-wc-

I never once thought that The Olympics would be the best reason to visit Paris 😆

But, I'd really like to, one day! This place looks cool, I'd totally check it out. 👍

PS - "it’s a venue that, for once, isn’t a Barcade."

🥳🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉🎉🔥🔥🔥🎉💯❤️🎉👏👏👏

@Scollurio

Cheers. ✌️

@smoreon

solid facts! I also like thinking about this stuff 👍

as did basically every console from then up to- and including- the PS3!

in the name of historical fullness, did Wii U not come with composite cables?

Ergo, was Wii U the very first purpose built for HD console shipping only with HDMI? 🤔

the difference is that high quality hi fidelity audio was available and fairly common back in the day. I was playing SNES and especially PSX on a 21" CRT, but the audio was going through my AIWA mini system and it was GLORIOUS! ☺️👍 To this day, sound is far more important to me than graphics in movies and videogames.

I understand everyone's nostalgia is different, but to me this is the reason for the relative lack of audio filtering and options.

(ps - crappy 80s/90s PC speakers are available at the thrift store RIGHT NOW and nothing could be more authentic 😂)

@8bitKirby

"Every item should’ve been $50 or less Because anything over $100 should never be given as a gift in less it’s Christmas."

source?

☺️✌️

@smoreon

you hit on something in tech that i think about a lot, which is that alot of the "advancements" seem to be simply pairing the components together in different enclosures. 🙄 i see it in home hifi, and guitar gear as well.

@Damo

"(Unless, of course, it begins to drop in value as all of us old gits pass away and nobody wants to pay that stupid price)"

I do wonder if all but the really big important and most zeitgeisty games will be the "heirloom china" of the next generation. 😬

Either way, what a cool thing to have! Mine was just a loose copy, and in the "wii era" for whatever reason I felt a lot less attached to my physical copies. It was a more optimistic time in gaming, for me, and I thought stuff like Virtual Console was just going to expand and get better and more comprehensive over time 😅

Luckily I did keep many of my favorite valuable childhood games: Metal Storm, Earthbound, Rtype 3 etc. 👍 I'm not really accumulating these kinds of games anymore so I'm glad to have them! cheers damo ✌️

I never should have sold my C'vania II cart 😔 it was worth it just for the music alone. what a great series this was!

Thanks for the article, I'm actually gonna check out this guy's Tubes while I'm building cabinets today 🤘

so you gotta have this thing hanging off the whole time?

My test these days goes something like, "would I rather just sit, maybe stare at some trees?" 👴

for some reason, playing a handheld with a thing hanging off doesn't pass the trees test these days. And, forget carrying it around which I assume is half the point.

Honestly, I was a much younger man in the Wii days, and I didn't like the "procon with the Mote hanging off" configuration, either. And that didn't even leave the house.

all I can think about now is getting screened for cancer.

@Bonggon5

"Stupid billboard considering the popularity of the Game Boy arguably peaked in the late 90s, with Pokemon, with people who are barely 30 years old today."

I think you may need to redo your math 😆

if you were 10 in 1997, then you turned 30 in 2017...

OTOH yeah I'm with you: I'm convinced that all these "cancer awareness" campaigns are causing cancer in the many people who cant afford to get treatment.

BurgerTime for NES is on the Autobiographical Top 20 list for me, dogs.

It's in my console right now, we play it on a 13" crt in the TV room, and the hotseat style 2p makes it SO CHILL for playing while talking, watching a movie on the big TV, etc etc.

I'm trying to hype hotseat these days. underrated. ✌️

EDIT - cool product thanks for sharing 😊 if it has hotseat multiplayer, well there yah go right here. personally I think a cabinet with a ~13" monitor would be the idea size, and juuust wide enough for full size controls with little compromise. 👍

EDIT - I looked again. That's too small! 😆

@_NetNomad

you are right, of course. 👍

I need to learn once and for all that there are grown adults who were born in the n64 and gamecube era 😆

btw I'm no Nintendo fanboy, just a lover of videogames ✌️

@tektite_captain

your last comment was hilarious to me, thank you 😀

@_NetNomad

(Yes, and:) if you are not a child and grew up with videogames at all, Nintendo is likely your introduction to gaming, period.

you guys tricked me into reading and commenting on a years old article again, again. 😂

this game along with a handful of others* in 2004 represents the pinnacle** of gaming for me. I hope one day we have a renaissance in gaming. (but with the state of playstation, xbox, and honestly the "hybrid" switch, along with the internet in gaming, i'm not holding my breath.

*Rtype Final, San Andreas, Snake Eater, Twin Snakes, Viewtiful Joe, Katamari Damacy, Half Life 2...

**besides 1998 of course 😌

@RadioHedgeFund

this sounds like a really solid tip 👍 I've always used android and while perhaps not a gold mone in my case, there's a few obsolete apps that I'd always missed and would enjoy having access to again. Your post has inspired me to look into what this looks like for an android user.. thanks!

PS - Nanoloop is the app in particular. it was a real gem! ✌️

This site has introduced me to so many wonderful and talented people that have touched my life over the years, that otherwise would've remained unknown to me. ❤️thanks!

RIP to another great one. ✌️😔

if they forget Animaniacs on SNES this book is trash.

@HoyeBoye

i have this exact thing going on, but there's also another thing, for me:

I buy "big games" physically, but I'll often blow off even getting them because it's less handy and usually more expensive (i e if I'd just bought them digitally, I'd already be playing them.)

I also occasionally get a physical game as a gift, but since people cant read my mind (and dont think to ask,) these games are usually NOT the ones I'd want physically, either because they are "pick up and play" games I'd rather have digitally, or there is some reason like the games arent on the f@#$ing carts.

so, the categories are

1) big games I bought physically but rarely play because of the friction you mentioned

2) big games I never got around to getting because I wanted it physically, but now the trail has gone cold and I'll probably just never play it (hello, Odyssey, Mario RPG, others)

3) games I got physically but I'll never play because I don't have 60bgb and or 3 hours of my life to spend downloading it even though obv I have the cart. (i e would be better to just have digitally.)

4) digital games that i own and enjoy that are too big to keep on my SD card so they stay "archived" in perpetuity (i e would be better as physical games, theoretically)

5) the same old digital games I play constantly because they fit on my sd card and they are just always there. 👍

i rage quit at #6 ngl

is this the one where you can taser a guy until he catches fire?

if so, i rented this game and that's factually the only thing I remember about it. that, and it's not as good as Metal Gear Solid.

@Mario500

(question: "somewhat-obscure")

FYI thats some light hearted sarcasm on their part ✌️

@Blast16

"it was pack-in success too"

yes and also remember that the NES was a total gamble, in the aftermath of "the collapse."

"that’s even more impressive as this game alone sold millions of consoles"

one could almost see the NES as a pack in success for being bundled with SMB rather than the other way around 😆✌️

@Captain-N

it's also worth noting that SMB was also sold 1:1 physically, and also generally on one platform (at a time, at least, til that 1996 milestone,) and at "full price" as a AAA title.

Also there are 2.X billion more people in the world in 2024 than 96 😆 adjusting just for that puts Terraria way behind again lol

Not to diminish the obvious success of this game (though I personally tried it in 2015 and found it horrible:)

This particular milestone is only impressive when you flatten the 4th dimension and stack the numbers right next to each other, as they've done. There will never be another SMB no matter what the numbers say.✌️

(Thinking historically is like drawing in 3 pt. perspective. Ignoring history to make an easy point is like conversational fingerpainting.)

Historically, the psx sequel was translated to "Chou Aniki: Great Brother"

the new standard is probably more accurate but I think it's interesting to follow along, through the years.

these are good games! I remember how "craaazy!" they were perceived back in the day, and it makes me chuckle. Times change!

EDIT - in case anyone doesn't believe me, or is curious, here's an undated but clearly old blog post about the game:

https://www.geocities.ws/loserv21/chouaniki.html

CONTENT WARNING: homophobia and unseemly language typical of the bad old days ✌️

i remember reading in game players that the virtua racing cart cast 99 USD and to 8 yr old me it might as well have been a million. they also praised the game itself to the moon.

side note it's hilarious to me that this is tagged "news" 😂

Per New York Times:

"By the time Mr. Gates and Mr. Epstein first met, Mr. Epstein had served jail time for soliciting prostitution from a minor and was required to register as a sex offender.

'His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me,' Mr. Gates emailed colleagues in 2011, after his first get-together with Mr. Epstein."

👎

@Yousef-

Some games just are worth more than 60 bucks, so I don't really see why someone would be wrong for thinking so, that was my point. ive actually never heard anyone begrudge someone else for thinking an old game was valuable, that's a wild take imo.

I personally have never paid even close to 60 dollars for a used game, but my collection includes a few valuable games including Earthbound, Rtype 3, Xenogears, and Metal Storm. 👍

@PinballBuzzbro

"Anyone who thinks a game is worth any price above 60 dollars is up their own arse lmao."

I have a bunch of games that I think are worth more than 60 dollars. What are you saying, here?

looks fab, if it comes out ill buy it 👍

i got weirdly confronted last time i pointed this out, but this is yet another arcade game that was better on NES. ✌️

(not that im turning my nose up at the arcade version!)

(aaand the Jackal music is now looping in my head. see jeep, hear Jackal 😄)

1 ) this is cool and the guy is clearly brilliant

2 ) the headline is false, because the arcade cabinet already has BANANA

3 ) you famously "control" your monkey(ball) in game by tilting the entire stage, not rolling the ball directly, so this is a little weird to me

4 ) i miss large trackballs with inertia in arcades a la brunswick bowling 🥲

5 ) a controller which is like a giant analog stick, with a large flat platform that you tilt using both hands would be a cool way to play this game

i played gorillas on IBM with my step dad as a small child, and when I rented Worms in psx in grade school, we were amazed! We played for hours, turning off the time limits and just going for it with epic battles that lasted all afternoon. great memories!

I also enjoyed Armageddon when it came out, but OG worms will always be my favorite.

Worms collection on Switch, when? ✌️

@KitsuneNight

where I'm from, I think we say "tidbit."

"tomato, tomato." ✌️

@Azuris

depression is crazy, it can inspire you to great art, or destroy the part if you that even wants to bother.

I grew up playing VGA games on DOS (Jill if the Jungle, anyone?) but I loved switching over to the other graphics modes just to see what changed and how they used to do things. I truly believe there is an "art" to making it all work in the audiences' mind with limited tools.

Btw your Doom map sounds amazing! what a cool idea 😎👍

@Poodlestargenerica

I get what you are saying, and this is one of those cases where I believe there are no wrong answers, really ✌️

I think everyone, creators and consumers of "art," all, has their own "sweet spot" for what they consider the "right" amount of constraints, for their own reasons. I love chunky pixels, but it's really NES imo when things started to get really "artistic" with it, and low poly 3d, but again saturn and psx are probably the first consoles to do anything "beautiful" in a 3d style. and of course I can think of exceptions.

I will say that Dreamcast represents the "right amount" of constraints in both 2d and 3d, for me. 👍 most beautiful console.

Am I still on topic? It's early. ✌️

@Poodlestargenerica

"You can't claim you want an artists interpretation and then say that it should be dictated by a limited color set."

hearing artists say that creativity is encouraged by constraints is so very common, it's bordering on cliché. it's also a notion that I personally tend to agree with, though I'm not convinced EGA is the answer for everyone (nor do I think that's the case these people are making.) ✌️

PS - disclaimer: I didnt RT entire FA because TL so I DR.

@Azuris

"Just compare Yoshis Island to Tekken"

reckon this is the first and last time I'll ever be instructed to do so 🤔 😂

@WaveBoy

As far as the tech goes, I'll bother with all that when the cost comes down. I wouldnt spend that kind of money, even if I had it!

Those sony Wega tvs were and are truly the holy grail, but my Sharp Xflat looks as good as anything has a right to, and has been reliable and performed perfectly. and it cost me 20 bucks from a neighbor's garage sale 😆 you just cant beat that!

"Anyways! LOL Never cared too much for the PS2. I was all about that Dreamcast It had one of the most amazing console launches of all time. It was just after the Summer of 1999, and video game-wise, to me, represented the end of the last greatest decade before computers ruined the world. lol"

YES, besides hating ps2 lol I fully agree with this entire statement. 👍 Dreamcast was the most HYPED I ever got for videogames!

(im a fan of complimentary opposites, and DC, PS2 and cube are probably the most complimentary trio in all of gaming. It's three wonderful flavors that taste even better together 😊 literally the ultimate expression of the "big three" before it was all ruined as you mentioned lol. and with the untimely death of the dreamcast it was all over tio soon.)

PS - 1998 through 2001 were absolutely the best years in videogames, and everyone agrees. 👍✌️

"the coolest any fighting game character has ever looked"

-references thumbnail-

🧐 🤔

@Yousef-

thats a nice way to put it! 😆👍

@BulkSlash

"... but Nintendo wasn't going to take 'just can't be accurately replicated without an original controller' for an answer!"

i agree with you! they didnt know what they were doing with the analog stick so they accidentally made it special (if flawed.)

I would say, there was a period after Nintendo messed around and perfected/cemented the soon to be standard layout with the SNES controller (BAXY diamond + shoulders,) where what you said applies to everything they did: Virtual Boy, N64, Gamecube, DS, Wii, and Wii U all have distinctive, aggressively creative controllers that can't just be mapped to any ol dualshock controller you have lying around.

This was the best time to be a Nintendo fan and I'm glad I was here for the ride ✌️ (statement of opinion, YMMV, all restrictions apply, see store for details)

@Poodlestargenerica

I have two thoughts on the matter.

One: the years of playing guitar, listening to music too loud, and live music have rounded off the top end of my hearing nicely, so I don't notice so much anymore 😅

Two: some CRTs are worse than others in this regard. 👍

there is literally nothing like playing Fzero GX on a nice big, snappy, colorful CRT with S-video Component inputs! Compared to that, everything ive played on Switch (and indeed, the entire "HD era,") is a fundamentally different experience. It's like a peek into a future that flat panels, online, the death of arcades, and the "cozyfication" of gaming took from us.

Nintendo, what has happened to you? 😢

@GameGear1991

One perk of living in this particular s-hole is that I can afford to rent a decent size house for the money, to accommodate extra stuff like CRTs and things. in this way, I am blessed.

I found just the right little solid Cherry tv stand for my 13", with a shelf for a couple consoles and two(!) drawers for related accessories, cords and controllers. it fit right into my life and its just perfect. 😙🤌 if you TRULY dont have the space in your situation, i know thats a real tough or impossible constraint, but this setup really is quite compact for how much joy I'm getting from it.

I'm a furniture builder and wood finisher, and one project id like to take on is building perfect little stands for small crts, in order that people might find them just handy enough to make space for a legacy setup in their limited space. 👍

Thanks for sharing. 😊 I've read over both our comments a number of times, for some reason it is soothing for my mind, so thanks for that.

Videogames are powerful, aren't they? Most people understand the power of film and music, but unless you enjoy playing it seems that it completely eludes you that gaming can have similar effects on people, their hearts and minds, and relationships.

When I played Earthbound the first time, it was in the first few years that my dad had gone away. Let me tell you, that game SPOKE to me. it possessed me. It cleaned my wounds, and soothed my soul. I played it alone in my room, and felt like Shigesato Itoi was directly guiding me through the pain and confusion. I understood that I wasn't alone in the world, even though it felt like no one around me could possibly understand.

It sounds like your dad was a complex individual. I'm so happy for you that you were able to repair some of your relationship, and it sounds like you were able to process what had happened while he was still alive, and get some closure. What a blessing! I'm sure know this, but that's a rare and beautiful thing, and you can't just "think" your way to the same conclusion on your own, very easily at least. Believe me, I've tried!

I'm stunned at the parallels regarding hand drawn Zelda maps on dot matrix paper! 😯 Thinking back on it, I'm not surprised that Zelda inspired more people to do the same thing, as it was such a unique game for its day, and basically BEGGED to be mapped out in a way that few other games had at the time.

I remember the first time I played it, the feeling of "hold on... I can just do WHATEVER?" was so strong and distinctive. every other game id played had such a prescriptive path, with high pressure from ninjas or commandos or what have you coming on strong from the very start, or even time limits! Zelda was such a nice relief by comparison. Maybe that's why my dad liked it. 🤔

It sounds like you've experienced a lot of loss, in quick succession. I'm sorry for that, friend. It does seem to come in horrible waves, in my experience. We have to REALLY appreciate the good times, the points of light that inevitably peek out between the shadows. Nurse the embers of goodness in our lives into cozy campfires to share with the great people we've gathered around us, in order to stay warm in the darker times, or else be consumed by the darkness.

It sounds like music is one way you've found to do that, and I think that's great! I play guitar, too, though I have a really hard time expressing my feelings concretely through music, in words. It's a journey!

I hope you have a good day, wherever you are. Mine is just starting. ✌️

Apparently I live in the land of plenty: I picked up another late-model CRT, this time a 2001 RCA 27" with s-video for 5 bucks, and a 13" Sanyo that I got specifically to give to a friend. No idea what to do with the RCA yet, as I already have a 27" Sharp xflat that I play ps2 and cube on, and a 13" JVC that i enjoy for older consoles. 👍 i also have a ~20" Symphonic crt that I don't know what to do with! If they weren't such a pain to ship, I'd offer them up here to you all ✌️

one day perhaps I'll try getting my legacy consoles working on the big screen but for now I'm enjoying the CRTs while they last!