First Gen Gamers

With a topic as big as gaming's most enduring, most iconic character, you know it couldn't be done in one episode! Here's part 2 of our trip through every console generation and how Mario has grown from his humble roots in Donkey Kong to Super Mario Wonder.Check out Erik's podcasts here!And follow First Gen gamers on our socials here!

There is no more enduring character in video games than Mario, the Italian who gets sucked into an alternate dimension and becomes the protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. He may have started as a humble guy trying to save his woman from a rampaging gorilla, but over the years, he's been a doctor, a sports star, a kart driver, and starred in so many different spinoff titles. On this, the first half of a two-part episode, Jed teams up with Erik Slader from Podcasters Assemble and the Super Switch Club podcasts to talk about the Evolution Of Mario, from humble beginnings to being the Mickey Mouse of video games.Listen to the Super Switch Club and Podcasters Assemble!Follow us on the socials!

Every gamer has different tastes in gaming. But there is one truth that unites every gamer: somehow, some way, we need a device to control the game. Controllers are what make a game a game, and they can either immerse you in the action by feeling like a seamless extension of you, or bury you under awkward design. On this episode of First Gen Gamers, Ash and Jed are looking at the best and worst base controllers in console history. The controllers that came with the console itself. What just melts into our hands, and what should just be melted in an incinerator? You gotta listen to find out!Follow us on social media!

Kellie from The Final Girls Podcast is the guest on this episode to talk all about women and gaming; what it's like to be a woman in the gaming sphere, representation, and some of our favorite female characters. We also talk a little about her podcast, which celebrates the final girls of horror, and get into what we've been playing recently.Check us out on social media!Check out The Final Girls Podcast!

The word "underrated" gets tossed around willy-nilly. Anything that doesn't get at least a 9/10 has someone calling it underrated. So on this episode, Jed and his special guest Jamie Smith, a Principal Game Developer with Behavior Interactive, are making their choices for truly underrated games. Those games that live in bargain bins, that are black sheep of their franchises, or games that just otherwise went overlooked.Follow us on social media!

Perhaps no console has such a negative reputation as the Philips CDi. Released in the early 90's, it became the poster child for the awkward first-wave FMV games and its four infamous games based on Nintendo properties. But does it deserve its reputation? Could the Philips CDi be underrated? On this special episode, Yahel from Wrestling With Gaming, a self-admitted fan of the CDi, sits down with Jed to discuss all the CDi has to offer. It's a look beyond the infamy and the memes inside a console and a library that many have overlooked.Check out Yahel's YouTube channel Wrestling With Gaming for awesome video essays on the history of gaming.Follow us on all our social medias!

Games are unlike any other media, in that new machines come out over time to replace the old, and a whole new set of media comes with. Sometimes, we're lucky and games get made available on newer machines. But sometimes, we're not so lucky. The worst case scenario is when a game only comes out once, and if you don't have that machine, you can't play it. On this episode of First Gen Gamers, that's what Ashley and Jed are talking about: those games that had one shot at glory, one console on which to find an audience, and unless you have that console, the game is forever gated out of reach.Check out our socials!

We all love to quote famous lines from movies and TV shows in our conversations. Video games have plenty of memorable lines, too, and not always from the main character. Sometimes, an NPC drops a line that is unforgettable, whether it's due to being genuinely well-written, a poor translation from another language, or downright weird. On this episode, Ashley and Jed talk about some of their favorite NPC one-liners.Follow us on social media here: https://linktr.ee/firstgengamerspodcast

Nintendo is the oldest player in the video game console market, and one of the most beloved and consistent developers, with an unparalleled treasure trove of iconic characters and franchises. But that doesn't make them above reproach. They've made mistakes. They've made some bad business decisions. And they've positioned themselves as the villain on more than on occasion. On this episode of First Gen Gamers, Ashley and Jed deliver the sequel to their Best Of Nintendo episode by looking at the other side: the worst games, their dumbest decisions, and their bad business practices.Check out Jed, Ashley, and the show on social media!

There's nothing fancy about this episode. Ashley and Jed are pulling no punches, venting their spleens about some games they flat out hate. Games that let them down, games that ruined beloved franchises, games that refuse to be the best version of themselves ... it's all about getting out some venom.\Want to get in touch with us on the socials? Here's how!

Sometimes, the odds are stacked against a video game right from the start. A bad release window, a flawed concept, a rushed design, trying to get in on a dying fad, or questionable source material can lead to a game being dead on arrival. On this episode of First Gen Gamers, Ashley and Jed talk about games that never stood a chance.Check out our social media!

Once video games proved they weren't a fad, it was inevitable they'd cross into movies and TV. But the average show couldn't just show footage of Super Mario or Sonic without paying rights fees. That's where fake video games come in. You've seen them, from comedy to horror, on TV and in the theater. And today, Ashley and Jed are talking about the most memorable fake games in pop culture. What are they and where do they come from? You gotta listen to find out!Follow the show and the co-hosts here!Find Journey To The Center Of Hawkthorne here!

Nintendo is the oldest console manufacturer in video games, and one of the longest running developers and publishers of games alongside Activision. They are the house of gaming franchises that even non-gamers know about. With the recent official unveiling of the Switch 2, we thought it would be a good time to give Nintendo flowers for all they've done over the years. So this episode, Ash and Jed celebrate the very best of Nintendo; the best games, their contributions to gaming, and their savviest business moves. Check us out on social media: https://linktr.ee/firstgengamerspodcast

Ashley and Jed are having a little fun this episode, if making each other uncomfortable with difficult questions they have to answer is fun. Listen as they trade hand-crafted "Would You Rather" questions about gaming to each other, with only one rule: they have to pick one of the two options. Play along and let us know what you picked on social media!Links to our socials: https://linktr.ee/firstgengamerspodcast

Making a good product is only half the battle. It also has to be marketed. The best thing in the world can languish on the shelf if nobody knows it exists. Worse yet, sometimes the marketing does the product dirty; it misrepresents the product, or obscures it entirely with a stupid stunt. On this episode of First Gen Gamers, Ash and Jed take a look at when video game companies blow it with the marketing. Lies, PR disasters, poor timing, or overly ambitious campaigns that bring the wrong kind of attention to the product.Follow us on the socials: https://linktr.ee/firstgengamerspodcastShare us with your friends and on your socials, and leave us a review on your platform of choice!

While the gaming community can rally and close ranks when it is accosted by outsiders, it is remarkably quick to devour itself over the dumbest perceived slights. Within the game, on social media, on YouTube, or in real life, gamers can get exceptionally petty when they want to. On this episode, Ashley and Jed look at some examples of when gamers get petty; some are hilarious, some are ridiculous, and some are controversial and life-threatening. Listen and find out what happens when gamers forget video games are meant to be fun and not a life or death situation.LinkTree to our socials: https://linktr.ee/firstgengamerspodcast

What happens when Ashley is out sick for recording, but there's a schedule to keep? A guest host! Laceya Finley from Super Mega Crash Beyond steps into the cohost #2 slot, and since she's a lover of FMV games, that's the topic we explore. Where it all started with Dragon's Lair, the awkward 90's games that didn't know what to do, and how the genre has changed in modern day. It's a genre a lot of gamers have forgotten about or even think died off, but we're here to show it's alive and well!

Simulator games started humbly. Run a city. Run an airport. Run a theme park. Somewhere along the way, they became something more. You can be a bee. A forklift operator. A goat. A gas station owner. A rock. The possibilities have become endless. In this episode, Ashley and Jed take a look at simulation games. Games they've played, the way the genre has exploded in recent times, and the disturbing, dark (but silly) corridors the genre has gone down as gaming has become more popular. Want to get in touch with us? Check out our socials on this handy-dandy LinkTree!

Gaming is full of licensed games. You might not think of Madden or WWE or Marvel's Spider-Man as licensed games, but they are. Licensed games have been around since the beginning, which means there's plenty of good ones, and plenty of bad ones. But it's way too easy to identify those. What about the weird ones? The ones that make no sense as a game? The games that don't seem to know what the original source material was? The licenses that don't seem to have enough behind them to be a game? That's what Ashley and Jed look at on this episode: the weirdest licensed games in gaming history. Want to get in contact with us? All our socials can be found in this here LinkTree!

2024 has been a heck of a year. It's been a bit since we dropped an episode. Where's First Gen Gamers this holiday season? What's the show got in store for 2025? Jed drops a quick catch-up to tease what's going on and what's in store.