Retrospect #058 - Console Controllers: How they’ve Evolved & Our Favorites

In this episode, Brandon & Seb discuss the latest retro gaming news, which is Pokémon heavy due to announcements, and a lot of handhelds are getting a price increase due to memory shortages!

Welcome back to another episode of the Retro Dodo Podcast. You’re listening to episode 106, and Seb’s back with Brandon to unpack all of the latest news since our last episode. You’re going to need to sit down for this one, because it’s a biggy!We talk about the M64 and our first look as one of two brands in the world and the first in the UK to get early access to this console. Brandon’s been putting it through its paces, and we give our thoughts on how it will go up against the Analogue 3D. There’s more Pokémon and handheld news than we can shake a stick at, along with the oddly-named Super Pocket Knob 5000 handheld which is turning a few heads for all the wrong reasons. All of this and more to come, from two men of Italian and Sicilian descent who are slowly balding but hanging onto their youth for dear life. Let’s jump into the podcast!

This week in retro gaming comes with a lot of announcements about retro handhelds, AYANEO shot themselves in the foot... again, ModRetro are sending us an early sample of the M64, and LEGO is teasing a huge Hyrule Castle set?

It’s 2026, and we’re back with a brand new episode of the Retro Dodo Podcast! You’re listening to Episode 104, and this time Brandon and Seb are sitting down to take an in-depth look at last week’s news. There’s been a lot of amazing games and gadgets being released over the last seven days, as well as some exciting peripherals that you might have missed out on, all accompanied by an over-excited cat and one incredibly on-time cuckoo clock.

I know we said we were waiting till 2026 to record more episodes, but we couldn’t resist getting on Clyde Shaffer to talk about his brand new 8-bit game console, ‘the GameTank’. This isn’t FPGA or emulation - it’s new hardware with brand new games celebrating all things retro in 2025, and you guys flocked to our website in droves to check it out. We sat down with Clyde to get all of the information on the GameTank that we possibly could, from how the idea started to the design process and game development. If you’re into your retro gaming (which you all should be if you’ve read this far), then you’ll absolutely love this episode. So sit back, grab a hot chocolate, and enjoy a sneaky episode before we return in 2026!