Inside Hudson’s Game Vaults
You would think that Hudson’s home office in Redwood City, being the American branch of a company that once had their own game console and has published decades’ worth of classic titles for every game system under the sun, would have closets full of awesome stuff. And you would be right. Hudson’s marketing guru John […]
The History Behind The Oregon Trail
Joshua Coventry has compiled a quick history lesson on MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium), the company behind one of the most beloved titles in all of gamedom, The Oregon Trail. It’s not only an interesting look at the creation of early educational software, but also at a much simpler time in the business of gaming. […]
More Of The Worst Ever Video Game Box Art
1up’s Scott Sharkey revives one of his most popular features, a hilarious look at some of the worst box art concepts ever foisted on unsuspecting, innocent video games. Having already trashed the usual suspects in the first feature, the sequel contains more obscure affronts to decency, like Aztec Challenge: Of all the mysteries of the […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Genesisplosion
If you like sequels to Sega Genesis games, you’ll love today’s Virtual Console update for North America. Leading the pack is Sonic the Hedgehog 2, notable for being the only Sonic game that I will begrudgingly classify as “alright, I guess.” Congraturation, Sonic Team! Golden Axe II, I hear, is significantly better than the first […]
Weekend Thrifting: Wings of Wor and More
I haven’t been out at the thrift stores that much these days, but decided to give it a go this afternoon. As has been the case lately, it’s pretty barren out there. What gives? Maybe I’ve given away too many secrets in these pages, and now I’ve got more competition. One store that’s always good […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Japan Lineup For June 12
Nintendo has announced three games for the next Virtual Console update in Japan, which will be on Tuesday, June 12. For the Famicom, there’s the futuristic military combat game Field Combat, from Jaleco, for 500 points. On the Mega Drive, pseudo-3D RPG Shining and the Darkness, at 600 points. And for PC Engine, action RPG […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Zelda’s Secret Funkotron
With this week’s releases, Virtual Console has hit 100 titles total. In America. In Japan, they blew past that mark long ago. Sadly, it’s not even an especially great week. Zelda II is an alright choice for the 100th game, I guess, except it’s the only Zelda game I don’t really like. First person to […]
Arcades, Before Video Games
The Musee Mecanique at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco is fantastic — a collection of old mechanical amusement machines, the kind of stuff you’d find on boardwalks and penny arcades in the Stone Age. Games Radar takes a look at some of the games that most resemble the video games of today, like a mechanical […]
Gallery: Every Star Wars Game Ever
Fans who attended the recent Star Wars Celebration IV show got to feast their eyes on a display case containing a history of Star Wars video games. LucasArts public relations genius Chris Baker (ex. of Official PlayStation Magazine, not the guy who works for Wired) put the case together after “weeks of eBaying”, and set […]
Virtual Console Reviews: Actraiser, Ninja Spirit
On the front page today, reviews of three Virtual Console titles that best fit the description “hidden gems” — great games that you might not have heard of back in the day, now available thanks to Nintendo’s broad approach to retro game downloads. I’m sure you already know how I feel about Actraiser, Ninja Spirit, […]
Nintendo: Virtual Console Sales Speed Up
Nintendo announced today that the company has now sold 4.7 million Virtual Console games worldwide. That means that, despite a downward sales trend in the first quarter, things are speeding up for the download service. Since the numbers were last reported at the end of April to be 3.3 million, this means that, roughly, sales […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: And Zelda Makes 100
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link has been MIA from the US Virtual Console for some time, but Nintendo announced today that it would hit on Monday, as the 100th Virtual Console game. This would be the second time that Nintendo has teased a Virtual Console release before it actually hit the servers — the […]
Retronauts: Let Me Show You My Megamans
In today’s episode of your favorite podcast, Retronauts, we salute the Mega Manniversary by talking about every game the Blue Bomber has ever starred in. Uh, every one that we’ve played, anyway, which apparently is only the first three plus Mega Man Legends 2. I attempt to make up for this utter lack of knowledge […]
Sotheby’s Auctions Off Golden-Age Atari Art
Sotheby’s is auctioning off a host of marketing material from the golden days of Atari, when Poles were Positioned and Missiles were Commanded. You have to register with the Sotheby’s site to see the offerings for yourself, but here’s their description of the auction: An extensive archive of original marketing materials (as detailed below) from […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Finally, Actraiser
Square Enix dips a toe into the wide world of Virtual Console this week with Actraiser. Certainly it is not one of their bigger properties, but hey: does the fact that it’s awesome count for anything? A mashup of simulation games and platform action, Actraiser simplifies both of its seemingly disparate genres enough so that […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Lolo, Paper Mario, For June
Everyone’s favorite cutesy NES puzzle game, Adventures of Lolo, is coming to Virtual Console next month. In Japan. God only knows when it’ll be released in the US. Probably Q4 at the rate we’re going. As you may have surmised, it’s that time of the month: Nintendo (Japan) and Hudson (USA) have revealed their upcoming […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Blazing Kongs of Rage
Virtual Console isn’t awful this week. On SNES there’s Diddy’s Kong Quest, the slightly-upgraded-but-still-not-worth-$300 million sequel to Donkey Kong Country. I never played this back in the day because DKC was punishment enough, but I hear it’s better than its big brother. Speaking of improved sequels, Streets of Rage 2 came out so quickly for […]
Xevious, Rush ‘n Attack Hit Xbox Live Arcade This Week
In this week’s episode of Xbox Live Arcade, we learn that two games are better than one, especially when the two games in question are Xevious and Rush ‘n Attack. Xevious is (they say) an arcade-perfect port, right down to all the hidden goodies. Rushn ‘n Attack (awesome name) lets you and pal team up […]
Retronauts: Open Mike Night
This week on Retronauts, an expanded Gang Of Six goes all freeform on your earholes, without a topic. Actually, we end up talking a whole lot about the 40th anniversary of video games, and Sharkey and I have a fight about Ralph Baer. Also appearing: Parish, Emily, Ray, Jenn. It is an all-star festival of […]
Sega Classics Ecco, Sonic May Be Headed to 360
Forgot to mention that an ESRB listing of games that have been submitted for ratings includes Sega classics* Sonic the Hedgehog* and Ecco the Dolphin. Joy! Finally we may have a decent Sonic game on the 360. Granted, we have to time travel backwards about 16 years to get it, but whatever. As happy as […]
Virtual Console Version of Wave Race Features Wii Ads
Gamers who download Wave Race 64, the 1996-vintage N64 jet ski racing game that hit the Wii’s Virtual Console download service this morning, might be shocked to find something not-so-retro in the $10 game. Banners for the Wii and Nintendo DS Lite systems are hung up all over the game’s race tracks. The reasoning is […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Some Kind Of Record
Is the Virtual Console release list finally getting into shape? Today marks what I think is a record one solid month without a release schedule full of downers. Wave Race 64, The Adventures of Lolo, and Galaga ’90 are a tempting array of choices to be sure. I remember getting Wave Race 64 as my […]
Kohlercasting: Retronauts Episode 28, Plus Bonus Fred Savage
In this episode (#28) of Retronauts Survivor, Jeremy Parish is booted off the island. The remaining castaways — host Scott Sharkey, Jenn Frank, Ray Barnholt, and me — discuss the craziest and best video game peripherals ever. This ‘cast actually stems from a couple of articles I wrote for 1up in the runup to the […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Buried Treasure
Here’s the opening, seriously, from Nintendo’s Virtual Console press release this morning: The Virtual Console is like a box of chocolates: You never know which games have the tasty caramel filling and which ones have that pink-green crème inside. I’m not really sure what they’re getting at. It’s not hard to tell which of the […]
Paper Mario: Then and Now
With the release of 2001’s Paper Mario on Virtual Console during E3 week, Nintendo crossed over a line. Here’s a game that really doesn’t feel particularly “retro”. Here’s a game that… wow, I actually have my original review for, right on my computer. Since I don’t think that Animerica really minds anymore, I’ll go ahead […]
Virtual Console’s Got Balls: Kirby’s Dream Course and Devil’s Crush Impressions
This week’s Virtual Console lineup really knocked it out of the park. I don’t have the patience to sit down and get into a game of Shining Force, but Devil’s Crush and Kirby’s Dream Course push my lack-of-free-time buttons. Here’s my impressions from what I was able to squeeze in last night. Devil’s Crush ($6, […]
Nintendo: 50 More Virtual Console Games This Year
In its reaction to this month’s game industry sales charts, Nintendo had a little bit of commentary about the near future of Virtual Console: Wii already boasts more than 180 games, including 120 downloadable Virtual Console™ titles. By the end of the year, that total number will climb to about 330 games, including an additional […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Quality Overload
This week’s Virtual Console update continues the streak set by Paper Mario’s arrival last week. Two disaster-free weeks in a row! How long can they keep this up? “Balls” is the word of the day. The wonderful golf-or-something game Kirby’s Dream Course, which my brother and I sunk days into on the SNES, is now […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Paper Mario, Balloon Fight
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest Wii this morning and purchase Paper Mario, now available for the low, low sum of $10. This is the best $10 you will spend on gaming all this month, or at least the funniest $10. Paper Mario is not only the first in the clever RPG series that spawned […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: “We’re Boring People To Death”
Sigh. A couple good weeks for Virtual Console, and now we’re back to a full plate of stuff we should have gotten as side dishes long ago. To be sure, Air Zonk for TurboGrafx is the standout release here. I think even people sick of shooters on the Turbo can live with this one. But […]
Podcats: Retronauts Goes Adventuring
After a brief hiatus, the Retronauts podcats have returned. Hosting and editing duties have been handed over to one Scott Sharkey, who has taken it upon himself to produce the number one fan-requested ‘cast: PC adventure games. Join Sharkey, Parish, Jenn, Ryan Scott, and me as we discuss the bygone days of Sierra, LucasArts, Westwood, […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Paper Mario For Japan
Big news for Virtual Console: the original Paper Mario will hit the Wii’s download service this Tuesday, in Japan. Known as Mario Story in Japan, the innovative storybook-style graphics and hilarious script launched a new era of Mario games, adding a previously un-explored level of self-aware humor and character depth to the franchise. Up until […]
1up Hits The Oregon Trail
In celebration of America Day, 1up’s Scott Sharkey revisited one of his classic humor pieces, telling the story of his hard life on the old Oregon Trail. Actually, the new, re-envisioned piece at 1up doesn’t mention the classic article at all, leading me to think that he’s just running a scam. If we’re bringing stuff […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: In Defense of Super Mario 2
Today’s Virtual Console lineup is led by Super Mario Bros. 2, the quirky 1988 sequel to the NES launch title that diverged wildly from the original’s play mechanics. At the time, and even today, there are too many people who complain that we didn’t get the “real” Super Mario Bros. 2. Ignoring, of course, that […]
Missile Command Blasts Onto Xbox Live Arcade
Atari classic Missile Command is getting the “evolved” treatment for its trip to Xbox Live Arcade. Purists will be able to enjoy the classic version, but anyone not wanting to feel quite that retro can enjoy the enhanced graphics, sounds, and special effects. I’m not normally a fan of the “new and improved” facelift these […]
Edge Names Ocarina of Time “World’s Best” Game
The votes have been counted and the people (at least the ones who read Edge magazine) have spoken: the best video game in history is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Edge’s editor in chief Tony Mott explains Ocarina‘s timeless appeal: Ocarina of Time is nearly ten years old, but its position at the […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Wave Race And Obscure Goodies For July
Nintendo has announced the games that will be hitting Japan’s Virtual Console in the month of July, and there are some interesting things happening, including a first-party Nintendo game that only a few Japanese players ever got their hands on. On Nintendo 64, Paper Mario has indeed been bumped back to July, where it joins […]
PSN Thursday: Japan Gets Another Flood of PSone Downloads
While America’s crop of downloadable PlayStation 1 games continues to languish (no additions this week), Japan seems to have gotten their [stuff] together. On the fourth Thursday of every month, Sony uploads a whole pile of downloadable retro goodness to their Japanese servers. Today was no exception: 19 games, including Xi (Devil Dice), Metal Slug, […]
Celebrate the Month of Zork
Zork turns thirty this year, and Malinche Entertainment is celebrating by declaring June the Month of Zork. Ok, so we found out about it kinda late, but there’s still time left do some Underground Empire-style partying. Malinche has a nicely rounded tribute up to the masterpiece of interactive fiction, including a history of Zork‘s development, […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Hey, An Okay Week
This is the kind of Virtual Console week I’d like to see forever. A good mix of niche games and big hits, no filler, something for everyone, and a game making its surprise debut on the American side for once. Nintendo 64 racer F-Zero X is this week’s heavy hitter. I never played it back […]
Buy An Original Atari “Cosmos” Hologram
Dan Kramer, an ex-Atari employee (he created the trackball controller for the 5200!), is auctioning off some seriously rare pieces of Atari memorabilia: holograms that were going to be used for the never-released Atari Cosmos handheld system, which was going to project LCD games over swappable holographic backgrounds. This would have been included with an […]
PSone Downloads: Europe Gets The Other End Of The Shaft
While I was getting into an argument with a commenter in the American Playstation Network thread, I found out that Europe’s situation with the PSone game downloads is even worse than ours. They’re getting their first batch of PSone games tomorrow, and they’ll only play on PS3 — not PSP. Crash Bandicoot Wipeout Medievil Jumping […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Jet Lag Edition
Today’s Virtual Console update brings three brand new games, but excuse me if all I can think about is how dead tired I am from TGS. It’s comforting to know that I’m back in my apartment and can download: Kirby’s Avalanche. Yeah, it’s Puyo Puyo for the SNES, but starring Kirby. If that doesn’t make […]
In Tokyo, Atari E.T. Fetches High Price
E.T. for the Atari 2600 is certainly not one of the worst games on the Atari 2600, but it is one of the most common. Whenever you find a stack of Atari games at a flea market, a couple of these were in the pile. Atari literally printed more copies of E.T. than it had […]
Turbo CD Games Hit Virtual Console In October
Hudson has announced that TurboGrafx CD games, including Super CD games, will be available on Virtual Console starting in October in Japan. The titles, none of which have been announced specifically, will cost 800 Wii Points each ($8). Five games are expected this year, with 10 or more in 2008. An eventual US rollout of […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: How Much Do You Love Yoshi
This week’s Virtual Console lineup might end Nintendo’s streak of eight (nine? ten? I’ve lost count, now that I’m in Japan) weeks of awesome. Or it might not, depending on your feelings about Nintendo 64 early release Yoshi’s Story. I actually gave Yoshi’s Story a positive review back in the day. Did I really enjoy […]
Sonic 2 Spin-Dashes To Xbox Live This Week
It’s a very Sonic The Hedgehog week for fans of console game download services. Not only did Sonic 3 show up on Virtual Console this morning, but Sonic 2 is on the way to Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, at 2 AM Pacific time. Other updates to XBLA this week include new content for the […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Football, Sonic, Neutopia
Who says you have to line up to buy Madden for football season? You can just log on to Virtual Console today and grab NES Play Action Football ($5). There’s an excellent chance, however, that this isn’t your cup of tea. In that case you can choose from either Sonic The Hedgehog 3 for Genesis […]
Sony Launches Compatibility Checker For 80 GB PS3
Wondering if your PlayStation 2 games will work on the new model of the PlayStation 3, which switches to software-based backward compatibility? Sony has (albeit quite belatedly) updated its compatibility database to include the 80 GB version. Unfortunately, you can’t just scroll through a list of games like the European version — you have to […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Get Your Learn On
Barring a surprise Neo Geo announcement, the US Virtual Console is not likely to see Japan’s jaw-breaking nineteen games this month. But they’re off to a good start with four (!) games this week. The most important is of course Donkey Kong Jr. Math, which in 1985 comprised the entirety of the NES’ Education Series. […]
Neo Geo, 19 Games: September Is Month Of Plenty For Japan Virtual Console
If you have a Wii and live in Japan, you’ll be overwhelmed with riches starting next week. Nintendo is releasing nineteen (!) games on Virtual Console in the East during the month of September, including the long-awaited debut of three Neo Geo titles. Highlights across the board include Moero!! Pro Yakyuu (Bases Loaded), Super Metroid, […]
Downgrade: The Worst Game Ports Ever
There’s a great thread you should really read over at NeoGAF today, chronicling the worst video game ports of all time. Who came up with the idea, for instance, to port Street Fighter II to the Commodore 64 (right)? Also included: Double Dragon for the Atari 2600, Resident Evil for Game Boy Color, and Sonic […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Sequels Without Originals
Another week of quality releases on the Wii’s Virtual Console — that makes seven in a row, if you’ve been following along. But there’s something odd about this week’s lineup: it consists entirely of sequels to games that haven’t yet been released on the service. What’s up with that? It’s tough to pick one, but […]
Joust Movie: ‘Gladiator Meets Mad Max’
The ostrich-riding, egg-smashing action of Joust doesn’t immediately seem ripe territory for a movie, but that’s not stopping CP Productions from making one, just the same. Hollywood producers Christine Peters and Michael Cerenzie apparently created CP Productions to focus on the under-25 crowd. Cerenzie has called the script written by Marc Gottlieb “Gladiator meets Mad […]
Podcast: Retronauts Does Survival Horror
Is survival horror really retro? Doesn’t matter, we’ll talk about it anyway on this week’s episode of Retronauts. Join host Scott Sharkey, Jenn Frank, Shane Bettenhausen, and me as we shove ourselves into a tiny closet across from the Electronic Gaming Monthly office and jabber on about the history of games that freaked us out. […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Buy Super Metroid, Jerks
Virtual Console’s winning streak hits six weeks with the release of Super Metroid, aka One Of The Best Games Ever. I actually was late to the party on this one. I’d played Metroid and didn’t like it. Then I tried Metroid II and, uh, didn’t really like it. So I assumed that Super Metroid, when […]
New Dreamcast Games Coming This Spring
RedSpotGames seems to have missed the memo that the Dreamcast is dead, and will be announcing two new games for the system at the Games Convention in Leipzig. We, therefore, heart them. The first is, surprise, surprise, a shooter called Dalforce. If you’ve ever played a shooter on the Dreamcast (Giga Wing, Bangai O, Ikaruga), […]
King of Kong, Reviewed
Jason Silverman, Wired’s actual film reviewer, opines on the Donkey Kong documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which opened today in select markets. He enjoyed the saga of dueling DK champs Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe: King of Kong … has all the wrenching drama of Ali-Foreman or Yanks-Sox. But it is much, […]
Timewaster: Atari 2600 Label Maker
Upload a picture, select your text, and this web site vomits forth a pitch-perfect Atari 2600 game label. This is fun for making stupid things (right), but I could see this being pretty handy for making promotional items. Print your business card info on this, then stick the labels onto leftover copies of Combat! Okay, […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Sega Confirms Shinobi III, Landstalker
Constant readers of the Virtual Consolation Prize already know that the acclaimed Sega Genesis games Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master and Landstalker are both on the way for Wii’s download service. Sega confirmed it today, though, with a press release. No release dates are attached, but I think we can assume that barring […]