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Join the PAC: Celebrate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary in 2020

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BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT INC. GETS SET TO CELEBRATE PAC-MAN’S 40th ANNIVERSARY WITH A MYRIAD OF PARTNERSHIPS AND EVENTS!

The Year-Long Celebration Kicks Off in 2020 as the Famous 80’s Icon Celebrates 40 Years of Entertaining Millions of Fans Around the World

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. is inviting all PAC-MAN fans around the world to “Join the PAC” and start getting ready for a year-long celebration in 2020 to commemorate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary as a pop culture and video game icon. To get a sneak peek at the activities, partnerships, and surprises to come, visit https://www.pacman.com/en-us/.

Born on May 22, 1980, PAC-MAN immediately rose to meteoric popularity, first in video game arcades, then on the pop culture stage with hit song “PAC-MAN Fever” and through an array of branding and entertainment appearances. With a brand recognition rate of 90% around the world, PAC-MAN’s image and brand is one of the most recognised on the planet and is as strong as ever as he enters his 40th year of entertaining fans of all ages.

PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary celebration in 2020 will include the debut of a new PAC-MAN 40th Anniversary theme song, composed by world-renowned Japanese Techno artist Ken Ishii. It will be accompanied by a music video directed by Yuichi Kodama, who has won awards at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, the Clio Awards, and the One Show Interactive. He was also the chief video director for the flag handover ceremony at the Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony. Multiple branding crossovers with Kipling®, Champion®, TIMEX®, and BAIT® will become available throughout the year. Fans will also be able to “Join the PAC” at celebratory events taking place throughout the year around the world.

To learn more and stay tuned with everything about PAC-MAN’S 40th Anniversary celebrations, bookmark this site now.


source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America

Book Review: The Art Of Point + Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book

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Do you remember your first ever adventure video game? We sure do! We have very fond memories playing Transylvania on our school’s one and only Apple IIe computer. Back then we had to book the computer for use, as it had to be shared amongst all the primary school kids. Of course we preferred to play games on it during our allotted time instead of using Logo to learn some rudimentary programming – but that would have been boring. We immediately fell in love playing Transylvania as it allowed us to explore new worlds and create our own adventures, a lure that has kept us gaming ever since.

A lot has changed since the days of playing Transylvania, just like Moore’s Law ensuring technology would leap forward every two years, adventure, role playing and point + click games have done the same, as they have become more sophisticated over the ensuing years. What better way to capture the history of this genre than these two fine books.

The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games by Bitmap Books capture the essence of these wonderful and enduring gaming genres. If you want to get a feel for these books without reading too many words, then skip ahead to the pics we have assembled below. On the other hand, if you want to know a tad more, read on.

Let’s start with The CRPG Book. Weighing in at 528 pages, this book has everything you can think of from the world of computer role-playing games from 1975 to 2015! We obviously went straight to the Ultima content, but that was one of only 400 titles covered in this beast of a book. The best part about this book is that it is completely written by fans, developers, indies, modders, journalists and industry personalities like Tim Cain, Chris Avellone, Scorpia, Ian Frazier and Richard Corbett to name just a few. Having these different perspectives gives the book a unique feel to the traditional interviews found in these types of publications (Ed: don’t get us wrong, we still love interviews in books!). The fact that there are mod hints, mod suggestions and tips on how to run these old classics games on modern hardware just adds that little bit extra to this already great tome. Of course, no book is complete without beautiful and vibrant imagery, and The CRPG Book has these in abundance.

Just like The CRPG Book, The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games book is stuffed full of content in its 460 pages, like the exclusive interviews with the makers of our fave point and click adventure games; Tim Shafer, Robyn Miller, Ron Gilbert, David Fox, Aric Wilmunder, Richard Hare, Hal Barwood, Gary Winnick, Charles Cecil and Paul Cuisset to whet your appetite. The book covers an array of iconic classic titles, from the very well known ones, King’s Quest, Myst, Toonstruck, Discworld, Blade Runner, Gabriel Knight, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Simon the Sorcerer, The Secret of Monkey Island, Leisure Suit Larry, Maniac Mansion to the lesser-known games and homebrew efforts. Complimenting the writing is the extensive and engaging imagery used throughout, which means that this book will have you glued to each page.

We can cut right to the chase, both The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games books come highly recommended. Being Bitmap Book publications, you know the quality of the content and presentation is guaranteed to be top notch. Both books are beautifully presented, with great page-turning content. Leaving these on our coffee table has sparked many great conversations with family and friends about old games they used to play. These hefty publications will definitely satisfy the most discerning gamers amongst you, even if you weren’t into point and click adventure games or RPGs! If you are in need of a great Christmas present (for yourself or a special friend), then these books would be perfect.

Both books are available at Pixel Crib right now:

The beautiful books!

The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games

The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games

 

Disclosure: The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games and The CRPG Book – A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games books were provided by Pixel Crib for this review.

 

Keith Elwin’s Behind the Scenes of Creating Jurassic Park Pinball

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If you want to get a glimpse into how a pinball designing genius works to create a machine that is universally lauded by pinball players around the world, then check out the below snaps of Jurassic Park pinball’s development from the one and only, Keith Elwin!

Not only do these photos show how Keith works and iterates his designs, but it shows that he and Stern Pinball have a sense of humour – it’s not fun being serious all the time! After-all, it’s only pinball 😉

Thanks to Keith for posting these photos on his personal Facebook account.

Photo Source: Keith Elwin personal Facebook post

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Pinball Press
Pinball Press is here to spread the word on everything pinball across the known universe. For business / PR email: info@pinballpress.com

Follow Pinball Press on Twitter and Facebook

 

 

 

Flipout 2019 Highlights: We Had A (Silver) Ball!

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We always look forward to Mr. Pinball Australia Flipout Show as it gives us a chance to play heaps of pinball machines we would otherwise never get a chance to play out in the wild.

Flipout 2019 delivered the desired ‘pinball fix’ we were after, a state of pinball high which we are still riding – the buzz of playing so many pinball machines is still with us, days after the conclusion of the show! To say we had a (silver) ball at Flipout 2019, would be a gross understatement – we loved it!

A lot of hard work goes into preparing and setting up a show of this magnitude, so kudos must be given to Wayne Gillard and his Mr. Pinball Australia team, Martin Robbins from Melbourne Silverball and Scott Kellett from Zax Amusements for supplying over 70 wonderful fun machines for us to enjoy all weekend long. From our highlights package below, you’ll see that each era was represented, from gorgeous EM (Electro-Mechanical) machines, early and late Solid State machines to DMD and right up to the current LCD based pinball machines, the show catered for all pinball tastes.

The awesome folks that brought Flipout 2019 alive [L to R]: Scott Kellett (Zax Amusements) and Wayne Gillard (Mr. Pinball Australia)

The ever smiling Martin Robbins (Melbourne Silverball), showrunning the tournaments at Flipout 2019

From the pinball smorgasbord the most popular were the new offerings from American Pinball (Oktoberfest), Jersey Jack Pinball (Willy Wonka), Stern Pinball Inc. (Jurassic Park), Chicago Gaming Company (Monster Bash Remake) and Spooky Pinball (Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle). The Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) machines proved popular all weekend long, with a long wait to play on Dialed In and Pirates of The Caribbean machines.

The JJP and Stern machines were popular with all attendees!

We had a blast playing some mid-1990s machines we hadn’t played in a long time, like Williams’ No Fear, Junk Yard and the original Monster Bash. Stern’s Elvis LE pinball machine was a surprise blast which had us pressing the start button more than a few times. Lord Of The Rings was another blast from the past which left us smiling ear to ear – an absolute brilliant machine. It was also great to experience the lesser known titles for the first time, like Thunderbirds (we won’t comment any further on this one!). We reacquainted ourselves with Team Pinball’s The Mafia and Spooky’s America’s Most Haunted – it still plays like a dream.

The Flipout 2019 walkthrough!

The highlight and ‘Best In Show’ machine for 2019 for us was Haggis Pinball‘s debut title, CELTS! This pinball machine blew our expectations by a mile. Not only was this Australian designed and made machine looking gorgeous (we love the Scottish Highland Games art theme by Sam Greenwood, aka: Most Ill), but it also sounded great (we love bagpipes) and most importantly, it played like a dream – the shots felt true and fun to hit, with the geometry being spot on. The upper flipper was fun to smack the ball around and also bumping the ball in the upper playfield against the slings definitely kept us smiling while playing. Even though the CELTS pinball machine was a pre-production model, the whole package still felt solid, something that you would expect from a JJP Collector’s Edition or Stern Limited Edition machine. We actually can’t stop thinking about CELTS, and at the current entry price point, it is very very tempting to add one to our collection.

A neat little non-pinball touch were the balloons around the floor, these created a festive mood and the mini chocolates strewn around the venue were great for our energy levels to keep us flipping.

Enjoy the Flipout 2019 highlights and we hope to see you there in 2020!

The Sandbelt Hotel – the perfect venue for Flipout 2019

Energy to keep us flippin!

We love a signed flyer!

The Melbourne Silverball Flipout 2019 tournament machines are checked one final time!

Oo’er, aren’t the tournament trophies just so gorgeous!

Having a well earned rest!

 

Play 2500 Classic MS-DOS Games For Free

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No need to copy, swap dodgy disks or download questionable software, because you can now play an additional 2,500 classic MS-DOS based games for free!

Yep, you read that right folks. You can now play these classics without fear of doing anything illegal. All you have to do is head to the Internet Archive and browse their many, many classic games in their catalogue – we love you Internet Archive! Which MS-DOS game will you play first? For the record, we are starting with Street Rod and will then move onto Secret Of Monkey Island 😉

story source: Kotaku Australia

 

PAX Aus 2019 Highlights

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Judging by our PAX Aus Classic Gaming highlights feature, you would have been forgiven in thinking that there was nothing else to see at this year’s PAX Aus.

Well, we are here to tell you that there was stacks to see and experience, from great panels, awesome cosplay, pin and badge hunts to booth raids to check out the latest games and wares from indie devs and the big AAA studios and gaming companies.

There was so much to see, so we hope this Rest of PAX Aus 2019 Highlights photo package can make you feel like you were there!

The calm before the storm! The crowds waits patiently for the start of PAX AUS 2019!

 

PAX Aus 2019 was a Classic

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Wow, PAX Aus 2019 was an absolute blast! What a great 3 days. We just wish it went for longer.

The Classic Gaming area was busy with many attendees coming in and enjoying everything that was on offer; from classic gaming systems, vintage handhelds, to old school arcade and pinball machines. The Australian Pinball Museum display exhibit was a new addition in the pinball section which proved popular due to never before seen items, like the 10 metre bill of material print out from the Fish Tales pinball machine (it cost just under US$1800.00). But wait, that wasn’t all, the display pieces in the console section were yet again getting a lot of attention, especially Shane Battye’s very exotic development kits and prototype systems.

It is always great to get recognition from BIG gaming companies. Thanks PlayStation Australia!


To see attendees enjoying some nostalgia and having fun with their friends and family is exactly why we love putting together the Classic Gaming area every year at PAX Aus.

If you could not attend PAX Aus 2019 or you just want to reminisce, here are our highlights from an action packed three days – make sure you scroll slowly through the photos to take it all in!

On behalf of the PAX Aus Classic Gaming team**, thanks to all who swung by to have a game and say hello. We hope to see you guys in 2020!

PS: Keep an eye out for our Rest of PAX Aus 2019 Highlights post in the coming days!

** PAX Aus Classic Gaming team and contributors: Ausretrogamer, Weird And Retro, Press Play On Tape Podcast, Bartronica, Skott K. & Zax Amusements, Bayside Pinball Club, Mr. Pinball Australia, Australian Pinball Museum, Greg Pell, Cameron Bonde & Chris Van Graas.

Walk-through the Classic Gaming Area

Amazing historical pinball items on show in the Classic Gaming area!

 

Hope to see you all at PAX AUS 2020!

 

Meet Analogue Pocket: The Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color Killer

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Oh wow, we hope you are sitting down for this! Let us introduce you to Analogue Pocket™

If you know about or have any of Analogue’s consoles, like the Mega Sg, Nt Mini or Super Nt, you know that their Pocket handheld will be one special and amazing gaming unit.

First and foremost, the Analogue Pocket is not another handheld that will just play ROMs! No sirree, this multi-video-game-system portable handheld will be able to play over 2,700 Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance game cartridges. So don’t throw out or sell those carts, because the Pocket will be able to play them all! Oh yeah, the Analogue Pocket will also have a digital audio workstation (called Nanoloop) with a built-in synthesizer and sequencer – a tribute to portable gaming!

But wait, there is more! As if this thing wasn’t already mouthwatering enough, the Pocket will also have cartridge adaptors in the future for you to play other handheld systems’ carts, like the Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx and others! There will also be a special dock (future release) allowing you to output your games to a TV and charge the console at the same time – you’ll also be able to use Bluetooth or wired controllers when the Pocket is docked.

Engineered with two Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), the Analogue Pocket will allow developers to create and port their own work to the handheld. Basically, once the Analogue Pocket is in the hands of users, it’s going to get even better! Wow, when we hear FPGA (no emulation!), we know this thing is going to blow everything away in the handheld market!

The Analogue Pocket is slated for a 2020 release at a cost of US$199.00. To say we want one would be the biggest understatement ever!

Analogue Pocket Tech Specs:

  • FPGA-based system (two FPGAs inside)
  • Compatible with Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance game cartridges (Using special adaptors, you’ll also be able to play Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color titles on the machine in the future)
  • 3.5″ LTPS LCD. 1600×1440 resolution. 615ppi
  • Rechargeable lithium ion battery
  • All buttons mappable
  • Stereo Speakers
  • microSD
  • USB-C charging
  • 3.5mm headphone output
  • Original Game Boy-style link plug

image source: Analogue

 

See You at PAX Aus 2019!

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Hey guys, if you are heading to PAX Aus 2019, come on over to the Classic Gaming area to get your hit of nostalgia. For the competitive types, there will be tournaments too, so make sure you check the tournament schedule and get your waggle on.

Oh yeah, we definitely don’t bite, so please come by and say hi!

PS: We will be posting live (lots of pics!) on Twitter and Facebook from this great event. So make sure you follow along 🙂

 

Calling All Women and Non-Binary Pinball Lovers: Melbourne Silverbelles & Chimes Tournament at Flipout 2019

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We love Belles & Chimes Melbourne! It’s a women’s pinball league open to all women (cis and trans) and non-binary people. They run fun pinball comps and events in Melbourne and welcome players of all skill levels, including beginners.

In big news, Belles & Chimes Melbourne has teamed up with Melbourne Silverball to run the first ever Melbourne Silverbelles & Chimes pinball tournament during the upcoming Flipout 2019 pinball festival (October 25-27, Sandbelt Hotel, 630 South Road Moorabbin).

Like all Belles & Chimes events, the tournament is open to all women and non-binary people only. And you’ll get plenty of pinball action with all participants playing a total of 8 machines in groups of 4. Scores will be awarded for 1st to 4th place. Highest scores after 8 rounds will play the FIRST EVER women’s final at the Flipout. And the cherry on top: cash prizes for the top 3 finalists!

Tickets for the Belles & Chimes tournament are $20 and include general admission entry to Flipout which gives access to the 100+ old and new pinball machines!

Tournament details: Saturday Oct 26th 2019, qualifying from 6pm onward, followed by finals (note: Flipout Festival is open 10am to 11pm on Saturday).

For more info contact Belles and Chimes Melbourne and join the FB group to make sure you don’t miss any future B&C events.

Flyer by menteurmenteur

photo source: heather via Belles & Chimes Melbourne on Instagram

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Editor, Writer and Photographer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter