{"podcast":{"title":"The Ringer-Verse","slug":"the-ringer-verse-1577068","podcast_index_feed_id":1577068,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/the-ringer-verse","website_url":"https://www.theringer.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b90e552a-8370-11eb-92d2-533f3946efd4/image/be7060285776706aefa759e82dfb1bea.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"The Ringer","episode_count":775,"summary":"The Ringer-Verse is your go-to nexus podcast feed for all things nerd culture and fandom, featuring: 'The Midnight Boys': Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman react to the latest in fandom and share their instant reactions to the newest nerd culture releases, all while bringing the banter every week. 'Button Mash': Ben Lindbergh and company discuss the latest in the world of video games, from headline-making new releases, to industry trends, to game swaps and nostalgic re-plays. Follow the House of R feed for deep dives from Mal and Jo!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T20:21:01.795689+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068"},"episode":{"title":"The Death of Disc-Based Gaming and 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced' Reactions, With Sean Fennessey | Button Mash","slug":"the-death-of-disc-based-gaming-and-assassin-s-creed-black-flag-resynced-reactions-with-sean-fennessey-button-mash","published_at":"2026-07-08T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068/the-death-of-disc-based-gaming-and-assassin-s-creed-black-flag-resynced-reactions-with-sean-fennessey-button-mash","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT7013509799.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT7013509799.mp3","summary":"Ben brings on Sean Fennessey, host of The Big Picture and champion of physical media, to discuss Sony's announcement that it's ending production of physical discs for new PlayStation games in 2028. They get into what led to this point; the ramifications for consumers, developers, and publishers; and how the decline of physical media affects cinephiles and gamers alike. Then Matt James joins Ben to analyze Microsoft's Xbox layoff news; review the new 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' remake, 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced'; and pick their all-time top five pirate games. Intro (0:00)Sony's big announcement (4:42) 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced' review (58:56) Outro (1:57:30) Host: Ben LindberghGuests: Sean Fennessey and Matt JamesProducer: Devon RenaldoAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"Ben brings on Sean Fennessey, host of The Big Picture and champion of physical media, to discuss Sony's announcement that it's ending production of physic…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":7244,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ringer-verse-1577068/episodes/the-death-of-disc-based-gaming-and-assassin-s-creed-black-flag-resynced-reactions-with-sean-fennessey-button-mash/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ringer-verse-1577068/the-death-of-disc-based-gaming-and-assassin-s-creed-black-flag-resynced-reactions-with-sean-fennessey-button-mash.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}