Neil and Dave love a bit of Ultima and there are two news stories related to that very series in this week's show. Can AI really be trusted to faithfully recreate classic video games for modern hardware? The BBC has a video all about the Millennium Bug (Y2K), so there is chat about that too.

It is your last chance to grab the Retro Collective Bundle: https://rmcretro.store/products/retro-collective-2025-support-bundle

Pixel Addict magazine has caught pinball fever and explores the history of pinball video games! There is an interview with Julian "Jaz" Rignall and a look at his new book! Head over to pixel.addict.media for your copy of the latest issue.

00:00 - Show Opening

05:58 - Reopening The Black Gate Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKeoXBBzqug

22:23 - Artificial Stupidity? Story Link: https://aftermath.site/microsoft-xbox-muse-ai-phil-spencer-dipshit

37:07 - Dave's Housekeeping - News links found below

44:05 - Turn Off Your Computer Before Midnight! Story Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0O4CKaB4ls

52:43 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing! https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

Follow your hosts! Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmcretro

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@UCLEoyoOKZK0idGqSc6Pi23w

Subscribe to the audio version of the show! 📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4 📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y 📻 Deezer: www.deezer.com 📻 Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZjQ5ODlmOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw 📻 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2f4989f8/podcast/rss 📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMx-JitepTttWc-ABHhu8A/

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Neil from RMC and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

Dave's Housekeeping Links:

1 in 4 Gen Z Brits Own Retro?: https://metro.co.uk/2025/02/18/1-4-gen-z-brits-owns-a-retro-gaming-console-reveals-new-study-22580498/#

TWIR Inspired Sunday: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2F9cxvqhe9nzke1.jpeg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dd80874762c20d06ef075a0197f6ae147312500ba

Too Many Games Too Little Time: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxklzlxxwyo

ITX LLama: https://youtu.be/UAFBR-Wk5Xw

Mastertronic Screenshot: https://i.redd.it/wfyybh16jqke1.jpeg

The hidden tale of the Game Wizard for the SNES leads us to reminisce about Romantic Robot's Multiface devices. More youngsters are looking to disconnect with offline gaming. Clever people are modding CRT screens to accept RGB signals.

We are sponsored by Sega Mania magazine this week. Now on issue 8 which covers Sega events from the latter half of 1995. Visit https://www.sega-mania.com/ where you can find every issue.

00:00 - Show Opening

06:56 - You’re A Wizard Mario Story Link: https://www.xda-developers.com/the-game-wizards-hidden-tale/

21:21 - Switch On To Switch Off Story Link: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/feb/15/theres-no-stress-gamers-go-offline-in-retro-console-revival Additional Link: https://retrosix.co.uk/ Never Knows Best Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2QgQtoGHRY

36:48 - Dave's Housekeeping - News links found below

45:17 - DIY RGB CRT ASAP….LOL Story Link: https://www.howtogeek.com/how-retro-enthusiasts-are-upgrading-crt-tvs-with-rgb-mods/

55:31 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing! https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

Follow your hosts! Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmcretro

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@UCLEoyoOKZK0idGqSc6Pi23w

Subscribe to the audio version of the show! 📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4 📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y 📻 Deezer: www.deezer.com 📻 Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZjQ5ODlmOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw 📻 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2f4989f8/podcast/rss 📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMx-JitepTttWc-ABHhu8A/

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Neil from RMC and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

Dave's Briefs Links:

1980s Ultima Photo: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fyqup7twrsdie1.jpeg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D442f517c0d55c22948e98e089061c54505edecef

I Robot: https://www.polygon.com/news/522526/jeff-minter-atari-i-robot

Random Access Memories with Holly: https://podcastaddict.com/iain-lee-s-random-access-memories/episode/191944559

FPGA Superior?: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/02/creator-of-new-open-source-game-boy-disagrees-that-fpga-is-superior-to-software-emulation

Zombie Nation: https://i.redd.it/sajau5awjqie1.png

🛠 Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com/ for all your PCB needs! 🛠

Top Gear have published their list of 50 top racers, do we agree? 40 years ago Lucasfilm Games gave us Rescue On Fractalus. Two weeks after the last one there is ANOTHER list of 90s shooters. Chris is back to keep Neil's seat warm and he has brought a a friend with him.....but who is it?

You can see more of Chris on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@005AGIMA Zac's first indie game: https://fuzznuggetstudios.carrd.co/

Shane's Perth Amiga User Group: https://www.youtube.com/@PerthAmigaUserGroup

00:00 - Show Opening

09:06 - They’re Coming Right For Us! Story Link: https://www.cbr.com/best-90s-fps-games-not-doom/

23:13 - 40 Years Of Fractal Rescues Story Link: https://www.eurogamer.net/40-years-on-rescue-on-fractalus-remains-a-rare-reminder-of-the-magic-of-lucasfilm-games

34:58 - Dave's Housekeeping - News links found below

49:39 - More! Push It More! Story Link: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/gaming/these-are-50-best-driving-games-all-time

59:36 - Community Question of the Week

🏆Your monthly support helps us keep the retro news flowing! https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinretro

🕸 TWiR Sub Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/

Follow your hosts! Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmcretro

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@UCLEoyoOKZK0idGqSc6Pi23w

Subscribe to the audio version of the show! 📻 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-retro/id1526487568?uo=4 📻 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2OPQ3cADaB92E9SpRdTe5y 📻 Deezer: www.deezer.com 📻 Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZjQ5ODlmOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw 📻 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2f4989f8/podcast/rss 📻 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMx-JitepTttWc-ABHhu8A/

This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Neil from RMC and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

Dave's Housekeeping Links:

RMC 2025 Bundle: https://rmcretro.store/products/retro-collective-2025-support-bundle

UK Game Petition Reply: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/702074

Cunk On Computers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTSGaKY1vbc

3DO M2 Auction: https://preview.redd.it/mrvn5u37mvhe1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16e03f595c4396f0adc9a236347606824a2d1fb9

E-Ink Text Handheld: https://www.inkconsole.com/games

Banjo Guy Ollie Dune Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqa3Ed9hHq8