Video Gamers Podcast - The Games that Defined Consoles - Gaming Podcast

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

Gaming hosts Josh, Ryan and Ace boot up the nostalgia engines to explore the legendary titles that didn’t just sell consoles… they defined them. From the plumber who made the NES a household hero to the cinematic juggernauts that pushed PlayStation into the future, this episode celebrates the video games that turned plastic boxes into cultural icons. Each console has its crown jewel, a game that sparked fandoms, launched franchises and shaped the gaming world forever. Our trio breaks down why these classics mattered, how they changed the industry and which ones still hold up today. Whether you grew up blowing into cartridges or waiting through endless installs, this look back at video games history will hit you right in the memory card. Get ready for a power-up of pure gaming joy on the Video Gamers Podcast!     Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Disratory, Ol’ Jake, Gaius, Jigglepuf, Phelps and NorwegianGreaser   Thanks to our Legendary Supporters: HypnoticPyro, PeopleWonder and Bobby S.   Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/videogamerspod⁠ Join our Gaming Community: https://discord.gg/WraYzbpx Follow us on Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/⁠  Follow us on X:⁠ https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod⁠  Subscribe to us on YouTube:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VideoGamersPod?sub_confirmation=1⁠    Visit us on the web:⁠https://videogamerspod.com/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Amex Platinum, you have access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. So your experience before takeoff is a taste of what's to come. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. Is it the matcha, or am I this energized from scoring three Sephora holiday gift sets? Definitely the sets. Full size and minis bundle together? What a steal. And that packaging? So cute. It practically wraps itself. And I know I should be giving them away, but I'm keeping the summer.

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episode, we're talking the games that define the console. But first, some introductions are in order. I am your host Josh. And joining me, he's defined by his love of bandanas, MMA, ice hockey, working out, hunting without getting anything, loving every multiplayer game he comes across, and just about anything else he gets distracted by. It's Ryan. I'd like to say I'm a man of many talents, but I'm not. I'm just a man of many distractions. Distractions. That's a good word for it, yeah. I see something shiny. That's why I like open world RPGs. I'm just like, oh, shiny, and I just run that way. So, yeah, no, that's a very aptest. description.

Yeah. And joining us, he's defined by his love of Indies, his disdain for AAA, his overwhelming love of rats, cosmetics, chicken sandwiches, and Metroidvanias. It's ace. Are you reading my dating profile right now? Don't forget bad pizza. Oh, that's true. Cardboard pizza is another one.

That's, yeah, I forgot. about that. Don't you dare besmirch cardboard. Well, and drinking straight from two liter bottles is another one too. So, yeah. I mean, let's be honest, we could have just gone on and on here, but we got a show to get to. Yes, we do. Oh, man.

Well, listen, welcome in to everybody. Today's episode is going to be a lot of fun. We are going to be talking about the games that defined the console. What's funny about this one is we actually started off with the game that defined the console and then as we started sharing our lists with each other we noticed that none of us had like a singular game and that we kind of had like two or three yeah and then i was like okay i think i think we were having like some struggles here trying to pick which one uh was the actual like console to find a game on this uh so we're going to be talking about

Sega, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, the Nintendo Switch, and PC. So we've got a neat little mix here. We didn't want to go all old school, you know, nostalgia. We wanted to have some kind of more modern ones, and so a mix of consoles here. We're going to get into that in just a minute. But Ryan, I believe we have another new review to read. Is that right, buddy? We do.

We do have a review. And these, we always love these reviews. It definitely brings a smile to our face every time we see them come through. So if you're able, go ahead and hop on to the, you know, Apple if you have it and leave a review through that with the pod. It really helps us out and helps the algorithm and all that good stuff. But anyways, this one comes into us from BJ in the Morning Pod. It's got their own podcast. And it is titled, First Time Listener, Long Time Commenter.

Just kidding. I've been around for like six months now. Been meaning to leave a review for a while. Met you at Phoenix FanFusion and have been listening ever since. You all make my days at work easier and I've steered me towards games I've never played before. Thank you for the last, the information, and just entertaining me throughout my survival job. Good game, gents. Nice.

What a review. And we got to meet these fine fellas at FanFusion on top of that. We sure did, guys. Hey, you were, hey, you were invited, Ace. I know, I'm coming this year. Yeah, you were invited. It's not an art fault. You didn't fly all the way out from Virginia, all the way out to Phoenix,

to stay in a hotel and to come to the convention and to do, you know, come on, man. Bro, my job wasn't even able to pay my vacations on time. I was not getting that time off. Oh, man. But listen, you know what? Hey, there was a critical piece of information in that review. And that is, I've been meaning to leave a review for a while. and then you did it.

Do it. Look, I'm talking, I'm talking to all you listeners right now. All of you out there that are like, oh, yeah, I've been meaning to leave a review. Oh, I keep meaning to do that. You know what? Do it. Do it. Do it.

It's in your side quest bar. Don't you want to finish the side quest? It costs no money. Do the review. Don't you want that platinum video gamers podcast trophy? The last thing to get the 100% is to leave a review, people. just leave the review look pause the episode it's okay we'll be here when you get back you'll just hit play and here we are probably still like whispering into the microphone like idiots you know idiots to be

confirmed for sure yeah yeah but listen we we absolutely love the reviews that's why we read them on the show thank you to everybody that's taking the time to do that if you're on spotify you can leave us five stars uh like this star that comes in from unknown listeners who left five stars. Yeah, thank you, that's all you can do on Spotify. Yeah, good job. Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, man. And I do get a kick. You can't comment on Spotify, too. So I read all the comments, and I put up a poll usually or some sort of thing, you know, every week or every episode. And I do read them all. I try to respond. Josh responds to, like, we do look at it and we do, you know, try to communicate back.

So we love it. And the poll's at the bottom for those who are asking. Yeah, you got to scroll down to the bottom. All right. Yeah. People find them, though. I've been seeing lots of votes on these polls. And Ryan, you know, like the stooges we are, always likes to have some kind of crazy poll down there.

Mine are highly professional and very, very specific, dude. They're definitely how people describe us as professional. Professional and specific. That's us. All right, guys. I'll tell you what. Let's do this, man. this is this is a lot of fun now again

take a second listeners out there and when we'd say hey the Nintendo because the you know the NES is not on our list what game in your mind defines the Nintendo entertainment system right

like we're not talking the characters we're talking the game like most people would probably say Mario yeah you know but you know there's a lot of games that come to mind you know the original Xbox we're not covering that one today, right? But it's like, to me, the instant,

the instant game that comes to mind for me is Halo Combat Evolve, right? If you're talking, the original Xbox, what is the console defining game that comes to mind when you think about that console? So that's what we're doing today. We do have different games. Like I said, we did share our list on this one,

and so we do have some overlap because, you know, I think we're obviously going to have some overlap when you talk about these types of games that define the console. But we also have some differences, which is going to make it pretty fun. But what we want to know is what you guys out there think is the console defining game as well. So make sure you leave a comment on the episode, hop in our Discord server, let us know what you think.

We kind of have a no-brainer. So we kind of said, hey, man, we're just going to mention this one quick because we don't know that there is anything else that actually defines this one. But we're going with the Sega Genesis, boys. Oh, boy. I wonder what it is. We're starting there. There is one game. We all just kind of said it.

What game is it, boys? It's Sonic the Hedgehog. Yeah. And Sonic the Hedgehog, too, both of them. Oh, yeah, with tails and everything. Yeah, I prefer the second, but yeah, that's just me. Do you guys remember what the claim to fame was about the Sega Genesis over the Nintendo at the time? Sega does with Nintendo.

16 bit. 16 bit. 16 bit. I remember. it on the they had it on the console like you're like 16 bit baby and you're like 16 and you're blowing in your cartridge to like make sure it worked this is old school stuff pains that people don't know these days do you remember how colorful and vibrant sonic seemed compared to like Mario at the time like that was the main takeaway with the Sega and Sonic was just how vibrant

the colors in the game were and how fast like you know Sonic could move on the screen. I think those were like the two takeaways. But yeah, I mean, I was talking before we started recording. We always do a pre-show for the supporters of the show, where we do a little bit of kind of pre-show chatter, some behind-the-scenes stuff. And we were talking, I had a Sega Genesis. And one of the first games I got was Alex Kidd, which probably very few people have heard of or remember, but initially Sega was trying to brand Alex Kidd as the kind of icon for the console. Well, Alex Kid's stupid. And so it was a dumb character and it didn't work out. But thankfully, they kind of fell backwards into Sonic at one point. And then they went, oh, well,

this is a way cooler character than Alex Kid was. So, you know, thus we have Sonic now, thankfully. That's why you listen to this show, though. Because neither of us knew about Alex kid, man. I'll tell you that much. Don't you slander Echo Ace. I've already been down that road. I've been down that road. I've seen it. I played the heck out of some Echo, man. And to this day, Nobody knows what the heck you're supposed to do in that game, dude. But I can't tell you the countless hours I spent playing Echo as a dolphin, just trying to go like, I don't know what to do. They didn't even know when they made it, man.

Like, is there an ending to that game? Nobody knows, man. Everyone falls asleep. You just, it was pretty peaceful. Unless you were too far and you were about to drown, then it wasn't peaceful. I forget dolphins can drown. Oh, yeah. They're mammal.

Yeah, they're mandolts. I forgot. I was like, wait, dolphins can drown? Wait, dolphins can drown? Yeah, Ace, they're, they're not. No, no, you're right. They're just like me and you, Ace. Oh, man.

All right, guys. Let's make this a little bit more difficult now, okay? Let's talk about the Xbox 360. All right? Now, to me, the console. defining game was the game you played every time you turned it on

and you saw the little ring turned green okay because that was the real take it's not red no red ring it's over I went through three

red rings just so you know three I had three dude did they replace it each time I sent two back and then the other one I was just like whatever and I just trash it and it was like late in the series and so I had a new system.

Fair. Dude, my initial Xbox 360 made it. I want to say like nine years, dude. Oh, that's crazy. Without a red ring.

I barely even played this thing anymore at the point that I got the red ring, but I forget what I was trying to do. And I turned it on one day and that red ring showed up and I kind of went, huh. Like, okay. So this is betrayal. Because I'm pretty sure the warranty was like extended to like,

10 years or something crazy like that. So sure enough, I sent it in. They sent me one back and then I think I played like one more game on it. You would send it in years later. Well, yeah, man. Of course I'm getting my replacement. You know? I don't play anymore.

I'm going to send it in anyway. That's such a Josh thing to send that in later. You didn't put the penny on the heat thing? That's very fair. I can't even argue this. Yeah, I know. I know. Just like, I'm going to look up this warranty.

Yeah. I sold it though. I mean, I couldn't sell it if it had the red ring, guys, so, you know, it made sense. All right, when we think about the Xbox 360, what is the console defining game that comes to mind for you guys? It's Bioshock for me. Bioshock was exclusive to the 360 when it came out and like... It was. It was so appealing, dude.

The world of rapture, the use of the, you know, the plasmids and actual weapons in order to, take down these creepy spliced out enemies. It's just so iconic. The big daddies. Yeah, I'll do. Big daddies when they were showcasing those and announcing those was the most terrifying thing you could imagine. And I still to this day, remember Ken Levine

talking about like, you can try to take on a big daddy. And it is possible. And then they made it required part about that. Yeah. Yeah. Like, are you sure? You know, and I just remember being terrified of those things, but also going like, one day,

one day i'm gonna take you down boy yeah bioshock incredible incredible game incredible game it's weird to me it's because like i agree with you in a sense but like i completely forgot that bioshop was an xbox 360 exclusive for a little while yeah yeah it really was um what about you ryan this one for me is hard there's a few that i remember and and i feel that are like defining because um this was 360 was kind of like not my youth but my older teenage years to

where i really dove into gaming i mean i played a lot of pc but i would say more than anything it was gears of war uh yeah uh yeah gary jules mad world in the trailer and and just like every time i hear that song i think of the game and then i think of the xbox 360 and i think of the time drinking mountain dew amp energy drinks and just playing gears of War till two, three in the morning, four in the morning, like, I, that, that to me defines the Xbox 360. I know there's other games, maybe sold more copies, but to me, that was the one that really anchored in what, what that series, not only like the, the Gears of War series were, but like what Xbox could do, you know, with that next generation, that next level of shooters and gaming.

So to me, that is absolutely one of the first things that came to mind. And then the other one for me was Halo 3 okay like I mean when you talk about a console defining game halo three was the instantaneous okay it's got to be halo right like anytime you mention Xbox it's got to be halo but then I went yeah that's kind of the easy answer I don't want to just say that's the easy and Xbox and all that it is so but then I started thinking about it and I started going like what game do I remember playing the most and obviously like I said gears of war and halo but guys mass effect yeah mass effect is one of the most iconic franchises in gaming it's one of the most incredible franchises in gaming and a similar to bioshock mass effect was xbox 360 exclusive

yep for a little while it's my brother's favorite game and again people have to remember this was back in the days of exclusivity this is when you know Xbox and playstation we're going head-to-head on who had the best exclusives and that's why we ran into these like exclusive periods on these but man mass effect to me is the game that i actually remember like playing the most because it was at the time one of the greatest like RPGs out there i've always been a fan of RPGs you're playing as commander shepherd you know it was just an incredible game so i am officially making mass effect my console defining game for the xbox 360 That is a console selling game.

That is absolutely a console selling game. Well, and that was the thing, right? Because these other ones are sequels too. So I, you know, to think of a game that sold the console that defined the console, for me, Mass Effect was it. Because we had never seen anything like that before, man. What do you think you played the most of on the 360? Oh, Halo. Halo 3.

Yeah, that was me too. If we're talking just playtime, because, you know, multiplayer, the campaign, the Warthog run. Yeah. Oh, my God. You know, you're fun with buddies and stuff. stuff like that. Like, yeah, Halo 3 for me, that's why it was the first one to come to mind, too. But I do think that Mass Effect was like the game that, like you said, Ace, it's the reason you would want to buy a 360 at that point. That's fair. Yeah, it absolutely is. So,

all right, guys, I'll tell you what, let's take a quick break. And then, man, this one's going to be tough. And I am very curious to hear what people say about one of the best selling consoles of all time, the PlayStation 2. We're going to talk about that right after this break. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ, built for breakthroughs with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence, while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress.

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From mental health and suicide prevention to prostate and testicular cancer research and early detection, Movember is tackling the biggest health issues facing men today. Join the movement and donate now at Movember.com I think Ryan was trying to make the PlayStation logo with his hands. Is that a nest? Is that a nice? I don't think that's right. I'm sure what you're doing there.

Is that an ass? Which way? That I got it. Yeah, that's an S. That's an S. Okay. Now make the P, Ryan. There you go.

That's a key. That's a lowercase cue. Okay. Never mind. And anyways, continuing on. All right, guys, PlayStation 2. What's funny is these next two, we're going to be two of the best selling consoles ever, because we're going to do the PlayStation 2, and then we're going to do the Nintendo Switch,

which actually might be the top two best selling consoles of all time, except now we have the Switch 2. Yeah. Muddies the water. Guys, for me, now I will say this, I did not own a PS2. I had one of my best friends. in the world at the time had a PS2. I had the Xbox 360, so it was like, we had it covered. We had the bases covered.

So for me, this is an easy answer because I was so jealous that I could not play this game at home. I'm going to leave that as a tease. Ryan, let's start with you. What is the console defining game for you for the PS2? So I absolutely have the PS2. It is one of my most memorable consoles that I ever own. especially in my youth

and it's funny you talk about how long you had your Xbox 360 dude I had a PS2 no joke our big old you know two color TVs we had one that fell

off the entertainment center onto the X or onto the PS2 the whole sides like split open and that thing ran for like another 10 years dude it was an absolute tank that thing ran no matter what I absolutely love this

system. Um, what, what I personally remember and what personally I think of when I think of a PS2, obviously middle gear solid two. That's what I go to immediately. That's always my, uh, my go to is one of my favorite games of all time. But what I think defines PS2 for me would be Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. I think that, that was the, that was the, uh, man, you know, GTA 3 came out and like, there was like oh okay this isn't bird's eye view this is is something different and then san andrea san andreas just refined all that to make a really really solid pure game that people still quote people still love to look at and play and talk about like this is this is just an all-timer game for an all-time system yeah no it really pushed the boundary too of the system at that point

it felt like you were playing next gen like people could not believe like what they were seeing and how well it, you know, the, the PS2 was a juggernaut at the time, man. Yep, yep, getting chicken at chicken shack and working out and then, oh, snap, here we go again. All right, Ace, what do you got, man? All right, I kind of have, like, two in my head. Like, I have to mention it, or it's going to bother me,

but twisted metal black. Oh, my man. Oh, yeah, Tristed metal. Twisted metal was so good. And this is where we get the most. iconic look for our main man sweet tooth like this is where the best look comes from that

you know that Samoa Joe is rocking in the actual TV show but if I'm talking like what I think defined the PS2 for me personally it's kingdom hearts the clash of the giant that is Final Fantasy and Disney creating one of the most

confusing RPGs of all time but it's still going so it's clearly doing something right it's confusing because people don't know if they like it or not. Oh, people love Kingdom Hearts. Dude, people that love King. I know, I think it's so dumb.

My little brother freaking loves Kingdom Hearts. I love you, Jake, but I think it's the stupidest. I hate turn-based anyways. I think it's such a dumb game. It's not. Donald Duck is the goat. He is not. As an outsider to Kingdom Hearts, I'm with Ryan on this one, where I'm like,

what the heck are we doing, man? You're taking like Final Fantasy and you're mixing it with Disney? Like Mickey Mouse and these Final Fantasy characters and like, you know, Donald Doc is the most powerful being in the universe and like, spoiler. What are we doing people? What are we doing people? But I do know from gamers that it's like, bro, if you got into Kingdom Hearts, you absolutely got into Kingdom Hearts hard, dude. I'm so, dude, I am so filled with jealousy right now and like FOMO because I missed out on a lot of these games, dude, a lot

of these games. And again, I had access to a PS2 with my buddy, but we were always just playing like tech in and like pod race or, you know, these other like multiplayer games because we were hanging out. Right. Yeah. In my mind, there are two games that I think of when I

think of the PS2. And one is one of my favorite franchises of all time, which is God of War. Yeah. I remember being so insanely jealous that I could not play the God of War games and that all of my friends that had a PS2 were like, bro, Credos is amazing.

There's like this really inappropriate scene where you can go in and like do these things. And you know, I'm like a teenager at the time so I'm like, well, I want to be able to do that. I want to see it. And then they're like, dude, at one point you're climbing this Titan and you're fighting like the gods and it's the most amazing combat you've ever seen.

And I just remember being like green with jealousy. So when I think of the PS2, like God of War is the series in my mind that defined it because it was all I wanted to play. It was all I wanted to experience. And I never got a chance. Guys, everybody knows I love God of War 2018. It's probably my all-time favorite game. I did not get to play the God of War games until like 2018. Like I played, I played them on whatever the PS Now thing is where you can like play it through your computer, but you're playing.

I played those in preparation to play a God of War 2018, so I did not get to experience God of War until fairly recently. There is one other game, and I still to this day have never played this game, but any time I think of the PS2, I always think about this game instantly, and it's Shadow of the Colossus. Yeah. I don't know why that game comes to mind when I think about the PS2. It looked incredible.

the scale, like the environment, the kind of beauty of the game, you're climbing these absolutely colossal creatures. You've got the weird Griffin looking thing that's your companion. I still to this day, I've never played it, but those are the two games when I think PS2, where I'm like, these are the ones, man. These are the ones that define the console. Twisted Metal, one of my favorite games to play.

And the number one game that I wish we could remaster or resurrect back into existence, So that was a good choice. Bro, give me Twisted Metal Black remastered, like, any day of the week. That's what I just, yeah, every time I think of the, I think of the sweet tooth and, you know, and the clown and the stuff, and then I think of the dude with the, just the arms up in that one vehicle when he just, like, yeah, oh, Axel. Axel with two wheels. He could turn on a dime though, dude.

That was the beauty of Axel, man. Yeah. Yeah, he's fused into the wheels. Yeah. I love the lore in that game. I love the characters, man. doll face and all sorts of crazy characters uh my i i know some multiple people like us and stuff have grown up in religious families and so i was always afraid to play that game because it was

kind of like dark and edgy it was dark yeah and so like i was like i would play it with friends and i'm like i'm not supposed to be playing this you know and it was oh yeah that's that's exactly how it went i would go over to my cousins and we'd play it like co-op and was like all right we're not going to tell our parents but nobody's gonna know It's just cars with machine guns. Yeah, that's all. That's all. All right, guys.

I'm very curious if this one is easy for people or not. The Nintendo Switch, you know, I mean, a world-changing console, Nintendo just hit it out of the park with the Switch. My wife is, she literally just picked up ukulele some version. She's absolutely in love with it. It's the, it's not just the base one. It's the ukulele something something. Just the repack or whatever it was for...

I don't know. She started playing it and she's like, oh, I love this game. So she's been playing it every night's of the Nintendo Switch. Still very viable. One of the best selling consoles of all time. What is the defining game for the Nintendo Switch for you guys? Oh, man.

For me, it's Mario Odyssey. I love Mario Odyssey. Okay. See, this is... I think that's the popular answer, but I think it's Breath of the Wild. Breath of the Wild was on the Wii U as well, though. It wasn't exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.

Yeah, but did you really want to play it on the Wii? It ran fine on the Wii. I played it on the Wii and the Switch. People bought a Wii U. Wait, what? Yeah, that's the right answer, Ryan. Who bought the Wii?

Who bought the Wii? Who bought the Wii Fit ring? I had the Wii Fit ring. I had the Wii Fit balance board. Oh, I have that. Wee bowling was, come on guys. Decked out in the Wii house.

The ski jump in the Wii sports was the best, because you had to balance on the balance board and then you'd like squat and put your arms out. it would get it. But you couldn't like come up off the board too much. I was like, don't jump on me. Oh, yeah, nope. No, you couldn't do that. I'm picturing Josh play the Wii U. Oh my

good. Dude, I was, we bowling. Wii bowling is like, come on, man. Yeah, we bowling is good. I played, I spent playing Wii U bowling, dude. My other answer is Smash Ultimate because that was the ultimate collision of all these Nintendo properties, all these gaming properties into one final clash

under the original creator Mashiar Sakurai. I mean, they brought back Snake. That was cool. They did? Yeah, smash was a good one for sure. No, absolutely. Mario Odyssey, I think, is the popular answer

for that one, Ace. I mean, number one, it's an incredible game. So good, dude. I'm so ready for another 3D Mario. Same game. A good, a good 3D Mario. A good 3D Mario. They generally do pretty well,

unless they're trying to just capitalize on like the, what was it, Super Mario Brothers, you and some of these weird offshoot ones. Well, they just repackaged Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, so. Yeah. I mean, Mario Sunshine was pretty good. Mario Odyssey, incredible. I'm still hoping that we're going to get, listen, Nintendo, I know we troll you a lot.

If you give me Super Mario Odyssey 2 for the Switch 2 before Christmas, I'll buy it. I'll buy it. As much as we troll it, I'll buy it, dude. I'll buy it straight for Mario Odyssey 2. You got a Swiss 2? No, I'm saying. I'll buy a switch too. Oh, you'll buy a Switch 2.

Okay. All right. Dang. But for Super Mario Odyssey 2, I will absolutely buy a Switch 2. It's so good. That's a console defining game then if people want a console for it. Yeah, absolutely. Dude, that's awesome.

So, Ryan, what about you? What's your answer for this one? Oh, man. So this one's hard. Obviously, you know, Aces is good with that. And then Odyssey and Smash and stuff. But I'm going to go with Animal Crossing. That was the COVID game that I think kept people seeing, dude.

Okay, that was the reason I bought a switch. So we were into it. I played a lot of Animal Crossing with a good old former host of the show, Paul, and his wife, my cousin. I played a ton of OG Animal Crossing over at their house when I was growing up. I spent a lot of time there. Good comfort game, something that drew me in. And this thing, you know, I think like a lot of people,

bought it because of this game and a lot of people still play this game you know it just is one when i think of nintendo and the switch and these things i think of new age animal crossing and that's just kind of what it hits for me that game's how i ended up with three switch lights in my house because i had to go out and buy them because other people kept stealing my game card while i was trying to play animal cross oh no dude i remember i remember paul like messaging because my wife was playing it too and he this is so paul but he had like a spreadsheet of like all the different fruits in the islands and stock market for it all and he was like here's the here's the island code and if you buy this fruit on this day and then you can go to this friend's island and sell

it and you know it was it was such a paul thing man but it was like he had it down to a science dude like meanwhile i'm just running on the beach i'm just digging up seashells like yeah yeah yeah catching bugs that's why i got so bored and then i was like this game is It's not as good as when I was a kid, and then I got rid of it. All right, guys, let's move. This is a tough category because there are not a lot of PC-only games out there. So, you know, but there are, there were some iconic games that released exclusively on PC for a period of time before they were available on console. I'm going to just start us off here.

Ryan, one of your favorite games of all time, which is also one of my favorite PC games, Diablo. 2 was only available on PC at the time. I still remember the box for Diablo 2 and the artwork on it. You know, going to the store and buying the CDs and bringing them home and playing Diablo 2. It is also tied for me with Half-Life 2. You know, a lot of times, like when you think about PC gaming and kind of exclusives, you had the orange box from Valve when they were actually making games, which was Portal,

Team Fortress, Half-Life, you know, one of the best deals in gaming, but Half-Life 2 and Diablo 2 are the two games to me that defined PC gaming at the time. Yeah. No, that's great. I'm going to just kind of piggyback off that because those are probably

probably be mine. I was of that era. Diablo 2 was just a mainstay. I would log in to dial up internet and then hop into, you know, Blizzard and then, you know, boot up Diablo too but for me the most is is half-life two that was uh i think um

defining moment in what gaming could be the i remember doing and i know i've talked about this before on the podcast is running like the before the game was released i was going through the dev stuff and they would do kind of like a simulation on just what the game was going to look like and you can see the water effects and now obviously they would look so bad compared to what we can do these days, but back then, it was unlike anything I've ever seen and still to this day, like, there's a reason people continuously ask for Half-Life 3, like, give us Half-Like 3. There's a reason Half-Life Alex on VR is so well-loved and renowned. Like, it is, it is something that anyone who was in the PC world knows this game and knows

what it is so that has to be something that's kind of near the top or at least on the mountain rushmore you know of PC gaming we we often talk about cutting edge games that push the boundaries you know for a long time crisis was the game that you use to test like graphics and stuff like that like half life two was so far ahead of its time man that it was truly mind-blowing like it was a game that like you absolutely remember like was way beyond what anybody had experienced with like again like the physics and just the graphics and stuff too ace what do you have for this one i didn't like grow up with a pc in my house so i didn't have quite the same experience but when i think of like what the definitive pc game is to me it's

portal two or oh yeah one of the best games ever made one of the best games ever made absolutely one of the best puzzle games definitely but uh and also it's not like pc exclusive but i'd say cyberpunk man whatever i think of like playing a game on my pc i think about booting up cyberpunk and like that's how we like you know get people to stress test their PCs when they just built it was like oh yeah you should boot up cyberpunk and see how many frames you can exactly that's dude that's exactly when josh just like what you guys were talking about with half life yeah when i built my pc because i joined this pod i i you know i was always a pc gamer didn't have one for a while i had a bunch of consoles and stuff like that and then i got i got on to the

podcast i'm like well i better give a computer and I got it. And then I'm like, I'm going to stress test it with cyberpunk. You know, see what I can run for frames. And I'm like, oh man, I'm running this. I'm Max Ultra. And you know, so yeah, that's the one. So, uh, no, that's a good, that's a good pick too. That that is definitely a, uh, a defining game. And there's, I mean, there's still a lot of ups and downs about it. It makes it controversial. But like, that's what makes a good game. You weren't playing it on console when it

released. You were not. Now, no. I got a PS4 copy for five bucks. because I kind of think like cyberpunk is the new crisis where it's like you can absolutely just crush your graphics card with trying to play it but my goodness if it is not one of the most visually impressive games that I've ever

seen at the same time. It's always so pretty to boot it up man just walk around the city. Yeah I freaking love Knight City dude. Cyberpunk's one of my top five games of all time honestly so good good choice there. All right listen everybody we want to know what you think and you can do that in the comment section or you

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see ya peace out Thank you.