It's the Saturday after GDC and there's so much to discuss, we couldn't fit it all in one podcast.

It doesn't help that we go way off topic catching up with the GameHounds gang and making things up as we go along.

Off topic, we dish on what Edie saw at some of the GDC after-parties, what game Peter Molyneaux's 5-year-old plays, and we settle the age-old question: Does it matter of she swallows?

Let's just say, this is the most unsafe-sex episode we've ever done. We get the most out of our explicit tag this time.

More on topic, we discuss:

• The winner of last week's contest. Listener Major Malfunction is the new owner of a Canada Games Hockey Night t-shirt for his guess about the infamous "unfortunate grooming choice." His answer was wrong, but we gotta give props for style points.
• GDC Roundup, including lots of Fable 2 details, Ninja Gaiden and Spore Creatures for the DS, Street Fighter IV, Guitar Hero Moblie, the Zeemote, mind-controlled game controllers and impact vests, Fez, Crayon Physics, The Path, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and many more.
• Dueling chainsaws in Gears of War 2? OMG! What a surprise!
• Indiana Jones Lego game won't have four-person multiplayer, only two-person. Lucas fanbois (like Hawkes) sigh relief as integrity of Indy ethos maintained.
• Jonathan Coulton isn't as good as singer as we thought! If he scores 95% on his own song, how do I have any hope of singing "Limelight"?
• Rock Band fans hack DLC file and discover huge list of yet-to-be-released titles. Do you feel ripped off by the $60 title price?

And too much more to list in one place. You'll just have to listen.

In addition, another opportunity to enjoy some GameHounds swag. We open entries to win a copy of Lego Star Wars for the Wii. How, you ask? We'll you'll just have to listen and find out.

Enjoy. We did.

This special impromtu episode of GameHounds features Edie and Joe Chagan of SPOnG just mere hours after Microsoft's keynote address at the Game Developers' Conference on Wednesday. We discuss the impact of the keynote over a tasty lunch of spring rolls and quesadillas at Tilt Arcade at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco.

We'd like to thank the folks at Ultizen, the ultimate game lab, for providing us the space at their press luncheon so that we could record these immediate thoughts on Microsoft's announcements and the food and alcohol that fueled it.

Discussed are:

• The extremely liberal expansion of XNA so that just about anyone with a good idea and the drive can make a game available on the XBox Live Marketplace for download. How will this affect the independent game developers? Will this mean that the Independent Game Developers Association will now include more console options? What wasn't said? Can Microsoft really let the reigns go and set developers free?
• Ninja Gaiden II: How did we like the look and feel of the gameplay demo? What do we think about the "save points" that allow players to save videos of their play and then allow the top players to have them available for others? What questions are we left with?
• Fable 2: Beyond being a Peter Molyneaux experience, which is all kinds of crazyfun, was the gameplay demo enough for us, considering we're supposed to see it this year? Do we think we actually will see it this year? What do we think of the Pub Games being available on XBox Live weeks before the game's release? What exactly does "multiplayer" mean? Were more questions raised than answered?
• Gears of War 2: Was the announcement of a November 2008 release date enough to merit the super treatment it received during the keynote?
• Unreal Engine improvements: How will this relate to complaints of poor support by other developers? Is it really what we wanted to see? How could this affect future games beyond GoW?
• CliffyB's grooming secrets.
• How many beers does it take to get a GameHound drunk by noon?

All this and more is contained within. Stay tuned for more off-the-cuff episodes from GDC.

Right now, I'm sitting in the press room of GDC.

Let me give you a mental image of what it was like leaving this morning's Microsoft keynote presentation.

Remember in the movie "Airplane!" when all the reporters run into the bank of payphones?

Yeah. Like that.

Bottom line: It's a very good time to be a 360 owner right now.

If you haven't already heard, MS has some big news for the next year. First and foremost, XNA is going to finally completely open up to the little people. Games will soon be easily accessible to homebrew developers like you and me, and they will be downloadable to not only the XBox, but also the Zune. All you will need is a peer-review process to give it a thumbs-up and it goes on Live to download it. Theoretically, there are four games up right now for you to download.

And no, Hawkes, there was no mention of how developers will get paid, how much MS will keep or any monitization info. That will apparently be filled in later.

Second, yes.... Ninja Gaiden II looks freaking amazing. Although I see a potential problem with it. And I will go into that in detail on my special GameHounds episode tonight. Yes. Tonight.

Third, the interwebs sometimes do not lie. Gears of War 2 coming November 2008 as an XBox exclusive. Cliffy B. said nothing else, and although there was a trailer, I really don't put much credence behind trailers. I can make a trailer of my mom's cellulite thighs and make it look good. Doesn't mean I want to play with them.

Fourth, looks like you'll be playing Fable2 a couple of weeks before the game comes out. The gambling mini-game, which allows you to increase your wealth in-game, is actually a separate XBox Live game and your coin is migrated into your Fable2 world. Peter "I Love You, You Crazy Bastard" Molyneux announced that the mini-game will be released to the XBox Live Marketplace a few weeks before Fable2 comes out, so be ready to start the game day one and find everyone is richer than you and completely tricked out in super-leet gear. Groan.

Keep yourself tuned today to GH, as I will be uploading a discussion between me and Joe Chagan of SPOnG talking about what happened this morning with Microsoft.

GameHounds may not cause cancer, but it doesn't do much for your immune system.

This week Hawkes defies all odds and drags his feverish ass to the mic for installment 3 of GameHounds Podcast.

Listen as he hucks up a New Jersey-sized loogie. Rattle with him as he coughs, gasps and gags his way through the top stories of last week, while Edie speaks on at length about Canadian national food looking like puke in a basket.

In addition to catching up with the gang, we delve into news and listener questions.

• HD-DVD officially loses the format war after WalMart pulls the plug and Toshiba gives up. The PS3 doesn't look too bad now, does it?
• Sony Magazine says PSP could come as early as February. Is that a GDC announcement, or is Sony Mag smoking crack again?
• Microsoft doesn't know who SquareTrade is. Hint: They issue your XBox 360 warranties, jackasses.
• Listener Questions: Sea Puma asks about how we deal with XBox Live harassment. Major Malfunction wonders what's the best way to deal with networks fanning the flames of video-game controversy with erroneous information.
• Shoutouts to our listeners who've been inspired by us to start their own gaming podcasts! You go!
• And... last but not least (and not last in the podcast, by the way, win yourself a Canadian Games T-Shirt with the most creative answer to Edie's question. What question? Well, you'll just have to listen to find out.

As always, you can submit your questions, your thoughts, your dreams and your bile-infused hate male to GameHounds AT gmail.com. And don't forget to check out the the GameHounds website to find out about the latest dirt Edie's dug up at GDC.

Good news, hound dogs!

 

GameHounds is officially up and running on iTunes. You can find our podcast at by clicking here.

 

If you haven't subscribed, you can easily do so now, as well as write stellar, awesome, fawning reviews of our great podcast.

 

Please, don't hold back your adulation and unyielding love for the Edie and the Hawkes. Don't be shy. Love us!

I wanted to drop you all a quick bit about GDC day one.

The first day at GDC is pretty much like the first day of Burning Man. Most of the cool stuff is half built (the booths aren't even up and equipment to show demos aren't even plugged in yet), everyone's not quite in the swing of things. There's a few events going on, but the major stuff is due later in the week.

And, most importantly, nobody really gets in the mood until the first night of heavy-duty partying.

Yesterday, until about 4 p.m., things were pretty useless. Then the first official GDC free-booze-and-food-a-thon began, courtesy of Zeemote.

Now I make it sound like all we did (and by "we" I mean me and my trusty sidekick, Joe from SPOnG) was get hammered, puke in someone's lap and wander off.

In truth, we were some of the few journos who actually hunted down the Zeemote girl to ask her about the product.

While you'd think Zeemote would make sure the actual star of the Zeemote party would be, well... the Zeemote. But, in true GDC fashion, in fact the party's grande dame was a 3-foot-tall ice sculpture with the word "Zeemote" frozen inside and a tube down the center through which one could pour drinks. The drink of the night was Zeemotinis -- a wicked concoction of rum, cranberry juice and fairy dust.

Or so I was told.

Conveniently enough, once we had a good heater on, we wandered right next door to the Microsoft Casual Games party, which had almost exactly the same hors d'oeuvres and...

... a big ice sculpture with a big "Microsoft Casual Games" frozen in the center with a tube down the center, etc., etc., etc.

THIS frozen ice sculpture, however, dispensed vodka, Red Bull, and cranberry juice.

How trendsetting!!

The night finally ended with Joe dragging me probably 75 or 80 blocks (or at least that's what it felt like after six or eight drinks) to The Cellar, a classic, shabby-chic underground dive bar, for the Telltale Games party. Of course, it was by far the coolest. Zombie themed. Disco balls. And guess what? No ice sculpture! Score one to Telltale for breaking refusing to follow the pack!

Joystiq was at the Telltale thing as well, and took a bunch of pictures for your enjoyment. None of me getting sloppy with Joe, Chad from Destructoid, and a few others of the DToid team over at the Cool Kidz Bar, as we liked to call it.

Yes, I have photos, and I'll upload them later for your amusement.

Okay, back off to the Moscone Center. More later.

Now that Hawkes and I are back "on the virtual air," as it were, we've reconnected with a lot of our old fans from the old days.

And it's amazing how many of you are now doing your own podcasts!

How awesome is that. I feel like Betsy Ross or something!

If you're a fan of the old Edie and Hawkes days and you now have your own podcast, let us know. I'd like to give shout-outs on our podcast to all the fans who listened to us and decided (wisely), "Hey, if these two jackasses can do it, anyone can!"

Don't get me wrong. There's a certain amount of "I'm not afraid to throw myself off the cliff" mentality needed to start a podcast, and I want to pay tribute to all of you who are egotistical and crazy enough to put your opinions and voices out on the interwebs.

Send us your website details, or at least where we can find your podcast, to GameHounds AT gmail.com.

Now, I'm off to GDC.

-Edie

This is why you don't start a podcast during cold and flu season.

Hawkes was all ready to record Episode 3 and then came down with that horrible flu that no one is prepared for this winter.

He's bundled up in the House of Hawkes with 103 degree fever, which goes nicely with the matching fevers his wife and son have.

I just got off the phone with him and he's kinda delirious and sounds like ass.

So we'll all just have to wait for Episode 3. On the plus side, it will contain the latest from GDC, which starts Monday.

Sorry for the delay. We'll be back as soon as we can both stand up straight.

If you listened to Episode 2, you'd have heard Edie ask: What defines Mile High Club membership?

Your thoughts? You can add them as comments on this thread or you can email them to GameHounds@gmail.com.

It finally is here!

Available for your listening pleasure and your gaming edification is GameHounds Podcast 2: The Mile High Club.

I apologize in advance for the weird hum. I didn't realize my iMic has a grounding disorder until after we recorded.

This episode was recorded Wednesday, February 13. So grab your loved one, cuddle up close, and spend your Valentine's Day warming your tootsies to the hotest gaming talk the net has to offer.

Topics tonight:

Mastiff decides to eat up the Major League Eating group. First: huh? Second: There's a group!?!?

Sony PSP sales are hot! So it seems, is the PSP itself!

So how many times have you managed to complete Mass Effect? Well you're gonna have to do it one more time for the DLC!

Bungie swears that their next game is totally different. Ok then.

While my handheld gently weeps 99 Tears.

PS3 has an install option, and PSP also has an install option. WTF?!?!

Apple changes its trademark to include gaming devices. This could either be very cool or super lame.

As always, you can email us at GameHounds AT gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, requests, cash, checks, and money orders.

Enjoy!

Good news. Despite the best efforts of family, jobs and the streptococcus bacteria, GameHounds Episode 2 is recorded!

Editing and posting on Thursday, so keep your iPods tuned to this station.

If you want to get immediate notice when podcasts get posed, start following the GameHounds Twitter (name: GameHounds). The minute it's up and live, we'll post to Twitter.

You can also add Edie and Hawkes. Edie's Twitter name is GamerEdie and Hawkes' is CooperHawkes. Add all three and you'll be sure to find out when podcasts go up and what's going on with both your favorite hosts.

As you know, Edie will be at GDC next week.

And therefore, your chance to get personalized retrieval of gaming-industry information is nigh.

What information would you like to have her hunt down? Who would you like to have interviewed? What questions do you want answered?

You can post your requests in the comments section here, or you can email us directly at GameHounds@gmail.com.

Yes, you have all been asking about GameHounds Episode Two.

As we are.

Here's what's going on: First, Hawkes had some life stuff that came up. You all know that's the nature of being real people. Life stuff comes up.

Next, Edie came down with a wicked not-strep-throat-but-still-ugly tonsilitis thing. Trust me, it tastes and smells as good as it sounds.

So with one host trying to keep a boss, child and wife at bay, and the other talking like she gargled a broken Coke bottle, we put off recording until Thursday.

On the plus side, you'll have a double-dose of GameHounds in the next week. Edie will be attending GDC to find out the latest on your favorite titles, so you'll have a lot to listen to in the next few days.

If you really can't wait to hear the dulcet tones of GameHounds, you can check out the latest episode of Artificial Intelegents, wherein Edie joined the AI crew for a night of hilarity. Okay, maybe not hilarity, but it was pretty funny.

Trust me, it's a "I'm your father" moment.

Tonight is Saturday.

Thus: Tonight is recording night.

Yes, episode two is about to explode into your ears!

The problem is that we know what we want to talk about, but what do you want to hear?

Got any questions for Edie or Hawkes? We will answer just about anything you ask, although let us take care of a few obvious ones right now:

1. Briefs
2. Betty... totally Betty. Wilma was a ho.
3. 16, in the backseat of a 1980 Toyota Corolla.
4. Only once, but Hawkes said he thought it was a girl.

So there you go. Any other topics/questions you want from us? Emails us at Gamehounds@gmail.com.

Good news!

GameHounds.net is up and working properly, so you can just plug that URL into your Googlometer and you'll be right here.

Next big step: Being live on iTunes. Theoretically, that's coming, and when it does, we'll let you know so you can subscribe.

As always, anyone who has thoughts, ideas and suggestions for the new podcast, let us know by emailing us at GameHounds@gmail.com

Until our next cast...

GameHound OUT!

Hey all.

So it's 24 hours since we posted our first podcast, and it's fantastic how so many of our old listeners are sending us emails.

To keep you updated, here's where we are at the moment: We are waiting for our website URL to propagate through the internet, but when it does, we'll be found at GameHounds.net. NOTE: It's a DOT NET, not a dot com.

Also, we'll be redesigning this page very soon so it doesn't look like ass.

Third, and in response to some questions, our GameHounds theme music (sans the GameHound howls) is "Purple Girlfriend" by The Goldstars, a band I just recently found on the The Podsafe Music Network. You can download the song from the network or you can visit the Goldstars' site directly.

Finally, if you want to get ahold of either Hawkes or me, or if you have an comments, input or suggestions for topics, guests or overall general improvements, you can email us at GameHounds@gmail.com.

Expect Episode Two records Saturday night and should be up on Sunday or Monday next week, depending on how Ubercaster is treating us.

Good to be back!

Edie

In this debut episode of Gamehounds, Edie Sellers and Cooper Hawkes (formerly of GamerAndy Live!) catch you up on where they've been in the last few months. Of course, they also discuss the latest in video-gaming news, including:

- Microsoft offers $44 billion for Yahoo! If they have that much money to burn, how about showing your favorite podcasters some love?

- Jim Ward, president of LucasArts goes "poof!" Did he get fired? Did he leave? Is he the new editor at GameSpot?

- Rock Band coming to the Wii! How did we know? Because the new stand-alone microphone is Wii compatable... oh wait... no it's not!

- GamePro tests console controller battery life. Guess who wins? Clue: When was the last time you changed your battery on your 360 controller? Answer: Well, it would have been a hell of a lot sooner if you had a PS3.

- Microsoft discontinues cheaper price for Rock Band indy DLC tracks. Is someone unclear on the idea of the purpose of indy songs on Rock Band?