@Kirk Yeah, I think we can come to a nice agreement here, except even though I'm a bit of a sucker for a better environment, I'm hardly an eco warrior, so I'm still kind of partial to the whole sixties car/space ship design of the Jaguar. Maybe on a subconscious level, I'm still sad that the actual console failed...
As for FPGA, I'm going to apologize to you in advance because from what I've heard and read, once you're hooked, it's going to eat away a lot of your precious hours...
There are several fora and boards, and the hardware itself also comes in several formats. The previous link I gave you was for an arcade board and the one I myself am most interested in, is the MiST board (a contraction of Amiga and Atari ST) that can be programmed to natively act like both these home computers, with modern versions of the actual chips and so on. Besides that it can also recreate C64, ZX-Spectrum, MSX, Atari XL/VCS, Apple II, Colecovision, Sega Master System, NES, etc.
Don't know if you ever were into either of these computers, though but you must at the very least have heard from them since the Amiga was massively popular in Britain and other countries in Europe.
@Kirk Well, the thing is that I like my consoles to have an identity, and as such I think the PS TV is worthless, because it says absolutely nothing; it doesn't speak to me, if you understand what I'm trying to say. It's just a tiny, cheap plastic box. I'm also no fan of digital and cloud only, so this generation of consoles may very well be my last if the next one abandons physical copies altogether. But for now I'm cautiously hoping Nintendo will still deliver come 2016.
I can understand that this view isn't the same for everyone and certainly in modern consoles, the aesthetics are more tuned to putting the console in a more modest role, disappearing to the background and letting the games and services speak for it, and obviously everything must be wireless and online, but with retro consoles you NEED to have this bulky thing with colorful cartridges, clunky controllers to fit the 8- and 16-bit games, and preferably also wired controllers. It's retro for a reason.
I couldn't get that feel from a nearly invisible box that emulates the NES/SNES/Genesis and what not. It needs to not only look but also feel the part for it to be truly retro, and this effort here definitely seems to fit the bill pretty closely. The Jaguar mold may not satisfy everyone, but at least it exudes nineties ridiculousness and in this case it's a good thing. Space ship or car design and bulky so it is visible underneath or next to your TV. That is the very definition of true retro gaming.
If you're really into retro, part of the fun is taking the boxes out of your closet and for example setting up that complete tower of Sega add-ons with the SegaCD and 32x or connecting all the peripherals (preferably also the bazooka) to your SNES and so on. I could name countless more examples.
Why I said that it might be a British thing (maybe I should have said European) is because since living in Europe myself, I've learned that the general view on Americans is (to this day) that all we want is bigger, better, faster, which is true in some cases, but not in all so it's a bit of a stereotype but it was also a bit of jest towards all the modern hardware, which I in general do find is becoming more and more soulless. And yes, we like our classics, so that is why besides it being a retro console, there is nothing wrong with it also showing some classic shapes to go with the classic gaming to be played on it.
In my humble opinion, "retro" gamers that want to play retro games on an Android device/box or on a modern, small, online, digital only console aren't real retro gamers and they largely don't understand what it is about.
I'm pretty sure most dedicated retro gamers feel the same way. Retro games must be played on original hardware or something that comes really close to it. I also like that they have chosen to go with FPGA, which is a hell of a lot closer to the real thing than what the other consoles like the Retron5 and so on do, and FPGA will be able to reproduce every console nearly EXACTLY as it was so it's more like recreating the hardware instead of emulating it like Android does, which always has some issue or other. In some games it is the sound, in others the animation/frame rate and what not and constant tweaking and/or updates are often necessary.
If you're interested, more info here: http://www.fpgaarcade.com/
Since you're a developer/programmer yourself, you might even be able to flesh out your idea with one of these kits...
As for the video/documentary: it was about all the covert things companies and so on do to disadvantage the general public. Evil corporation stuff...
No. let's all go for the bland looks that consoles have nowadays. No identity, no soul, just boxes that do things a little bit better than their predecessor each generation.
That's why I'm glad that we also still have a company like Nintendo. They may make some mistakes along the way, but at least they understand that you have to differentiate to appeal.
@Kirk Well, us dumb 'mericans like our consoles looking like space craft or classic automobiles from the sixties, because that is EXACTLY how a retro console should look to emphasize the look and feel of retro gaming...
So I don't think it's ugly at all and it should definitely not be replaced with a tiny, nondescript plastic box that is hardly visible when sat next to the TV set. Must be a British thing, since even NLife itself stated in the previous article "Why do you think the Retro VGS struggled to find support? Was it the basic-looking games, the high cost or the fugly Atari Jaguar casing?". I actually think it should have controller cables too, to complete the whole retro idea. And I simply love the old Colecovision font on it. Rainbow colors make me happy...
But I totally agree with you on the PC Engine console, that is still an amazing piece of hardware, especially compared to its contemporaries. It did have some of the grills and fenders to make it look sexy, though...
P.S.
Still haven't found the time to completely watch through that YouTube video you suggested to me. Either to busy setting up my own shop or just not in the mood to sit still behind my PC for more than an hour, so I still have to find the time. Maybe I'll download it and watch it on my TV instead. Either way, you will hear from me when I have seen it.
@mjharper It can, and it will. The original campaign says the following: "The brainchild of industry veterans Mike Kennedy, John Carlsen and Steve Woita, Retro VGS will not only allow developers to produce their software on cartridges - just like the good old days - it will also be able to emulate older consoles thanks to its field-programmable gate array (FPGA)."
An FPGA is a wonderful piece of tech that can be programmed to natively run any old console or home computer that isn't CD based, so there's a whole range of systems that they can use as a library to select games from, IF they can get the licenses for them, of course...
@Gamemoose Commodore picked up the glove for Nintendo with their "To be this good will take Sega ages" adverts and billboards for the CD32 in Europe.
It was a play on Sega's own adverts concerning their Sega ages titles. Greatest thing of it was that the posters were plastered all over Sega's UK headquarters. Not that it did the CD32 much good in the end, but still: it was a great campaign nonetheless.
@blackice85 More or less my sentiments on the whole thing, as expressed in comment #16. But the console wars were actually pretty nasty between the companies themselves, and not only in the 16bit era, but also before that, like in the age of Atari. The ads and billboards were sometimes pretty insulting back then.
And even slightly more recent efforts: who doesn't remember Sony's Final Fantasy advert, bashing the N64 for being cartridge based?
Nowadays you don't see ads like that anymore, at least not in the console business...
@Action51 The reason that there "wasn't a whole culture of fanboyism and hate" surely was due in large part to there not being any internet to speak of back then. The internet has paved the way for a whole sewer-load of foul talking keyboard warriors that more than likely have no voice or authority in real life and use their anonymity to vent their frustration and attack people online. People that would more than likely snap them like a twig in real life...
As for the actual rivalry back in the day: I was in the middle of two camps back then. Most of my friends and my cousins too were all about Nintendo but one of my friends was a true Sega fanatic, and he had all the consoles and expansions, as well as nearly all games and peripherals. It was a definite no-go to mention Nintendo in his house and I'm pretty sure there were quite a few people around the world that acted in a similar way.
It was just much more remote/detached because of there not being a more direct way to communicate worldwide with like minds and with opposite minds like we can do nowadays, sometimes much to my displeasure...
@WaveGhoul I would agree with you for the most part, except for the mentioning of arthritis and cancer, both diseases which have already been around for much longer than any malpractice of medicine has existed. It may very well be possible that diseases like these have progressed faster than normal because of human interference, but still.
For example: cancer cells have even been found in a prehistoric man they found somewhere in the late eighties/early nineties, so it's not a "wellfare" disease, as some people over here in Europe like to call it. Back then, and even well into the Middle Ages, they simply had no idea what these diseases were.
@Crimzonlogic As far as I'm concerned, Lukie Games is one of the best bets you can make on scoring anything related to older systems and games. You can order directly from the site or call/email them first if you want to know a bit more. I've bought several articles from them the last couple of years and I'm very satisfied with their service, the quality of the refurbished products and the speed of delivery. Here's the site: http://www.lukiegames.com
I've checked and they still have several PS2's available. Good luck!
@OneeUpp You say amusing, I read/hear tiresome. And the thing about the blame for the crash is that opening the landfill has (at least partially) proven that it wasn't just E.T. because a lot more Atari games and hardware were buried with the E.T. cartridges. I'm interested to know what you think is the saving grace of this video, besides all the BS being spouted. I'll probably watch it anyway though, since the Atari 2600 is one of the systems that started my gaming life, so I still want to know what new info or insights (if any) can be had from this.
E.T. the Game did NOT single-handedly cause the crash of the games industry, that BS needs to go, it was more like a visualization of the symptom. There where many more reasons why the crash happened. . @OneeUpp The comparison didn't surprise me one bit. So, apparently Nintendo has downgraded from being the Sega Dreamcast to being Atari...
@Damo That is a bit strange though. Dutch packaging for DVD's? For Blurays I could understand because they often come in more languages and of course also have the capacity to store way more languages so in that case the package wouldn't matter that much. (when I order Blurays online here in the Netherlands I often get UK discs, recognizable by your specific age labels, but Dutch subs are still on them anyways) Come to think of it: DVD's probably also have the option to switch of subs, if you don't need them, but still strange they didn't just give you the English packaged version.
As for Rik Mayall, sad to see him pass, he wasn't only funny but also very amicable, according to most people that got to meet him or work with him. His passing was well documented in the Dutch news this last week, not only because he is quite well known here, but also because of him having worked with some Dutch director on a movie that was just recently finished and they were supposed to organize the promotional tour, which is now obviously in need of a different planning because Mayall was of course supposed to join this tour. I'll truly miss seeing new programs sprout from his decidedly wacky brain... 56 is WAY too young to go. RIP comedy genius. Gotta love British humor...
(and for some strange reason the episode from Bottom with the man with the wooden leg at the bar keeps popping into my head)
@rastamadeus @Mercy_Lost two thumbs up for those clips if there was any way to add such rewards to any comment.
(@Damo maybe something you guys should consider adding to the NLife comments section: it regularly happens that I regret not being able to like a comment in any kind of official way. That and adding proper smileys... )
"His name might not be instantly familiar to those of you living outside of the UK"
As an American living in the Netherlands I can tell you that Mayall is very popular here too and since I've been living here for a long time, I have had the pleasure of enjoying most of his work too. Far as I know all the shows he was in were aired here. I watched Blackadder, The Young Ones and Bottom, and I've seen Drop Dead Fred.
@IxC So you have "advert" breaks in between TV programs then?
Sounds a bit newspapery to me to be honest...
So, Al Capone's safe was empty but this was true? Well waddaya know...
Although as far as I can remember the actual story was always that it was a hole in a landfill that was filled ONLY with E.T. cartridges, NOT with hardware and other games as well. This just shows that it is not all that black and white, but a little more nuanced. Atari was already doing bad and E.T. being a horrible game gave them another (possibly the last) big kick in the tender parts, and they were left with a lot of stuff that they couldn't even sell to save their lives anymore. Hence not only E.T. cartridges were found, but also other games AND hardware.
@sdelfin You're right as far as releases are concerned: the Gameboy Color arrived in November 1998, so in that sense it came 'after' the original Neo Geo Pocket. Of course it actually didn't, since Nintendo always plots it's own course and does not respond to what any perceived or real competition does, as we all know. It was simply the next Gameboy and quite a few months after that came the Neo Geo Pocket Color (august 1999 in America and even later in Europe)
As far as the Neo Geo X is concerned, the only thing I don't like is the screen, and unfortunately that goes a long way into ruining the entire system for me. To remake the hardware actually wouldn't be that expensive, since PCB's like that can now be produced faster (thus cheaper) than in the 90's and they can also make them smaller with or without custom chips that would be able to run the software instead of just having some software emulate it. When I first saw the Neo Geo X I was instantly interested, mainly because it looked so well made and especially the arcade joystick and of course the ability to play on the big screen, but since then I read a lot more info and reviews and a lot of them are only mildly positive and quite critical of the handheld part of it. (although almost all of them love the micro switched joypad, which is, of course, the very essence of retro)
Good to hear that you rediscovered Metal Slug, it's still a very enjoyable game. There's actually a collection disc available for most home consoles (although I can't remember seeing a 360 version) and I have one for the Wii that contains parts 1 to 6 and Metal Slug X, but there's also a collection for Playstation and I have a homebrew-made collection for my Dreamcast.
If you want to discover what other Neo Geo titles you might like, you should look up NeoRAGEx for Windows PC.
@KnightRider666 Amen to that. Which leaves us with two options (besides emulation) and that is to buy a second hand console and hope it will last you long enough or try and find a new one which will probably cost you a fortune. Oh, the hardships of being a console owner with retro feelings...
@KnightRider666 Yeah, I can agree with that. The X could have been very interesting if it actually used original hardware (should be easy and a lot cheaper to make nowadays) or a better emulator that would at least make the experience on TV similar because of the joystick, but since they didn't this is off my list as well. I expected more from SNK's involvement with this console.
@KnightRider666 By the way: I just checked out that game you mentioned and it actually seemed interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwKhh-KC6Xw Although I don't know about the sound, or maybe that's just my Gameboy colored glasses...
@KnightRider666 I guess I wasn't able to see through it's short comings then, from the quick impression I had in the retro shop. And because I was already biased because of my Nintendo handhelds. Oh well... So, are you also still into retro nowadays then, seeing as you appear to have an interest in the Neo Geo X? I'm anxiously awaiting the GCW Zero I previously mentioned, mainly because of all the positive buzz surrounding it coming from the beta testers and so on, and it's forbears (Dingoo and Canoo) didn't do that bad either, but they were slightly underpowered in some departments, which is now thoroughly fixed. The thing that worries me the most with retro gaming on tablets, phones or on newly made handhelds like this Neo Geo X is that the screen is not tailored too older games, making it VERY unfriendly on the eye, or the screen ratio is bad because of the higher resolution. The GCW Zero has fixed this by sticking to a retro aspect of 320x240, which is your regular 4:3, making it perfect for retro games out of the box, without having to use some software options to fix the image. It isn't out yet but I'm hoping to get my hands on one before the end of this year.
@KnightRider666 Didn't think you were, so no offense. I was just curious. Cool that you had a pocket. Because I already had a Gameboy Color and a Gameboy Advance at the time (which for me had the better games) I never got around to buying one and personally I don't think the graphics hold up very well today. I saw one in action in a Retro shop a few months ago and tried it out. It seems amazing to me that they offered so few colors in the games, while the technology to make a true competitor for Nintendo was already there. Anyway, besides that I also connect the name Neo Geo to these big Arcade titles so I stuck with them.
@KnightRider666 And exactly which games on Neo Geo looked 8 bit to you? No offense but the Neo Geo was the only console that offered a 1:1 arcade experience at the time with more colors, bigger sprites, more extensive (and therefore better) animations AND an arcade joystick. No other console could beat it. You probably guessed it: I'm a fan.
As for curious people who want a system on the go but not pay the ridiculous price that the in my opinion rather worthless Neo Geo X is going for, just take a look at the GCW Zero: it's not out yet, but it's your best bet for retro gaming. It has all the needed hardware, a better screen (and most importantly: the correct screen ratio) and it will be cheaper. http://www.gcw-zero.com/ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMl00OlQX9DoItQPN2MemZkgn_eSd3e
@Omega That is very nicely done, but quite a big difference with Analogue Interactive's offering, since the Xbox is only a sculpture, not a working console.
@MultiMariosonic
wtf? Are you for real?
Even though this is a Nintendo site, you don't have to go all fanboy and state that it's good that other consoles have died, that's truly pathetic and VERY narrow minded.
The TG-16 had some great games and as many others have already said, a couple of gems can now be found on VC. (or through emulation on PC or Wii softmod)
ALL consoles and/or home computers in general have contributed in some way to games and or technology that is used in today's consoles, so it is very nice that Nintendo Life honors that and gives credit were credit is due.
Try out some of these games on your PC through emulation and see what they're all about and you'll find they're just as much fun as NES, SNES or GBA games. It might even broaden your perspective on gaming as a whole and you may even benefit from it yourself as far as opinion forming is concerned, because no one likes fanboys.
Not saying this to insult you, and a bit of open minded thinking never hurt anyone...
As for titles to recommend, other commenters have already named a couple of good ones.
Comments 226
Re: The Retro VGS Is Reborn As The Coleco Chameleon
@Kirk Yeah, I think we can come to a nice agreement here, except even though I'm a bit of a sucker for a better environment, I'm hardly an eco warrior, so I'm still kind of partial to the whole sixties car/space ship design of the Jaguar. Maybe on a subconscious level, I'm still sad that the actual console failed...
As for FPGA, I'm going to apologize to you in advance because from what I've heard and read, once you're hooked, it's going to eat away a lot of your precious hours...
There are several fora and boards, and the hardware itself also comes in several formats. The previous link I gave you was for an arcade board and the one I myself am most interested in, is the MiST board (a contraction of Amiga and Atari ST) that can be programmed to natively act like both these home computers, with modern versions of the actual chips and so on. Besides that it can also recreate C64, ZX-Spectrum, MSX, Atari XL/VCS, Apple II, Colecovision, Sega Master System, NES, etc.
At the risk of taking up even more of your time, here are some links of that one:
https://code.google.com/p/mist-board/wiki/GettingStarted
http://amigastore.eu/en/318-mist-fpga-computer.html
(second link is a completed build in a metal casing, made to order)
Don't know if you ever were into either of these computers, though but you must at the very least have heard from them since the Amiga was massively popular in Britain and other countries in Europe.
Re: The Retro VGS Is Reborn As The Coleco Chameleon
@Kirk Well, the thing is that I like my consoles to have an identity, and as such I think the PS TV is worthless, because it says absolutely nothing; it doesn't speak to me, if you understand what I'm trying to say. It's just a tiny, cheap plastic box. I'm also no fan of digital and cloud only, so this generation of consoles may very well be my last if the next one abandons physical copies altogether. But for now I'm cautiously hoping Nintendo will still deliver come 2016.
I can understand that this view isn't the same for everyone and certainly in modern consoles, the aesthetics are more tuned to putting the console in a more modest role, disappearing to the background and letting the games and services speak for it, and obviously everything must be wireless and online, but with retro consoles you NEED to have this bulky thing with colorful cartridges, clunky controllers to fit the 8- and 16-bit games, and preferably also wired controllers. It's retro for a reason.
I couldn't get that feel from a nearly invisible box that emulates the NES/SNES/Genesis and what not. It needs to not only look but also feel the part for it to be truly retro, and this effort here definitely seems to fit the bill pretty closely. The Jaguar mold may not satisfy everyone, but at least it exudes nineties ridiculousness and in this case it's a good thing. Space ship or car design and bulky so it is visible underneath or next to your TV. That is the very definition of true retro gaming.
If you're really into retro, part of the fun is taking the boxes out of your closet and for example setting up that complete tower of Sega add-ons with the SegaCD and 32x or connecting all the peripherals (preferably also the bazooka) to your SNES and so on. I could name countless more examples.
Why I said that it might be a British thing (maybe I should have said European) is because since living in Europe myself, I've learned that the general view on Americans is (to this day) that all we want is bigger, better, faster, which is true in some cases, but not in all so it's a bit of a stereotype but it was also a bit of jest towards all the modern hardware, which I in general do find is becoming more and more soulless. And yes, we like our classics, so that is why besides it being a retro console, there is nothing wrong with it also showing some classic shapes to go with the classic gaming to be played on it.
In my humble opinion, "retro" gamers that want to play retro games on an Android device/box or on a modern, small, online, digital only console aren't real retro gamers and they largely don't understand what it is about.
I'm pretty sure most dedicated retro gamers feel the same way. Retro games must be played on original hardware or something that comes really close to it. I also like that they have chosen to go with FPGA, which is a hell of a lot closer to the real thing than what the other consoles like the Retron5 and so on do, and FPGA will be able to reproduce every console nearly EXACTLY as it was so it's more like recreating the hardware instead of emulating it like Android does, which always has some issue or other. In some games it is the sound, in others the animation/frame rate and what not and constant tweaking and/or updates are often necessary.
If you're interested, more info here: http://www.fpgaarcade.com/
Since you're a developer/programmer yourself, you might even be able to flesh out your idea with one of these kits...
As for the video/documentary: it was about all the covert things companies and so on do to disadvantage the general public. Evil corporation stuff...
Re: The Retro VGS Is Reborn As The Coleco Chameleon
And who the hell doesn't think this looks sexy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0roRka14YE#t=32
All it's missing is the roaring engine sounds...
No. let's all go for the bland looks that consoles have nowadays. No identity, no soul, just boxes that do things a little bit better than their predecessor each generation.
That's why I'm glad that we also still have a company like Nintendo. They may make some mistakes along the way, but at least they understand that you have to differentiate to appeal.
Re: The Retro VGS Is Reborn As The Coleco Chameleon
@Kirk Well, us dumb 'mericans like our consoles looking like space craft or classic automobiles from the sixties, because that is EXACTLY how a retro console should look to emphasize the look and feel of retro gaming...
So I don't think it's ugly at all and it should definitely not be replaced with a tiny, nondescript plastic box that is hardly visible when sat next to the TV set. Must be a British thing, since even NLife itself stated in the previous article "Why do you think the Retro VGS struggled to find support? Was it the basic-looking games, the high cost or the fugly Atari Jaguar casing?". I actually think it should have controller cables too, to complete the whole retro idea. And I simply love the old Colecovision font on it. Rainbow colors make me happy...
But I totally agree with you on the PC Engine console, that is still an amazing piece of hardware, especially compared to its contemporaries. It did have some of the grills and fenders to make it look sexy, though...
P.S.
Still haven't found the time to completely watch through that YouTube video you suggested to me. Either to busy setting up my own shop or just not in the mood to sit still behind my PC for more than an hour, so I still have to find the time. Maybe I'll download it and watch it on my TV instead. Either way, you will hear from me when I have seen it.
Re: The Retro VGS Is Reborn As The Coleco Chameleon
@mjharper It can, and it will. The original campaign says the following:
"The brainchild of industry veterans Mike Kennedy, John Carlsen and Steve Woita, Retro VGS will not only allow developers to produce their software on cartridges - just like the good old days - it will also be able to emulate older consoles thanks to its field-programmable gate array (FPGA)."
An FPGA is a wonderful piece of tech that can be programmed to natively run any old console or home computer that isn't CD based, so there's a whole range of systems that they can use as a library to select games from, IF they can get the licenses for them, of course...
Re: The Man Responsible For Sega's Blast Processing Gimmick Is Sorry For Creating "That Ghastly Phrase"
@Gamemoose Commodore picked up the glove for Nintendo with their "To be this good will take Sega ages" adverts and billboards for the CD32 in Europe.
It was a play on Sega's own adverts concerning their Sega ages titles. Greatest thing of it was that the posters were plastered all over Sega's UK headquarters. Not that it did the CD32 much good in the end, but still: it was a great campaign nonetheless.
@blackice85 More or less my sentiments on the whole thing, as expressed in comment #16. But the console wars were actually pretty nasty between the companies themselves, and not only in the 16bit era, but also before that, like in the age of Atari. The ads and billboards were sometimes pretty insulting back then.
And even slightly more recent efforts: who doesn't remember Sony's Final Fantasy advert, bashing the N64 for being cartridge based?
Nowadays you don't see ads like that anymore, at least not in the console business...
Re: The Man Responsible For Sega's Blast Processing Gimmick Is Sorry For Creating "That Ghastly Phrase"
@Action51 The reason that there "wasn't a whole culture of fanboyism and hate" surely was due in large part to there not being any internet to speak of back then. The internet has paved the way for a whole sewer-load of foul talking keyboard warriors that more than likely have no voice or authority in real life and use their anonymity to vent their frustration and attack people online. People that would more than likely snap them like a twig in real life...
As for the actual rivalry back in the day: I was in the middle of two camps back then. Most of my friends and my cousins too were all about Nintendo but one of my friends was a true Sega fanatic, and he had all the consoles and expansions, as well as nearly all games and peripherals. It was a definite no-go to mention Nintendo in his house and I'm pretty sure there were quite a few people around the world that acted in a similar way.
It was just much more remote/detached because of there not being a more direct way to communicate worldwide with like minds and with opposite minds like we can do nowadays, sometimes much to my displeasure...
Re: Rumour: Leading Japanese Game Company Kidnapped Dev's Sister To Stop Them From Working With Nintendo
@WaveGhoul I would agree with you for the most part, except for the mentioning of arthritis and cancer, both diseases which have already been around for much longer than any malpractice of medicine has existed. It may very well be possible that diseases like these have progressed faster than normal because of human interference, but still.
For example: cancer cells have even been found in a prehistoric man they found somewhere in the late eighties/early nineties, so it's not a "wellfare" disease, as some people over here in Europe like to call it. Back then, and even well into the Middle Ages, they simply had no idea what these diseases were.
Re: Nintendo Indirectly Co-Funded An Ambitious PlayStation RTS That Never Made It To Market
@ULTRA-64 She's in the States. A simple profile check would have told you that...
Re: Nintendo Indirectly Co-Funded An Ambitious PlayStation RTS That Never Made It To Market
@Crimzonlogic As far as I'm concerned, Lukie Games is one of the best bets you can make on scoring anything related to older systems and games. You can order directly from the site or call/email them first if you want to know a bit more. I've bought several articles from them the last couple of years and I'm very satisfied with their service, the quality of the refurbished products and the speed of delivery.
Here's the site: http://www.lukiegames.com
I've checked and they still have several PS2's available.
Good luck!
Re: Video: The Trailer For E.T. Documentary Atari: Game Over Emerges From Landfill
@OneeUpp You say amusing, I read/hear tiresome. And the thing about the blame for the crash is that opening the landfill has (at least partially) proven that it wasn't just E.T. because a lot more Atari games and hardware were buried with the E.T. cartridges. I'm interested to know what you think is the saving grace of this video, besides all the BS being spouted. I'll probably watch it anyway though, since the Atari 2600 is one of the systems that started my gaming life, so I still want to know what new info or insights (if any) can be had from this.
Re: Video: The Trailer For E.T. Documentary Atari: Game Over Emerges From Landfill
E.T. the Game did NOT single-handedly cause the crash of the games industry, that BS needs to go, it was more like a visualization of the symptom. There where many more reasons why the crash happened. .
@OneeUpp The comparison didn't surprise me one bit. So, apparently Nintendo has downgraded from being the Sega Dreamcast to being Atari...
Re: Feature: How Rik Mayall Helped Bring Anarchy To Nintendo UK
@Damo That is a bit strange though. Dutch packaging for DVD's? For Blurays I could understand because they often come in more languages and of course also have the capacity to store way more languages so in that case the package wouldn't matter that much. (when I order Blurays online here in the Netherlands I often get UK discs, recognizable by your specific age labels, but Dutch subs are still on them anyways) Come to think of it: DVD's probably also have the option to switch of subs, if you don't need them, but still strange they didn't just give you the English packaged version.
As for Rik Mayall, sad to see him pass, he wasn't only funny but also very amicable, according to most people that got to meet him or work with him. His passing was well documented in the Dutch news this last week, not only because he is quite well known here, but also because of him having worked with some Dutch director on a movie that was just recently finished and they were supposed to organize the promotional tour, which is now obviously in need of a different planning because Mayall was of course supposed to join this tour. I'll truly miss seeing new programs sprout from his decidedly wacky brain... 56 is WAY too young to go. RIP comedy genius. Gotta love British humor...
(and for some strange reason the episode from Bottom with the man with the wooden leg at the bar keeps popping into my head)
@rastamadeus @Mercy_Lost two thumbs up for those clips if there was any way to add such rewards to any comment.
(@Damo maybe something you guys should consider adding to the NLife comments section: it regularly happens that I regret not being able to like a comment in any kind of official way. That and adding proper smileys... )
Re: Feature: How Rik Mayall Helped Bring Anarchy To Nintendo UK
As an American living in the Netherlands I can tell you that Mayall is very popular here too and since I've been living here for a long time, I have had the pleasure of enjoying most of his work too. Far as I know all the shows he was in were aired here. I watched Blackadder, The Young Ones and Bottom, and I've seen Drop Dead Fred.
@IxC So you have "advert" breaks in between TV programs then?
Sounds a bit newspapery to me to be honest...
Re: Myth Becomes Reality As Atari's E.T. Cartridges Are Unearthed In New Mexico Landfill
So, Al Capone's safe was empty but this was true? Well waddaya know...
Although as far as I can remember the actual story was always that it was a hole in a landfill that was filled ONLY with E.T. cartridges, NOT with hardware and other games as well. This just shows that it is not all that black and white, but a little more nuanced. Atari was already doing bad and E.T. being a horrible game gave them another (possibly the last) big kick in the tender parts, and they were left with a lot of stuff that they couldn't even sell to save their lives anymore. Hence not only E.T. cartridges were found, but also other games AND hardware.
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@sdelfin You're right as far as releases are concerned: the Gameboy Color arrived in November 1998, so in that sense it came 'after' the original Neo Geo Pocket. Of course it actually didn't, since Nintendo always plots it's own course and does not respond to what any perceived or real competition does, as we all know. It was simply the next Gameboy and quite a few months after that came the Neo Geo Pocket Color (august 1999 in America and even later in Europe)
As far as the Neo Geo X is concerned, the only thing I don't like is the screen, and unfortunately that goes a long way into ruining the entire system for me. To remake the hardware actually wouldn't be that expensive, since PCB's like that can now be produced faster (thus cheaper) than in the 90's and they can also make them smaller with or without custom chips that would be able to run the software instead of just having some software emulate it. When I first saw the Neo Geo X I was instantly interested, mainly because it looked so well made and especially the arcade joystick and of course the ability to play on the big screen, but since then I read a lot more info and reviews and a lot of them are only mildly positive and quite critical of the handheld part of it. (although almost all of them love the micro switched joypad, which is, of course, the very essence of retro)
Good to hear that you rediscovered Metal Slug, it's still a very enjoyable game. There's actually a collection disc available for most home consoles (although I can't remember seeing a 360 version) and I have one for the Wii that contains parts 1 to 6 and Metal Slug X, but there's also a collection for Playstation and I have a homebrew-made collection for my Dreamcast.
If you want to discover what other Neo Geo titles you might like, you should look up NeoRAGEx for Windows PC.
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 Amen to that. Which leaves us with two options (besides emulation) and that is to buy a second hand console and hope it will last you long enough or try and find a new one which will probably cost you a fortune. Oh, the hardships of being a console owner with retro feelings...
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 Yeah, I can agree with that. The X could have been very interesting if it actually used original hardware (should be easy and a lot cheaper to make nowadays) or a better emulator that would at least make the experience on TV similar because of the joystick, but since they didn't this is off my list as well. I expected more from SNK's involvement with this console.
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 By the way: I just checked out that game you mentioned and it actually seemed interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwKhh-KC6Xw
Although I don't know about the sound, or maybe that's just my Gameboy colored glasses...
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 I guess I wasn't able to see through it's short comings then, from the quick impression I had in the retro shop. And because I was already biased because of my Nintendo handhelds. Oh well...
So, are you also still into retro nowadays then, seeing as you appear to have an interest in the Neo Geo X? I'm anxiously awaiting the GCW Zero I previously mentioned, mainly because of all the positive buzz surrounding it coming from the beta testers and so on, and it's forbears (Dingoo and Canoo) didn't do that bad either, but they were slightly underpowered in some departments, which is now thoroughly fixed.
The thing that worries me the most with retro gaming on tablets, phones or on newly made handhelds like this Neo Geo X is that the screen is not tailored too older games, making it VERY unfriendly on the eye, or the screen ratio is bad because of the higher resolution. The GCW Zero has fixed this by sticking to a retro aspect of 320x240, which is your regular 4:3, making it perfect for retro games out of the box, without having to use some software options to fix the image. It isn't out yet but I'm hoping to get my hands on one before the end of this year.
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@fairybats Now there's a nice idea. Although the GCW Zero that I mentioned in one of my previous comment might be a nice alternative...
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 Didn't think you were, so no offense. I was just curious.
Cool that you had a pocket. Because I already had a Gameboy Color and a Gameboy Advance at the time (which for me had the better games) I never got around to buying one and personally I don't think the graphics hold up very well today. I saw one in action in a Retro shop a few months ago and tried it out. It seems amazing to me that they offered so few colors in the games, while the technology to make a true competitor for Nintendo was already there.
Anyway, besides that I also connect the name Neo Geo to these big Arcade titles so I stuck with them.
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
And that link again for people that hate to copy/paste:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMl00OlQX9DoItQPN2MemZkgn_eSd3e
And here's the kickstarter update page: (no worries, it already reached it's target)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld
And here are the news updates:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld/posts
Re: Hardware Review: Neo Geo X Gold & Mega Pack Volume 1
@KnightRider666 And exactly which games on Neo Geo looked 8 bit to you?
No offense but the Neo Geo was the only console that offered a 1:1 arcade experience at the time with more colors, bigger sprites, more extensive (and therefore better) animations AND an arcade joystick. No other console could beat it. You probably guessed it: I'm a fan.
As for curious people who want a system on the go but not pay the ridiculous price that the in my opinion rather worthless Neo Geo X is going for, just take a look at the GCW Zero: it's not out yet, but it's your best bet for retro gaming. It has all the needed hardware, a better screen (and most importantly: the correct screen ratio) and it will be cheaper.
http://www.gcw-zero.com/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_HMl00OlQX9DoItQPN2MemZkgn_eSd3e
Re: Analogue Interactive Unveils The Super-Exclusive Black Label Neo Geo CMVS
@Omega That is very nicely done, but quite a big difference with Analogue Interactive's offering, since the Xbox is only a sculpture, not a working console.
Re: Feature: The Making Of The PC Engine
@MultiMariosonic
wtf? Are you for real?
Even though this is a Nintendo site, you don't have to go all fanboy and state that it's good that other consoles have died, that's truly pathetic and VERY narrow minded.
The TG-16 had some great games and as many others have already said, a couple of gems can now be found on VC. (or through emulation on PC or Wii softmod)
ALL consoles and/or home computers in general have contributed in some way to games and or technology that is used in today's consoles, so it is very nice that Nintendo Life honors that and gives credit were credit is due.
Try out some of these games on your PC through emulation and see what they're all about and you'll find they're just as much fun as NES, SNES or GBA games. It might even broaden your perspective on gaming as a whole and you may even benefit from it yourself as far as opinion forming is concerned, because no one likes fanboys.
Not saying this to insult you, and a bit of open minded thinking never hurt anyone...
As for titles to recommend, other commenters have already named a couple of good ones.