Summer Showcase Season! | Episode 62 | New hardware on the horizon? + Much More!

🎙️ Join Heather, Stu, Tommy and Tom as this week’s episode dives into the aftermath of showcase season, breaking down the biggest reveals from Sony’s State of Play, Summer Game Fest, and the Xbox Showcase. From surprise announcements and dream games to retro pickups, Bond adventures, and the return of midnight launch nostalgia, there’s plenty to unpack. Plus, stick around for the usual gaming quiz chaos. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro and what we are playing! 00:28:17 Gaming News and Upcoming games 🗞️ 00:32:26 Questions From Discord ❓ 00:44:03 Main Topic: Summer Showcases ☀️ 01:29:50 Gaming Quiz Time! 01:37:23 Timeless & Competition! Find all of our links here: Linktree: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/gameolder2024⁠⁠⁠⁠ Discord:⁠ ⁠  / discord   Twitter/X: ⁠https://x.com/GameOlderPod⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠   / @gameolder2024   Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠   Contact us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Discount codes and shout-outs: We are all going to Timeless 2026, and if you would like to join us and meet us go to timelessgaming.co.uk and use the code OLDER26 to get 15% off all tickets. Bitmap Books 5% off all purchases: OLDER5 ⁠⁠bitmapbooks.com⁠⁠ Please don't forget to rate and review us wherever you listen, along with hitting the follow/subscribe button! ⸻ 🎮 What we’ve been playing: Tommy Finished 007 First Light, praising its strong story, excellent British voice acting, and impressive set pieces. Compared it favourably to Hitman, enjoying the added action and cinematic moments. Continued working through LEGO Batman, enjoying its Arkham-inspired structure and lighter tone. Still making progress in Zelda: Skyward Sword, though occasionally relying on Google to remember where to go next. Jumped into Pokétopia with Stu and continued building up their shared world. Played Mario Party 1 online via N64 emulation and was pleasantly surprised by how well the original still holds up. Also finding more time for the gym and real-life activities, including plenty of pickleball. Tom Added several impressive new pickups to the collection: A large Cammy statue. A Naomi GD-ROM setup for arcade hardware. A silver PS2. Sealed copies of Resident Evil: Dead Rising 2 Zombrex Edition, Wonderful 101, Star Fox Zero, and more. A Japanese Mega CD copy of Night Trap. A rare Sega Mark III console. Continued working through Yakuza 3. Spent most of his gaming time with Forza Horizon 6, praising its visuals, online play, and stunning environments. Stu Finally joined the Switch 2 club and couldn’t be happier with the upgrade. Continued sinking time into Pokétopia, calling it one of his favourite games of the year despite a few minor frustrations. Played plenty of Mario Party and Mario Kart online. Finished the latest Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion and praised how polished the overall Diablo experience has become. Tried the new Star Fox demo and loved how faithfully it modernises the N64 classic. Still absolutely hates Slippy. Heather Unexpectedly enjoyed Barbie: Project Friendship, discovering it was far better than expected and surprisingly similar to Overcooked in places. Jumped onto Fortnite’s newest map before inevitably getting annoyed by sweaty lobbies. Continued playing 007 First Light, particularly enjoying its creative opening montage and faster pace compared to Hitman. Took part in another retro gaming market in Sheffield, successfully selling plenty of PS2 and Wii titles while scouting what collectors are currently buying. ⸻ 📰 Gaming News Highlights: Valve confirmed its new Steam Machine remains on track for Summer 2026, though pricing is still unknown. Computex showcased a major boom in handheld gaming hardware, signalling growing industry investment in portable devices. Ongoing layoffs and rising hardware costs continue to affect the industry, with publishers increasingly favouring safer franchises over experimental projects. Discussion around the future cost of gaming hardware and the challenges facing developers. ⸻ 💬 Discord Questions & Random Chats: Dream casting choices for the upcoming Streets of Rage movie. Favourite memories from gaming midnight launches, including: GTA: San Andreas launch night. Gears of War releases. Xbox One launch regrets. GTA Vice City launch-day stories. A surprisingly passionate debate about the best kind of pie. Whether a crumble actually counts as a pie. The mystery of Wigan kebabs. Jaffa Cakes somehow getting dragged into the discussion.