ausretrogamer

Celebrating the PC-Engine

October 30, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Yesterday we celebrated the Japanese release of the Mega Drive, today, it’s NEC’s little pocket rocket, the PC-Engine’s turn to bask in the glory of its awesomeness. On this day (October 30) in 1987, a little white unassuming console, the size of a chip packet, burst onto the Japanese market and caused an immediate stir. Within its compact size was an 8-bit (CPU) heart with twin 16-bit (GPUs) eyes, which resulted in beautiful looking games that were equally packed with great sound and gameplay. It’s games came on cute little cards called HuCards (Hudson Cards) or Turbo Chips in North America.

The PC-Engine enjoyed a stack of great arcade conversions with Namco(t) leading the charge. There were great platformers (PC Genjin/Bonk’s Adventure, Legend Of Hero Tonma) and even greater shoot’em ups (R-Type, GunHed, Gradius) – the console certainly had the major gaming genres covered with games that would appeal to even the most ardent of gamers.

NEC/Hudson Soft may have stumbled when attempting to release the PC-Engine outside of Japan, but the compact console definitely packed a punch that gave both Sega and Nintendo a scare in the late 80s in Japan. If you haven’t experienced gaming on a PC-Engine, then check out our genealogy and take your pick – you will not be disappointed!

image source: Wikia

Celebrating the Sega Mega Drive

October 29, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Sega’s 16-bit beast may have arrived on our shores late in 1990, but on this day (October 29) in 1988, Japan got a taste of the future with the release of the Mega Drive. A leap from the Master System, the Mega Drive brought home (almost perfect) arcade conversions, especially those from Sega’s own arcade stable.

While most of the western world was still in the micro computing craze with their C64s, Amigas and Atari STs, Sega stamped their authority with their latest, and as history would record it, their most successful console ever. The Mega Drive was the catalyst for converting a generation of micro computing enthusiasts into console gamers, I should know, I was one of them. My transition from 8-bit (C64) and 16-bit (Atari ST) computing was quite stark – as soon as I got my Mega Drive and whacked in the pack-in Altered Beast game, I honestly thought I had an arcade in my bedroom. Once I played Golden Axe, I was smitten with the machine. Alas, from that day forward (well, for the duration of the 90s) my micro computers were relegated to the back of the wardrobe because there was a new gaming system in town, and its name was Mega Drive!

What were your earliest memories of Sega’s 16-bit beauty? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and join in the conversation.

Pinball Frenzy At PAXAus

October 22, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Who said that pinball was dead? Well, it may have taken a back seat a decade and a half ago, but boy, has pinball come back in a big way. There has been a resurgence of flipping the silver ball with companies like Stern Pinball making contemporary tables based on the hottest bands and pop culture franchises on the planet, from AC/DC, Metallica, KISS, to Iron Man, The Walking Dead, Star Trek and WWE Wrestlemania, there surely is no shortage of great pinball machines to tilt and bump on.

Since pinball has once again become cool (Ed: it never lost its cool!), it was a no brainer to start thinking about including pinball machines in the PAX Aus Classic Gaming area. After meeting Scott Kellett at Supanova earlier this year, we had a brief chat and that is when Scott mentioned how cool it would be to have pinball machines at PAXAus. A few discussions later, Scott’s idea was given the greenlight to pursue having pinball machines in the Classic Gaming area. Through sheer determination and dedication, Scott has round up the big names from the pinball community (Bayside Pinball Club, PinMem and AMD) to deliver us an array of amazing pinball tables (Ed: there will be 10 pinball tables!) for all of you to enjoy and compete on. In a major pinball coup, Scott has arranged to have the first Game of Thrones pinball table available for play in Australia at PAXAus 2015 – even more reason to see you all at PAXAus 2015!

For those with a competitive streak, the ‘PAXAus 2015 IFPA Pinball Tournament’ (proudly brought to you by AMD) will be on Saturday, October 31 – more details here. There will be great prizes on offer, including showbags full of Stern goodies and an awesome Game Of Thrones backboard translite! Get your flippin fingers ready for some pinball frenzy at PAXAus 2015.

Event: PAX Aus 2015
Date: Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2015
Where: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC)
Tournaments: PAXAus 2015 Classic Gaming Tournaments

image source: Amusement Machine Distributors (AMD)

Press Play On Tape: GenreBusters

October 16, 2015 By ausretrogamer

The Press Play on Tape (PPOT) lads are back again, and this time they have taken one prisoner, Mr Mark Cassar from Retro Domination and +3 To Geekdom fame! Mark gives an insight into his gaming past, while Alex Boz goes gaga over Mark’s love of arcade games and loathsomeness for Zelda. The PPOT crew and their special guest discuss their favourite gaming genres on 8 and 16-bit systems, with Daz delighting all with genre-busting games you may have not heard of or played before.

As per usual, the publisher of choice segment was another animated discussion, this time, the honour of choosing the publisher was given to Mark – no, it wasn’t Capcom, Mark chose the hit maker, System 3. With lots of games to choose from, there was no shortage of classics on offer, with IK+ and Last Ninja (among many others) getting the bulk of the votes. So rewind the tape, press play and kick back to another classic PPOT podcast!

PRESS PLAY ON TAPE podcasts are available on iTunes and Podbean.

Kickstarted: An Illustrated History of Game Controllers

October 14, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Now here is a Kickstarter campaign we can get excited about! Player One Books is planning on releasing three volumes in the illustrated History of Game Controllers series, kicking off with volume 1 (which is currently on Kickstarter!).

The books will detail the history of joysticks and game controllers beginning with 1972’s Magnavox Odyssey controller, through to the joystick boom of the early ’80s and the emergence of game pads as the dominant force by the late ’80s. The book will feature photographs, detailed descriptions, reviews and technical information on over 120 different joysticks and game controllers released between 1972 and 1989.

If this is your kind of thing (Ed: it sure is!), then hit the Player One: An Illustrated History of Game Controllers Vol.1 Kickstarter now and pledge to make this happen!

source: Player One: An Illustrated History of Game Controllers Vol.1

EB Games Expo 2015: It’s A Wrap

October 9, 2015 By ausretrogamer

What do you get when a bunch of great friends invite you to Sydney to participate and assist in their retro gaming exhibit at one of the biggest gaming events of the year? You get a huge rush of adrenaline mixed with a massive dose of fun that lasts for 5 days!

This past weekend, I attended the EB Games Expo 2015 (EBExpo15) in Sydney, assisting the Weird and Retro crew in their Interactive History Museum (IHM) exhibit. Even though I have now come back to reality, the buzz of EBExpo15 is still high – I hope the buzz lasts a little while yet.

It all started three days before EB Games Expo 2015 – we picked up the rental truck, packed all the retro gaming gear and pop-culture goodies and set off for our ‘retro road trip’ to Sydney (Ed: we’ll save the story of the retro road trip for another time). Once arriving in Sydney, the bump-in was relatively easy, with all of us working in unison, we had setup the Interactive History Museum (IHM) with items from the 80s, 90s and 00s, from retro gaming systems, retro video games, to a myriad of pop-culture gear, we had three decades worth of nostalgia covered in the one area.

Once EBExpo15 kicked off, it was great to see attendees flocking to the IHM area and enjoying themselves by playing video games they hadn’t seen since they were a child or wowing at the sight of the Sale Of The Century board game with Tony Barber in the 90s section. The age range of attendees was varied, but each person that took a trip down memory lane in the IHM was not disappointed – there was something to do and see for everyone. There were plenty of compliments, which always makes you feel that all the hard work was worthwhile, like this one from a very happy patron, “Your stand was my favourite of all time!!! Thank you for showing the next generation the amazing technology advancement from when I was a kid to now. I was born in the 70’s, so my childhood of gaming was experienced in the 80’s and it was wonderful to relive all those great times. Once again, thank you.”

EBExpo15 wasn’t just about the IHM. The main hall was packed with modern gaming with all the big players in the industry being present, from Sony Playstation Australia showing off their VR headset, Xbox Australia garnering interest with their Xbox One wares, to Nintendo Australia and New Zealand doing what they do best – gaming and running gaming related competitions. And what exhibition is complete without amazing Cosplay. At EBExpo15, there were cosplayers representing every medium – TV, gaming, comics and movies. The cosplayers were all equally amazing to see and humble when approached to be photographed.

Like all good things, EBExpo15 concluded on Sunday (Oct 4). After 5 days in Sydney, we had to pack up the gear (Ed: very carefully!) and make our way down the Hume Highway back to unseasonably warm Melbourne. So, was it all worth it and was it fun? Let’s just say we had the gunnest time ever! Roll on EB Games Expo 2016!

Thank you to the Weird and Retro team: Serby, Stacey, Jerry, Pedro and Kano for allowing me to share in the EB Games Expo 15 shenanigans!

Where on the road to…… EB Games Expo (Sydney)

Pit-stop – the Ice Man (Jerry) enjoys a bit of cocktail action

Isuzu trucks – they are not so squeezy

We arrive at Sydney’s Showground!

Pass picked up – time to go in and start setting up

The Interactive History Museum – let’s go in!

Totally 80’s – computers!

Totally 80’s – consoles!

Never forget the 90’s!

The mighty SNES

The Jaguar museum piece was a personal fave!

The Noughties represent!

Taking a sneak peek at the PlayStation exhibit in the main hall

Freeplay City – the calm before the storm!

Retro Gamer Rival (Pedro) making us drool over his mint warez!

Getting our gear on before the start of EB Expo 15!

Drool worthy!

Stuffing our faces – a growing body needs sustenance!

I love this computer. There, it has been said!

The write-up for the Jag was pure gold!

Taking more sneaky peeks into what PlayStation will have for us in the near future

Yours truly making some last minute adjustments to the 90’s museum display

Loving the view!

It’s showtime! The IHM proves popular with all patrons

Yay, Zool action!

The popular 90s!

Weird and Retro’s Serby enjoying a bit of bongo action on Donkey Konga!

Mega Man made it to the expo!

Sonic enjoyed on the Mega Drive by the new generation

Even the dark side of the force enjoys a bit of retro gaming

I wanna bust out the Barry Crocker tune now!

Checking out the main hall during our breaks

Serby enjoys an old classic on new hardware. Oh wait…..

The EB Games mega-store was MEGA (and always packed)!

So many temptations in the EB Games mega-store

Whoa, Lego Mario and Luigi!

More Lego retro gaming creations! *want*

Speechless!

Oh my gawd! This is my kind of arcade!

Meanwhile, back in the IHM, we find Link and his Fairy!

May the force be with you!

16-bit Mortal Kombat WaR!

My childhood in the 80s!

16-bit goodies

XBox royalty!

If only this was $9.99!

Busting out the vinyl

Spin that wheel! I’m a make you feel….

Taking a pinball break! This means WaR!

Spooky!

Whoa, that’s green!

Ubisoft crashes the party!

On my best behaviour

Sonic competes at the Nintendo stand!

We made it on the Gamespot #EBExpo15 social media wall!

Best tattoos at show!

Mini Luigi beating his bro on Super Mario Kart

Star-Lord and Drax the Destroyer enjoying some Dayyyyytoooooona USA!

Ah, all good things must come to an end.

Anniversary of the Amiga: A Good Game TV Special

October 8, 2015 By ausretrogamer

2015 has been a year of major gaming and tech anniversaries, from Super Mario celebrating 30 years of busting bricks, to Sony’s PlayStation hitting the magical 20th anniversary since its release in the West. Rounding off the trifecta of major birthday celebrations is Commodore’s powerhouse computer, the mighty Amiga.

Since Mario and the PlayStation have enjoyed the spotlight throughout the year, it was great to see ABC TV’s Good Game turn their attention to celebrate the Amiga in a special feature during their regular TV show. Regardless if you are an Amiga fan or not, press play and take a trip down memory lane to the beginning of the multimedia computer.

source: Good Game – ABC TV

Flipping Out

October 5, 2015 By ausretrogamer

If you have an interest in pinball, even if it is in passing, then this Flipped video by Mike L. Miller is a hoot to watch. I think a fair few of you (Ed: and me!) will relate to the jubilation of multi-ball play and the despondency when that shiny metal ball drains – the reactions of players in this video are priceless.

If you think pinball is just a passing fad a second time around, then think again! I am glad we are all keeping the (pinball) dream alive!

source: Flipped on vimeo

Rebooted: The Amiga 1200 Case Kickstarter

October 1, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Following on from their first crack at a Kickstarter campaign to create new Amiga 1200 casings, Philippe Lang and his team have listened to all the feedback and went back to the drawing board. The A1200.net team have come back with an enhanced campaign which they are hoping will please the most ardent of Amiga 1200 fans (Ed: us included!).

So what’s new in this campaign you ask? For starters, the Amiga 1200 casings will be fully licensed and will include the official AMIGA logo! There is a raft of other improvements and additions which you can read up on their Kickstarter page. We hope this one gets funded second time around!