Category: Network News

After two and half years of waiting, the video series known as “WTF, Pokémon!?!” will be returning where it left off. Youko and SwordHunter have done some soul-searching and recruited LordPhillock of http://poken-retro.blip.tv to help with amazing graphics/animations, and are giving the entire project a brand new, visual overhaul! Same great content, epic new look, starting tomorrow – on #FiveSaturday! All the teaser clues explained in the video!

Episodes posted here (including the lost Ep. 45)
Follow us on Twitter for all things WTFP, including feedback
Facebook (for now until we gain 25 likes)
iTunes is on it’s way (going through review atm)!

Now celebrate! Dance wildly in the streets! For today is a glorious day! And make sure to comment!

Some of you may know of this recent tweet:
“[Y] Pretty excited for Pokémon B/W. Not just for the game. And only one other person besides @SwordHunter12 knows. And it’s not @TheBuzzSaw.” — @showmeyournews

Then today, I made this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wHDWh_sHc

I am referring to all this hype, especially on Twitter, as Five Saturday (#FiveSaturday). If you have been a fan of the work I do for a while, you know that everything I do is for a reason. Everything is carefully and cleverly calculated. Especially when hyping something up is involved.

With that said, I am leaving a thread open for you all to speculate on what Five Saturday is. What does that silly name mean? Why is it important? And why am I giving it all this hype?

All will be revealed in the next few days. Have at it. And GO.

Today, my dear co-host and friend TheBuzzSaw turns 27. To be completely honest, I don’t think Show Me Your News would be continuing today without his help.

I think most of you agree, but Buzz has done an amazing job filling the “permanent co-host” role, as he brings his knowledge and wit about gaming to the table in a very entertaining way. But besides how great he is on-air, I am truly grateful for what he has done for the show behind-the-scenes.

Our amazing website with unlimited bandwidth. Forums that we love to frequent daily. An IRC chat that make the community closer than ever. And even more technical input than I can list here. Truly, TheBuzzSaw is Show Me Your News’ number one fan.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you, Buzz. If SMYN is ever going to take off and become the juggernaut that is actually profitable that we joke about from time to time, it’s really made possible because of you and your efforts toward this show. We’re too professional for us to be held down for too much longer. Let’s make it happen.

Love ya, man. Happy birthday.

You may now gush about how awesome Buzz is.

Anyway, it’s also Egallardo26’s 19th birthday today! A good day to be born. I send well-wishes your way, as well. And tonight’s the Super Bowl! SwordHunter and I still have a lot to do to prepare for a big party at our apartment. I’ll be pulling for the Packers, as I had them winning the NFC anyway in that one Easter Egg. But it should be a great game! Keep an eye out for the Volkswagen Darth Vader commercial.

But don’t watch the halftime show.

Our panel from last night has been released on iTunes! You can also download it HERE.

The video of the same panel has also been released on YouTube, so you can find all four parts right after the jump! Be sure to comment!

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All right, so some of you may be sick about hearing about Youmacon 2010, the anime convention at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan from October 28-31. You may be jealous that you can’t attend or maybe anime just isn’t your thing. Well, for those that wish they could be there for one of the first notable SMYNja reunions ever, here’s a list of why you should be excited for this!

– PANEL
“SMYN: Gaming, Podcasting, and You” goes down from 8:00-8:50 PM on Thursday, October 28th. SwordHunter, CyberLink, and I will be running this panel that discusses the show’s history, a couple notable gaming topics, audience Q/A, and more! If you are in the Metro Detroit area and are a big podcast fan, there is no excuse for you not to be here. That’s because admission to the Thursday of the convention is FREE and we are the first panel of the entire event! Admittedly, we aren’t expecting a large audience turnout because a notable “How to Con” panel is running at the same time. However, we will have a great time, regardless. The panel will be video recorded for YouTube and audio recorded for iTunes, but we cannot stream this live because of wi-fi limitations in the convention center. All the more reason why you should be here to experience it LIVE!

– EPISODE 73
With all these SMYNjas here, we will find time to set up an informal episode of Show Me Your News on-site with as many guests as possible. You can expect it to be more tangential than other episodes, and while we will cover news such as the Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover, this will certainly be a different style of episode because of our location’s circumstances. With that said, this will be recorded on SwordHunter’s netbook and not streamed live because of hotel wi-fi issues. However, we will edit and release it as soon as we can on Halloween night.

– TWITTER
Like I did with E3 in June, I will be tweeting consistent updates regarding where I’m at and what I’m doing from my phone. You should follow @showmeyournews on Twitter if you want to live the convention vicariously through me!

– MEET SMYN GUESTS
Yours truly. SwordHunter. CyberLink. Super. TonyTH. AND MANY MORE. Not only will we be meeting each other face-to-face, but we want you to meet us as well. Those of us at the panel will probably be going somewhere afterward to hang out and such, and if you keep up with those tweets from @showmeyournews, you’ll be sure to track me down! It’s too bad plane tickets are so expensive, or else Buzz would definitely be out here. And will SamuraiPanda be able to make some sort of an appearance??

– GAME WITH SMYNJAS
SwordHunter, CyberLink, Super, and I have a hotel room together, where we will be gaming during the evening downtime. Saturday night is going to be especially epic, Youma-SMYNjas. We will do our best to try to take footage from games such as Brawl, Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing, and more!

– FULL PANEL RECORDINGS
CyberLink typically brings his video camera to Youmacon, scouts out the nearest electrical outlet, and records full panels of note. This year, LittleKuriboh and TeamFourStar are among the most-anticipated events, so expect to see video of those online after the conventions!

– EXPERIENCE VIDEO/PICTURES
I, on the other hand, will have my HD Flip camera with me to record “experience” shots. Pans of the convention happening, notable cosplay costumes, brief moments from panels, and much more..think last years “experience” video, but MORE and in HD! I’ll be sure to sum up the event visually with a nicely-edited video within a week after the convention ends. And don’t worry, we’ll have lots of pictures, too!

– CONVENTION GUESTS
While last year’s Youmacon was amazingly epic as far as guests go, they did a good job in bringing back some fan favorites and trying some new guests. And while he isn’t listed, I’m personally excited to meet Chris “Kirbopher” Niosi. Check out the full list for yourself HERE.

Yes, we like to say it a lot, but mad hype y’all! And of course, if you’re coming to the convention, let us know because we’d LOVE to meet and chat with you!

Back in June of 2008, Show Me Your News started to use a website, with a wonderful resulting success. It allowed us to broadcast episodes live to users, while they used the site’s built-in chatroom to interact with fans and the hosts. We reached their front page many times, got on good terms with them, and even once had 233 viewers watch a random stream of Metroid.

However, today marks the end of the STICKAM era for SMYN.

As I discovered today, Stickam has made several changes to their livestreaming process that have made it a completely user-unfriendly experience. Here are the low-lights, in a bulleted format.

– The video window is larger, but the resolution has taken a major hit. I had to restart a couple times before a still image looked half-way reasonable.

– Livestreamer’s mics are muted my default upon starting the broadcast. There is an option to change this via unchecking a box, but even if you save this, the box just becomes checked again. Lovely!

– Speaking of muted mics, when you watch someone else’s channel, their channel is muted by default! You have to unmute it in order to realize that they actually have sound playing.

– Even though the old method of changing microphone and camera settings are intact, they don’t affect anything. Instead, there is a new settings button where all this can be changed. Highly confusing at first.

– There used to be a live monitor of what your microphone level was at all times. This is COMPLETELY GONE from the livestreaming window. Instead, you can only check how loud you are by clicking on the aforementioned settings button. Why the hell was this changed.

Sure, those don’t seem so bad, but brace yourself for the deal-breaker.

Here are the provided options for “Who can enter my Stickam chat:”
– Members Only
– Friends Only

…The end.

That’s right, SMYNjas! If you wanted to join the live chat on future episodes of SMYN, you’d have to create a Stickam account if you didn’t already have one! Random first-time visitors to the site could no longer participate in the chat! WHO DOES THAT?

We will likely be moving to LiveStream before the next episode, as SugarPoultry has given rave reviews on it! Plus, I have major issues with UStream’s chatroom. We’ll get those details to you soon, along with Episode 71 details in the next couple days.

Oh, and Inception video probably tomorrow. Probably? With that, I’m out.

Hey SMYNjas. It’s been a while. How goes things?

It’s not that I haven’t been ignoring the SMYN community or anything with my lack of blogging, but let’s just say I’ve been busy. Don’t you love the feeling of when you can’t wait to play a certain video game to make progress in it? I’m getting hooked on Persona 3: FES [b]BADLY[/b]. And that is not a good thing.

Let me explain. It’s a great game that I highly recommend to everyone with a PS2. I have a lot of things to say regarding the game that I’ll save for Episode 70 (more than last time’s “the tedious tutorial puts you off”). But if I had to sum up my addiction for the title, I think it would be this…not going to school for the first time in at least sixteen years is so bizarre. I wish I could explain the feeling to those of you who just started your school years. The problem with a game like Persona 3 is that it fulfills that inner, unconscious addiction of attending school, even if it’s in a virtual space. Also, I’m 40 hours into the title and maybe only 75% done with the story. When I’m still looking for a job, this is probably the worst thing for me to be doing with such a time-suck of a game. And yet it’s so enjoyable for someone who only enjoys Pokemon as a JRPG. Persona is so Japanese though. SO Japanese. That’s another topic for another time, though.

Both college and pro football seasons have officially started. I know, we’re a video gaming podcast, but that means a lot to some of us here, myself included. For those into that kind of thing, my fantasy football starting team with Smashboards Back Roomers (10-person league, picked fifth) consists of: Tom Brady, Stephen Jackson, Shonn Greene, Marion Barber, Greg Jennings, Michael Crabtree, Jason Witten, Packers D, and Ryan Longwell. Should be a decent year on that front, but nothing too special.

SwordHunter and I went over to SolidSnake120’s on Friday to start the Halo: Reach campaign, but I pretty much just ended up passing out on his couch. A few hours in though, it looks impressive. However, the campaign is relatively lackluster by comparison to other games, the graphics are great but not top-of-the-line, space battles are cool but pretty simple and limited, and there are a few framerate issues at times that I didn’t expect from Bungie. Let’s be real though, you buy Halo for the multiplayer, and that piles on in terms of what you’re able to do. More impressions to come on Episode 70, when SwordHunter’s pre-order arrives either tomorrow or Wednesday.

I’m working on a new video for SMYN that I haven’t made too secret, so I’ll just lay my idea on the line here. First, you need to watch this trailer.

So basically, I’ll be taking this trailer, rescripting it to advertise SMYN, redubbing it with with some notable SMYNjas (I’ll be contacting you soon with lines), and redoing the video using a lot of different video game trailers. It’ll be pro work as always from yours truly. Basically, it will be another commercial of sorts for SMYN, just with more badassadry and not as much in-your-face-ness. Hoping for that to be completed right around episode-time.

As for actual PODCAST NEWS, Buzz and I are working on a couple things. First, we’ll be announcing the next episode in the next couple days – expect something like this Saturday, sometime at or after 4 PM Eastern. Also, we’re still trying to expand the podcast, and with our server contract expiring in a little while, we’re mulling the idea of a donations/perks option to help cover costs. And while Zero2D and MG Comics look great as affiliates on the front page, we’d love to hear if you think projects that you do would work well in having your site affiliating with us.

Anything else? Oh right, I put up a few download links that all Pokemon enthusiasts need to check out on our Facebook page – big props to MasterWGS for finding the Best Of Anime OST…I’m getting chills listening to the music track they used for the Gary/Giovanni battle. So many stunning tracks in this collection.

And with that SMYNjas, I’m out.

Ever since SamuraiPanda has moved on to medical school, there have been requests for a new permanent co-host for Show Me Your News. After losing hours of sleep in deliberation, I would like to officially announce who will become new co-host of SMYN, aka “The New Panda.”

TheBuzzSaw has been one of my closest friends regarding Show Me Your News, and he has given SO MUCH to my simple little project. In addition to being on several episodes, his hard work has given us the gorgeous webspace to make SMYN its own entity. Plus, as an aspiring game director, his experience and knowledge of gaming is simply fantastic. I am proud to announce today that he will be the show’s new permanent co-host.

I also want to give credit to CyberLink420, the other individual that I was considering for this position. CyberLink has been a dedicated fan for a very long time and fits in very well on episodes with his friendly demeanor and humorous candor. He is very passionate about many games, especially some titles that will be important to SMYN’s future. I was literally back and forth between CyberLink and Buzz for this co-host position every day, which caused a lot of inner turmoil. Overall, I had to give Buzz the edge because he was the right PROFESSIONAL choice for the podcast. CyberLink would make an amazing permanent co-host, and he will certainly be on more episodes in the future, but for the podcast’s expansive future, I had to go with TheBuzzSaw in the end.

So now, in Season Six, we start a new era of podcasting. Here are some of the additions we’ll be bringing to the great SMYN experience you already know and love!

BUZZSAW POSTING
Panda was never big on the fan interaction side of things. I plan on giving Buzz access to SMYN’s Twitter, Facebook, etc. to post things as he wishes. As a co-host, he should absolutely feel free to update you guys on whatever he wants to share.

“UMBRELLA-LIKE” CHANNEL/AFFILIATES
Super has the idea of creating something akin to That Guy With the Glasses’ “Channel Awesome,” where we take several SMYN-related projects and bill them under an over-arching name for a cohesive web experience. This can certainly be done with SMYN and TheBuzzSaw’s Zero2D (maybe even Sonic F? TonyTH’s comics at Middle Ground?). The need for affiliates will be greater than ever if we are going to get back to the glory days of SMYN’s fan base.

ENHANCED STICKAM EXPERIENCE
I have found a way to finally get a clear audio feed for Stickam for you all! With audio balance for guests and everything! In addition, live episodes will feature my webcam ON, along with a scrolling caption of what is going on. Podcasts will still be audio-only, but this will be a great benefit for those who listen to the show live! Also, for those who stop by Stickam during random gaming times will be pleased by this treat.

That’s right, we now can use PICTURE-IN-PICTURE in Stickam streams!

We hope to have more ideas for future SMYN awesomeness, but if you wish to help with the brainstorming, please post in this thread.

FINALLY, confirmation on tomorrow’s livestream time for EPISODE 66!

SUNDAY, JULY 25
3:00 PM EASTERN (NOON PACIFIC, 19:00 GMT)
With THEBUZZSAW and DARKURAI

Hopefully at least one of these news tidbits has made you smile!

Next time you’ve got a small group of friends over to play Super Smash Bros (ideally Melee or Brawl), try out this tournament format. It’s a ton of fun and can get pretty competitive. Credit for the idea goes to my buddy Jimmy.

How to run your own…

SMASH DRAFT TOURNAMENT

Draft Process:
– Need: A small group of friends. Works best with four people, but can work with 2-6 people.
– Take a look at the character selection screen for your Smash game of choice. This is the draft pool. For Brawl, include Zero Suit Samus and Sheik. Those with special hack-packs (like MasterLinkX’s) can also use all three Pokemon, in addition to Pokemon Trainer.
– Figure out a draft order, however you wish.
– Using that draft order, select characters that you will want to play as, as they will make up your own character pool. Draft procedure runs similarly to any sports draft. Picks are done one at a time in the specified draft order. Once a character is picked, no other player can select him.
– Continue the process until all characters are drafted OR until a remainder amount of characters remain. The goal is for each competitor to have as many characters as possible, while maintaining an equal number of characters for each competitor.

Tournament Process:
– Once each competitor has his own pool of characters, begin a 1v1 round-robin tournament process. For example, if you have four competitors (A, B, C, and D), play matches as follows.
A vs. B
C vs. D
A vs. C
B vs. D
A vs. D
B vs. C
(repeat)

– Determine your own rules for the matches (stock, stages, items, etc.). For Brawl, we normally play with 2-stock (so tournament doesn’t drag on as long), with the five starter stages (Battlefield, FD, Yoshi’s, Smashville, PS1 – random select), and no items.
– Once a character of yours is defeated, it is ELIMINATED from the competition. If a character of yours wins, you may not use it again until ALL OTHER CHARACTERS from your character pool have been played. For example, if you have Link, Meta Knight, and DeDeDe left in your character pool and you play as Meta Knight (assuming you win with him), you have to play as Link and DeDeDe before you play as Meta Knight again.
– Continue this round-robin, single-character-elimination process until all characters are defeated.
– BRAWL ONLY: If all of a competitor’s characters from his pool are defeated, the competitor gains one more character – RANDOM. If Random is defeated, the competitor is eliminated from competition.
– Continue this process until only one competitor is standing, with a playable character in his pool. He is declared the winner.
– A four-player Brawl tournament with two-stock matches should take roughly two hours to complete.

It may seem confusing at first, but it’s actually very straight-forward. Basically, you and your friends draft your own individual team of Smash Bros characters…and pit them against each other in a single-elimination, round-robin tournament. Please, give it a try at your next small smashfest and let me know if you have any questions. You’re ON THE CLOCK!!

Not sure if you all have seen these yet, but to finally put the kabbash (if you will) on E3, here are the video’s I’ve split/assembled.

EXPERIENCE VIDEO:

After the break is the three-part video of the Nintendo Conference from my perspective where the 3DS is revealed. Check those out as well!

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