Scandalous Games

Scandalous Games is a video game history podcast that takes a closer look at video game related controversies. Every episode, historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story about a scandalous event from gaming's past to his friends who offer commentary on moral panics, ill-advised advertising campaigns, unusual figures, and any and all topics related to video game scandals and how they shaped the medium. New episodes drop on the first and third Tuesdays of every month! Check out more info, including show notes and sources, at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

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Scandalous Games

Postal 2 Remastered, Part 2: The earliest MAGA video game?

January 21, 2025 • Scandalous Games • Episode 59

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Andy Hunter, Elford Stephens, and Phil Thomas. Part Two (of two) of our remastered edition of our deep dive at Postal 2 (Running with Scissors, Whiptail Interactive, PC, 2003). This time, we go past the game's less-than-stellar reception and learn how developer Running with Scissors found a second life in the anti-woke crowd.

Topics discussed include: Running with Scissors accuses critics of giving their games bad reviews without playing them, Vince Desi vs. Jack Thompson: the epic battle the world deserved (but never got), Running with Scissors gets its place in the sun thanks to GamerGate, and a timely theory about how RWS stayed in business for years despite not making any games.

For more on the tumultous history of Postal III, check out: Matt McMuscles, "Postal III - What Happened?" August 22, 2020, https://youtu.be/WJnivzm-WjA?si=jo1sxeOAnirAOVO2.
For a thoughtful deep dive into the Postal series (plus previous subject Hatred), check out: Noah Caldwell-Gervais, "Postal, Hatred, and Weighing the Worth of Asshole Simulators," November 9, 2015, https://youtu.be/kivtv6wabBk?si=VFdEeIsYcK3a14Bd.

More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.