Episode 247 goes abroad to study in Germany

A look at a gaming scene rarely touched upon in Retronauts.

We here at Retronauts are mostly Americans. Diamond Feit is an American in Japan, and Stuart Gipp is British. And that right there pretty much encompasses the span of Retronauts's ability to speak to the global classic gaming market: An American perspective that touches on Japan and the U.K.

These are not the only places in the world where people like video games, however! We've been remiss in exploring those other regions, because we can't speak to them from experience or first-hand knowledge. That doesn't mean we don't want to. I'm keenly aware that, for example, Brazil has had a thriving games scene since the 8-bit era. I'd love to know more about Korean gaming. And I realize that we tend to conflate "Europe" and "the U.K.," even though these are two very different markets.

So, my hope in the coming months and years is to fix this shortcoming of the podcast by talking to more people from outside our core territories and learning more about their experiences. To begin with, I've recorded a brief conversation with Thomas Nickel of M! Games about his own experiences as a game enthusiast growing up in Germany, and how the German classic games scene has evolved.

I don't know that Thomas's experiences translate to all German gamers (I rather doubt it!), but it's a good start on bringing a more global view to Retronauts.

Retronauts Episode 247: Classic Gaming in Germany
MP3, 17.42 MB | 36:51
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Episode description: We often talk about the U.S., Japan, and the U.K., but what about the rest of the world? Games journalist and historian Thomas Nickel takes time out of his Tokyo Game Show work to share some insights into the classic gaming experience in Germany.