Nintendo Voice Chat

Nintendo Voice Chat has been running since 2007, which makes it one of the longest-tenured gaming podcasts still putting out new episodes every week. Originally an IGN production and now part of Geek Media after the host crew spun off, the show focuses entirely on Nintendo: first-party releases, third-party ports, hardware speculation, virtual console news, indie standouts on the eShop, and the company's often baffling business decisions. The format is loose. Three or four regular hosts open with reactions to whatever Nintendo did that week, work through new releases they have been playing, and finish with listener questions pulled from the community. The hosts have decades of combined experience covering Nintendo specifically, and that history shows up in the way they contextualize things. A new Mario release gets compared to the last six Mario releases. A surprise Direct gets dissected for what was missing as much as what was announced. Casey DeFreitas, Brian Altano, and rotating guests bring genuine fan energy without slipping into uncritical hype. Episodes typically run 90 minutes to two hours and there is always room for tangents about Animal Crossing villagers or Smash Bros. tier debates. If Nintendo is a big part of how you play games, this is the standing weekly appointment that catches everything worth knowing.