Post Games

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5This week on Post Games:Act 1: A History of Women in Games MediaAct 2: Mothership Lands on EarthPatreon Bonus: Imagining a Better Future for Video GamesAct 3: The News of the WeekPatreon Bonus Mini-Episode: A Century of Women’s Media in 15-MinutesGuests: Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah, founders of Mothership.blogEditor's note: This episode went live at the same time as its Patreon version so everyone had access to news of Mothership.blog. The public Post Games feed will return to its Monday release time next week.Say hello to your next favorite website.Mothership is a site built at the intersection of gender and games. Today, I’ll be chatting with founders Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah. They’ll provide a primer on the history of women in games media, dating back to the early 1980s. And they’ll share their months-long effort to make Mothership a reality.To set the stage, here’s part of Mothership.blog‘s mission statement:"Whenever we boot up an RPG character creator (or pick up a TTRPG character sheet), we can’t help but interrogate the choices that are available — and the ones that aren’t. We’ve noticed how many female video game characters, even our favorites, have hourglass figures and pale complexions. We can’t help but consider and interrogate the gender norms on display among male characters in games as well, whether we’re revving a Lancer as Marcus Fenix or swinging a sword as Link… or putting on a Gerudo disguise.At Mothership, you’ll read writing from a diverse roster of contributors. You’ll find reviews, criticism, and opinion stories about games’ depiction of gender, as well as stories about how these games are marketed. You’ll get investigative reporting on the people who make games in an era when “DEI” is on the wane. You’ll read historical deep dives on the games and creators that paved the way, especially those that didn’t get due credit way back then."This is a sprawling conversation about games, gender, media, and that deep urge we all share to connect and be seenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want full show notes for free, including links to everything we mention? Visit www.post.gamesGet weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Guest: Ash Parrish, reporter and critic at The VergeAct 1: The IndustryAct 2: The Games and TrendsPatreon Bonus: The Best and Worst Case Scenarios for 2026Act 3: The News of the Week2026 has only just begun, but already I’m certain it’ll be (at least for gaming culture) historic.Yes, it’s the year of GTA 6. It’s also the year of no fewer than ten thousand other games. Barring a cataclysmic event, more games will be released in 2026 than in any year prior.This avalanche of competition will continue to be bad news for game makers, who must not only will they battle for attention with their contemporaries, but also the tens of thousands of “new” and now steeply discounted games released since the pandemic, the free-to-play time drains, and the entirety of retro gaming playable on ever cheaper handheld emulators.Inversely, in 2026, this abundance will be a boon for most of you listening, at least in the short term. Where the glut of games that nearly killed the game industry in the 1980s was garbage, we are not wonting for high quality games serving nearly every imaginable niche.Before 2025 ended, I had already played a dozen or so solid games that will be released in 2026. And two 2026 games would have made my 2025 Game of the Year list had they been released.Add in some acquisitions, some closures, an uptick in unionization, a delinquent government oversight, and a nauseating economy, and you will be overwhelmed with existential questions about the medium.Will video game players return to buying new games after years of gorging on forever games? Will Take Two and Grand Theft Auto deal the final blow to the once-powerful video game publishers? Will developers find new ways to get their games to their intended audience, or will more and more great games be commercial failures, leading some of the great game makers of our time to change careers?The answers to those questions could alter the lives and fortunes of tens of thousands of game makers. And could influence what you do and don’t make time to play.We’ll untangle those knots in today’s episode. Our guest is The Verge’s Ash Parrish, who has a uniquely broad and deep understanding of modern gaming, both in the industry as a reporter and the games as a critic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Editor's Note: Hey Post Games listeners. To give myself a lighter load this holiday, I’m posting one of the monthly Patreon-exclusive episodes. The patrons selected the origin story of Pokémon. They think you’ll enjoy it, and I do, too!If you like this episode and want access to a backlog of bonus episodes and future bonuses, subscribe to Patreon.com/PostGames for $5. Next Monday, I’ll be posting the latest exclusive, “1996: The Most Important Year in Games,” featuring the co-hosts of My Life in Gaming!Get full show notes for free at www.post.gamesBefore Game Freak created Pokémon, it was a hand-stapled video game zine written by a crew of arcade-loving teenagers.Welcome to the debut episode of Past Games, the new Patreon-exclusive series dedicated to revisiting the stories behind classic games and gaming moments. Over the next few months, we’ll be flipping through dusty periodicals and dog-eared history books to learn more about 2026’s big gaming anniversaries.For this episode, I invited my buddy Brendon Bigley (Wavelengths, Into the Aether) to talk pocket monsters. I share the history of the biggest children’s entertainment icon since Mickey Mouse, and Brendon shares his experience of growing up alongside the rise of Pokémania.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get weekly bonus segments, video episodes, monthly exclusive episodes, and more at patreon.com/postgames for only $5Want full show notes? Visit www.post.gamesThis week on Post Games: the final listener mailbag of 2025!Act 1: Questions about video gamesAct 2: Questions about the industry and the culturePatreon bonus: Questions about the nitty-gritty of gamingAct 3: The news of the weekThis week, I emptied the Post Games mailbag and tried to answer as many questions as I could muster. The result is one of the longest episodes to date, with the AMA spanning three acts and over 60 minutes!Plus, a very special extended news of the week: I chatted with Phil Salvador from the Video Game History Foundation. The VGHF has preserved the Sega Channel, the 1990s predecessor to PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass. How the hell do archivists preserve such a thing? Listen to find out!Now, I’d say this is the final episode of 2025, but that’s not entirely true. Next week, I’ll be sharing a special Patreon-exclusive mini-episode, reflecting on my personal favorite games of the year, along with a few small surprises. But I’m getting ahead of myself!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Visit patreon.com/postgames to get bonus segments, early access, and exclusive monthly episodes like "The birth of Pokémon: 30 years ago, a young game critic imagined the biggest franchise on the planet" for $5Visit post.games to get full episodes for free, including links to all games and stories referenced in today's showThis week on Post Games: How video games and anime took over pop culture together.Act 1: Anime in your video gamesAct 2: Video games in your animePatreon bonus: The anime every gamer should watchAct 3: News of the WeekLast year, I helped oversee the first major national survey of anime consumption in the United States. Before the survey, I knew anime had achieved pop culture status, with characters from Dragon Ball appearing in Fortnite and musicians like Megan Thee Stallion wearing over a dozen anime cosplays. Even still, the numbers surprised me.Nearly half of Gen Z watches anime once a week. And a quarter of millennials. 44% of anime viewers have had a crush on an anime character. And 65% of anime viewers find the form more emotionally compelling than other forms of media. Anime fans claimed to watch for escape and comfort. But also for strength, a tool to prepare them for a big test or a challenging day at work.We ran this survey at Polygon, a site broadly focused on video games, because while games and anime are two different mediums, they have for decades influenced and elevated one another. And the line between the two is blurrier and blurrier, with shows inspiring games that inspire more shows.How did we get here?To find out, I reached out to Geoff Thew, the founder and host of the hit anime YouTube channel, Mother’s Basement.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.