Topic: Gaming podcasts

@Gamer83 He seemed just completely burned out on games to me. He's doing a new games show now which I'm sure will have some renewed energy now he's taken a year or so off from games stuff.

One of the recent Fireside Chats (another Colin Moriarty side project) was a chat with Kristine Steimer just about games for a good hour or so and it was really enjoyable.

Worth a listen imo: https://soundcloud.com/colinslaststand/colins-last-stand-fire...

@Kidfried @KalofKrypton In an effort to not derail the other thread too much, I moved the discussion over here regarding Colin Moriarty’s podcast “Sacred Symbols”

I enjoyed listening to Greg Miller when he and Colin had their run. I do appreciate his positivity and energy, so I can agree that is was refreshing to hear a journalist be so enthusiastic about the product and he does know PlayStation.
My issue with him is that after they switched over to Kinda Funny then they lost a bit of their mantra. It just wasn’t as interesting and after closing PS I Love You then the content seemed to get really watered down with so much pop culture and non-PlayStation rubbish that I lost interest. They have tried to do too much and I just can’t follow it anymore. Perhaps then it came to seem Greg was disingenuous regarding his PlayStation love when the product over time has seemed to pander to a different audience, so perhaps I can see the criticisms that are put out there.
And I’m surprised that Colin’s new podcast Sacred Symbols is as good as it is, and he is a very clever guy to have seen that there was a real lack high quality PlayStation-centric podcasts. Chris Ray Gun also adds color commentation that seems genuine. The two have good chemistry but are not prone to fall into traps of getting off topic or having inside jokes and such. My fear was that the podcast would become political because Colin has not been too shy about his interest in politics before, but in the opening episodes he promised that they would not get political unless the situation was directly related to gaming or was a special circumstance and he has held true to that. I play games to escape from the world’s problems so I’m glad for that.
Also, obviously both are American and live in California so it has an American vibe as opposed to some of the podcasts I have listened to which are out of the UK. There is always a cultural tone that cannot be helped, so I’m not sure a European gamer will enjoy the banter and presentation as much, but I think so.

So like I said, it is my favorite podcast now and I recommend it for a PS gamer. I think they are about 10-12 episodes in now (I’m a couple weeks behind) so it’s not too early to get in at the beginning of you want, or just jump in at the current episode. Each week is a new episode, usually a little over an hour or so.

@Kidfried I just saw this so it’s worth mentioning —

It seems that’s exactly what they are attempting with “Sacred Symbols” and you were exactly right because immediately it has gone to the top of the iTunes charts as an instant hit and is continuing to grow.
You were prophetic. So you should check out the prediction you made. 😜

Also, it seems Colin reads Push Square because he has referenced the site on the show and so maybe he read your comment and it inspired him to come up with the idea. Lol.

@Th3solution Your impressions of the podcast get me excited at least, so I'll try it.

I've been listening to quite some Easy Allies and Kinda Funny, but I think they have too much content and a lack of depth. Which results in "games are awesome, but I don't have time to play them" being said about five times each podcast. Sure, that's relatable, but I want a podcast of people that have something to say I don't already know.

(I like Game Scoop by IGN a lot, by the way. Mostly because it's weekly and condensed.)

So, Sacred Symbols might be exactly what I'm looking for, weekly and in-depth. I just was a bit hesitant because at the tail end of Kinda Funny Colin was so negative, but it might be him just not really feeling at home in the company itself.

Also, while I watched some of his political videos, they lacked balance. Hopefully he's found his stride back again! I'll certainly give him another chance.

And I probably wasn't the only one screaming for a new PlayStation podcast!

I love Sacred Symbols. It’s basically PS I Love You, which is awesome.

I pop everytime Matthew Perry & Push Square get a mention lol.

@Kidfried I like the personalities of Easy Allies, but it seemed like only a third of the subject matter was PlayStation, so it was hard to keep interest. I don’t play Nintendo or Xbox, and it seems many of the podcasts, as you say, only scratch the surface of the PS content.
Colin and Chris are busy with their respective side businesses and interests, so they won’t be able to give comprehensive input on every single subject, but it’s more in depth than what you’ll get on the majority of other podcasts. They were gushing over Guacamelee 2 for example on the one I recently listened to, which I would expect would not get much discussion on a podcast that tries to cover all the consoles. And they get into all the exclusives - God of War, Spider-Man, The Last of Us 2, etc., as well as discussion of Vita a little bit and predictions for PS5, etc. Basically stuff we talk about here on Push Square forums.

It’s also cool to hear their predictions since they have connections to the industry. For example release date predictions from Colin were, I believe: The Last of Us 2, summer 2019; Dreams, fall 2019; Ghost of Tsushima fall/winter 2019; Death Stranding 2020 cross gen; PS5, announce early 2020 and release late preholiday 2020.
It seems more legit versus me as an average gamer trying to predict these things.
...Anyways, just an example of the type of content there.

Edit: Oh, and to your point, at the beginning Colin says that he purposely brought Chris on because he leans liberal versus Colin’s leaning being conservative so there is good balance.

As a follow up to my post a few months ago, I continue to really enjoy Sacred Symbols with Colin and Chris. I don’t miss an episode. I have listened to Triangle Squared some as well when I’m caught up on SS and they are great (Sal and Brett) in they they have a real palpable passion for PlayStation and both are avid gamers. It’s a little more casual and less strictly organized than Sacred Symbols, and they can get carrying on and talking over one another at times, but I like that they really hit a subject in depth and spend a lot of time on a particular subject and don’t feel pressured to limit discussion, vs Colin who usually is moving the podcast along like he’s watching the clock sometimes. The guys at Triangle Squared are more like fans rather than industry professionals, but they are well informed comparatively speaking.
As a result of Sacred Symbols sometimes leaving me wanting more, I have started listening to one of Colin’s other products, Knockback, which is him and his brother talking about various geek culture subjects. I’ve only listened to about 3 episodes but I really like their interaction as well. It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere and the episodes go on for up to two hours so they really hit the depth of the subject. I listened to their entire podcast devoted to Metal Gear Solid. Not the series, not MGS2,3,4,or 5 — but the whole podcast was discussion of just the PS 1 game MGS. It was fun to listen to. I’ve also listened to a couple of their movie/book themed ones like Return of the Jedi and Lord of the Rings. There is a Dark Knight trilogy one that I’ll probably listen to next.
I’m finding podcasts a good diversion to listen to when I’m in the car or at work if I have downtime.

I mainly listen to Kinda Funny and try to catch a few of the IGN podcasts here and there. I think the dynamic of Greg and Colin was perfect even though I disagreed with Colin a ton and never really liked his personality, the yin and yang of those 2 was terrific. Watched a couple sacred symbols but it's just not the same. I catch Gamecast every week though and watch KFGD a few times a week especially if they cover a fox I have interest in.

Listen to NVC, Beyond and Unlocked every now and then. Don't really venture outside of those two outlets as there's just not enough time in the week.

I have a lot less time now than last year, so I have to really choose my podcasts.

I think the Easy Allies podcast and Game Scoop are the best on the web. Both have the right balance of being relaxed and not becoming too tame.

I might try Triangle Squared though, @Th3Solution, for I do miss a PlayStation podcast in my life.

@Kidfried I watch Scoop too and Beyond from IGN, although the latter has got a bit boring of late.

I used to watch Pretty Good Gaming's podcast but they recently changed personal and they come across as trying too hard to be funny.

Giant bombs beastcast is good, the UK IGN podcast used to be good too, not sure how it's going now.

@redd214 I used to really like Colin and Greg on Beyond! and I followed them to Kinda Funny, but quickly became disinterested with Kinda Funny because of how tangential it became. I mistakenly thought Greg was what really made the whole thing tick and that Colin was sort of just an extraneous and complementary voice with a lot of strong and abrasive opinions, however now hearing each of these two guys on their own now I feel the opposite. —
As Greg has moved on he has strayed further and further from PlayStation, which is fine, but he totally strikes me as pandering to the lowest common denominator with his material, doing and saying whatever he thinks will endear him to the masses, while having no real substance. It just doesn’t interest me anymore.
Colin on the other hand is extremely well spoken, prepared, well researched, committed to PlayStation, and has very salient insight. I now feel he is so much better off being away from Greg’s shadow. He is opinionated but is always respectful. I don’t always agree with him, but that’s fine if he has a reason for his thoughts. His material reminds me of this site.
I feared he would mingle in politics but his podcast is devoid of any of that. My respect of Colin has really grown because I do feel like for some reason he has received a black mark from the gaming community for no reason and apparently there are a bunch of lies and corruption in the industry. Also he quotes Push Square frequently in his podcast, typically at least once a week and it seems to be one of his top sites to gather info and news for his podcast.

@Th3solution that's cool, glad you enjoy Colin's new work. Hope he continues to thrive! Will continue to listen to KF content, except when Andrea is on lol

@redd214 Maybe I’ll check the newer Kinda Funny content one day since I wrote it off a couple years ago and it might be different now; I just realized how harsh I sounded in my previous post, which was completely unintended. These public personalities are just people after all, with their own strengths and weaknesses. If I tried to do a podcast it would surely be the worst thing ever. I can barely talk to someone on the phone for 5 minutes without sounding like a fool. 😂

@Th3solution Kinda Funny has changed a lot over the last years. Whether you will like it more now is hard to tell, it's just very different. However, what you wrote about "pandering to the lowest common denominator" feels still true. The discussions on games are never very deep, and some of the crew hardly finishes games anymore.

I think Beyond/PS I Love You XOXO was just an accidental stroke of genius, because the dynamic between Greg and Colin was just too great, and they were at the right time in their lives. I don't think it's nessecarily one or the other, who made it tick.

(On the black mark thing, I think Colin's personality got in his way. If you make bold or controversial statements, you are going to get some knockback. Also, if you are very critical of others, people are going to be harder on you too. Colin has a hard time saying sorry for anything, and when people disagree with him he can be rather dismissive. So of course there are people that are going to hate him.

Colin has a hard time admitting to someone else, or seeing the other side to some stories. So when people were offended by that now infamous tweet, he doubled down on them and called them 'humorless sacks of poo'. And when Greg didn't agree with him, he accused him of being a traitor. And even now he's coming up with some conspiracy theory on how everyone in the gaming industry has a bias against his politics, instead of maybe just accepting that maybe it was his own boldness and abrasiveness that are the cause of the commotion and some of the bad blood.)

@Th3solution You should give podcasting a go if you are interested. I do my own gaming/comedy (ish) podcast and it is really fun to do and I have learnt loads about editing and so on. Been doing it about a year and the audio and writing has defo gone up in quality.

I regularly listen to the Jimquistion podcast, Daft Souls, Special Moves and Pretty Good Gaming. With podcasts, I think it is largely down to if you gel with the personalities. I also like to hear views that are different to mine, as long as they are repsectful of other peoples opinions.

@JohnnyShoulder I have slowly gotten back into the PGG podcast, I think it has started to get a bit more natural. I met Gaz at EGX and had a good chat and I know it has been pretty hard the last few months.

@Kidfried Yeah, you’re right about Colin’s personality getting in the way. He didn’t do himself any favors with his approach and the tweet. I think things were already struggling with him and Greg/KF before the tweet and that was the final straw. I was very much critical of Colin’s actions and overall approach to things initially and I think I even posted my reluctance to engage in his new content when he started his new podcast, knowing how controversial he can come across and how he likes to delve into politcs, which I abhor. The last thing I want is to have my personal hobby and relaxation time to be invaded with stupid political discussion like what Facebook and the internet in general has become, thanks to our current political climate here in the US. That’s why I’m surprised how much I’ve warmed up to Colin after listening to Sacred Symbols. He doesn’t talk about his controversial past much on the podcast, and only illudes to things briefly; and only mentions politics if it directly relates to gaming. He comes across as mature and contritre about his public perception. He’s not apologetic, mind you, and doesn’t seem to regret or backtrack anything, but doesn’t use his forum to slander, attack, whine, or try to justify himself. I think he has learned a few lessons about how the internet and the world responds to things. I actually had to search and watch some of his older political interviews to even find out what some of his non-gaming views are since I became curious and I was surprised at how mainstream or ‘politically correct’ most of his views are (I won’t go into detail about his specific views to avoid getting political).
He allows the misconceptions to exist because he realizes that in the court of public opinion people lose their collective minds and all logic and reason fly out the window with mob mentality, as was evidenced by the tweet fiasco. He did recently touch on the issue of the ‘conspiracy theory’ in last week’s podcast as a response to a listener mail question when he wasn’t given a code for early access to review Metro Exodus when much smaller outlets with fewer subscribers were getting it. Not sure what the current numbers are but his podcast is one of the highest rated on iTunes and certainly the highest PlayStation specific podcast numbers-wise and yet some publishers won’t even treat him with basic professionalism to respond to an email.
But, although there is a hint of bitterness there, I sense he harbors no feeling of entitlement and he takes the higher road, in general. I do think he gets fed up with the public misconceptions, which I can relate to personally.

@Rudy_Manchego I’m glad you are enjoying your podcast and I’ll surely check it out. It does seem like a load of work involved. Podcasting is something I’d probably enjoy doing if I had the time to commit to it. I mean, who doesn’t like talking about games and sharing personal opinions and experiences? It’s what I do every day on the Push Square forums! 😂

@Rudy_Manchego I still watch some of their reaction and news roundup shows, just not the full pod casts. Yeah saw all the drama that happened on Pateron and still support them on there.

@Th3solution Thanks - I wasn't trying to promote my podcast - I come to Pushsquare to join in and not be one of those people trying to big their own thing. But it really is fun to do even if not many people listen to it - mine is very very immature with bad comedy and swearing. It came around really because I reconnected with an old friend who was also a big gamer and because of kids etc. we didn't get a chance to meet up so we now do this joing thing and are in contact loads more and have a beer and record our podcast together. It has also meant I've connected with different people online etc. and also found some local gaming groups through it.