Podcast Rewind: Videogame Companion Apps and Handheld Homework

This week, John is joined by Brendon Bigley to explore the wide world of videogame companion apps from media trackers to game-specific companion apps.

On AppStories+, John and Brendon dig into 16 years of App Store history to compile a list of games that have defined gaming on the iPhone.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, Brendon and John cover the ONEXSUGAR Sugar 1 dual-screen handheld, Sony’s power-saving and controller updates, and the latest ES-DE update for Android. Then, John reports back on the MagicX Zero 40 homework that Brendon gave him last week.

On NPC XL, Brendon and John revisit two handhelds from the past year. Brendon explains why he loves the Ayn Odin 2 Mini even more than ever, and John rediscovers the AYANEO Pocket Micro in all of its overpowered glory.

AppStories, Episode 47, ‘Gaming Sidekicks: Videogame Companion Apps with Brendon Bigley’ Show Notes

Gaming Companion Apps

Game Trackers

Backloggd

GameTrack

GamingBuddy and SwitchBuddy

GamePal

Game and Franchise Companion Apps

ACNH Travel Guide

TotK Travel Guide

MK World Travel Guide

Ketchup

General Media Trackers

Sofa

Sequel

Letterboxd

StoryGraph

Other

Ally Pro

Quick Reviews

Also mentioned:

Brendon’s Animal Crossing video

Animal Crossing City Folk Deluxe

Bloons

Severed

Domino Drop

Follow Brendon’s work at:

Wavelengths.online

Into the Aether

NPC: Next Portable Console

NPC, Episode 43, ‘The Multitool of Handhelds’ Show Notes

The Latest Portable Gaming News

ONEXSUGAR Sugar 1 goes up for preorder

OneXSugar Playing with the first dual-screen transforming handheld

ONEXSUGAR Sugar 1 handheld game console hits Indiegogo for $599 (Dual-screen Android handheld game console with a convertible design)

The Kickstarter for this weird little transforming handheld just went live

OneXSugar Officially Launches, and It Sure is Something

Crazy New Take on Dual-Screen Gaming

Sony’s beta controller update - power settings and multi-pairing controllers

Sony’s new PS5 Power Saver mode sounds ideal for a PlayStation handheld The Verge

New PS5 system update beta previews DualSense wireless controller pairing across multiple devices – PlayStation.Blog

Sony DualSense Edge

ES-DE Launches Version 3.3 and Adds New Fucntionality

Also mentioned:

Forgotten City

The MagicX Zero 40

MagicX Zero 40 website

Subscribe to NPC XL

NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month.

Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes.

You can subscribe here.

MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and NPC: Next Portable Console that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.