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What Does 'Unlimited Bacon' Mean? Here's The Origin Of The 'Unlimited Games, But No Games' Question
Imagine being presented with a seemingly straightforward choice that, upon closer inspection, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
"Would you like endless bacon, but no more games, or would you like games, unlimited games, and no games?" Wait, what?
The bizarre question was first posed on an old Machinima YouTube show and contains all the buzzwords that would make an internet-obsessed dork lose their minds: bacon and video games.
A decade on, the joke has now evolved from a momentary chuckle into a full-blown cultural touchstone, with "unlimited bacon" becoming shorthand for jokes about consoles that have "no games."
Here's a recap of The Question.
Where Did 'The Unlimited Bacon or Unlimited Games' Question Come From?
The infamous bacon conundrum emerged from Machinima's "Respawn Inbox" series, where hosts APL Fisher and Mr Sark read a viewer submission that went hilariously wrong.
When the hosts read viewer Matt's linguistically challenged question about "endless bacon but no more games" versus "games, unlimited games, but no games," they couldn't contain their laughter.
Mr. Sark's incredulous response, "What kind of r-----ed genie woulda come out of this lamp?" perfectly captured the absurdity of the situation.
Though Machinima's channel has since vanished, this moment of gaming folklore was preserved by YouTube user DBV666 in 2014, gathering hundreds of thousands of views and setting the stage for its eventual meme status.
How Did 'The Question' Spread Online?
The bacon paradox might have remained a quirky footnote in gaming history if not for YouTuber and Twitch streamer JSchlatt. In February 2021, JSchlatt revived the question in his "Chuckle Sandwich" series, introducing it to a new generation of internet users.
His regular practice of posing "The Question" to fellow content creators turned the phrase into a running gag.
Soon, the meme exploded across platforms, with Reddit embracing it through Matrix-inspired red pill/blue pill memes and Illusion of Free Choice image macros.
What Does 'Unlimited Bacon' Mean?
By 2024, "unlimited bacon" had transcended its origins, becoming shorthand for PlayStation 5's perceived lack of games. The implication was that if someone chose "unlimited bacon," they chose "no games."
A video game console this was popularly applied to was the PlayStation 5, which famously and in spite of all the hype surrounding its release has very few console-exclusive games out today.
For the full history of Unlimited Bacon or Unlimited Games, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
