Podcast Power Rankings: Week 2

Welcome to the Podcast Power Rankings after week 1. E3 week took its toll on all the podcasts this week with sound quality dropping for nearly every show as they took to LA to cover the biggest gaming news. Very few shows became more interesting as nearly every show discussed the same topics with the same highlights.

Everything from the convention sounded much worse than normal making judgment on new podcasts very tough. Only a few new shows were added to thie list and only a couple raised in the rankings. Good job covering the hardest week of this industry.

Please remember that Power Rankings gauge shows on the recent body of work (roughly three podcasts) and a single bad show will rarely effect rankings much but it can kill the first impression.

 

A few rules I am following:

The show has to be found on iTunes and has to be available as an MP3.

The podcast has to originally be a podcast and not be a TV or radio show made into an audio Podcast.

No shows can be ranked in the top 10 without a bi-weekly podcast or without me hearing it at least four times.

1. The GameSpy Debriefings (IGN)
Gallegos, Altano, Bromley, and Ryan survived the most exciting and gamer disease ridden week in entertainment however they lost a soldier. Miggles was out with E3 Chlamydia. Hopefully he will be back next week. Ryan Scott turned human for a show and for the first time ever made me laugh. The show wasn’t up to recent standards but was still good enough to keep them in the top slot. These guys are smart and funny.

2.Rebel FM (Hammersuit)
Rebel FM is back after taking a two-week respite. Episode 65 came back very strong with the familiar 4 Anthony, Arthur, Tyler and Matt, adding guest Jim Reilly. The show reveals Anthony’s hatred of robots and AI and Jim either has the world’s worst diet or is homeless. Rebel FM is the only show that made the talk of E3 interesting. Arthur is very good at intelligently breaking down games and the E3 show elements quickly and thoroughly even if he can’t help but contend everything he disagrees with. He uses his words like a scalpel but Anthony accomplishes conveying the most important info while being much funnier. The show is getting close to the number 1 spot.

3. Stuff You Should Know (HowStuffWorks.com)
This week Josh and Chuck cover How Ghost Prisons Work where they discuss covert prisons created by the CIA after September 11th, 2001 and if quicksand can kill you. Stuff You Should Know still sounds better than nearly every other podcast.

4. Giant Bombcast (GiantBomb)
Ryan, Jeff, Brad, and Vinny did the most in depth coverage of E3 by reporting every day of the event (9 total hrs. I’ll get back to it). The Bombcast covered the same big announcements every other site else did. The difference between them and everyone else is that they grill each other about the games and can answer as if they paid photographic attention to the details.  They are VERY good at what they do.

5. Game Scoop (IGN)
Game Scoop was very good this week. Listening to Daemon, Greg and Christine is great audio. They are funny at times and insightful at others. Craig Harris and Alex Childs the intern do a good job of keeping the other two mics warm but they seem to be just as entertained as the listener. The group tells of personal stories at the convention in LA that are quite funny.

6. NBA Today (ESPN)
NBA Draft! If those two words mean anything to you and the team you love made a first round pick you should listen to this episode. The NBA season just ended with a riot in LA and now each team has begun the first official step of the off-season. Ryen covered the teams with great insight.

7. Girlfight (IGN)
Jessica, Christine, Nichole, Dana Jongewaard, and Meghan Sullivan jumped TRL with their serious discussion of E3. It is cliché to say that these women’s perspectives are fresh and substantially divergent from their male counterparts but it is true. To put Kinectimals and Inergy in anyone’s interesting game of the show goes to show how different the show is. They like games that women are more apt to want to play. They are somewhat of a case study on why or how women enjoy playing video games. I love it.

8. Mobcast
Former EMG editors Dan, Shane Bettenhausen, Mark MacDonald and John Ricciardi reunite for this episode. This collection of former editors and friends share chemistry that other Mobcasts lack. The guys commit the common sin of telling the listener that they are in a hurry to finish the show but the game discussion is great.

This weeks topics include E3 surprises, past E3 demos that showed well but were not great games, best under-the-radar-game of E3 2010, 3D challenges in upcoming games and games that were notable no-shows.

*tip* If a new podcaster is looking for a format lends itself well to sharing information and creating discussion this show has the best template for success. It allows every member to speak and influence the show. It forces the less talkative people in the show to speak.

9. Three Red Lights (IGN)
Eric Brudvig is joined by Scott Bromley, David Clayman, Martin Robinson (IGN UK) and the Intern Will. The show rolls strong as they describe their thoughts on E3 for 20 minutes then ignore the Euro preferring Will’s terrifying hallucinations. The intern focused show was all over the place as he tells a far-fetched story of contracting salmonella from a girl’s dirty python and hanging with tri-athletes in Southern California. This show was a gem even though the editing seemed to have been done on the short bus.

10.Fantasy Focus NFL (ESPN)
Mathew Berry and Nate Ravitz recently have taken a major dive in show entertainment value. The simple fact is that it is NFL's off-season and there is little to talk about. Interviewing athletes and coaches is not good material when people want to hear player rankings and insider information to help draft or pick up free agents.

 

Go to page two for the shows that couldn't crack the top ten.

11.  A Life Well Wasted
Robert Ashley covers a single video game related theme through the perspective of the people he talks to. A Life Well Wasted is always thought provoking and emotionally evocative. This is the most resource intensive podcast on the list combining excellent editing and original music to exceptional interviews. These podcasts are always a treat because they are so good no matter how infrequently they are produced. This show would be vie for the top spot if it were created regularly. If you are a gamer, all of these podcasts are a must listen.

12. Nintendo Voice Chat (IGN)
Craig, Sam, Scott, are back for episode 79. Special guest Peer Schneider returns for his third episode this month and Martin Robinson (IGN UK) was a good addition. This Nintendo centered E3 talk was much more interesting than one would expect because of Peer and Scott’s objective influence on the group. The last two weeks have been much better than normal.

13. The HotSpot (GameSpot)
Brendan is the same as always however without McShea the show was much more listenable. The Hotspot featured the supporting cast of Brian Eckberg, Ricardo Tores who Kevin Vanord who sound as if they care more about sharing video game news which is vastly different than their normal episodes.

14. Tech Fetish (IGN)
Scott Lowe is joined by Levi Buchanan and Rich George for Tech Fetish as they cover E3 and the release of the iPhone 4. The three major console makers shared playable versions of their newest hardware sadly the guys couldn’t agree on any positive or negative impressions. The show is not better when Rich is on. He is a host who has a tough time acting as a contributor.  This was a poor sounding podcast as the stereo mix was pretty out of whack and Levi’s sound quality was distracting. If you like talk of standing in lines and reports of iPhone 4 complaints this episode is for you.  

15. The Geekbox (Hammersuit)
Ryan Scott hosts this geek centered show with contributors Karen Chu, Andrew Fitch, Ryan Higins and Brock Sager. No topic is off limits as they discuss entertainment from every medium. Ryan may be the host but Karen is the most valuable asset in the show because she clarifies questions most listeners would have. The guys are not great speakers but with the help of Karen, the discussions develop without a noticeable hitch.

16. Podcast Beyond (IGN)
Podcast Beyond had a very irregular mix of contributors this week. Greg and Colin were on the show and Hilary Goldstein and Sony’s Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein replaced Ryan Clements. Normally the show consists of four guys with a slightly irrational hyper love for Sony however adding Jeff was not a good decision. Without Hilary the show would have removed any sense of objectivity (reality). Two guests that have made the show better recently were Jim Reilly and Hilary.  If Jim has the time adding him to every show would be great.

17. CAGCast (CheapAssGamer.com)
The CAGcast is a pretty good show content wise however it does many things wrong from the beginning. The show covers great gaming deals and has big giveaways that reward the listener for participation. They explain their experiences in an entertaining way but the audio quality is below average. The CAGCast is stuck with the nicknames they have given themselves which would be great plan if this were an underground show but it is not (Wombat, Shipwreck, Cheapy-D). They also stacked 2 shows in one episode in non-consecutive order. It may have been a bad episode and still deserves a listen.

18. Dead Pixel Live
If one listens to this show long enough that person might ask why this is considered a game related podcast. The show was a collection of music as if it were a radio show demo tape. The website links to a talk show however I am rating what I find on iTunes and that is either broken or confusing. I will check it out again later but not this week.

 

 

Line of the Week comes from the Bombcast :

Vinny – “Sharing a house with 5 dudes, somethin’s going to end up in the back of your throat… (5 seconds pass)… You know what I’m saying? Anybody?”
Ryan – … Man…

 

Suggestions are welcome. If you want to contact me my spam safe email is mrdurden58@yahoo.com.

I promise give it a shot for at least an hour. If it fits into the ranking system, I will add it. Please be patient until this is sorted out.

Thanks for the advice everyone!  Soon to be ranked:

• Pixel Revolt (Bitmob)
• Joystick (UGO)
• Drunken Gamer
• The Freelancers
• The Game Informer Show
• Irrational Behavior
• My Brother, My Brother, And Me
• Player One Podcast
• Radio Free Nintendo
• Sophist Radio
• Squadron of Shame
• Talk is Cheap – (LevelFortyTwo)
• TeaBagRadio
• The Vault
• Weekend Confirmed
• World 8
• Retronauts (1UP)
• Active Time Babble (1UP)
• Four Guys (1UP)