85: Shay and Steffan: Nunchuk Crimestoppers

0:00Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing. Victory Lane? Yeah, it's even better with Chamba by my side. Race to chumpacacino.com, let's Chamba. No purchase necessary, BTW Group. Boy, we're prohibited by law. CTNCs, 21 Plus, sponsored by Chamba Casino. Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Because we've been on a bit of a new year break here on Persexual to continue in January. It's like the battery and the controller, died or, you know, was low on charge. You need to, you know, stick it back into the, to the, if you're one of those people that's still charging via the actual console, we've just been charging it for a little bit. It's been sitting, press X has sort of been sitting on the pause menu for a while, just where we charge up that battery. But it is no time to get your continued club t-shirts on, to dig out your XC beasts hats, because we're back, baby. In fully recharged mode, re-energised, ready for 2026 to see what it's going to bring us in the world of games.

1:00I've got a sneaky feeling in this year is going to be a wild ride. My name is Stefan Poehler. Normally, I'd say hello right about now to the wonderful Inell, Tom Linson, but he's off being like an important actor or whatever on tour, doing like a stage production, which is incredible to like a live audience and stuff. It's amazing to see. He's going to be back soon. He's going to be sending us some voice notes from his tour, which we get to next week. But whilst we are one Inell down, we are up a Orgy XC beast in his shape, Thompson, back with his gaming and presenter. Hello, Shay. Hello, it's so good to be back, man. Isn't it nice? It's just kind of hard. It's good to be back with you. This feels like nostalgic, you know? We were just talking about this. I know, we were just talking. We mean, Shay, we were trying to figure out when we first started chatting about games together. And it's probably been about, it's been at least five, six years now, Shay, back and forth. It's longer than that. In two years. Maybe even longer than that. It will be ten years. I think it's just so crazy to think about. Wow. Yeah, well, we, yes, let's, actually,

2:01there's not dwell on that. Shall we? Let's just think, you know, a bit of a few months. Happy young thoughts. Yeah. Look at that. So we're young and cool and hip we are. So it's a joy. So today we're going to be talking about what we're looking forward to in 2026. Obviously, we've got some trivia to come. We've got all the sort of classic stuff from the usual press X diet. But we aren't changing things up at the start of every episode. So usually at this point, we would ask for an unpopular gaming opinion. However, we think it's a bit of a time for the change in 2026. It was a time for a new one at the start of the year and all that stuff. So over the old and with the new, gone is the unpopular opinion for now. And instead, we're taking up Eves's idea, brilliant idea from Eves and the Discord. And we're going to kick off each episode now with an unsung hero game. That is a game could be all, could be new, that really never gets the chords it deserves, right? So that's a window when I was starting off with an unsung hero game. And so I think it's only fair

3:02that I should do this for the first one. Of course. So get us going. And it's niche, I'm gone niche. I love this view. I'm curious to see what this is going to be. I've gone very niche with my unsung hero game because I think there is a certain title in this genre of games. They get all the attention, all of the focus, all of the projects, right? In a world of management sims where football managers, the only game we talk about, I'm suggesting cricket captain. That's the game I'm suggesting for unsung hero game. No, I know, Cher, you might not have much to say about cricket captain. It was, yeah, I can't know. It was not the one I thought you were going to go in. But spare a thought for cricket captain. Everybody talks about football manager all of the time. If you like sports management games, you'll probably play football manager and there's that F1, no, that's actually quite good as well, right? But the OG cricket captain games were banging. They are fantastic. And I'll tell you for why what sports management sims are good at is being evocative

4:03for creating a sense of atmosphere that makes you really believe that you're in charge, that you're controlling the future of your favourite team, whatever that sport, that team might be playing, right? It's going to make you feel like the result is uncertain. It's going to make you feel like the decisions are important. Cricket captain does all of those things in spades, right? It really gives you the power of your decisions are instantly immediate to you because you're choosing whether your baller goes over the wicket or under the wicket. These are things that if you don't know what cricket, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. You decide in, you're batting on, you're spending how you spend your finite amounts of cash. Not a lot of cash in the county cricket game in England, for example, right? And your decisions, you have an immediate reaction because if I start boarding over the wicket and I get somebody out, I feel immediate validation. And it does that, it's fantastic. The way it highlights moments in the game as well is really good, makes you feel, again, your decisions are having an instant impact on the result.

5:06But like I say, it's really evocative, it's calm, it's gentle, it's quaint, just like county cricket should be. And therefore my unsung hero game is cricket captain. I have to say, you, first of all, you really like kind of hit the nail on the head in terms of choosing like an unsung hero because I don't have ever heard of that game before a day of my life. But also you, you kind of sold it to me. I hate a lot of sports issues. Probably not the best company to stay the same, but I'm like, I'm like, oh my goodness, go. Yeah, well, I just feel like, you know, like it's, you know, management sims of big sports, management sims of big football managers, big football managers and amazing friendships that's been around for years. I like dominant space, well done to it. But there are the ones out there, cricket captain being one. So please look, let me know, if you've ever played cricket captain, let me know, because I'd love to hear from you, because there's not many of us. I would say there are three people that have played this. Yeah. But no, they're making new versions now as well, right? It's okay.

6:06But I think we're playing it in like the naughties, you know, like it really basic, the graphics were interesting. But I love the animation, or when they used to cut the four, was so cool, I still remember it to this day. And anyway, so anyway, so if you play cricket captain, if you agree with me, that it's an unsung hero in the sports management sim world, then you know what to do. Get involved on Press X to continue on Instagram, or on TikTok, messages in the discord. I want to know who else out there's played cricket captain, and whether or not you agree with me, that it's an unsung hero game. But the other day, it's supposed to be a very silly message, you know, what's up, saying, does it take five days to finish it much? No, it doesn't, David, it's a video game. I assume that's a sick burn of some kind. Yeah, yeah. I wish I knew what about cricket. It's a sick sporting burn, right? Okay, so let's get involved with, let's get the season open running of 2026 with some trivia. We might be changing some things on the pod,

7:07but we're keeping some things exactly the same. Oh, Shay, where are you in your leaderboard? Our new version of the leaderboard, which sort of there's all the jazzy logistics in the background. Yeah, see that's something that needs to change this year, is my ranking on the leaderboard. Hey, not good. Shay, you're doing your third world behind me and I know. Okay, maybe we don't need to change much there. So you've been asked nine total questions. Oh, no, hang about, hang about. Wait, wait, no, wait. Oh, no, you're not, no, you're not. Sorry, I'm reading the answer. It's very complicated. This new, this new spreadsheet, you're actually ninth, Shay, I'm sorry. You're not third at all, you're not. How did you know? You're an airline person, second. Sorry. You got my hopes off so high, only to, to dash them. Yeah, and I've got all the casers. Actually, casers in first, Benedict's in second. Me and I, Ella, fourth and fifth.

8:08You're all down in ninth. You've had two right from seventh and then with the maths, the algorithms worked in the background and figured you were, and put you in at ninth. Anyway, so it could all change today, though, Shay, with the right answer. Let's hope. Okay, here we go. So the question is this. Who wants to be a continued heir? In 2009, 2009, how did police in Japan try to catch a suspect in a hit and run case by using gaming or a game's console thing? How did police in Japan try to catch a suspect in a hit and run by using a game's console in 2009? Oh, okay, I'm thinking, I'm trying to think about like Japan, games that would have come out around then. I was like, is it something related to like Yakuza or... Yeah, that's a good joke, could be Yakuza. So it's specifically a console. They used a console in 2009 to help catch a suspect.

9:10So what consoles were big in 2009? As PlayStation 2, you know, right? So Japan, that's what? In 2010, 2009, the Wii. Did they throw a nunchuck at someone? Yeah. That is not a bad shout. They tie someone's legs up with a nunchuck. Oh, like from... That would be amazing. Imagine the footage of that. That would be amazing. It's not getting a nunchuck, it's hitting a crimson head. And then it tangles around the legs completely, stopping them in their tracks. Um, 2009, was that not the PS3 era? Have I just got in my ears? Oh, you know what? You could be right, let me, let me Google that. Google. Oh, yeah, you're right, you're right. Okay. It was PS3, I've got it, I've gone way wrong. PS3 Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. So what was the Wii Edge got the PlayStation run? So the nunchuck theory is still... Still viable. Still viable. And we will come back to the answer to this question at the end. It gives us a bit of time to think about it.

10:12So, a reminder, in 2009, how did police in Japan try to catch a suspect in a hit and run case by using a game's console to bring you the answer? I think my suggestion is, because wasn't that the rise of sort of like online gaming as we know it? So I'm going to say that they track someone's like, online gaming habits or something. Oh, that's good. Use their IP address or something like that. Something like that. That's a reach, but maybe... Well, you know, we will find out at the end of the pot. We'll bring you the answer at the end of the pot. So yes, stick with us for that. Okay, right, since it's our first episode of 2026, and lots of people have already done this. Okay, so sort of the 2026 look ahead. We're not going to just list off the games that are coming in 2026. We're more going to talk about what are our hopes for 2026 are. So the obvious place to start is, Jay, what are you most looking forward to in 2026? What's the thing that's like, oh, yes, that's going to be fun. I am looking forward to...

11:14It's kind of cheating. I'm kind of looking forward to a couple of different games. Pred Marta from Capcom, because it's the first time we're getting like a new IP for them. They've released like a bunch of like really good games recently, but they've all been like sequels or like remakes of stuff. So it'd be cool to see like their first new foray in a while. And I think that kind of sets a tone for what I'm just excited to see. I'm excited to see new stuff. Like we have had like years and years of like remakes and you know, sequels and stuff. Which is cool, don't get me wrong. It is seeing stuff, like is cool seeing stuff like upgraded for like today's graphics. But I just like give us some more ideas. Like obviously Expedition 33 proved that these things can be a banger and be received very well. The new game from, is it Housemark? Housemarky? Oh yeah, yeah, let's just go with that. It's the Sauros, yeah. I think you're cool. Oh, she went to Sauros is the one with who will coolly lead to the lead actor, right? Exactly. Lead performer, yeah. Is a roguelike, which is like not my favorite genre,

12:16but it's way you've been on this podcast criticizing Roguel X in the past shape. I know. That's what all I do, basically. And I think like, yeah, I think those are like the big ones. Like I just want to see some new stuff. It is a sequel, but control resonant. That looks sick. That looks pretty cool. So that's what you've got. There's a bit of a theme here. It's sort of darker titles, prettier titles, and some new, and sort of not control necessarily, but like, so you look at for new IPs that are in that sort of gritty sort of space, I suppose. Yeah, something a bit darker, but different, you know? Yeah, that's interesting, because I do think it's going to be the year that's obviously dominated by one thing, you know? A story that has got us talking so much here that, you know, Pua Kami who helps us out on the podcast has had to go into retirement, because he was so traumatized by having to give us GTA 6 updates for so long. And I'm sure, you know, Kami is at a long sit-down

13:18at a cup of coffee, because that got too much for him. Like, I mean, are we seeing it in 2020 or six? November supposed to be coming out. Are we supposed to be, but I don't know about that. I don't know about that, but also, I just feel like the excitement for that has been majorly dampened by all of the news surrounding that all. I mean, just sitting there, that's right. So there's a lot, so in case you don't follow the news, like super close, there's been a lot of things happening at Rockstar that are sort of, was taking the game's press attention away from the title itself, I'm on to other issues. You've got legal disputes with some of the staff members there that has been to court and will go to court again, at some point in the next 12 months or so, maybe it's like a longer protest outside the building in Scotland, that sort of thing. We've also had a fire or an incident at the stewardure that's a bit mysterious and difficult. And so there's a lot of this other stuff going on,

14:19but I wonder, I've been wondering about this. Is that sort of affecting our sort of take on people's excitement about the game because we're in it and we see our colleagues and friends in the games industry writing about this stuff? Whereas if I'm Joe, if I'm my mates, you know, who just are excited because they love GTA, do they care? Do games, content creators all get influenced people to buy the game? Do they care? Do they even, are they even aware of this stuff's happening or you're just waiting? You're going to see it on every billboard going like, oh, GTA, that's amazing, you're going to buy that and it's going to make billions of billions of pounds anyway. I think also, were you going to say Joe Public? Which is really cool. Yeah, I don't need it tonight. Hey, look, we just said we've been doing this for nearly 10 years. Okay, I'm old. I've got two kids. No, it's great. I've got a garage now for goodness sake, you know, I'm old. You're, you know, your season, your season, that's what it is. I still got ID the other day though. There you go. Playing booze.

15:20You're not hot. I just, you know, legally. Yeah, I think, I think content creators and like, influences, they don't care because at the end of the day, like they just want things to be able to like talk about, you know, they don't want to mess up a potential relationship. But I, and I think in that same vein, the general public who like, don't really care that much about games, yeah, they'll see a billboard, they'll see the signage on buses and they'll be like, oh, yeah, that, that game. But I think like long-term fans of video games, I do think they care. Like, I'm, I've been spending a lot of time on Reddit. Don't ask. But the, the, the sentiment seems to be like, they actually care about how their games are made. And so knowing that in some ways that the, the developers of GTA 6 are, I don't wanna say suffering, that seems really harsh, but like are, are kind of going through a lot of trials and tribulations in order to get this game made. Like it is, it is putting a dampener on their excitement.

16:21And people have said, like given the recent news with the, like the tribunal with the, like the unionized employees. Yeah. People were like, people said straight up, like a day will not play this game. Or if they do, they'll be sailing the seven seasons in order to do so. Like they, there is, that people would do care. People care a lot more than I think they maybe would have, like 10 years ago. Yeah, interesting. Let us know. Are you still excited about GTA 6 despite all the sort of stuff that might have been going on in the background? Are you aware of it even? Um, you know, just let us know. Because you know, there's, people love loads of art that's been made in the past when you find out, you know, afterwards that there was a challenging, you know, like actors on set to fall out with directors or all that sort of stuff. And people still love the work. But you, oh, maybe you won't. Maybe you're gonna be one of those people that decides, you know what? I'm actually, I don't, I'm not gonna play this now because given, given what's been going on. And let us know what you think, you know, to do finest of social media. Again, in the discord, be part of the conversation. We would love to hear from you. So these are some of the things that I'm excited about.

17:21Yeah. And actually, I'm really interested in your take on this first one. I have been thinking, I was looking at the list of like games coming out in 2026 and thinking like, well, my, what's floating my boat here? Because my sort of new year's resolution, not that I make them, but is, is definitely, is to try and play more. I know I've mourned a lot on this podcast about games being too long or whatever. I know my new sort of thing is, I'm gonna play a game until I'm bored of it. And I'm just not, I don't care if I finish it anymore. Just, I'm gonna play it. And if I play it for 10 hours and I stop fine, or if it takes me, you know, what, like months and months and months when it should only take me two weeks or whatever, I don't care. I'm just gonna just spend that time and stop in doom scrolling, I bought a book about digital minimalism. So I'm gonna stop doom scrolling at night and I'm gonna spend, if I've got half an hour, I would have just been looking at Instagram or TikTok or whatever. I know, if I just spent half an hour playing a game on my Switch Before Bed then I'm gonna do that already, you know. So anyway, that's my new reason. But I was looking at the list of games and I tell you what, the game that just jumps out at me,

18:21it's double or seven first light. It's the one. Oh, yes, yes. It's the one for me, I think, shit. Of course. I just think uncharted meets Hitman. Yes, please. Absolutely. And it's IO interactive. Like they know what they're doing in that kind of realm. Like I think, I think it's gonna be a banger. I'm with you. I just think, I think the little snippets we saw was super exciting. I know, I never raise some issues at the time but the car chase sequence, not maybe being up to it. But that's cool. I'm kind of not that bad. Then about the car sections anyway, really. I'm all about the sneaking and the action and being double or seven. And the vibe, yes. The vibe, I want the vibe. I want to be ordained. I want him, I want to go up to the bar and I want a little option to come up and say, what drink do you want? And I want to click the button that says, Vodka Martini Shake and not to hurt. There you go. This is not saying, yes. Okay. And I know that there are some people that are problematic things about some of the behavior of the previous bonds. I understand that.

19:22But I'm hoping that within the realms of 2026 sensibilities, I can be a cool romancer. I want to be cool. You know? I want to be that guy. I think there's a way to do it. I am with you. I think IO interactive, they, I don't know, they're good at making things make sense for whatever time period they're in, you know? And I think, because the previous Hitman games, like the ones like sort of really back in the day were a bit, I was going to fall in some ways, but a lot of that stuff was raised out like later on, but it didn't lose its teeth, you know? So I, I think they can do it. I do. I think there is a way of being able to reflect society and the norms that we know live by. Obviously, the progress that we've made on that front is really positive and you can reflect that by at the same time, still be cool and playing cards with attractive people and having that, exploring that element of bond as well as the action and the stealth and the driving.

20:23You know, like, because I just think that is like, just that's part of the character, isn't it? And I suppose you don't want to lose all of that. So, no, the 007 first light, I'm excited for it. I know producer David literally cannot wait for that. I know the Benedict Townsend we have on the podcast a lot. In fact, he met us on his Instagram. He met PS Brosnan recently for it at a press conference and nearly lost his mind. So we will be, you know, doing plenty of that. That's coming in on May 27th. Amazing. Can I fall into one of those things? Wait, no, you can jump into it. I was just going to say about your resolution because that like very much resonates with me. Like, I made a plan of like making or playing five games like every month. Who are you, Glenmore? I know, but honestly. Oh, Glen is for like 10, he's like 10 a month. I don't know how he does it. I mean, I really don't. He's got a time machine. He's got a time machine. That's what he is. He's got a time machine and he's using that time machine, you know, to play more video games. And, you know what, bravo,

21:24there's lots of other things you could do with the time machine. I think Glen's using it to go and play and do games a year plus. And it's great. And I wish that was me, but I've come to realize with this lofty goal I had that actually is the plan. The five-man is the plan. Is the, well, was the plan? I'm still stuck on game number one. So I don't really know how this is going to go. Because there's only a couple of, there's a week left of this month. So yeah, it's just really hard. I don't know how people are doing this, unless they're spending like every moment that they're not like at a sleeper at work. Like playing video games. Like, I just, how, how are people doing this? Why are you like, are you doing all of the, are you doing all the side quests? Are you, are you trying to be a bit of a completionist? You're not just, sort of, smashing the story, the mainline story? Yes, and no, but I'm getting like, yeah, the, the side quests are appealing to me a little bit more than the perhaps would have. Oh, like a year ago. I see. So. I see interesting changes.

22:24I'm coming in a very, yeah. I'm trying to attack you from shame, interesting. Right, okay. I want to throw another one out there that I'm looking forward to in 2026. Is feeble, which I think we're getting in 2026. I love you to miss them. Yeah. I love you to miss them for 2026. That's great. Greetings, continue clubbers. I rudely interrupt this podcast just for a moment. This is, this is Stefan from the future. This is future Stefan. Hoping back into the past. Just to explain something to you. Excuse me if I'm a bit breathless. If I look a bit of a mess on the video, it's because I've just come from the gym. And I don't know if you were counting, but I did over a thousand while I was in there. But yes, so just to say that Mia Awards after Shea and I recorded our conversation, which I love, by the way, I think it's a really fun episode. And really insightful as well. But just literally hours after we recorded it,

23:25Microsoft's developer direct, had some information in it, which frankly would have been quite helpful if they had given us the heads up beforehand before we recorded our conversation. So look, we now know much, much more about the paper. We know when it's expected to come out. We know it's gonna be this year. We've seen loads more gameplay and got loads more information about it. So just bear that in mind, when you're about to listen to what we're about to say, we didn't know that at this time. It still makes sense, because I'll break the secret a little bit, you know, find out in a few seconds. We are very excited about the paper. And so nothing that we've seen today changes that event, and it makes us more excited. So some of this conversation is dated a bit, but I just want to hop back in and say that it happened literally hours after we finished recording. So, yes, forgive us for that, but we're all very excited about the paper and something we will know don't talk a lot more about on press X in the coming months. Right, excuse me, I'm gonna hop back to the future. Is that this time travel just confuses me?

24:27The reason I'm excited about Fable over some of the other stuff that is, that is, you know, that is in the same sort of might be coming this year, might not promote. It's because I love the IP. I also love playground games. I think they're a fantastic company. It's amazing that it's a British success story, you know, what they did with, what they've done with the Forza Horizon series is incredible. And they're also a lovely bunch of people that I've been fortunate to interview a lot over the years. And I think they're really, they're really interesting. The fact that they're taking on that franchise. Because when you think of it, people who make car racing games, now making a sort of RPG medieval romp. Does that make sense? But I think it really does because, I think games have become really homogenized. They're sort of like, do you see what I mean? Like games all kind of live in, they're all becoming the same sort of thing. And what we've lost a lot in recent years as a result of that is, quote unquote, Britishness in games. You know, you get like British comedies

25:28that do a flea bag, for example, was amazing, very British. Yes. The Royal family from back in the day, very funny, very British, couldn't work. And I used to have that a lot more, I feel like, in games. Now, we've had some of that recently. There's obviously the prime example being, thank goodness, you're here. Of course, yeah. You still have that a little bit in the games, obviously, but not into it, not in big block busters, really. They all kind of feel the same. Clare of skewer was good because it didn't feel like that. But there's sort of a bit of a homogenization happening in games where they're all kind of, especially in the, you know, Fortnite could be, Overwatch could be, it could be effects legends could be, do you know what I mean? Marvel rivals. They're all sort of the same. They're different from the kind of the same. So I'm excited for a game Mega IP made by British companies and it's going to feel very funny in British and sort of the week and relate to different to the rest of the world. It will appeal to the rest of the world because it is different, I think.

26:29So I am excited about Fable. Maybe I've jumped the gun a little bit and say, this is 2026, but maybe I'm just manifesting. I was gonna say you're manifesting. And, you know, that's the positivity we need this year. And off the back of that, I think, this is the year where we like, we don't disagree on anything. I think this is the year where we see a dime. Absolutely everything. I couldn't agree more. Yeah. This is starting 2026. So we've been doing it for nearly 10 years. And finally, we've started to agree on stuff. Isn't it amazing? I want to, once, well, too, so yeah, obviously there is a bit of doubt as to whether or not Fable will manage to make into 2026. Really schedule. If it does, cool. If it doesn't, we'll wait because it's going to be good. The only other stuff, like negative, is some of my hints that I did in the past grunted. I haven't made any sense for a few years, but if some of the hints I was dropping very heavily in the past when I was interviewing playground games about other stuff in my old work, about them needing some well-shed PC voices. Those hints haven't necessarily been heard.

27:32Your phone hasn't been ringing? No. Phone's not been ringing. So that's disappointed because obviously, if it was coming in 2026, you've recorded all the voices by now. And so, yeah. I mean, if they got a different, if they got like a Welsh actor or someone in a different Welsh voice, that'd be very sad. So. Maybe they see this and they're like, you know what, we have to write a character for Steph. And they bring you in right at the last minute. You're like the last thing that takes them over the finish line for their 2026. I'm there the day before the game goes gold. You know, I see this for you. I see this in your future, Steph. Fellow press exer, you know, Gavmer feeling myself, we've both made this push in the past. And it's an open offer. It's still there. You know, you need a Welsh voice. Um, you know, I'm, I'm work weekends and I've got a new job on weekends, but Monday through Thursday. It's got the time. Yeah, I can, I can slot you in. I've booked the kids into childcare, you know.

28:33I can, we can figure it out. All signs are pointing towards yes. Come on, playground. So I had, and, and to be honest, if I'd rather them not have a Welsh voice, if it's not me or go, but anyway, it's beside the fight. So that's going to be very good. That's going to be very good. Quicker than little mentions, um, blood of the dawn walker, which is an open world, medieval vampire title made by former CD project read people, ergo different witcher. This I, I am so annoyed. I forgot to mention this. Want to kick myself? Yes, this game looks so good because it doesn't have like a sort of like linear story. Like it doesn't have like a final bit. It's like you kind of just kind of complete quest. The way that it's been like set up and like pitched is so interesting. This looks so sick. And I'm so excited for that. I'm like, you're the vampire. Yes. Yes, I'm so here for it. Again, er, I am wish casting a little bit.

29:34It's expected in 2026. If there's no is TBD on the date, but, but yeah, but I'm so two of my three suggestions and definitely not a game that definitely is coming. Mario tennis fever February 12th. Get on Mario tennis fever. I love the Mario sports game. I need a new thing for my switch. Yeah. The might as well point me with the switch too so far has been the lack of games, lack of software. Um, and so I want more games for the switch in 2026. It's so weird because like we got so many games for like the switch one and it's just been, it's been so quiet for the switch to you. So change. Yeah, that is odd. You just wonder whether they got one year that's going to come as like, right? Yeah, yeah. Bang, bang, bang. And they don't need to do it 2026. Maybe I don't know, but, but Mario tennis fever definitely is coming February 12th. That is exciting. Um, what would you like to change in 2026 shape in gaming if you could change anything? I want to see Leslie off my goodness. I don't want to see so many people like having to

30:36to look for work and like be let go from studios that they have spent years at, you know, um, it's just a shame. Like it means that games, like we lose a lot of that expertise, especially if people like leave the industry entirely. Um, in that same vein, I want to see games journalism. Like, be more respected. I think we've lost the art of like going to reviewers and like trusted journalists for our recommendations. Everyone seems to just love going on like social media and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that that has like almost entirely replaced, like, you know, um, the video game outlets. Yeah, you need both, right? You need, you need an ecosystem, right? You need to have people who will use your opinions, you trust, but also you need people that can do the work objectively where you sit back and you say, right, okay, well, I've reviewed 75, 100 games in my, in my career. So I know how this is different to all those other ones

31:37and let me tell you why you need both of those things, right? Otherwise, we just end up, oh, well, you just, you just not, you're not getting that sort of full picture of something, right? Because, you know, individuals, and this is very true of this podcast is that, you know, I will say something. I'm better aware that I'm coming at it subjectively and take what I'm saying as you will, but we, we always say, we're not, we will, I'll couch it in a, like a game I'm going to review with, I've played 10 knowers of it. I'm of 20 hours or so. I'm couching it. It's very different to a game review. I was spent a hundred hours done all the, all the due diligence, all the hard work, all the research and can compare it to the hundreds of other games they've reviewed. That's a different, you're getting different information from that than what we can give you, or I can sort of, you know, like content creators can give you from their subjective opinion. And I think you need both, don't you? Yeah, yeah, they go hand in hand and I'm not saying that, you know, we need to get rid of all, like, streamers and influencers, like, that's the world we live in nowadays. But just having both of those to kind of balance each other out,

32:38I think is something that's missing. Yeah, I'd be nice to see you again. Yeah, interesting. What I want in, in 2026 is I think that I would love to see indie games get more spot-like shine on them in, in mainstream places. I think when you see games being talked about in, beyond sort of just gaming publications, it tends to be about the same old things over and over again. And granted, maybe when I was doing that job in a mainstream place, I was possibly part of the problem. But I think what we've seen with Claire, Expedition 33, still a stupid name, you know what I mean? Expedition 33. Is that did, that did actually start the job of, oh, this is a mega successful title that is doing really well in the game space and that was starting to be talked about in places beyond where we just talk about games. And I think that's cool. And I would like to see more of that. Because then it just shows people who were still sniffy about games as art or whatever.

33:39Oh, yeah. That there are titles out there that push the boundaries, that do different things. I've been playing Dispatch recently. Oh, my God, yes. The writing is so snappy and funny and witty. It just feels like an American sitcom that happens to be about superheroes. And I just feel like if you showed that to someone who thinks the game is just color duty and FIFA and I think that is a good thing. I know we talk about this stuff a lot on the podcast. I think that's how games become more, how they grow. So how they grow is how more people make more cool stuff is if more people talk about them in that way. So I'd like to see indie games getting a bit more of a spotlight I think beyond the game space in 2020. You are still on the streak of saying no incorrect opinions. I'm, what is going on in here? This is new. Look at this. Wow. Some thoughts on the discord, Shay. Demi has been on. I want to be excited for the next generation of mainline Pokemon games, but we will see. She says, but I am super excited for Pocopia though,

34:41which is cool. So Pocopia looks really, it does look really interesting basically. It's like, if I've read it right, Shay, we're thinking Stardew Valley, but Pokemon. Absolutely. That's my read of it as well, which I think would be good because I did Pokemon franchise. It needs a shakeup. It needs something new. I, the last couple of games I've played have left me quite disappointed. So yeah, we've been quite janky, haven't they? They've not been. They've not been up yet. Yeah, it's like not hit the standards. Are you kind of you grew to expect? But what's interesting as well? Is it elsewhere? Pokemon seems to be booting me. Like all of a sudden, the trading card game is like popping off again. Like popping off in such a crazy way. Like, I went to an event and I got some free cards and I was like, and I went to go look, I was like, okay, what did these do? And like, there is just a whole other world out there that I had no idea about. Like, my goodness. Yeah, my goodness. So like, the cards are like flying off the shelves again. Like, I seem to have been doing, you know,

35:41because Chris was not so long ago. We're doing a lot of like toy shopping for the kids. And when you go into a toy shop, Pokemon, again, everywhere. But like, so it seems to be booming again in off the video game space. But in the video game space, it's maybe the main line games haven't been, haven't been doing it clean up, been doing it for Demi. But maybe it's title like Pocopia, which is a bit different, gets people excited in a different way and maybe changes the vibe around it a bit, I don't know. I hope so. I mean, yeah, I guess it kind of makes sense that it's doing well in all the other non-gaming areas. And pretty sure Pokemon is like the best selling, like franchise ever, like of all time. Like it's, it's huge. I mean, it has to be given that the Lego that's coming out for it is like $650. I was like, you need a mortgage to buy these now. Like it's, yeah, it's a lot. I saw someone say like, you know, someone they shouldn't, you shouldn't be doing this. But they were like people saying, they're gonna be scalped to within high heaven. Because if they were $600 or whatever,

36:43they're going now. They will be worth thousands in a box in a few years' time. I was like, well, obviously we're not encouraging that behavior here, but like it's crazy, you know, what people are already projecting that to me. I know. Yeah, we look at the best selling franchises of all time, like she was saying, Pokemon does come in a top. And then Mickey Mouse comes in second. So that just gives you a sense of the scale of the Pokemon. While it's number one ahead of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. I mean, come on, Pokemon, crazy. So yeah, Pokemon, actually, I'm kind of interested. So I've been watching a TV show with my kids called Pokemon Concierge on Netflix. I was just saying, yes, it's so good. Isn't it? It's really sweet. We watched it before bed, because it's quite calm. And it's like, you know, these little sort of like, it's CG, but in sort of done as if they've been like, I think not clay modeled, but like, we're like stitched together.

37:43It looks a bit like unraveling, like, game unraveling, but Pokemon, and it's lovely. So, and Joseph now has a charm and a bulb of sort, and a squirtle soft tie for his bedroom. So I'm, you know, we Pokemon is gonna be in my future, I think. So, Pokemon could be one, Demi. And Shaun's been on, he says, I'm looking forward to Reanimal over the hill and grave seasons, but I'm also super excited for the big releases this year. So that's interesting from Shaun. I've taken that sort of indie thread that we're on, and he's going down that line, which is interesting. And Fino's been on, also saying, I hope the new Fable is good. Me and you both, you know, I think it's gonna be amazing. The big question, like Shay raises, is, is it 2026? But yeah, it's, yeah. So I mean you, Fino, on the, on the, on the same page, for sure. So just before we, we head on to get an answer to that trivia question. Some of the, it's been coming up a lot in our discord, Shay. I think I know your answer to this question is, do you feel bad being evil in video games, right?

38:48Because we know that some games allow you to be good, to be bad, gives you that choice, to go one way or the other. Game is supposed to be a form of escapism. So we want to know, do you feel a pang of guilt when you make choices that would be, quote, unquote, bad or evil? Do you find it difficult to do, Shay Thompson? I know, unfortunately, I really do. And I think it's probably like the lamest thing about me is like, I'm such a goody two shoes. Like it's so, it's so lame. Like when I last played through the massive rec trilogy, like, I said, okay, I'm gonna do a renegade run this time. So, and like, to really set it up, you have to play renegade like from the beginning. You kind of can't switch like coffee through. And like from the beginning, like you are just tearing through people, shooting them down when they don't do what you want. And then by the end, in the third game, you end up like committing the genocide essentially. And I was just like, oh my god. And like when I look online to see like how people

39:50like reacted to this, like back in the day, they were like, yeah, it was cool. I was like, oh my god. I felt like I didn't sleep. You sleep at night. I told you you sleep at night. I didn't sleep. I needed a cold shower. I was like, do I start going to church again? Like this is dramatic. Yeah, so I do feel really bad making bad choices in video games. It's on in me. I can't do it. Shay, we are on a hot streak of 100% agreeing with each other this week because I am the same. I can't do it. Well, I was talking really about fact I've been playing Dispatch. When you play Dispatch, just a game where you basically, it's a superhero sort of experience where you're sending superheroes to solve crimes and there's like a story thread. It's a bit like those walking dead games, people point and click choice making thing. It's really fun. We really reviewed it on the podcast. It's brilliant. I'm really enjoying it. You're very first choice in the game or you've got two choices. Yeah, your very first choice is, do you love your dad or not, right? I think it was choice one. Choice two was, do you drop this clearly bad guy

40:52off a ledge to his- I think he's an answer. Yeah, impending doom. And yes, I do love my dad. No, I'm not going to throw the guy off the ledge. I was like, oh my god, Shay, I'm so boring. So lame. It was almost a nice thing to do. I can't be getting it. Oh, this guy, I mean, I don't know when I'm going to fight at the moment, but am I killing him straight away? The worst thing about that choice about dangling him off the edge and not letting him go is that. I think he ends up running away or something like that. He ends up being a right pain in your ass. Yeah, he's so annoying. So it's like, yeah, that would've been the right thing to do, but I just, I couldn't. I really couldn't do it. Red dead redemption too. I could not. I couldn't be shooting people who didn't deserve it. No, I hated it. I hated being in the red. I always had to try and be in the white. Yeah, so Lord's people have been asking that and they just could let us know, are you able to do the bad thing in games? Are you able to have a renegade run in mass effect and do some pretty terrible questions? Questionable things by game three.

41:55And maybe this is the reason why I want to be James Bond, you know, because he's usually the hero. Yeah, James Bond does some pretty dodgy things sometimes to get to the, you know, for the great, for the greater good. Yeah, it's not as outright as like being responsible for an entire race of people dying, which is, yeah. Yeah, full context. In case you just sort of, you end up listening to this half of the pod in a game called mass effect in a video game. Fine. Yeah, get involved in the conversation, disco. Do you like doing bad things in games? Or you like us just to create two shoes? Right, okay, this week's big question from today's show, which is where producers who have been scheming behind their backs come up with a question for us based on what we've been chatting about. And this week, the question is this, you've been digging around the new garage to find your ID after being asked to prove your age when you're buying alcohol, okay? You stumble across Glenmo's time machine, which period in gaming history you're going back to

42:57so you can enjoy it all over again. That is a fantastic question, producers. That is good work. Ooh, I think I'm going to, I think I'm going to the 90s. I'm going to like the heyday of like the fighting game era, like your Street Fighter 2s, your Capcom vs S&K, your King of Fighters, some show, like I think I'm going to that time, like the sprite-based 2D fighter was just magic. It really was. Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah, I loved, I remember when I was a, when one of my first holidays abroad and the hotel we were staying at had a Street Fighter 2 turbo machine. And my parents were like, we've come all this way to a sunny place. We live in Southwest Wales where it, you know, it rains a lot. When a sunny place within a maze is swimming pool and the beach and you just want to be inside, playing DJ, trying to be all the other kids at Street Fighter.

43:58Yes, I do. Yes, that's what I want to do. Yeah, that's what I want to do. Yeah, so I hear you. For me, though, I think late 90s, noughties, era of co-op gaming, when your mates would come around on a Friday night and you do four-player gold and I or four-player perfect dark. Perfect dark, I think, was a better version of multiplayer than gold and I, because you could have bots as well. Agreed. Hard, agreed. I've liked people romanticised gold and I too much. Yeah, like gold and it was amazing, but you could only have four players at any one time, which was tense, but what I loved about perfect dark was the fact that you had bots on there. So like there was, yeah, you were finding your mates as well, but it also felt busy and felt chaotic and whatever. So like loved that or like, you know, you play banjo Kazooey through and you'd be chatting away while someone was playing or, you know, provisioned soccer a little bit later on. So yeah, that's sort of not, not, not, yeah, early 2000s sort of era, late 90s,

45:01early 2000s era of gaming because of, I love going on people's houses, getting a takeaway pizza and, you know, playing games together on the couch, love that. So great questions. That's what I would ask where we would go. Right, okay, trivia time. The question, if you forgot what was in 2009, how did police in Japan try to catch a suspect in a hit and run case by using a game's console? Your answer is watchy. They use like the online, like gaming habits to find, I guess find them out. Yeah, online gaming habits. I mean, I don't, this isn't likely to be the answer. Brian's saying that they used a weed nunchuck somehow in the arrest. It's the best I've got. I think it's a great answer. Okay, the answer is, no, they're never so right. Boom. Devastating. What this can't be right? They created a wanted poster by using the Nintendo Wii to create a me that looked like the suspect.

46:03What? A reporter, a daily telegraph of the time says, a me created by the police in Japan, a panic young man with long-brown hair and sunglasses was included on the poster at the scene of the collision. My goodness. That is absurd because... The port of time is sketchy. Yeah, that is absurd. And a port of time had a bit sketchy. It was leads us to press X, I think that it didn't help track the suspect down. That is madness. Because if you've ever seen a me, they don't look anything like a human being. That's absurd. That's fantastic. He's got long hair and he's wearing sunglasses. Oh, he looks like he's a video game car. Yeah, yeah, that's him. Yeah. That's so funny. And it hasn't helped us. Share you stay 9th, I stay 4th. It hasn't helped us or the algorithm. But it also hasn't made things worse. So, you know, it could be worse. Well, Shay, look, it's been lovely to get things back up or running in 2026, you're on press X with you. Thank you very much for being with us. Myself and Shay would be back with you very soon with a little diary on the road

47:04from our friend, I know Tom Linson, and just letting it all so to come. Talking about perfect arc there. We've got an episode very soon with the fantastic video game actor, Alex Wilton-Riegan. So stick with us over the next few weeks for more brilliant stuff here on press X. We will see you next Tuesday. Get involved in a discord, find us on social media and we'll see you very soon. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Hey, it's Cole Swindell. After I give everything I've got to land a perfect vocal, I usually take five before jumping into the next track. And I've learned exactly how to recharge in that time. Some folks grab coffee. I hit a quick, good looks, Bill. Next thing you know, the break is just as fun as land down the track. A better break makes for a better take. Need a break? Let's chumble. No purchase necessary. VGW Group void were prohibited by law. 21 plus TNC supply. Sponsored by Chamba Casino.