This Week in Retro

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If you've had a hard time getting arcade cabinet purchases past "The Accountant" (as Chris affectionately calls Nicky) a new transformable design from furniture to fun on Kickstarter may be the solution. In addition to the marital politics of arcade ownership, this unprecedented episode of This Week in Retro also takes on the international politics of song through LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER's retro tech-themed contribution to Eurovision and the Australian politics of microcomputer innovation, which culminated in "The Matilda." All this, a Minty Cyberdeck, a replacement for the Atari POKEY, and more!

ERRATA: Jason accidentally says "Atari 2600" at 19:22. He of course meant to say "Atari 600XL," the 16k microcomputer.

00:00 - Show Opening

01:47 - Small Solutions To Big Tech Problems
Story Link: https://newatlas.com/games/swap-arcade-gaming-system-folds-into-cabinet/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amat/swap-arcade-full-arcade-that-turns-into-a-furniture-cabinet/description 
Swap Arcade Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amat/swap-arcade-full-arcade-that-turns-into-a-furniture-cabinet
Minty Cyberdeck: https://hackaday.io/project/205598-altoids-tin-mini-cyberdeck

14:34 - From Beetles to Bees
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idt-g_UQbqw
Aussie JSW: https://jswcentral.org/jsw48-a-59_aussiecousin.html

23:06 - Housekeeping - News links found below

28:16 - Look Mum, One Point!
Story Link: https://news.sky.com/story/who-is-look-mum-no-computer-the-electro-frankenstein-hoping-to-end-uks-eurovision-drought-13544400
Furby Organ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYLBjScgb7o

34:30 - Community Question of the Week

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Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
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Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
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This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Isometric Wolf3D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S59w7Qeu9D4

Atic Atac 3D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EofGuoLeSrQ

Vacuum tubes: https://hackaday.com/2026/05/11/the-vacuum-tubes-last-stands/

ThamesTV 1980s Computers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_IzLdfVK2k

Windows CE on Nintendo 64: https://hackaday.com/2026/05/17/running-windows-ce-on-the-nintendo-64/

Digital Press forums offline: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/05/thanks-for-destroying-your-own-legacy-quarter-century-of-online-gaming-history-vanishes-as-digital-press-forum-goes-dark

JUST_POKEY: https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=431

Infocom novels online: https://www.reddit.com/r/zork/comments/1tbv4cb/classic_zork_novels_now_in_ebook_format/

We take on a Sega myth, an Amiga delay, and debate the merits of the latest games enshrined in the Hall of Fame at The Strong Museum of Play. We're joined this week by Jo Cook of the UK Amstrad Group, holding its inaugural live user event next month. 

See https://www.ukag.org.uk/index.php/2026/01/08/more-info-on-the-june-uk-amstrad-group-meet for more information on the UKAG meet, and visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

03:54 - Hall Of Fame Games
Story Link: https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/world-video-game-hall-of-fame/inducted-games/
Board games: https://www.ukag.org.uk/index.php/2026/05/09/retro-games-leave-the-screen-play-pac-man-level-ten-and-8bit-box-at-ukag/

27:19 - Old Masters Never Give Up
Story Link: https://www.xda-developers.com/the-sega-master-system-is-still-being-made-and-sold-in-brazil-37-years-later/

40:31 - Housekeeping - News links found below

44:44 - Merry Christmas Amigans
Story Link: https://www.facebook.com/THEC64andMoreByRetroGamesLtd

57:56 - Community Question of the Week

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Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
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📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Wolfenstein docs: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1t5jzp6/as_a_german_this_is_very_funny_to_me/

Melbourne House archives: https://old.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1t7zg94/former_melbourne_house_developer_surfaces_with/

Sierra game upscaling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Yp9S23ICo

AMD K5 support: https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/amds-legendary-k5-its-first-independently-designed-processor-is-being-removed-from-the-linux-kernel-4-3-million-transistor-chip-gets-the-axe-because-it-lacks-time-stamp-counter-tsc-support-making-it-a-coding-burden

Atari acquires Wizardry: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506151146/en/Atari-Acquires-Rights-to-the-Legendary-Wizardry-RPGs

IcePi FPGA C64: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1t76ofv/icepizeroc64_tiny_and_fully_opensource_fpgabased/

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Sports sim pioneer Kevin Toms (Football Star* Manager) is in the guest chair as we talk about the incredible staying power of 1982's blockbuster computer launches, the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum, soon to be released in handheld format. We also look at the incredible R&D legacy of Xerox PARC, the impact of the BBC Computer Literacy Project, the latest from Commodore and FujiNet, a surprising workstation on FPGA, and a great deal more!

 

Check out Kevin's website for the latest Football Star* Manager info: https://kevintoms.games/

 

00:00 - Show Opening

06:40 - 1982 In The Palm Of Your Hand
Story Link: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/04/the-c64-and-zx-spectrum-are-being-reimagined-as-nintendo-style-clamshell-handhelds
C64C Ultimate: https://commodore.net/c-you-soon-commodore-64-ultimate-line-up-expands-with-c64c-edition-later-this-year/

33:27 - Zero For Xerox
Story Link: https://dfarq.homeip.net/how-xerox-invented-the-gui-and-lost-it/
Dramatization: https://youtu.be/VpY2fBitQcw

43:16 - Housekeeping - News links found below

48:58 - The Trojan Mouse
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZjNHnYFqOA

01:05:39 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
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📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

Open source PC-DOS 1.0: https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-open-sources-dos-1-0-much-more-than-the-code/

The end of Ask: https://mashable.com/article/ask-jeeves-shut-down

FujiNet firmware update:  https://fujinews.substack.com/p/major-firmware-update-from-the-fujinet

The 7th Guest remake trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwA5q-oDT3k

Windows 9x Subsystem For Linux: https://codeberg.org/hails/wsl9x

Apple Lisa on FPGA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jNQDcpHc68

Lego Sega Genesis: https://segabits.com/blog/2026/05/01/lego-sega-releasing-sega-genesis-console-on-june-1/

Galaxian3 emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH3uyB_WhEo

Episode Credits

"Commodore 16" by Marcin Wichary is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

If you find joy in making or fixing, you're already a kindred spirit with our return guest Lee of the More Fun Making It and More Fun Fixing It YouTube channels. Lee shares tales of his latest retro event visits and upcoming charity effort (a custom throwback game console could be yours!) before we take on the top stories. The team takes on the state of the traditional arcade, the revival of an early 1990s horror classic, and a new-old multiplayer racing game. Plus news from Commodore, Sega, and much more.

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

Be sure to stop by https://www.morefunmakingit.co.uk/ to see everything Lee has going on.
Lee's Commodore 64GS charity project: https://morefunfixingit.co.uk/charity

00:00 - Show Opening

09:31 - Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
Story Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdrm4lndnv6o

24:19 - It's Not That Terrible
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzi_xK2Jifw
Additional link: https://gamingbolt.com/a-comprehensive-history-of-horror-gaming

44:37 - Housekeeping - News links found below

49:57 - Null Modem Not Required
Story Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/multistuntcar-156155783
Gameplay link: https://retro-foundry.github.io/multistuntcar/

01:02:00 - Community Question of the Week

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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

EU Parliament game advocacy: https://youtu.be/oXcogLmxnJw?si=3mYRqOpooCgf5raO

Updated Commodore FPGA policy: https://commodore.net/why-we-re-protecting-your-commodore-64-ultimate-fpga/

SEGA's 2026 lineup: https://www.eurogamer.net/sega-universe-retro-anniveraries-2026

Retro search engine: https://wiby.me/

BBC interview with Peter Molyneux: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4glw5nyrggo

ZSNES update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5twUkvYFpA

🛠 Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com/ for all your PCB needs! 🛠

Welcome Andrew Borman, Director of Digital Preservation at The Strong ( https://www.museumofplay.org/ ) for an in-depth look at the future of the iconic Neo-Geo game console, with brand-new hardware just around the corner. If Metal Slug and Super Baseball aren't your thing, we also cover Channel 9 Australia's endorsement of retro gaming, the revival of a 50-year old electromechanical arcade machine from Nintendo, The Krypton Factor, and a potential block on alternative cores for the Commodore 64 Ultimate. If you think that's a CRT on the horizon it might just be a discarded kitchen appliance, but don't let that stop you from enjoying This Week in Retro episode 265!

00:00 - Show Opening

07:12 - Neo Geo
Story Link: https://plaionreplai.com/

34:48 - Two Tales Of The Wild West
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOfqnomGPkM
Story Link 2: https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/commodore-fans-split-over-c64-ultimate-fpga-firmware-lockdown-firm-says-it-wants-to-protect-its-hardware-and-reduce-support-fallout

56:18 - Housekeeping - News links found below

01:02:46 - TV Gets Retro Gaming
Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4QuYuPn2Mc
Story Link 2: https://hackaday.io/project/205522-prime-time-game-show-lasers-and-an-amiga

01:13:39 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing!
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Follow your hosts!
Bluesky:
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https://bsky.app/profile/jasoncompton.bsky.social

Youtube:
Chris - https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA
Jason - https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetroAdventurers

Audio Podcast:
https://retroadventurers.podbean.com/

Subscribe to the audio version of the show!
📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4
📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y
📻 Podbean: https://twir.podbean.com
📻 Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/show/5734337
📻 RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/TWIR/feed.xml
📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinRetro

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

CBS coverage of former New York City pinball ban: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuHhh3CLjbk

PC Gamer demo discs: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-internet-archive-has-preserved-758-old-pc-gamer-demo-discs-you-can-download-and-play/

FAT32 beyond 32GB: https://www.techspot.com/news/112058-microsoft-removing-32gb-size-limit-fat32-volumes-time.html

Sun Microsystems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystems

Nigel Alderton interview: https://metro.co.uk/2026/04/16/nigel-alderton-interview-man-behind-zx-spectrum-classic-chuckie-egg-27984015/

Moonchild retrospective: https://kotaku.com/developers-of-moon-child-resurface-to-bask-in-all-the-shitposts-amiga-prototype-2000688827

DOOM chainsaw: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fps/doom-co-designer-still-has-the-real-chainsaw-that-inspired-the-og-fpss-iconic-weapon-even-though-it-leaks-oil-and-was-kept-in-a-bowl-at-the-id-offices/