Unofficial Controller Podcast
Your number one weekly gaming podcast for all the latest Sony Playstation , Microsoft Xbox , Nintendo Switch and PC News. Retrospectives , Readers Mail and Industry Chat.
Unofficial Controller Podcast
The Digital Disconnect: Nostalgia, Ownership & The Future of Play
The relationship between player and game is a complex dance of commitment, nostalgia, and evolving technology – themes that weave through this episode's varied gaming discussions.
RGT shares his complicated relationship with Xenoblade Chronicles X after 80 hours of gameplay. Despite the game's incredibly deep systems for probes, mining, upgrades, and gear customization, he's hit the dreaded progression wall that tests even the most dedicated players. The hosts discuss how single-player games with MMO-like mechanics can create both immersive worlds and frustrating barriers.
Nintendo's preparation for the Switch 2 takes center stage with system update 20.0.0 bringing virtual game cards, game sharing capabilities, and comprehensive system transfer options. The hosts praise Nintendo's thoughtful approach to ensuring a seamless transition between console generations, noting how the revamped eShop with better curation signals a more mature approach to their digital storefront.
A fascinating conversation emerges about Sony apparently abandoning Sackboy as their mascot in favor of Astro Bot, raising questions about brand identity and how platform holders establish their visual signatures across generations. This leads to a broader examination of how companies maintain their heritage while evolving with new technology.
The impact of subscription services on player engagement gets analytical treatment as the hosts discuss statistics showing Game Pass drives high download numbers but lower average playtime compared to purchased games. This psychological difference between "ownership" and "access" continues to shape how players value and engage with their games.
Throughout the episode, nostalgia for physical game purchases – midnight launches, pre-order bonuses, and the excitement of bringing a new game home – contrasts with the convenience yet emotional flatness of digital downloads. Has gaming lost something important in the transition to digital distribution, or is this simply the next evolution of how we connect with our entertainment?
Join us for this exploration of gaming's past, present, and future as we navigate the changing landscape of how we play, purchase, and preserve our favorite interactive experiences.
We mash genres. We pitch games. You question our sanity.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Intro Music. Hello and welcome to the Unofficial Controller Podcast, your weekly gaming podcast. Episode number Now I've lost count, I'm well out of fingers at this point, but I'd say episode number 267. With me, george, and this week joined by RGT Hope. To my dope, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Anywho, how are you?
Speaker 1:Well, rumour has it. Well, you either burnt some damp leaves On your log burner this week, or you're the new Pope.
Speaker 2:No, it was damp leaves, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Rome's not reacting like it was damp leaves.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know if they'd want me as Pope why not? I just don't think I'd be very good. I struggle enough to do a games podcast, let alone be Pope.
Speaker 1:I heard that one of the requirements for the papal see Did you was a failed podcast.
Speaker 2:Really, is that right? Yeah, I'm getting the feeling what I just made that up, it's just in England, but I think you might be lying.
Speaker 1:God himself laid it down as one of the requirements.
Speaker 2:Did he? Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Knowing that one day it would come into effect.
Speaker 2:Huh, well, maybe this is the day.
Speaker 1:And also the rather complicated plumbing to take your chimney all the way down underground, across under the North Sea, into France, up through the Alps, down, down, down, back down into Italy and into Rome and then up. And I'm not talking just a little bit, I'm talking up right through, down, down, down, back down into Italy and into Rome and then up.
Speaker 2:And I'm not talking just a little bit, I'm talking up right through, right up through the middle of Vatican City. Wow, this is if you're new to the show. This is a gaming podcast. Don't be put off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, note to self don't record too early in the morning, so you're all right then, mate.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm very good. Yeah, I'm very good you're.
Speaker 1:You brought me out of what can only be described as a a trance-like state I would probably say you're still in this trance-like state, but i'm'm not sure, well, I'm sort of Forgive me, listeners. I've got a little bit of frog in my throat, probably an ayahuasca toad. My God, rgt, what have you been playing?
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for asking, we're a gaming podcast, so we better talk about video games quite quick um, obviously. So you know 80 hours in there and I'll be honest, I've hit a bit of a.
Speaker 1:I've hit a bit of a brick wall 80 hours in some would say some would say better games would have been finished by now. How's your feeling about this? You say that your enthusiasm is waning. Well, I think. Let me just paint you the image of a man from two weeks ago. Oh right, yeah. Well, again, I don't know why I've gone down this path.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you make me cockney every time you do this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all I can do. It's the only accent I can do. Yeah, yeah, it's all I can do.
Speaker 2:It's the only accent I can do. Yeah, all right, george. Yeah, how you doing? Good Brian? Yeah, anyway, I was playing Xeno.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all fired up. Yeah, I've got my scale license now fella Boo, boo, boo boo. You do say fella Boo, boo, boo boo, I don it, mate. Yeah, oh, every time I wake up in the morning, there I am, keep me scale on, ripping up there, getting a coffee, telling some baristas you don't know how to make coffee, getting a sack being took on a tribunal, learning that you know it's all okay down here in the new, in the new jack city or wherever we live. Then I've got another mission. Got to go out, kill a couple of mutant rats out in the field, maybe collect up some coffee beans and some brew cream. Bring it back, because this is how we make new earth. And you were. You were living that dream. You were literally counting the molecules in the brew cream rat to make sure it had the holding consistency you needed it to. You even went to an employment tribunal to save some young woman's job, even though she tried to make you a coffee app. What can only be described in this industry and attitude era as rat shit Now.
Speaker 1:You finished up. Why have you soured on it so quick?
Speaker 2:No, I haven't said soured, I say quick, and I say soured.
Speaker 1:Why have you gone lukewarm after 80 hours? Was it just the length and girth of this title, or is there a little bit more to it?
Speaker 2:Right as I was trying to explain. No, I think we've been quite busy behind the scenes, haven't we? The last couple of weeks, so I haven't put so much time in on it. No, I played again the other day and I played for about an hour and just thought I want to play something else. I think the gap has kicked me off a bit. I will carry on. I want to see the end game. I must get back into it. But yeah, I just thought I played it for about an hour and thought I think the the break has not done me any good. I will carry on because it is dangerous. Yeah, I don't want to leave it on 80 hours. I mean, I'm what? Chapter 9 out of 12?
Speaker 1:I need to get it done that that would be one of the most heinous gaming crimes you'd ever committed to give also literally the life cycle of a moth to this game for nothing.
Speaker 2:And I think also, I know that, um, the next chapter, I need to be like level 38. I'm level 34, which to then get to level 38 I'm gonna need another five or six hours minimum of side missions to up stat myself to get ready for that next. So I know that's going to be. I don't know if that's put me off or because I know next, so I know that's going to be. I don't know if that's put me off or because I know I've got another 30, 40 hours in it. I don't know. But no, no, yeah, that's well over 100 hours.
Speaker 1:That's well over 100 hours the game the only thing that's making this slightly less egregious than harbour stellar is you're not talking about it as much yeah, I suppose so Is that because the experience in Harvestella were more diverse or is it just that?
Speaker 2:No, I'll tell you what I think. You hit the nail right on the head there. I think that is absolutely bang on. I think Harvestella you had that bit of farm and you did have a fantastic story in Harvestella. To be fair, the story was superb. I did enjoy that and you wanted to find out. You fair, the story was superb, um, I did enjoy that and you wanted to find out. You're desperate to find that next bit of story, whereas this, as you've described, it's more like a single player, mmo. It's more rinse and repeat I've got to give you.
Speaker 1:I've got to give you a hell of a lot of respect, though, to fight through and talk so highly of what is basically a single player powered MMO with that kind of gameplay loop, the screams of a man with a pain threshold never recorded before. I think this is a bloody good effort from you, because is it an MMO?
Speaker 1:Is it faceless, the kind of recycled? Go here, do this in the, because you've got the game field, as I want to describe it, where you go and beat these animals and try and sort of make New Earth habitable. And then you've got the what I would call the sort of story exposition, quest-finding area, which is back up on the spaceship or whatever it is, where you're firing the barista and taking photocopies of other people's licenses or whatever else you do up there on your scale. Is the drive down on the planet, the new Earth, appealing? On the planet, the new earth appealing? I know you've talked about the sort of scale of the battle arena, for want of a better word. Is that still something that wows? Do you find like these cool little moments, or is it just an endless textured green field that you're walking through?
Speaker 2:Oh no, like I say, you're constantly on the planet, you're not in space.
Speaker 1:Your spaceship has crash-landed and the basic story… Not in my save, it's not. I quickly deployed the landing gear at the right moment, did a 1080 flip and landed it.
Speaker 2:Well, you've got the city in this sort of hold, which is in a circle sort of hold, and it's clever how they've done it. It had this gel cushioned it where it landed, so you've got all these big gel spikes that are solid now around the ship. You're on this planet. You've got all different areas to explore. Basically, everything you do is linked up to you trying to find the life hold to keep the city going because time is running out. You need the life hold. You need to find the life hold. Um, it's very diverse. The the graphics are good for the system, the the different areas are very different, from deserts to snow to.
Speaker 1:You know one here can I just yeah, what I love about this is how you've gone from a man who's getting a little bit now I did want to prompt this reaction from you a man who's getting a little bit worn now. I did want to prompt this reaction from you, a man who's getting a little bit worn out by Xenogears, to a man that sounds like he works for the Xenogears tourist board. Now, if that's not a T-shirt idea, I don't know what is Now, through this revisiting in your own mind of this planet this talk. Does that get you a little bit more sort of fired up to have another go?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a little bit, I suppose. I mean when you break the game down. I think where I struggle is when you break the game down is, I think there's 12 chapter missions, literally just 12 missions, which so far have not been that long, and the rest of it is you building up to get enough grade to get that chapter mission done. Yeah, and the rest of it is you building up to get enough grade to get that chapter mission done, yes. But where I think they win me over is because what I've enjoyed is I love that sort of re-inhabiting a new planet. I love that idea of humans trying to, you know, create a new world and you have to go out and you're all fighting for the same thing. But it's also silly little missions in there, within the city yourself in new la, where you'll meet people and talk to them and they're so mundane, they're real and they feel like, well, you would have to do that, you know, and I. That's where they sort of grab me, because you do feel like you're all fighting to. You know, get this life hold. You've got a bit of an interruption from these aliens that are trying to wipe humans out, so you end up having fights with those, plus the, the animals which live on this, this new planet. Um, so it's it. There is that, but there is that.
Speaker 2:I think I'm getting to the stage now. I think, oh, before, if I would say level 20 and that said, your next mission is level 26, I think, oh, it's only six grades. I'll do that when I plumb through now. I know how long it takes to get six grades. I think, coming back to it, I've sort of having that break and coming back to it, I've sort of gone, oh, but I need to power through. I need to keep playing, um, because it is a chapter 9 out of 12.
Speaker 1:You say yeah. You're close. Don't forget that video game chapters tend to get very short. It's almost like my sort of English stories as a kid. It starts strong and as time sort of clicks by, chapters suddenly become maybe a word or three.
Speaker 2:Hmm.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But the silly thing is I don't know if this is. I've never been an MMO player, so I don't know. You may know more than me. I don't know if this is a trope of the games. The actual game itself, the actual story, is very thin. We landed, find a life, hold, survive. That is the story.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, you're right and, to be fair, the only MMO and I wouldn't even call it an MMO really.
Speaker 1:But the only sort of MMO I've ever really poured any time into would be something like Phantasy Star Online. That shows you my sort of legacy, my attention to the platform, to the gaming genre. But yeah, basically there's a very thin story, very thin section holding you in what I would call the ready up area, which is your shit, where they've you've gotten all the players to interact with, so they kind of had to give you a story yeah, and then it's all about peddling you down to the game field to to basically grind yeah, but the silly thing is for this game the story is that thin, there's only 12 chapters.
Speaker 2:If you could do them, then chapters one after the other, without having to start up, you probably haven't done in three hours, do you know what I mean? But the silly thing is the actual. The depth of how much the game goes other than story is just ridiculous. With your probes, your mining, your upgrades, your crew, how you can upgrade those, your gear, what your gear looks like, um, it's nearly endless. All the stuff you can do is so in depth for actually such a thin story sort of game do you think if this had been an mmo, you would have had nothing to do with it?
Speaker 1:or, alternatively, if this had been an mmo and you tried it and for that instance, you're going to have to imagine finding like-minded not even like-minded, just other people that are playing it online and forming that relation, going on these missions together. Could you see yourself playing an mmo, ideally, if this one was, or, alternatively, would that have killed this experience for you?
Speaker 2:um, to be honest. I mean there is a multiplayer side to this. I've never tried. I don't know what it's like um. I think if you could play um because you have four of you in your crew, if you could have four of you, you know, online together playing this game, I think it would be you know if you might be able to do that in multiplayer. Lots I haven't game. I think it would be you might be able to do that in multiplayer. A lot of times I haven't tried it. I think it would be fantastic. It's built for that.
Speaker 1:That would be brilliant going off doing these missions together. I think that's the key.
Speaker 2:Which I think keeps you more invested. Exactly that yeah, but like I say, I'll battle on. I'll probably give it a few more days break and then try and get stuck back into it again Once I think I'll get the next mission done. That'll probably spark me off to get the game done then. But as I've hardly turned my PS5 on for a few weeks now, I thought I need to play something. I kept looking through the store.
Speaker 1:Who are you? Who are you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've changed um literally so I was looking through the store, do you know? I had the old netflix syndrome again. I was flicking through oh, I don't even know, I can't really bother to play that, oh, I can't. So in the end I saw a game there and I thought do you know what? I've got this as well on ps4. Um, but I've had a bit of a resurgence for first-person shooters and I thought you know, I thought you know I've been playing the halos. I've been. Well, I know bioshock isn't really first-person shooter, but first-person games. I thought I'm going to give this one a little go and I, as recorded, I downloaded it and played two or three hours yesterday and that is killzone shadowfall. So I'm in like the third chapter of that. Um, to be fair, I think for a ps4 game, it looks, looks good there's no denying.
Speaker 1:Shadowfall looks great yeah and there's no denying that shadowfall build stands on the shoulders of giants in terms of the, the trilogy that went before it. I found, with my experience of Shadowfall, though, was it was the most faceless of FPSs I'd ever really experienced.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, I've never played the original three Killzones, so this is my first experience of Killzone.
Speaker 1:Probably a good place to start accessibility-wise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's. I've enjoyed it so far. Is it a Halo? No, there's no Halo. Halo has that more dramatic story that wants to link you in and to fight, you know for the human race.
Speaker 1:Even the gameplay is more frenetic.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, exactly, master.
Speaker 1:Chief has got way more bounce and pop to him than the Killzone characters.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and also, yeah, exactly, Master Chief has got way more bounce and pop to him than the Killzone characters. Yeah, and also, yeah, definitely. And also I've found so far that it seems to be a case of you go to an area you might have to clear a few people out, do a few missions, then a wave come in. You stop that wave. Do another mission, then a wave come in, you stop that wave. Then you do a mission, you know, and you sort of there wave come in, you stop that wave, then you do, you know. You sort of there's a pattern there, but it's, it's, it's. You know, I've quite enjoyed it so far. I mean, I don't know how long a game it is, um I don't actually know how long it is.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's an overly long game. I don't think you, I don't think you'd want a game like that to overstay its welcome, if I'm honest with you no, but it's it's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's. You know it's. It's a good odd. Yeah it's, you know it's odd to say it's a good game. I wouldn't say it's up there.
Speaker 1:It's technically proficient at what it does, but it's not going to win you any Game of the Year prizes, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:No, I think if you're a seasoned FPS player and you come to that, you're going to go meh.
Speaker 1:it's a first-person shooter game, you know it looks very pretty, but it's, yeah, it's, it's okay um, something you can say about it rgt graphically it's it's yeah, I was impressed with that.
Speaker 2:I was impressed with how that looked. To be fair, when you think that's that prob, that came out before the switch was even released and it looks, you know, I believe yeah, you know it looks it is a pretty game.
Speaker 2:I know the PS5's probably specking it up a little bit, but yeah, it looks good. I quite like the world it's in. But yeah, like I say, I'll play it. It's a side distraction I think I've also you've probably saw in the Discord I've only just done the first half hour and I was looking for something different to play of Knights of the Old Republic on Switch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I saw that. I popped on the Discord rare event for me. If anyone DMs me I will be there immediately like a thundercat seeing the eyes of Thundera in the sky. But occasionally I pop up only because I can play console games, because you put the disc in the machine and you press go. Anything else is beyond me, including Discord. I think I've been posting mainly in conversations with myself, in a DM with myself for the last two years.
Speaker 2:I think so as well, yeah.
Speaker 1:I thought it was ginge, but obviously not.
Speaker 2:That made me laugh how you fell out with yourself. So you had that big argument with yourself and you didn't speak to yourself for a while.
Speaker 1:Well, it's one of the reasons why I sort of don't go on the Discord, because every time I go on there, I'm on there.
Speaker 2:So annoying yeah he doesn't leave you alone, does he?
Speaker 1:And you know it's a private place for the listeners to get together, not for me to sort of stand over it like some sort of overpowered deity. Anyway, before this is for you, it's not for my ego. Yes, I've totally lost where I was going to go.
Speaker 2:Knights of the Old Republic.
Speaker 1:Yes. So I popped on the Discord yeah, there you go, I've gone in a massive loop. Come back round to the beginning again. What am I here for, knights of the Old Republic? Yeah, there you go, Ran, ran, gone in a massive loop. Come back round to the beginning again. What am I here for? Knights of the Old Republic? Yeah, no problems. And I popped on the screenshot and clips and saw you were playing it. Now obviously we know the shed's in disarray. I immediately. My first thought was hang on, is he?
Speaker 2:Is he playing this on OG Xbox?
Speaker 1:And then, after a little bit of a chat, transp this on og xbox and then, after a little bit of a chat, transpired you play it on switch. Now I've played it on switch a lot and do think it's quite a good port. But man man alive if you can tell that game not looks wise well, kind of looks wise, but you can tell that game comes from a previous era of gaming now yeah, I mean the the graphics I like because it is the original graphics, but they're just raised up, so they look quite nice, you get you almost get a.
Speaker 2:You get that sort of almost like an indie feel to it, where it's like they've tried to make a. You know an older game, but yeah, the controls are interesting.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, once I get used to it a bit more and stop just flailing around with the sort of half sort of turn-based, half real-time sort of combat, in a way it sounds like a real boiled down basic version of the xenoblade combat. It's very similar to that where it's almost like an auto combat but you then you push forward with different instructions while you're you know it's similar to that sort of thing, but a real boiled down version of it. But, um, other than that, I think, um, you know it's similar to that sort of thing, but a real boiled-down version of it. But other than that, I think you know watching the open scene doing my character bits and pieces, the aesthetics I really enjoy. I mean, I didn't finish this game but did play it on the OG Xbox a few years ago and, yeah, I think it looks good. They've kept the essence of the game there, I think. So, yeah, I'll carry on playing, I think, because I just fancied something spacey, star Wars-y.
Speaker 1:You chose a good time to get on board because, since its launch, I do believe that Elements of One, and definitely the vast majority, of KOTOR 2 is completely broken on Switch.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:And I think about, as luck would have it for you, about maybe a month or two ago, out of nowhere it got a patch right literally to allow you to finish the second oh geez.
Speaker 2:Well, you say, that brings me on to my next game. Then you say about broken. Um, there's a game I had in my what I said to people before a little tip always put games you want to play on your wish list on your switch, and when they come on sale and I'll ping you an email so that game's now on sale, you can download it. Well, I've done that with a game called escape from misswood manor. Um, I like me a lot of puzzle games, me sort of detective games, bits and pieces. So this one dropped down to I think it's on sale as of recording at the moment about 11 pounds, I think. So I thought, well, I'm gonna give that a go.
Speaker 2:Playstation no switch on the switch store, um, so downloaded that on the switch um. I knew a bit about the game, so something I'm quite interested in. Um, it's not really a story. Basically you just start off as a delivery man. You go to deliver a package, you get locked in the manor and then you have to escape each room as you go through by solving the puzzles different bits, really good puzzles, really good fun. But done the first room, the entrance hall, lobby area, done that worked the puzzles out Really good, not too hard, but some were a bit tricky. You know there's certain ones the Morse code with a lamp and you had to click it a certain amount of times to open the door, and all these sort of puzzles Really good. And then I went through to like a lot of study room. Then I went through to the wine cellar. Then I got to the wine cellar storage room. Anyway, there was a code on there. There's a code or message written on the wall in blood, but they had highlighted certain.
Speaker 1:It's cool or sort of arterial.
Speaker 2:I would say arterial.
Speaker 2:Hmm, sort of arterial I would say arterial and they had highlighted um certain words on there. So basically said, use pictures four and seven. So there was pictures on either side, like um polaroids, either side of this little uh podium, and then on four that had shown two items on the podium and on seven that shoe three items on the podium and you had to put all these items on the podium. So I've done it perfectly on the podium and the little drawer didn't open and I thought, oh, maybe I have to put them in a certain order. So I put them on a certain order on the podium. Little drawer didn't opened. So I googled it and I found that someone on the steam had had the same problem.
Speaker 2:Um, you can put them on there and the game was just broken where you just. So I'm just literally stuck. I can't get that key out. Um, I've done all the actual, I've done the actual task correctly, um, but I'm just stuck in this storage room at the moment, which is rather disappointing because I was really enjoying the game and now I can't go any further. Absolutely wedged. Are you all right there, george?
Speaker 1:Sort of.
Speaker 2:Oh dear, Come on, son, get it together Deep breaths. Come on, fella.
Speaker 1:What is the code?
Speaker 2:What is the code?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do the code? What is the code?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what do you mean? What is the code?
Speaker 1:What's the code to the door?
Speaker 2:There's no code to the door.
Speaker 1:I thought you had to sort out all the pictures.
Speaker 2:No, there was a message on the wall that said Use pictures four and seven. I'll use pictures four and seven and they show you what items needed to go where on the podium, which I've done, but it won't unlock to give me the key.
Speaker 1:so I do. You've not done it right no, yeah, I have.
Speaker 2:I have actually done it right. Um, but it's a glitch in the game that they had a problem with it on steam, whereas just it just bricks you can't, it won't give you the key, it's not initiating, it's not recognising. You've done that and I was enjoying the game so much. I just got to this area where I'm just stuck and I can't go any further. So I don't know whether to restart or try again and I thought, oh, please don't do this. So I'll probably give it another go and see if I can get any further. But actually, up to len, the game was superb. I really enjoyed it. But if you're listening, devs get it fixed. But, um, yeah, it's uh it's specifically the switch version I think it.
Speaker 2:No, I think it done on steam as well. I think it's a problem with on steam.
Speaker 1:Your version is the switch version switch version, yeah, but anyway it's.
Speaker 2:It's, if you like them, sort of puzzle games. Um, it is really good. It's got some really good good puzzles in there, really different each room's very different of what you've got to do. Um up till then, yeah, really really good. Um, and then, basically, uh, evercade, um indie heroes 4. I've been playing mostly Nightmare Ninth King, which is um almost like Castlevania. Um, really similar to Castlevania, plays really well, lovely little game. Um, and also been playing a game called Block Poppin' which is just another little puzzle game that you know jump on every now and then. Really good, really well, really well done. Is jump on every now and then. Really good, really well, really well done. Is that like a tetris variation or is it something else? Almost, yeah, that's like, uh, I suppose like it's like eight bit block version like bubble, bubble or something like that.
Speaker 2:Um, oh right, bubble. No, what's the one where you have to? You shoot the bubbles out and then pop them. Runs in the color. Is that bubble, bubble? I can't remember. Yeah, like that basically, but it's quite addictive. It's quite addictive, had a lot of arcade mode. You have to try and get high scores in a certain time and yeah, really good, really well done. And finally, my best mate bought the new Atari 7800+. They've done the new HD version.
Speaker 1:Can it play carts or is it in emulation? It?
Speaker 2:can play 2600, 7800 carts and plus. People are releasing new games for the system as well, which you can buy on Amazon.
Speaker 1:Oh God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I tell you what some of the best gaming fun I've had in a long time. It's a good little bit of kit. It's a mini version of the 7800, but they've got all the metal script. It looks very similar, a lot smaller than my original one.
Speaker 1:So that's the aesthetic. They've gone down the 7800 one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, can you get it?
Speaker 1:in classic, like 2600, Woody form as well.
Speaker 2:I believe so. Yes, I believe so you can. Yeah, I believe so you can. Don't quote me on it. I know they do the 2600 one. Whether it plays, I would imagine it'll play the 7800 carts. It's got to it's of carts because it's just done with the roms. It's just modern emulation, as always. Yeah, um, but it's even got the original look control pads with the little screw-in things, but they're wireless. So you've got wireless ones there rather than wired. But it's got the original nine pins on so you can plug original controllers in if you want to use them.
Speaker 2:Um, and we played. We went to um knowledge video game market a couple of weeks ago and he picked up some 2600 games he's been wanting from his childhood. He got Jungle Hunt and Skateboarding. We were playing those. That was so much fun Sitting down, having a beer, playing those with the family. It's such plug and play games, very basic but so much fun. And then I got him a. I saw on Amazon they had a 2600 four in one cart with the two twisty dial controllers the buttons on the side.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and I got in that and I was still in the aesthetic of the original box and artwork and I had to break out and bits and pieces on there like that, so I got in that as well. But I mean, I think that Atari 7800 Plus is like it's about £90, I think 90 bucks, and I think that's a bit of kit for that. Nice packaging, really well done, plays well, looks good on your tv, hdmi out. Then you've got the versatility of playing original cartridges. You've got the versatility using original controllers if you want, but you've got wireless ones with it.
Speaker 1:You know it's real it's weird that you talk of this, because last night, instead of going to bed, I chose to stay up and watch this. It was already late, but this was a straw that broke the camel's back. This guy I will post on the Discord if anyone's even mildly interested in this. I stumbled across a guy who'd made a video reviewing recently as well, an AliExpress find he found of a basically a mark one mega drive. Now, yes, it's full of clone parts and bits and bobs inside, but outputs to hdmi. It looks great and it'll play original carts and everdrive and has over 400 original Mega Drive games built in and equidistant amount of NES games built in. And although we didn't know what it was, I'm hazarding a guess. There was a region switch on the back as well to allow you to 60 hertz up your other games and to bear knuckle your streets of rage. Now, it was about £45 delivered and I couldn't fault it.
Speaker 2:The emulation was good and not choppy or screen tearing or anything.
Speaker 1:It looked really solid.
Speaker 2:That's impressive. That's impressive. That's amazing. What bits of kits are out there really?
Speaker 1:And it came with two wireless controllers. Well, yeah, the thing that plus the ability, like that atari, to plug in the og if you wanted to yeah, and that's the thing as well.
Speaker 2:I mean I've got well, I've had it for years now. But I got a retron 5 back in the day, um, which I still got, which is handy to use. If you know, it plays 12 different systems hd on your telly. That's a good bit of kit, um. But obviously I've got original hardware as well.
Speaker 2:But as time goes on and I'm getting things recapped, getting things fixed and and years ago you'd get things like at games would do these mega drives and they were just pap, they were rubbish, the emulation wasn't very good, the sound was poor. You know they were just cheap knockoffs with the sega license, you know. But now the things they're producing these ataris, and that they're good, they, they know what it's about, they know that. You know people have nostalgia for them, so they make them right. But you have the ease, you have the quality of life things added in with the wireless controllers, but still they are the original controllers. They're literally just wireless. They've took the patterns and just literally remade them. Yeah, and you can play your original cartridges on. And you know, my Atari 7800 needs a bit of work done to it again now and you start to think do I get that done, or do I just buy one of these?
Speaker 1:Well, that was my. I was looking at this and thinking to myself do you know what? You could have that plugged into the telly in the main lounge?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah you could bring the odd game down a little bit, of Sonic 2, streets of Rage, hdmi. You've made it easy, heck, you don't even need to get the cart out. I mean, this is sacrilege in a way, because it's already built into it. Now, obviously, this thing fell short in some ways. You're not going to be able to stick a 32X in it. You're not going to be able to plug a Mega CD on it, but what wonders, with emulation and an EverDrive cart, whether you would need to. Maybe you could just pop it on the EverDrive, play it through the cart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you'd be okay with that. You could stick the 32X's ROMs on there and the and the mega cd, sega cd etc. On there if you wanted to. Um, yeah, this, the, the kits I don't know whether that was because a few years ago I mean the retron was I found a way to go.
Speaker 2:A lot of people didn't like it because it dumped roms. Um, it wasn't fpga, it was more just a, just a rom dump. But it was such an efficient way of playing with so many options for scan lines, so many options for saving with an sd card, so many options to download. I mean you could I done it on megadrive went on my um computer with my sd card and I downloaded every sega megadrive cheat on sd card and just popped it in the back. So then when you go to play any sega megadrive game comes up, do you want cheats enabled? You just get a list of every cheat for that game. Just done it done.
Speaker 2:You know it's just things like that. You just think, oh, wow, this is impressive. And you know, at the time I think my Retron 5 was £120. But now, when you're getting these systems like this, I mean you could have an HDTV with an Atari, a Mega Drive. You know these things set up ready to play, like you say, on your TV. If you're an EverDrive user, you can dump ROMs on there. You've got a library straight away there. Do you know what I mean? It's just that ease of you. Don't need a CRT, you don't need to keep these old machines running which is sad because I love keeping the old machines running, but it does make you think.
Speaker 1:Well, I also happened to stumble across a video of a guy who refurbishes, who was refurbishing. He wasn't a console refurbisher, he was just a general refurbisher. And I noticed when he was doing a Mega Drive and did a he's no raw talent custom console spreader, that's for sure he had an orange peel on it, like Yunnan's backside, and he went for the zoom in moment and I was like you shouldn't have done that, mate, you shouldn't have done that. But the thing that noted that I brought this is why I bring it to the table is he took the lid off what looked like a tired Mega Drive, but not one that was obscene, the sort of thing you'd find out there in the wild. You know. He took the lid off and the RF shield you know the metal lid that goes over the internals of the Mega Drive completely corroded. Now, these things, when you stripped them apart back in the day, that was chrome.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And this thing is just like a tarnishment and I thought to myself we're at that cutoff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I had my Mega Drive 1 and I've got a Mega Drive 1 and Mega CD 1 and Mega Drive 2 and Mega CD 2. I had them both recapped. When I put the Mega Drive 1 in for recapping first and I had a leaky cap on there, you wouldn't have known it played. You know you wouldn't even notice that, but I was. He said you were weeks away from that and then just completely going through the board and ruining, ruining it. It would have been unfixable. That was just by luck, like I timed it and got it done. You know I've got a good guy does that. I think a pound paid like 60 odd pound for caps and recapping for the mega drive and the mega cd, which I mean the mega cd has loads I mean it was like 90 odd caps to that yeah it's like 90 odd caps.
Speaker 2:And then you start thinking, especially for the mega drive side. You know, know, you're spending probably more than that. Now You're looking, probably £80, £90 to get it recapped. Or do you buy one of these modern ones just with the board in? I know it's not original, I know, but on the other hand, when I had mine recapped, the colours and everything popped so much more when it had been done, you don't realise because it's a slow deterioration of the of the machine, you don't notice at the time that it's slowly deteriorating the graphics that are put on screen. So after I had it recapped, it was like a brand new system, looked brilliant, but I've got 30 odd systems.
Speaker 2:If you start, you know, you start recapping everything, start doing things and you know, for my new shed build, this made me start to think a bit different about how I do things going forward, I think. But we'll see. But anyway, yeah, that's atari 7800 plus. Um, great fun with that. If you're into your old atari games, um, definitely. And you want to get back into it, definitely, look at that. You can get them on amazon. They're, they're superb. So, yeah, brilliant I.
Speaker 1:I think I think, as I said before, we're on this cutoff between saving old systems and also people that actually give enough of a damn. You and I and people that we talk to in our little bubble, we are from the era where we had nostalgia for the hardware and a nostalgia for keeping it going almost in like a toy collector way, and obviously, if you're new to the hobby, you're a young kid, you're slightly interested in the history of gaming. Getting hold of a physical copy of Sonic 2, even in 2025, is quite easy and because of the amount of games Sonic 2, that were made, it's actually very affordable. So you could get yourself an artifact from the era and then spend £45 on AliExpress and get yourself what looks and feels like a Mega Drive. So you can then I mean fair play to them, because you'd also get it for whatever latest console you've got. I'm sure you could find. If you look hard enough on the store, you'll find a copy of Sonic 2.
Speaker 1:So yeah it's that tough one, but I think we're on that. I think the original hardware right now of that era is probably gonna start to be on the wane yeah, and I think you also even from from how you play them.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've got quite a few original CRTs Now I'm lucky the same guy that does the recap and he's a trained CRT engineer so he's done two of my TVs. But if it weren't for him, people aren't trained in CRTs anymore. Where do you take your CRT to be repaired? And they're not like something you can post. You need someone local that you can take this CRT to. Where do you take your CRT to be repaired? And they're not something you can post. You need someone local that you can take this CRT to. Where do you go?
Speaker 1:Was that a guttural roar while you were speaking?
Speaker 2:It was an excited little burble in my throat.
Speaker 1:I thought it was and I was going to gloss over it and then I thought I'm not professional enough to do that. I need to find out if that was some sort of biological. I wanted to find out if that was some sort of biological, I don't know, glitch.
Speaker 2:No, it was just an exciting little burble. So I said CRT. But yeah, like I say, it's getting tougher and tougher to get these repaired, which again has got me thinking from a new shed. I'm really thinking of going down the ossc route and and getting these for I know it's not the same on a flat screen but having just one crt, one flat screen and putting everything through the two space saving like this.
Speaker 1:Would you take two bottles into the shower or would you just wash and go?
Speaker 2:um years ago I took two, but now definitely just wash and go let that form the future of your gaming habits yeah, yeah so, but yeah, we'll, uh, we'll see on that one watch your space, but yeah, that's, that's all what I have played. Sorry, that was a bit of a bit of a ramble, but what about you then? George?
Speaker 1:Okay, this week I've been on the go, been out pushing the show. Basically got me a restraining order, not again. Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's the third one. My God, you do have a bit of OTT.
Speaker 1:Listen. I look at it this way when you're promoting the show, stalking an individual until they download and listen to the show is good. I just picked the wrong individual to start on.
Speaker 2:If you give up on the cable ties now.
Speaker 1:I'll be honest with you. I do feel like that's a pivotal part of the decision-making process for someone to join the UCP community. Like cable ties, sackcloth, couple of gallons of water, job done, it just takes time, you know yeah, it's quite a time consuming way of getting listeners to yeah, and it's one at a time, at a basis of of maybe one every three months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to put a lot of work into it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but when you break them like that, they're basically yours for life.
Speaker 2:I'm more worried about how comfortable and relaxed you are about talking like this. It's the second nature.
Speaker 1:We're in the attitude era. I think it's time we revealed the back end of the show and showed people the true, the true spectrum of what listening to, because people bounce in, they bounce off. It's not a weekly podcast for me, actually. You don't get a choice. We know where you live and we're coming for you wow, yeah, that's.
Speaker 2:I was thinking in the attitude era. We need a new way. And do you know what after all that? Wow, yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:I was thinking in the attitude here. We need a new way. And do you know what? After all that, you get a fridge magnet. You know what's wrong with these people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, fridge magnet and a bit of chafing.
Speaker 1:I never said that. No, what from the cable ties?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you thought I meant, but no, I was gonna say you're such a anyway what you've been playing the judge yeah, I was gonna say in the trucking industry I think you'd be known as an auto lube. Um, what have I been playing? Probably, yes, true, uh, probably, because I've been away from the show in between sort of spates of mini torture. I have been playing some F1 Manager on Switch. Yeah, I slated it some time ago, but when it's your only go-to, it's amazing how quickly you can overlook technical concerns.
Speaker 2:That's so true as well. That is so true. If it's anything you've got to play, you just blink at them eyes, blur it up and just get on with it this looks great.
Speaker 1:I can yeah, I can now blink at the alternative refresh pattern to the switch that looks 4k yeah, I see nothing, uh, at all other than like. Well, basically I complained that Carlos Sainz looked like Simon Weston. Actually, now he's looking a little bit more Carlos.
Speaker 2:Oh cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm happy with that. I've decided to. I was going down the route of managing Ferrari Challenging in itself, but not enough. So I'm now playing through as a startup team. Give you some good options for that, you know. Or do you want to be automotive? You know? Big wig from the golden era coming back. Do you want to be a startup team? Do you want to have? So? It gave me a few story quirks where you could look into a technical innovation that everyone else is going to have to play catch-up with, while you kind of defend your starting position through the year, a bit like Brawn is an example, and I thought to myself it's pretty cool. I think I need to maybe come up with a better livery.
Speaker 1:I called this Bugatti Quest, obviously after the immortal Terry Blow and if you haven't heard the pilot to the flashback show that we've launched, which is our standalone retro show. We've got more news about that once you've finished digesting the pilot. We're going to assess the feedback, make the changes. But yeah, I talked about playing F1 Grand Prix. We're going to assess the feedback, make the changes, but yeah, I talked about playing F1 Grand Prix, so I decided on the switch, I would go down the colours of the Marshall Cavendish Quest part work, which are blue and yellow, and I produced a car with those flat blues and yellows. It ended up looking like something that was from F1 Grand Prix Jeff Crammond on the Atari ST, not even the Amiga. It was difficult from F1 Grand Prix Jeff Crammond on the Atari ST, not even the Amiga. It looked, oh my God. Now it even pains me when I'm playing it to see my team and it's oh God boy.
Speaker 2:What's wrong with it then? What, just plain or bland?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think because of the colours I chose. You know, when you first create your livery it's like a gradated colour scheme from front to back and I thought that looks pretty good. But it's not what I want. So I started mucking around with it. Probably didn't put enough time and effort in, ultimately, but LAUGHTER Good God. They look terrible, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. I got a. Now we're fighting for 17th, 18th on the grid. There's nothing showbiz here or obviously a start-up team, but one of the perks it gave me was Daniel Ricciardo, who's not currently signed, was signable and signed to my team. I thought, oh, that's a good start.
Speaker 1:Good sign that he picked another one and I kind of went in and rummaged around and came out with Alex Albon. Now that obviously changed the foundation of some other teams, but I thought this is going to give me a fair shout and I actually thought Alex Albon was the number one driver, so I thought we'll build the team around him. Well, that lasted about two races because, daniel Ricciardo, although they're the same driver rating, for whatever reason, they are identical on the stats. You couldn't pick them apart. You or I would go through them. What's your like top trumps? What's your overtaking? 89. So is mine. What's your sort of straight line speed? Oh, mine's 89. What's yours? 89. So, match for match.
Speaker 1:But what I love about Grand Prix Manager is either in your own mind or through the spirit of the game, being like this is you kind of? Because I said to I think it was at Monaco we started off on a one-stop with Daniel and I didn't think it was going to pay out. Then, halfway through the race, I thought hang on a one stop with Daniel and I didn't think it was going to pay out. Then, halfway through the race, I thought hang on a minute if they pit. Now, worst case scenario, we're in the top 10 at Monaco. This is big time, daniel. Go for it. And it he went.
Speaker 1:And, considering we're 17th, 18th on the grid there's Daniel Ricciardo and I thought this is going to end badly, because sometimes when you're trying to really gun it, you know they burn through a set of tyres in five laps and then they kind of fall off the bubble and you can't do anything. You've got to pit him again. I thought, oh no, don't do this to me. Now. We've sniffed it, we've me. Now we've sniffed it, we've tasted the top 10. This could, this could be something. Go for it, daniel. And he drops a hammer and he's coming around, he's overtaking people. I'm thinking, oh, this is not going well. Like, where's all this pace come from? Why is no one else, you know, trying? There he is, alex albon's falling further and further back and daniel's up there in the top 10 pushing Well late race safety car. Hold it together. Block your position. Daniel got a podium.
Speaker 2:No, you got me an edgeable seat. I'm loving this. This is brilliant.
Speaker 1:Maybe the whole show should just be my gaming stories. But anyway, breaking the cold water, water pouring all his ego. No one comes here for you, you're just here as a foil to our gt um. So I know my role and, uh, sign the checks and be his foil absolutely. It's a charity really, um, and I'll then add some medium successes and you know it's quite rewarding.
Speaker 1:I'm now in that situation where I really should develop next year's car but because I've had seen some glimmers of success, I kind of I'm now torn because it's like oh, we're never going to win the championship. We know we're not driver nor constructor. Do we have a go now? Because I feel like some races are on the bubble of being good enough to be on the top 10 and I do believe it's the drivers, because when I do the engineering analysis on the car, it clearly states 17th or 18th on the grid is your sort of technical high for this car. That's you maxed out.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's an interesting game. You have to manage your sponsors and how much time you give them and how much that takes away from your team's preparation on race day and whether that's going to affect the driver's mentality on the grid if he's got a show load of people around and demonstrate how the car works, it takes them out of that moment. Same for the engineering team. They're giving sort of pit wall analysis of what's happening in the race. Well, that has a detrimental effect on their ability to actually be good strategists, etc.
Speaker 2:So is the Switch version, a lot stripped down from the bigger boys version.
Speaker 1:The only stripped down that I can find is literally the graphics.
Speaker 2:It's similar to what EAFC done, then it's literally 30 frames and graphically, but other than that it's just a whole game in there.
Speaker 1:If you're playing EAFC with character models like the ones I'm playing with on Switch, no, the actual character models aren't too bad.
Speaker 2:on the Switch they're okay, I think.
Speaker 1:I beat down on you know. I said you know Carlos Sainz looks like Simon Weston. No, maybe not that bad, but he looks like Gordon Brittus in a Ferrari outfit. There's something not right about a leisure centre manager popping up on the podium. Is he got?
Speaker 2:the unmanageable part on as well.
Speaker 1:Just the face. I don't know If you're patient enough. If you've got half hour and you let the textures pop in, you can almost sort of half convince yourself on a paused screen that you're playing something quite tasty.
Speaker 2:Next time, do a screenshot on your Switch and send it to me. I want to have a look at this.
Speaker 1:I snapped so many screenshots when I was in third because I thought, well, this is a career hard point for me. I'm not going to finish here, so at least I want to be able to pin this on mum's fridge so she can tell me what a big boy I've been. What else have I been playing Now? Listen, I've been playing a little bit of Oblivion. I've got to say, you know, the Shadow Drop got me excited. I saw the trailer. I thought, oh wow, been a long time, been a long time. I want to experience this straight away. Obviously, you don't need me to tell you it's been a graphical uplift. It has been without a shadow of a doubt. It looks great and you know you've got a good remaster. In the fact that you think, oh, it's just, I remember it, hang on, how can it be? Let me see some footage of the OG. Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, In your mind Rose, Tint and Spectacles. You remember the game in that way. When you go back and play it you think, hmm, this is how it looked to me back in the day. Yes, but it's not back now.
Speaker 1:They've nailed on that. This is how we look back in the day, just on PS5?
Speaker 2:Sorry, you're playing on PS5?.
Speaker 1:Yeah for clarity. Playing on the Pro.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:But I should think marginal differences really. But you know, graphically impressive, that feeling of oblivion. Without doubt. Same game underneath the same bones, the same DNA that we fell in love with. My only sort of slight gripe with it, if anything is, even I've probably had a little fiddle with Oblivion, just for curiosity's sake or for the show. I've probably slapped it in and had a look at it, you know, from a archaeological point of view, but not really played it since its debut on 360. But it's the same oblivion underneath and I knew what the people were going to say. I knew what they were going to ask me to do. I kind of knew the routes that I'd been down. People were going to say I knew what they were going to ask me to do. I kind of knew the routes that I'd been down before.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden it started to become a very, very, very, very, very familiar game again and I had some nostalgia because me and OG Tom we used to laugh because I think in my original save of OG Xbox Oblivion, save of OG Xbox Oblivion you go and speak to Prior Mabellavillan, or whatever his name is, and he gives you his horse to do the journey on.
Speaker 1:See horse is constantly referred to as Prime Able, as me and Tom shortened it to, and I had some nostalgia when I saw Prime Able in the stable, ready to go, all saddled up and ready to experience life in Tamriel. But it was on my sort of trek to Kivach that I thought to myself I've done all this. I've done all this and although it was a generous price at 50 quid, I've done all this. So I'm going to have to just let you know over the next few weeks how I get on with that. I keep turning it on and going to play it and I'm going to have to just let you know over the next few weeks how I get on with that. I keep turning it on and going to play it and I'm like, hang on a minute, let me advance my save on farming simulator and I think also at the moment.
Speaker 2:Sorry to interrupt. We are absolutely hammered with remasters at the minute and after a while remasters we are.
Speaker 1:we've all complained that we haven't got any games at the minute and after a while, remasters we are. I think we've all complained that we haven't got any games, and to that point, rgt. We're now drowning in brand new games and remasters and there isn't anywhere to look. My backlog is toxic as hell right now. I hate it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's just, you get these remasters and it's nice going back, but you get to a certain point where you're playing and just think why am I playing this again? I know it looks pretty, but why am I playing this all again? That's just like I want something new and I know what's going to happen.
Speaker 1:I need something to experience as new and to that reason I've been tempted to go and hoover up that now. What I shouldn't have done if, if I was a true hero is I should have swerved Oblivion and picked up that Claire Obscura, expedition 33. That looks so good, can?
Speaker 1:you believe a team of like 20 to 30, possibly at peak for a very short period, more like 100, built the game that looks that good, has reviewed that well, has a story that started off as just a bit of an idea. A voice actor was signed up to record some bits of Free on Reddit, ended up becoming the story's lead writer over time and we now have Claire Expedition 33 in front of us and you've got to think to yourself.
Speaker 1:I thought we couldn't make games like this anymore. I thought we needed these massive teams. I thought production values are through the roof. This game looks, in my opinion, as good, if not better, than games that have had 8 times as many people working on them. You could argue that this is slightly obscured by its JRPG turn-based mechanics. Those games have always been able to be more beautiful, going all the way back to the snares of Mega Drive and before, but this thing dances what I can only call. This thing's coming, let's put it this way. Final Fantasy 16's up on the stage doing the pata cake. It's. Mum and dad are in the audience in tears, clapping. Claire Obscura comes on performing the blooming nutcracker, waltz up and down doing all the ballet unbelievable. So I'm, as a side note, as I make my backlog even more toxic. I'm thinking about side note as I make my backlog even more toxic. I'm thinking about jumping on that pretty quickly in the meantime I've been playing a lot of farming simulator.
Speaker 1:I get home and all I want to do is put farming simulator on, go on Apple Music, find myself a nice little playlist and listen to that, while I let my workers no mate. Because this is how weird I am. I don't want to plow the field myself, I want to set an ai on and watch it plough.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:And that is what I'll do Now. If that's gaming, I'm a gamer. If that's not gaming, I don't know what I am anymore.
Speaker 2:I can see you're doing a simulator role. I suppose You're hiring and you're the farm manager and you're watching him.
Speaker 1:And every now and then I have to step in and be like no, no, no, no mate.
Speaker 2:Come here fella, Come here fella, let's have a little word.
Speaker 1:You go back to check how that field's doing and the AI's managed to park a combine in a tree and I don't just mean he dribbles to the side of it, I and I don't just mean he dribbles to the side of it, I mean you come back and it's upside down, nestled in the tree like a nest.
Speaker 2:You're like oh, what's happened there fella?
Speaker 1:I would love an action replay. You come back. It's like how did this even happen? I would love to know. Then you can rewind time and find you know, because what did I dropped? I was in the. I bought some woodland in my safe Carlson Farm. If anyone wants to download it, you know you can work the map that I'm working and it is as an English map. It's probably one of the best. And I bought some woodland so detailed in the wood, the way the trees have fallen, the way the paths are cut through, the way the fire breaks through the wood to stop the transmission of fire within a plantation.
Speaker 1:It's so good, so good. Anyway, I bought just some light tree harvesting equipment for pulling in some extra bank when things are a bit tough, and I got a log grab from a front loader. I know that this me talking about farming simulator is killing the fans, but it's what I've been playing so fast forward to the next bit. If this is killing you because I've got to get this off my chest, I had actually managed to knock my timber grab attachment over I I didn't realise this when I'd been working in the wood. Anyway, I came back with my tractor, nosed up to the front timber loader, and it came up X to connect, perfect to press. Well, because it was upside down. Initially my whole tractor flipped upside down to mate with the grab, but then the game must have realised that's uh, that's crazy. I'll tell you what we're going to do. I'll tell you how we're going to solve this. We're literally going to launch George's tractor, probably a clear hundred miles up in the air. Boo, what it just went.
Speaker 2:And you're still in it.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, yeah, I love how it connects. I connected to the front loader and it was like well, that ain't right. You could see the logic of the FS25 go like, no, that ain't right, flipped it. There needs to be some serious repercussions for that.
Speaker 2:Boom Boom. You didn't crash after that.
Speaker 1:I just landed down on its cabin and flipped on its wheels, and I carried on as if nothing had happened.
Speaker 2:Classic five, oh my god really you know what it's.
Speaker 1:It's quite fun as a side note and I know I've bored everybody, I'm not going to do it too much more, but very quickly, obviously after seeing I wouldn't do it. If he looks you in the eye and tells you he ain't doing it, he'd swear on his life in that moment he ain't doing it. But knowing George, the way we know George, if he says he ain't buying MLB 25, damn sure he's buying it, he's buying it.
Speaker 1:And yeah, here I am waltzing in. I'm sure he's buying it. He's buying it. And yeah, here I am waltzing in. I'm doing my usual yearly struggle with the face scan app. Is that what I look like? Hideous delete. It Must have been bad lighting. Do it again. Do it again. I've got David Bailey in here on the floor with lights. The whole bag of tricks. He's got makeup.
Speaker 2:Trying to scan a photo of yourself when you were 20.
Speaker 1:No, it's worse than that, because I'm obviously in my 40s. Do the scan, and I did it at night time as well. So I didn't realise, but I had a shadow cast from my great big beak down the side of my face from the way I was stood. Anyway, load up my face scan. I think, oh yeah, that's half acceptable. Turn the character around oh my God, looks like he's got a birthmark. It's not good enough. Delete. Redownload the face scan. Do it again. That's better. God damn me, beak. I didn't realise I had such a big beak, but it casts such a shadow across my face. It's literally put half of my grid into what can only be described as a solar and lunar eclipse and I don't know how to light myself without cutting off my face off.
Speaker 2:it's like I'll give you. I'll give you. You do? I mean you're committed to make sure you get your character with the correct look. I mean I'm already thinking, oh, I couldn't be doing with that.
Speaker 1:But you are, you know, the worst part is You've got a lighting rig in.
Speaker 2:You've got Rachel holding up a lamp trying to light you in the correct way. You've used moisturiser. You've had a shave.
Speaker 1:You never quite knew how close to reality you got in your piss take. You did not have Rachel holding.
Speaker 2:You said you had Rachel in here.
Speaker 1:Lamp on a chair, no right angle you did not get the f up dude. This is important to me, mlb's life road to the show and I feel like I've made a mistake because, you know, in baseball the hollywood image of baseball is a guy just hitting a home run and this is what annoys me with mlb a bit.
Speaker 1:I thought you know for a bit, to keep Rachel happy, I'll go as a pitcher and a hitter, one of those split players like Otani who does pitching like Babe Ruth and can also smack the hell out of the ball Brilliant. I thought I'll go in as one of these because then in between pitching, quite often you know if you're good enough they'll let you bat as well. Makes it exciting for the kind of people with an attention span of the. An ant with his back leg on fire in a bowl of sugar.
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know anyway I'm writing that one down yeah, because you know as as an ant with his leg on fire in a bowl of sugar very much myself. I've no idea where I'm going with this anymore, so I'm going to free wheel a moment. But I repositioned my brain. Mlb, don't forget that in the road to the show now you start off as a school kid. What do you think? The road to the show now you start off as a school kid. What do you think? Oh no, what do you think a school kid looks like with a 45 year old man's head on his body? That also, that's also got quite thick stubble.
Speaker 1:I look to be fair, dude. I look like I need a tag. You look like you've been put back a few years. Put back a few years. Jesus wet. My MLB character makes bloody gary glitter look innocent. Uh, it is unbelievable. Why can't I get a different starting option? Why can't? Why? Now is this? Is this mlb saying to me you should only play video games if you're 18? Or or is it saying you're too old to like baseball? I mean, what's it telling me?
Speaker 1:maybe don't put too much thought into designing your character why give me face scan app that forced me to start in high school?
Speaker 2:maybe don't use the face scan app. Then just start as as a character.
Speaker 1:And there's a guy here getting lessons in life from his high school baseball coach and, to be honest, if you pause the screen you'd think he was the pupil and I was the teacher.
Speaker 2:You'd think the game is thinking. Something's not right here. It's almost a farming simulator. At the moment it's going to blast you up in the air 100 metres. Something's not right here.
Speaker 1:Oh, and to go back to that farming simulator, you know you've got problems in farming simulator and I've seen it a little bit in GTA 4 as well when your whole vehicle, or whatever it is you're trying to interface with, suddenly starts shaking and then the shaking gets tighter and it turns into like a vibration, almost like a hum. When you've got a vehicle charged like that in Farming Simulator, you'd know, you'd just Something bad is going to happen. Something's going to kick off in a minute, probably blasted to sub-orbit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is a bare minimum of what I can hope to get-orbit. Yeah, this is a bare minimum. Yeah, this is a bare minimum of what I can hope to get away with here, feeling like Yuri Gagarin oh, good God, I'm just trying to play out of the backfield. Dude, there's no need to Like while I'm in Simulator World. It must be so dangerous to be a farmer, not just because of the flailing implements, because just finding yourself in space in an unoxygenated capsule, just watching the air get sucked out, then forever committed to fly around in space like a bad lollipop, just literally frozen in your cab of this antique vintage tractor, I've decided I couldn't live without.
Speaker 2:So there's now a Tesla Roadster in space and a tractor both orbit and the Earth.
Speaker 1:Farming Simulator 25's got a more successful space race going on than NASA SpaceX and. Amazon combined, I tell you, and I would say RGT. That now abruptly brings me to the end of what I've been playing.
Speaker 2:We had a good few games between us there.
Speaker 1:Oh, and, bizarrely, a very unscratchable itch because I've got to go away and waterboard someone for this show again To play. There was a time when I was playing this, maybe during season two 2, when Bobby was on, or maybe earlier, maybe during your era, I can't remember. But I've got this strange urge to and I have this for games and I don't know whether it's me picking up on different seasons or moments when I played the games back in the day or what, but I've got this really strong urge to dig out and I can't because I'm going away and it's on ps2 a really strong urge to dig out lord of the rings, the third age or whatever that ps2 ea turn-based jrpg version yeah, rings.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a bit of a muddled up time for lord of the rings, weren't it? Because there was the book games but also the film games weren't there? And?
Speaker 1:then the spin-off games.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's all a bit confusing as to what was what or what you would like to actually play, but this is cool because it kind of runs in.
Speaker 1:You are a group of adventurers that are running simultaneously through the adventures within the book, but at distance. You're in the minds of Moria when Pippin messes around with that skeleton and it falls backwards through the well you're in the room where it hits the ground ah, ok, that sounds quite cool dude it is so good and that's when you listen to the ones that you're on oh god of that day but if you went back and listened to that?
Speaker 2:yeah, in happening um, you're another listener.
Speaker 1:You can't waterboard me. You're gonna have to put me on the show.
Speaker 2:Oh god, yeah that's literally how it went.
Speaker 1:Now. Do you want to do the news now, or do you want to do a little thingy-thong together? What would you like to do?
Speaker 2:We'll do a little thingy-thong, shall we?
Speaker 1:The thong, the thong, thong, thong.
Speaker 2:Can you believe there was a song called the thong song? Yeah, that was in my height of thong wearing as well. Yeah, maybe a bit of an overshare there?
Speaker 1:I didn't. I just know that your wipeage down the back isn't that great, so I can't imagine that this cheese string is that you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's just like stained brown string.
Speaker 2:Went for a lot of wet wipes that year. A lot of wet wipes.
Speaker 1:To be honest, fashion sacrifices are worth it. You want to wear a thong Just means you've got to steam clean your back area every time you've had a.
Speaker 2:Without doubt A sit-down job. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, let me clear my throat. Come on Sam Sam. Apologies to the listeners because I've been coughing and spluttering, but I've got a little bit of a thing going on la la, la, la, la, la la beautiful our GT is like the Lone Ranger Riding on now. Bring hidden gems to me.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow. I actually got a bit emotional then, right at the time that your grandmother passed away, did it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, similar, yeah, it's the only time you've ever felt emotion. You machine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the only time I ever wept, the only time I ever will.
Speaker 1:Wept. Glad we cleared that up Right. What's Wow? Because the only well this will see a spike in listeners, because the algorithm is going to let everybody know this had a hidden gem in it. You are the diamond to my clay. Tell me yeah there's a Minecraft reference for you there. Tell me what is this game and are we playing the guessing game you?
Speaker 2:want to play, we'll play. Yeah, we'll play guessing game, should we? Okay all right, the platform is the nintendo ds, the developer is a company called sing c-i-n-g and the style of game is more like singe. Yeah, that I'm glad you said that. Um, the style is, it's, a strange one. It's more like a first-person point-and-click adventure. Yeah, and it was released in 2007.
Speaker 1:Hang on, Let me Just give me some of those again, because I was trying not to laugh at what Singe rhymes with that. I've just completely lost it. So it's on DS DS.
Speaker 2:DS, it's like a.
Speaker 1:Why did I even go there? It is no, it can't be. Well, it could be. Can you give me the genre?
Speaker 2:It's like I say, it's like a first-person, point-and-click, almost graphic novel adventure. If that makes sense. It's got all those elements involved in it. It's either a game you've probably even really Is it Ace Attorney? No, Is it like that? Maybe a bit yeah.
Speaker 1:Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue no.
Speaker 2:No, it's quite an obscure one. You either know it or you don't. It's a single player. 2007 it was released.
Speaker 1:Hold. Is it like? Is it like Layton?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No, what is it then?
Speaker 2:It's a game called Hotel Dusk, room 215. Have you heard of that? It's a game called Hotel Dusk, room 215.
Speaker 1:Have you heard of that who's?
Speaker 2:the developer Sing, not Sing.
Speaker 1:Who else is involved? Who's the publisher then?
Speaker 2:Nintendo. It's almost like a hand-drawn sort of character on there on the front cover. It's set in 1979. He plays a guy called Kyle Hyde, former detective now working as a salesman. It's part of his job. He arrives at a hotel looking for his former partner, brian Bradley, checks into Hotel 215. It's rumoured that this room 215, grants wishes, and he finds the hotel. There's a lot of mysteries, a lot of links to his past. It's a very deep story with you know spin-off twists and turns.
Speaker 2:Unusual game. The thing I like about it you turn your DS up on the side like like a book and you have one screen with the map where you guide him through. Your other screen is first person. As you walk through you can interact with things you have to solve, puzzles and mysteries. Um, at the end of each chapter you have like an interrogation with someone and that's like your boss battle to try and solve this mystery of the hotel and it opens up a can of worms as to what's happened to his partner and bits and pieces.
Speaker 2:Very unusual, but very good. I think it applies to quite a lot of people, people who are very casual gamers but like reading. I think this is a really good game for them because it is like you hold it like a book. It's like you're playing a book but, like you say, a graphic novel. It's quite involved. Um looks for for a ds looks good. I like the graphical style, that hand-drawn sort of um sketch sort of style. Um, it's good interaction with the characters.
Speaker 2:Um, they even did do a sequel to this. Um, last window, secret of cape west um, but it only got released in europe and japan because sing went bankrupt. I went under. So this didn't get released in north america the sequel. But this game I picked this up about six months ago for about two pound fifty um. As of checking today, it's around, it's around 10 pound, it's shooting up. So if you're going to grab it, grab it now, um, but for 10 pound I still think it's a bargain. I still think it's really good if you, if you, got a ds some variants online are a hell of a lot more expensive than that yeah, yeah, I bet they are.
Speaker 2:If you go, if you get your standard version of CX it's £10 as of recording this, but it's that quite relaxed one and you do feel like you're almost reading a book. Like I say, you hold a lot of book, you play through a lot of book and you feel like you're reading the story as you go. But really interesting. I just thought this was unique because of how you play it, the genre of it, which is like a first person game. It's a puzzle game, it's a mystery game, it's a point and click game, it's a graphic novel game, it's all in one. I think it's always quite interesting and I think they pulled off pretty well. It's a shame they went under doing the second one. Haven't played the second one, but I think that's a bit more expensive, but I will try and pick it up.
Speaker 1:I'll be honest with you, dude. You were telling me about it. I didn't guess it. Fair enough, I immediately jumped on the Google machine and had a quick look at the box I've seen this game everywhere. I've always discounted it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think a lot of people thought this was just shovelware, a bit of cheap shovelware, you know, like one of them, mystery games where you just have to match the you know hidden objects exactly that but it's not.
Speaker 2:It's actually a proper detective, thriller, mystery novel and you you work your way through trying to solve the mysteries of of hotel dusk, especially room 215. Really, really good. But yeah, I'd recommend it if you've got a ds or ds light whatever. Um, yeah, if you see it in cex, because it's quite regularly in there in the shops, it's not hard to get hold of. Grab a copy. It's good, it's worth a playthrough, especially even I don't think you're going to struggle to get hold of a copy.
Speaker 1:I think you're going to kick yourself that you've looked at it and discounted it all these years. You know, for every great game that potentially could be shoveled away your Nintendogs, your Ace Attorney, your Hotel Dusk there's a million copies on the DS that are literal tat. So it's nice to know that people don't have to work through a thousand games to find a gem when they've got you around RGT. So this Hotel Dusk, does it have multiple endings or is it just one ending? For this game? There's a different way to go through it.
Speaker 2:I haven't got to the end myself. I do believe there is multiple endings on there as well. So you could even get a game over if you, because you pick clues up as you go through your chapter. Then you interrogate the person. If you interrogate them wrong and accuse them of the wrong thing, it could be game over. You'll have to go back to your save point because you've interrogated them the wrong way and accuse them of something that is wrong.
Speaker 2:So it's quite clever how it, how it does it. You have to put your clues together. You've got a little journal you can make notes in um. Yeah, it's good, it's a good little game. It's not too much that I know there's a lot of genres going on, but it's not too much that this is confusing to do. It's actually really good fun to do um. And then, on the other hand, it's it's it's a story that you want to keep learning more of and it keeps you playing, keeps you invested. Um. But yeah, if you, if you've got a DS or DS Lite, whatever I mean they all play DS games, whatever DS you've got pick a copy up because it's definitely worth a play.
Speaker 1:To me it screams. Perfect DS fodder. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really different, but really good.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, on that, what high praise. So chuck yourself on the Discord over the next coming weeks. Or if you're struggling for a game and you think I ain't got two pennies to rub together, but I want something new, chuck yourself on the. Obviously, once a month roughly, rgt will bring you a hidden gem, very kindly, and then we are getting around to updating it. If you just check the hidden gem section, there's enough there to keep you going for now, and that's being updated on a regular-ish basis.
Speaker 1:As RGT brings his reviews, he takes them out of his brain and he turns them into something physical and then slaps it on there for us to all read at our leisure. Plenty of written material on the Discord yeah, plenty of it.
Speaker 2:Some very different games in there as well, for all sorts of different genres and bits and pieces Race and drive and, you know, sports and point and clicks. All on there, really, but a bit for everyone.
Speaker 1:What genre do you think we should do your next hidden gem as?
Speaker 2:We don't know We'll have to.
Speaker 1:Strategy.
Speaker 2:I don't do strategy.
Speaker 1:Any game, any platform. We need a strategy hidden gem, Something to get our teeth in. Or two choices, or you can combine these two choices for your next hidden gem Sim or strategy or strategy sim.
Speaker 2:So these are for you, then, aren't they?
Speaker 1:I think I've been terribly generous up until this point. You know I've let you recommend You've changed. If I'm interested in it, someone else is interested in it. Therefore there's content in it.
Speaker 2:You just want to do simulation game to play, don't you?
Speaker 1:I need a new one, yeah.
Speaker 2:Something you recommend to me.
Speaker 1:yeah, I need something safe, because I didn't mention that I've downloaded, don't.
Speaker 2:Oh no.
Speaker 1:Look at me, don't judge me now. I'm like this, not now, not on the show, not during this section of the show.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, no, no no.
Speaker 1:Look at the floor so I could talk.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:I've been. Are you ashamed?
Speaker 2:Not. Are you ashamed?
Speaker 1:Not necessarily A little bit. Yeah, you know Gold Rush, the game that came out, that you know.
Speaker 2:I've been sort of the one you bought and never played.
Speaker 1:That's a little strong, but yeah.
Speaker 2:Is it true, though?
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, they've lost the Gold Rush franchise, so it's been re-ged as Gold Mining Simulator.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Every picture in the game's changed Everything, every placeholder, every logo. Do you? Know, what, while they're at it, while they were stripping all the Gold Rush assets out, they actually updated the game, so it's playable. How very kind.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's worth downloading that for £30 five years ago.
Speaker 1:It was. Yeah, it's worth a revisit five years after the loss of the franchise. Yeah, absolutely so. They're working on a sequel for PC, which is obviously great news for PC players Steam Deck users, that kind of character but for the console user, you're done. But I was finding some enjoyment in it. I got stuck into an hour's worth of gameplay loop. I had Rachel sat on one side of the sofa. You know, we need this, we need that, we need the miners' moss, we need the buckets, we need this, we need that. You know, dig here, do this, do that, rent this, claim yeah, yeah, yeah, we're doing it together. When her yeah, yeah, yeah, we're doing it together. When her interest waned, mine also did immediately okay, you're done with this. I was only. I'm so done with this. So just to let you know, gold mining simulair, aka gold rush the game.
Speaker 1:Don't waste your time on it really that review's been two years in the making. No doubt Come next week I'll tell you. I've been playing it for 60 hours solid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would imagine that is what's going to happen.
Speaker 1:If that's news and one would argue it's probably not it's time we got some real news out, so far as to Scour the very darkest regions of the internet to bring you the latest stories. First up, rgt and something that caught my eye over on the old interweb the other day. Uh, and I know it's probably only me that has beef about this, but I've got beef about this, so let me share this story with you. Father, son and the Holy Ghost, push square, bring us this story penned by the immortal and if you're listening, what a great last name Stephen Tailby. Little Big Planet Erasure continues. Swag boy removed from PlayStation Productions logo.
Speaker 1:Now I've talked about this RGT. How I feel like Sony can't have more than one pet at a time. It finds it very hard to love multiples and it finds it so hard to love multiples that it feels it needs to grind its ex into the dirt as if it was a piece of dog feces collected. As you take the kids to school and you've got those tight weave trainers on so you can't just wipe it on the grass. It's kind of almost become part of your trainer's DNA. You know that you're going to have to kind of get some boiling hot water, some fairy, and sadly you're going to have to lose a toothbrush over this bad boy. It's that kind of scenario, wow, yeah, and actually cleaning it out, you see little bits of dried wheat husk from its dried biscuits and stuff and you're fighting the urge to vomit.
Speaker 2:Well, I am now, if I'm honest, I am as well.
Speaker 1:The problem with a good imagination is you can taste that dog shit. Sony appears to have cut Sackboy from its PlayStation Productions logo screen that plays before its movies. Don't panic, george, it's a sign of a bigger problem. The animation features multiple characters from across numerous first-party franchises such as Horizon, god of War, astro Bot and so on. Sackboy's been a big part of the gang up till now, but the latest PS Productions flick has removed him from the logo. As spotted by at RealRadic on X, the Until Dawn movie does not feature Sackboy, where he usually appears. This follows a delisting, an online shutdown of LittleBigPlanet 3, which was previously the only way to play the communities in millions of levels the millions of hours that were poured into that franchise over the last two decades. Aside from some free standalone Sackboy costumes, which are still inexplicably available on the PS Store, the LittleBigPlanet series is largely consigned to history, and the character's absence from the PS Productions logo is another nail in the coffin, while its spin-off of sorts, sackboy Big Adventure, is the latest title starring the crafty character and its charming 3D platformer, which you should check out if you haven't already.
Speaker 1:All these people come raving to me about Astro Bot, and that's the story RGT, and this is where I want to get stuck into it, if I may. All these people come raving to me about Astro Bot and I'm sat there thinking you had a mascot that could dress up as other characters from your other games, that had a reason to walk through worlds and explore. He also forced them into a 3D world of sackboy adventures and did all the cool things that people are raving about in Astro Bot right now. Now it was a launch title, so it must have been developed simultaneously within a silo at Sony HQ alongside Astro Bot.
Speaker 1:Now, obviously, media Molecule were busy, so they had nothing to do with Sackboy's big adventure, apart from supply assets et cetera, I should imagine. But terribly great game, very innovative. If people had played it. You know there's some levels that are set to music, where the whole game kind of pulses and vibes to the rhythm of the song. Things happen in the background, to the sort of chorus lyrics as they happen, and I thought I've been thinking this for a long time why, when did Astro, when did Astro Bot become the de facto mascot and when did we decide that we collectively hated Sackboy so much that we were going to literally kick him out of the family home.
Speaker 2:I'll play devil's advocate now. I mean, is Sackboy even relevant anymore?
Speaker 1:It's.
Speaker 2:Is he?
Speaker 1:Listen, dude, it's up to you.
Speaker 2:They've moved on. It's a new mascot now.
Speaker 1:Make him as relevant as you like. It's up to them to make him relevant.
Speaker 2:Hmm, and they decided they didn't want to.
Speaker 1:I suppose They've got Astrobot Sold a lot more copies more popular before, astrobots, ascendant sony, were doing a lot of surveys of users and basically asking them what their opinion of sackboy was. Now, obviously, that wasn't very favourable. Hence why we've got what I would call Alopecia Sackboy. He's got the same dimensions, he's got the same size head. He's got the same size body. He's got the same little legs and arms. He's literally Sackboy has unzipped himself, and inside all along was Astrobot. In fact, it's not hard to imagine that Sackboy oh, sony, I've just saved you millions Sackboy is Astro Bot.
Speaker 2:There you go. You answered your own question.
Speaker 1:Okay, so next bit of news, are we? No. In all honesty, though, to me Sack sack boy was a mute, which always works quite well from a marketing point of view, because you can't put words in his mouth. Therefore he doesn't need to be spoken. Therefore he's usable across the world without needing to relocalize the guy. Same for astrobot very cute, very small. Immediately I just felt like Sackboy never really got his turn in the barrel and he's been dropped where right now, nostalgia would peak him back.
Speaker 2:I suppose. So I mean he really peaked on the PS3. And then it's been a bit of a slow decline since. You're right, the PS5 game at launch is very good. Actually it's very underrated, that game. People talk about open world or more open-level 3D platformers but no one ever mentions the Sackboy game, and it is a very good game. It is good it is, but I don't know. I suppose they've astrobot seemed to hit. People really enjoyed him.
Speaker 1:Um, let me ask you this question if sack boys little adventure or sack boys adventure, or whatever it's called, had been free on the dashboard of ps5 and not a £70 purchasable game, would we have a different story here?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:You don't think.
Speaker 2:No, no, because I just think Astro Bot is the new sackball. I think it's moved on from him. I think they've gone to the next level of platformer. They've got the music, they've got the levels, they've got that space theme, they've got the and they've almost took sack boy, boosted it, made astrobot and that's taken it to the next level. I honestly think sack boy is he's dead, um, I mean he's, and removing him from the thing is a bit harsh, I suppose because he was a big part of the PS3 era for PlayStation.
Speaker 1:He's the mascot. Dude, he's the mascot.
Speaker 2:But I think he's gone. I think Astro Bot is now your mascot. Do you know what it reminds me of? This is my world.
Speaker 1:You know new guy been in the background and working socks off for 20 years, right. But because he's been working so hard, because he's been here so long, he just fades into the background as part of the furniture. Everyone's like yeah, he got his blood. It's five years ago. He just turns and does a shift. Now New guy turns up doing exactly the same work as other mate. They can't spare blooming sharrin' in him. There's one for the YouTube listener. They're sharr showering in it, absolutely embarrassing.
Speaker 1:Does that mean Sony's going to drop Astro Bot like a hot stone in less than eight years now?
Speaker 2:Well, if something comes along and does for Astro Bot what Astro Bot has done to Sackboy, which is better game, better controls, plays better, better story, better music, yeah, I think, then yeah.
Speaker 1:Are you suggesting to me that LittleBigPlanet 1 is less innovative than Astro Bot?
Speaker 2:No, I'm not saying it's less innovative that word, I'm saying this, but I think overall my personal opinion Astro Bot is a better game.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay. Well, any sackboy lovers out there, you know where to find me rgt. What's this? Our sony as a wider piece, our sony guilty of burning through their, you know, xbox. We kick them. Oh, that guy's bored of drawing Massachusetts helmet for 30 years. Yeah, okay, fair enough, but they don't do dirty on their heroes the way they do.
Speaker 2:No, no, you're completely correct. I always think if you have a mascot I mean, look at Mario if you have a mascot you keep him going. If you keep the quality of the games up, then they'll sell. But if you're just moving on to another studio every time that's come up with a new mascot, then that nostalgia sort of falls flat a bit, because as you're going through you've had three, four different mascots with PlayStation. You're not holding on to that same one. I think too right for Xbox. Grab onto Master Chief. Especially the first three, three, four games are superb. You know they. They made xbox. There's a. There's a lot to learn from what they've done with that and and and they rightly so they show it off playstation smudge. I mean, we had crash and sack boy and now we've got astrobot. You know we, they don't seem to have the same affinity to a mascot. It's more like they have a mascot on their systems.
Speaker 1:Astro Bot's poochy to Sackboy's itchy and scratchy, in my humble opinion.
Speaker 2:Wow, but yeah, no, I do agree with you on that. I think they lose quite a bit of identity by not grabbing onto a mascot and just supporting it all the way through.
Speaker 1:It's a shame. What is Sony's identity? Because they seem to reinvent themselves every time. When they launch they were the grown-up. You know you go to raves. You need PlayStation Hardcore. They'd wipe out.
Speaker 2:Crash Bandicoot turning up at Nintendo headquarters shouting. You know hey, mrot turning up at Nintendo headquarters shouting. You know, hey, mr Plumber Boy and all that. Where's Crash? Now you know he's technically owned, probably by Microsoft, so he's you know he's Phil Spencer's gimp.
Speaker 1:He's down in the cellar with a gag in. Literally just every time the door opens he just starts crying. He's like oh no, phil, uncle Phil, please come have a game Right now. Shut up.
Speaker 2:You know. So it's just odd with that, it's hard to you can link. You know, if you say Nathan Drake or you say Kratos, you know you link them to PlayStation, but they're not a mascot of PlayStation. Do you know what I mean? It's just a shame they haven't got that. It does lack identity because Mario, you know, is Nintendo Master Chief. Well, at the moment, you know, is Xbox. That could change very soon but you just know that he's an Xbox brand. You know he's even green. For God's sake, do you know what I mean? But yeah, they do lose, they do lose, they do lose it. You know, with that, I totally agree with that, that's a shame.
Speaker 1:I mean, crash is locked in a room with Banjo and Kazooie at the moment, isn't he? And Spyro and God knows who else?
Speaker 2:ex-mascots, bloody anonymous, yeah, you got conker, they tried, yeah, tried tried ringed playstation, but they blocked the number.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we don't want to know you anymore. Marcus Phoenix is sat there next to him like just gurgling and grinding. You got Spyro like that. What was I ever loved? Yeah what did I do some wrong? I know you rebooted me.
Speaker 2:No, I did not hit it up on a cable advance.
Speaker 1:Sly raccoons like that. Tell me about it, boys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've got a long road to go as yet, fellas.
Speaker 1:Your favourite just stumbles in the door. Nathan Drake, beer gut totally wasted. Where's the place with all the mascots?
Speaker 2:Tripped over Jack and Dax to sniff and glue on the floor. It's just a whole heap of wasted mascots. Right, let's get on to this next bit of news.
Speaker 1:This is found this on Nintendo Life Obviously in the corner with a load of food stuck in his fur, just like you guys don't know, the half of it Zool over there sniffing a chup-a-chup. Like you guys, you just don't even know.
Speaker 2:In the 90s, a load of old guys just washed up from the 90s were every single person on the bus Zool, all grey with a grey beard Trenchcoat on Zool with a Zimmer.
Speaker 1:I was quick as Sonic back in the day, boys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I honestly was. Now he stinks of yak urine.
Speaker 1:James Codd's lying there with a lawsuit from Penguin.
Speaker 2:He's got his that on a plate, but yeah, how do we get to this anyway? Next bit of story nintendo life. Uh, this is by liam doolan. Um nintendo switch system update 20.00 is now live. Here are the four patch notes.
Speaker 2:Switch to arrives this june and, as part of this, nintendo has some things it needs to prepare before the new systems arrival. This includes the release of new firmware update for the original switch today, which bumps the device up to version 20.0.0 and adds features to the home menu, including including virtual game card, game share and more. Nintendo has even made some changes to the system's icons. Apart from this, the ability to system transfer to Nintendo Switch 2 has also been added under system settings. Here are the full patch notes for this latest update, courtesy of Nintendo's official support page. This was released on April 29th 2025. The following icons are for new features that have been added to home menu Virtual game card, purchase, nintendo Switch digital software, dlc and some free software.
Speaker 2:I'd now virtual game cards and displayed in a list. In this menu, you can virtually load and eject virtual game cards between up to two Nintendo Switch systems. Virtual game cards can be lent to others in the same Nintendo account family group. For more information, see the virtual game card guide. Gameshare Compatible software can be shared from a Nintendo Switch 2 system to other nearby systems to play together. You can only play via local wireless and the Nintendo Switch 2 system must initiate game share. This feature cannot be used between two Nintendo Switch OLED or Nintendo Switch Lite systems. User verification settings has been added. Under user settings. You can restrict access to virtual game card menu by requiring entry of a PIN or signing into your Nintendo account. Online license settings have been added. When turned on, you can play, download software or DLC you've purchased while the system is connected to the internet, even if you don't have the virtual game card loaded. For more information, please refer to the details of the option of the system settings screen. Also, the Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Switch news icons colour on the home screen menu have been changed. Multiple save data can be selected and transferred at once in transfer your save data menu.
Speaker 2:System transfer to nintendo switch 2 has been added under system settings. Uh, an end system. You can perform a system transfer from your nintendo switch to nintendo switch 2 using local communication. For users that will lose access to nintendo switch before receiving nintendo switch 2, there is an option to upload a system transfer data to dedicated server which can then be retrieved on nintendo switch 2. After you upload your system transfer data to the dedicated server, nintendo switch system will be initialized to factory settings. So only perform this transfer if you are able to complete the transfer on Nintendo Switch 2.
Speaker 2:If you want to continue using your Nintendo Switch until you have a Nintendo Switch 2, we recommend completing the system transfer using local communication after you have required a Nintendo Switch 2 system. An internet connection and Nintendo account is required to complete both local and server-based transfer systems. For more information, see System Transfer from Nintendo Switch to Nintendo Switch 2. The appearance of some user icons have been updated. For more details on Nintendo Switch 2, see the Nintendo website. Note that the use of primary console has been depreciated to the transfer to the virtual game cards and a pass enabled console and will be used instead on a console set as pass enabled console for a user. All users of the console can access certain subscriptions or passes for some software and again, for more information, um, see how to set or change password and number console for a Nintendo account. So that is a bit of a monster, but we knew it was coming with what we got now, less than or about four weeks till the launch of the Switch 2.
Speaker 1:Well, the reason why I lobbed it in there, for many reasons, and I'll start at the top and I woke up the other morning and turned on the Switch and felt like I had a Switch 2 all of a sudden. Yeah, yeah, you know the graphical logo changes, the nintendo news section, the online section of the switch, different menus for the options, different. The overall look of the switch feels nice.
Speaker 2:Now you know everything's been branded to that red I even, um, I downloaded that escape from um misswood manor and suddenly it just said game card downloader with a little card going in. I thought what the hell's going on here? What's this all about Exactly, if you?
Speaker 1:notice there's an icon for a game card. Above all your games now.
Speaker 1:And if they're online store, that's filled in. If not, you've got to pop your game card in. Generally, I've been impressed. The one player I'm most impressed and this is the main reason for bringing this in here is the Switch store. Obviously, you and I have talked about the orange. That's gone. We're now a flashy red. We're in a store, a store that bizarrely, all of a sudden, has been curated with a Nintendo gold seal of quality. Now you have to dig to find the trash and the treasure and the nuggets are right on the surface waiting for us At last.
Speaker 2:At last. Eight years too late, but at last.
Speaker 1:This curation has come at the right time. The swamp needed draining before the Switch 2 came along.
Speaker 2:Especially with these virtual game cards a lot more digital. You know it's going to be a lot more digital people using the switch. So they needed to sort that and they've done it. To be fair, they've done it so and the.
Speaker 1:The other reason for this being here is they have made damn sure that their Switch business, switch 1 business, is scalable and transferable in the most easiest and frictionless way possible, because they cannot afford to lose users to this.
Speaker 2:I like this idea of if you're waiting, if you're getting rid of your Switch before you switch to, you can upload it to the cloud and they'll hold it there Like they thought about that poor dude or dudette that's doing the trading thing Like they can sell it now for X.
Speaker 1:But now they've got to go gameless for a couple of months while they wait for their Switch 2 to arrive.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They've considered every angle.
Speaker 2:Which did surprise me with Nintendo, to be honest, but I can understand from like you were saying they needed this to be a perfect changeover, really they, they, the hemorrhage of users from switch one to switch two they must be super nervous about because they've got quite.
Speaker 1:They've got now arguably their biggest ever install of active users, definitely, um, it's not like the wii or whatever, where people you know granny's, bought one for when little john Johnny popped around so he could do his wee boxing and whatnot, and it got turned on probably once a decade or something ridiculous. These Switch users tend to be a lot more active and they've become in some ways people's primary console but in some ways people's secondary console. They can't afford to lose. Hang on. The UCP cat, for some reason, is moaning, oh well.
Speaker 2:Is that Adam?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the only podcast that names a cat, adam.
Speaker 2:Yeah, come on, adam Jesus.
Speaker 1:Well, I've opened the door now, and it's just stood at the threshold. I got what I wanted. I got the interaction, I got the door open, I got my name read out on air.
Speaker 2:He's gone. What do you mean? Sack boy's dead? What are you on about?
Speaker 1:That's what he's here, oh what do you mean?
Speaker 2:Oh, you've got to. I get all my pets dressed up as my ex-loves. Come on, wow, that's a statement that needs remembering. Woo Writing that one down.
Speaker 1:Part of the law, yeah, anyway. So well done to Nintendo. I think they're at the moment they're handling the Switch with a real nice maturity.
Speaker 2:They are. I mean, they keep coming under a lot of criticism, but they're, you know I think this.
Speaker 1:I don't know where this criticism is coming from. Now, this criticism, I have to think. I've been thinking recently is this coming from people? A lot of the criticism has been oh, the Switch is too expensive, is it?
Speaker 2:No, I don't think it is.
Speaker 1:I don't think it is. I don't think it is. I genuinely don't think it is. I think it's quite a bit of kit for what you're paying.
Speaker 2:And in today's market, today's prices.
Speaker 1:Classic internet issue of people. This is going to sound this is a JD George moment, but I feel it needs a bit of an explanation. The internet's a strange place, one that we convince ourselves in some way reflects reality and current opinion. It doesn't at all. It allows vocal people, minorities, minorities to get very vocal, which convinces all. That's the current feeling. Uh, in the world. The barometer per se? It's wrong. It's absolutely wrong, because it amplifies the wrong noise. The noise about the negative negativity of the Switch 2 is based around the price. Look, I know that down there, 500 bucks, it's not that much, but hear me out is a big stretch for anyone and we're in hard financial times. I'm not even going to beat around the bush to say it 500 quid is hard to get hold of.
Speaker 1:But just because you're annoyed that you haven't managed to scrape together 400 pounds for the launch or are aware that it might take you a while to scratch it together instead of letting other people enjoy it, you maybe saw the writing on the wall and saved up or trading their switch or other consoles and games to get to this point why you ruin it for them yeah, I did see.
Speaker 2:Quite a few people I've seen on on youtube um have been overly critical of it. Um have then finished videos by saying, oh, I didn't manage to pre-order mine because you were trying to get one anyway. So are you just jaded because you didn't get one? I don't know. It just seems very odd to me. I mean, I know there's been a lot of people moaning about these virtual game cards. I mean, you can't moan about something you haven't used yet. Let's just wait and see. See what happens.
Speaker 1:Is it any different to a code in a box? Like no, At least you get something for it.
Speaker 2:No, and also, at the end of the day, this is what Nintendo's doing. If you don't like it, don't buy it. I mean, yes, that buy it. Yeah, we're into physical games. We are, but times are changing. You gotta admit that I love physical media, I love buying a game physically, but things are changing and you might not like that, but that's the way they go.
Speaker 1:And let me. Let me put some frame around that. I love collecting physical media, uh, or have loved collecting physical media. I'm currently in a bit of a strange place with physical media because I broke the chain when I got the Pro, didn't have a disk drive, got by, got an incredibly big library thanks to the generosity of PlayStation and the online package to this point. Hundreds of games I've also got premium At this point. Thousands of games I've also got premium At this point. Thousands of games combined. Thousands of game library Didn't need to really be downloading or didn't need to be buying anything really, and it was at that moment.
Speaker 1:You know, maybe Sony have noticed this, but the disc drive launched at £99 and it's been sold out everywhere and I now obviously the Switch 2 has come along the Scalper's got something better to be interested in. Sony dropped the price to £69.99,. I managed to pick one up and they had to stop. I was so happy. Finally this problem's been resolved. Attach it to the console pretty seamless experience. To be fair, nothing too arduous in it. It's always a little bit scary popping the vulva of a PlayStation 5 for the first time. Popping the vulva of a PlayStation 5 for the first time because the removable plates. They're not as removable initially as you first think they're going to be.
Speaker 2:No, there's a technique to it.
Speaker 1:It's terrifying and even when you know the technique, the first time you sort of delid a PS5, the pop.
Speaker 2:Is it a pop or is it a break? That's the thing.
Speaker 1:Either which way, the first time you de-skin a PS5, you feel like you've irreparably damaged it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So, apart from that being replicated, because my PS5 is well broken in now, stripped that back and cleaned it more times than I've had at dinners. This is the first time I've peeled the lid back on the 5 Pro and I was a bit like, oh God. Anyway, I got that on and it was seamless enough. You know some new legs and the thing looks great. Have I used this drive? Not really, not really. And now I'm starting to think hang on, hang on, hang on, I'm changing.
Speaker 2:You are changing. I still think you've done the right thing getting your disk drive because of the amount of physical media you've got and you've got a portal.
Speaker 1:Exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:But I think if you didn't need a portal and that was your main system did you need that disk drive?
Speaker 1:Dude, if you've got a portal and you've got premium and you've got a library, did you need the disk drive?
Speaker 2:Probably not man.
Speaker 1:Do you know what? Now it feels like an unnecessary inconvenience between me and the game. If I'm using the port, I'm away and I'm like, oh, I'm going to put Final Fantasy XVI in the drive. Cool beans, George. But what if you change your mind and you want to play Star Wars Outlaws DLC while you're away? Hmm, Hmm. Now I'm stuck.
Speaker 2:You need a six-disc changer.
Speaker 1:If only they did, if they did want to.
Speaker 2:Do you not think I'd be buying it? Sony, message me. Message me.
Speaker 1:My God over that.
Speaker 2:Imagine a massive CD Trying to change all the discs over.
Speaker 1:Well, one thing I did notice about the 5 to the Pro was the disc drive was so much quieter. My Mark I launch PS5's disc drive, even from launch sounded like a badly maintained twin-tub washing machine from 1964 being used today sans servicing, and it was loud, it was obnoxious. I always used to think you've done wonderful work on the fan sony. Shame that that's been completely ruined by the disk drive. Sounded like a stalling mark 2 diesel sierra.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my disk drive is only loud on the first sort of couple of minutes of install and then it just quietens right down. But that's that for when that first that disk in.
Speaker 1:Don't forget, once you've installed it and you power your console back on, for you know I'll play my console. Oh yeah, I'll play that game For the first two minutes of you playing that game off of disk, even though it doesn't need the disk, the disk drive wears up and then grinds and so it's an Eaton twin splitter with a clutch in backwards. It's a disaster zone. But the Pro and this removable disk drive fixes it. Rgt. I must shout that from the rooftops it is whisper quiet.
Speaker 2:Is it really? Oh, well done, oh, that's good.
Speaker 1:I did not expect it. I thought this was going to be a cheap disk drive.
Speaker 2:I just thought it was just the same disk drive. It was just modular. I didn't realise it was a new.
Speaker 1:Well, if it is, then what have they done?
Speaker 2:Bit of oil, bit of WD Lubed that bad boy up.
Speaker 1:Three weeks from now, mine's going to sound like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Final Fantasy 16. Oh great, here we go.
Speaker 1:I hope not, because it's been quite a nice experience Refined isn't it.
Speaker 1:That's a great term. Pure Xbox Told you we'd visit the Holy Trinity. It's my new teeth, forgive me for it. Fraser Gilbert reports Xbox One platform number one platform for Claire Obscure Expedition 33, but worse for average playtime, that's the Game Pass. Influence for you, effluence for you.
Speaker 1:Claire Obscure Expedition 33 attracted a massive audience on Xbox Game Pass when it launched last week, even despite the shadow drop of Oblivion Remastered. A couple of days earlier I did hear a lot of publishers get a little bit upset about that shadow drop of Oblivion Remastered. A couple of days earlier I did hear a lot of publishers get a little bit sort of upset about that shadow drop because they put weeks and weeks into preparing the oxygen supply for their game to have it absolutely ripped from its face because Oblivion Remastered just decided to appear. I think indie developers, majoritively, were the most sort of disappointed it is what it is Anyway as reported by the games business as majoritively were the most disappointing. It is what it is, anyway. As reported by the games business.
Speaker 1:New Ampere data has revealed that 45% of Expedition 33 players are on Xbox at launch, followed by 30% on PS5 and 25% on Steam. There's a similar situation for Oblivion Remastered, which racked up a whopping 47% of players on Xbox, 30% on Steam and 19% on PS5. Xbox was the number one platform for both games. Because of that Games Pass inclusion, 45% of Expedition 33 players were on Xbox, while 47% of Oblivion players were on Microsoft's platform. As mentioned, xbox Games Pass is the big reason why Xbox has become the number one platform for some players, and it's also why it's the worst for average playtime. Cloud Obscure Expedition 33 on Xbox has roundly racked up an average of 2.2 hours, while that number is double to 4.4 hours on both PS5 and Steam.
Speaker 1:Oblivion once again fares very similarly. There's nothing too unexpected about this, as loads of curious Xbox Games Pass owners will have tried Expedition 33 and bounced off it for whatever reason, whereas those who are buying it on PS5 and Steam are the game's target audience and obviously want to get their money's worth. Anyway, the good news is that oblivion remastered didn't affect clear, obscure expedition 33 too harshly, according to expedition 33's publisher, with kepler interactive senior portfolio director, stating that the launch went as well as it could have possibly done in our eyes, and the proximity to oblivion didn't seem to harm us at all. So, rgt, we've talked, the industry's talked. Many people have talked about Games Pass good or bad for the industry. We've talked about our own experiences with either Games Pass or PlayStation Premium, as it's now known, and I've directly talked about how taking a game from a free online service, one that you we need to reword this yeah, it's not free, it's not free.
Speaker 1:Taking your game from a subscription service versus paying the RRP for it mean that you mentally treat the game differently. From a personal opinion, definitely that has been borne out in the stats that we've seen reported.
Speaker 2:Downloads to playtime. Is the downloads almost a false figure? Really? People have got games where something new has come on. Loads of people have downloaded it. Not many of them have played it. Do you know what I mean? And if they have, they're bounced off quick. It's, yeah, it's, but going forward, is this going to be the way? Do you know what I mean? Are these subscription services? I mean I have premium. Do I download much off premium? No, no, no, I don't and it sounds stupid. I use the streaming functionality. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Even then, it's limited and I've said this before and I'll say it again I know I am bizarre to want to download a game from premium to my PlayStation 5 and stream it from there, but it helps with the ownership. I've installed this now. It's not just some throwaway piece of garbage on a cloud. No, you're right, I technically installed this now. It's not just some throwaway piece of garbage on a cloud.
Speaker 1:No, you're right I technically have this on my console, and I find that's one of the only ways where I can grip into it a bit more RGT, Because if I stream it from the cloud, my opinion of the game is already through the floor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I said this at the start of the show and I was saying I had Netflix syndrome. I was flicking through premium and just couldn't find nothing to play. You just get all this just random games, chucked in when you even try and filter it and then you still don't see what you want to see it's. It's such a weird way of gaming. I mean it's the same with tv. Are we used to it with tv a bit more now, probably, but I, but I mean it doesn't click with me.
Speaker 1:I had games to pass. Absorbing TV like this is totally fine. Even if a series is 22 episodes long and there's two series, that's 44 hours. Compare that to your Xeno playthrough. You don't even touch the side. You can't push content the same as other content, because that tv content is pushed in a different way. It's disposable. You can do it while you're eating your tea. You can do it while sitting there with your partner. She can be checked in, you can be checked out. She can be checked. You can be checked in, she can be checked out. It's totally different.
Speaker 1:Game requires you to maintain focus from start finish, otherwise it doesn't get finished. You need to be able to have some investment in it, else you're never going to push it forward. It's not something that's terribly sociable. At times they're getting better from a single player story point of view. They're good enough where a passenger player can still enjoy it, because the story beats the nuance, the emotion, the acting, the graphicals, the lot. The presentation is still enjoyable from a third party point of view. But TV doesn't have any of these issues. Tv doesn't have any bars to entry. It doesn't have a skill level.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you who I think has got this right, and that's Nintendo. You subscribe to their online service. You pay whatever it is that's cheap for the year £35, £40, whatever it is for a year £35 is quitter than it is.
Speaker 2:And they give you a library to go through. But it's a back catalogue of retro and it's just there on the side if you want to play it. But your main games you purchase. So you're still getting something for subscribing to them. But you're getting the retro, you're getting the N64, you're getting Mega Drive, you're getting NES, you're getting Super Nintendo. You've got all those games there, but they're not affecting the sales of the games that are coming out. I affecting the sales of the games that are coming out. I think they've got that happy medium and I think they're absolutely bang on with it.
Speaker 2:Do I like PlayStation Premium or Extra? No, I don't. Do I like Games Pass? No, I don't. It's just not for me. I know it's for a lot of people and I understand that's perfect. That's perfect for a lot of people. For me, I'm with you. If Xenobl, if I'd, if, if, if Cena Blade Chronicles X, had it been on a Nintendo service that I subscribed to and I downloaded it, I'd have done two hours of that and dumped that game. But I didn't. I paid 50, whatever pound for this game. So I wanted to push through and see what I could learn from this game, otherwise I wouldn't have gone back to it. I'd have just bounced off onto the next thing.
Speaker 1:You know and it well, it holds bizarrely that might be a me thing, but you know I think you know how we had to reframe my speech on the way into this because I said it's free. I genuinely believe that's the sales methodology behind these services no, you're correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, because people said oh, I got that down date for nothing. You didn't. You've probably only only downloaded two AAA games this year, but you've probably played £170 in subscriptions, so you're actually no better off from the games you would have actually bought.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So it's yes, there is that catalogue of games there. Are you playing them? Are you downloading all these 360 games and bits and pieces? Or you know PS2 games? Are you streaming ps3 games? I?
Speaker 1:would probably like to say not many people are I. You know, I was thrilled to see how the rumors are that we might even be able to download ps3 games in in the imminent future. I don't think it matters one jot. I was excited to see playstation 3 games launch on the service. Is PlayStation 3 my favourite PlayStation? Yeah, actually, maybe it is. Am I going to play them? No, why? I don't know. I've got the original hardware. Am I likely to fire that up and play it on there? No, you know, I don't know what's wrong with me. Oh gee, tom had it right the whole time.
Speaker 1:You know nostalgia's all right, but it's good for nothing. Nostalgia is going to fill a shed or a spare bedroom with stacks of old games.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and do you know what? If I sat down and attached electrodes to your nipples and tortured you, not only would you subscribe to the show immediately yeah, exactly this is how you resubscribe to the show immediately. Yeah, exactly this is how you re-subscribe to the UCP but you would swear to me on your firstborn child's life that you have every intention of playing these games. Sadly, the reality in your brain doesn't bear up to the reality you're never going to play these games.
Speaker 1:Not hoping how, and we're not playing them on the premium services. So what are we doing? Yeah, what are we doing.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, physical collection is nice to have in it. It's the thrill of the hunt as well as it is playing it, you know for me yeah.
Speaker 2:For me, the difference is On digital. I don't get that. I know some people will. The digital age people are coming through, they've probably got digital libraries. They've probably got emulation boxes racked up with thousands of games which they've collected and fair play um, I'm more of a physical media guy, um, but even so, I do play digital games, I do download digital games, but just, does a digital game on a subscription service mean as much to you as pre-ordering, buying that game and then playing it? No, it doesn't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but even the buying experience now has become poisoned, hasn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a click and a deliver to your door, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you used to be able to get excited, take the day off work. You still can do that, but it would be. It would be parenthesised by trying to stay up till midnight organising with your mates, your family members what time you were going to drive down into town to stand outside your local game store. While you were in there you could buy a little bit of tat. There might have been some pre-order shenanigans probably probably a rag. You know one of those things you tie around your head, probably something daft like that. But you know you locked it up because you're like oh, if it's free, give it me. I've stood outside on July afternoon at midnight. I damn deserve my rag. Yeah, at me. I've stood outside on july afternoon at midnight, I don't deserve my rag um yeah are you?
Speaker 1:there you're taking the pin badge and they're offering you the brady guide and you say, no, I don't need it. And then you're thinking maybe I do and it's only half price, or get it now, and you're giving me such a nostalgia vibe.
Speaker 2:Now I tell you, brady guides, getting the game. Oh, you're gaming props in the queue as well, because some guy was there like 30 seconds before you. So now I tell you, brady Guides, getting the game.
Speaker 1:You've probably had to substantiate your gaming props in the queue as well, because some guy was there like 30 seconds before you, so he's more of a gamer than you. So then you get into a bit of a chest out about. I've been a big supporter of this console and this franchise since day one. Mate, I'm the guy and he's like no, I'm the guy. You know, you can see it now, can't you that sort of drivel? That's all part of the shenanigans of playground battles of who's got this that the other love and not.
Speaker 1:And then you're walking back to the car and you're cuddling your console or the game close to your chest because it's midnight, there's drunken, crazy people about who might just fancy a slice of grabbing that game straight out. What's that? Oh, I'm got a loser boy. He's got kebab smeared all over his face, but he's calling the sober man a loser because he's clutching a piece of plastic silicon with a piece of silicon inside of it. Look at him, he's a piece of shit.
Speaker 1:So you sneak back to your car like some sort of shadowy, geeky Nader well, and you have to drive back where you imagine all the different things you're gonna get into. And you get home and, admittedly, the situation's been slightly depraved over recent years, because then you have to sit and look at instagram reels while you wait till four in the morning for it to download and finally install the day one patches. But yeah, you're up at four in the morning for it to download and finally install the day one patches. But yeah, you're up at four in the morning, you're ready. You get up and you slide into that game and lose yourself until you fall asleep, probably 20 minutes later. But you know, the experience was yours and yours alone. Yeah, that excitement now gone, you know, oh, oh, yeah, oh oh oh. New game's come out. New game's been announced. Don't forget to go on the digital store and pre-order it. Or what in case? What in case? A sellout of digital copies? Do yourself a favour, dude, honestly.
Speaker 2:I've never thought of it like that as well. Actually, why would you pre-order? Yeah, that's why they offered Berks a pre-order. Now innit on digitals, because there's no reason to pre-order digital.
Speaker 1:I didn't think of that. Why would you? Yeah, I've never thought of that. It's one minute past 12. If I don't get on the digital store in a minute, maybe the game will be sold out. Dude, have a word with yourself. Yeah, I didn't think of that Like when GTA San Han launched, as an example, there was hype that the game might sell out and therefore you might not be able to play it yeah it's my only way to play it, not now yeah why are you downloading it now?
Speaker 1:just download it in the morning. Go to sleep, you're right, in fact. Go to bed. Just download it in the morning. Go to sleep, you're right, in fact. Go to bed. Download it from your phone. It'll be ready for you when you get up in the morning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I can do that, yeah, yeah. And this is the only time pre-order will make sense, because instead of staying up till midnight for it to click and say bye, pre-order it now, pre-download it to your console, be ready for you in the morning. There are perks to either, right, but to me, saying goodbye to that whole and, in a way, how we have bought and done business and got excited about things in history is hard to let go of. But in the absolutely ravaged retail environment is the UK high street and I would argue, based on information that we've gathered up across the world, the retail brick and mortar stores are either struggling or they're done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, is that right. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1:Anyway, let me apply my red faction rag, as I say to you yeah, that's right. What are they called? Is it rags?
Speaker 2:I really don't know. I'd hate to comment on it really, in case I make a dubious slip.
Speaker 1:Mate, if you're that terrified of upsetting someone because you've called a triangular of cloth by the wrong name, as we use it as a description of some tat for a PlayStation 2 era game that most people have forgotten about and has no inclination to be any way attached to that merchandise that they give it away for free, can?
Speaker 1:you imagine working in. I don't even know who makes it. Thq the publisher. We need some pre-order stuff for this sort of shooter game. Destructible scenery it's a bit of a first. Yeah, set on Mars, it's a pretty drastic shooter. All right, yeah, you'd better pre-order 4,000 rags.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:The red faction logo nailed on it. Yeah, that'll be the decision-maker at the till Brian. Yeah, Absolutely great idea.
Speaker 2:Bang it, random merch.
Speaker 1:The most random merch Pre-ordering an Xbox 360? Don't forget your beanie and your badges. I'm somebody. I bet that hat's probably worth some. I bet that hat and those pins still on that piece of green cardboard is probably worth a bit of. Where are they? They're probably gone. Anyway, I'm sure that beanie's worth at least £3.
Speaker 1:Yeah, without a doubt that brings us to the end of the news. I think to everyone out there. I hope you've enjoyed that. I suppose the next thing to do RGT is to slip and slide into our subscribers, not literally, but into the readout. Yes, it's part of their tiers perks.
Speaker 2:Yep, I can't remember who started last. I'm sure I started this time.
Speaker 1:I don't even think it matters anymore. Rgt. Okay, sooner or later, one of us is going to say something absolutely outrageous. It's only a matter of time.
Speaker 2:It's going to be. Where did you?
Speaker 1:rather efficiently send me this list, and why am I not seeing it?
Speaker 2:It is on your WhatsApp.
Speaker 1:Is it Right Next to a picture of your PlayStation 5 taking a sup from a rather badly erected brewing area?
Speaker 2:People are not going to know what we're talking about. This was off air chat.
Speaker 1:Message in if it makes sense to you to have your brewing keg directly underneath your PlayStation 5.
Speaker 2:Nothing is sacred in this show, is it? Nothing is sacred?
Speaker 1:Right on to the subscribers list and listeners also tell me the legitimacy of having a brewing keg doing its business sat right between your legs in the front room.
Speaker 2:And also tell us.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the lounge that.
Speaker 2:George, have a decent night's sleep before we record, right.
Speaker 1:This episode will be a hallmark of the quality going forward for Season 6.
Speaker 2:Great, it's going to be a struggle. We start off with.
Speaker 1:We're doing this and we're managing a very slow decline.
Speaker 2:Oh, I would say fairly steep skis like this.
Speaker 1:It's irrelevant.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're heading at a fair pace.
Speaker 1:Every now and then people remind me that talking to the show like this is probably going to kill the show, but I feel it keeps the show humble.
Speaker 2:Yes, keeps us real.
Speaker 1:Relatable.
Speaker 2:There we go.
Speaker 1:Can you relate to a man in a PlayStation Primark hoodie? No. No I didn't think you could.
Speaker 2:No, not at all. What about?
Speaker 1:RGT coming in, looking like he's downloading the very pixels in front of our eyes. Look at your top.
Speaker 2:An Atari football shirt.
Speaker 1:Is that what that is?
Speaker 2:It's a football shirt. Well, it's not a team shirt, it's just ones they made. They're not a football shirt. Material. Atari with the Atari emblem on the back. Yeah, I don't know if you can see it For the Anywho, for the uh yeah, anywho, for the uh visual listeners, uh listeners, visual people there on youtube I don't know what it is with us, whether we've, like, formed too much of an audio, strong audio, listening.
Speaker 1:Those that are dedicated to the law and want to totally believe the places that we say we are, and therefore youtube would be like the antichrist to them, really, because they just see two middle aged men recording prostate in their own what looks like bedrooms, if I'm honest with you yeah no hang on a minute. George is recording from a super secret scientific nuclear bunker he's going back. Yeah, it is. Yeah, just don't check the YouTube out.
Speaker 2:No, don't watch that, just listen, just listen. Download as well. Don't stream it Download.
Speaker 1:Please download it because if you just stream it. Our service doesn't even see it as a listen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really weird. It's super frustrating.
Speaker 1:We're living in the dark ages. You've got to download it to your device. Look, you're supporting physical media by downloading this show, so stand up and be counted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, are they?
Speaker 1:Anyway, on to our subs list. Some of them have got a cassette of the show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, they have. Yes, it's a very, very, what should I say? Very special few, I shall say Very special few.
Speaker 1:I thought you were going to say very cottage industry of you, George.
Speaker 2:Cottage industry. Anyway, I'll draw a subs list. These are all the guys that very kindly subscribe to us every month to keep the lights on just about UCP Towers. And we'll start with our good friend from Sweden that is Seanox.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much, Seanox you've got to do the next one.
Speaker 2:I can't read my own fan club out ok, next up we have the one man George fan club. It is Carlos.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much again, carlos and you better do the next one, because he's actually a George fan.
Speaker 2:Is he?
Speaker 1:Paid full member firm returns. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, I didn't realise he was a fan of yours. Hmm, I'm not liking where this is going now. Anyway, yes, thank you very much. Firm returns, as always, very generous.
Speaker 1:Very personal friend of mine from my time in New York when we recorded the show over there with Bobby when we moved over there. So it would be wrong for me to read that.
Speaker 2:Okay, trestle's New York. Thanks very much, and don't forget, I'm part of the show as well, but anyway, Now this next one Over the top. Everybody sit down. No one can hear that you're shouting so loud your microphone can't hear everybody stand up, sir here we go. Here we go, everybody sit down. A little bit of Georgie volume control, here we go. No one likes a shouter good boy ciao.
Speaker 1:Thank you Antibiotics. Good boy Ciao.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Next up we have the wonderfully delectable Tingle Tuna.
Speaker 1:Now. Thank you, tingle Tuna. If I were to choose to be anything, anywhere, any time or place, I chose to be a hair foll anywhere any time or place. Certainly I chose to be a hair follicle on Digital Monkery's face. He's the deputy dog of the Discord. He rides in on a mule. It's a donkey and horse hybrid. They're hardworking, much like himself.
Speaker 2:He's the CEO of competitions on the Discord. No oh, of which I will say the last challenge accepted was a joint win between Ginge and Fat Zangief 87-0,.
Speaker 1:They done in a standard match Strip to the waist fight to the death kind of activity, it's what. I like to see To be honest, I got off on it like an emperor watching two men tear each other's throats down.
Speaker 2:I was leading for a while with 63 and thought do you know what? I don't think many can get higher than that. And then bang, both got an 87. 87, that is like a goal every 10, 15 seconds. That is amazing, absolutely unbelievable. So well done guys?
Speaker 1:How have they got the stamina for it?
Speaker 2:Great challenge as well by Digital Monkery. But yeah, that was good fun. You know people getting the scores going on.
Speaker 1:I think I believe that the football challenge was what Fat Zangief used as his toning material, because, although he calls himself Fat Zangief, he's actually looking like a ripped and toned individual. These days.
Speaker 2:Yes, Very much. Yes. He should be called Ripped Zangief From now on.
Speaker 1:I don't know how that's going to sound on the readout.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just ran that one through my head a bit and just thought hmm, yeah.
Speaker 1:Anyway, we're committing to it. So it's Ripped Zangief going forward. Right, I don't want him sat in the corner feeling like he's overweight.
Speaker 2:It's not right. Um. Next up, we have, by the way, thank you digital, my creator as well, for all what you do. Um next up, we have the gaming graham, who I would just say, if you are listening, mr graham, um, I've sent you a message for your address, please, for your subscription goodies, which are all packed and ready to go the thing with a gaming gram.
Speaker 1:Is such a high caliber individual, so sought after and liked, he has to sell himself by the gram.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly. So yeah, just if you are listening, just check your DMs and send me your address, then I can get all these sent out, because they're all ready to roll, all packed, all done. But anyway, thank you very much, my man. Okay, in that it gives me the opportunity all ready to roll, all packed, all done.
Speaker 1:But anyway, thank you very much, my man. Okay, In that it gives me the opportunity to thank the Alopecia border.
Speaker 2:Then we've got, then we've got. Bzzz Gernbrand, it's Boba Loba, do you know?
Speaker 1:what you know. He's had some what I would call plenty of good successes in his life recently. Every time I go on my phone I seem to have to trawl through, and I love it. Don't get me wrong Trawl sounds bad, but I seem to be greeted by his outrageous life now where he's almost like some sort of con celebrity. I think we need to get him a really long, almost like an oblong carnival plate discord manager badge that he has to wear to these official events um, but yeah, maybe get him a special ucp baseball cap because he is a bit partial to a uh baseball cap.
Speaker 1:So if we get him a UCP one. Dare I say it that if we're going to get him a baseball cap.
Speaker 2:Oh, hang on, you want one.
Speaker 1:No In the face turn no one saw coming for Jaded George. I think we need to look into getting some hers and sirs baseball caps for Boba Loba. I, jd George, have been kind for a change, but no, in all seriousness, it brings me great happiness genuinely to see Boba Loba doing well. So never has his catchphrase going brown been more prescient? See what I did there RGT.
Speaker 1:Who we got next I took time to bring you under my wig and you were like oh, I feel safe, I feel comfortable, let me look up here. I almost admire him, Slap.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel dirty and ashamed. Who's next?
Speaker 1:And the only reason why I did all that was to hurt you. I know Not people over there.
Speaker 2:Do you love seeing me in pain?
Speaker 1:Nothing brings me to the climax of a show more than that. Up next is my. And that's the show more than that. Up next is my that's the face you'll make. Up next is.
Speaker 2:God help me. Let's get this done, jesus.
Speaker 1:That even a red-headed stepfather would dream of. It's the immortal Ginge. Not only is a goal-scoring superstar hero, rumour has it, he can lift a couple of stone up with his little toe.
Speaker 2:Goal-scoring superstar hero. What a tune. You're a goal-scoring superstar hero. What game's that from? If anyone knows, put it in Discord. If you know what that's from.
Speaker 1:Yeah, RGT will send you a free game from his library.
Speaker 2:Can you stop telling me to send stuff to people?
Speaker 1:We've all decided that you don't need it anymore. You go digital, get it gone. Have we decided that? Yeah, I've decided for you. Oh, okay, mrs RGT gets somewhere to put a mower and somewhere to put a cup of tea down in the front room without fear that she's going to ruin a very rare copy of Dragon's Lair or something ridiculous. You finished. No man should have his lawnmower stored in his kitchen because it doesn't have room in his shed.
Speaker 2:Depends what your priorities are. Right Next up we have the Lord of Darkness, which is the wonderful and sexy Harvey retro. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:If you need art doing, yes, there's demand to see.
Speaker 1:This is how the UCP would do an advert. You want a drawing, doing you know doodle, something like that. You want to refresh your whole business. I'm talking. You're the vice president at B&M. You're sat there thinking I don't like the look of those letters anymore. I need something new. Harvey Retro, enjoy you summing up in a heartbeat and it'll be amazing. Yep, in fact, so good that they're rumored now to be looking at applying a decal of the ucp's new artwork over the sistine chapel I did hear that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did hear that up next, fresh from the southern leg of her world tour of promotional events for the UCP. He said Emma, are you there? Nice to have you live on the show. Emma, where are you? Cape Town, okay, fantastic, looking great. A little bit of a delay, obviously, with the satellite. We're using the old technology. That's great. Emma, just stand up for me and spread the T-shirt out. The logo's looking great. This should do us a world of good. So, thank, you for that. After Cape Town, Rio de. Janeiro.
Speaker 2:After having a chat with her the other day, I did have to try and explain to her why she's currently on a world tour that she's quite confused about, because she's just working down the road.
Speaker 1:She's a UCP promotional events man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's a bit worried. You had her confused with someone else. But I was like no, no, it's just the mind of George. Go with it, go with it. What do? You mean mind, the mind of George.
Speaker 1:What do you mean by that?
Speaker 2:Well, a very dark, twisted, weird, hypnotic trippy place.
Speaker 1:All of those items lined up together into one sentence Just through those words as the analysis of my destruction tell me why Emma Sharp live from Cape Town was any of those things. Why would that be a twisted hallucinogen?
Speaker 2:Because you fantasise that she's on a world tour. She's in Cape Town showing you her T-shirt.
Speaker 1:Although fantasise would be a great word to use, vocabulary-wise from the dictionary, it does sort of. It does cast what I would call sexual connotations to this, which I don't think are required.
Speaker 2:Who's next?
Speaker 1:My phone has gone black because I've talked for so long. Ah, now here's a man who knows all about everywhere apart from somewhere, and that's Berlin, because he's nowhere near it, the immortal, great. Thank you, sir yeah, thank you great it does me great happiness to see forever skies on the playstation store from definitely all the work on the first page, you know it's yeah that's our boy definitely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well done, well done, greg. Great work there. Next up we have oh no, I'm not saying you. Yes, mum, yes.
Speaker 1:It's too late, You've had it. It's Mumsy Jesus, yeah it's Mumsy.
Speaker 2:See that. No, george has done it now, god damn it. Yeah, sorry, george.
Speaker 1:It's Mumsy, by the way, up next. It's only right and proper that your ego hears this Chest out. I have one man. This guy has a fan club which the name suggests more than one person. Coach load, I think you'll find 38-seater bus, 37 of which seats are empty. The other one is the driver, the RGT fan, which is me. I'm driving my own bus into town. Yeah, going brand downtown, who's next?
Speaker 2:Well, we have the hardest man on the internet, which is Pete Brocklehurst, the cinderblock juggler himself. He didn't throw at school sports day, he didn't throw javelin, he threw an RSJ and he got the school record.
Speaker 1:Now, I don't know what school day you're talking about, because I thought you were going to tell me that he threw a wobbler.
Speaker 2:That was the day he didn't get a medal, threw a wobbler.
Speaker 1:That's pretty heavy RGT if you want this to be For a wobbler Up next. Some ride him like a bike, but he's a man with more respect for his morals than that, so he changed the name via depot to Simon Pryke.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you. You've tried to skip one there, haven't you? I just noticed that. So I will do. I will do loving my hate and Miss Billy Marmite. Thank you, billy. Which leaves you. Which leaves you with the new.
Speaker 1:And how do you want me to give me the sort of Well?
Speaker 2:you've got to go full bore and you want me to Give me the sort of Well, you've got to go full bore and you've got to say ripped.
Speaker 1:Give me a bit more setting when am I. Is this my first Zangief?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll figure you your first Zangief, and it's a ripped one. Yeah, ripped Zangief. Dungeon chains, candles Away, you go.
Speaker 1:My first ever one is in a dungeon with candles.
Speaker 2:Okay, so to be honest, with you.
Speaker 1:I'm a bit terrified. It's probably a bit like this yeah, oh, oh, I'm Zangief.
Speaker 2:Your microphone's still trying to cut you out because it was so disturbed with what I heard.
Speaker 1:I think. To be honest with you, I think if anyone had their first ripped langheaf in a dungeon with candles and chains, First time for everything. Yeah, I think I got quite close to what that would sound like if I'm honest yeah, definitely the guilty is at the end as well. I kind of took it a bit too method, if I'm honest with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was bored and took it a bit too method, if I'm honest with you. Yeah, I was bored and I'm feeling a bit wrong.
Speaker 1:Only just Okay, with all that said and done. Everybody knows and this is meant to be a quick show we haven't got enough time left in a day. Right now we can't go home, they can't carry on with their working week, they can't get out of the car right now and go in and tell their loved ones how much they care for them. They're being buoyed up and, you know, re-franchised by the latest episode of the UCP. They know that they can't do that. Can I ask you what you're hoping to play for this gaming?
Speaker 2:week. Pretty much all the above what I said. Hopefully what I was playing. Xeno must get back into it. Escape from Mistwood. Hopefully that'll fix itself. Otherwise I am trapped there Bit more Evercade. But I've also got a simulator game coming this week.
Speaker 1:I think it's this week, so I should be getting into that. Hold up now. What is this game?
Speaker 2:farming simulator on the Mega Drive.
Speaker 1:Not what I expected.
Speaker 2:It's better than I expected 16-bit version I ordered from them, so I think that's coming. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to trying that.
Speaker 1:I can get on board with that. I cannot get bored with the c64 version on evercade absolutely not.
Speaker 2:It's disgusting have you played it? It's immoral oh, that's off. Someone's put a lot of hard work into that it is.
Speaker 1:It's beautiful, but if you're going to get any version, surely you're going to get the 16-bit Desert Strike version.
Speaker 2:Why not? Yeah, but me and you would say that. But there's obviously a lot of fans of 8-bit stuff. They like it, you know. So it appeals to both. It's been quite popular. But anyway, I've ordered a 16-bit physical one physical cartridge, so I've got that coming to try get the retro on set up, get it on a big TV and get me a plough and by.
Speaker 1:The only Steady. The only thing about it is the feels. Just don't look big enough.
Speaker 2:No, no, it's obviously going to be limited for the hardware it's running on, but we'll see, we'll see. I'm looking forward to trying it.
Speaker 1:No, I'm excited. I didn't know you'd bought that and I didn't realise what I'm desperate for.
Speaker 2:I did send you a link to it I know, I think you ignored me.
Speaker 1:I didn't ignore you. I just didn't want it on the Mega Drive. I wanted to play it on Switch.
Speaker 2:Oh, can you get a port of it on the Switch, the 16-bit one?
Speaker 1:Why can't you All?
Speaker 2:right, there's no getting angry. It's not my fault, I didn't make it.
Speaker 1:I'm furious, jeez, I've got to go up in the loft. I've got to get all the wires out. I've got to drag a CRT down. That's probably my death sealed, isn't it? In the local Farmington newspaper, a man dies after falling TV wrapped around his neck and a Mega Drive lodged in his lower colon.
Speaker 2:Sort of slightly deformed Max Headroom Clutching a freshly delivered time travel mystery Clutching.
Speaker 1:a freshly delivered copy of a game for Mega Drive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, from 1989.
Speaker 1:What's going on. You know Bergerac's going to be very confused when he comes to investigate that I'll see for that.
Speaker 2:Or you just buy that Mega Drive that you were talking about, £45. There you go, bang it on your big TV.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh there's this how much is this farming simulator on Mega Drive £50?
Speaker 2:£40. £40.
Speaker 1:So £95.
Speaker 2:All in To play the premium edition of Farm and Simulator.
Speaker 1:The scary thing is I've got money, god.
Speaker 2:That's the Mega Drive and Farm and Simulator ordered. If they've got any copies left, I don't know, because that was a timed thing, oh God, so you might have missed out on that. If they've got any copies left, I don't know because that was a timed thing so, oh god, so you might have missed out on that. But check the link.
Speaker 1:we've got this massive market of potential untapped Mega Drives out there. What are we going to do?
Speaker 2:limited run I don't think it's a limited run. I think they make it really hard to get hold of well, it's not hard to get hold of if you're just on the ball when I sent you the link, there you go. I mean, it's not a bit round the bush?
Speaker 1:I mean you use the Mega Drive. What's the likelihood you're using the internet. It's slim to none, isn't it? So how do you know this exists?
Speaker 2:Well, exactly.
Speaker 1:You're sat just rereading your last copy of Mean Machine, hoping that game comes out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I ordered a postal order.
Speaker 1:From Lee's Games or whatever it was called in the back.
Speaker 2:I had to sellotape the coins in.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Sending 100 quid in pound coins, Postal Daddy's back put out. Is that all you're hoping to pay?
Speaker 2:by the way, yes, pretty much, yes, pretty much.
Speaker 1:And I'm away promoting the show. So I've got my cloth sack and my couple of gallons of water. The only thing I can carry under my sweaty armpit at that point is a Switch with a copy of the Grand Prix Manager downloaded on it. I forgot you're away promoting the show.
Speaker 2:We've got a good show next week as well. A different one as well next week. So have a listen in. That's going to be a good one next week. Not that these aren't good, but something different so have a listen next week.
Speaker 1:What are you?
Speaker 2:saying Huh, what are you saying?
Speaker 1:Said it's going to be good next week and that's all we have time for, as always. Thank you for your time. Look forward to the pleasure of speaking to you again next week. Until then, happy gamering. Remember, there's nothing wrong with being given the unofficial controller controller. It's what you do with it that counts. See you, rgt later.