It's always great to talk to or listen to Shane. I'm looking forward to hearing this. 

Mark and Alex (and Shoe) are chopped liver?  :)

Nah, they aren't chopped liver. I just remember my discussions about editing with Shane -- they got just as animated as his discussions about games. 

Alex's topic was great, but I don't like the way it's become gospel that mainstream games are creatively bankrupt and indie games are going to save the world. The vast majority of indie games are every bit as derivative as the Dante's Infernos of the world. How are P.B. Winterbottom and Shank more creative than the average mainstream game? I'm yet to hear an argument for that, just a lot of people repeating it over and over. If we want more creativity, that kind of thinking isn't going to help.

I think part of the reason games now seem less creative is the same reason music seems less creative than it used to. Advancements in technology have made it incredibly easy for anyone who wants to make their own rip off of their favorite game to get it out there for public consumption. If there had been an equivalent of Flash in the 8-bit era, games like Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man probably wouldn't have felt as special as they did for as long as they did, becuase people would have been incessantly copying them.

I think there are probably just as many creative games now as there were in whatever you might think the heyday was, it's just that the signal-to-noise ratio is so much higher, they're a lot harder to find.

Contest entry: http://twitter.com/Gekkoton/status/10538818459

I'd love the bioshock CE :D

Damn you Hsu for stealing my topic!

http://twitter.com/formulaonefrank

the tekken would be awesome (also great to hear all these voices again)

One of the best episodes in a while, for sure.  Here's my contest entry:

http://twitter.com/jonac13/status/10541397586

The Bioshock 2 Collector's Edition would be phenomenal, I love that vinyl!

Excellent mobcast. Alex Neuse has a great radio voice.

Contest entry: http://twitter.com/daverhodus/status/10542584466

One of my friends is good friends with one of the Gaijin/Bit.Trip guys.  I wonder if it's Alex?  I guess I should ask her, 'cause that would be pretty cool.

Also, it was awesome to hear from Shane and Mark again.

http://twitter.com/DustiMills/status/10553154115 Just downloaded the episode, will listen when I start working.

Entry: http://twitter.com/jasonhonaker/status/10565152323
Bioshock 2 box please!

I agree with Jon, one of the best shows in a while. 

A really entertaining show. That "Super Mario 3" response to Shoe's Parappa the Rapper topic answer was so funny.

love the 8bit theme song, who did it? is it a user sub?

Glad Alex brought up the credits thing. This is something that bothers me so much about the game industry - there is no standard for how credit is given from project to project. And the result is things like development houses not getting any recognition at all; those who left (or were let go) before a project was complete not getting any credit at all; misleading role titles or a lack of title at all. It's all very frustrating.

Nice to hear from Mark and Shane. Especially this post-real world experience Shane :)  Love you guys. Even though you're wrong about Streets of Rage vs Streets of Rage 2.

@Greg I never knew about that whole thing with the credits.  Why is it even an issue for publishers?  What do they gain by not giving their people credit?

@Christian - I don't really know. It's more of a publisher by publisher policy issue. I just wish there was a set policy industry wide.

http://twitter.com/jovany13/status/10593532335
I really liked the talks on all these strange game titles! I'll have to bring out the Saturn again and play D Enemy  Zero :)
I also like the FF13 goodies :D

This Mobcast was awesome!!!  It reminded me of the amazing episodes of EGM Live* back in the day.  And EGM Live* got me into gaming podcasts!  I remember many of the "Shane vs. Shoe" debates, especially when Shoe was upset that the PS3 didn't include component cables (but the Xbox 360 did).  Good times...

Not to reopen old wounds, but one of the biggest arguments you guys had that started in EGM Live and spilled over into EGM was the debate between XBL and PSN. Shane argued that PSN was free and therefore better than XBL, while Shoe almost had an aneurysm trying to give his counterpoint.

Personally, I've actually enjoyed quite a few Japanese games lately, it's just that almost none of them have been for HD consoles.

I don't really think Japanese gaming is on the wane at all, it's just that the Japanese and western expectations of what gaming is supposed to be are starting to move apart.

Western gamers right now see HD graphics and constant online connectivity as a baseline imperative, but from what I keep hearing Japanese gamers don't seem to care about either of those things. Most of the best JRPGs this generation so far have been on the DS and PSP (or PS2). Games like Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker and Valkyria Chronicles 2 are being made on PSP because their developers can't afford the time and money for full HD products anymore, and a lot of Japanese people today spend more time on mobile devices than they do in front of a TV.

The new theme is infinitely better than the old one. Loved this episode, but I'm a bit surprised the Dennis Dyack thing didn't come up with Mark.

This was a good episode. I liked the revisiting of past arguments, and finding out who owed who money. :-)

http://twitter.com/JJAnderson85/status/10699726387

If given a choice, I'd take the Final Fantasy XIII pack. My second choice would be the Bioshock pack.

Great episode this week, but you really need to expand the show notes! There were so many "not great but highly recommended" games discussed, plus Alex shared four or five URLs that I would like to check out.

Contest entry/promo tweet: http:// href="http://twitter.com/feitclub/status/10710636938">twitter.com/feitclub/status/10710636938

Prefer the BioShock or Tekken package if I'm a winner.

Whoever edits this podcast, thanks for putting in the Jem and the Holograms song.  Reminded me of being a kid and my cousins and I would tease each other about liking Jem and not Robotech or Transformers.  I would always deny it, but that was a catchy song...

That song was stuck in my head for hours after editing the podcast. I'm glad it was appreciated by at least one person!

Contest Entry: http://twitter.com/jonathandelgado/status/11019011195

The Tekken or Bioshock prize would sweet. THANKS

You guys need to have Shane on to argue about stupid stuff more often. :D

Contest entry: http://twitter.com/gokieks/status/11024901462

Would like the FFXIII stuff. =)

Entry: http://twitter.com/acronkyoung/status/11093089012

I'd love the FF13 prizes if picked.

http://twitter.com/Juanchitomayor/status/11275879622

Another contest post.