First as a preface, my sincerest condolences go out to Shoe, Damian Linn, and all other individuals associated with the BitMob Mobcast who have worked so hard to improve it, only to have me decry their efforts, as I'm about to shed some rather honest and unforgiving sentiments that I have been feeling for some time now.

And it's worth noting that I am a devout listener of the Mobcast, and have been ever since the very first episode.

I've more or less grown up with 1up Yours. The juvenile humor, the engaging conversations, even the impressive amount of vocabulary that was regularly thrown about, all have shaped me and who I am today -- not only as a gamer, and the opinions I have about games, but as much of a cliché it is to say this, it has even gone as far as to shape me as a person.

Shane Bettenhausen, Garnett Lee, John Davison, Luke Smith (later replaced by David Ellis), who could forget them? They were all one of a kind. Highly charismatic personalities, filled with energy, excitement, and enthusiasm, they were. All for, most incredibly, a little hobby we call video games. How could this be? Four tremendously cool guys spent each Thursday afternoon to talk all about... video games?

Sure the stereotype of gamers being "uncool" is likely obsolete at this point, but it certainly seems quite difficult to come across a similar group of guys, with an equal level of charisma. I've searched endlessly for a substitute for this addiction that has gone all but unsatisfied in my life; I've looked to the Gamespot guys, the fine people over at Gamespot UK, the Giantbomb guys, even at the news-story powerhouse, known as IGN still couldn't fit the bill. I was only to look to Garnett Lee's new Weekend Confirmed podcast, which does fortunately bare Garnett's brand of finesse, rendering segues smooth and seamless, topics,  interesting and abundant, and music breaks as ever, eclectic and unusual.  

Then, this Friday, July 2nd, Shane Bettenhausen took a trip to the Shack News offices, and surprised fans by [finally] appearing on Garnett's podcast. Suffice to say, that magic, that sweet nectar of invigorating, intelligent, responsive, and free-flowing conversation with ample comedy was finally back. I was sufficiently overjoyed.

Which brings me to my point about the personalities, and the topics they have brought up on the Mobcast. Relative to these admittedly high, and nearly unattainable standards, the Mobcast is flat. The personalities, while clearly "true" gamers, in that they use words like "awesome" and they speak with a genuine amount of enthusiasm, lack much of any uniqueness. Their opinions are generally run-of-the-mill. Even their speaking styles are without the vibrant diction that the 1up Yours cast boasted, despite being such skilled writers.     

The "Four Guys, Four Topics" concept in my opinion, has run its course. The discussions found in the podcast typically concentrate on the gaming industry as a whole, rather than specific games, even though most of the time it's more interesting to hear about a game you're looking forward to. Also, issues within said gaming industry tend to be rediscussed. Look at the "Video Games as Art" topic, if memory serves, that was a topic, albeit taken from slightly different angles, that was talked about on at least two occasions.

The Mobcast as it is now is in a certain need of freedom, instead of this almost too formal approach to ostensibly manufacturing conversations. Look at it this way, what the "editors" of this site want to discuss is not always what's on the gamers'/listeners' minds. I envision this "freedom" to come in the form of more open, free-flowing discussions, with a "Whatcha' been playin'" segment, a "Front Page" segment (à la Weekend Confirmed) where they discuss a few of the top stories generating buzz, and possibly an Industry segment, where the guests disclose any game demos, press events, betas, or trips to developer studios they've been involved in for the past week or so (with embargos in mind, of course). Additionally, more interaction with the community would no doubt be an added bonus that would have listeners come back each week -- maybe a music segment like [once again] Weekend Confirmed.

I cannot understate enough how intensely I hope for the Mobcast to improve as time goes on. Whether these suggestions are to be listened to or not, I will as always remain a committed listener.

And remember to take the above sentiments with a grain of salt, as all things, even this very post are inherently flawed, and invite the possibility of improvement, so by all means, do not be offended by what I may have said, please!