The Pop-Culture E-Zine
The classic Segasa electro-mechanical pinball table, Baby Doll, has been saved from the scrap heap and morphed into the fully fledged Internet Meme Ball pinball!
Those games room specialist, Liberty Games, are so adventurous and clever! Their pinball creation is perfect for that void in every office breakout area. Right, I am going to raise a new purchase order and send it to my boss – we really need this table to boost morale around here <winks>.
Internet Meme Ball
source: Liberty Games
During the pioneering days of video gaming and home computing, our industry may have been small when compared to Japan, the US and UK, but we were (and still are) proud of our gaming heritage – we will always be proud of John De Margheriti’s Micro Forté and Alfred Milgrom’s Melbourne House and Beam Software amongst the initial big industry players.
As Australian gaming enthusiasts, we always paid attention to what was happening around the world, like we still do till this day. In the early 80s, when home computing took off in Australia, we were on a parallel with our gaming brethren in Europe and the United Kingdom, more so than Japan and the US.
With our nascent video gaming magazine industry barely keeping up with our veracious appetite for gaming information, we turned our attention to the British media to satisfy our craving. Our newsstands were filled with brilliantly written British magazines, from Crash and Zzap!64, to Zero, ST/Amiga Format and Computer & Video Games (to name a few!). These magazines were our only channel to what was going on in the home computing and gaming industry. The magazines introduced us to household British developers, bedroom coders, musicians, publishers and journalists, so it is satisfying to finally watch a film based on this history.
From Bedrooms To Billions, the successful crowd-funded production, shows how the early UK games business began and evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. The story is fused with interviews with key contributors that helped shape the video gaming industry – the enthusiasts, hobbyists, schools kids, bedroom coders, music maestros, journalists and entrepreneurs. Through these interviews, the film reveals the remarkable stories, struggles and successes of the people involved in the invention, creation and evolution of the UK video gaming business.
From Bedroom To Billions connects us over here in Australia (or anywhere around the world for that matter) with the pioneers of the gaming industry, from the bedroom coders, developers and music maestros, to the journalists and publishers we grew up with in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. This documentary is essential viewing, either to reminisce, curate or just to learn how the UK video gaming industry went from nothing to a force to be reckoned with. If there was a category for a “Video Gaming Film Of The Year”, this film would win it hands down. We applaud you Anthony and Nicola Caulfield for a job well done.
Just when you thought you got this song out of your head, I come along and ram it back in there! This is such a feel good song – it is absolutely perfect for the festive season!
Get singing people, “Neo Geo, Neo Geo. Four bright buttons and two joysticks. Neo Geo, Neo Geo. Cool red cab and a name that sticks“! The Neo Geo rulez!
source: Nathan Barnatt
Lyrics: Keith Apicary
Dear Santa,
I know you are busy and stuff, but I thought I’d drop you a line and let you know that I’ve been a very good boy this year.
Since I’ve been good, I thought I would send you my Christmas present wishlist. I hope you could put one (or perhaps more) of these gifts under my Christmas tree – I have included some photos to make your job easier. I promise I’ll leave you heaps of biscuits, milk or whatever other food or beverages you and your reindeer prefer – just let me know.
Thanks Santa and Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
Yours sincerely,
AUSRETROGAMER
Being a big fan of Masters Of The Universe, this would look great on my desk.
Ms. ausretrogamer will like these too.
Who doesn’t love Arnie! I’ll be back!
I want to show some love to my Atari ST.
I’ll break you! That’s what he said, not me!
The future is now! Hand me that almanac.
A bit of footy at Xmas is always great!
This would be great for some Xmas eve viewing.
It says it is the complete edition!
I know I am not a Zelda fan, but this hoodie is cool. Oh yeah, I am a medium!
I can pretend to be Link. I’d be so boss!
Any one of these gaming related items would be appreciated. I am not fussy.
Machines and their mechanics have always fascinated me – from the brilliantly clever people that design them, to the bits and pieces that go inside them to make things work. One such machine that has brought lots of joy to this retro gamer, is the faithful pinball table. Pinball tables have a fair few moving parts – from ramps and bumpers, to flippers, flashing lights and thundering sound, so wouldn’t it be wonderful to see how this stuff works?
Taking a peek underneath that glossy colourful playfield and mesmirising backbox has been on my bucket list for a fair while now. Luckily, the awesome folks at Design World round up Jon Riplogle, a world-class pinball player who takes us through both a modern machine and a vintage game designed before there were such things as microprocessors and even before logic ICs (Integrated Circuits) found their way into consumer products.
Source: Design World
Christmas is coming! What better time for a spot of nostalgia and to relive Christmases past by partaking in some retro gaming. And while we’re at it, why not share the nostalgic vibe with your friends and loved ones by spreading some retro gaming cheer!
There aren’t too many stores you can walk into and find whole cabinets full of 20+ year-old video games for sale. It’s fun to search through second hand stores and op shops to find hidden treasures, but if you want a guaranteed treasure trove of retro gaming goodies, then you better hit your local Cash Converters store.
The variation of retro gaming items you find in a Cash Converters store creates a lot of excitement and sets the nostalgic juices flowing. While you have made a bee-line towards that old Atari 2600 game that has taken your fancy, another one, a Sega Master System case, catches your attention to the left of it. This kind of a visual sensory overload is quite welcome when you are on the hunt.
As you allow the nostalgia to wash over you, you realise that you need to take a step back and take your time to take it all in – from that Atari CX-40 controller and Nintendo 64 console, to those Game Boy games tucked away behind the bigger cartridges, you want to make sure you don’t miss a thing!
Chatting to the staff about classic video games, you sense their enthusiasm of the products and the memories they bring back for them. I tell you, that nostalgic feeling is super addictive. We were deep in conversation about Super Mario and Game & Watch games with one of the staff members, when one of their colleagues enthusiastically produced a few choice Japanese GameCube titles that had arrived earlier that day. Talk about great timing – our retro gaming senses were now well and truly hitting overdrive!
The thrill of hunting old video gaming items you cherished from the 70s, 80s or 90s does become addictive. Luckily, there are Cash Converters stores nearby to provide you your much needed retro gaming fix. For those that are comfortable shopping from the comfort of their own home, don’t fret, the Cash Converters Webshop is full of items to browse and provide you with that nostalgic fix all from the comfort of your armchair.
With our Christmas shopping all done and our wish list completed, we’ll put out the milk and biscuits for Santa, hoping that he will reward us for being good for another year. Have a retro gaming and safe Christmas!
To stay up to date with the latest Cash Converters news follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google +.
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I must admit, I am a sucker for infographics! I am a visual person and would prefer to see more pictures than words. Don’t get me wrong, a well constructed piece will hold my attention, but I get excited over pictures – the more of them, the merrier. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
You don’t need words to explain what you are looking at below – just click on the infographic and then zoom in and enjoy the visual ride!
source: Pop Chart Lab
As a Commodore 64 lover, I was in constant feuds with my fellow 8-bit home computer enthusiasts that chose the other brands. Ah, those glorious school-yard arguments. I miss those days.
Hang on, what’s this then? A new Speccy? OH MY GAWD! Even I, a one eyed C64 fan can’t deny the excitement generated by seeing the famous rainbow coloured stripes on a shiny black Sinclair system.
Sir Clive Sinclair and his band of geniuses (Chris Smith, Dr. David Levy and Paul Andrews) at Retro Computers Ltd. are back with a vengeance! They are resurrecting the style of the venerable British-made ZX Speccy and bringing it into the 21st century as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega! This time around, instead of the rubber keyboard, the computer is the controller!
The crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo has gone gangbusters! The £100,000 goal has already been exceeded and there are still a lot of weeks left! You better get in quick if you want a piece of this new ZX Spectrum Vega kit. This initial run is limited to the first 1,000 backers.
For those of you that want to know more about this little beast; it is powered by an ARM processor and contains flash storage that will have 1,000 Speccy games pre-loaded! Don’t stress though, you can also load your own Spectrum games onto the Vega via an SD card.
What’s there not to love about this? Absolutely nothing – we love everything about it.
source: Retro Computers
There have been a swag of quality books published recently based on our rich history of video gaming. This illustrates the importance of the impact and value that video gaming has played in our recent past. The cultural importance of video games has gained enough momentum that it has become our favourite form of entertainment. What these publications do for the history of video gaming is to document eras, games, systems of our wonderful industry for us to indulge in the nostalgic memories and also act as a reference for future generations.
One book that caught our attention was Read-Only Memory’s ‘Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works‘. The book aimed to become the definitive retrospective of Sega’s 16 -bit beast, featuring development and concept illustrations of Sega’s best-loved game franchises, original developer interviews and previously unseen hardware production plans.The crowd-funding campaign of a year ago was so successful that Read-Only Memory added additional content to sweeten the already quite tasty book. The finished product not only surpassed what it promised to deliver, but it provides loads more – from exclusive interviews with legendary US developers, Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger (ToeJam & Earl), Naoto Ohshima (Sonic The Hedgehog) and Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier et al), to concept art and level visualisations for Vectorman 2 and detailed pencil-drawn level maps for Comix Zone.
For those that only know Sega as a software publisher, this book is a reminder of its former glory – making awesome gaming hardware. The Sega pedigree carried from its arcade systems to its home systems reached a pinnacle with its 16-bit world beater, the Mega Drive (Genesis for our North American gaming friends). With an estimated 40 millions consoles sold world-wide, the 16-bit beauty assured itself a place in the pantheon of great systems. This ‘Collected Works‘ book not only celebrates the Mega Drive hardware, but it also showcases the wealth of Sega’s 16-bit software titles; from blockbuster games such as Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Gunstar Heroes, Super Shinobi/Revenge of Shinobi and Golden Axe, through to cult gems such as Rent-a-Hero, Vectorman and DecapAttack. This book has it all!
If you are after the definitive book on all things Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, then look no further – this book oozes quality and makes you want to come back to it again and again to feast your eyes on each page – from it’s well written foreword, to the never before seen Sega production blueprints, and to the great collective artwork. Even if you are not a Sega fan, this book’s historical value and page-turning ability is simply irresistible. For those not into gaming at all, we guarantee this book will get lots of attention if placed on your coffee table. This is the only Sega Mega Drive / Genesis book you will ever need. Highly recommended.
Vital Stats:
Title: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works
Price: £35.00 (plus shipping)
Size: 216mm x 267mm
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 352pp
Specials: 8 x Gatefold Pages
image source: Read-Only Memory
The start of September in 1997 was tinged with sadness with the passing of Mother Teresa and the funeral of Diana, Princess Of Wales. With Elton John’s Candle In The Wind song topping the music charts, we were also introduced to another hit song, Tubthumping from Chumbawaba. In the video gaming sphere, Electronic Arts was pervading the top 5 games charts on a number of platforms, from the PlayStation and Saturn, to the ubiquitous personal computer.
I recall hammering V-Rally to death on my PlayStation and loving the politically incorrect and gruesome Carmageddon on the PC. What were your favourite games from September 1997?
 |
1) V-Rally (Ocean) |
| 2) International Superstar Soccer Pro (Konami) | |
| 3) Syndicate Wars (Electronic Arts) | |
| 4) Rage Racer (Sony) | |
| 5) Fade To Black: Platinum (Electronic Arts) |
 |
1) King Of Fighters ’95 (SNK) |
| 2) Fighters Megamix (Sega) | |
| 3) Manx TT Superbike (Sega) | |
| 4) FIFA ’97 (Electronic Arts) | |
| 5) Shining The Holdy Ark (Sega) |
 |
1) Dungeon Keeper (Electronic Arts) |
| 2) Carmageddon (SCI) | |
| 3) FIFA Soccer Manager (Electronic Arts) | |
| 4) Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Virgin) | |
| 5) Theme Hospital (Electronic Arts) |