EBay Watch: Donkey Kong Country Championship Edition
Up for auction this week is probably the rarest Super Nintendo title, in complete condition: Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge. This cart was used for a 1995 competition in Blockbuster Video stores, much like the Star Fox competition carts that Peter bought a while back. Although they made more of the DKC carts (2500 vs. […]
Weekend Thrifting: Activision Seal Of Quality
Thrifting is hereditary. I got it from my parents. Nowadays, we do it for the same reason: looking for collectibles. So when they were visiting this week (which I hope will be accepted as full explanation for my extended absence) we all considered it a valuable use of our time to trawl San Francisco’s Goodwills […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Month of Metroid
Nintendo’s “Month of Metroid” continues at lightning speed, barreling thunderously towards the August 27 release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Last week brought us preview videos of the game on Wii Ware. This week’s Virtual Console update features the game that started it all: Metroid for the NES. I didn’t play a lot of Metroid […]
Virtual Console Roundup: The Latest Rumors and Ratings
Back in April, I did a roundup of every game that had been announced or rumored, but not yet released, for Virtual Console. Many of them have hit in the ensuing few months, but not all. And now there are plenty more rumors to add to the pile — including not one but two Metroid […]
Pac-Man, the Text Adventure
Inspired by a love of retro gaming and a fair amount of booze, late one night a clever coder created Pac-Txt, an Infocom-style text adventure version of arcade classic Pac-Man. Here’s how he explains the genesis of the project: Well, I had just got back from a party where the concept of a Pac-Man + […]
Japan Virtual Console: King of Fighters, 16 More
America’s Virtual Console November might have just kicked off with a bang, but Japan’s fall harvest looks… well, it looks alright. By far the most monumental release will likely be King of Fighters ’94, the game that kicked off the NeoGeo’s annual line of wildly popular crossover fighting games. Two other NeoGeo games are on […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Mario 3, Alien Soldier
This week in Virtual Console brings us one of the premier games in Nintendo’s back catalog: Super Mario Brothers Threeeeeeeeeeeeee (“get the warp whistle, Jimmy!”). In a fit of generosity, Nintendo didn’t even jack up the price for no reason. Also, whereas in the past when Nintendo would offer a huge blockbuster like this they’d […]
Retronauts: The Mario Episode
Is Retronauts back on a weekly schedule? Maybe! This week’s podcast features me, Jeremy Parish, Scott Sharkey, Shane Bettenhausen, and Andrew Pfister getting all nostalgic about Mario games, in honor of Super Mario Galaxy’s incipient release. As with last week’s episode I feel like this one came out pretty okay. Please listen! Retronauts Episode 31 […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Scary Magical Whatever
This week’s Halloween-themed Virtual Console lineup is filled with vampires, ghosts, and wizards. I don’t know if it’s filled with any good games, but isn’t that besides the point on these theme weeks? I’m probably going to clear out the fridge and download Magician Lord, and maybe Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, and hey, maybe Samurai […]
Sneakers Pay Homage to Classic Arcade Game 720
The Nike Dunk SB Low lets people know you’re a fan of old-school skateboarding games without you ever saying a word. The design is an homage to 720 Degrees, an arcade classic from back in the days when Atari did more than just hemorrhage cash. The sneakers feature colors from the game, as well as […]
Weekend Thrifting: Halloween Goodwill Crush
Yesterday, Emily and I took a break from our constant diet of bishounen games to go out and finish our Halloween costumes. I of course took the opportunity to also scavenge the Goodwills for more games, and am glad I did so! The very bottom of a CD rack in the first Goodwill we went […]
Happy Birthday, PlayStation 2! Vote For Your Favorite Game
Game|Life isn’t the only thing celebrating a birthday this week. The PlayStation 2 turned seven today. Kind of. It launched in the US on October 26, 2000, many months after its Japanese launch. But hey, we’ll celebrate anyway! PlayStation 2 was originally billed as the high-technical gee-whiz-bang set-top-box last-piece-of-electronics-you’ll-ever-buy cover-of-Time consumer machine of the Future, […]
Mr. Rogers Talks Donkey Kong With Halo's Arbiter
Mr. Rogers Talks Donkey Kong With Halo’s Arbiter Source link : Wired
Retronauts Return, Talk About Chrono Trigger
After a two-month hiatus, everyone’s favorite 1up podcast Retronauts returns today with an hour-and-twenty discussion of Chrono Trigger. Plus all the retro news and great funny lines that we’ve been saving up over the last eight weeks. Won’t you join Jeremy Parish, Alice Liang, Andrew Pfister, and Scott Sharkey? Also starring Wired’s Chris Kohler. How […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Now With More Japan
Virtual Console gets another import game this week with Ninja Jajamaru-kun. I think it’s great that Nintendo is really embracing the import-retro potential with Virtual Console by even bringing out the games that aren’t long-lost cult classics. Jajamaru is pretty much your run of the mill 1985 Famicom game — not especially good, and sort […]
Auction Watch: Another Donkey Kong Country Competition Cart
Real Game|Life stories: after reading two months ago about the auction for the rarest Super Nintendo cart in existence, Musika reviewer Mike Sklens realized, hey, I’ve got one of those in my closet! So he dug around, found his Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge, and promptly put it up on eBay. Because the box is […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Turbo CD Debuts, Ninja Gaiden II
Time to clean out that refrigerator: there’s some must-have new Virtual Console content inbound. This week’s offerings on the Wii’s retrogame download service bring the first Turbo CD game, Gate of Thunder (right). As near as I can figure, this is one of the true shooter classics of the Turbo library, so forget those other […]
Sony To Update PSone Games Store Twice Per Month
Sony is apparently doubling the number of release dates for its PSone Game Archives service on Japanese PS3s. While the retro game downloads used to be released on the last Thursday of each month, it seems that they’re adding a second day of releases. Today, they’ve released eight new games, including hits like the action […]
Auction Watch: Tooth Protectors And Its Flimsy Box
Back during the heyday of Atari 2600, so many people owned one that giving away promotional Atari games was often a smash marketing success for all kinds of products. Johnson & Johnson traded toothpaste UPC symbols for this promotional-only game Tooth Protectors, making it one of the rarest 2600 games ever made. Current bid’s about […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Neo Geo Bonanza
This morning, the Neo Geo lands on Virtual Console, hard. Today’s entire lineup consists of Neo Geo games, each retailing for 900 Wii points a pop. In case you didn’t know, the home and arcade versions of Neo Geo games were for all intents and purposes identical, so if you remember playing Fatal Fury, World […]
Weekday Thrifting: Some Pirate Genesis Games
Video game piracy was just so much more interesting back in the old days. These days, pirate games are just downloaded off the internet and burned to a DVD-R. But back in the day, San Francisco’s Chinatown was, I’m sure, filled with game copiers that ran Super Nintendo games off floppy disks, and more to […]
Virtual Console Import Week: Sin & Punishment, Mario 2
Nintendo of America is finally capitalizing on some of Virtual Console’s more tantalizing potential and releasing Japan-only retro games in the US this week. Of course, this week is the easy stuff: the original version of Super Mario Bros. 2, now called “The Lost Levels,” and Nintendo 64 shooter Sin and Punishment. Ordinarily, I’d say […]
Atari 2600 Celebrates 30th Birthday This Month
Break out the cake and the party hats, because the Atari 2600 turns 30 this month. Sure, you can fit every single game ever made for the system and the emulator needed to run them on your flash drive keychain, but the 2600 will forever have a place in our gaming hearts, just the same. […]
Wii’s Virtual Console: What America Is Missing
We here at Game|Life have been all over Nintendo of America about the Wii’s Virtual Console game download service in the nearly-a-year-now since the console’s launch. While things have vastly improved since then, it still seems sometimes that the US lineup doesn’t measure up to those of other territories. But is this actually true, nearly-a-year-now […]
Turbo CD, 20 Games: Another Content-Rich Month For Japan Virtual Console
Japan’s full, rich, luxurious Virtual Console experience continues unabated this month. Last month brought a flood of 19 games; this month, that number jumps to twenty. There’s three NeoGeo games, three Turbo CD titles, and a whole mess of other stuff like Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, generally referred to here by the name River City Ransom […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Super Air Zonk Leads The Turbo CD Charge In US
It’s time to clear off some of your precious Wii onboard memory, because Turbo CD games are coming to the US and Japan this month. In the land of the free, the first two CD games will be Gates of Thunder and Super Air Zonk (right). I did a double-take on that second one, because […]
Test Your Old-School Nintendo Knowledge
Here’s a quick quiz to test your knowledge of Nintendo lore from days gone by. Yes, quizzes are silly, but a) it comes from Mental Floss, one of the best sources of random information out there, and b) it’s Friday, so lighten up a little. In the quiz, you have to match up ten minor […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Rolling Monkeys of Steel
If you were busy with holiday festivities on Monday, you may have forgotten that the Virtual Console was being stocked with three new games, and they’re actually pretty good ones this time around. For a mere $5,for example, Blades of Steel on the NES could be yours. If you’re all sported out from playing Wii […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Monster Lairs, Assault Suits
In a month completely devoid of retail Nintendo releases, Virtual Console updates are all we have to keep our Wiis stocked with new games. This week probably gets the overall thumbs-up, although it’s another surprise-free Monday. We discussed the entire sordid history of the Wonder Boy series a couple weeks back, and now the second […]
Reggie: No Online Play Coming For Virtual Console
If you were expecting that Nintendo was going to start adding online play to Virtual Console games, now that Pokemon Snap has been released with online picture-sharing features… don’t hold your breath. “We do not anticipate making online play available for Virtual Console games,” Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said in a conference call […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Give Your Friends The Gift Of Pokemans
Just in time for Christmas, Nintendo has rolled out a new feature for Virtual Console: gifting. Now you can buy a Virtual Console game for anyone, not just yourself, and have it delivered straight up their Wii. This would be a good way to use all the Wii points that you’re not spending on Virtual […]
Weekend Thrifting: Journey Escape Demonstration Cartridge
Yesterday’s out-of-town thrifting turned up a very interesting curiosity: a store demonstration cartridge for the Atari 2600 game Journey Escape, which I think we were just talking about. Near as I can figure, these were sent out to stores for them to put inside their Atari 2600 displays. I’m not sure if it’s just a […]
Sega Denies Dreamcast 2 Rumors
An application to trademark “Dreamcast” sparked rumors and hopes that Sega was considering resurrecting the platform, but the company has come forward to say they have no intention of doing so. Sega of America’s PR chief Charlie Scibetta told GameDaily that Sega is quite happy being “platform agnostic” and “has no plans to get back […]
Rumor: Sega Pondering Dreamcast 2
Sega has applied to trademark the name “Dreamcast,” prompting speculation that the company is pondering a return to the hardware business. The application, which was filed in August, covers home consoles, controllers, and “video game interactive controller, namely, hand held pads, and floor pads or mats; joysticks for video games; computer cursor control devices, namely, […]
Pokemon Snap Confirmed For US; Other Virtual Console Online Updates We’d Like To See
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Nintendo has announced that Pokemon Snap is also on its way to the U.S. Virtual Console. The big news about this game release is that Nintendo has added new Wii functionality to the Nintendo 64 original. Now, you can send the pictures you take of your […]
Virtual Console’s Wonder Boy Games, Explained
Whither Wonder Boy? The Wii’s Virtual Console download service features many, many games from Sega’s classic platform-action-RPG series. In fact, it actually has duplicates of many games, because they were released on several different platforms. Adding to the confusion, many of the duplicate Wonder Boy games have totally different titles on each console, meaning that […]
Japan VC: Metal Slader Glory, Treasure Hunter G
Another month, another list of games that Japan will have on Virtual Console before too long. Topping the list for crazy otaku is Metal Slader Glory, a cult classic, latter-day Famicom game developed by HAL Laboratories and published by Nintendo in 1991. It’s a straightforward text adventure game with a sci-fi setting. Sadly, this means […]
Xbox 360 Back Compat Update: Guy Game, Other Notable Titles
Pull out the champagne: The Guy Game is now backward compatible with Xbox 360. It’s difficult to say why this Take Two abortion of a product is more notable: For the fact that it’s one of the least enjoyable video games ever produced for the Xbox? Or the fact that one of the topless girls […]
Virtual Console Dribbles Out Three More
Ya-a-wn! I’m so listless that I nearly forgot to do a Virtual Consolation Prize today. Did I have too relaxing a Thanksgiving break, or is this list of Virtual Console releases just that stultifying? Any dreams that Nintendo actually hitting their stated target of 200 Virtual Console games by year’s end got a tiny bit […]
Weekend Thrifting: Joining The Sega Club
Who buys a Genesis for their toddler? Apparently at least one San Francisco parent did, because today’s thrift store run began with a whole mess of Sega Club titles. Not to be confused with Club Sega, the arcade chain that the company operates in Japan. No, Sega Club was a latter-day line of Genesis games […]
What Classic Game Compilations Can Learn From Game Center CX
Game Center CX: Arino’s Challenge, a Nintendo DS based on a popular Japanese TV show, might be made up entirely of fake retro games. But it has some clever ideas about classic game compilations that should henceforth be applied to the real thing. Each one of the games in CX can be played by itself […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: We Three Kings
The three icons of the 16-bit wars, all on Virtual Console in one week? Has Nintendo gone absolutely crazy? Well, kind of. Wrecking Crew for NES wasn’t really a Mario game, although it did probably star Mario and Luigi. I mean, the guys running around with the hammers kind of look like Mario and Luigi, […]
A Tour Through Game Center CX’s Faux Retrogames
I’m very impressed with Game Center CX: Arino’s Challenge. Not only have the designers managed to come up with a clever assortment of retro-games-that-weren’t, they’ve wrapped them all in an addictive umbrella game. You can load up and play in any game you like at any time, but there’s always a certain challenge that you […]
Retronauts Takes On The Atari 2600
In celebration of both the 30th anniversary of the Video Computer System and the utter collapse of Atari (again), the Retronauts gang takes on the venerable 2600. Shane and Skip skip out this time, so we add in James Mielke, who at 37 actually was out of diapers when the VCS first shipped, which is […]
Test Your Old-School Nintendo Knowledge, Part Two
Mental Floss is back with another Nintendo Historian Quiz, and this one is seems to be even harder than the last one. The average score thus far is 44%. How well will you fare? Depends on if you know things like which game featured a lead character named Pit, which game was compatible with R.O.B., […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Blue’s Journey Into Hell
We at the Game|Life West offices were about to buy Blue’s Journey for Virtual Console this week until it turned out that it looks like this. Okay, not quite what I’m looking for from a Neo Geo game. Some more investigation says it’s pretty bad. Your thoughts? Also, have you seen thegodawful packaging? It almost […]
Found: Eleven Unreleased NES Games
Without actually telling anyone, the folks at Lost Levels have been releasing ROMs of unreleased Nintendo Entertainment System games every Monday, right alongside Nintendo’s Virtual Console updates. With eleven (!) new old games available, they’ve posted a handy single article detailing all of them. Did you know that Capcom was working on a US version […]
Atari 2600 Inducted Into Toy Hall of Fame
The Atari 2600 has been added to the Strong National Museum of Play‘s toy Hall of Fame list, an honor it richly deserves. It’s actually the first electronic toy to make the list, which includes classics like Mr. Potato Head, marbles, checkers, and Barbie. Museum curator Patricia Hogan said, “It may look primitive compared to […]
Nintendo: 200 Virtual Console Games By Year’s End
Two hundred games will be available on the Wii’s Virtual Console classic game download service by the end of 2007. That’s a bit of data from the Reggie speech that’s been getting thrown around recently. Okay, so. There are currently 166 titles available on Virtual Console in the US. There are eight Mondays left in […]
Sega: More Import Genesis Games To Virtual Console
Golden Axe III and Alien Soldier are just the beginning: Sega says that the company will continue to release import game titles for the Wii’s Virtual Console service. In an e-mailed statement today, the game maker announced that “a number” of games previously unreleased in North America will come to Wii’s Genesis library, but did […]
Black Onyx: Birth Of The Japanese RPG
The Black Onyx is one of the most influential games ever released in Japan, and the story of how it came to be is* far out*. Created by an American expat living in Japan named Henk Rogers, The Black Onyx introduced the role-playing game to the country and is considered to be the game that […]
Got Those One Game Virtual Console Blues
I got those one game bluesLord, down to my Yoshi shoesI got them one game dried up Virtual Console bluesYeah I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t care if the game is Super Turrican, an awesome hybrid of Contra and Metroidvania made back when the Lair developers knew how to make […]
Retronauts: Smash Bros. Marathon
It’s been a while, but another episode of 1up’s podcast Retronauts that features Wired’s me is flowing through the tubes as we speak. This week, me, Jeremy Parish, Jenn Frank, Ray Barnholt, and Andrew Fitch discuss the most important topic ever: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. No, I don’t know what that has to do with […]
Japan Virtual Console: Joy Mecha Fight, Fantasy Zone
Japan, much like America, will just have to deal with another scaled-back month of Virtual Console releases in March. At least they know what they’re in for, already. Next month’s lineup will consist of mostly 8-bit classics, notably the latter-day Famicom fighting game Joy Mecha Fight (pictured right) and the shooter Fantasy Zone for Master […]
Weekend Thrifting: Thanks, NPR!
I had to skip out early today to go do an interview on National Public Radio. The station affiliate in San Francisco is near some of my usual thrift stores, so I figured I’d start the weekend early and see what I could find. As it turns out, it was well worth the detour! The […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Cows of Thunder
This week’s offerings on the Virtual Console are just the thing for anyone who loves animal husbandry or heavy metal. But really, who doesn’t? First up is the SNES version of Harvest Moon, which will cost you a small fortune on eBay, but only $8 on the VC. Your task is to fix up the […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Consolation’s Revenge
Once, Gamasutra’s Christian Nutt was giving me the business about my Virtual Console posts, saying that I shouldn’t be so down on it. But, it’s gotten better, I said. Well, you still call the column Virtual Consolation Prize, he pointed out. True, I said, and thought maybe I should change the name to reflect that […]
Virtual Consolation Prize: Hope You Like Snowboarding
[Note: In solidarity with Nintendo’s newfound who-gives-a-shit attitude towards Virtual Console, I am assembling this post from bits and pieces of old ones. Let’s all go back to bed!] With the wealth of content that they could be mining, there’s no way that we should ever have a Virtual Console release week with only one […]
Custom Robo Comes To Japan Virtual Console
Uh-oh: Looks like this month’s lineup of Virtual Console games will bring a Nintendo 64 title that, finally, just can’t be released outside of Japan. Robot action RPG Custom Robo V2 will hit Japan’s VC sometime in February. Could we see a U.S. release? Maybe Nintendo of America got all the way through a localization, […]
Retronauts: 1997, The Year In Review
Retronauts, your favorite podcast about old video games, is finally back. This week, I join 1up’s Jeremy Parish, Ray Barnholt, and Scott Sharkey as we do one of those typical year-in-review podcasts, except the year in question was 1997. A pivotal year! Nintendo fell off the face of the earth, Sony rose to heaven, and […]