Hot Button

Today we take a trip back to 2021 to have a concerning conversation as well as share some insights on the insecurities and impermanence of online video game ecosystems. This along with witnessing, in two different examples, the worst of what can happen when your once beloved property is taken over by the dregs of the internet.

The annual VGAs have officially concluded. This week we give a play-by-play of the night’s events as well as our thoughts on every major reveal and announcement. This along with the tallying up the results of who in the podcast room made the most accurate predictions of them all!

Awards season is upon us! Today we place our bets and personal picks as we run through all the main categories set to presented at Geoff Keighley’s big show. Who’s chosen group of nominees will come out on top? Tune back in next time to hear which one of us is crowed the winner!

Five years! Can you believe it? Take a trip through time with us this week as we check back in with all our past episodes and update a half decade plus of some of the biggest stories in gaming!

Get over here! At long last, we cover the third great pillar of defunct American software publishers! From the arcade classics to seventh gen sleepers, we take a look at everything these dead kings of the “B” game threw at us. The hits and the misfires! These folks left quite the mark on our industry. So allow us to take you on a guided tour of their humble beginnings, rise to stardom, fall from grace, and eventual collapse.

Halloween is now upon us… therefore it’s time the podcast tackles what is likely one of the most distressing stories to ever find its way into gaming history. Today we explore the tragedy and mind of an artist faced with the unimaginable. So you best be prepared for our discussion of death, conspiracies, aliens, PC adventure titles, and psychobilly rock music?

In what might be the most unusual kick-off of our Halloween season, on this episode we examine five separate instances of when developers used actual real images of the recently deceased in their video games and why.

It’s another Hot Button commentary track! Now with more schlock! Sit down alongside us and hear our real-time thoughts on the only 1994 kung-fu action flick to be based off of a premiere fighting game franchise from Capcom, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme! You know the one! So be properly prepared for when we will soon get into the crazy production of it all in the coming weeks!

We did it, folks! It’s our 100th episode! And boy did we save one of the best topics to celebrate it, because it is time for us to remind the world of when a group of dangerous Swedish mobsters clumsily attempted to infiltrate our favorite industry with one of the absolute worst gaming handhelds ever created! There’s twists, there’s turns. Get ready for an exciting adventure, filled with guns, drugs, car crashes, sellout celebrities, and ofcourse… endless stupidity!

You’ve heard the episodes! Now we go straight to the source! On a very out of the ordinary Hot Button this week, we sit down and have a chat with writer Alyse Knorr about her GoldenEye 007 entry for the highly regarded Boss Fight line of gaming-focused books. We discuss everything from our personal experiences with the shooter that started it all, to her one-on-one talks with the Rare crew, to what it was like to collect so much hard-hitting research that made our series possible!

The thrilling conclusion to our GoldenEye trilogy is here! Today we reflect on the powerful legacy it left behind and explore the future it built for everyone involved. From Perfect Dark to TimeSplitters to full-blown remakes and remasters, oh my!

We’re back to continue on with the tale of how one of your favorite childhood classics came to be! In our story’s middle chapter, we’ll take you through the rest of GoldenEye’s fascinating development as the crew at Rare prepares for its monumental launch onto the 64 and into our hearts.