On this week's show hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about the President's call for research on the effects of violent video games on youth (as they related to gun violence) two horribly conceived state laws related to video games, and the latest GamePolitics poll. Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 37 (1 hour, 1 minute) 56.1 MB.

To celebrate the release of its new zombie game Dead Island Riptide, publisher Deep Silver announced a special edition of the game for Europe and Australia.  Called the Zomie Bait Edition, the package includes a gory figurine of a dismembered bikini-clad torso.

Check out our previous story to see what it looks like.

On this week's show hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about Anonymous putting forth a DDoS free speech petition to the White House, various violent video game buyback programs (Southington CT. and Melrose, MA.), the video game industry meeting with Vice-President Joe Biden's Gun Violence Commission last week, and a whole lot more. Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 36 (1 hour, 7 minutes) 61.5 MB.

Life is filled with uncertainty but there remain various bits and bobs you can count on: death, taxes, and the fact that I'll pass out if I don't get something to eat soon.

In our first podcast of 2013, Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about the R18+ ratings classification in Australia, the violent video game buyback program in Connecticut, and a certain developer's opinions about 3DS piracy. All this and more awaits you in Episode 25. Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 35 (1 hour, 5 minutes) 59.7 MB.

As we reported earlier today, Australia now has an R18+ rating for its video games.

Hooray!

But will the extra rating change anything?  The government still has the ability to refuse classification.  Will particularly violent titles be released under the new adult rating or will they just get banned anyway?

The last podcast of 2012 - Episode 34 of the Super Podcast Action Committee - tackles "One Game a Month," what Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight got for Christmas, and the trials and tribulations of The War Z development team. 2012 was a great year for us and we look forward to bringing you many more episodes of the show in the brave new world we call 2013. Thanks for listening! Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 34 (1 hour) 55.6 MB.

As Charlie Brown might say, "Well, another Christmas has come and gone."

So, did you get a video game for Christmas?  That's what this week's poll is asking so roll up you sleeves and get to voting.  Tell us all about the game(s) you got or wanted in the comments section below or email SuperPACPodcast@gmail.com.

We should have a new podcast for you next week so we'll discuss the results of the poll and our Christmas hauls on episode 34 of Super Podcast Action Committee.

The results are in, the votes have been tallied and the sole light in my mom's windowless, basement bathroom burnt out while I was taking a shower this morning.  It's time to reveal which of the current consoles GamePolitics poll participants think has the dumbest name!

A particularly light and fluffy question for this week's poll, GP faithful:

Which of the current crop of video game consoles do you think has the dumbest name?

Is it the Wii?  It's the Wii, isn't it?

Yeah, it's probably the Wii.

Episode 33 of the Super Podcast Action Committee is a "Best of 2012" episode, or a "clip show" as Andrew Eisen is fond of calling it. With Andrew trapped somewhere in a basement in a rural part of Kentucky, and the Christmas and New Year's holidays on the horizon, we thought it would be a good time to take a break and prepare for 2013. So this week we pick our favorite segments from the first 32 episodes of the show. We hope you enjoy this look back.

Well, the Wii U has been out in the States for a few weeks now and many of you have gone hands-on with it.  So, how do you think Nintendo’s new console stacks up to the competition from a graphics standpoint?

Better late than never, that's what I always say. Hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight finally get together to record Episode 32 of the Super Podcast Action Committee after a series of events kept them apart in the beginning of the week. This week they discuss the Hitman Facebook app controversy, the European Wii U eShop restrictions on adult content, and analyst Michael Pachter's comments about how Activision should charge a monthly fee for Call of Duty multiplayer.

Yeah, I'm late with this week's poll.  Sorry about that.

Being a musician makes me a bit of a music snob.  I think pretty much everything on the radio is crap.  As such, when I try to play karaoke video games, I'm more often than not presented with a song I've never heard which, needless to say, puts me at a significant disadvantage.

Yesterday, Jean-Maxime Moris, co-founder of the studio behind Capcom's upcoming action game Remember Me, explained to CVG why the game's protagonist is a mixed-race female.

"We wanted [Remember Me lead] Nilin to stand out.  I think these sort of issues become self-fulfilling prophesies; people saying that only white males sell so then everyone only does white males."

In Episode 30 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight discuss the possibility that Grand Theft Auto V will cause controversy when it is released, a lawsuit about a tattoo in a video game, what a stripper thinks about 'the Saints' in the latest Hitman game and a whole lot more. Sorry, no time for complaining about the Wii U this week! Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 30 (1 hour) 56 MB.

Grand Theft Auto.

You might have heard of it.  You might have even seen the new trailer for it.  Readers of GamePolitics know the series as a controversy magnet.  Over the years people have raised a fuss over how inappropriate it is for kids, how violent it is, how sexual it is, its portrayal of cops, women, and minorities and a host of other things that aren't even in the game!

In Episode 29 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight discuss the shaky launch of the Wii U console over the weekend, Sony perma-bans for PS3 'hackers,' and the good and bad side of Electronic Arts. It's a show to remember unless you stopped that Wii U firmware update - then it's a painful reminder that getting your brand new console 'bricked' kind of sucks! Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 29 (1 hour, 19 minutes) 73 MB.

In Episode 28 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight discuss the importance of voting, Microsoft's bad Xbox 360 press event in Israel, and a dumb patent designed to count how many people are watching licensed content from a console (so they can charge more money, we assume). Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 28 (1 hour, 18 minutes) 72 MB.

We know when Nintendo is releasing its next console: November 18th (NA).  Yep, that's this Sunday.

But when will Sony and Microsoft's next consoles see release?

In the weeks leading up to the general election, it's nigh impossible to avoid getting bombarded with phone calls, flyers and PSAs from overzealous but civic-minded individuals espousing the importance of pausing Halo 4 for a few minutes to go down to the polls and cast your vote.

Well, some people decided not to vote.  And I'm not talking kids or non-U.S. citizens, I mean people who could vote but chose not to.  How do you like them apples?

In Episode 27 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about the 2012 presidential election - including some candidates you may not have heard of because the media has done its best to ignore them. They also talk about Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's past statements on video games, net neutrality and other important issues that impact internet users and gamers... It can't hurt to listen to this show before you go and vote on Tuesday, November 6.

It’s that time again.

Yep, election time.  That wonderful time of year when polling agencies call you six times every day no matter how many “no call” lists you put yourself on or what sadistic threats you make over the phone.  They just keep calling.  And calling.  And calling.

It won’t stop.  They won’t leave me alone.  Why won’t you leave me alone?  I just want you to leave me alone!  ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem…

In Episode 26 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight celebrate Halloween with tales of horror about bugs and glitches in video games, offer their opinions on Activision editing a Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer map because of complaints from the community, and share several true ghost stories. It's spookier and creepier (or hotter depending on your perspective) than Mitt Romney making out with President Barack Obama and Gary Johnson in the balcony of a seedy New York City movie theater!

Earlier this month, an unknown number of CoD players balked at the religious text inscribed on the frame of a picture hung in the bathroom of the Favela multiplayer map.  In response, developer Infinity Ward promised to edit the offending imagery and subsequently removed the entire map from play.

About two weeks later, the edited map was made available to PS3 gamers.  Xbox 360 and PC players should have access to it soon.

Happy Halloween Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve!

Because we love Halloween - and totally not because GP told us to - the SuperPAC crew is having a special, all Halloween-themed podcast next week.  EZK and I will be wearing costumes (which you won’t see because Super PAC is an audio podcast), munching candy and blabbering about our favorite spooky games and other fun stuff.

After settling its lawsuit against 6Waves, developer Spry Fox now owns the IP to Yeti Town, the game it claimed was a rip-off of its own Triple Town.

So, do you think Spry Fox is ever going to do anything with it?

Is it going to start pumping out Yeti Town games?  Might we see both Tripple and Yeti Town sequels?  Or will Spry Fox plop its heinie down on the Yeti Town IP, never allowing it to again see the light of day?

It is shocking just how many gamers have at least one or two games lying around that they haven't finished or haven't played. In episode 24 of the Super Podcast Action Committee Andrew and EZK spend a fair amount of time talking about that topic and revealing the results of the latest GamePolitics poll. They also dissect the latest lawsuits including one against Turbine Entertainment and a settlement agreement between Spry Fox and 6Waves over some unauthorized cloning of a popular iOS app. FX Network's Archer also gets an honorable mention..

With eight more days to go, Andrea Seabrook has managed to raise $36,669 of her $75,000 goal to help fund her innovative podcast, DecodeDC. Seabrook says that "Washington D.C. is broken." She should know - she spent many years as a national correspondent to Congress at National Public Radio. A few months ago she had had enough of lawmakers "lying to her face" and decided to leave NPR to do something different.

Take a look at your video game collection.  How many of those games are still unopened?  How about your Steam account?  Any purchased games you haven’t given a go yet?

Now look over to the right at this week’s poll.  Hey, what a coincidence!  It’s asking how many games you’ve purchased but haven’t yet played!

It’s almost like I planned this…