The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Don’t have a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to get your nostalgic hit? Don’t stress, you can go straight to the Nintendo8.com site and play all your favourite Nintendo 8-bit games right on your browser!
I know some will say that it is not like the real thing, but hey, not all of us are inclined to own all the old consoles. So go ahead and enjoy some 8-bit action.
Back in the 16-bit war between Sega and Nintendo, it was Sega’s clever marketing department that released some great advertising campaigns. These campaigns were used to either discredit Nintendo’s offering or make you think twice about jumping over to the red side. Campaigns like “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” and “To be this good takes Ages” were memorable campaigns and are still being talked about to this day. Sega protected their (market) patch by firing these broad shots at Nintendo. It obviously worked, as the Genesis had a huge market share in North America. However, things did change once Sega started experimenting with add-ons and lost their way. To their credit, Nintendo built their reputation by consistently producing high quality products and eventually the SNES overcame the market deficit and made it to the top of the 16-bit ladder (in North America) by 1993. Once on top, Nintendo proclaimed “Nintendo Is What Genesisn’t” – a stroke of genius.
Sega’s campaigns were great; however, the boldest examples came from SNK. Their advertising was based around the 24-bit power of their Neo Geo AES (Advanced Entertainment System), and they were shameless and aggressive. The advertising was clearly aimed at male gamers – with ads like “If you’re still playing Sega, NEC or Nintendo you’re nothing but a weenie! If you’re playing the incredibly high powered Neo Geo system you’re a real hot dog!” and the menacing pitbull mascot proclaiming that the Neo Geo was “Bigger, Badder, Better”. However, my favourite Neo Geo advertisement was the raunchy “I Remember When He Couldn’t Keep His Hands Off Me!” – perhaps the ad should have come with a warning.
SNK were going after every player in the market, not just the big boys Sega and Nintendo. Even poor old NEC (TurboGrafx-16) was being attacked. With the premium price of the AES system and games, SNK had to do whatever they could to snag some market share, even if it meant fighting dirty.
Being the king of the hill makes you a target, so it would have been no surprise to Nintendo to be in the crosshairs of every competitor’s marketing department. Not only were they being attacked on the console front, Nintendo was also fighting the handheld war with Atari (Lynx) with their “Lynx Eats Boy’s Lunch” ad blitz and Sega (Game Gear) with their “Separate The Men From The Boys” campaigns. It is safe to say, we all know how that battle ended.
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. I hope to see more of this old school mud-slinging marketing for the new generation gaming systems.
Are you missing out on playing Super Mario Bros.? Would you like to edit Super Mario Bros. and create your own challenging super levels? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then stop reading and head on over to Full Screen Mario now!
For a lot of gamers, November 15 2013 cannot come fast enough. My primary gaming may be on vintage systems, but hey, even I get excited when I see trailers like this one from Sony. Greatness surely awaits.
source: PlayStation
Ah yes, Cabal. This war themed arcade game throws you and a friend right into the thick of battle. Your mission is to maim, kill and blow up everything in sight on twenty (20) different screens (four screens per stage, with a total of five stages). Should you reach the end and defeat the evil dictator, you are free to relinquish your guerrilla fighting days and just become a run of the mill commando.
Ask any arcade gamer about Cabal, and you will notice a wry smile come over their face. Cabal had you ducking behind walls to escape enemy fire all the while you shoot back and destroy everything on screen, from buildings, tanks, helicopters, submarines, walls and trees to animals! Using your onscreen crosshair, you aim and fire. Your soldier starts with his trusty single-shot gun (with unlimited ammo), however, there are power-ups (shotguns, machine guns, grenades) hidden on each screen, hence the importance of shooting and destroying everything in sight. Once the screen has been leveled out, your soldier moves on to the next screen or stage.
Cabal set the blueprint for a number of shooting games, from its own successor, Blood Bros. to SNK’s NAM-1975. These games may be better (for some gamers), but you have to pay homage to where the inspiration came from – Cabal: Dare the Danger!
| Graphics | Nice large sprites. Items on screen blow up with great satisfaction (buildings collapse in dust when their foundations give in to your incessant fire) |
88% |
| Sound | Expected frenetic war machine noise |
85% |
| Playability | The screen does not scroll, but the gameplay is hectic. You will love blowing up everything on screen |
85% |
| Lastability | Still great to come back to and shoot everything in sight, including the pigs! |
83% |
| Overall | Using the trackball may get some getting used to, but once you do, Cabal will dare you to play it. Get ready to destroy everything |
82%
|
Manufacturer: TAD Corporation
Year: 1988
Genre: Shooter
Number of Simultaneous Players: 2
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Joint
Control Panel Layout: Multi-Player
Controls:
– Trackball: Optical
– Buttons: 2 (shoot and grenade)
Sound: Amplified Mono (single channel)
On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of October, film, comic fans and cosplayers descended on the Olympia Grand Hall in London for the second London Film and Comic Con of the year. There was a whole host of fun activities including photo shoots, panels, autograph sessions and hundreds of stalls full of merchandise to browse.
Watch the Cosplay highlights from the Winter London Film and Comic Con (WLFCC) 2013.
source: sneakyzebra
It is always best to start the week with a bit of a laugh. Life is serious as it is – enjoy!
A must read novel for any Mario fan!
GTA V: Vatican City – I would soooo play the pope!
GTA V: Hollywood
Wrist Battery Pack: Solving Your Handheld Dilemma!
Want to go on an arcade nostalgia trip? If Tim Nicholls raises £10,000 (Ed: he has now! Woohoo!) on his Kickstarter campaign, the dream will definitely become a reality.
There have been quite a few Kickstarter projects that have piqued my interest and this one has definitely done more than that. Being an avid arcade junkie, this book will be choc-full of memories from the golden age of arcade gaming.
Check out the kickstarter campaign for Artcade. Will you back this?
source: Kickstarter
While the music charts were being rocked by the ‘Spice Girls’ and ‘Fugees’ in July 1996, on the video games front, we had a gorilla, a street fighter and a woody toy dominating the SNES, Sega’s Saturn and Mega Drive. This month also saw an Australian inspired rugby game make the charts on Sega’s 16-bit offering. What were you playing in July 1996?
 |
1) Donkey Kong Country 2 (Nintendo) |
| 2) Killer Instinct (Nintendo) | |
| 3) Yoshi’s Island (Nintendo) | |
| 4) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) | |
| 5) PGA Tour Golf ’96 (THQ) |
 |
1) Toy Story (Sega) |
| 2) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) | |
| 3) Sonic & Knuckles (Sega) | |
| 4) Australian Rugby League (EA) | |
| 5) Ecco the Dolphin 2: Tides of Time (Sega) |
 |
1) Street Fighter Alpha (Virgin Games) |
| 2) Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Sega) | |
| 3) Sega Rally (Sega) | |
| 4) Virtua Cop (Sega) | |
| 5) NFL: Quarterback Club (Sega) |
Back in 1984, do you recall playing Starfighter at your local arcade parlour and then getting excited when it appeared in your favourite movie, The Last Starfighter? No, it doesn’t ring a bell? Of course it doesn’t, the arcade game from the movie was never a reality, or was it?
Rogue Synapse can make this dream a reality – your very own Starfighter arcade machine, just like in the movie. Become Alex Rogan and fly off to Rylos to defend the frontier from the evil Xur and the Koh-Dan Armada. You may need to speak to your bank manager beforehand.