Update on Future Production
Right now I have no plans to produce more episodes of the show. Part of it is because I don’t think the show has caught on like I thought it would, but more so I do not have the drive/time to to produce the show at a quality level I think it deserves. From NeoGAF to twitter, even the recent kirby episode didn’t get much attention (still 4,000 downloads which is regular). One of those “Is anyone even listening to this show” thoughts came into my head. It isn’t the Patreon support, but with The FitCast I am driven to put out quality shows each week because the show literally pays my rent now. I have to admit that.
With the little game time I do have these days, I have been trying to play through some of the games I have purchased the last few years and put off like Dragon Quest VI and currently Etrian Odyssey Untold. And it has been a lot of fun to talk about current game stuff with the guys at Player One Podcast. Nice to have some place to campaign for the smaller New 3DS coming to the United States. How the hell is it not offered on Nintendo.com at least? It makes not sen… Not the time or place for that discussion…
I do still want to do shows on Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Thunder Force III, Shinobi, a few Saturn games, and some N64 stuff, but again, the drive isn’t there.
A part of me feels like that 60+ episodes I have produced has said what I wanted to say with the show. I got to meet some great people in and out of the industry, and promote my belief that these shows shouldn’t be a pessimistic negativity fest like some of the games media today.
With all that being said, episodes may pop up here and there. I am still dead set on doing two movie episodes for the show for fun with “Flight of the Navigator” and “Hackers” (which has it’s 20th anniversary next week!). Also last night I got an email from friend of the show Mike Mika to talk about some cool stuff going on with him including the Mega Man Legacy Collection.
I really want to say don’t expect regular episodes, but keep that podcast subscription active because you may get surprised with a new episode in your download queue.
Thank you so much for everyone that has supported the show, especially the ones supporting the show through Patreon and/or being vocal on Twitter/NeoGAF/Etc.
As one if the 4000 or so listeners, I would like to say thank you for what you have done with the show and all the time you put into making it. I is my favorite of the podcasts that i listen to. I look forward to whatever episodes pop up in the future and hope you continue to make regular appearances on P1P. Good luck with your future endeavors and although I am saddened by this news I am glad you are smart/brave enough to do what makes you happy in life.
Well I’m super bummed to hear this news, Kevin. I’m a big fan of the show having listened to every episode nearly from the start. I’m too old to have played most of the games you discussed when they came out originally but the optimism you and your guests brought to the discussion was infectious. So many of the other podcasts are just steeped in cynicism at a time when gaming is as good or better than its ever been. I wish there was something I could say to change your mind. Fingers crossed that you’ll have a change of heart. Thanks.
P.S. I also spent my formative years wandering the corridors of the Liberty Tree Mall, blowing my precious few quarters in Aladdin’s Castle. Danvers, represent!
Mark,
I totally remember that arcade at the Liberty Tree Mall! I think it is where Bed Bath and Beyond is now… Whenever I mention EBGames/Babbages on the show it is the one that is now Gamestop. There was also an arcade across that in the mid 90’s after the other one shut down.
Thanks for all the kind words!
Unfortunate as this is one of my favorite podcasts. (It actually outranks Giantbomb for me, and that is saying something!)
Part of me wonders what could have been to get the word out more. Perhaps uploading the podcast to youtube with random video you you playing the game with the background might work. (I know I have a few podcasts that do that, Shoddycasts GNN) Just food for thought.
Thanks for all the work Kevin!
Man, I’m really sorry to hear that the show will be on hiatus. I was really looking forward to the Panzer Dragoon II Zwei episode too.
Kevin, your podcast is one of the most positive retro-gaming shows on the net. Heck, any podcast that doesn’t crap on the Genesis/Mega Drive sound chip is tops in my book! Speaking of soundtracks, it was also nice getting your input on the different gaming soundtracks you picked up, definitely gonna miss hearing that.
I’ll be sure to check in on the website from time to time to see if any Gaiden episode pop up. Thanks for putting out a quality product.
This is pretty unfortunate to read as this is hands down my favorite video game podcast, as free advice goes it is worth what you paid for it but none the less here I go with some thoughts on the matter.
There are many reasons to do what you have been doing with this podcast and none are necessarily exclusive from one another, the fact is if you are tired of doing it then don’t because you should be happy. 🙂
That said if you enjoy doing these for whatever reason be it a love of classic gaming, talking about classic games with others, the thrill of having tons of listeners or financial one fact holds true.. not releasing new episodes is without a doubt going to take the above factors in the opposite direction and not improve on your original motivating factors.
Regardless I wish you the best!
I understand the drive issue. Between my work and relaxing with gaming I hardly have any time or drive to work on my personal pet projects. That’s life I guess. Thanks for all the podcasts either way man, I work from home and really need podcasts to help me focus. You’ve definitely helped entertain and keep me productive many times. Good luck with everything else man!
Seeing Liberty Tree Mall mentioned, people of Kevin’s age don’t realize what they missed from 1980-1982 there. In addition to that mall being the dominant, successful one (you could shoot a cannonball through the then-North Shore Shopping Center with little danger of hitting anybody), you had Aladdin’s Castle at one end, independent Game Tech game store in the middle (where that 90’s arcade ended up), and Lechmere at the other end. Lechmere had this fantastic glass-enclosed room that was the game department, where, in its early days, they had up to three of every game console up and running. It was like a free arcade and was almost always packed. If you hit during a slow time, there was no problem just asking the employee to switch out a machine’s cart to what you then wanted to play. Simply fantastic. I know I ended up playing more two-player Intellivision games there than at home.
Sadly, as 1983 arrived the Lechmere game room devolved to more restrictions, with some of its tvs hooked up to laser discs (Jaws 2 got a constant workout), while Game Tech employees played Frisbee with each other in their customer-free store.
I spent a ton of time in Lechmere’s Laserdisc room watching Back to the Future. Same in that video game department. I remember they had one of those 10 game NES kiosks. So many memories of that place before it shut down.
I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the time spent on the podcast. As a huge Sega fan growing up it was awesome to hear the oft-neglected (especially on retro game podcasts) company get it’s due. You even got me to finally buy a Saturn and upgrade my consoles to RGB.
Best of luck to you and cheers
My sentiments are the same as the folks above, hate to see the podcast go. Honestly one of the best gaming/ retro podcasts availible. Shit, I’m subscribed to the fitcast after hearing about it on Back in my play. I love the format and some of the great guests that have been featured on Back in my play. Super insightful and informative stuff. And I can say that I’ve been steered to make several purchases based on some of the games that you have featured on the podcast. Hell, I have a famicom now and have my sights set on Gimmick! But as is the case with life, there is never enough time, so I completely understand your decision. In any case, hope to hear the occasional surprise podcast pop up and wish you the best of luck.