You can subscribe to the TalkGames Podcast using this RSS Feed.
The TalkGames podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by writer Artie Augustyn that gets uploaded every Sunday morning. The podcast began as a small-time dual-hosted video game podcasted that only went on for about twenty minutes each episode. Since then the podcast has flourished into a two-hour extravaganza with a full four-man cast. Despite being hosted on this Xbox-centric website, the TalkGames podcast covers Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii and even the PC, allowing all types of video game fans to listen in.
The show primarily focuses on discussions on recent releases and the news headlines of the week. The show always begins with a “What have you been playing” segment where the hosts talk about any games they’ve been playing (old or new) and ends with a recap and discussion of big news stories and interesting articles we’ve read over the week, though the show tends to focus on broader more discussion based articles instead of just recapping news that people have already heard.
Occasionally the show implements more niche segments such as “Artie Gets Schooled” where the host Artie plays an older, highly praised game and discusses how its design and release affected the rest of the industry, and what the key developers of the game went on to do in the industry. The TalkGames podcast is supported by a number of key hosts:
Main Hosts:
Artie Augustyn:
Artie is the host of the TalkGames podcast and is usually labeled as a “new-school” gamer. The first console he ever personally owned was a Nintendo 64 in 1997 and has gradually gained a deeper interest in games since. Because of his late-entry into the gaming medium he’s often criticized for not playing older more venerable titles such as Super Mario Brothers 3, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or Sonic and Knuckles. Artie attempts to battle these criticisms with his “Artie Gets Schooled” segment where he plays these older games to please everyone’s opinion of him.
Artie tends to enjoy more action focused games for the most part. Having grown up with games like Goldeneye and Grand Theft Auto 3, he has an obvious affinity for shooters but also enjoys other genres including Role Playing Games, Real Time Strategy, Adventure, and Platformers. Artie has mentioned before that two games that define his views are San Andreas to exemplify his enjoyment of “ridiculous nonsense” and Final Fantasy X which shows off “what a wuss [he is] for melodrama.”
Jae – aka Slade
Slade is the current most frequent co-host of the TalkGames podcast. He hides his personal life in mystery but that doesn’t stop him from revealing his passionate views for video games. Slade appreciates mostly every genre of video games, but has an obvious preference for JRPGs, often citing more obscure titles such as the Persona series and Magna Carta as games he enjoys. Slade is obviously the most active-game player of the bunch, having played multiple new games almost every week. Slade has a preference for his Playstation 3, and plays most games on that console, but also says he has nothing against any other console.
Brian “Hogmasta Cho” Dixon
Brian is easily the most lovable, but least contributive co-host to the TalkGames podcast. He’s known for never talking, and rarely playing video games but despite this, he chooses to appear on the show almost every week. Brian has a soft spot for RPGs and tends to enjoy deeper games that you can revisit multiple times over buying a new release every few weeks. For example, Brian was not able to make a Top 10 list of games for 2009, because he hadn’t played ten games that were released in 2009.
He’s known for making mods in Fallout 3, and spending over 300 hours in Half Life’s G mod. Brian’s mostly known for his internet pseudonym which has been described by Artie as “the most ridiculous name ever.” Brian defends the name by saying he “made it when he was 12.” Because his name is so memorable, most people refer to him as “Hog” instead of his real name.
Former / Newbie Co-Hosts
In addition to core regular hosts, TalkGames has also featured other previous co-hosts, and newer additions that have either chosen to appear less frequently, or have just recently joined the rotation:
James Trujillo
James is the newest addition to both the TalkGames podcast and TalkXbox itself. Because of this, not much is known about him, other than the fact that he buys the majority of more known titles such as Assassin’s Creed and Modern Warfare, but rarely has enough time to play any of them. He’s currently in tryouts as the fourth co-host.
Jesse – aka Tanooki
Tanooki was a previous co-host who was on the podcast from January 2009 – November 2009. After a dispute about the direction with the show Tanooki has claimed he “doesn’t have interest in doing the show right now,” however this may just be temporary and is welcomed to join the show whenever possible. Tanooki is known for being a “total badass” often choosing to play games on the hardest difficulty. Tanooki is a hardcore old-school gamer who frequently defends the idea of games needing to be fun and not focus on narratives, saying “A good story can make a good game better, but it can’t make a bad game good.” Tanooki loves competition and games that test his skill and ability.
Tom Bowen
Tom was the first stable co-host of the TalkGames podcast and was present for virtually every episode of season one. Since season two Tom was asked to not appear on the show as frequently for derailing the show frequently, despite this he still appears periodically to fill in for absent co-hosts. Tom is known to be very vocal about his opinions and insulting as many people as possible. Tom started the movement that “Artie sucks at video games” and often tries to create as many awkward moments in a show as he can. Tom’s job at GameStop allows him to buy new releases every week, but he rarely removes them from the plastic wrap and prefers to continue leveling in World of Warcraft or buying new song in Rock Band 2. Tom is also known for bringing the majority of the co-hosts to the podcast including Brian, Tanooki, Slade, and special guests Colin and Shane.
Doug Buffone
Doug Buffone was a previous writer and co-host to TalkXbox and TalkGames, but has since decided to focus on college work instead of gaming journalism. He’s known for his long-winded responses and love for all narrative-focused video games. He actively believes that games can be taken more seriously if they prove themselves to the mainstream public, and has nothing but good things to say about story focused games such as Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto. Doug hasn’t been on the show in over a year, but is still likely to make a returning appearance one day.
Special Guests
The TalkGames podcast constantly goes through cast changes in attempts to find the perfect four co-hosts. The show has gotten more stable since its inception, but still tries out newcomers from time to time. Including these few:
Brendon – The first co-host of TalkGames, decided he didn’t have much interest in the show and quit after two episodes, and was replaced by Tom Bowen.
Leeroy – Artie’s old Starcraft clan friend who was literally only brought on to be a laugh track. When asked to leave the show, Leeroy responded with “I don’t know why you didn’t remove me sooner.”
Nintendo James – Another Starcraft friend of Artie’s, who disappeared one day and hasn’t been heard of since
Brittany – Brittany was a previous writer for TalkXbox who decided to leave after a dispute with Artie.
TalkXbox Justin – Justin is another writer for TalkXbox who still contributes to the website today, but decided to stop doing the podcast for unknown reasons.
Colin – Tom’s co-worker who is only added to shows as a last resort. Colin still listens to the show, and jokingly holds a grudge against Artie for not awarding him a copy of Gears of War 2 during a contest on the show.
Justin – Yet again another friend of Artie’s from Starcraft. Justin has said “he doesn’t want to do the show, but he wants to be asked to do the show.” His most memorable trait was when he claims to have stood-up a girl on Valentine’s Day in favor of playing F.E.A.R. 2 all day.
Shane – Tom’s other co-worker who appeared near the end of season one and has not shown interest to returning. Shane works in the women’s section of a Calvin Klein store.
Oddjob – Tom’s friend who rarely said anything, and apparently works for Nickelodeon. Artie believes “I’m pretty sure [he] hates me.”
