This Week in Retro

Breathe new life into an Apple iPod with flash drive upgrades, Rockbox, or a Sprout motherboard. ZX Spectrum preservation gets a big boost and a gameplay discussion gets center stage on Episode 291 of This Week in Retro! youtu.be/UUFQLrSKZT0

Pick your path to refresh your dusty old media players, and find out what Chris considers "nice to hold" on Saturday's episode of This Week in Retro!

Were you expecting THE 800XL from Atari and Retro Games Ltd? Then you win! Commodore fans get equal Amiga AGA gaming time. Plus the 90s peak/decline of supercomputing and BBSes, timely event promos, cross-platform throwbacks, and wistful looks at peak clamshell PDA performance. youtu.be/8i78JqN8oU4

Which Atari designs were visually arresting? Atari's 8-bit home computers went through three distinct design eras. The upcoming THE 800XL preserves the middle generation. We give it a careful preview this Saturday!

With more guest answers from Duncan, the hosts return with another full-length episode worth of answers to your submitted questions. Music! Genre bending! Vibe coding hot takes! Available now for show Patrons. www.patreon.com/thisweekinre...

Hidden rare treasures and cross-platform software ports head your way. Learn about a pack of ZX Spectrum updates and the astounding discovery of an ultra-rare Humdinger computer. Watch now on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform. youtu.be/34HS6UTt5EQ

One of the most obscure and ill-fated home computers of the early 1980s was just unearthed at a Goodwill shop in the Pacific Northwest. It's not just a whopper, it's a real Humdinger, and it's possibly one-of-one in the wild. More to come Saturday!

We wanted everything crystal-clear for this episode so we asked Veronica Explains⁩ to join for serious Gameboys, new Linux for 30-year old machines, King's Quest and other Sierra classics on Commodore and Atari, and much more. youtu.be/o5tsmDt7kvY

Jason and Chris have very different views of the Amiga as a productivity computer. Special guest Veronica Explains your chair umpire for This Week in Retro episode 288, arriving Saturday!

A look back at episode 50 of our storied show from September 2021, for our monthly and annual supporters. www.patreon.com/thisweekinre...

Trademark woes block retro racer comeback! The secrets of the PlayStation 2's security chip are uncovered, and excitement for fans of Sony's SMC-70, Amiga Unix, and Spectravideo 318. Watch episode 287 now on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform. youtu.be/L5SmQjBgpzE

The Sony SMC-70 computer line used a peculiar, stack-and-skewer hardware expansion system. It really (really) appeals to one of the hosts. All this and more coming Saturday!

Still going, still answering your questions about best guests and most controversial opinions. Patron-exclusive Q&A part 1 with Chris, Dave, and Jason is available now: www.patreon.com/thisweekinre...

"It's everybody's game of strategy, knowledge, and fun!" Contemplate the massive Vintage Computer Festival Midwest then take on a hot upgrade for DOS computers. Envy those game boxes you see every week? Print your own! youtu.be/6xw-tbop1Wk Plus the latest on the Neo-Geo, new MiSTer cores & more!

It's 286 discourse for Episode 286! The team discuss the pros and cons of DOS gaming back when sound cards and joysticks were still considered luxuries. More coming this Saturday!

A wild week for retro Kickstarters, and a unique phone booth memorial opens its folding door. But first: Tron references, the big four-oh for the Amstrad PC1512 PC clone, a time capsule of Atari newsletters from Aug 1987, and Nelumbo's classic Lotus racing action. youtu.be/8lyKDPCZmEQ

Amstrad's cheap-ish PC clones get their due, we explore a time capsule from 1987, and there's more racing game news (naturally) coming at you this Saturday in This Week in Retro 285!

The latest from a computer RPG legend, a cartoon franchise which finally gets an enjoyable game, and a roundup of Commodore news including Alien Breed and the new Commodore 77 model. youtu.be/OD0Ve5d7-Qs And add your patron Q&A question now at www.patreon.com/thisweekinre... !

Follow-ons, unfinished business, franchise reclamation jobs, and surprise retrospective packs dominate the news this week. And don't forget to submit your questions for the next Patron Q&A! www.patreon.com/thisweekinre... See you Saturday for the full Episode 284.

It's that time again! Submit questions for the hosts (and Duncan, if he's game) and we'll answer them for our Patreon supporters later in September. www.patreon.com/thisweekinre...

Time for retro tech trading to go mainstream? We'll find out, if reports of CeX's expansion into retro sales are accurate. We also talk end of an era for a retro podcast, cassettes return, Casio's 1980s/2020s mashup watches, the origins of Batman (game of the movie) & more. youtu.be/yrH_JwkYQIE

As CeX offers to take retro tech trading into the mainstream, there's going to be profit margins and taxes to consider, and the middle-aged men of This Week in Retro are all over these details for your weekend enjoyment.

@retrocollective.co.uk is back as a guest! A legendary joystick returns, thanks to @commodoreofficial.bsky.social. Dave and Neil discuss the evolving world of collecting and the Need for Speed goes Jaaaag. All this and more on this week's show!

A Legend Returns - so of course Neil @retrocollective.co.uk and Dave can't help but talk Ultima. Much more on Saturday!

Amiga CEO Mike Battilana is our guest for questions about an AmigaOS settlement with Hyperion and licensing deals with Commodore. We also tackle two-player, split-screen Elite, a rich archive Atari ST software, 1970s computer records, new chapters for Worms and Quake, and more. youtu.be/R8Hq68k3gdc

Amiga CEO Mike Battilana joins for AmigaOS discussion, coming this Saturday.

Gremlin Graphics is reborn, bringing back yesterday's moles and springs! Also: Atari Portfolio get-rich-quick schemes and the latest "hardware specs don't matter anymore" messaging. Plus: a Gotek upgrade, a new interview with a Commodore engineering legend, and much more. youtu.be/zhJQ_jL-Y_Y

Sometimes the third feature segment of This Week in Retro is a landing spot for a collection of ideas that have been circling for the past half-hour. This week is one of those times. The Ferris Bueller lifestyle chat will all make sense Saturday!

Very normal top search terms for an episode of TWiR:

Follow proper parliamentary procedure as original Xbox games come to Windows 11 (w/caveats), learn about the Bit 79, a souped-up Nintendo Famicom clone, and watch Chris dutifully delve into the world of pay-to-unlock content in an Artworx classic. youtu.be/14HUHNWZs1Y

After nearly 25 years, we forgot some of the quirks of the original Microsoft Xbox, like that it wouldn't actually play a DVD movie out of the box. Xbox makes a return for modern gamers and other special features are unlocked after additional purchase in This Week in Retro 279, arriving Saturday!

The Washington Post named Doom the top cultural event of its decade. With retro blogger @stonetoolsblog.bsky.social we ask: was the television game show just as important to culture as Doom? Is buying arcade cabs ever sensible? And what happened to the Web and the browser? youtu.be/vOceobwqx3s

High noon. Light guns at the chemist. Draw! Jason and Chris discuss a hotly contested story about NES nostalgia in the UK. Special guest Christopher Drum of Stone Tools watches politely (check out that to-do list, though) and will have more to say when the full episode hits on Saturday!

Gigawatts of retro power: Get immersed in a Rave virtual arcade, Learn the daily grind of an RBMK nuclear reactor operator, And the hosts' check Retro Games Ltd.'s unusual video FAQ for followers of THEA1200. Plus everything from the IBM System/360 to Jaguar and PlayStation. youtu.be/eNj8a-8oOko

THEA1200 sparks THEDiscussion of THEFilesystem challenges! Retro Games Ltd. put out a helpful Q&A video recently. But does it raise more questions than it answers? Chris and Jason grapple with decades-old Fast File System limitations and more this Saturday!

New episode of 260 Weeks Ago in Retro out now for our supporters, a look back at Episode 42 of the show from June 2021! www.patreon.com/thisweekinre...

Sony's pushed the physical media doomsday clock closer to midnight! Also: the life and career of Psion PLC founder and innovator David Potter, the many hazards of the modern online auction scene, a short-lived 3DO reboot, new uses for old RAM, and much more. youtu.be/7vcEHNCiemw

With Sony apparently accelerating the death of physical game media, what will the future of throwback-media nostalgia look like? Jason has one idea, involving a (hypothetical) very successful second date with (checks notes) Marguerite. Subscribe now and don't miss This Week in Retro 276 on Saturday!

Sega's mission: make history easier to play, also publish more Sonic 1 and 2 carts?! Also: Pentium-friendly KolibriOS and an Amiga 1200 upgraded beyond belief. Plus the best real-world locations to simulate in-game, more Commodore Callback chat, and a special 40th birthday! youtu.be/KoFj-4bluaQ

Is the pace of operating system upgrades increasing? Or are we just too old to conform? (You already know the answer.) Sega and Amiga features plus more operating system discourse, and more, when This Week in Retro 275 arrives Saturday!

"What now lies ahead in the ULTIMA saga can only be pure speculation!" Can Lord British reclaim Ultima? Can Chris tell the difference between reality and sims? Will new IDEs for C64 Ultimate, ST, Amiga, Mac, and DOS uncork new apps and games? Plus Commodore phone takes and more! youtu.be/zEiSTyUyLaI

A look at the planned C64 Ultimate Game Engine (a dev system for the enhanced FPGA model of the Commodore 64) prompts the questions: will users accept C64 Ultimate-only titles? And how's that been going for the Spectrum Next (assuming that yours has shipped, that is)? All this and more Saturday!

Three huge Commodore 64 recoveries now live on GTW! After a 22 year search, Arcade Wizzard has finally been found + preserved. Joining it are a prototype of Aussie Games and unreleased full game of Void. Huge thanks to Tony Smales + @thisweekinretro.bsky.social gamesthatwerent.com/2026/06/thre...

World-first reveal! Tony Smales (ex-Melbourne House) gives a tour of never-released pinball Arcade Wizzard for Commodore 64! Plus: definitive overview of the Sega Dreamcast, and home PC shopping in 1998. youtu.be/ThWzhOzD8BI and be sure to check @gamesthatwerent.com for more on Tony's attic disks!

To accommodate Melbourne (House) guest Tony Smales and the usual international crew, one of us got up extra-early. It may have impacted his patience with a condescending BBC computer buying guide. All this, an exclusive game reveal after decades in an attic, and more crabbiness coming Saturday!

This week's guest quietly built Vintage Computer Festival Midwest into the world's largest annual retro computing event. It's the end for the revived Checkmate Amiga case, surprising differences in teletext around the world, and a look at the "overrated?" Amiga 500 Batman Pack. youtu.be/ZPsifCcF-H4

Jason Timmons of VCF Midwest and Chicago Classic Computing show-and-tell: a rare Quazon Quik-Link 300 home teletext terminal and last-minute product engineering. (Atari 400 catches a stray for good measure as well!) Just a sample of Saturday's latest news for the oldest tech!

Welcoming back guest @iainlee.com after too long away, we revisit Nintendo's too-brief run of mini consoles, explore the surprises buried in Microsoft NetMeeting's 30th anniversary, and find out what made an octogenarian game dev settle unfinished business. Episode 271 out now! youtu.be/GSRXr9LRq9Q

Just what does returning guest @iainlee.com think we've done to deserve this? Enjoy our modern radio show which you can also watch like television with a real-life media professional when This Week in Retro 271 arrives Saturday! thisweekinretro.com

Exclusive hardware news caps a retro kit roundup this week: news of a MiSTer handheld from Heber plus PicoCPC, PicoIDE, and PicoGUS updates. Then we look closer at reimagined Atic Atac and Wolfenstein 3D, and explore wonderful, novel operating systems in the Virtual OS Museum. youtu.be/gf2piu17r0I