I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 next week! We remember Vince Zampella, who we tragically lost this week. He was a force in the gaming industry, even if you weren't someone who regularly played the games he brought to us. Nvidia has announced that a 100 hour per month limit is coming to ALL GeForce Now customers starting January 1st, where previously it was only for new subscribers. I took a look at Daytona USA VR in VRChat and discussed why VRChat is the metaverse billionaires wanted.

I'm hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 the first week of January - tune in! I'm also hosting the English Restream of RTA In Japan Winter 2025 THIS WEEK! Reviews are out for the Commodore 64 Ultimate, and I wish I had bought one earlier so I would have it now. The Video Game History Foundation has released a bunch of ROMs of the 90's era Sega Channel, so you can relive the 90's goodness on your own emulator. Some of Arcade1up's assets have been sold to competitor Basic Fun! who entered the home arcade business earlier this year. The Indie Game Awards have revoked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's awards due to the use of generative AI in development. Then we take a call about generative AI usage in the world.

I'm going to be a host at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, and I can finally announce when! I'll be hosting Mario Kart World, Jak 3, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Super Metroid, and maimai DX PRiSM Plus! The rest of this episode is actually about our trip to Orlando's theme parks, focusing on Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe, but we do talk a little bit about the newer rides at the Disney parks. We also take a call to talk about Ranma's trip to Super Nintendo World in Japan.

I finally built the LEGO Game Boy, and I go through the elements that it has and the different ways it can be displayed. The USS Enterprise LEGO set came out on Black Friday, but there is a bad typo on the stickers. Tim Sweeney believes Steam should not require developers to disclose if Generative AI was used to make their games, since he claims everyone will use it eventually. Nintendo is buying a Bandai Namco studio in Singapore that assisted with game development. Then we take a caller to talk about the Saudi Arabia influence in the newly resurrected Overwatch League.

There were several debuts on this day, such as Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, but also the final episode of Orange Lounge Radio was done right after my show, and we say goodbye. I will be hosting at Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 in January! Schedule will be posted in mid December. I am a sucker for the Picross series of nonogram games on the Nintendo Switch, and there are two new games celebrating Capcom and SNK, but they are twice the price of their predecessors. A US Lawmaker has taken aim at the use of Generative AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and calls for regulations to protect jobs. Vedinad, a nominee for Best Debut Indie Games at The Game Awards, has withdrawn his nomination because Megabonk is not his debut indie game release. Then we talk to Rob about Orange Lounge Radio: The Final.

I checked out the Atari 50 Namco DLC and was pleasantly surprised about how well it treated the Atari 2600 Pac-Man port as the programming masterpiece that it is. Valve has announced three new pieces of Steam Hardware to come out in early 2026 - a new Steam Machine, a new Steam Controller, and the successor to the Index VR device, the Steam Frame. Then we talk to Rob about Atari 50 and finally watching the end of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection "dokumentary" and who was left out of the stories.

I did in fact get the Star Trek: Strategic Operations Command tree ornament from Hallmark, and I realized Hallmark is my Funko Pop with regards to spending on geek trinkets. Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed six months, and I believe it is because they fired key employees in an effort to bust unionization efforts at Rockstar North. People have spotted a "PC Cross-Buy" icon in the PlayStation Store. Digital Eclipse is launching a new Atari 50 chapter about the Namco partnership, including talking about the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. Then we talk to Rob about the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection and the Atari 50 collection, as well as the final month of Orange Lounge Radio episodes.

I did get the Hallmark Xbox 360 ornament, and it does not red ring. Digital Eclipse's Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is out, and while the documentary is great, it isn't the main focus, and apparently the online play is falling very short of expectations. Nintendo has won a lawsuit against a pirate who streamed leaked games. Nintendo has lost a patent claim in Japan that it was using to go against Palworld - for now. Then we talk to Rob about Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection and Dragon Quest I+II HD-2D Remake.

25 years ago today, the PlayStation 2 launched in the US. I recount my lonely camping out at a local store that nobody knew had PS2's, only to get a PS2 that didn't work. Once Upon A Katamari is a new entry in my favorite game series, and reviewers love it but there's an aspect of it I'm not as much a fan of. Microsoft has told the Xbox division that they must make 30% profit margins, something that no game company has been able to do. This explains why Xbox has made the decisions they have made for the past year. Then we talk about how Microsoft has opted all users of the Xbox Game Bar on PC into a Microsoft Copilot feature that periodically takes screenshots of your gameplay and sends it to their AI for learning - even if it's a game you're developing and under NDA.

I spend a lot of time in this episode telling you about Blippo+, the FMV art project originally on the Playdate console but now on Steam and Switch. It's not for everybody, but it might be for you... But first, we talk a little bit about my time with a (company owned) Meta Quest 3 VR headset, and why I'm still being a sucker and buying the Nintendo Switch Online's Virtual Boy plastic case. Atari has announced an Intellivision console that will actually ship - the Intellivision Spirit - with 45 games. No cartridge port, though. Then we talk to Rob about TRON: Ares (we haven't seen it yet) and the Intellivision Spirit.

I give my early impressions of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles after revisiting it for the first time in decades. Microsoft has stated that they are still committed to making traditional consoles. Nintendo has sued a moderator of a Switch piracy subreddit. Then we talk to Rob about Tron: Ares and the upcoming final episode of Orange Lounge Radio.

EA is being purchased by private investors in 2027, and will immediately be saddled with $20billion worth of debt when the deal closes. (EA made $7.5billion in revenue in 2025.) There is a vulnerability in all games using the Unity Runtime released since 2017, so all of those games must be patched before some systems will be allowed to run them. Microsoft has changed up the Xbox Game Pass system to incur higher prices, meaning it is no longer the best deal in gaming. Then we talk to Rob about Game Pass and why it might be a failing of Xbox leadership.

We have an update about the game preservation story from last episode with some more context on why this might not be as big of a disaster as we first claimed. EA was rumored to be going private by being purchased by several investors representing Saudi Arabia. (This was confirmed the day after we recorded this episode.) Doug Bowser announced his retirement as the President of Nintendo of America. Microsoft has announced that there is yet another price increase on Xbox consoles thanks to "macroeconomic conditions." Then we talk to Rob about the music festival I went to last week and how I'm too out of shape to attend music festivals.

The Virtual Boy is making a comeback on Nintendo Switch Online - but you'll have to buy an expensive piece of plastic or cardboard to use it. A devkit and prototype game collection was seized by UK police, and preservationists are fighting to get it back. (There's more to this story that came to light after recording this episode.) Nintendo has been awarded new patents on gameplay revolving around Pokemon battles - but could be used for more general things like summons in JRPG's. Then we talk to Rob about Donkey Kong: Bananza.

I'm back from Dragon Con and got to moderate some panels! I also talk about the artist who was kicked out of artist alley for selling AI art and explain exactly why they were kicked out and exactly why (and which) police were involved. Hollow Knight: Silksong released and broke the internet - and maybe makes a great case as for why digital preorders should actually be a thing. Some indie developers are upset at Silksong's $20 price tag because they can't afford to sell their game for $20 and it isn't as feature rich as Silksong. Then we talk to Rob about Dragon Con.

I will be at Dragon Con in Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend, moderating Dragon Con's first ever Speedrun Showcase, speaking with the Dad of Boy himself Christopher Judge, and moderating a panel with the cast of SYFY's The Magicians! (Sadly, the Mortal Kombat panel was dropped from the schedule the day after this was recorded!) Sony has raised the price of all models of the PS5 by $50 in the USA due to the tariffs. Gamestop made a PR move saying they would cover the difference if you traded in a last gen console - but that deal was only for 24 hours. Steam now calculates the review score based on reviews in your spoken language to prevent review bombing from other territories - but they give you the option to go back to including all reviews. Then we talk about games that people were excited for at Gamescom, and to Rob about Dragon Con.

I will be at Dragon Con on Labor Day weekend - and I couldn't talk about my schedule as we were recording, but its out now if you go look. Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development team successfully formed a union! Gamescom is bigger than it ever has been before, and it's a model that ESA should have tried with E3. Then we talk more about Dragon Con and why it's different than other conventions.

Sony has announced that the PS5 has sold over 80 million units, which is better than anyone expected. Sony also said that live service games were not going so great, but they are pushing ahead with their plans. Nintendo has denied speedrunning marathon RTA In Japan permission to showcase any Nintendo games. Then we talk to Rob about UFO 50 and Nintendo's survey about why people like physical games (and did not offer my reason as an option!)

We first hear from a viewer about the Microsoft Movies & TV store going away and why they are particularly disappointed in its removal. Itch.io is currently seeking new payment processors to replace the ones who are forcing content guidelines on their service. Itch.io has started to reindex free content that they originally pulled, since you don't need a payment processor to distribute that content. Nintendo is raising hardware prices of OG Switch hardware and some Switch 2 accessories, but not that of the Switch 2 - yet. Then we talk with Rob about how ESPN8: The Ocho should feature speedrunning and why we think esports hasn't really broken into the mainstream despite valiant efforts by the industry.

July 24, 2005 was when the first episode of this podcast was broadcast live via Shoutcast internet radio, so we spend some time looking at how the last 20 years have been with this show. Itch.io has deindexed every title that had sensitive content on its storefront, in response to payment processors who have given in to very small activist groups. Xbox has announced that some titles that were going to be $80 will now be $70 instead. Then we talk to Rob about 20 years in podcasting and $80 titles going away - for now.