We've been playing a lot of games lately as we come out of the summer season, so before the holidays hit with all of their big new releases, we're spending an hour discussing what we've been playing lately as we clear out the backlogs and sample new releases.  Blake Grundman and I both have some harsh words for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge DLC, I finished the World Tour storyline in Street Fighter 6, Blake is on his way in Starfield, and I'm just setting out in Sea of Stars.  Honorable mentions to Baldur's Gate 3 and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.  Join us!  Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

The voice of Nathan Drake himself, Nolan North, is the guest on this week's episode of Toon'd In featuring Jim Cummings, a man who for entire generations is the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and of course Darkwing Duck.  While North doesn't talk much about Uncharted, he does tell stories from his career as a voice actor as the two legends swap tales of auditions, replacing other actors only with permission, almost taking over as the new Mickey Mouse, and creating the right voice for the right character.  It's interesting stuff and well worth your hour if you're a fan.

We all make snap judgments from time to time, and sometimes those quick decisions take us in the wrong direction.  On this week's podcast, we're discussing games that we immediately dismissed for one reason or another and then later tried only to discover that they are actually fantastic.  Would you believe that we initially passed on such classics as Mega Man, BioShock, and Sly Cooper?  There's plenty more where those came from in this supersized episode. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

Stand back!  This week on the podcast we have assorted tales of interest about our recent hardware adventures.  Blake's MacBook that he uses for recording his half of the podcast unexpectedly died the day before we recorded this episode, so we're playing fast and loose with no editing this week.  Listen to how Blake upgraded his pinball table to contain over two-hundred additional tables, thrill as I more than double the internal storage of my Sony PlayStation 5 with a new Samsung 980 Pro hard drive, and marvel at Blake's new Steam Deck.  We're coming alive with seventy minutes of discussion. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

As Twitter's owner continues to gradually destroy the service with his impulsive ideas, greedily cost-driven policies, and eroding safety measures, it seems like it's only prudent to have another social media profile ready to go.  I've set up a PTB account on Mastodon at @[email protected].  It works like the Twitter account where I post new PTB content and carry on with followers and those I follow with fun conversation.  I'm staying active on Twitter as well until it finally all falls apart in whatever form that takes, but please consider the PTB Mastodon account if you've left Twitter and want to keep up with PTB activities.  Of course, there's also the PTB RSS feed for those who want that, too.  With Twitter on the verge of disabling auto-posts from blogs and game consoles, the RSS feed is the best way to keep up with new PTB articles and podcast episodes as they are posted to the site.  I'll have to manually post about new articles on Twitter and Mastodon later in the day as I have the time.

As we do every January, it's time to take a look back at our picks for Game of the Year.  2022 brought us a number of fantastic titles that we're still raving about including Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Stray, Sonic Origins, and many more.  Which game will take the coveted slot of our number one pick?  Join us for a supersized two hour discussion and find out!  Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

New year, new news recap!  The end of 2022 means it's time for us to look back on the biggest video gaming news of the year and put it all in context one last time.  We have everything from Embracer embracing everyone to Sony relaunching PlayStation Plus with new tiers to FIFA and Electronic Arts parting ways and much, much more.  Join us for a supersized episode.  Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

Conan O'Brien is back to being comedically inept at today's popular video games in his revived Clueless Gamer sketch in which he plays video games badly and riffs on what he experiences.  The sketch was a recurring element on his TBS talk show, Conan, but faded away some years ago even before that program ended.  Now it's back where it's always thrived, as paid promotional content on YouTube.  On this installment, Conan tries Deathloop, Powerwash Simulator, and A Plague Tale: Requieum.  I always enjoyed the segment even though it's blatantly paid advertising, and Conan's just so darn charming that the conceit of the bit works.  Clueless Gamer came to rely heavily on celebrity guest stars in its later years, but this revival features just Conan and his poor put-upon gaming consultant, Aaron Bleyaert, which I always felt was the best incarnation of it.  I'm glad to see it back and hope there's more to come in the future.

Following on from our last episode where we discussed the closing of Google Stadia, this week's episode follows on from that theme with a discussion of games and modes you cannot play anymore because support for them has been terminated by their publisher.  Spend an hour with us in gaming's graveyard. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

We're in the weather bunker this week as the clean-up from Hurricane Ian continues, but after we check in with podcast meteorologist Dalton Galloway, we discuss the sudden but inevitable end of Google's Stadia service and what that means for all of its customers.  Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way.