The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Wow, 58 years worth of video game controllers, from Tennis For Two to the Oculus Rift. With VR now here to stay, where will gaming controllers be in another 58 years?
While you contemplate where video game controllers will go in the next six decades, kick back, relax, press play and see how we got here from 1958!
source: Super Deluxe
There were a number of big name publishers back in the day that had multiple chart toppers with an equal share of stinkers on the Commodore 64. The exception to this rule was Hewson Consultants (or simply Hewson as we affectionately called them). With absolute classics like Uridium, Paradroid, Ranarama, Cybernoid (this list could get quite exhaustive, such was their pedigree), Hewson was always going to leave a delectable and an ever lasting legacy on the C64. Their games had an undeniable quality to them which is probably why they are still spoken of so fondly even to this day, which is testament to the top notch software they pumped out for the 8-bit Commodore behemoth.
With a ton of games to choose from, our favourite Hewson title was the 1987 hit, Nebulus! We were suckers for brain teasing platform games, and Nebulus provided a mind bending experience in spades. The central character, Pogo was so damn cute and yet so very deadly – once we took control of him, we were addicted. Moving Pogo and jumping over obstacles to try and get to the top of each tower felt as natural as breathing. We remember the first time we saw the tower spin as Pogo walked left and then right, we were all wide-eyed with mouth open as if we were swallowing flies! This innovation was refreshing and executed inch perfect, which only Hewson could pull off.
To read the rest of this story, grab Reset #9 now and turn to page 28! Oh yeh, Reset is totally free!
For the latest on Hewson Consultants projects, check out their Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight now!
Get your spandex on, whack on some sunscreen and head to ACMI on Saturday July 23 for the games of the RETROLYMIPAD!
So what’s this all about then? Well if you wait a second, we’ll tell you! ACMI is hosting the RETROLYMIPAD to celebrate the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, so get ready for an evening of food, drinks and Olympics inspired retro videogames from the 80s through to the 2000 Sydney Olympics!
The event will feature a range of nostalgia inducing retro gaming titles like: Epyx’s iconic California Games (1987 and 1993), U.S. Gold’s classic Olympic Gold series (1992 and 1996), Konami’s Track and Field II (1988) and International Track and Field (2000), and Dynamix and Data East’s Caveman Ughlympics (1988).
The RETROLYMPIAD will transform ACMI’s ‘Lightwell’ and ‘Cube’ spaces into a pop-up arcade playground for adults. In the spirit of sports commentary greats, comedians Andy Matthews and Al Tremblay Birchall will guide party-goers through an unmissable opening ceremony, retro-themed factoids and live game play. Another highlight of the night will be a live DJ set featuring 80s inspired beats by the Midnight Juggernauts.
ACMI Producer, Emily Siddons states “Whether you have fond memories of mashing controllers to crunchy 8-bit graphics, or are a game expert, this event has you covered. It is about getting into the Olympic spirit, hanging out with friends, being entertained by live game play and epic sporting fails over music, laughs and great food and drinks.”
Just like Carl Lewis made history in track and field, so too could Melburnians make history as top virtual athletes – winning a medal or ten like Carl . Whether you’re a competitor or a spectator, RETROLYMPIAD is one pixel pushing party you should not miss.
Details:
What: RETROLYMPIAD
Where: ACMI
When: Saturday 23 July 2016, 8pm
Tickets: Full $22. Concession $20. Members $18. Buy tickets here.
You know the free information paraphernalia you get when a new system or game comes out – make sure you hold onto them! If you are in the media, it is even more imperative to keep those press kits you usually turf away, even if there is no t-shirt or other trinkets on offer.
This 1991 SNK Neo Geo AES (USA) press kit is a prime example of how sort after press kits have become, especially the ones for older systems. They definitely spared no expense creating a bling media kit to peddle their awesome (and quite expensive) systems. What’s with SNK, even there press kits are damn sexy!
Before you go hunting for gaming related press kits, including this one, be informed that these items fetch a pretty penny. For now, we’ll just drool over this SNK Neo Geo presser!
Even the box looks expensive, just like their consoles!
Let the drooling begin!
Definitely bigger, badder and better!
Flicking goodness
SNK spared no expense with this press kit!
Oh wait, there is game info in the kit too?!
OK, we may need to sell a kidney or two now!
source: eBay
What the heck is Nibbler? Oh, the Rock-ola arcade game from 1982 which is a mash-up of Pac-Man and Snake? Nah, doesn’t ring any bells. Anyway, Man Vs Snake – The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler tells the story of high scoring Nibbler players’ quest to become the undisputed world champion.
Just like Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe competing to become The King Of Kong, Man vs Snake (MvS) introduces the main protagonist, Tim McVey (no, not that Oklahoma City bomber bad guy), the dude whom in 1984 was the first video gamer to clock Nibbler with a billion point high score, earning him the Rock-Ola arcade machine in the process. Then enters the dark horse, one Italian named Enrico Zanetti, whom had held the unofficial high score for Nibbler (not recognised by Twin Galaxies) and the main contenders to Tim’s high score, Canadian video game champion Dwayne Richard and “The Machine”, Rick Carter.
With a cast reading like a who’s who from the US arcade world including Walter Day, the theme is set – so what’s a high-score challenge documentary without some controversy aye? Just like The King Of Kong, it seems as this is the genre du jour. Not wanting to spoil it for anyone, an unfair advantage is uncovered which leads to accusations of, well let’s just say it, cheating! Balance could have been given here by allowing the accused to elaborate on their side of the story, but that may have spoiled the narrative of the documentary.
The film fulfils its primary objective by capturing the essence of not just the players wanting to beat one another, but showing the tension, determination and sacrifices they go through to conquer the mountain that is the Nibbler high score. In the end, the real battle in Man Vs Snake, just as the title eludes too, is between man and machine. If you were a fan of The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters, then Man Vs Snake – The Long and Twisted Tale Of Nibbler is compelling viewing!
Man Vs Snake – The Long and Twister Take Of Nibbler will be available from June 24 on all major streaming platforms. Visit the Man Vs Snake site for more details.
image source: Man Vs Snake
If Growing The 8-Bit Generation: The Commodore Wars film is anything to go by, 8-Bit Generation (the creators) are on a winner with their latest in the series of gaming documentaries, Easy To Learn, Hard To Master – The Fate Of Atari. To make The Fate Of Atari film happen, 8-Bit Generation have gone to Kickstater to raise a modest 20,000EUR.
Just like their successful first film, The Fate Of Atari will feature interviews with Atari heavyweights that have seldom appeared on film, including Manny Gerard and former Atari President and CEO, Ray Kassar. The late Ralph Baer, the father of video games, also makes an appearance.
The Fate Of Atari will concentrate on the meteoric rise and equal fall of the gaming industry icon. The best part is, there is zero risk with this campaign, as the interviews and additional footage has already been completed! No matter if you are a gaming history buff or not, the story of Atari should be known by all! Pledge now!
source: 8bit generation
How many times have you gone through the trouble to find the right gaming gift for your player number 2 only to be let down by the crappy Hallmark cards available in stores? Well now you can complete the perfect gift package by getting one of the awesome gamer cards for that special occasion created by playerNo2!
The playerNo2 Etsy store is dedicated to cute and nerdy greeting cards for anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and all other special occasions in-between. So if you are after a unique gift card for your partner, then playerNo2 should be your one stop shop!
Our friends at playerNo2 have been kind enough to provide us an exclusive 20% off coupon for our readers (use AUSRETROGAMER at checkout) which can be used on any purchase in their store! Through these awesome gamer cards, like-minded people can now share their greatest moments with the people they care about – grab some now!
Awwwwww
Everyone is a winner!
No one gets in the way of true love!
The great birthday 1,3,2 card!
The Perfect Match!
+1Up
Mum’s like to game too, show your mum that you care!
image source: playerNo2
When filmmaker, director of Knightfall, retro gaming enthusiast and podcaster Ben Campbell asks you to be on his Didn’t You Have That When You Were 12?! podcast, you can’t say yes fast enough!
I was privileged to be Ben’s inaugural guest and I must admit, I was nervous. Being a British expat now living in Australia, Ben was surveying the land down under for retrogaming friends and found yours truly. To say we hit it off would be a gross understatement. Making his guest feel comfortable, I found myself opening up and discussing personal matters interwoven in the narrative of my retro gaming story.
Take a listen as Ben and I nerd out about the Vectrex and discuss the best port of Double Dragon. I go on to reveal the bittersweet moment my dad and I found a Sega Dreamcast kiosk on the side of the road and I delve into a few of my most prized pieces in my collection. To hear the rest you’ll have to hit play on the Didn’t You Have That When You Were 12?! podcast.
source: Didn’t You Have That When You Were 12?!
With E3 2016 being the biggest news this week, we thought we’d rewind the clock twenty years, back to 1996 when Nintendo, Sega and the newest player on the console block, the Playstation were the headline acts.
After wowing the crowds with their hardware the previous year, Playstation ensured that the 1996 E3 event was going to be even bigger and better by announcing a price drop to get the console into more homes, sending shivers down the spines of the old guard, Nintendo and Sega. Not to be outdone in the gaming stakes, Sony Computer Entertainment introduced everyone to Crash Bandicoot, who would go on to become a PlayStation mascot (and get remastered for the the PS4 20 years later!) and Lara Croft, whose appearance in Tomb Raider was the first step towards becoming a cultural icon.
At this second ever Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Sega was showing off the latest and greatest games for their Saturn in the hope of making a dent in the Playstation’s armour. With games like Virtua Fighter 3 (which was ultimately cancelled), Fighting Vipers, Virtua Cop 2, NiGHTS into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei and Daytona USA (among others) from their own stable, Sega was ensuring that heads would be turned towards their 32-bit beast.
Third-party Saturn games were also announced by Acclaim (Alien Trilogy, Battle Monsters, The Crow: City of Angels, Dragonheart and Space Jam), Ubisoft (Rayman 2), Capcom (Marvel Super Heroes), Crystal Dyanmics (3D Baseball, Ghost Rider and Legacy Of Kain) and Konami (ISS Deluxe and NBA Hangtime).
Sega also wanted to show that there was still (some) life left in their 16-bit Mega Drive (Genesis) by showing off Arcade Classics, Sonic 3D Blast, Vectorman 2, X-Perts and X-Women (which never saw the light of day!). Perhaps Sega should have given up on their 16-bit console (and it’s many add-ons) and concentrate their might on the 32-bit battleground. Ah hindsight, it’s always 20/20.
And then there was Nintendo. The Kyoto giant chose the 1996 E3 event to showcase their latest hardware, the Nintendo 64. Nintendo chose to up the ante in the ‘bit’ wars by leaping over their two main rivals with their 32-bit systems. Basking in the glory of their 16-bit success with the SNES and full of confidence, Nintendo chose to stick with cartridges rather then the now-accepted CD format. To ensure that the Nintendo 64 was going to pull-in the crowds at E3 that year, Nintendo had a number of launch titles available to experience – Wave Race 64, Pilotwings 64, Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire and Super Mario 64. New hardware needs a ‘killer app’ that captures the public’s imagination and makes consumers snap up a machine – Super Mario 64, just like Super Mario Bros did for the NES, did exactly that! With Mario entering 3D for the first time, Nintendo no doubt were the best in show at E3 1996.
What product will wow us and become best in show at E3 2016?
sources: [IGN | Sega Retro | Playstation.blog]
Oz Comic-Con commanded us to ‘unleash your inner geek’ – and we were very happy to oblige. We came, we saw, we played, and we conquered Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2016.
From the awesome cosplay (which never ceases to amaze us!), freeplay gaming areas, fantastic artists, comics and pop culture gear, to the TV/movie superstar celebrities (like Lucy Lawless, John ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ Barrowman, Robert Patrick, David Anders and Rose McIver) – Oz Comic-Con 2016 had something for everyone.
Of course we spent a considerable amount of time in the gaming zone – the Spider-Man Vault Edition pinball machine in particular – but we were also sure to check out the rest of the con. We walked the floor and were thoroughly impressed with the range and quality of cosplay as well as the stunning artwork on show.
Rather than waffle on, we thought we would let our photos give you a glimpse into what was an awesome Oz Comic-Con!
We hope Mulder and Scully have their Oz Comic-Con tix!
What should we do first?
Look who we found in the gaming zone: Oz Comic-Con Content Manager Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, Scott Kellett and Rob Caporetto)
Whoa, a surprise celebrity dropped in – Tony Stark wasn’t on the guest list!
Who you gonna call?
The cutest Marty McFly at Oz Comic-Con
Gaarrgghh! My eyes!!
Oo’er, that Marvel artwork!
LED goodness!
My spidey-senses are tingling!
The TARDIS found some time for a game
Blast those pesky aliens!
On-site movie make-up
Teenage Mutant Ninja … Turtles?
This Clone scout trooper wants you!
What posers!
I’m a very cool Batman cosplayer
Watch out for the Blue Elf Death Knight
Forget Conan, this Female Barbarian means business!
The Flower Card – beautiful!
Awesome display at Cosplay Central part 1
Awesome display at Cosplay Central part 2
Who got water on the Mogwai?
Amazing TARDIS dress made from duct tape at the I’m a Craftaholic booth
This cosplay makes my millennium
Cool retro bikes spotted outside the MCEC
We worked up a decent thirst
I spy with my little eye… great cosplay
By the power of Grayskull!
Poor C-3PO!
What’s in the box?
Na Na Na Na Naaa
Radio controlled R2-D2 – wow, nice!
Stern concentration
Gotham City Sirens
Groovy
Tabletop action
Awesome TWD cosplay
The Baseball Furies came out to play
Rebel scum!
Ms ausretrogamer completes level 1!
Ready to fight!
Amour-azing!
Steam Punk-tastic
Where’s Rick Grimes when you need him?
Game on
Wow!
We have no complaints about this awesome ‘No-Face’ cosplay
One more go before closing time
So, there you have it – we had a great time at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2016. We’re already looking forward to 2017.