And you thought “blast processing” was wild, right?
So, I was just diving into this episode, and man, people are buzzing about the Konix Multisystem. Like, seriously, who even knew this British console almost existed? It’s like 99.99% of folks in gaming never heard of it. Crazy, huh? And when you dig into it, you’re just like, “Wait, what?” It’s all a bit like a plot twist in one of those old cartoons.
And shoutout to GX, who’s always emailing me—he thinks the whole Konix trailer feels like something straight out of “The Simpsons.” Which, come to think of it, it kinda does. Totally makes sense, given Konix was known for making some, uh, questionable accessories back then. Their motion chair was legendary—for all the wrong reasons.
But here’s what’s wild: this was when the world didn’t feel so… connected, you know? They were all about the home computers in the UK—Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Sinclair, and whatever Amstrad was dabbling in. It wasn’t like over in Japan or North America, where consoles were taking over. So, what you got were arcade-style ports and homegrown software instead of those mega hits like Mario and Sonic.
Ah, and there was Konix, along with the doomed Atari XEGS, trying to make a play. It’s funny looking back, seeing all these home computer companies trying to launch their own systems. And not just UK ones—American ones too, like Atari and Commodore. Post-Video Game Crash, right? NES was running the show starting in ’85. But the UK, man, it was a different scene. It just didn’t have that big console boom from the 70s.
It’s kinda like, all these global ideas started blending together, shaping the UK and Europe’s gaming scene. Sega, especially, took the reins in Europe, while Microsoft was nailing the home computer space. Oh, fun fact—there’s this term called Galapagos Syndrome, often linked to Japan. Makes you think, right?
Okay, so random segue, or maybe not? Greg and James are almost done with Donkey Kong Bananza—super insightful stuff there now. James reckons it’s got those vibes of Rare when they teamed up with Nintendo but after that phase of impossible games like Knight Lore. Wild times.
James needed a break (don’t we all?), so Guillaume took over with his take on Mario Kart World. Dude has opinions on folks who think Mario Kart 8 in 4K would’ve been better. He’s tackling Balatro, not rushing back to Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster. Instead, he’s diving into this Atari collection—Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story. Meanwhile, Jon’s all retro with Gaiares on the Sega Genesis, and man, he’s bummed about the Movies and TV store on Xbox shutting down.
Life’s full of these quirky detours, huh?
