Episode 118 - Gaming in 2023

Chris Smith is joined by regular host Paul Monaghan and special guest Rob Leane, gaming editor for the Radio Times. We discuss Rob's career so far, the beloved status of Radio Times and how it came to have a gaming editor, as well as an extended discussion about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and its implications for modern games jouralism.  It's worth a listen to enjoy Paul forgetting that he is a host on this podcast, and instead take the opportunity to be interviewed for his work on Amiga Addict and Pixel Addict.

Chris and Paul once again realise almost another year has gone by since they last recorded. Join us as we catch up on the year just gone, and manage to almost entirely avoid talking about Christmas. 

You wait weeks for a podcast, then two hours come along at once. Chris is joined by returning host Paul to look at their highlights from the games that have been announced for the year ahead. With a brief diversion to discuss the Amiga Mini, because there was no chance of them staying on topic.

Chris Smith the Newer is joined by returning hosts Jake and Tommy to discuss the last 12 months, and what they've been up to in life and videogames since Maximum Power Up last released an episode.

Chris Smith mk 2 is joined by returning host Tom Charnock to share fond memories of Atari’s much maligned console. They cover their own introductions to the console, and discuss their favourite games on the platform.  As always, if you enjoy this episode, please take the time to leave us a review on iTunes, or wherever else you choose to listen to your podcasts. If you want to continue the conversation, or give us any feedback, feel free to contact us on any of the socials below:

This episode features two interviews discussing two new print productions.   First up is Daryl Baxter who has written the Making Of Tomb Raider book. This book covers the stories behind the making of the first two games by Core Design. The book features over 20 interviews with people who worked on the game and Daryl also shares other things we can expect from this labour of love.   Secondly is an interview with the team of SEGA Powered. This new monthly print magazine has recently been funded on Kickstarter and is due for release in November. Paul who is also part of the project sits down to speak to the rest of the team and asks them to tell everyone what we can expect from the magazine. Dean Mortlock, Neil Randall and Marc Jowett share some of their experiences in the world of magazines as well as discuss a few of their favourite SEGA games.   The Making Of Tomb Raider book can be found here:  https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Making-of-Tomb-Raider-Hardback/p/20165   And the Kickstarter for SEGA Powered can be found here, as we release this episode there is still a little time left to back: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/segapoweredmagazine/sega-powered  

Our latest guest is Ashley Day, currently employed by Team17. Over this three hour chat we discuss all aspects of his career. Starting out writing for GamesTM, Ashley discusses his love of games mags and the challenges faced in his time on the magazine including getting interviews. In 2012 he moved to Nintendo working in Digital Marketing which involved coming up with some fantastic ideas to help drive Nintendo franchises. Now at Team17 he shares a few thoughts on a childhood dream working for a local company, the A500 Mini featuring several Team17 games plus more. We hope you enjoy the show and thanks to Ashley for his time.

This episode we are joined by two guests, both writers and they also produce their own podcast. Samuel Roberts and Matthew Castle join Paul to discuss their career working on games magazines. Both starting in the mid '00's we cover more recent gaming discussing the PS3, PS4, Wii, DS, X360 etc. Working on Official Nintendo Magazine, NGamer, X360 Magazine, PC Gamer and more game us lots of memories to chat about.  There are some great stories shared including trips away, challenges of ending magazines and Samuel's experience with The Walking Dead. We hope you enjoy the show and thanks for listening.

Our 42nd magazine related guest is Tim Ponting. Paul spoke to Tim about his career in games magazines and PR. Starting out on drumming magazine Rhythm, he soon joined Dennis Publishing on the much loved magazine Zero. He shares some memories of being editor and the challenges he faced against other magazines, coverdisks and more. From there we go onto his time on PC Zone and how the industry changed, the rivalry with PC Gamer, and what it was like to work with the late Felix Dennis. Finally we cover his time on Official Dreamcast mag, PR role at Activision which led to an amazing Call Of Duty 2 event plus much more. We hope you enjoy the interview and thanks to Tim for his time.

Paul is joined by best selling author and journalist, Keith Stuart. Keith started his career in the 90's at Big Red Software helping write game manuals. However in 1995 previous MPU guest Jason Brookes gave him his first games magazine role on Edge. We discussed his memories of working on Edge at such an important time in the games industry. As well as this we discuss his work on DC-UK and how the mag upset Sega.  Also covered is how he began writing for The Guardian and how that role evolved as well as taking the leap into writing novels (his latest Frequency Of Us recently released). We hope you enjoy the show and thanks to Keith for his time.