FunFactor

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration38Feb1998

QUIZ LINK: https://forms.gle/9cFPG8EsJesFAEB59

BILLY BAKER’S 2007 BOSTON GLOBE PIECE ON HIS WIFE SECRETLY BEING THE WORLD’S BEST TETRIS PLAYER: https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/

Our Season 1 wrap-up extravaganza has never been more extravagant: Chris and Eric from Retrograde Amnesia join us to take NEXT Generation’s “Are you Hardcore?” quiz! Thanks to Josh from the Still Loading Podcast, we were able to see and take the whole quiz for the first live via Google Form–and hey, so can you!

Back in February 1998, the staff of NEXT Generation issued a challenge to their readership with a 200-plus-question quiz determining whether they’re truly hardcore. This being 1998, some of the questions were more about whether you were an actual dirtbag, and many of them assumed you were a North American male of roughly GenX age. But most of them were great fodder for telling stories, claiming points of pride, and owning points of shame.

As always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live!

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Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!

We told you to ask us anything, and you did! Our Season 1 wrap-up continues with a special AMA/Q&A. From assembling our own ultimate mid-90s gaming mag Voltron-style to talking through how we handle offensive/problematic content, we answered all the questions you submitted via Discord and Bluesky!

As an extra-special treat, Ty also reveals the (published!) letter he sent in to Game Players back in the day. Cringe level: MAXIMUM.

As always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live! 

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Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!

The grand finale of Season One is here! Our coverage of the 1995-1997 “Generation Gap” ends with a blowout review of (nearly) every (English-language print) review of Final Fantasy VII that we could find.

Starting with a quick look back at the first year of FunFactor, and discussion of what’s coming next, we then re-looked at the magazine we debuted the podcast with nearly a year ago, PSM No. 1. 

We then went on to review, well, all of these reviews:

PSM 1: https://archive.org/details/PSM_Issue_001_September_1997/mode/2up
Ultra Game Players 102: https://archive.org/details/Ultra_Gameplayers_102_October_1997_U/page/n83/mode/2up 

The Duelist 21: https://archive.org/details/duelist-21/page/n105/mode/1up

The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 1: https://archive.org/details/Official_US_PlayStation_Magazine_Volume_1_Issue_1_1997-10_Ziff_Davis_US/page/n85/mode/2up

EGM 99: https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902

NEXT Generation 34: 
https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_34/page/n53/mode/2up

GameFan Vol. 5, Issue 9: https://archive.org/details/GamefanVolume5Issue09September1997/page/n3/mode/2up

GamePro 46: https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_099_October_1997/page/n49/mode/2up

EDGE 049: https://archive.org/details/Edge_Gaming/Edge%20Gaming%20vMagazine%20051/page/n65/mode/1up 

Game Informer 53: https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-53-september-1997

Campus Life Magazine (partial text archive): https://cmnexus.org/magazines/Campus_Life/issues

As always, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live! 

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Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-53-september-1997/mode/2up

EGM DOCUMENTARY BY MY LIFE IN GAMING & GAME SACK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E010OPY1Tzw

Everybody’s favorite* N64 game ever is here: GoldenEye 007! But did Game Informer’s weird four-voice feature review system capture all the excitement at release?

*if you didn’t have a PC capable of playing first-person shooters online, that is. Did Game Informer’s review capture the skepticism Aidan and Ty had of it at the time?

Longtime EIC Andy McNamara’s letter from the editor takes shots at other magazines that allegedly don’t really play the games they’re reviewing, and we dig deep into who he could possibly have been talking about.

We also shared our best, brightest memories of that “new console smell,” the console acquisition and unboxing experiences that have stuck with us most.

As always, streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live! 

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Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!

ISSUE LINK: https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_36

It’s time to review…the consoles??

NEXT Generation issue 36 marks the start of the magazine’s third year–and they’re not only calling winners and losers of the console generation the magazine was named after, this issue has leaks and rumors of the specs of the next-next generation! And then, wonder of wonders, they declare *the PC* the best console of the year!

That said, they also declare Lara Croft *the most famous woman in the world*, and we unpack a deep (and deeply cringey) interview with one of execs of the developer who created her. Then we reviewed their review of the SEGA Saturn!

Once again, we streamed this recording session live to FunFactor ULTRA members–so if you’d like to get in on the fun, just sign up at https://funfactorpod.com/! See you on the Discord, and you’ll see us when we next go live!

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Sources include the Video Game History Foundation, the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections. The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!