New Dad Gaming

The internet is on fire over the official pricing for the new Steam Machine, and we have thoughts. Is the $1,500+ price tag a symptom of the hardware apocalypse, or a massive misstep by Valve? We break down the specs, compare the costs to building a PC, and predict where the console market is headed.

Plus, Jeff attempts to validate his "gamer" status by playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the very first time (and discovers it's actually terrifying), while Trevor returns to Fortnite on mobile with a bizarre third-party controller—and secures a Victory Royale.

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Others on Our Website: https://newdadgaming.com/

Nintendo just did the unthinkable: a full remake of Ocarina of Time - the game so many call "perfect" - and it's coming exclusively to the Switch 2. Trevor and Jeff unpack the announcement, the Final Fantasy VII "permission slip" theory behind it, and whether one game is really enough to make a busy dad drop $800 on a new console.

Plus: the strange new milestone of your kid going EASY on you (a "victory through loss" at FIFA), a charming $5 indie hide-and-seek game called Mecca Chameleon that's perfect for gaming with your kids, and why Zelda: Link's Awakening somehow hits harder on a retro handheld than on the Switch remake.

This week's episode opens with a poem - "Paper Flowers" by Jessica Jocelyn - on the fear, and the magic, of having kids.

New Dad Gaming is the longest-running podcast for dads who love games and fatherhood. Hosted by Trevor Alexander and Jeff Smalley since 2015. Just because you became a dad doesn't mean it's game over.

⏱️  Chapters

00:00 - Welcome + Poem: "Paper Flowers" by Jessica Jocelyn

01:18 - Listener mail & where's Summer of Beer? (greetings from Colombia)

02:46 - Nintendo remakes Ocarina of Time for Switch 2

10:51 - The $800 Ocarina machine: is it worth buying a Switch 2?

16:31 - When your kid goes easy on you: "victory through loss" at FIFA

21:56 - New game pick: Mecca Chameleon, the $5 paint-and-seek indie

28:31 - Retro pick: why Zelda: Link's Awakening hits harder on a handheld

34:17 - Wrap-up & sign-off

  

📧 Got a story, question, or beer pick? Reach us at newdadgaming.com

🎧 New episode every week - subscribe wherever you listen:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw

Others on Our Website:
https://newdadgaming.com/

Topics: Ocarina of Time remake, Nintendo Switch 2, Zelda Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Mecca Chameleon, indie games, retro gaming, gaming with kids, FIFA, gaming dads, fatherhood, parenting, limited game time.

Clear the dust off if you have an iPod,
Final Fantasy could sometimes use an extra clothing mod.

Who knew that a Steam Deck was an asset to invest,
And streaming games turns into the great friendship test.

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Just because you became a dad, doesn't mean it's game over.

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Connect with New Dad Gaming:

🎧 Subscribe to New Dad Gaming on your favorite podcast app:

📝 Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772

🎧 Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw

🎧 Other Platforms:
https://newdadgaming.com/

Welcome to New Dad Gaming, where the adult beverages are poured, the kids are (mostly) asleep, and we’re figuring out our gaming lives! This week, Trevor and Jeff read an amazing email from a fellow "Rad Dad" and Less Than Jake fan, proving that passing down your musical taste to your kids is a beautiful—and sometimes surreal—experience.

Then, things get a little savage. Have you ever absolutely destroyed your kid in a game of Monopoly Deal or Mario Party just because you needed to mow the lawn or enforce bedtime? We confess our darkest dad-gaming sins and discuss what happens when the kids start bringing the smack talk.

We also tackle a tough realization: the family living room console might be gathering dust. Are iPads, laptops, and mobile games officially replacing the Switch and PlayStation for the next generation? Finally, Jeff explains how he's surviving Final Fantasy XIV as a busy parent. Spoiler: The free trial and NPC party systems are absolute game-changers for gaming dads who might need to step away at a moment's notice.

In this episode, we cover:

• Rad Dad Chronicles: A heartwarming listener story from Deadp 7 about concerts, kids, and pop-punk validation.

• Bedtime Sabotage: The ruthless tactics we use in Monopoly Deal and Mario Party to speed up curfew.

• The Console Exodus: Why teens and younger kids are abandoning traditional consoles for laptops, phones, and mobile apps.

• FFXIV for Dads: How to play a massive MMO like a stress-free, single-player game using the free trial and NPC companions.

• Bonus: A quick chat on using AI to build interactive homework tests for the kids.

Connect with Us: Have you ever turned up the heat on your kids in a game? Are your family consoles gathering dust? We'd love to hear your story! Reach out and share your experiences with the gaming dad community.

• Website: newdadgaming.com

• Socials: @NewDadGaming

What music do you put on your kid's FIRST MP3 player? Trevor lost sleep over the answer.

This week opens with the universal dad experience: "watch this, Dad!" — followed by the kid's setup that NEVER works on the first try. Trevor and Jeff swap stories of standing patiently as 8-year-olds reset Roblox stages and 13-year-olds re-rig the table for the perfect WWE 2K24 finisher. It is, as Jeff puts it, "a waste of my time" you wouldn't trade for anything.

Listener "you fall before me" wrote in asking about Pragmata — Capcom's upcoming space-dad shooter where you escort a piggybacking AI girl through a Resident Evil-meets-God of War setup. Trevor and Jeff weren't sold on the trailers, but the dad-game tag is doing the work. Verdict: this one's going on the list. Sessionable, 12-15 hours, dad-coded story. Reach out at newdadgaming.com if you've played it.

Then the centerpiece — Trevor bought his oldest a replacement retro console (RIP first one), and the kid asked for music to load onto it. What followed was a parental crisis: deep cuts? popular bangers? things Dad loved at his kid's age? Trevor's final list lands somewhere in the middle: Bruno Mars (radio edit, naturally), Linkin Park (college nostalgia), an Áreva Vega track for the Colombian side of the family, Mariah Carey, White Stripes, 21 Pilots, and his guilty pleasure — Less Than Jake's "Science of Selling Yourself Short." Jeff shares the Just Dance pipeline that got his kids into Queen and AC/DC, and the perennial dad fantasy: bring back Rock Band.

In the L column: Jeff's Gaming Dad Loss with My Little Puppy. His 13-year-old asked for it (it reminded them of the family dog), Jeff bought it the moment it went on sale, and on birthday morning the kid politely asked if they really wanted that game. Steam playtime since: zero. Cautionary tale for any dad tempted to immediately fulfill a gift request — let it simmer.

Trevor brings a head-scratcher next: WWE 2K24 was running in SLOW MOTION on his kids' console and they were just… fine with it. They never said anything. The fix? Turn off the internet. That's it. The game runs at full speed in offline mode. Welcome to gaming in 2026.

The episode closes with a visit to an amusement park, a negative-90-degree roller coaster, and the slow realization that the dad body just doesn't bounce back like it used to. Trevor rode the same coaster five times, came home with neck issues, and is now openly counting the months until his youngest is tall enough to ride alone — at which point Dad is heading directly to the funnel cake stand. The heart is willing, but the body is OUT.

🎮 Topics: "Watch This, Dad" showcases, Pragmata (Capcom space-dad game), curating a kid's first MP3, Bruno Mars vs. Linkin Park vs. Less Than Jake, Just Dance as a music gateway, Rock Band revival hopes, My Little Puppy gift fail, WWE 2K24 slow-motion bug + offline-mode fix, negative-90 roller coasters, the aging dad body, VR roller coasters

📬 Got a story, question, or a soundtrack recommendation for a kid's first playlist? Reach out at newdadgaming.com

Can your kids finish the classic parent threats? Jeff and Trevor find out — and the answers are heartwarming.

 

This week starts with a social media trend we couldn't resist: parents asking their kids to finish old-school sayings like "as long as you live under my roof..." and "I'll give you something to..." The kids have absolutely no idea. Trevor and Jeff test their own recall against the trauma of the past, and the takeaway is surprisingly sweet — this generation's kids just don't know those threats because modern dads aren't using them anymore.

 

Then Trevor drops an update on Infinite Craft — the browser-based word mashup game we covered last week. Turns out there's no kid-safe mode, and looking over his eight-year-old's shoulder revealed some very adult word combinations. Laptops were shut, the game was banned, and Jeff confesses his teen already "made everything" in the game. The eternal dad question: do you ask what they saw, or let a sleeping dog lie?

 

Jeff hits a milestone nobody's excited about: his 15-year-old is officially on Instagram. It's the first NDG kid on social media. Despite being a teen account, the algorithm immediately served up political garbage instead of skateboarding and art. Jeff and his wife spent day one retraining the feed together and set up a family chat to share good content. Trevor shares a genius trick he used with his kid on Messenger Kids — he had him send a goofy selfie, refused to delete it, then forwarded it to mom. "I didn't let you do that!" "Doesn't matter. You don't own it anymore." Parenting in the digital age, one teachable moment at a time.

 

In lighter news, Trevor was FLOORED to discover that Pokémon TCG Pocket has actual battles. He thought it was just a pack-opening simulator. His kids have thousands of physical Pokémon cards and have never once played the actual game. Jeff might download it for the card battler angle. Trevor might stream it. The future is wide open.

 

Finally, for our Gaming Dad Question of the Week, Logan asks: has becoming a dad made you more emotional during games? Jeff talks about feeling Joel's panic in The Last of Us, and Trevor can't get through "Love You Forever" without losing it. The scenario of playing something heavy late at night and having to wake your kid up just to hug them? Yeah. That hit home.

 

🎮 Topics: Old parent sayings trend, Infinite Craft parental warning, first kid on Instagram, digital literacy for teens, algorithm retraining, photo consent lesson, Pokémon TCG Pocket battles, Songs of Six city builder, Dwarf Fortress vibes, Last of Us dad emotions, God of War parenting, Love You Forever, Ori and the Blind Forest

 

📬 Got a story, question, or a digital parenting win? Reach out at newdadgaming.com

 

Timestamps:

00:00 — Poem: old dad sayings & Infinite Craft

00:27 — Welcome & intros

00:44 — Intros: Trevor (10yo & 8yo) & Jeff (15yo & 12.5yo)

00:57 — Old parent sayings trend: can your kids finish "as long as you live under my roof..."?

02:57 — "I'll give you something to cry about" — trauma blocks unlocked

04:27 — Jeff's kids HAVE heard these — and had no idea what they meant

05:57 — Infinite Craft update: no kid-safe mode, adult content discovered

07:57 — Jeff's teen "made everything" — do you ask what they saw?

09:57 — Songs of Six: Jeff's new city builder obsession (Dwarf Fortress vibes)

13:27 — One solo dev, generous demo, incredible soundtrack

15:57 — Jeff's kids want war, dad wants to build a longhouse in peace

17:37 — First NDG kid on social media: Jeff's 15-year-old joins Instagram

19:47 — Algorithm immediately serves garbage to a teen account

21:57 — Being a millennial parent navigating social media for the first time

23:57 — Trevor's photo consent trick with Messenger Kids

26:12 — "You don't own it anymore" — digital literacy teachable moment

26:57 — Pokémon TCG Pocket: wait, there are actual BATTLES?

29:27 — Dad completely missed half the game for months

30:57 — Show wrap-up & sign-off

Jeff's mid-combat in Kingdom Come Deliverance when everything goes blocky. A quick router check reveals his teen is downloading 100 gigs and pulling 10x the bandwidth. Then comes the plot twist: Trevor secretly set the router to prioritize gaming traffic — meaning his kid's download got VIP treatment because of dad's own settings. Self-own of the year.

From there, Trevor reveals he has a retro console secretly shipping to the house. Problem: his son just bombed his grades and is banned from all games. Now dad's staying up late coaching him through exams — not because he's a great dad, but because he desperately wants to hand over the surprise. Jeff one-ups him with his own tale of self-inflicted punishment: IMAX tickets to Project Hail Mary, snacks packed, ready to pull the kids from school — then the kids acted up and he had to cancel. On himself.

We pitch the ultimate generational escape room: it's 1994, and you have to survive the internet. Download an MP3 without someone picking up the phone. Print MapQuest directions and hope you got the right page. Dads would crush it. Kids would be completely destroyed.

Then we get into console pricing reality. The PS5 is six years old and still getting more expensive. The Pro is $800 CAD. Pre-ordering a console is now the financially responsible move because it will never be cheaper than today. Meanwhile, our kids are happy on browser games.

Finally, the big one: your 14-year-old wants GTA 6 for his birthday. We roleplay the conversation every gaming dad is about to have. The reasoning, the trust angle, and Jeff's closer: "You can't unsee some things."

🎮 Topics: Kingdom Come Deliverance bandwidth wars, router QoS self-own, secret retro console vs. bad grades, IMAX Project Hail Mary dad punishment, 1994 dial-up escape room, PS5 Pro pricing, GTA 6 age-appropriate parenting, dad schemes that backfire

📬 Got a story, question, or a backlog confession? Reach out at newdadgaming.com

Jeff survived the family plague (barely), and this week we're recording live — poems and all.

This episode kicks off with a live poem creation featuring the Steam Deck and Skate 3. From there, Jeff shares how the Steam Deck was his lifeline while sick on the couch: full Steam library plus PS5 streaming, all from under the blankets. We compare it to the consoles that shaped our lives — the Game Boy SP, the PSP, and why portability matters more than ever for gaming dads.

Then we dig into Pokémon Pocketopia on the Switch 2. Jeff's family is all-in and Trevor might not be far behind. We break down what it is (Minecraft meets Pokémon in a post-apocalyptic world), the Switch 2's GameShare feature that lets you play co-op from a Switch 1, and whether this could be the next Animal Crossing for families.

Jeff's kid discovered Skate 3 on Game Pass and asked dad for help beating a challenge. 100+ hours of muscle memory kicked in — double kickflips, dark slides, 920s. The kid walked out of the room. Trevor confesses he may have traumatized his own kids at Mario Kart and GoldenEye beyond recovery.

We also talk about the "I didn't marry a loser" social media trend — wives pushing back on the incompetent dad stereotype — and what it means that this generation of dads has arrived. Millennial dads are spending three times more quality time with their kids than previous generations. It hit us right in the feels.

Finally, it's the debut of New Dad Gaming Questions! A listener sent in a study from 2averagegamers.com: what 10,000 Reddit comments reveal about the adult gaming backlog. The median gamer sits on 100–150 unplayed games, plays 8–10 hours a week, and 75% feel genuinely guilty about it. Adults who can finally afford all the games they want but lack the time to play them. Sound familiar? Welcome to New Dad Gaming.

🎮 Topics: Steam Deck sick day, Pokémon Pocketopia, Switch 2 GameShare, Skate 3 dad flex, Mario Kart trauma, "I didn't marry a loser" trend, modern fatherhood, gaming backlog paradox, No New Games 2025, adult gaming guilt

📬 Got a story, question, or a backlog confession? Reach out at newdadgaming.com

The New Dads dive into a great listener email covering why it's time to kick Roblox to the curb, the magic of the Steam Deck on snow days, and fan-made Pokémon ROM hacks.

We also debate the perfect birthday gift for an 8-year-old (Switch 2 vs. Meta Quest 3), discuss whether the Pokémon TCG Mobile app is just a digital pack addiction, and look ahead at the massive hype surrounding Crimson Desert.

Finally, we come to terms with the harsh reality that our kids are already better at Hades than we ever were.

Connect With Us:

Have a gaming dad fail, success, or "headshake moment" to share? We want to hear from you!

🌐 Visit us: newdadgaming.com

 

Subscribe to the Podcast!

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw

Others on Our Website:
https://newdadgaming.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating, and drop a comment! It helps the algorithm push the show out to other gaming fathers figuring out their gaming lives.

 

#NewDadGaming #GamingDads #FatherhoodAndGaming #NintendoSwitch2 #MetaQuest3 #PokemonTCG #PokemonShield #CrimsonDesert #HadesGame #SteamDeck #DadLife #Podcast

Welcome back to New Dad Gaming! This week, Trevor and Jeff are surviving the wild energy of their kids—who are currently acting like Red Bull-fueled boars at a banquet.

With the family adjusting to life down in Medellín, the guys discuss bribing the kids with $100 to learn Spanish on Duolingo and how this educational "loophole" is racking up screen time. We also dive into the beautiful peace of a post-Roblox household, which has led the kids right back to the classics like Pokémon Sword and EA FC.

On the adult gaming front, Nintendo is testing our patience (and wallets) by charging a premium for retro Pokémon Fire Red ports, Trevor confesses to a slightly guilty relapse into Marvel Snap, Jeff returns to the Final Fantasy 14 grind, and we confront the terrifying reality of a 15-year-old pirating Balatro on school computers.

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw

Others on Our Website:
https://newdadgaming.com/

#podcast #podcaster #podcasting #fatherhood #gaming #dadgaming

 

Chapter Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Intro & The "Boars at a Banquet" Analogy

• 4:39 - The Duolingo Screen Time Loophole & Spanish Bets

• 10:51 - Life After Roblox: Kids Return to Pokémon & Soccer

• 15:06 - Nintendo's Wild $30 Price Tag for Retro Pokémon

• 22:16 - Relapsing into Marvel Snap & Smurfing Low Levels

• 26:23 - The Endless Cycle of Final Fantasy 14

• 30:05 - Kids Pirating Balatro on School Computers

• 31:49 - Outro & How to Support the Show