Comments 260

Re: Random: "This Is Not What We Were Expecting" - Ex-Nintendo Employee Shares The Story Behind Zelda's Early TV Ads

JJtheTexan

Looking back at American video game TV ads, it seems like nobody really understood how to effectively advertise games... ever? Okay, that's not entirely true... SEGA did.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, early gaming ads were primarily aimed at families. When I was growing up (1980s-1990s), they were geared almost exclusively at boys ages 8 to 14, with an emphasis on action / power fantasy / doing EXTREME stuff.

Of course SEGA came along in 1989 or so with its memorable "Genesis Does" campaign, arguably the best and most-effective video game TV commercials ever, at least in the USA.

@JackGYarwood @Damo if you haven't done one already, I would love to see a future Time Extension feature on the history (histories) of video game TV ads in the USA, UK, and elsewhere!

Re: Please, Please, Please Treasure Your Offline Multiplayer Buddy

JJtheTexan

I lived alone most of my adult life, so I rarely had anyone around who would play with me. I live with my girlfriend now, but she is exclusively a 4X PC gamer and is not interested in local multiplayer. I can't win!

Fortunately, most of the games I enjoy and prefer are single-player experiences.

Re: Nintendo Didn't Celebrate Its 100th Birthday

JJtheTexan

I vaguely remember a blurb in Nintendo Power, in one of its 1989 issues, about Nintendo reaching its 100th anniversary. If my memory is correct, I guess they acknowledged it to their American fans, but without much fanfare.

Re: "Only Zombies Buy Physical Games" Says Digital Code Retailer CDKeys

JJtheTexan

I'm not their target audience (I am a collector) so I don't really give a hoot about the silly ad campaign, but I'm more concerned about the real harm some key resellers do to indie devs, particularly G2A. I know nothing about CDKeys and I assume they are above board, but key theft can do serious damage to smaller developers and publishers.

Anyway, I didn't vote in the poll because I don't agree with any of the choices... it's a pretty harmless and silly ad campaign. Support indie developers and game preservation: buy new, buy physical!

Re: "Still Haven't Forgiven Atari For This" - Remembering The Ill-Fated Gameband Smartwatch

JJtheTexan

I'm sorry for the folks who lost their money, but there is a reason crowdfunding campaigns have a lot of fine print that you should actually read: "pre-orders" in such campaigns are not purchases! They are sort of like investments, but without any protections.

I've lost money on a handful of Kickstarters and such that never made it out, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

Re: Interview: How NES RPG Former Dawn Is Bringing CD-ROM Power To Nintendo's 8-Bit System

JJtheTexan

@snaphat this is pretty much my sentiment. I do not wish to disparage their fine work on what looks like a beautiful and interesting game, but to insist that it is a "real" NES game is not something I can take seriously.

I hope it succeeds on its own merits as a game, rather than for being what appears to be (practically) an NES cartridge with unlimited memory and a 16-bit coprocessor tacked onto it.

Re: After The Epic Failure Of The Intellivision Amico, Tommy Tallarico's New Goal Is Becoming A Backgammon Legend

JJtheTexan

I know the guy is a serial liar and self-promoter, but I looked into this and it does appear to be true and legitimate.

The tournament bracket is here, and it seems he won... something? https://www.drawboss.com/Cup/Show/14205de5-126e-4ce7-bec6-a4d06711315e

Photo evidence: https://www.facebook.com/backgammongalaxy/posts/tommy-tallarico-wins-the-world-championship-intermediate-undefeated/1025247032941680/

So, yeah, credit where it's due and all that.

Re: Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol. 3 Coming This December

JJtheTexan

I have a Taito Egret II Mini, and I'm more or less happy with it... but I skipped both of the previous expansion cards, because the value proposition is lousy: around $60 U.S. for what amounts to ten arcade ROMs, none of which is what I would call a stone-cold classic.

I could perhaps justify paying $60 for an SD card with every single Taito arcade game that is not already built into the machine or included on the rotary controller card... but $60 for ten games that have not aged particularly well is not something I can stomach.