It was supposed to be a nice little segment about Zelda...

...But oh how it derailed. Yes, it's true -- in this episode we spend a fair amount of time talking about Nintendo's beloved Legend of Zelda series. From the 8-bit NES games to the current Wii (and GameCube) installment, we talk about it all. The highs, the lows, and all the heartfelt nostalgia we all feel for the series.

Of course that's not all we talk about this week. A short (because no one seems to have played anything) what'cha been playing segment kicks things off with talk of Lumines Live (360), Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS) and the Crackdown demo (360). Plus we spend a little bit of time talking about the Wii's News Channel, the PS3 price and the lack of marketing for Nintendo's Hotel Dusk Room 215.

The last segment this week covers some of the feedback we've gotten in the last seven days. Keep leaving us comments (e-mail, via the comments on our web site, iTunes, Digg us, Skype us at playeronepodcast) or leave us a voice mail by calling 713-893-8069, long distance charges apply. Thanks for listening, tell your friends, and we'll be back next week!

Links:
Nintendo: Hotel Dusk Room 215
Engadget: No PS2-like price cuts for the PS3, sez Sony
Next-Gen: Xbox 360 Price Cut 'Unlikely'
Next-Gen: The End for 'Artistic' Games
Edge
Edge Presents File
CES2k7 Live Anywhere UNO demonstration
The Fanboys

We are already looking into putting up a forum (though I am still not convinced it is necessary yet). So whoever's just hitting the MP3 file repeatedly thinking they can make it go faster, you can STOP. Please. It's not going to make it happen any faster. Besides, we can see that it's just one or two people hitting it repeatedly. Thanks for the support though!

For the rest of you, you might have seen the news from Nintendo Power's latest issue that Super Paper Mario is back on for the Wii and is coming out in April. That means Phil is teetering very close to being left behind in the Dead Pool pack. We'll be talking about that some more on next Monday's episode.

World of Dreamcast

It's a special podcast this week, and not only because it's very long (and what you have here is still the result of quite a bit of editing). In Episode Lucky 13 we talk about Sega's Dreamcast, the system that became Sega's last hope as a hardware manufacturer, ultimately sending them reeling into the world of third-party publishing for competing hardware platforms. Join us as we talk about the highs, the lows and everything in between. After listening to this segment you may want to check out these links:

Mega 64's Shenmue -  http://www.mega64.com/shenmue.htm

One of Sega's Hidekazu Yukawa (we got his name wrong on the 'cast) ads - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DzwwViKJN4

Chu Chu Rocket commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiA7mCzQqu0

Also on this week's show, we discuss what we've been playing -- World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (PC), Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Wii), Lost Planet (Xbox 360), Heavy Weapon (360), Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS), Samurai Warriors 2 (Xbox 360) and oh so much more. Actually that might be it, I'm not sure and it's past my bedtime.

Blink and you could miss it, but this week we also discuss Kyle Orland's analysis of EGM's Quartermann rumors as seen on GameDaily.

Rumor Report Ratings - http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/media/?id=14936

For our final segment in this week's show, we go over some of the feedback we've received in the last week -- keep it coming. And that's it for this week! Remember to visit our MySpace page, Digg us, review us on iTunes, leave a comment on the blog page, send us an e-mail at playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Or if you want to call and leave us voicemail, dial 713-893-8069 (long distance charges apply). Thanks for listening!

Tackling Difficulty

This week we take on the question of difficulty in games. Discussion includes talk of how game difficulty has changed in the past 20 years, the hardest games we've ever played, and what it's like to have to review or write a strategy guide on an extremely difficult game under the deadline crunch of a print magazine. Sometimes, it's not pretty.

Our What'cha Been Playin' discussion this week centers on Capcom's new Xbox 360 game Lost Planet. We have trudged through frozen tundra, lit up Akrid hives with Gatling Guns, scored Secret Achievements and killed each other in multiplayer. It's been a fun-filled weekend. Also: Ms. Pac-Man (360), Pimp My Ride (PS2), Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS) and New Rally-X (360).

For our final segment in this week's short show, we go over some of the feedback we've received in the last two weeks -- keep it coming. And that's it for this week! Remember to visit our MySpace page, Digg us, review us on iTunes, leave a comment on the blog page, send us an e-mail at playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! Or if you want to call and leave us voicemail, dial 713-893-8069 (long distance charges apply). Thanks for listening!

The Dead Pool

This is an episode you may want to keep around to reference later. Why? Because it's our first-annual 2007 Dead Pool episode, where we go 'round the circle and choose three games each we think (using absolutely no scientific means other than a "feeling") will either be canceled outright or delayed into 2008. Who will be right, who will be wrong? We'll just have to see what 2007 brings us. But rest assured there are a few interesting predictions here. We probably should've put some money on the table.

But before we get to that, we talk about a lot of other things. Kicking it off, our completely and totally original What'cha Been Playing segment: CJ gets a PS3 (shock!), Resistance (PS3), Castlevania Portrait of Ruin (DS), Viva Pinata (360), Phantasy Star Universe (360), Wii Sports, Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii), Karaoke Revolution: American Idol (PS2). What we will be playing next week: Lost Planet...and only one of us won't have access to the cool extra-awesome multiplayer map that comes with the $70 collector's edition.

Next we talk about the Halo 3 beta and the new ways the general public can get into it -- which now includes buying a copy of Microsoft's next 360 release, Crackdown. Now the question becomes: is it worth buying a $60 game you might not be interested in to be guaranteed a spot in the Halo 3 beta? Is it fair to Crackdown's developers to hitch its star to such an established and hotly anticipated franchise as Halo?

Then we take a moment to talk about the newly announced E For All event, the new consumer-friendly face of the now-dead E3. But will gamers pay $100 to get a glimpse of new product, will the major publishers attend, and will this event be canceled even before it starts?

Finally, we discuss the leap from gaming journalism to game development in honor of GameSpot editor in chief Greg Kasavin's recent announcement. Two of our hosts have previously made this jump, and they relate their experiences and we talk about others that've done the same.

And that's it for this week! Remember to visit our MySpace page, Digg us, review us on iTunes, leave a comment on the blog page, send us an e-mail at playeronepodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Player One's Shiny New Year

Happy New Year everyone! While other podcasts have settled in for a long winter's nap, we hopped in the studio yet again for one more episode before all the Auld Lang Synes were sung.

In this episode, Phil and Dan become "series regulars," and join Greg and CJ to talk about such things as what we'd like to see happen in 2007 (though we tried to avoid predictions outright, we stray into that territory too). Here's a trend for '07--most of the discussion in this episode seemed to revolve around downloadable content. We like it, we hate it, we'd like to see Microsoft step in and referee, we'd like Nintendo and Sony to do more of it. But fear not, that's not all we talk about.

Next up we talk about our Gaming Origins. You know, the story everyone has of how they got into gaming. We go from oldest to youngest and recount tales of Atari 2600s, NESes and Super NESes, calling around a snowfilled province to find the one remaining system and the games that cemented our undying love of gaming. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you probably have an "origin" story of your own. Please feel free to share it in the comments here.

As a bonus, we also get into the story behind why we rib CJ so much about that Bubsy 3D thing and talk about other quotes of ours that've been immortalized on boxes and in ads.

But of course first up we talk about what we've been playing. In this episode that's games like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS), Gears of War (360), Viva Pinata (360), Gran Turismo HD (PS3), Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii), Pokémon Ruby and more.

As always, drop us a comment on the blog page or send us an e-mail comment to playeronepodcast@gmail.com.