Tim Biggs
@timbiggs.bsky.social
Writer. Classic games enthusiast. I cover consumer tech @ The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
Well-meaning normies who know I’m into video games: “Are you jumping into Call of Duty this week?”
Me: “Good heavens no. I’m playing the one where you’re a rural mouse and you have to survive the winter. And I still have to play the webcam psychic baby simulator”.
Me: “Good heavens no. I’m playing the one where you’re a rural mouse and you have to survive the winter. And I still have to play the webcam psychic baby simulator”.
November 13, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Well-meaning normies who know I’m into video games: “Are you jumping into Call of Duty this week?”
Me: “Good heavens no. I’m playing the one where you’re a rural mouse and you have to survive the winter. And I still have to play the webcam psychic baby simulator”.
Me: “Good heavens no. I’m playing the one where you’re a rural mouse and you have to survive the winter. And I still have to play the webcam psychic baby simulator”.
I got to talk to the creators of Celeste — one of my all-time favourite games — recently for this article. It was such a great convo I wish I had somewhere to post the whole thing, but enjoy this snippet! www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
‘Full circle’: The Australian video game showing why indies are back
From Celeste to Silksong, indie games have become big business as they take on the goliaths of the industry.
www.theage.com.au
October 28, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I got to talk to the creators of Celeste — one of my all-time favourite games — recently for this article. It was such a great convo I wish I had somewhere to post the whole thing, but enjoy this snippet! www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
Finally I can retire the YouTube Music app, where I uploaded my CD of this OST like a decade ago, and just get my regular fix of Yoshi Star Galaxy direct from the source.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 OST added to Nintendo Music m.nintendo.com/shared/en-US...
September 16, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Finally I can retire the YouTube Music app, where I uploaded my CD of this OST like a decade ago, and just get my regular fix of Yoshi Star Galaxy direct from the source.
Proud that our state's the first in Australia to introduce legislation for a treaty, not that it should have taken anywhere near this long. Huge congratulations to everyone who's been pushing it for more than a decade. firstpeoplesvic.org/treaty/
About TREATY for Victoria | The First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria
Treaty is our opportunity to make sure we – the Traditional Owners of these lands – always have the freedom and power to make the decisions that affect our communities, our culture, and our Country.
firstpeoplesvic.org
September 9, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Proud that our state's the first in Australia to introduce legislation for a treaty, not that it should have taken anywhere near this long. Huge congratulations to everyone who's been pushing it for more than a decade. firstpeoplesvic.org/treaty/
Samus the cat does not think I should be allowed to work.
August 15, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Samus the cat does not think I should be allowed to work.
Played Mina the Hollower demo over lunch. First impression was to nerd out about video settings. The game's running at 256x144, so GBC but wider, and uses a perfect integer scale: 15x for 4K, 10x for 1440p, 7x for 1080p, 5x for 720p. Looks amazing, and on Switch 2 it runs 120Hz handheld and docked.
August 8, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Played Mina the Hollower demo over lunch. First impression was to nerd out about video settings. The game's running at 256x144, so GBC but wider, and uses a perfect integer scale: 15x for 4K, 10x for 1440p, 7x for 1080p, 5x for 720p. Looks amazing, and on Switch 2 it runs 120Hz handheld and docked.
Fun fact: my copy of Final Fantasy has pen writing I've never thought to translate until now. The bit at the bottom says the game was completed on 31/1/89, which rules. But I have no hope of translating the upper message. I wonder what this RPG-beating badass was writing on their games 35 years ago?
July 27, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Fun fact: my copy of Final Fantasy has pen writing I've never thought to translate until now. The bit at the bottom says the game was completed on 31/1/89, which rules. But I have no hope of translating the upper message. I wonder what this RPG-beating badass was writing on their games 35 years ago?
We’ve adopted a kitten. The home said she was rescued off the road at five weeks old, having fallen out the back of a moving ute. But she’s tough. I’ve called her Samus.
July 11, 2025 at 8:44 AM
We’ve adopted a kitten. The home said she was rescued off the road at five weeks old, having fallen out the back of a moving ute. But she’s tough. I’ve called her Samus.
It's our twice-annual Games of the Half Year special! Come get your recommendations for things to play that released between January 1 and now! pressanybutton.substack.com/p/our-favour...
Our favourite games of 2025 so far
Ten great games that you can play right now.
pressanybutton.substack.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:34 AM
It's our twice-annual Games of the Half Year special! Come get your recommendations for things to play that released between January 1 and now! pressanybutton.substack.com/p/our-favour...
I've been v impressed with a lot of Nintendo's free upgrades, including fixing the frame rate on Echoes of Wisdom and removing interlacing on Odyssey. But it's cool to see DF break it all down. Splatoon 3 being 4K 60 is wild, and Bowser's Fury look's so good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L8G...
Switch 2 Free Upgrades For Switch 1 Games Tested: Link's Awakening, Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 3 +More!
YouTube video by Digital Foundry
www.youtube.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I've been v impressed with a lot of Nintendo's free upgrades, including fixing the frame rate on Echoes of Wisdom and removing interlacing on Odyssey. But it's cool to see DF break it all down. Splatoon 3 being 4K 60 is wild, and Bowser's Fury look's so good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L8G...
I reviewed Mario Kart last week, and today put the link in my spreadsheet of reviews, finding I've now covered more than 300 games for Age / SMH over around 11 years. My dream is to one day fill in the (substantial) gaps and put out a Leonard Maltin style review book. Could cover a whole decade!
June 24, 2025 at 12:20 AM
I reviewed Mario Kart last week, and today put the link in my spreadsheet of reviews, finding I've now covered more than 300 games for Age / SMH over around 11 years. My dream is to one day fill in the (substantial) gaps and put out a Leonard Maltin style review book. Could cover a whole decade!
My verdict after a week of Switch 2 is up, though I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you it rules. www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
Nintendo enters the 4K era with a straightforward Switch successor
The Switch 2 is better in every way with more power, better controls and expanded platform features. But it’s a revision rather than a revolution.
www.theage.com.au
June 15, 2025 at 6:42 AM
My verdict after a week of Switch 2 is up, though I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you it rules. www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
In California last week I took a rare media tour of Apple’s durability labs in Sunnyvale, and it was legitimately very interesting. Come read about the several rooms and tests I observed, three of which I was even permitted to take pictures of! www.theage.com.au/technology/i...
Inside the secretive labs where Apple’s torturers put iPhones to the test
At an unmarked facility in California, tens of thousands of devices a year are dropped, dunked and dismantled.
www.theage.com.au
June 13, 2025 at 3:02 AM
In California last week I took a rare media tour of Apple’s durability labs in Sunnyvale, and it was legitimately very interesting. Come read about the several rooms and tests I observed, three of which I was even permitted to take pictures of! www.theage.com.au/technology/i...
Can confirm my favourite modern cube controller, the BattlerGC Pro, works great with Switch 2! Perfect in the GameCube app, but also any time you don’t mind octagonal gates and a big ol’ primary face button.
June 7, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Can confirm my favourite modern cube controller, the BattlerGC Pro, works great with Switch 2! Perfect in the GameCube app, but also any time you don’t mind octagonal gates and a big ol’ primary face button.
Crops are the real water hogs! I love the implication that we should consider eating less before we complain about AI energy efficiency. Also, I don't think we need AI to tell us how we can turn plants into food without giving it to cows first :D.
A cheeseburger uses a lot more water than a ChatGPT request 🍔
Actual farms, not the data center variety, are sucking up groundwater more quickly than surface water, explains @markgongloff.bsky.social 🎥
Actual farms, not the data center variety, are sucking up groundwater more quickly than surface water, explains @markgongloff.bsky.social 🎥
June 3, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Crops are the real water hogs! I love the implication that we should consider eating less before we complain about AI energy efficiency. Also, I don't think we need AI to tell us how we can turn plants into food without giving it to cows first :D.
This week on Press Any Button, at the eve of not-E3, we’re wondering how Big Hype Sony became One Game Per Year Sony, as well as talking Playdate, Pride month, Switch 2 games and Perfect Dark! pressanybutton.substack.com/p/playstatio...
PlayStation's summer of tumbleweeds
Plus Playdate, pride month, Switch 2 games and Perfect Dark.
pressanybutton.substack.com
June 3, 2025 at 6:01 AM
This week on Press Any Button, at the eve of not-E3, we’re wondering how Big Hype Sony became One Game Per Year Sony, as well as talking Playdate, Pride month, Switch 2 games and Perfect Dark! pressanybutton.substack.com/p/playstatio...
The first download of Playdate Season 2 came with an absolutely cooked “live broadcast” service called Blippo+. There’s heaps of stuff on but it all seems to be degrading and interrupted by an alien transmission. I love it.
May 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
The first download of Playdate Season 2 came with an absolutely cooked “live broadcast” service called Blippo+. There’s heaps of stuff on but it all seems to be degrading and interrupted by an alien transmission. I love it.
I spoke to the Doom devs … actually quite a while ago now … but the story’s just gone up and it’s still worth a read!
“His greatest strength is not his guns, IT’S HIS WILL TO PERSEVERE!”
www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
“His greatest strength is not his guns, IT’S HIS WILL TO PERSEVERE!”
www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
After 30 years of guns and gore this franchise is turning to story
Doom: The Dark Ages is the closest to a Hollywood blockbuster the series has come, though a human weapon destroying demons is still at the core.
www.theage.com.au
May 13, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I spoke to the Doom devs … actually quite a while ago now … but the story’s just gone up and it’s still worth a read!
“His greatest strength is not his guns, IT’S HIS WILL TO PERSEVERE!”
www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
“His greatest strength is not his guns, IT’S HIS WILL TO PERSEVERE!”
www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
EXCUSE ME?! This is Sonic Shuffle erasure!
May 8, 2025 at 10:57 PM
EXCUSE ME?! This is Sonic Shuffle erasure!
My eight year old:
“There are two voices that I am REALLY good at. Mario, and Dracula.”
[Bad Mario voice] LEts-a-GO!
[Identical Mario voice] I WAnt to SUck your BLood!
“There are two voices that I am REALLY good at. Mario, and Dracula.”
[Bad Mario voice] LEts-a-GO!
[Identical Mario voice] I WAnt to SUck your BLood!
May 5, 2025 at 8:45 AM
My eight year old:
“There are two voices that I am REALLY good at. Mario, and Dracula.”
[Bad Mario voice] LEts-a-GO!
[Identical Mario voice] I WAnt to SUck your BLood!
“There are two voices that I am REALLY good at. Mario, and Dracula.”
[Bad Mario voice] LEts-a-GO!
[Identical Mario voice] I WAnt to SUck your BLood!
When I wrote about game / console prices last week I knew a Microsoft price rise was imminent. Xbox was just suspiciously too far left in the graphs. Too late to update the story now but here's what the console graph looks like adjusted for today's Australian price rise.
May 1, 2025 at 10:40 PM
When I wrote about game / console prices last week I knew a Microsoft price rise was imminent. Xbox was just suspiciously too far left in the graphs. Too late to update the story now but here's what the console graph looks like adjusted for today's Australian price rise.
Had a deep dive into game prices. Turns out it's possible for "games are getting more expensive" and "games were more expensive in the 80s" to both be true. Also, the internet sucks for finding out Australian prices for anything pre-2000. Google AI straight up lies. www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
The Nintendo Switch 2 is $700 – are video games getting more expensive?
High-end games and systems are more popular than ever, but what about their price tags?
www.theage.com.au
April 23, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Had a deep dive into game prices. Turns out it's possible for "games are getting more expensive" and "games were more expensive in the 80s" to both be true. Also, the internet sucks for finding out Australian prices for anything pre-2000. Google AI straight up lies. www.theage.com.au/technology/v...
Wild timing on the Oblivion remaster. One of my favourite RPGs of all time and this year I set a goal to finally finish all the main quest lines. I did it over Easter. I think I may be all Oblivioned out for now. JK, I’m off to start my 100th wood elf archer.
April 23, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Wild timing on the Oblivion remaster. One of my favourite RPGs of all time and this year I set a goal to finally finish all the main quest lines. I did it over Easter. I think I may be all Oblivioned out for now. JK, I’m off to start my 100th wood elf archer.
ICYMI! Yesterday in the newsletter we covered:
🏗️ New season of Playdate coming
🍎 Puffies, Katamari, Roller Coaster Tycoon and all the April Apple Arcade drops
🏎️ The wonder of Micro Machines
pressanybutton.substack.com/p/the-joys-o...
🏗️ New season of Playdate coming
🍎 Puffies, Katamari, Roller Coaster Tycoon and all the April Apple Arcade drops
🏎️ The wonder of Micro Machines
pressanybutton.substack.com/p/the-joys-o...
The joys of subs and seasons
New Playdate games, Apple Arcade updates, and remembering Micro Machines
pressanybutton.substack.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:58 AM
ICYMI! Yesterday in the newsletter we covered:
🏗️ New season of Playdate coming
🍎 Puffies, Katamari, Roller Coaster Tycoon and all the April Apple Arcade drops
🏎️ The wonder of Micro Machines
pressanybutton.substack.com/p/the-joys-o...
🏗️ New season of Playdate coming
🍎 Puffies, Katamari, Roller Coaster Tycoon and all the April Apple Arcade drops
🏎️ The wonder of Micro Machines
pressanybutton.substack.com/p/the-joys-o...
They’re learning the art of the play-and-pass 🥲
April 15, 2025 at 7:42 AM
They’re learning the art of the play-and-pass 🥲