FunFactor
Ty Schalter (VICE, FiveThirtyEight) and Aidan Moher (WIRED, Vulture) review what rocked and what sucked about the classic video game magazines that inspired them to become professional journalists, authors, and critics—and what they can tell us about today's digital media and games. New episodes drop every other Tuesday!
Episodes
July 29, 2025 • 73 mins
ISSUE LINK: Ultra Game Players No. 92 - Christmas 1996
Mike Salmon's shot-calling review of NBA Live '97 stuck with Ty for almost 30 years—and it cuts to the heart of everything our podcast is about.
For the first time ever, we revisit a magazine: Game Players, right after the "ULTRA" makeover that inspired the name of the very premium tiers you subscribe to! We take a hard look at the makeover, their 1996 year-end reviews, and Mike...
Mike Salmon's shot-calling review of NBA Live '97 stuck with Ty for almost 30 years—and it cuts to the heart of everything our podcast is about.
For the first time ever, we revisit a magazine: Game Players, right after the "ULTRA" makeover that inspired the name of the very premium tiers you subscribe to! We take a hard look at the makeover, their 1996 year-end reviews, and Mike...
Mark as Played
July 15, 2025 • 100 mins
ISSUE LINK: The Duelist No. 21, January 1997
ALLISON MCKENZIE'S TERRA PRINT: FFVI - Terra and Mog Print
It's a bonus BONUS! Ever since the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set dropped, our Discord's hottest channel has been #ttrpgs-and-card-games. Aidan and Ty decided that if it's all they could talk about, and all our most engaged listeners could talk about, then heck why not interview Magic: The Gathering design lead Gavin Verhey...
ALLISON MCKENZIE'S TERRA PRINT: FFVI - Terra and Mog Print
It's a bonus BONUS! Ever since the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set dropped, our Discord's hottest channel has been #ttrpgs-and-card-games. Aidan and Ty decided that if it's all they could talk about, and all our most engaged listeners could talk about, then heck why not interview Magic: The Gathering design lead Gavin Verhey...
Mark as Played
July 1, 2025 • 75 mins
ISSUE LINK: Nintendo Power 88, September 1996
Gamemaster Classified book KS page
"Fun" & Games Podcast home
The episode so many of you have been waiting for: Our first look at Nintendo Power!
And boy, is it ever a big one--the debut of Super Mario 64, the game that would define the Nintendo 64, and the company itself, for the entire console generation (and, arguably, beyond). Packed with tons of incredible original art and exclusiv...
Gamemaster Classified book KS page
"Fun" & Games Podcast home
The episode so many of you have been waiting for: Our first look at Nintendo Power!
And boy, is it ever a big one--the debut of Super Mario 64, the game that would define the Nintendo 64, and the company itself, for the entire console generation (and, arguably, beyond). Packed with tons of incredible original art and exclusiv...
Mark as Played
June 24, 2025 • 91 mins
Mollie Patterson's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mollipen.bsky.social
Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium
UNLOCKED AND FREE FOR ALL LISTENERS: A FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode!! We talk with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the roug...
Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium
UNLOCKED AND FREE FOR ALL LISTENERS: A FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode!! We talk with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the roug...
Mark as Played
June 17, 2025 • 88 mins
ISSUE LINK: Intelligent Gamer No. 2, July 1996
A true trailblazer of a magazine, which Ty mistook at the time for a craven NEXT Generation ripoff. Instead, Ziff-Davis bought what might have been the world's first fully digital online games magazine and soon put its precocious editor at the head of a real, monthly, big-boy print equivalent.
Besides giving Aidan and Ty an excuse to riff on the benefits and drawbacks of physical magazi...
A true trailblazer of a magazine, which Ty mistook at the time for a craven NEXT Generation ripoff. Instead, Ziff-Davis bought what might have been the world's first fully digital online games magazine and soon put its precocious editor at the head of a real, monthly, big-boy print equivalent.
Besides giving Aidan and Ty an excuse to riff on the benefits and drawbacks of physical magazi...
Mark as Played
June 10, 2025 • 10 mins
Please enjoy this sample of a FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode bursting with international flavor! With EposVox and Sean Seanson joining Aidan and Ty, we bridged three countries and seven time zones to go deep on our love of demo discs--the best (and sometimes only) way to taste the breadth of some old consoles' libraries and indie scenes.
It's our first two-guest episode, and an absolute banger. Sean's most recent deep-di...
It's our first two-guest episode, and an absolute banger. Sean's most recent deep-di...
Mark as Played
June 3, 2025 • 91 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: GameFan Volume 4, Issue 5 - May 1996
This one's special -- we recorded it right before the Mollie Patterson bonus episode (which you should join the FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew to hear!), wherein she gave the amazing backstory behind some of the unique production and culture wrinkles that were evident in the final product of this unique mag.
We talk about our connections to the seedy underbelly of order-by-phone import...
This one's special -- we recorded it right before the Mollie Patterson bonus episode (which you should join the FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew to hear!), wherein she gave the amazing backstory behind some of the unique production and culture wrinkles that were evident in the final product of this unique mag.
We talk about our connections to the seedy underbelly of order-by-phone import...
Mark as Played
May 20, 2025 • 98 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: NEXT Generation Issue No. 5, May 1995
Whew, this one's a doozy. Not just diving into one of Ty's favorite magazines for the very first time, but the very first issue he ever picked up: A massive roundup of all the news and rumors ever about Nintendo's Ultra 64 project. Ty and Aidan also dig into console launches successful and -un, then and now, plus go long on journalistic responsibility when reporting "rumors."
Of c...
Whew, this one's a doozy. Not just diving into one of Ty's favorite magazines for the very first time, but the very first issue he ever picked up: A massive roundup of all the news and rumors ever about Nintendo's Ultra 64 project. Ty and Aidan also dig into console launches successful and -un, then and now, plus go long on journalistic responsibility when reporting "rumors."
Of c...
Mark as Played
May 13, 2025 • 23 mins
Mollie Patterson's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mollipen.bsky.social
Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium
FunFactor ULTRA subscribers are getting our full 91-minute interview with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame, talking about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the rough-and-tumble ...
Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium
FunFactor ULTRA subscribers are getting our full 91-minute interview with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame, talking about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the rough-and-tumble ...
Mark as Played
May 6, 2025 • 58 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: EGM No. 74 - September 1995
Ty and Aidan dive into the super-edgy EGM ads, before flipping through one of the most fearless, innovative outlets of a fearless, innovative era. Then they dig into the four-way capsule review of the Super Nintendo port of DOOM, highlighting the strengths and faults of both the EGM review system and the game itself.
As always, our Letters section features YOUR comments and reviews! So if yo...
Ty and Aidan dive into the super-edgy EGM ads, before flipping through one of the most fearless, innovative outlets of a fearless, innovative era. Then they dig into the four-way capsule review of the Super Nintendo port of DOOM, highlighting the strengths and faults of both the EGM review system and the game itself.
As always, our Letters section features YOUR comments and reviews! So if yo...
Mark as Played
April 22, 2025 • 44 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: GamePro No. 77, December 1995 (Internet Archive)
Ty and Aidan are two short white guys who don't play basketball--but do love sports, and sports video games. We've had quite few pleas from listeners to break down a good review of a bad game, and GamePro 77 has the goods.
Of course, there are plenty of other things to talk about in the issue, from the letters and ads to the Jim Davis re-draw of the GamePro rating scale ...
Ty and Aidan are two short white guys who don't play basketball--but do love sports, and sports video games. We've had quite few pleas from listeners to break down a good review of a bad game, and GamePro 77 has the goods.
Of course, there are plenty of other things to talk about in the issue, from the letters and ads to the Jim Davis re-draw of the GamePro rating scale ...
Mark as Played
April 14, 2025 • 13 mins
Mike Drucker's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikedrucker.bsky.social
Here's a teaser of the very first FunFactor ULTRA bonus episode!
It's our exclusive interview with Mike Drucker--the author of "Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games." We talk about the book, Mike's life as a gamer and writer for some of the most prestigious shows in TV (including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Full Frontal, and Bill Nye Save...
Here's a teaser of the very first FunFactor ULTRA bonus episode!
It's our exclusive interview with Mike Drucker--the author of "Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games." We talk about the book, Mike's life as a gamer and writer for some of the most prestigious shows in TV (including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Full Frontal, and Bill Nye Save...
Mark as Played
April 7, 2025 • 88 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: Game Players No. 75, September 1995 (Internet Archive)
Ty and Aidan basically became friends over their shared love of Chrono Trigger, and everything it stood for as an artistic achievement in video games. Game Players was also their mutual favorite magazine--so Game Players No. 75, and its dual-writer review of Chrono Trigger, naturally looms large in the canon.
Ty and Aidan flip through the rest of issue, freak out a...
Ty and Aidan basically became friends over their shared love of Chrono Trigger, and everything it stood for as an artistic achievement in video games. Game Players was also their mutual favorite magazine--so Game Players No. 75, and its dual-writer review of Chrono Trigger, naturally looms large in the canon.
Ty and Aidan flip through the rest of issue, freak out a...
Mark as Played
March 25, 2025 • 77 mins
TODAY'S ISSUE: PSM No. 1, September 1997 (Internet Archive)
The very first issue of PlayStation Magazine went big on "independent" 'tude, and on Final Fantasy VII--including cover art, a massive walkthrough, and a five-star review of the game that would redefine a series, a genre, and arguably the top console of the 32-bit generation.
Ty and Aidan go deep on the conflicting tensions inherent in independent and official publications,...
The very first issue of PlayStation Magazine went big on "independent" 'tude, and on Final Fantasy VII--including cover art, a massive walkthrough, and a five-star review of the game that would redefine a series, a genre, and arguably the top console of the 32-bit generation.
Ty and Aidan go deep on the conflicting tensions inherent in independent and official publications,...
Mark as Played
March 13, 2025 • 8 mins
Professional authors, journalists, gamers, and critics Ty Schalter and Aidan Moher introduce FunFactor: an insightful and incisive look back at the retro video game magazines that inspired them to do what they do.
In this trailer they play highlights from the first few episodes, discuss the passions that drove them to read about games as well as play them, and the impacts--positive and negative--they had on them as writers and peop...
In this trailer they play highlights from the first few episodes, discuss the passions that drove them to read about games as well as play them, and the impacts--positive and negative--they had on them as writers and peop...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.