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NPR's Gaming Podcast

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the kyle's-dreamy-voice dept.

Via Joystiq and Kyle Orland comes the news that National Public Radio is going to be hosting a gaming-related podcast. The show will be hosted by Kyle (of VGMWatch), stand-up artist Ralph Cooper, and All Things Considered games reviewer Robert Holt. From the article: "Kyle - 'You really need to know what art is before you can determine whether video games are art.' Ralph - 'I feel like a lot of video games, at least right now, they're not really trying to make statements.' Rob - 'When I was in Grand Theft Auto ... I was driving through the city and listening to the radio and I drove over a hill and I saw ... this huge moon rise over the horizon, I was just in it at that point. I just knew that this was not your normal game. Of course, I could have just been beating up hookers...'"

4 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Well I won't be listening... by ChowRiit · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I personally won't trust the opinions of anyone who thinks podcasting (shown to be massively overhyped by the media compared to usage) is the next big thing, when most evidence points to it not being, to tell me what to spend my money on...

    Is this just me being a cynic? From what I've seen, podcasting is a no-starter...

    1. Re:Well I won't be listening... by gkhan1 · · Score: 4, Interesting
      You obviously arn't listening to any good ones! NPR has some great ones, such as Wait, wait, don't tell me! (funny as hell) and NPR:Books, which is great if you're interested in books an literature. Slate's daily podcast is also very, very interesting. As for gaming, Gamespot's The Hotspot is great. TV Guide hosts TVGuide Talk a great podcast on television. If you're a super-nerd The Word Nerds are alot of fun. That's just naming a few of my favourites.

      The greatest one of all however is Filmspotting (formerly Cinecast), a movie podcast which frankly is the best reviewers in all of media. A normal review contains what, 3-4 minutes of discussion, maybe 6-7 if it's an article. The Filmspotting guys routinely talk for seventeen (17!) minutes about a movie, incredibly smart and intellectual discussion that really dives deep into actors, scripts, direction, theme, etc. of every movie it reviews. That is what makes podcasting great, by not being contrained by a corporation, people are free to create their own formats, and have complete creative control. Most often that means it's gonna suck, but when it doesn't you get something like Filmspotting which is frankly unparalelled in quality.

  2. Who's going to listen? by seriv · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I somehow doubt many people are going to listen to this podcast from NPR. I am guessing that much of the show will be typical of NPR, which I don't think would appeal to the average gamer. I can see people listening to a review of a game on NPR, since most NPR listeners are not gamers and would have some interest in games, but they would listen to a specialized podcast. I do not listen to gaming podcasts, but I doubt many discuss the artistic qualities. I doubt this podcast will be successful.

  3. Do I count? by edremy · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I listen to NPR. I even donate to them every year- they make my commute tolerable.

    I also game.

    Then again, I don't listen to podcasts. Hmm, maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.

    --
    "Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!"