New Dad Gaming

What happens when you actually pull the plug on your kids' gaming privileges? This week, Jeff shares the surprising results of a digital detox, and Trevor braces for a similar battle with his youngest. We dive into why modern "endless" games like Roblox and Fortnite make it harder for kids to disconnect compared to the narrative games we grew up with. Plus, we tackle the growing controversy around...

Good old-fashioned discipline, gaming dads. Two weeks into grade 8, Jeff checked Google Classroom against his 13-year-old's version of events and the two didn't match: homework not done, projects not done, a story and a half about where it all was. The kid had been "doing homework" on the laptop with a little Roblox sprinkled in, a side quest that was really the main quest, then asked the teacher...

Trevor's youngest saved up half a PS5, dad covered the other half, and the household is now a PS5 household one year before the PS6. That kicked off a subscription rethink. The PS Plus games Trevor collected for years vanished the moment he stopped subscribing, Game Pass Ultimate's streaming never fit his dad flow, and he isn't using the day-one perks. So he's levelling his stats: Xbox spend down,...

Four hundred episodes. Trevor started this show with one infant and now has an 11 and a 9 year old; Jeff is staring down two teenagers. We open with a poem for everyone who got us here, look back at the consoles that came and went along the way (RIP PSVR, no regrets), and announce the winner of our 400th-episode giveaway: congratulations to gaming dad Shaun, who takes home GTA 6 Ultimate Edition....

We are officially on the road to Episode 400, and we are celebrating with our biggest giveaway yet: GTA 6 Ultimate Edition! Listen in for the secret word and full instructions on how to enter before September 15th. This week, we're diving into the newly announced Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and discussing whether the nostalgia hits the same for our kids as it does for us. Trevor shares an unexpe...

This week on New Dad Gaming, we dive into the murky waters of gifting a 9-year-old. Discover the genius "dumb phone" mall scavenger hunt hack, and the moral dilemma of going half-sies on a new PlayStation 5 with your kid. Then, Jeff pitches an idea for his newly 16-year-old driver: can Gran Turismo (and maybe a PSVR 2) serve as a legitimate virtual driving school? We debate the physics of Gran Tur...

Announcing our GTA 6 Giveaway to celebrate our upcoming 400th episode! To enter, you'll need to have a photo proof that you follow the podcast and that you've left a comment or rating. Simply enter your info here: https://www.newdadgaming.com/gta6 Besides the giveaway, we discuss the recent GTA 6 leaks, some Assassin's Creed Black Flag on Switch, when your kids become free Door Dash, and trying to...

Physical media is officially on the clock: PlayStation has announced it will stop supporting discs (January 2028), and we have thoughts. Paying extra for a disc drive that's about to be a paperweight, digital games that never got cheaper, movie libraries deleted overnight, the used market vanishing — we break down what a disc-free future means for gaming dads, whether Xbox follows suit, and why Ni...

We are officially entering our 11th year, making New Dad Gaming the longest-running fatherhood gaming podcast on the internet! To celebrate, we’re skipping the usual intro poem and taking a deep dive into the current "State of Dad Gaming." How do your gaming habits change when your kids shift from watching you play Mario Party to setting up their own Steam LAN parties? We discuss avoiding FOMO, re...

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...

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 "v...

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. - Just because you became a dad, doesn't mean it's game over. - Connect with New Dad Gaming: 🎧 Subscribe to New Dad Gaming on your favorite podcast app: 📝 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.appl...

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 d...

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 i...

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...

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 con...

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...

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. F...

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...

This week, Jeff is hustling as an Uber driver for his kids and subtly suggests they buy Skyrim VR, Trevor finished Hades 2 and is caught between endgame content and some retro fun with Pokemon Fire Red, and Trevor pulls a fast one as the dealer during a game of Flip 7 for a good cause. Subscribe to the Podcast!   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772 Spo...

What happens when your teenager gets caught playing a bootleg version of Balatro on school computers? Do you ground them, or are you secretly a little proud? 😂 Plus, Trevor is moving his family to Colombia for the winter and had to make some heartbreaking choices about what gaming gear makes the cut! Welcome back to New Dad Gaming! In Episode 383, Trevor and Jeff are breaking down the ultimate tr...

We are back for 2026! After a year-long challenge of purchasing zero new video games in 2025, Trevor and Jeff break down the aftermath. Did we survive the FOMO? What is the first game we bought in 2026? In this episode, we dive into the "Dad Dust" of getting back behind the mic, the joy of finally playing Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Hades 2, and the promising horizon of 2026 releases like Fable...

Welcome to Episode 381 of New Dad Gaming! The 2025 "No New Games" challenge is finally complete, and the floodgates are open. In this 2026 kickoff special, Trevor and Jeff break down the massive list of games they denied themselves last year and the upcoming titles they can't wait to pre-order. We discuss the shifting landscape of 2026, including the looming release of GTA 6, the slump in console...

In this final episode of 2025, Trevor and Jeff wrap up their year-long experiment: The "No New Games" Challenge. We break down whether we succeeded in clearing our backlogs or if we just stopped playing altogether. We also dive into the chaos of Christmas morning—from the quantity vs. quality gift debate to why one dad opted for a retro handheld emulator over a PS5. Plus, we discuss the "dark side...

Are digital currencies like Robux and V-Bucks ruining the magic of Christmas morning? In this episode of New Dad Gaming, Trevor and Jeff discuss the struggle of buying gifts for kids who only want digital skins, the sadness of not having physical games to unwrap, and the controversial reason Jeff is considering banning Roblox from his house entirely. Plus, Trevor is moving his family to Colombia f...