The POCG podcast
Playing Out of Control
Retro gaming, preservation, and the stories behind the machines. No bought scores. No filters. Just opinions.
7 episodes
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Episode 7 ▶
Playing Out of Control
It Came With You
The Game Boy was the first console that left the house. The ten games that went with you: Tetris in the backseat, Pokemon on the porch in the summer of 99, Metroid II in the tent. Plus Sony's disc deadline and the VGHF's free E3 archive. Jul 29, 2026 · 27:20
Episode 6 ▶
Playing Out of Control
Four Controllers
The N64 turned 30 this summer. Episode 6 ranks the ten games that play like summer, two ways at once, plus the Zool translation, Monkey Ball on Dreamcast, and Reggie's book. Jul 21, 2026
Episode 5 ▶
Playing Out of Control
Plays Like Summer
Nintendo Month opens: the SNES summer ten, the What It Plays debut with the ANBERNIC RG CubeXX, and the week the world's biggest game archive lost its funding. Jul 14, 2026
Episode 4 ▶
Playing Out of Control
Independence Day
I ranked the most American games ever made. Seven of ten were made in Japan. Plus the new series about losing this website and getting it back off a Zip disk. Jul 8, 2026 · 35:30
Episode 3 ▶
Playing Out of Control
Physical Media Dies Quietly
Sony is ending the disc, Xbox is going disc-to-digital, and the man who runs the game archive says piracy is the only preservation left. An emergency episode. Jul 6, 2026 · 28:14
Episode 2 ▶
Playing Out of Control
Born on the 23rd
June 23rd gave us both Sonic and the Nintendo 64, five years apart. Plus GTA VI with no disc, Xbox at 750 dollars, and the fight to keep old games playable. Jun 29, 2026 · 34:53
Episode 1 ▶
Playing Out of Control