1up's Retronauts Features the TurboGrafx-16, etc.

[KingDrool]

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9001955&publicUserId=4547783

I just got done listening to it and it really is a nice episode that brings up a lot of great memories for me.  Things like the Kisado Converter, the VHS promos, the Turbo Mailing List, TZD.com, etc.  It makes me want to go home and give my Turbo collection a big hug.

Enjoy!

[Necromancer]

Downloading now. 

[TR0N]

Downloading now. 

Ditto i'm a regular listener of the retronauts.Though watch jeremy parish be clueless about the console.I remember when,they did one on the neo-geo and boy did they get there facts all wrong for the console 

[Black Tiger]

I finally had the time to listen to this today. The only other console-specific episode I've listened through was for SMS. This one wasn't nearly so bad, but it's still a bunch of guys who don't know much about the system killing time for an hour and a half. For every fact they get right, they get at least one or two wrong. The one real Turbo/PCE fan had some cool stories, but the episode overall was more misleading than informative for people who aren't already familiar with it.

One of the better factoids: "Visuals fall somewhere between NES and Genesis".

[SignOfZeta]

Although there were at least a half dozen technical errors, this was still one of the best episodes of this show I've heard. I've actually given up on the show, but Brandon told me he was on this one so I gave it a listen. Unsurprisingly he was the best part. I particularly like the part about where they were talking about how great PCE cover art is.

[DragonmasterDan]

I listened to this one back when it first was put up. I'm a regular listener as well, in fact it's the only podcast I listen to regularly.

With that said I noticed some errors right away, things like calling the Turbo Booster the Turbo Blaster etc.

[Necromancer]

For every fact they get right, they get at least one or two wrong. The one real Turbo/PCE fan had some cool stories, but the episode overall was more misleading than informative for people who aren't already familiar with it.

Agreed.  I finally listened to this over the weekend and was less than impressed.  You'd think they'd bother to do a few minutes research on the intrawebz, rather than just talk out of their ass. 

[jboypacman]

Yeah i listen to this a few weeks back and despite some of the errors it was good show i felt.

I stop listen to Retronauts because it seemed it was getting to "RPG" heavy and seems to be less on the more vintage stuff like Atari which am interested in.

I wish 1up would bring back Retrocity that was a short but sweet podcast that covered the classics/retro games and music too.

[SignOfZeta]

Agreed.  I finally listened to this over the weekend and was less than impressed.  You'd think they'd bother to do a few minutes research on the intrawebz, rather than just talk out of their ass. 

Well, yeah, I hear ya, but believe me its hard. I've done a few dozen podcasts myself and I almost always discover mistakes made by myself or others when I go through the editing process. Any non-scripted show discussions will always wander from the areas you are %100 knowledgeable about, at which point you can either stop talking or start guessing.

I would usually posts "errata" corrections in the show notes though since usually this stuff is obvious when its played back to me, and anything that sounds odd I can Wiki when I have spare time.

In defense of errors:

A show that flows naturally is, for me, more enjoyable that some time constrained, scripted, talking head fest like stuff on G4 TV. They rarely make mistakes on the channel, but they also very rarely say anything worth hearing.

Waiting for someone to read a Wiki mid-conversation f*cks up the flow of a live show.

You'd be surprised how ignorant you sound when you have actual real time interactive conversations about something.

People who are unflappably perfect trivia machines on a subject like TG-16/PCE are usually such mousy, socially retarded, weasily voiced dorks that they are terrible to actually listen to. As bad as Keanu Reaves was in Much Ado About Nothing, he still looked more in place than most of the ren fair dorks I've met that could recite the play from memory. Have you ever been at a con or a show where there is a celebrity panel and there is always some shithead who asks, "Where do you get your ideas?" They might be the biggest fan there, but sadly that's all they are, a fan, and they have no creative spirit or humor or anything interesting to add to the scene. Sure they f*cked up defining one of NEC's add-ons, but the Masaya Matsuura story more than makes up for it and, seriously...imagine a guy who has %100 understanding of every piece of NEC's stupidly huge selection of add-ons and system variations. Now, would you actually want to have a conversation with that guy?

[Necromancer]

Well, yeah, I hear ya, but believe me its hard. I've done a few dozen podcasts myself and I almost always discover mistakes made by myself or others when I go through the editing process. Any non-scripted show discussions will always wander from the areas you are %100 knowledgeable about, at which point you can either stop talking or start guessing.

For self-described 'huge TG-16 fans', their knowledge was rather minimal.  If they wished to sound at least semi-professional (and why would anyone put such effort into an endeavor just to sound like amateur hour?), then they should spend a few moments researching and familiarizing themselves with the subject before recording the show.

imagine a guy who has %100 understanding of every piece of NEC's stupidly huge selection of add-ons and system variations. Now, would you actually want to have a conversation with that guy?

I can think of at least a dozen people on this board that roughly fit that description, and I'd gladly hold a conversation with every last one of 'em.  Besides, it not like misnaming the TurboBooster was the only error made; and even if it was, the show was mostly about the TG-16, which isn't very difficult to keep straight with all of three consoles and three add-ons.

[SignOfZeta]

OK, do you seriously think that "a few moments" are going to bring people up on the PCE, one of the most (the most?) confusing pieces of console history? I've been collecting this stuff since 1992 and I can't right now, off the top of my head, tell you the difference between the Backup Booster 1 and the Backup Booster 2. Also, you do realize that this is the 76th episode of the show, and they don't live/eat/breath PCE like us, right? Unless this episode was actually made by the members of this forum I'm sure that someone here would think it was crap because we are the English language source for these systems. If I had to do a podcast episode about...something like PS3, I'd be totally f*cking useless.

Maybe games podcasts need a sort of Alan Lomax type of guy that just wanders the internet recording the otherwise non-recorded insular word of expert gamers to compile grade A retrospectives and summarizations of gaming guru hive minds...actually, that's not a bad idea...seriously...

Also, sure there are plenty of PCE dorks here that'd hang with. In fact, One of Us stayed over at my place the other night. I suppose "having a conversation" is not the right phrase. More accurately, do you think they can be entertaining for an hour? I'm sure this show brought some interest in the PCE to people who were always wondering about it, and that's the point of it, and that's a good thing. It doesn't matter if they messed up the two boosters because both of them are more or less useless, and their uselessness was sort of the point of bringing them up.

There is this one Doctor Who podcast I used to listen too...the guy was just so boring and awkward. In really technical areas I can handle these people (ie: Michio Kaku) but in casual settings I'd rather have the flawed fans.

OK, I guess I'll just come out and say it. Mr. Nanto does not have a radio voice. There. I said it. I won't say it again.

EDIT: One more thing. I can't speak for the other guys, but Brandon is in fact a huge PCE fan. I geek out with him about this system on a regular basis. His focus, like mine, is almost totally focused on the Japan side these days, so he's bound to screw up "TG-16" stuff. My point of vouching for his fandom is that anyone can make mistakes.

[Necromancer]

OK, do you seriously think that "a few moments" are going to bring people up on the PCE, one of the most (the most?) confusing pieces of console history?

I thought we weren't talking about total neophytes here.  As 'huge fans', it's fair to expect them to have a decent working knowledge of the hardware, and therefor not in need of days of grueling research to keep from committing so many errors.

Also, you do realize that this is the 76th episode of the show, and they don't live/eat/breath PCE like us, right? Unless this episode was actually made by the members of this forum I'm sure that someone here would think it was crap because we are the English language source for these systems.

I never said it was crap, only that I was disappointed.  As Black Tiger noted, there's lots of goodies to be had in there; unfortunately, there's an equal amount of misleading information.

If I had to do a podcast episode about...something like PS3, I'd be totally f*cking useless.

As would I.  That's kinda my point - with my current knowledge (or lack thereof) of the PS3, I would never record a podcast purporting myself to be a 'huge fan'.  Plus, I'd never just shoot from the hip and start recording without preparing a rough outline of topics I wanted to cover, including whatever factoids I hadn't already committed to memory.

Also, sure there are plenty of PCE dorks here that'd hang with. In fact, One of Us stayed over at my place the other night. I suppose "having a conversation" is not the right phrase. More accurately, do you think they can be entertaining for an hour?

I don't see why not.  I've enjoyed my limited time in the chatbox, which is roughly equivalent to holding a 'real' conversation (as close as you can get online, anyway); and if they can string together coherent posts on a forum, it's probably safe to assume that they'd be equally capable of speaking their thoughts aloud.  Though perhaps not in Ceti's case - those extraneous u's would be hard to handle.

It doesn't matter if they messed up the two boosters because both of them are more or less useless, and their uselessness was sort of the point of bringing them up.

You do realize that isn't the sole error in this podcast, don't you?

EDIT: One more thing. I can't speak for the other guys, but Brandon is in fact a huge PCE fan. I geek out with him about this system on a regular basis. His focus, like mine, is almost totally focused on the Japan side these days, so he's bound to screw up "TG-16" stuff. My point of vouching for his fandom is that anyone can make mistakes.

Of course anyone can make mistakes.  Just don't be so surprised (and oddly defensive) when someone's disappointed with such a flawed piece of work.

[Black Tiger]

I finally got home and it looks like most of what I was going to say has more or less already been addressed.

Basically I think it would've been cool for some so-called "gamers" to get together and reminisce about their TG-16 experiences, limited or otherwise. But after beginning to do that someone stopped and said that they had to do some informative stuff and tried to structure things overall as somewhat of a history lesson. I think that it would have been better for them to have just said something like "if you aren't familiar with the console, go brush up on it before continuing with this podcast" and then shared Turbo stories.

I also think that those who weren't very familiar with the Turbo/PCE should've stuck to personal stories and positive comments, instead of pointing out things that they think were stupid. Like how the PCE was the first console to be based around the "Core" concept and that it was a terrible idea. In reality it was simple and hugely successful, but it also wasn't a pioneering idea. The SG-1000 had the Card Catcher, the Mark III had the FM Sound Unit, the Famicom had the Disk System, the Mega Drive had the PBC, Sega Channel, Mega-CD, Mega Modem & 32X, the Super Famicom had the Super Gameboy and Satellaview.

The other thing was the narrow minded view of the cover art. There is some pretty bad stuff out there overall for Turbo, but it isn't as all-encompassing as they made it out to be for the boxes or the HuCard labels and the PCE covers aren't much different than other pre-32-bit Japanese console games.

Again, it wouldn't have been the same if they made some factual errors when talking about stuff they liked, but it's something else to make uneducated negative generalizations.

People who are unflappably perfect trivia machines on a subject like TG-16/PCE are usually such mousy, socially retarded, weasily voiced dorks that they are terrible to actually listen to....

...Sure they f*cked up defining one of NEC's add-ons, but the Masaya Matsuura story more than makes up for it and, seriously...imagine a guy who has %100 understanding of every piece of NEC's stupidly huge selection of add-ons and system variations. Now, would you actually want to have a conversation with that guy?

At some point you have to strike a balance. I think that those who were less knowledgeable shouldn't have gone so far out on a limb or shouldn't have stuck around for the entire session. Would you want to listen to some of the most charismatic and entertaining speakers in the world ad lib a TG-16 discussion with zero knowledge?

[KingDrool]

 A mainstream gaming site like 1up gives the Turbo some much-deserved attention and rather than saying, "Hey, it's cool that they did that.  Despite a few minor errors, hopefully it'll help generate some interest in our favorite console", we sit here and quibble about relatively minor details that were botched during the course of a recorded casual conversation.  It's a podcast, guys.  Podcasts are not generally high-quality productions with hours upon hours of preparation backing them up.  99 times out of 100 they're loosely-formated recordings of a small group of people having a conversation about a topic or group of topics.  If this was a paid download run by self-proclaimed "experts" in the "field" of TurboGrafx-16 history, I could understand people complaining.  But just appreciate that somebody, somewhere other than this forum, is talking about and appreciating our favorite console.

[Black Tiger]

A mainstream gaming site like 1up gives the Turbo some much-deserved attention and rather than saying, "Hey, it's cool that they did that.  Despite a few minor errors, hopefully it'll help generate some interest in our favorite console", we sit here and quibble about relatively minor details that were botched during the course of a recorded casual conversation.  It's a podcast, guys.  Podcasts are not generally high-quality productions with hours upon hours of preparation backing them up.  99 times out of 100 they're loosely-formated recordings of a small group of people having a conversation about a topic or group of topics.  If this was a paid download run by self-proclaimed "experts" in the "field" of TurboGrafx-16 history, I could understand people complaining.  But just appreciate that somebody, somewhere other than this forum, is talking about and appreciating our favorite console.

It would've been cool if they had only made a few minor "errors". Like I said it was still entertaining and the stories were cool, but the misinformation was unnecessary after 1up's recent TurboGrafx-16 Retrospective.