The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)
A weekly UK podcast covering the latest retro gaming news, followed by a long-form interview with a veteran game developer.
This is a two-part show for the serious retro gaming enthusiast. The first half is a friendly, knowledgeable discussion of current events in the scene—new hardware, community projects, and remakes. The second half is a well-researched, chronological interview with figures who built the industry, from iconic artists and programmers to studio heads, preserving their stories for a modern audience.
“The show's strength is its dual focus on both "retro news" (new mods, remakes) and historical preservation through its long-form interviews. Its UK base gives it unique access to and perspective on the influential British home computer scene of the 1980s.”
Who hosts this show
Running since 2016, The Retro Hour is a weekly podcast from Nottingham, UK, hosted by Dan Wood, Ravi Abbott, and Joe Fox. Each episode is split between a roundup of contemporary retro gaming news—from hardware mods to fan ports—and a deep-dive interview with an industry veteran, often from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras of game development. The show has been praised by outlets like The Guardian for its engaging interviews and preservation of gaming history.
Credentials & credits
- Dan Wood: Background in broadcasting, audio production, and radio presenting for networks like Gem 106.
- Ravi Abbott: Journalist for Amiga Addict magazine, web coder, and organizer of the Kickstart Amiga Show.
- Joe Fox: Lifelong retro game collector and vendor at video game shows.
Other ventures
- Dan Wood: YouTube channel for technology and computers.
- Ravi Abbott: Runs the Kickstart Amiga Show, the biggest Amiga event in the UK.
- Joe Fox: Lead vocalist in a metal band.
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01Someone Got Minecraft Working on a Playstation 2!Jun 27, 2026 · 44 min
- 02The 7th Guest: The Inside StoryJun 24, 2026 · 1h 03m
- 03Wi-Fi on an Amiga… Through the FLOPPY PORT?!Jun 19, 2026 · 48 min
- 04The Game That Took 37 Years to Finish: Ocean Software’s Colin PorchJun 16, 2026 · 1h 02m
- 05We Finally Saw the The A1200 in Action - But What’s Missing?Jun 12, 2026 · 49 min
- 06How Games Like Wipeout and Tony Hawk Changed the Music IndustryJun 10, 2026 · 54 min
- 07The Amiga CD32 Mod We’ve Been Waiting ForJun 5, 2026 · 47 min
- 08What the ’90s Internet Looked Like Before Big Tech Took OverJun 2, 2026 · 57 min
Notable episodes
- 01The Game That Took 37 Years to Finish: Ocean Software’s Colin Porch
A quintessential episode featuring a UK development veteran with incredible stories, including the 37-year journey of his Head Over Heels sequel.
- 02The 7th Guest: The Inside Story
A deep dive into a landmark CD-ROM title with co-founder Rob Landeros, covering the technical and creative breakthroughs of FMV gaming.
- 03Wi-Fi on an Amiga… Through the FLOPPY PORT?!
A perfect example of the show's news segment, covering a clever new hardware modification for a classic computer alongside other current events.
What you'll be asked on this show
Dan Wood typically leads the interviews, though all three hosts participate. They begin by establishing the guest's origin story with gaming before moving chronologically through their career. The hosts are well-researched, often referencing specific games or technical details to prompt deeper stories. Questions are open-ended, designed to elicit long anecdotes about development challenges, studio culture, and breakthrough moments. The hosts rarely interrupt, allowing the guest's narrative to unfold naturally.
The show has a consistent two-act structure: news, then interview. The three hosts share duties, with Dan Wood typically leading the interviews. The tone is relaxed, conversational, and deeply knowledgeable, feeling like a chat among informed friends rather than a formal Q&A.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
13 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
origin
2- Q.01
“What's your earliest memory of video games and what first got you into them?”
This is the standard opening question to establish the guest's origin story with technology.
- Q.02
“What's the origin of this new game you've been working on for 37 years?”
Uncovers the backstory of a new or long-gestating project, often asked near the end of the interview.
industry
1- Q.01
“When you joined a famous studio like Imagine or Ocean, what was the atmosphere like?”
This question is used to understand the guest's mindset and the culture at a key career moment.
process
2- Q.01
“How did you go about porting a game like Dragon's Lair to an 8-bit micro?”
A technical question asked to explore the specific challenges of a difficult or famous game conversion.
- Q.02
“Was it difficult for actors to adapt to working on a full-motion video game?”
Explores the human and production challenges of working with a new or unusual medium.
controversy
1- Q.01
“Do you have any memories of the unreleased 'megagames'?”
This probes a well-known piece of gaming history or controversy for an insider's perspective.
business
2- Q.01
“What's the story behind forming your own company?”
Asks about the transition from being an employee to becoming a founder.
- Q.02
“Why wasn't the sequel as successful as the original?”
Invites the guest to analyze the commercial or critical reception of a follow-up project.
craft
2- Q.01
“What was it like when you first got the video compression working?”
Pinpoints a specific technical breakthrough to capture a 'eureka' moment in development.
- Q.02
“With your background in art, were you doing that on the Commodore 64?”
This connects a guest's prior skills to their early work in the games industry.
personal
1- Q.01
“How did you make the move from one studio to the next?”
A transition question used to guide the interview chronologically through the guest's career.
values
1- Q.01
“Why did the Amiga stand out to you back then?”
Explores the guest's personal connection to and choice of a specific technology platform.
technique
1- Q.01
“Can you explain 'bit-streaming' for our audience?”
Asks the guest to simplify a complex technical concept for the listeners.
Signature segments
- · Weekly News Roundup
- · Veteran Developer Interviews
- · Sponsor reads for Bitmap Books
- · Castlevania Corner
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically veteran game developers, programmers, artists, or composers from the 1980s and 1990s. The show features both well-known figures and unsung heroes from iconic studios like Ocean, Imagine, Cinemaware, and Psygnosis.
- Brian Watsonon Someone Got Minecraft Working on a Playstation 2!
- Rob Landeroson The 7th Guest: The Inside Story
- Colin Porchon The Game That Took 37 Years to Finish: Ocean Software’s Colin Porch
- Matt Ombleron How Games Like Wipeout and Tony Hawk Changed the Music Industry
- Wingham Rowanon What the ’90s Internet Looked Like Before Big Tech Took Over
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The show has a long-running and prominent sponsorship with Bitmap Books, a publisher of high-quality retro gaming books. This is a natural fit for the audience, and ads are often read in detail by the hosts, who are genuine fans of the products.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of The Retro Hour?
- The podcast is hosted by Dan Wood, Ravi Abbott, and Joe Fox.
- Is the podcast still running?
- Yes, The Retro Hour has released episodes weekly since it was founded in 2016.
- What is the format of the show?
- Each episode begins with a roundup of recent retro gaming news, followed by a long-form interview with a guest from the video game industry.
- Where can I listen to The Retro Hour?
- The podcast is available on major podcast clients like Apple Podcasts and Podbean, and the episodes are also uploaded to their YouTube channel.
- What kind of topics are covered?
- The show covers retro gaming news, hardware mods, fan projects, and features deep-dive interviews about the history of game development for computers like the Amiga and consoles from the 80s and 90s.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]About - Retro Hour Podcasttheretrohour.com
- [02]The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) - YouTubeyoutube.com
- [03]Dan Wood (broadcaster) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [04]THE RETRO HOUR - THE INTERVIEW | - TheJournalix.comthejournalix.com
- [05]The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast) - Podchaserpodchaser.com
- [06]Advertise - Retro Hour Podcasttheretrohour.com
- [07]Dan Wood - PODCAST EDITOR, PRODUCER & HOSTdanwood.co.uk
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