Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Are console generation leaps becoming less significant? Back in the day, each new system felt like a revolution—but have we reached a point where improvements are harder to notice? Has graphical fidelity gotten so good that new technologies struggle to stand out?

Trev and Stu look back at console generations from the 90s to today, breaking down whether the leaps were truly bigger in the past or if we’re just seeing things differently.

Stu’s been streaming Call of Duty on our channel

Trev’s revisiting Donkey Kong Country Returns on the 3DS—was the 3D effect actually worthwhile?

Wind Waker on Wii U—a timeless classic or just a glow-up?

The massive shift from 8/16-bit to 32-bit 3D—was this the biggest leap in gaming history?

Stu breaks down his four distinct eras of console gaming

When do console generations truly begin and end?

Is there anything on PS5/Xbox Series that last-gen couldn’t do? Do most gamers even care about ray tracing?

Why are console generations lasting longer than ever? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! The Nintendo Switch 2 was officially unveiled just days after our last show, and now Trev and Stu finally get to dive in! What did we make of the slightly unusual trailer, and what does the future hold? Will the original Switch finally see a price drop when the new model launches? Tune in to find out!

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Trev and Stu are finally back together after the Christmas break, with a whole bunch of new retro/modern gaming ramblings. This time around we dive into Bazzite, a SteamOS-like operating system that can turn Windows machines into Steam Decks, as well as looking into some of the PC gaming handheld news to come out of CES 2025. We also speculate what we might see in the upcoming Switch 2 reveal. This was recorded before the actual reveal a few days later!

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Special Stage Theme – Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) – Sega Mega Drive – Composer(s): Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III, Cirocco Jones, Sega Sound Team

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Trev and Al celebrate the 30th birthday of the PlayStation with a discussion on its chaotic origins, its astonishing rise and how it became the all conquering gaming giant that it is today!

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Attract Mode Theme – Ridge Racer Revolution (1995) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo, Nobuhide Isayama

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Are physical releases dying? With the PS5 Pro going fully digital by default, is the industry finally moving away from physical media for good? What does that mean for the mountains of games sitting on our shelves? Trev and Stu tackle all of these questions and more, as we debate the pro’s and cons of a disc-less future.

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Collision Chaos (Present) Stage Theme – Sonic CD (1993) – Sega Mega CD – Composer(s): Masafumi Ogata

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Following on from our “Saving Saturn” episode a while back, we decided to give the Dreamcast the ‘saving’ treatment for the 25th anniversary of its UK launch! In reality the DC died a premature death, but can we try to turn the dials of history and give it a better life? Featuring our recurring guest, Al!

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – GO GO ! Sega Rally (Attract sequence/menu theme) – Sega Rally 2 (1998/1999) – Arcade/Sega Dreamcast – Composer(s): Tatsuhiko Fuyuno, Susumu Isa, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Jun Senoue, Kenji Eno, Hideki Naganuma, Tomonori Sawada

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! The Sony PlayStation 5 Pro has finally been revealed, with the main talking point being its eye-watering £700 price-tag. Do the upgrades that come with it make it worth the extra cost, or should you just save the cash for a PS6? We discuss!

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Egg Carrier: A Song That Keeps Us on the Move (Egg Carrier Theme) – Sonic Adventure (1998) – Sega Dreamcast – Composer(s): Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Incredibly, we are already halfway through the lifespan of the 9th generation of consoles.

This means it’s the perfect time to cast our minds to the future, and speculate on what the 10th gen (Gen X) may hold in store. Will Playstation still dominate, can Xbox make a comeback? Will we see even more PC gaming handhelds?

– Stu’s new found addiction to Call Of Duty online multiplayer.

– How does the video game version of football compare to the real thing?

– Trev’s adventures in learning a new language.

– Why dont consoles get cheaper as they age anymore?

– Have console sales maxed out?

– Will Microsoft still make a dedicated box to connect to your TV?

– Do Sony need to evolve or should they keep iterating on their winning formula?

– Could Valve create a more powerful consolized version of the Steam Deck?

Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Hill Top Zone Act 1 – Sonic 2 HD – PC – Composer(s): Toni Leys (Original Mega Drive Version – Masato Nakamura)

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! The Sony PSP was a groundbreaking handheld console that set a new standard for portable gaming devices. Compared to its contemporaries, such as the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, it featured powerful processing capabilities, allowing it to handle 3D graphics that were comparable to the PlayStation 2, a remarkable feat for a portable device at the time.

Al joins us as we discuss how impressed we were upon first encountering it, and how its home console level experience inspired current era handhelds like the Switch and Steam Deck.

– Stu has started game streaming on our YouTube channel!

– Utter Nintendo dominance of the handheld landscape in the early 00s.

– A hint at the future of handheld gaming in pre-PSP consoles such as the Nokia N-Gage and Game Park GP32

– Stu recounts his Regent Street Gizmondo experience!

– Trev getting his mind blown playing Wipeout Pure on an import PSP in 2004.

– The revelation of the PSP providing close to a PS2 gaming experience in the palm of your hand.

– UMDs, the PSPs achilles heel?

– Legendary PSP games like Ridge Racer, God of War, Tekken, GTA, MGS Portable Ops, and more….

– Was the PSP useful as a music or movie player? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Attack The Barbarian (Boss battle theme) – Streets of Rage (1991) – Sega Mega Drive – Composer(s): Yuzo Koshiro

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast!

The demise of GAME stores has been slow but almost inevitable, and with their ever diminishing list of products they sell can they survive another 10 years? Trev and Stu discuss!

– A very British opening to the pod with a discussion about the weather!

– Do ODE solutions on retro consoles make physical game collections irrelevant?

– Modern accessibility of old games vs old movies.

– Is it morally wrong to physically modify retro consoles?

– Retro gaming elitism and the ‘correct’ way to play a retro console.

– GAME retail living on borrowed time and how CEX really is a better option when buying from a store.

– Is Microsoft risking losing customer ‘mindshare’ to their rivals with their increasing focus on xCloud and Game Pass?

– Some speculations on the rumoured Xbox handheld. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – We Are Apple (Leading The Way) – Apple Marketing (1984) – Composer(s): Unknown