Joystiq - Podcast Profiles

Joystiq is a fairly well-known gaming blog --the "motherblog" if you will of a whole bunch of other blogs like Xbox 360 Fanboy and Nintendo Wii Fanboy-- and with good reason, since it's one of the funniest and most frequently updated around. Not as many people may be familiar with the Joystiq Podcast however, and that's a shame, as it's truly excellent.

It has three regular hosts: Chris Grant, the boss, Ludwig Kietzmann, an unrepentant pun-maker and token South African, and Justin McElroy, the "silly one." Every episode follows an unbending structure, starting with what they've all been playing for the last week, then the news, then the Big Three (the three most popular Joystiq posts for the week), the Brush With Fame, and e-mails. It used to be the Brush With Fame was Justin randomly mentioning a commenter's name, but recently it evolved into an actual trivia contest with honest-to-goodness prizes.

A typical moment on the show started with a strange crackling sound. "Are you eating Chiclets?" Chris asked. Justin said "No!" defensively, then in a matter-of-fact tone "I'm opening a yo-yo." Because that's the kind of guy Justin is, he's not going to let producing a podcast stop him from doing other things like playing with a yo-yo, or eating Pretzel Flipz, or mysteriously leaving for 10 minutes without telling anyone where he went or why. Justin's also the progenitor of virtually all of Joystiq's memes, some of which involve firing him, wearing his skin as a suit, or having something carry something in something else -- alliteratively (i.e. a bear with a bird in his backpack).

That's not to discount the contributions of Chris or Ludwig. At any moment Chris may bust out his old prospector voice or complain about his feet falling asleep on the toilet while he's playing PSP. Ludwig mines much comedy from talking about life in a third world country where he often rides a lion to the marketplace to watch the puppet theater, and is as fanatically devoted to puns as any man is devoted to any thing on this Earth.

Check out the Joystiq Podcast homepage!

Giant Bombcast - Podcast Profiles

You may be familiar with Jeff Gerstmann or Ryan Davis from their time as reviewers for http://www.gamespot.com/. If you're really up on things, you'll already know Jeff was fired a couple months ago under strange circumstances, and several other employees resigned not long after.

Gerstmann and Davis have now launched a new site: http://www.giantbomb.com/, and with it a new weekly podcast. Each episode begins with a quick discussion (and taste test) of weird sodas and energy drinks, followed by a lengthy conversation on what games they've been playing, the latest news, and e-mails from listeners.

These guys are experienced podcasters. Gamespot's The HotSpot used to be the best gaming podcast around (until everyone left), and it looks like the "Bombcast" is not only going to pick up where the HotSpot left off but take it even further. Without the same rules or regulations The HotSpot used to operate under, the shows are longer, the talk more in-depth, and the jokes are funnier. (now if they can just get Rich Gallup involved...)

Listen to this week's show. (you'll also hear them reading my e-mail re: the Coca Cola Museum, and Ryan Davis even pronounced my name right)