PODCAST

Hot Button

Chronicling strange and interesting stories in the world of video games.

games & hobbies video games

All Episodes

01:41:51

Episode 62: Metropolis Down - The Rise and Fall of...

Hot Button ·

2020/04/27

Bad game launches can unfortunately be commonplace these days, but very few can reach levels of disaster so high that it effectively kills an entire long-running franchise AND beloved studio. Hear the story of how everyone’s favorite urban-planning simulation went from winning Game of the Year awards to instead topping lists of the most disappointing titles ever released. How once masterful design could somehow devolve into a pile of technical problems and ill conceived ideas so poor, that it would

01:26:04

Episode 61: Millions to Billions - The History of...

Hot Button ·

2020/04/12

Today we answer the age old question of what happens when two extremely talented millionaire programmers gain access to a cutting edge engine and a team of creative geniuses. It's the perfect storm of privilege, timing, and know how. Join us for our new multi part series as we take a whack at the history of one of gaming's giants, the infamous Valve Corporation. In part 1, we discuses the beginnings of the company and the development of it's debut game Half-Life. A game so great that even John

01:12:05

Episode 60: Pac Ma'am - The History of Ms. Pac Man

Hot Button ·

2020/03/30

It's the 1980s. Arcades are all the rage and Pac-Man Fever is sweeping the nation, but how will Japan capitalize on the craze? They go to MIT of course! On this episode of Hot Button, we dive into the development and lawsuits of Ms. Pac-Man, and explore how the sequel to one of the most popular arcade titles ever produced came from one of the most unlikeliest of places. NOTE: Due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and the quarantine procedures put forth by our state and federal governments, this

51:10

Episode 59: Brogrammers Gone Wild - The Guy Game

Hot Button ·

2020/03/16

It’s time to get sleazy in the Hot Button studio this week as we discuss the origins of one of the dumbest, grossest, and most exploitative titles to ever weasel its way to the mainstream gaming market. A story not just involving strip clubs and fast cars, but also... Nintendo? And Metroid? Find out how a once respected developer almost found their way into a jail cell following the discovery of something that even 4chan will ban you for.

01:10:43

Episode 58: From Russia With Fun! - History of Tetris...

Hot Button ·

2020/03/02

We made it y’all. The final piece of our Tetris saga! Hear the results of every win, loss, deal, lawsuit, and death. No thread left undone. Take our hand as we guide you through it all. From it’s changes over the years, to it’s use in scientific research, to the legacy that it left behind. A legacy that would change the world forever.

50:59

Episode 57: From Russia With Fun! - History of Tetris...

Hot Button ·

2020/02/17

The race to finally get Tetris on the NES and Game Boy is on! On part three of our epic saga, we run through deal after deal and try to separate those that wish to team up from those that just want to screw each other over. Who will come out victorious? Only one way to find out.

01:04:27

Episode 56: The Last Temptation of Pidgeot - Twitch...

Hot Button ·

2020/02/03

What happens when 100,000 people try to play a video game at the same time? Fan art? Political struggle? Religion??? Today we take a look at the journey and legacy of the phenomenon Twitch Plays Pokemon! A massive social experiment that ignited an entire culture of lore the likes of which the internet will never forget.

01:02:20

Episode 55: From Russia With Fun! - History of Tetris...

Hot Button ·

2020/01/20

And we’re back with some more Tetris talk! Today we dive deep into the confusing and tangled web of licensing in order to find out just who exactly owned what in the battle to acquire the rights of what would soon become the best selling video game ever made. Nintendo, Atari, Maxwell, Sega. Everyone is here!

06:15

Hot Button 2020 Update

Hot Button ·

2020/01/10

Join us for a few short minutes this week, as we give you a quick update about where Hot Button is going in the year 2020, what changes we're making, and what new content we're working on.

51:51

Episode 54: From Russia With Fun! - History of Tetris...

Hot Button ·

2020/01/06

Time to kick off 2020 with diving into the history of one of gaming’s biggest phenomenons ever, Tetris! On the first part of our series today, we go back to 1984 Russia and find out just where exactly it all got started along with who was involved in the ensuing battle that would bring Alexey Pajitnov’s groundbreaking title off of just single Soviet computer and onto platforms all over the world.

55:12

Episode 53: Minecraft Takes Down the Internet - Mirai...

Hot Button ·

2019/12/29

What happens when online squabbles over a video game get so powerful that they take down the entire internet? Well, that’s a question we don't need to ask since it actually happened! On our last episode of 2019, we cover the Mirai Botnet. A hacking tool invented to hack servers for a small indie game called Minecraft. Join us as we tell you about how small fights over independently run game servers led to billions if not trillions of dollars in corporate damages.

51:03

Episode 52: Microtransactions #2

Hot Button ·

2019/12/23

And we’re back with not only one story this week, but three! Join us on our second Microtransactions episode as the team brings a few more interesting small topics to the table. Topics that revolve around war, poop, and even AIDS research. Find out how all these things are connected to video games here and only here!

01:39:06

Hot Button Game Awards 2019 Special Follow-Up

Hot Button ·

2019/12/18

Your game of the year answers are finally here! Hear us run through everything revealed at the official 2019 Game Awards and see how we each scored in the process. Hot announcements, new consoles, live performances, we cover all the wins/losses and find out which one of the three of us placed the best bets!

01:24:46

Hot Button Game Awards 2019 Special Part 2

Hot Button ·

2019/12/06

Our Game of the Year series continues! On part II of today’s episode in celebrating the best of 2019, we pick up right where we left off and finish the full list of The Game Award’s official nominations. We even saved the biggest categories for last like best direction, Game of the Year, and best... uhh... eSports coach?

01:31:21

Hot Button Game Awards 2019 Special Part 1

Hot Button ·

2019/11/29

Making it through to the end of the year just means it’s now closer to awards season! On our special two-parter, we discuss the absolute best of gaming in 2019 by running down the recently announced nominations featured in Geoff Keighley’s annual Game Awards show. Hear us list off the greats, category by category. What deserves to be there? What shouldn’t be there? Who do we want to win? Who do we think will win? What do we feel were the most egregious snubs? Our bets are now placed for the first

01:17:59

Episode 51: I Have a Mouth, and I Must Scream... But...

Hot Button ·

2019/11/22

Performance is one of the greatest advancements video games have made in the past 20 years. Voice acting went from an afterthought of development to a vital piece of delivering a top quality story. However, what happens when those hard-working actors feel highly mistreated? Their union SAG-AFTRA steps in! On this episode, we cover their fight for better working conditions, higher pay, residuals, and actual protections for the craft. We’re gonna tell you all about how that fight went, and why you

01:56:20

Episode 50: Hot Button Year-One Edition

Hot Button ·

2019/11/15

It’s our one-year anniversary! Can you believe we have been doing this for 50 whole episodes now? Us either! Which is why today we are gonna take a trip down memory lane and run through our library of topics starting from our first release all the way through to the present. Hear how we update stories that need to be updated, fix mistakes that need to be fixed, and make jokes that we somehow didn’t get to before. It’s our “where are they now?” episode and even our sound guy is here to

01:24:56

Episode 49: World of Warcraft's Corrupted Blood Incident

Hot Button ·

2019/11/08

Plagues are not new subject matter to video games. Many a fictional post-apocalyptic world starts with a plague. But what happens when the world's biggest MMO accidentally introduces a plague that kills off a ton of it's lower level players, almost making the game unplayable? On this episode we are joined by MMO expert Dan Bittner, as we break down World of Warcraft's Corrupted Blood Incident. Learn how a simple bug in a new raid led to players running through the skeleton covered streets of

01:18:09

Episode 48: Tales from EVE Online

Hot Button ·

2019/11/01

This week we discuss a group known for its lying, backstabbing, racketeering, piracy, war for profit, and corporate greed. No, not Congress, the players of the infamous mmorpg EVE Online. We talk a bit of history, some of its several thousand player battles, and a few of it's more frighteningly dedicated members.

01:39:02

Episode 47: Itchy Tasty - The Origins of Resident Evil

Hot Button ·

2019/10/25

Halloween is just around the corner, so what do you say we close out the end of our spooky scary series by exploring the origins of gaming’s most spooky scary series. This week we enter the world of survival horror to discover just how the Resident Evil franchise was born and how zombies would see their biggest revival in pop culture yet. It’s a story that might go back much further than you think!

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