a holy-shit games are awesome and stupid and ridiculous ethos. We aren't quite as angry about it all as Gabe and Tycho but i assume that's because we're british and sedated by tea and toast and self-deprecating humour.
Yeah, it was quite a while ago (I think when Kotaku first mentioned it), and it sounded good from the description; and everything you label is good stuff that I feel fully on board with. But I think I quit listening after about 10-15 minutes. I really don't recall what it was that turned me off so quickly.
I'll try giving it another go in the next few days, maybe it was just the topic on that episode that irked me. And if I still don't like it, I promise I'll sit in the corner and shut up rather than rain on your parade :-)
Is Shawn on both now? Because if he's left GFW to do 1UP Yours that's a ridiculous decision. He mentioned something about the 'last Hero of the Web' in a recent episode.
They joked that he was leaving GFW to just be on 1up Yours, but then admitted that he would be doing both at the end. So nah, he's just doing two casts a week now.
Is Shawn on both now? Because if he's left GFW to do 1UP Yours that's a ridiculous decision. He mentioned something about the 'last Hero of the Web' in a recent episode.
They joked that he was leaving GFW to just be on 1up Yours, but then admitted that he would be doing both at the end. So nah, he's just doing two casts a week now.
Oh, awesome. I'll continue listening then. I was getting ready to cancel the feeds for them both, because GFW without Shawn is basically two guys without much to say and one without anything to say.
1UP Yours still isn't good with Shawn, either. I'd have vastly preferred Jeff, but I realise he's super busy. Hopefully John's mention that he wants to come back and do more will make it listenable again, but now instead of actively listening to Yours I just have it on in the background while I'm doing other stuff.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
The IGN ones are pretty good. At least I think so.
Can you suggest which ones in particular? I had it on itunes for a while, but then they stopped putting wii-k in review on it, and I got kinda annoyed it DLed all of them
I usually listen to Game Scoop, Beyond and Three Red Lights.
Pretty much any but the Wii ones (which is odd since I have a Wii), since the Wii one isn't funny and the people talking aren't very... interesting.
Yes, Shawn is on both now, and it's pretty hilarious, since he has vastly different opinions than Shane and Garnett. The entire last week's GDC podcasts were great; probably the best they've had since John left. Of course, they had a bunch of special guests as well, but I'm liking this lineup, even if I still think Bryan Intihar is a bit annoying.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
We can only hope Shawn Elliot will infect 1upYours with cool.
Since John left it has been wandering the desert. It was on the downer when Luke Smith quit for Bungie.
In contrast, GFW has gotten better and better. The fuckin Brodeo. Also, Robert Ashley is essential.
I gotta ask. Was John different before he left? Because I started listening to them as he was leaving, and he sort of grated on me. But he was on this past Friday, and he made Shane sound balanced and reasonable. He literally did nothing but shit on something with a short, smug comment, and didn't explain, didn't discuss, didn't follow anything up. He literally added nothing to the cast but a big stream of rancid douche.
Yeah, the 7000$ PC thing and his enthusiasm for nothing but a game that no one would care about if Stephen Spielberg had nothing to do with was obnoxious. He use to be the more level headed of the bunch with some good insight. But as a guest he was pretty bad. Also, 6 people is too much. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Yeah, sorry about the sound quality. Frustratingly it was our fault; it looks like something went fzzt in the desk about two minutes in although it's all fine now and I can't replicate the problem, which is worrying.
So because of that the content was not only marred by us being constantly distracted and then erroneously ASSUMING the problem was because the stream was screwed -- this is only the second time we've ever done that, you see -- but more screwed up by the actual fizz every time there's a noise.
We normally podcast (NB: the 100 listener record is only for our two-episode-old live stream, not the podcast or the FM broadcast, obviously) so people can download and listen at their leisure but I'm not sure we can this time. It's just too shitty. Maybe with enormous warnings at the start. Annoying!
Sorry, anyway.
I really enjoyed this weeks too, I would have loved to phone in, but I don't have a mic. I may get one at some point soon actually.
So, I'm going to give some feedback, feel free to disregard it because what the hell do I know.
1. It would be really cool if there was a listener chat room, where all the folks listening live could hang out, in my opinion a forum isn't really the best way to have realtime discussion. It would be a great simple way to get quick input too. I don't know if it would maybe be a bit too hectic though...
2. The sound problem wasn't a big deal, the biggest problem was you (understandably) worrying about it too much, I guess you couldn't tell exactly what it sounded like from your end, but it was fine really.
3. I really enjoyed the fourth wall breaking "pre cast" live session, I can't put my finger on why, but I found the whole idea of it hilarious. In my opinion, you guys arguing afterwards felt a little unprofessional, but I guess I appreciate you broadcasting everything, warts and all.
4. Can you be friends with me and my blog on your site (yes this isn't feedback, but whatever...) it's really good, honest. I keep track of all the best games deals around in the UK.
We can only hope Shawn Elliot will infect 1upYours with cool.
Since John left it has been wandering the desert. It was on the downer when Luke Smith quit for Bungie.
In contrast, GFW has gotten better and better. The fuckin Brodeo. Also, Robert Ashley is essential.
I gotta ask. Was John different before he left? Because I started listening to them as he was leaving, and he sort of grated on me. But he was on this past Friday, and he made Shane sound balanced and reasonable. He literally did nothing but shit on something with a short, smug comment, and didn't explain, didn't discuss, didn't follow anything up. He literally added nothing to the cast but a big stream of rancid douche.
Yeah. He was all kinds of awesome before he announced he was leaving.
I think from that point on and even now when he guest appears he is clearly phoning it in. Now he has no reason to deal with shanes bullshit and garnetts alcohol abuse so just nods and goes along with it.
before he was totally the mediator between those two, who have been rampant since he left.
going back and listening to old shows, especially ones with luke smith is still good. i mean just skip the news segment and its a great listen.
I quite like GFW and 1up Yours. Although, I have to admit, I don't understand how Shane can go a complete day at work without getting drop kicked in the teeth by at least 3 people, 2 of them people he knows. It's not that I hate him or his voice, it's just his smarmy, douchey know-it-all-and-therefore-I'm-better-than-God bullshit.
I occasionally listen to PC Gamer's podcast, but it's a little weird having the curses censored. I don't know. For something on the Internet, that weirds me out that it's censored.
Oh, and Pressatojoin.net. Those guys are great. Oh, wait, that's me. If you need some time to kill, I recommend us! And now, Shill-O-Meter, OFF.
That's about the only game podcasts I listen to, but there's some good all around ones, like Coverville (for music), the Chud Show (for movies and shenanigans) and Smodcast (for Kevin Smith and smoking). I've tried Joystiq and the Hotspot and a couple of others but they always seem to do something that just turns me off from them.
Shawn Elliott may be the saving grace of 1UP Yours. I miss Luke, so much.
Agreed. Also, the more I listen, the more I think that new addition Bryan Intihar is just a "yes man" to Shane. He's like Boy Wonder to "Sony Man God Shane". It wouldn't be so bad if there were someone to counteract those two ... Shawn sort of does it, but I get the impression that he's grown tired of being the only guy around to rope them in.
For example, on the second day of the GDC podcast, Shane went off on how the XNA Community Games stuff was being misrepresented, wasn't going to be made readily available to everyone, etc. All of that was actually untrue. No one corrected him on it. It wasn't till the next day that he had to apologize and correct himself. Another example ... Bryan and Shane discussed the Final Fantasy Crystal Engine talk, and said how Wii support was possible. They completely disregarded the news that the engine is actually multiplatform to the PC and 360 as well, which I think is big news. (It means that the possibility of some FFXIII games going multi-platform is a lot more feasible) Again, no one chimed in.
Obviously I'm biased because of where I work, but still, its stuff like that which irks me when it appears that half the cast has an obvious bias for/against certain platforms. I'm actually okay that a bias exists, but I'd like it for it to be balanced somewhat. Having Shawn there to "represent" PC gaming to a degree definitely helps though.
Im pretty sure garnett and shane are enhancing their personalities for the show.
garnett isnt really some drunken oaf and shane isnt really some sony fanboy mangod. its debatable how much of an act it is but its definitely an act.
Yeah, I don't get how Shane gets under so many people's skin. People lambaste him for not playing FPS's, yet any number of people who play games don't play certain genre's. Seems the hate comes because he doesn't play shooters and that's the predominate market for 360 people just get all uppity about it.
I wish they'd just do away with the NPD stuff though. It's so boring and inevitably run into the ground before they talk about it, and nothing insightful ever comes of it. It's just hey gee wizz look how much X sold on Y followed by console wars(TM) lameness.
Maybe I'm jaded, but Shawn Elliot is probably the worst part of the 1up podasts at this point.
When I first started listening to them I thought he was a good, offbeat character. But now I just find him way too fucking impressed with himself. Most of his shit isn't even funny, the other people there laughing sound like the nerds who laugh when a cooler kid says something dumb but they don't want to make him mad.
And I bought into that concept until I saw Elliot on a 1up Show video podcast. I pictured him as looking.. cooler than that for all the shit he talks. Maybe a shallow thought, but fuck we're talking about the guy who sits around making fun of other nerds all day. I can't picture him being the cool pseudo-bully anymore.
He'd be alright if he didn't try to monopolize the mic time. He just never shuts up.
And whoever said Shane sucks is dead wrong. Him and Jeff Green are the two best guys on the network. Jeff being the lovable old-guy nerd and Shane being the super video game freak. Jeff is always good for a laugh and Shane is the one who seems to care the most about the subject. Plus who doesn't like a good Garnett vs Shane slapfight?
i 2nd all the 1up podcasts with a huge thumbs up to GFW(GO BRODEO!), with 1up yours behind it and EGM live* after that, and Retronauts following far behind.
Retronauts is nice if your REALLY into retro gaming(including retro game bumper music) but the eps come out infrequently.
Wait! i forgot "Legendary Thread: 1-up's WoW/MMO podcast" its ok..its more of a "just the news" podcast with some personality sprinkled in
I also enjoy the CAGcasts, although they can drag on sometimes, they are usually very entertaining though.
The Joystiq podcast is also very solid, and entertaining, although i was disappointed by their GDC coverage.
I've also been known to listen to the Sarcastic Gamer podcasts(if I'm really strapped for things to listen to), i don't know if anyone else has mentioned them but i don't have any links handy >_<
those are the gaming pods i listen to, out of them all i would say the GFW podcast is my favorite, to only the PAcast of course. I love the GFW podcast because of its tangent-laden nature, and it usually winds up in some sort of crazy place that really has nothing to do with PC, even though it is a solid PC Gaming podcast.
Maybe I'm jaded, but Shawn Elliot is probably the worst part of the 1up podasts at this point.
When I first started listening to them I thought he was a good, offbeat character. But now I just find him way too fucking impressed with himself. Most of his shit isn't even funny, the other people there laughing sound like the nerds who laugh when a cooler kid says something dumb but they don't want to make him mad.
And I bought into that concept until I saw Elliot on a 1up Show video podcast. I pictured him as looking.. cooler than that for all the shit he talks. Maybe a shallow thought, but fuck we're talking about the guy who sits around making fun of other nerds all day. I can't picture him being the cool pseudo-bully anymore.
He'd be alright if he didn't try to monopolize the mic time. He just never shuts up.
And whoever said Shane sucks is dead wrong. Him and Jeff Green are the two best guys on the network. Jeff being the lovable old-guy nerd and Shane being the super video game freak. Jeff is always good for a laugh and Shane is the one who seems to care the most about the subject. Plus who doesn't like a good Garnett vs Shane slapfight?
Where do you get the bully vibe from? From the griefing? Most of it sounds harmless. Flying a ship full of people into a tank in BF2 and the tank driver getting flagged with the TKs sounded hilarious.
Where do you get the bully vibe from? From the griefing? Most of it sounds harmless. Flying a ship full of people into a tank in BF2 and the tank driver getting flagged with the TKs sounded hilarious.
Perhaps "bully" wasn't the best term. Obnoxious, egomaniacal cunt would probably be more accurate.
And I don't care about griefing in games. It's based on his long, boring, contrived tales of how everyone he ever grew up with was always fatter, dumber, and less fortunate than him how he always comes out really cool and laughing at them and their problems.
He's like an angsty, petulant 13 year old trapped in a balding 35 year old's body. Which is kind of funny at first.. but it gets tired fast.
Maybe I'm jaded, but Shawn Elliot is probably the worst part of the 1up podasts at this point.
When I first started listening to them I thought he was a good, offbeat character. But now I just find him way too fucking impressed with himself. Most of his shit isn't even funny, the other people there laughing sound like the nerds who laugh when a cooler kid says something dumb but they don't want to make him mad.
And I bought into that concept until I saw Elliot on a 1up Show video podcast. I pictured him as looking.. cooler than that for all the shit he talks. Maybe a shallow thought, but fuck we're talking about the guy who sits around making fun of other nerds all day. I can't picture him being the cool pseudo-bully anymore.
He'd be alright if he didn't try to monopolize the mic time. He just never shuts up.
And whoever said Shane sucks is dead wrong. Him and Jeff Green are the two best guys on the network. Jeff being the lovable old-guy nerd and Shane being the super video game freak. Jeff is always good for a laugh and Shane is the one who seems to care the most about the subject. Plus who doesn't like a good Garnett vs Shane slapfight?
Wow. I have almost the complete opposite opinion that you do. Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but here's why I like Shawn so much: he's opinionated and knows how to convey his arguments properly. I can see how a lot of people might not "get" what he's trying to say, or why, and thus he may come off as being pretentious. Yes, he uses "big words" and yes he's a bit of an idealist, but I find it ironic that the same guy is involved in high-school-like pranks and hijinx in Second Life. It's as if Roger Ebert also did participated in MST3K-style lampoons of bad movies. You get both a critical thinker, and a goofball all at the same time.
On the other hand, I think the rest of the 1UP Yours crew (Garnett, Shane, and especially Bryan) are all "kids in a candy shop". They are just "video game freaks". I think it's fine to have one (I'd pick Shane), but having all three just guffaw over the same hyped up stuff, and share the same fanboy-like opinions, and not do nearly as much critical thinking about the industry as, say, a Shawn Elliot or Jeff Green ... is too much for one podcast. That's why I enjoy the GFW Radio much more than 1UP Yours, as of late.
For example, there's often a lot of discussion/argument over the nature of game scores on the message board. Often gamers will get mad that so-and-so game got what they perceived as a "low score". Shane would just say that those guys are crazy and not to listen to them. And that's it. While I happen to agree with his sentiment, I do like that Shawn will say the same thing and go into more detail as to the nature of game reviews, message board/group-think mentality, the general state of game journalism, etc. If that type of stuff doesn't interest you at all, then yeah I guess you'd consider him "too fucking impressed with himself", but I consider it him being actually critical and thought-provoking. *shrugs*
Of course, I also work in the industry, so I'm more than just your average "all I want is a fun game" gamer.
GFW Radio is the only gaming podcast I can listen to. A lot are entirely too industry-insider for my taste, but I swear to fucking god, I can't get five minutes into the others without someone spouting off Monty Python references.
Where do you get the bully vibe from? From the griefing? Most of it sounds harmless. Flying a ship full of people into a tank in BF2 and the tank driver getting flagged with the TKs sounded hilarious.
Perhaps "bully" wasn't the best term. Obnoxious, egomaniacal cunt would probably be more accurate.
And I don't care about griefing in games. It's based on his long, boring, contrived tales of how everyone he ever grew up with was always fatter, dumber, and less fortunate than him how he always comes out really cool and laughing at them and their problems.
He's like an angsty, petulant 13 year old trapped in a balding 35 year old's body. Which is kind of funny at first.. but it gets tired fast.
Weird, I don't think I've ever heard him talk about being better off or smarter than anyone else. He does make fun of fat people. And I've NEVER heard him laugh at or mock someone's "problems". Unless you mean marrying Sonic or being unable to go on in FF7 after the shock of Aeris dying.
I think he's an intelligent guy that works with some less gregarious people who he does a podcast with and likes telling stories and entertaining the listeners. He can be long winded and maybe childish at times. But nothing deeply flawed. He does some great interviews and some good reviews. I don't get the angsty egomaniacal cunt vibe at all. . .
Im pretty sure garnett and shane are enhancing their personalities for the show.
garnett isnt really some drunken oaf and shane isnt really some sony fanboy mangod. its debatable how much of an act it is but its definitely an act.
Yeah, I don't get how Shane gets under so many people's skin. People lambaste him for not playing FPS's, yet any number of people who play games don't play certain genre's. Seems the hate comes because he doesn't play shooters and that's the predominate market for 360 people just get all uppity about it.
Neither. He's quite obviously developed a persona, which is actually quite popular and he tends to play it up a lot. But behind the persona, I actually think it's pretty obvious that he loves Nintendo just as much, if not more, than Sony. I think the only thing holding his Wii love back is that when it comes to 3D graphics, he's a complete graphics whore.
As for Shawn, there are two things I don't like about him. The first is that he's got his own view of the world and nothing will change it. Look at the discussion they had on game stories, he was convinced that the only real game stories are ones told in-game and that there was no room for stories told in cutscenes, as if there's not enough room for them both.
And the second thing is that he'll completely derail a lot of discussions. Sometimes it leads to a funny story or a more interesting discussion but other times it'll just lead to a shitty undies joke. It's pretty annoying when you're actually interested in the game they were talking about.
Btw, I think Luke was pretty over-rated. My favourite period of 1UP Yours was probably when it was Garnett, Shane, John and Mark.
It seems to me that some of the people here take 1up Yours a bit too seriously. I mean, it's meant to be funny, light-hearted and "passionate", if you will. As soon as you start throwing words like "opinionated", and "biased" around, it's sort of missing the point. None of the guys are afraid to admit mistakes, nor are they intentionally hating on stuff. It's just a combination of personality, in-jokes and the "heat of the moment" that usually arises in discussions like these.
They're all just gigantic nerds that happen to be industry insiders, and you can tell they know each other really well. It's perfectly harmless, relaxing entertainment that never goes into malicious or hostile territory. I swear, some of you make it sound like Crossfire or some shit. Fair enough if you don't like listening to them, but, I don't know, I think you're reading too much into what they say. They're being very tongue in cheek most of the time, and when they actually do get into a serious discussion, they rarely say anything that can be construed as ridiculous or biased or whatnot.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
don't want to listen to GFW (or anything like it) because I'd like to listen to multiplatform talk, rather than 1 system centric.
Well, the GFW guys frequently diverge from PC talk and do discuss some stuff on consoles or hand-helds occasionally. Besides, it's not like Shawn Elliott gets to say much during 1up Yours since he's always drowned out by Shane and Garnett. So, GFW gives me the PC talk (and they're usually objective about things, knowing all the shortcomings of the platform) that gets marginalized elsewhere.
God, yes. "Yours" was practically unbearable last week. Dennis Fucking Dyack gets on there and tells us in a million words all about how shitty the current situation is for third parties, how there needs to be a "one console future" where all the current platform holders just, like, keel over and die I guess, in order to make way for an open platform with multiple hardware manufacturers, with the capability for third parties to directly publish and distribute their games -- and everyone in the room scoffs when Shawn suggests that maybe the platform Dennis wants already exists, and it's called Steam. Because after all, as John reminded us the following day, you need a computer that costs "SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS" if you want to play anything that's worth the time.
Sometimes I just can't believe the ignorance the "Yours" hosts spew.
It seems to me that some of the people here take 1up Yours a bit too seriously. I mean, it's meant to be funny, light-hearted and "passionate", if you will. As soon as you start throwing words like "opinionated", and "biased" around, it's sort of missing the point. None of the guys are afraid to admit mistakes, nor are they intentionally hating on stuff. It's just a combination of personality, in-jokes and the "heat of the moment" that usually arises in discussions like these.
They're all just gigantic nerds that happen to be industry insiders, and you can tell they know each other really well. It's perfectly harmless, relaxing entertainment that never goes into malicious or hostile territory. I swear, some of you make it sound like Crossfire or some shit. Fair enough if you don't like listening to them, but, I don't know, I think you're reading too much into what they say. They're being very tongue in cheek most of the time, and when they actually do get into a serious discussion, they rarely say anything that can be construed as ridiculous or biased or whatnot.
Shane Bettenhausen: "devil May cry 4 will never ever appear on any console other than playstation 3. not now not ever. you will not see a 36 version. i guarantee that, ive heard that from seniors at capcom and sony. believe me. never ever"
It seems to me that some of the people here take 1up Yours a bit too seriously. I mean, it's meant to be funny, light-hearted and "passionate", if you will. As soon as you start throwing words like "opinionated", and "biased" around, it's sort of missing the point. None of the guys are afraid to admit mistakes, nor are they intentionally hating on stuff. It's just a combination of personality, in-jokes and the "heat of the moment" that usually arises in discussions like these.
They're all just gigantic nerds that happen to be industry insiders, and you can tell they know each other really well. It's perfectly harmless, relaxing entertainment that never goes into malicious or hostile territory. I swear, some of you make it sound like Crossfire or some shit. Fair enough if you don't like listening to them, but, I don't know, I think you're reading too much into what they say. They're being very tongue in cheek most of the time, and when they actually do get into a serious discussion, they rarely say anything that can be construed as ridiculous or biased or whatnot.
Shane Bettenhausen: "devil May cry 4 will never ever appear on any console other than playstation 3. not now not ever. you will not see a 36 version. i guarantee that, ive heard that from seniors at capcom and sony. believe me. never ever"
I don't think that's too ridiculous; it happens pretty often in the industry that people are mistaken about ports or multiconsole games. Maybe he actually did hear that from seniors at Capcom and Sony? I doubt he'd base it on sheer bravado. Being wrong on a prediction is not uncommon. Is it the tone you're objecting to? Because, you know... Shane is always like that.
Also, keep in mind that I said "rarely", for the record. They have said some dumb stuff before, I'm not discounting that.
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
As for Shawn, there are two things I don't like about him. The first is that he's got his own view of the world and nothing will change it. Look at the discussion they had on game stories, he was convinced that the only real game stories are ones told in-game and that there was no room for stories told in cutscenes, as if there's not enough room for them both.
Hmm, I don't get the vibe that he's that stubborn and nothing will change it. I do get the vibe that he has different opinions than many of the others in the group, and because of this, has to work extra hard not to be drowned out. I actually thought the discussion he brought up between cutscenes versus in-game narratives was pretty enlightening, even though I may not agree 100% on his opinion. It's certainly a lot more thought provoking than Shane and Bryan just yelling "omg, MGS3 cut-scenes are teh awesome, you suck for not liking MGS3".
If I had to choose two guys to hang out with at a pub and discuss the state and nature of video games, the industry, journalism, etc. ... it'd be Shawn Elliot and Jeff Green. Most of the other guys are just fanboys happy to have insider access to games and developers. Not that it's a bad thing though! It's actually very healthy to have them since that fits the profile of most gamers (who couldn't care less about how the industry works). But personally, I don't look to people like Shane or Bryan for enlightening conversations.
I play a lot of retro games, so I really enjoy Retronauts and Destructoid's RetroForceGO!. I occasionally listen to some of the IGN podcasts, but I don't like them enough to grab them on a regular basis.
My favorite is the infrequent Penny Arcade podcasts. I love that they don't even do a true podcast format. It's just Jerry and Mike brainstorming and having a good time together. My personal favorite is the one where they find out the name of the Wii:
Mike: "...that might make more sense"
Jerry: "more sense than a vagina arsonist???"
As for Shawn, there are two things I don't like about him. The first is that he's got his own view of the world and nothing will change it. Look at the discussion they had on game stories, he was convinced that the only real game stories are ones told in-game and that there was no room for stories told in cutscenes, as if there's not enough room for them both.
Hmm, I don't get the vibe that he's that stubborn and nothing will change it. I do get the vibe that he has different opinions than many of the others in the group, and because of this, has to work extra hard not to be drowned out. I actually thought the discussion he brought up between cutscenes versus in-game narratives was pretty enlightening, even though I may not agree 100% on his opinion. It's certainly a lot more thought provoking than Shane and Bryan just yelling "omg, MGS3 cut-scenes are teh awesome, you suck for not liking MGS3".
That's because Shawn was the only one there saying "this is how things have to be". Shane, Garnett and Bryan were perfectly happy for both methods of story telling to co-exist, just like they do now.
As for Shawn, there are two things I don't like about him. The first is that he's got his own view of the world and nothing will change it. Look at the discussion they had on game stories, he was convinced that the only real game stories are ones told in-game and that there was no room for stories told in cutscenes, as if there's not enough room for them both.
Hmm, I don't get the vibe that he's that stubborn and nothing will change it. I do get the vibe that he has different opinions than many of the others in the group, and because of this, has to work extra hard not to be drowned out. I actually thought the discussion he brought up between cutscenes versus in-game narratives was pretty enlightening, even though I may not agree 100% on his opinion. It's certainly a lot more thought provoking than Shane and Bryan just yelling "omg, MGS3 cut-scenes are teh awesome, you suck for not liking MGS3".
That's because Shawn was the only one there saying "this is how things have to be". Shane, Garnett and Bryan were perfectly happy for both methods of story telling to co-exist, just like they do now.
Well I don't want to get into a pissing match over this, so I'll try to keep it short. The way I interpreted is that Shawn is interested in games that use alternate ways of doing narrative. The way he describes it is very interesting, and similar to what Will Wright discussed in a recent talk I attended. I love the discussion that came out of this, between all of the developers and Shawn.
On the other hand, you've got folks like Shane and Bryan who are just happy with whatever they have (like MGS3). I don't get the sense that they even know that alternate methods exist, or that they think on that level, or even care about that level at all. They just want fun games, and it's up to the developer to "figure it out". Sure, that's fine, but it doesn't drive conversation and discourse. It doesn't help that all they were doing was defending games, when that wasn't the point of the conversation. Who cares that Shawn doesn't like MGS3! It's his own damn opinion! Too often, fanboys derail the conversation by getting into petty arguments like that.
I don't see cutscenes as necessary at this point in the video game timeline now that developers are able to create realistic looking people and places. The dawn of the cutscene came around when game characters looked nothing like real people or creatures etc. Now it's becoming more and more of a crutch. Shawns comparison to early movies and how they just sort of set up a camera in front of a stage I think was definitely the best analogy to the medium having to take advantage of its own strengths rather than relying on others established rubric's. Too many games just tell stories as if it's a 3-D animated movie. That's not a game, that's a 3-D animated movie spliced into my game.
You definitely see games moving in that direction slowing. Maybe not entirely allowing the player to control the story, but taking control in certain situations(Look Link that door closed!). Cut scenes like what Blizzard or Square do that are not representative of what the actual game looks like always just make me think "wow that's pretty". They come off as very detached from the game.
Obviously lots of people don't think it matters. But if I had a choice between a game telling me a story through/while playing vs. the same game stopping my interaction and showing a movie I'd choose to play.
Mike: "...that might make more sense"
Jerry: "more sense than a vagina arsonist???"
Some of my favourite stuff from the PA 'cast is he tangential stuff - the stories about their kids, or the one Mike told about his neighbors moving - it's brilliant.
And the 'Daddy, what is a weapon?' story is one of the scariest fucking things I've ever heard.
Willeth on
@vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming! @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
4. Can you be friends with me and my blog on your site (yes this isn't feedback, but whatever...) it's really good, honest. I keep track of all the best games deals around in the UK.
Good stuff, I'll be listening again next week!
You're such an advertisement whore. For £2k I'll get a tattoo of your blog URL on my forehead
I downloaded the podcast that's on their website this morning but annoyingly couldn't find the cable to copy it to my MP3 player, so that'll be tonight's job for tomorrow's walk to work. I wish we could tune in to things like that from our work pcs, it'd make the day go so much faster.
Obviously lots of people don't think it matters. But if I had a choice between a game telling me a story through/while playing vs. the same game stopping my interaction and showing a movie I'd choose to play.
This is the point I believe Shawn was trying to make. Take Half Life 2 - it does not use cinematic cutscenes to tell the story as I understand it, you literally play through the 'cutscenes' which are in-engine and you do not lose control.
From an interactive medium point of view, cutscenes don't have a place. That's what I got from the podcast.
I have to agree with JCRooks that Jeff Green and Shawn Elliot seem like the guys I'd most like to spend an afternoon with discussing gaming.
I find 1up Yours frustrating in that quite often they make factual errors that are used to support fifteen minute rants that dig against one of their favourite topics of hate. A recent example was XNA with Shane. Garnett's done it with a whole bunch of things and Luke used to give him crap for it incessantly.
1up Yours is a really big demonstration, to me, of the point that it's really "professional enthusiasts" as opposed to "industry journalists". There is a lot of enthusiasm from Shane, Garnett and Bryan (although Bryan tends to just parrot a lot of the things that mainly Shane says), and they talk a lot, but perhaps don't really discuss things on more than a relatively shallow level.
Whereas the discussions in relation to the games 'journalism' industry on GFW have been quite interesting and enlightening. Luke Smith brought a significant side of intellectualism to 1up Yours, as did Davison, so it's a tad funny that those two are the ones that left for 'bigger and better things'.
In reference to the point about Shawn making fun of nerds, he takes the piss out of himself. He used to disclaimer Heroes of the Web by saying that he loves flying simulators so much that he's basically got himself a complete rig of specialised peripherals for it, and he builds model airplanes. He knows he's a big nerd, and when there's work to be done he does a great job. He is always the one that prepares the questions and tries to get to the core of discussion when they have high profile guests. But when it's just the guys and they've covered the important topics for the week, he's there to entertain. At that point, it's a subjective thing. I enjoy it a lot, I can understand why others don't. But don't bag him out for being something he's not. At least when he argues something he uses a proper argument, he doesn't just yell louder like the guys on 1up Yours tend to do.
Posts
And to illustrate that point beautifully, this past Friday's 1up Yours podcast was a fucking cesspool of stupidity. Wall to wall, which bugged me all the more since Thursday's show was so damned good.
Would love to add a bit more, but you guys have all the shows I listen to covered, plus a few more I'm going to check out now.
Since John left it has been wandering the desert. It was on the downer when Luke Smith quit for Bungie.
In contrast, GFW has gotten better and better. The fuckin Brodeo. Also, Robert Ashley is essential.
I gotta ask. Was John different before he left? Because I started listening to them as he was leaving, and he sort of grated on me. But he was on this past Friday, and he made Shane sound balanced and reasonable. He literally did nothing but shit on something with a short, smug comment, and didn't explain, didn't discuss, didn't follow anything up. He literally added nothing to the cast but a big stream of rancid douche.
I've a feeling John is being very careful with what he says given that he's now the family-oriented guy and he's a guest at ZD after holding a prominent position. A lot of the time some of the best discussion came from either John and Shane taking opposite viewpoints and playing devil's advocate when appropriate, or John calling Garnett on some or all of his stupid bullshit.
John/Shane/Garnett/Luke was a very good combination, but last time they were all together properly was PAX 07 and Luke just had to keep his gob shut whenever they said anything because he was representing Bungie at that point. I hope that this year their panel will be a lot more relaxed and free-speaking because no-one's really got that tension there any more.
They are doing a live PAX show this year, right?
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Yeah, it was quite a while ago (I think when Kotaku first mentioned it), and it sounded good from the description; and everything you label is good stuff that I feel fully on board with. But I think I quit listening after about 10-15 minutes. I really don't recall what it was that turned me off so quickly.
I'll try giving it another go in the next few days, maybe it was just the topic on that episode that irked me. And if I still don't like it, I promise I'll sit in the corner and shut up rather than rain on your parade :-)
They joked that he was leaving GFW to just be on 1up Yours, but then admitted that he would be doing both at the end. So nah, he's just doing two casts a week now.
Oh, awesome. I'll continue listening then. I was getting ready to cancel the feeds for them both, because GFW without Shawn is basically two guys without much to say and one without anything to say.
1UP Yours still isn't good with Shawn, either. I'd have vastly preferred Jeff, but I realise he's super busy. Hopefully John's mention that he wants to come back and do more will make it listenable again, but now instead of actively listening to Yours I just have it on in the background while I'm doing other stuff.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I usually listen to Game Scoop, Beyond and Three Red Lights.
Pretty much any but the Wii ones (which is odd since I have a Wii), since the Wii one isn't funny and the people talking aren't very... interesting.
Steam id: skoot LoL id: skoot
I really enjoyed this weeks too, I would have loved to phone in, but I don't have a mic. I may get one at some point soon actually.
So, I'm going to give some feedback, feel free to disregard it because what the hell do I know.
1. It would be really cool if there was a listener chat room, where all the folks listening live could hang out, in my opinion a forum isn't really the best way to have realtime discussion. It would be a great simple way to get quick input too. I don't know if it would maybe be a bit too hectic though...
2. The sound problem wasn't a big deal, the biggest problem was you (understandably) worrying about it too much, I guess you couldn't tell exactly what it sounded like from your end, but it was fine really.
3. I really enjoyed the fourth wall breaking "pre cast" live session, I can't put my finger on why, but I found the whole idea of it hilarious. In my opinion, you guys arguing afterwards felt a little unprofessional, but I guess I appreciate you broadcasting everything, warts and all.
4. Can you be friends with me and my blog on your site (yes this isn't feedback, but whatever...) it's really good, honest. I keep track of all the best games deals around in the UK.
Good stuff, I'll be listening again next week!
Yeah. He was all kinds of awesome before he announced he was leaving.
I think from that point on and even now when he guest appears he is clearly phoning it in. Now he has no reason to deal with shanes bullshit and garnetts alcohol abuse so just nods and goes along with it.
before he was totally the mediator between those two, who have been rampant since he left.
going back and listening to old shows, especially ones with luke smith is still good. i mean just skip the news segment and its a great listen.
I occasionally listen to PC Gamer's podcast, but it's a little weird having the curses censored. I don't know. For something on the Internet, that weirds me out that it's censored.
Oh, and Pressatojoin.net. Those guys are great. Oh, wait, that's me. If you need some time to kill, I recommend us! And now, Shill-O-Meter, OFF.
That's about the only game podcasts I listen to, but there's some good all around ones, like Coverville (for music), the Chud Show (for movies and shenanigans) and Smodcast (for Kevin Smith and smoking). I've tried Joystiq and the Hotspot and a couple of others but they always seem to do something that just turns me off from them.
garnett isnt really some drunken oaf and shane isnt really some sony fanboy mangod. its debatable how much of an act it is but its definitely an act.
Shawn Elliott may be the saving grace of 1UP Yours. I miss Luke, so much.
Agreed. Also, the more I listen, the more I think that new addition Bryan Intihar is just a "yes man" to Shane. He's like Boy Wonder to "Sony Man God Shane". It wouldn't be so bad if there were someone to counteract those two ... Shawn sort of does it, but I get the impression that he's grown tired of being the only guy around to rope them in.
For example, on the second day of the GDC podcast, Shane went off on how the XNA Community Games stuff was being misrepresented, wasn't going to be made readily available to everyone, etc. All of that was actually untrue. No one corrected him on it. It wasn't till the next day that he had to apologize and correct himself. Another example ... Bryan and Shane discussed the Final Fantasy Crystal Engine talk, and said how Wii support was possible. They completely disregarded the news that the engine is actually multiplatform to the PC and 360 as well, which I think is big news. (It means that the possibility of some FFXIII games going multi-platform is a lot more feasible) Again, no one chimed in.
Obviously I'm biased because of where I work, but still, its stuff like that which irks me when it appears that half the cast has an obvious bias for/against certain platforms. I'm actually okay that a bias exists, but I'd like it for it to be balanced somewhat. Having Shawn there to "represent" PC gaming to a degree definitely helps though.
- Don't add me, I'm at/near the friend limit
Steam: JC_Rooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JiunweiC
I work on this: http://www.xbox.com
Yeah, I don't get how Shane gets under so many people's skin. People lambaste him for not playing FPS's, yet any number of people who play games don't play certain genre's. Seems the hate comes because he doesn't play shooters and that's the predominate market for 360 people just get all uppity about it.
I wish they'd just do away with the NPD stuff though. It's so boring and inevitably run into the ground before they talk about it, and nothing insightful ever comes of it. It's just hey gee wizz look how much X sold on Y followed by console wars(TM) lameness.
Steam id: skoot LoL id: skoot
When I first started listening to them I thought he was a good, offbeat character. But now I just find him way too fucking impressed with himself. Most of his shit isn't even funny, the other people there laughing sound like the nerds who laugh when a cooler kid says something dumb but they don't want to make him mad.
And I bought into that concept until I saw Elliot on a 1up Show video podcast. I pictured him as looking.. cooler than that for all the shit he talks. Maybe a shallow thought, but fuck we're talking about the guy who sits around making fun of other nerds all day. I can't picture him being the cool pseudo-bully anymore.
He'd be alright if he didn't try to monopolize the mic time. He just never shuts up.
And whoever said Shane sucks is dead wrong. Him and Jeff Green are the two best guys on the network. Jeff being the lovable old-guy nerd and Shane being the super video game freak. Jeff is always good for a laugh and Shane is the one who seems to care the most about the subject. Plus who doesn't like a good Garnett vs Shane slapfight?
Retronauts is nice if your REALLY into retro gaming(including retro game bumper music) but the eps come out infrequently.
Wait! i forgot "Legendary Thread: 1-up's WoW/MMO podcast" its ok..its more of a "just the news" podcast with some personality sprinkled in
I also enjoy the CAGcasts, although they can drag on sometimes, they are usually very entertaining though.
The Joystiq podcast is also very solid, and entertaining, although i was disappointed by their GDC coverage.
I've also been known to listen to the Sarcastic Gamer podcasts(if I'm really strapped for things to listen to), i don't know if anyone else has mentioned them but i don't have any links handy >_<
those are the gaming pods i listen to, out of them all i would say the GFW podcast is my favorite, to only the PAcast of course. I love the GFW podcast because of its tangent-laden nature, and it usually winds up in some sort of crazy place that really has nothing to do with PC, even though it is a solid PC Gaming podcast.
so in summary
1)"Downloadable Content"
2) GFW
3) Joystiq
4)1-up/Legendary Thread
5)CAG
6)EGM Live
7) Retronauts/ Sarcastic Gamer
Steam id: skoot LoL id: skoot
Perhaps "bully" wasn't the best term. Obnoxious, egomaniacal cunt would probably be more accurate.
And I don't care about griefing in games. It's based on his long, boring, contrived tales of how everyone he ever grew up with was always fatter, dumber, and less fortunate than him how he always comes out really cool and laughing at them and their problems.
He's like an angsty, petulant 13 year old trapped in a balding 35 year old's body. Which is kind of funny at first.. but it gets tired fast.
Wow. I have almost the complete opposite opinion that you do. Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but here's why I like Shawn so much: he's opinionated and knows how to convey his arguments properly. I can see how a lot of people might not "get" what he's trying to say, or why, and thus he may come off as being pretentious. Yes, he uses "big words" and yes he's a bit of an idealist, but I find it ironic that the same guy is involved in high-school-like pranks and hijinx in Second Life. It's as if Roger Ebert also did participated in MST3K-style lampoons of bad movies. You get both a critical thinker, and a goofball all at the same time.
On the other hand, I think the rest of the 1UP Yours crew (Garnett, Shane, and especially Bryan) are all "kids in a candy shop". They are just "video game freaks". I think it's fine to have one (I'd pick Shane), but having all three just guffaw over the same hyped up stuff, and share the same fanboy-like opinions, and not do nearly as much critical thinking about the industry as, say, a Shawn Elliot or Jeff Green ... is too much for one podcast. That's why I enjoy the GFW Radio much more than 1UP Yours, as of late.
For example, there's often a lot of discussion/argument over the nature of game scores on the message board. Often gamers will get mad that so-and-so game got what they perceived as a "low score". Shane would just say that those guys are crazy and not to listen to them. And that's it. While I happen to agree with his sentiment, I do like that Shawn will say the same thing and go into more detail as to the nature of game reviews, message board/group-think mentality, the general state of game journalism, etc. If that type of stuff doesn't interest you at all, then yeah I guess you'd consider him "too fucking impressed with himself", but I consider it him being actually critical and thought-provoking. *shrugs*
Of course, I also work in the industry, so I'm more than just your average "all I want is a fun game" gamer.
- Don't add me, I'm at/near the friend limit
Steam: JC_Rooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JiunweiC
I work on this: http://www.xbox.com
except when shane was wrong.
I think he's an intelligent guy that works with some less gregarious people who he does a podcast with and likes telling stories and entertaining the listeners. He can be long winded and maybe childish at times. But nothing deeply flawed. He does some great interviews and some good reviews. I don't get the angsty egomaniacal cunt vibe at all. . .
Steam id: skoot LoL id: skoot
Neither. He's quite obviously developed a persona, which is actually quite popular and he tends to play it up a lot. But behind the persona, I actually think it's pretty obvious that he loves Nintendo just as much, if not more, than Sony. I think the only thing holding his Wii love back is that when it comes to 3D graphics, he's a complete graphics whore.
As for Shawn, there are two things I don't like about him. The first is that he's got his own view of the world and nothing will change it. Look at the discussion they had on game stories, he was convinced that the only real game stories are ones told in-game and that there was no room for stories told in cutscenes, as if there's not enough room for them both.
And the second thing is that he'll completely derail a lot of discussions. Sometimes it leads to a funny story or a more interesting discussion but other times it'll just lead to a shitty undies joke. It's pretty annoying when you're actually interested in the game they were talking about.
Btw, I think Luke was pretty over-rated. My favourite period of 1UP Yours was probably when it was Garnett, Shane, John and Mark.
They're all just gigantic nerds that happen to be industry insiders, and you can tell they know each other really well. It's perfectly harmless, relaxing entertainment that never goes into malicious or hostile territory. I swear, some of you make it sound like Crossfire or some shit. Fair enough if you don't like listening to them, but, I don't know, I think you're reading too much into what they say. They're being very tongue in cheek most of the time, and when they actually do get into a serious discussion, they rarely say anything that can be construed as ridiculous or biased or whatnot.
Sometimes I just can't believe the ignorance the "Yours" hosts spew.
Shane Bettenhausen: "devil May cry 4 will never ever appear on any console other than playstation 3. not now not ever. you will not see a 36 version. i guarantee that, ive heard that from seniors at capcom and sony. believe me. never ever"
I don't think that's too ridiculous; it happens pretty often in the industry that people are mistaken about ports or multiconsole games. Maybe he actually did hear that from seniors at Capcom and Sony? I doubt he'd base it on sheer bravado. Being wrong on a prediction is not uncommon. Is it the tone you're objecting to? Because, you know... Shane is always like that.
Also, keep in mind that I said "rarely", for the record. They have said some dumb stuff before, I'm not discounting that.
Hmm, I don't get the vibe that he's that stubborn and nothing will change it. I do get the vibe that he has different opinions than many of the others in the group, and because of this, has to work extra hard not to be drowned out. I actually thought the discussion he brought up between cutscenes versus in-game narratives was pretty enlightening, even though I may not agree 100% on his opinion. It's certainly a lot more thought provoking than Shane and Bryan just yelling "omg, MGS3 cut-scenes are teh awesome, you suck for not liking MGS3".
If I had to choose two guys to hang out with at a pub and discuss the state and nature of video games, the industry, journalism, etc. ... it'd be Shawn Elliot and Jeff Green. Most of the other guys are just fanboys happy to have insider access to games and developers. Not that it's a bad thing though! It's actually very healthy to have them since that fits the profile of most gamers (who couldn't care less about how the industry works). But personally, I don't look to people like Shane or Bryan for enlightening conversations.
- Don't add me, I'm at/near the friend limit
Steam: JC_Rooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JiunweiC
I work on this: http://www.xbox.com
My favorite is the infrequent Penny Arcade podcasts. I love that they don't even do a true podcast format. It's just Jerry and Mike brainstorming and having a good time together. My personal favorite is the one where they find out the name of the Wii:
Mike: "...that might make more sense"
Jerry: "more sense than a vagina arsonist???"
That's because Shawn was the only one there saying "this is how things have to be". Shane, Garnett and Bryan were perfectly happy for both methods of story telling to co-exist, just like they do now.
Well I don't want to get into a pissing match over this, so I'll try to keep it short. The way I interpreted is that Shawn is interested in games that use alternate ways of doing narrative. The way he describes it is very interesting, and similar to what Will Wright discussed in a recent talk I attended. I love the discussion that came out of this, between all of the developers and Shawn.
On the other hand, you've got folks like Shane and Bryan who are just happy with whatever they have (like MGS3). I don't get the sense that they even know that alternate methods exist, or that they think on that level, or even care about that level at all. They just want fun games, and it's up to the developer to "figure it out". Sure, that's fine, but it doesn't drive conversation and discourse. It doesn't help that all they were doing was defending games, when that wasn't the point of the conversation. Who cares that Shawn doesn't like MGS3! It's his own damn opinion! Too often, fanboys derail the conversation by getting into petty arguments like that.
- Don't add me, I'm at/near the friend limit
Steam: JC_Rooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JiunweiC
I work on this: http://www.xbox.com
You definitely see games moving in that direction slowing. Maybe not entirely allowing the player to control the story, but taking control in certain situations(Look Link that door closed!). Cut scenes like what Blizzard or Square do that are not representative of what the actual game looks like always just make me think "wow that's pretty". They come off as very detached from the game.
Obviously lots of people don't think it matters. But if I had a choice between a game telling me a story through/while playing vs. the same game stopping my interaction and showing a movie I'd choose to play.
Steam id: skoot LoL id: skoot
Some of my favourite stuff from the PA 'cast is he tangential stuff - the stories about their kids, or the one Mike told about his neighbors moving - it's brilliant.
And the 'Daddy, what is a weapon?' story is one of the scariest fucking things I've ever heard.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
You're such an advertisement whore. For £2k I'll get a tattoo of your blog URL on my forehead
I downloaded the podcast that's on their website this morning but annoyingly couldn't find the cable to copy it to my MP3 player, so that'll be tonight's job for tomorrow's walk to work. I wish we could tune in to things like that from our work pcs, it'd make the day go so much faster.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
This is the point I believe Shawn was trying to make. Take Half Life 2 - it does not use cinematic cutscenes to tell the story as I understand it, you literally play through the 'cutscenes' which are in-engine and you do not lose control.
From an interactive medium point of view, cutscenes don't have a place. That's what I got from the podcast.
I have to agree with JCRooks that Jeff Green and Shawn Elliot seem like the guys I'd most like to spend an afternoon with discussing gaming.
I find 1up Yours frustrating in that quite often they make factual errors that are used to support fifteen minute rants that dig against one of their favourite topics of hate. A recent example was XNA with Shane. Garnett's done it with a whole bunch of things and Luke used to give him crap for it incessantly.
1up Yours is a really big demonstration, to me, of the point that it's really "professional enthusiasts" as opposed to "industry journalists". There is a lot of enthusiasm from Shane, Garnett and Bryan (although Bryan tends to just parrot a lot of the things that mainly Shane says), and they talk a lot, but perhaps don't really discuss things on more than a relatively shallow level.
Whereas the discussions in relation to the games 'journalism' industry on GFW have been quite interesting and enlightening. Luke Smith brought a significant side of intellectualism to 1up Yours, as did Davison, so it's a tad funny that those two are the ones that left for 'bigger and better things'.
In reference to the point about Shawn making fun of nerds, he takes the piss out of himself. He used to disclaimer Heroes of the Web by saying that he loves flying simulators so much that he's basically got himself a complete rig of specialised peripherals for it, and he builds model airplanes. He knows he's a big nerd, and when there's work to be done he does a great job. He is always the one that prepares the questions and tries to get to the core of discussion when they have high profile guests. But when it's just the guys and they've covered the important topics for the week, he's there to entertain. At that point, it's a subjective thing. I enjoy it a lot, I can understand why others don't. But don't bag him out for being something he's not. At least when he argues something he uses a proper argument, he doesn't just yell louder like the guys on 1up Yours tend to do.
I quite like The Weekly Geek