The End For Physical Games? - This Week In Retro 276

You've seen all the other brands say they're following Sony's digital-only lead while chuckling into a sleeve. Now it's TWiR's turn to respond as the doomsday clock for physical media moves nearer midnight. In other news we revisit the life and career of Psion PLC founder and innovator David Potter, and explore the many hazards of the modern online auction scene, plus a look at a short-lived 3DO reboot, new uses for old RAM, and much more.

Visit https://www.addict.media/ for your copy of Pixel Addict magazine.

00:00 - Show Opening

03:14 - No More Pizza
Story Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro/comments/1ulqtcr/the_digital_age_is_coming/
PlayStation Blog: https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/

18:37 - Farewell To Psion’s David Potter
Story Link: http://bsky.app/profile/anthonybarnett.bsky.social/post/3mpj6lshqn22s
Remembering David Potter: https://www.opendemocracy.net/obituary-david-potter-psion-industrialist-physicist-philanthropist/
The amazing adventures of David Potter: https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/amazing-adventures-david-potter-positioned-intersection-phone-computer-technology-psion-preparing-launch-net-ready-mobiles-annointed-new-ftse-100/article/412010
Additional links:
https://archivesit.org.uk/interviews/david-potter/
https://potterfoundation.com/who_we_are.html

31:17 - Housekeeping - News links found below

37:49 - Is eBay Fantasy?
Story Link: https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/retro-tech-ebay-fantasy-pricing-2885838/

49:02 - Community Question of the Week

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This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Chris from 005 AGIMA, Jason from The Retro Adventurers and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.

News In Brief Links

e-ink ESP32 Based Game Boy: https://www.xda-developers.com/someone-made-an-e-ink-esp32-game-boy-and-it-runs-at-a-very-playable-60hz-refresh-rate/

AI FPGA Cores: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/07/extremely-disappointing-are-ai-generated-fpga-cores-the-future-or-the-death-of-accuracy

Windows 11 On DDR1: https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/ram-crisis-provokes-enthusiast-to-try-windows-11-on-ddr1-era-hardware-other-key-vintage-components-included-the-core-2-q6600-and-ati-radeon-hd-4650-agp

BBC Search For A Better Screen: https://youtu.be/fM7BpmJlRIs

3DO Revival Dead: https://www.engadget.com/2206578/3do-revival-empire-interactive/

Make Your Own RAM: https://youtu.be/IOtf85sHRlg