The Pop-Culture E-Zine
The PC-Engine console, a collaboration between Hudson Soft and NEC, was released late 1987 in Japan and mid 1989 in North America. NEC changed the name in the US to the TurboGrafx-16. The US unit also had a facelift, it was bulkier (and uglier) compared to its smaller, sleeker Japanese counterpart.
The Handy from Epyx was the brainchild of David Morse, Dave Needle and the legendary RJ Mical. All three were the masterminds behind the Amiga. The collaboration of the handheld device was done on a napkin in August 1986 – well before anyone else had thought of a portable gaming device like this. The Handy was the first full colour, 16-bit portable device. There are arguments till this day about how many ‘bits’ this device had. For me, it was, and still is 16-bit.
[Read more…] about Atari Lynx: the first colour handheld device
It was 1986 when I got my grubby mits on the new, sleek and all beige Commodore 64C. Like numerous others around the world, I affectionately called it the C64.
The Family Pack it came in was the ‘America’s Cup’ edition. It included various peripherals (joysticks, paddles, datasette) and games (Howzat Cricket, Arnie Armchair’s America’s Cup Challenge, Le Mans and International Soccer) to get started in 8-bit computing and gaming. I truly thought this was gaming nirvana (and a much better option than the Atari 2600).
Our Commodore 64C
The C64 was a versatile machine – it could load games via cartridge, cassette and 5.25″ floppy diskettes.
Loading games on tape wasn’t fun – they took ages to load, and there was a propensity for them to fail. Nothing drove me insanely mad than having to rewind and reload a game and wait another 30+ minutes for it to load. Oh well, it was one way of ensuring we got to play outside while we waited for the games to load.
The best way to experience games was either on cartridge or floppy disks. The majority of games were available on both cassette and disk. Cartridges were too expensive to manufacture and limiting when compared to tape or disk.
The C64 enjoyed many arcade conversions and film tie-in games, like Robocop, Batman, and The Untouchables. Unfortunately, many of the other film tie-in games were sub-par or completely crap. Nevertheless, the trusty C64 had plenty of great games to satisfy everyone’s taste.
In 1987, when the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Sega Master System were released, I had thoughts about selling the C64 and shelling out for the shiny new grey Nintendo shoebox. Finding it hard to part with the C64, I ended up keeping it – which was a great decision!
After all these years, I still have my original C64, I just wish I had kept the box. It has lost some of its beautiful beige colour, but it still looks good to me. It has aged gracefully. I eventually jumped ship onto the Atari ST and then console gaming via the Sega Mega Drive, but the C64 was always close by.
The Commodore 64 had a number of peers in the 8-bit computing market, namely the Amstrad CPC464 and the ZX Spectrum. But at the end of the day, enjoying total global dominance, the C64 was ensured the 8-bit computing throne and its place in retro computing history.
Long live the Commodore 64!
Here is your chance to vote for the ‘Sexiest retro gaming cartridges’. You can be biased, or you could vote on the cart that oozes the most sex appeal. The limited edition carts are not part of this poll (ie: Gold Legend of Zelda NES cart – I admit, that was seeeexy !). I also did not have the Brazilian version of the NES cart.
So, go forth and vote now as this poll will close in one week:
Double Dragon ! Just saying those two words invokes memories of seedy arcade joints down some dark alley. That never stopped me entering these seedy joints and pumping 20 cent coins into the machine and play as Billy Lee (aka Hammer). If I had a mate with me, he would play as Billy’s twin brother, Jimmy (aka Spike). Double Dragon was the first beat’em up to introduce two-player co-operative play.
It was 1984 when I got this baby. No – it wasn’t an Atari 2600 or an Intellivision (I wish I had one of these at the time!) – it was the Hanimex 666T.
It was basically a home version of Pong. The larger paddle contained the system hardware and the main game controls. These controls were used to select the type of game, the bat size, auto or manual serving, and speed of the game. I never understood the 40 / 20 angle switch as it didn’t make a difference to gameplay as far as I could tell. The smaller paddle could be detached and used by a second player.
I was a sore loser when playing on this system. My sister would start to win and I would get mad and would reset the game only to be beaten again. I eventually got better and started kickin’ ass – that’s when my sister stopped playing video games with me.
This was my introduction to owning a TV gaming system. It served its purpose until I got into the ‘real’ home consoles and computers in the 80’s. The last ‘Where it all started‘ feature will be on the first true 8-bit gaming system which I acquired in 1986. Could it be the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Master System, or the Commodore 64 ?
Welllllllllll, you will just have to wait and see……….
Why do publishers choose to change names of games in certain regions around the world ? That is the million dollar question. They will give you all sorts of reasons and excuses, but it all boils down to the marketing teams and what they think will work in their segment.
I think these games would have an identity crisis if they were human. I mean, some games are known by more than two different names ! C’mon, that is absurd, no matter where you are from.
I have listed a few retro games that are known by various names around the world.
You be the judge of which region names you prefer for the following retro games:
ENJOY !
[Read more…] about Retrospective: Retro games with different region names
If you want to check out the latest social banter of like minded retro gamers, check out Retroholics Anonymous on twitter
Like every other retro gamer, the love of video gaming started early in my childhood. I recall yo-yo’s being the biggest fad back in the early 80’s. I had the Fanta and Coca-Cola yo-yo’s. I thought I was so cool being able to ‘walk the dog’.
Soon enough though, my attention turned towards electronic gaming. The Nintendo Game & Watch series and the various table top games took my fancy. This was a time before Atari became big in Australia – and the NES was still years away (it was released here in 1987). I was totally mesmerised by these Game & Watch and Table Top games my friends were playing and I became hooked. Little did I realise this would grow into a life long love of video gaming, in particular, old/retro games and systems.
I still have my first Game & Watch and Table Top games – and that is where it all started for me. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:
A big thank you to hunksparrow for giving me the idea to write about my collection, and in particular, where this video gaming love all started for me.