Raise your hand if you saw this coming: If you thought the O2/Videopac news was getting awfully quiet, think again – Philips is back on the scene, releasing new compilations of classic Videopac games through Steam. There are some cool things about this, and some not-ready-for-prime-time things about it, and this podcast discovers some of both in re…

Everything old is new again! The latest directly from the developers of the potential new member of the Odyssey family, a look at Odyssey Retro’s potential risks, potential greatness, and very cautious and frank analysis of the system’s chances of actually happening at all. And if the thought of the O2 making a comeback is a surprise, the other pie…

You wanna retro that by me again? The shot heard ’round the Odyssey2/Videopac world. Is someone seriously trying to bring this hardware platform into the present, or allowing it to stubbornly stick to the past? There are so many questions yet to be answered…and this edition of the show is asking them. (21:48) Right-click and “save as” to download m…

Clothes maketh the game: The black background. The vanishing point logo with its very, very seventies font. The Helvetica lettering. Could anything ever replace the classic look of vintage Odyssey2 packaging? Should anyone even try to come up with a new look? Hear from someone who tried, but apparently didn’t stick the landing. (10:25) Right-click …

Anyone wanna make games for this machine? Third-party games were – and remain – a real rarity for the Odyssey2 and Videopac. But who, aside from Parker Brothers and Imagic, should’ve stepped up to the plate? Another bite-sized edition of the internet’s only podcast with sync-sound action ponders who might have dared to create more games for the Ody…

Back In Action? Yes, Select Game is still here…and yes, Select Game still covers the Odyssey2. A bite-sized edition of the internet’s only podcast with sync-sound action is here to let Odyssey2 and Videopac (and Jopac and Radiola Jet…) fans know that there’s more to come. (10:21) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback…

Back In Action! Now with 100% less Dalek vocalization. Is the Odyssey2 up to the task of simulating the physics of pinball? And if it falls short…well, little multicolored dudes cracking electrical whips will do just fine, right? Sure they well! Also, we get to test-drive PackratVG.com’s amazing C7061 multicart to play Thunderball!, Pachinko!, and …

Exterminate!! Some podcasts should be heard and not seen, but now Select Game offers you the chance to do both! Well, due to an unidentified microphone-and/or/-software issue, that might be a stretch, as your host sounds a bit Dalek-ish for the first several minutes of the show. In this edition, more listener letters, game names that might have bee…

Poppin’ Fresh D’OH!! Some podcasts should be heard and not seen, but now Select Game offers you the chance to do both! In this edition, we play P.T. Barnum’s Acrobats! and the Videopac-only Loony Balloon, we ask why the Jopac had to have square balloons in the former, and we trace both games to their arcade roots, complete with hilarious early voic…

A Deep Dive Into The Vaporware Realm! Who killed the Odyssey3? Was it a machine with underwhelming capabilities that would’ve been DOA? Or was it killed by its own heir apparent, the Odyssey4? Forget everything you thought you knew about the end of the Odyssey consoles. (53:53) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback N…

Universal appeal! From his groundbreaking work in hypothesizing and studying black holes, to his famous electronic voice, the late, great Professor Stephen Hawking left his mark on the world, and it’s only fitting for the Odyssey2 and Videopac to pay tribute. (35:48) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Ga…

This game rocks! Long before Minecraft and Terraria, Pick Axe Pete was hitting the mother lode on the Odyssey2! The storied history of your podcast host’s all-time favorite, plus an exciting new product announcement and more! (48:29) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Gamebygamepodcast.com You can pick y…

Festive Firepower! Return with us to find out what was under the tree in Christmas ’83, as well as test-driving a lost, unreleased game that’s now up for grabs as a reproduction cartridge. (40:21) Select Game will return in The Living Daylights February 2018. Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Gamebygame…

Much More Munching! Previously on Buffy Select Game, the courts took K.C. Munchkin! off the shelves. But did the Odyssey2’s cute blue muncher stay out of the limelight? Awww hell no – K.C. is still in circulation today. As in, literally, today. (31:20) This episode was intended to drop before PRGE, but real life intervened, as it is wont to do. Rig…

Winking Frogs! Gather ye quarters while ye may…you’ll need them to save up for Super Cobra, Frogger, and Turtles! on the Odyssey2 and Videopac. Also homebrew news galore. Winking froggies included, some assembly required. (36:03) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirror | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Gamebygamepodcast.c…

Strange Brew! What has kept the Odyssey2 alive into the 21st century? Not me talking about it, that’s for sure – it’s the homebrew programmers and their sometimes brilliant, sometimes frustrating additions to the Odyssey2 and Videopac libraries. This month’s show examines a cross-section of homebrew titles, from the very first to the fairly recent.…

Amazing Arcade Ports! Select Game is back after some downtime to take the Odyssey2…or really the Videopac…to the arcade, where we’ll play Popeye, Frogger, and Pong For Videopac & Odyssey2! Plus: Odyssey2 homebrew news from MGC, and a whole new way you can help the site keep the lights on. (39:29) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Arc…

Balls! Select Game returns to cover several Odyssey2 sports games: Bowling!/Basketball!, Pocket Billiards!, Electronic Table Soccer!…and a doomed attempt to play Football! And there may even be something about a trackball! Balls. (44:53) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirror | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Gamebygamep…

Scintillating Second Season Starter! Select Game kicks off 2017 with your letters and e-mails, wondering where The Art Of Odyssey is, new Select Game swag, and 2016 me plays Blockout! / Breakdown! and Out Of This World! / Helicopter Rescue! (1:00:59) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirror | Stitcher | Throwback Network …

Deck the Halls! It’s the story of a serious sunburn, rainbow trout, a game room serviced by a single distributor, an attempt to will Odyssey2 ports of arcade games into existence, and a lifelong obsession that culminated in…a marquee. And this podcast. (1:05:53) This podcast is dedicated to the memory of player two, Alison Green (1942-1987). Right-…

Exciting Season Finale! He came to gobble dots and munch on munchers. He brought rave reviews to the Odyssey2. And litigation hell came walking in five steps behind him. Hear the story of K.C. Munchkin! from his conception to his downfall, find out if the game was ever really “rare”, and much more! (1:04:30) Right-click and “save as” to download ma…

Gnarly Ninth Episode! Third party publishers didn’t lavish a lot of attention on the Odyssey2 or Videopac, but here’s the entire lineup from one company that did: legendary third-party game company Imagic translated Demon Attack and Atlantis for Odyssey2 fans. (26:14) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirror | Stitcher | …

Electrifying Eighth Episode! Crack open the funny pages, break out the action figures, and swing into action with Spider-Man and the Power Lords on the Odyssey2! Find out what the incredibly obscure selling point of the Power Lords toys was, and just how bad your host is at playing Spider-Man! (38:28) Right-click and “save as” to download manually …

Spaced-Out Seventh Episode! A much-longer-than-usual episode starts off with discussion of absent friends and sound quality, what the most disappointing thing about Cosmic Conflict! was (it’s not what you think), why the Invaders From Hyperspace have got your number, and what one of these games owes to a certain George Lucas movie. Little E once ag…

Sword-‘n’-Spell-Slingin’ Super-Sized Sixth Episode! There’s a thin line between setting out on a grand quest to restore peace and order to the kingdom, and “Dad, why do we have to get all these rings?” And in this episode we cross that line! E and I swash our buckles, and fail a saving throw against playing the board game precisely the wrong way. T…

Sword-‘n’-Spell-Slingin’ Sixth Episode! There’s a thin line between setting out on a grand quest to restore peace and order to the kingdom, and “Dad, why do we have to get all these rings?” And in this episode we cross that line! E and I swash our buckles, and fail a saving throw against playing the board game precisely the wrong way. The edited-do…

Furious Fightin’ Fifth Episode! “They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in modern war there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason.” And so will we! Little E joins the show as Select Game’s first Player 2, as we play Showdown In 2100 A.D.! and War Of Nerv…

Fantastic[ally late] Fourth Episode! Let’s get some educational games out of the way, shall we? Except that one of them is a bit more advanced than I remembered, and one of them played a part in changing the course of my adult life…and still another is sort of an accidental tribute to the late, great Ralph Baer. Every game counts as we play Math-A-…

Thrilling Third Episode! In this jumbo-sized, spaced-out, and ever-so-slightly self-indulgent episode, your host mulls over a future that never was, running from space crabs as a family pastime, plays a duet between two numbered game consoles, and makes an announcement at the end. Also, somewhere in here, Alien Invaders – Plus! and UFO! are played.…

Exciting Second Episode! There’s more to life (and the Odyssey2) than racing cars and scrambling words. Listener mail is read, Moonbase Alpha is visited, and Baseball! and Computer Golf! are played. (35:01) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirror | Stitcher | Throwback Network | Gamebygamepodcast.com Links from this epis…

Premiere Episode! In which I recount how I came to be the owner of a shiny new Odyssey2 from the future, what this had to do with booze and college football mascots, wax rhapsodic about Odyssey2 cartridge packaging, and proceed to review Speedway! / Spin-Out! / Crypto-Logic!. (31:18) Right-click and “save as” to download manually | Archive.org mirr…

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