Consolevania was a video game TV show created by Glasgow natives Robert Florence and Ryan Macleod, and featured regular contributions from Michael S. Hoffs, Joanne Daly, Kenny Swanston and Louise Stewart. The show was comprised of games reviews, spoofs and sketches.
The show began in 2004 and finished in 2009. These days, Robert contributes to Rock Paper Shotgun and runs Amusement Arcade. Ryan went on to create Chuckie Dregs
, a show with a similar premise to Consolevania.
Every episode (except one - see Missing Episode in YMMV) are available on the Consolevania website.
This series provides examples of:
- Ascended Meme:
- Robert used the phrase 'bummed in the gob' on a Scottish news show. One of the addiction levels you can earn in Grand Theft Auto IV is 'bummed in the gob'.
- In his review of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Robert mentions that he likes to use magic to throw shoes on top of roofs. In the Shivering Isles expansion, you can find a pair of Scruffy Shoes and a Remote Manipulation scroll on the roof of the Museum of Oddities.
- Butt-Monkey
- Sammy Miller, the Consolevania safety expert who invariably has an accident whilst demonstrating how to game safely.
- Both Robert and Ryan, if Kenny was about.
- The Cameo:
- Both Ryan and Robert showed up in Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe and Spin-Off Gameswipe
- Department of Redundancy Department: From Ryan's review of Urban Chaos: Riot Response:"See the clock at the top-left-hand corner there? It runs off the PS2 system, so that's the actual time I was actually playing the game actually."
- Drinking Game: The presenters play the Shenmue drinking game in the first episode, where you take a drink whenever Ryo Hazuki says "I see". They get drunk.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Showing quotes from Internet gaming forums when transitioning between skits.
- Flicker on the games' footage. (captured by pointing the video camera at the TV)
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Ryan was the master of these:"Final Fight: Streetwise, you say? I'll give you a moment to figure out where this is going ...Final Shite Streetwise more like!"
- Meta Phorgotten: From Robert's review of Winning Eleven 8, discussing the numerous cosmetic additions to the game:"And what happens when you put too many cherries on a cake? The cake suffers from fuckin' slowdown."
- Running Gags:
- Kenny's liberal use of force lightning.
- Frequent references to OverBlood, even after both it and the sequel got reviews.
- Spin-Off: The same team created videoGaiden for The BBC, which ran for three seasons.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Ziggy Springsteen ends almost every sentence with "I'm not evil".
- Take That!:
- The entirety of the phone-in competition spoof '10 Things That Are an Embarrassment to the Games Industry'.
- "If you've got a lot of pennies in your pocket, say because you're a drug dealer or because you repair Xbox 360s for a living..."
