Episode 383: Delisted Games (Patreon)

A couple of months ago, Sony declared its intention to cut off support for digital purchases on its legacy platforms. The outcry from the internet was sufficient that Sony actually blinked... or at least, pretended to blink in order to mollify the masses long enough for the company to be able to quietly kill off those platforms without anyone noticing. Anyway, this reversal happened pretty quickly—but not so quickly that we didn't have time to plan and assemble an episode about what we were losing on PSN. When Sony balked, we quickly expanded the topic to encompass multiple non-Sony platforms with delisted titles and discuss the tragedy of game curation in an age in which the concept of ownership has been jettisoned into outer space. Thankfully, we had an expert guest on hand: The man behind delistedgames.com, Shawn Sackenheim.

Apologies for the slightly spotty audio on Shawn's feed. By and large, we've navigated the tricky waters of remote pandemic podcasting pretty smoothly, but we do occasionally encounter some chop. Thankfully, editor Greg Leahy did a lot of surgery on the audio, and I think the end results are pretty good. And the conversation, of course, is great.

Description: Jeremy Parish, Stuart Gipp, and delistedgames.com curator Shawn Sackenheim convene to discuss... well, delisted games. Inspired by Sony's recent PSN delisting fakeout, we look at multiple digital platforms whose games can no longer be acquired legally.

Artwork this episode by John Pading. Thanks especially to editor Greg Leahy. Musical selections:

• 13:19 - Gradius ReBirth: Moonspin (Last Exit)
• 24:58 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade): Burning Building
• 38:15 - Mr. Driller Drill Till You Drop: The Dragon's Feed is the People
• 50:31 - Etrian Mystery Dungeon: Memories of Days Past
• 58:23 - Super Mario Maker: Castle Creation Theme (NSMBU)
• 1:05:53 - Game Room: Konami Room Theme / Patchwork Heroes: Holding 1,000,000 Tons of Bravery
• 1:15:10 - Muramasa Rebirth: A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting, Final Act (Version A)
• 1:25:09 - Einhänder: Afterimage
• Closing - Brandish: The Dark Revenant: Headless